How much cash prize did Danny and Sarah win? The Challenge: USA Season 1 finale results and more

Danny and Sarah (Image via Instagram/@thechallenge)
Danny and Sarah won the first season of The Challenge: USA (Image via Instagram/@thechallenge)

CBS' The Challenge: USA aired its finale episode on Wednesday, September 14, 2022. There were 10 players who made it to the finals, but only nine contestants took part in the main final challenge where they had to conquer a mountain.

All nine contestants had the money they had won in the bank. They would only get to keep it if they completed the entire challenge. Whoever made it to the top of the mountain would get to divide the $500,000 cash prize that was awaiting them. To reach the mountain top, The Challenge: USA contestants had to complete certain tasks at checkpoints.

They started off competing as teams using the algorithm used earlier in the season. At each checkpoint, the contestants had a different team member. If their teammates quit the challenge, they were eliminated as well.

Ben was sent home because of his injury and this left his teammates running one of the checkpoints alone.

By the time the contestants reached the final leg of the race, they were no longer in teams and completed the race alone. Ultimately, out of the nine remaining contestants, only Danny and Sarah completed the challenge and won the title and the cash prize after the six contestants quit midway.

Read on to learn more about The Challenge: USA Grand Finale and how much money Danny and Sarah won.


How much money did Danny and Sarah win in The Challenge: USA?

Before the final challenge, Danny and Sarah already had a certain amount of money in their bank accounts. Other than that, they also got to split whatever was left from the $500,000 they won. Thus, ultimately, while Danny won $245,500, Sarah won $254,500.

Not only that, the two winners also won a direct ticket to the first-ever The Challenge: World Championship.


What tasks did the The Challenge: USA contestants have to complete to reach the top of the mountain?

For the first leg of the challenge, the contestants had to swim 500 meters in freezing water to get to the shoreline. While all the teams made it across, Enzo let the cold get the best of him and decided to quit, and because he quit, his teammate Desi was also eliminated.

With only seven contestants remaining, they each had to eat one raw onion and several garlic cloves to move on. Eventually, everyone began puking and Cayla was the last to finish the task.

Following this, the contestants had to solve a riddle before they could move to the next checkpoint.

At the next checkpoint, the contestants needed to memorize certain numbers and collect a decoder as they walked. Since there were two people in each team, it wasn't a difficult task for most of them. However, Justine went solo at this point in the race and ran out of time because of which, she lost points.

As they moved to the next checkpoint, the contestants had to move a pile of dirt from one area to another. Angela, who was alone during this part of the race, decided to skip the challenge, opt out and go to bed. However, as TJ revealed the next day, that wasn't an option, and The Challenge: USA finalist was eliminated.

Following this, there were only six contestants remaining and they had to take on the final leg of the challenge as individuals. The finalists had to finish an endurance task and a puzzle while climbing up the mountain.

When they reached the Sudoku puzzle, Justine found it hard to solve and began crying. Meanwhile, another The Challenge: USA finalist, Danny started to scale the mountain after he finished his puzzle.

Eventually, four contestants - Justine, Tyson, Domenick and Cayla - quit because of the freezing cold. Sarah, meanwhile, was determined not to quit even though she was in last place. She completed her puzzle and began making her way up the mountain.

Danny reached the mountain first and claimed his win. Sarah made her way up and thought she had finished last. However, she was surprised to see TJ and Danny make their way to her and tell her that they were the only people who had made it all the way up and won season 1of The Challenge: USA.

Fans will now be able to see Danny and Sarah take on more challenges in Paramount Plus' The Challenge: World Championship tournament.

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Edited by Madhur Dave