Pairs have become the popular method for competing in a Challenge. Personally, they’re my favorite after individual formats. Two people work together, sometimes to their detriment, sometimes complimenting each other incredibly. Some people carry much more weight than others.

Example: Zach is bad partner, he yells at his partners, gets into anger fits, and never blames himself.

Example: Landon is a good partner, because he’s Landon.

10. Cory Wharton (RW Explosion)

If you want a partner you could hook up with and will look good, Cory is your guy. If you’re not looking to win and want to go at a slow pace, he’s your guy. Plus, you might get lucky and make the final for a free check.

Kidding.

10. Cohutta Grindstaff (RW Sydney)

He has only ever gotten to compete in one pair based season, Battle of the Bloodlines. The structure of the format screwed over him and his cousin, leading to their early elimination. Cohutta is a sweetheart who is intelligent, crafty, and supportive. Would be a great guy to have as a partner.

9. Derrick Kosinski (RR X-Treme)

The Diesel is a stand-up loyal guy. He will compete with so much heart and be a true scrapper. However, he is not the biggest guy, and while he has been one to defeat bigger guys, it’s the games where has to carry weight that it becomes a problem. We saw in the Fresh Meat 1 exile that he could carry his weight, but was not able to make up for his partners.

8. LeRoy Garrett (RW Las Vegas 2)

While his swimming skills are some of the worst, he cannot do puzzles, and has some shortcoming when it comes to social politics. LeRoy is an elimination Ringer, and a big piece of muscle who can dominate with his raw physical size. He has made the finals as a co-ed on Exes 2, and as a dual male pair on Rivals 1.

7. Kenny Santucci (Fresh Meat 1)

If Kenny is your partner, there’s a good chance you will be making the final. He made the final 7/8 of his seasons, and made the final in all his 3 seasons where he was paired, finishing 2nd in all of them, 2 co-ed pairs (Tina FM 1, Laurel FM2), and 1 dual male (Wes Rivals 1). The problem with Kenny is that he’s an asshole. He kept calling Tina fat on Fresh Meat 1 and yelled at her. And he was everything but supportive with Wes during their Rivals 1 season, especially during the final.

6. Darrell Taylor (RR Campus Crawl)

The four time Champ, and the first winner of a paired season. Darrell seems like a great partner based on his past history of performance. He is. However, he comes up short in the social and political department. Considering his fear of heights, he may not be the most supportive in getting you through your fears.

Not the best partner for early game, great partner late game and for finals.

5. Mark Long (RR The First Adventure)

Being partner with a ripped, tall, good looking guy who everyone loves seems too good to be true. Mark was crucial towards helping Rachel R. win the Duel 2, showed no anger or disappointment while working with Aneesa during the Duel 2 final, and managed a crazy Robin on Exes 1 to a strong 4th place finish.

4th and 3rd. Skinny Wes Bergmann and Chris “CT” Tamburello (RW Ausitn and RW Paris)

After Wes stopped working out and became very skinny, he began to play the Challenge with his brain, and became a great partner in doing so. Earlier in his career, he was a terrible partner, someone who wanted to take on the entire house by himself, and take all the credit for himself. Once he started playing a more cerebral game, he brought some of the best performances out of people.

Wes managed the politics for the team of him and CT on Rivals 2, he kept CT cool, and by the end of the season they were acting like best friends. CT was stunned by how much he enjoyed Wes as a partner. On Exes 2, Theresa went in with the mindset of she hates Wes. Wes got the best out of her, she was finally winning challenges, she was competitive, and he ran their politics to the point where they truly dominated the game until the exile twist did them dirty. When Theresa returned, she got into a fight with LeRoy, where she defends and talks highly of Wes, she loved him as a partner. Nany went from disliking Wes, to having fun and looking like she was enjoying a Challenge that should have been terrible. The sign of Wes being a good partner, is that he gets the best out of his teammates.

The same goes for CT. He is a beast who compliments the people he works with. CT’s only gotten to compete with Diem as a female partner, though in Free Agents he killed it with broken hand Cara, and was the partner everyone wanted during the Invasion final. He is able to carry the weight of himself and his partner.

Can’t go wrong with Skinny Wes or CT.

2nd. Johnny Bananas (RW Key West)

Facts are facts. Johnny has won 3 paired seasons, the most out of anyone. He has won Rivals and Exes, Rivals a dual male pair, and as a co-ed pair. His worst finishes in a paired season are 4th place. He is good at the game, and is a good partner to have. Like Wes, he gets good performances out of his partners usually, and his ability to win puts him above a lot of others.

1st. Landon Lueck (RW Philadelphia)

Would you ever put your head in a woman’s ass to push her up a snowy mountain? You say you would, but you probably wouldn’t. Landon did that. He literally pushed his partner to a major upset victory over Kenny and Laurel in the Fresh Meat 2 final. The greatest final performance ever.

Landon is the most physically fit competitor in the history of the Challenge, he is good in every facet of the athletic game. He is kind and will play the game straight up. More than anything his positive attitude and work ethic will rub off on you, leading to a great outcome.