When Laurel finally got to compete as an individual on Free Agents, she won 4/10 daily challenges, more impressively 2 out of the 4 solo/paired challenges. She defined the competition by absolutely obliterating her biggest competitive threats in elimination. Laurel won 4 eliminations, defeating Jasmine, Aneesa, Cara Maria, and Theresa. Of those, they were three physical eliminations and a puzzle. Laurel displayed she could win athletically and mentally. How did her opponents do in their following seasons? Aneesa held her own by finishing fourth on Bloodlines. Theresa went on to dominate daily challenges with Wes on Exes 2 and then finished in 2nd place with Leroy as a replacement. Cara Maria would go on to win the Battle of the Bloodlines.

As you know, Laurel won Free Agents. Although Nany finished within ten minutes after her, people tend to forget that Zach cost her an hour on the mountain. Laurel either tied or finished above Nany in every part of the final besides the round Zach gassed out.

Invasion

When Laurel faced Cara on Free Agents, Cara had a broken hand in an elimination that required players to punch a wall and climb. After Cara won Bloodlines and committed herself to Cross-Fit, there was a hype train pushing Cara Maria as an all-time top three female competitor and that she could potentially beat Laurel (I was on that train). Then they met in Balls In where both players were fully healthy, and Laurel wiped the floor with Cara. Laurel reminded the world, “oh yeah, I’m Shaq, and I’m going to dunk on your face because I’m Shaq, and you’re not Shaq.” She then lost the first elimination of her career to Camila, but she went 9–0 to start, which is a prominent figure as the previous record, held by Wes, was 8–0. Laurel set the record for most consecutive elimination wins. If you ever get asked who the true elimination Overlord of the Challenge is, it’s Laurel Stucky. Until someone goes 10–0, it is Laurel Stucky.

War of the Worlds 2

Here we are in the present. Laurel has had an incredibly shaky path, yet even without training, she is still the top female competitor. To put her elimination with Ninja into context, Ninja was the unofficial female winner of War of the Worlds. In a 50 mile final, the only people Ninja lost to were Turbo, Theo, and Wes. A two-time Survivor winner and superhero, an actual pro sprinter, and one of the all-time Challenge greats, who were also all men. The elimination itself involved climbing, which is Ninja’s biggest strength as a person who climbs weird shit for a living. Despite having not legitimately trained in years, Laurel beat or, at the very least, tied Ninja in the climbing portion of the elimination.

There are so many strong female competitors in the modern era of the Challenge. Yet, Laurel stands above them as an athlete, as a physical specimen, and as a competitor. She might not always be the best human, but she is an ELITE Challenger who is one of a kind. Throwing Laurel into the Challenge is not just dropping the best player in the game, it’s like dropping an ultimate boss or a cheat code where players either have to get lucky or kill themselves to beat her. Laurel Stucky is the most dominant player in Challenge history.