Challenge Total Madness Player Preview: “CT” Chris Tamburello
A couple of years ago, when interviewing CT, he told me that if he won another season, he would ride off into the sunset and retire. I was bamboozled, led astray, hoodwinked, and flat out lied to. What am I going to do about it? Well, I’m going to write a very complimentary article about CT and celebrate the fantastic competitor he is.
I don’t blame CT for continuing to come back. Considering CT likely gets near six figures for an appearance check, it would be borderline irresponsible for him to pass it down. Yeah, he has to be away from his family, but it’s hard to imagine CT getting a day job that will pay as well as the Challenge does for such a short time. Not to mention the potential of getting more money for winning.
Introducing CT: This season, CT will be without anyone from his Real World Paris season on the cast. Joking aside, CT is historically known as the most physically dominating competitor in Challenge history. CT is a 3x Challenge Champion and 8x Finalist (tied for the most by a male); he is one of the best daily challenge competitors of all time. The only significant weaknesses in CT’s game is he plays a bit too safe politically, and he enjoys Starbucks a little too much.
CT in the modern era gets referred to as “Pops” by the UK cast members, and he does act as a sage leader. While Bananas tries to bang the new rookies and Wes attempts to align with them, CT keeps to himself and relies on the fact that his aura and clout will carry him to a final. Unfortunately for CT, there will be an occasional rogue JP calling him out into a threeway elimination. I love it when CT is uncomfortable because his angry skull-crushing self comes out.
After CT won Invasion, he went on Dirty 30 in considerably worse shape. I wouldn’t be surprised if CT gained some of the weight he lost during War of the Worlds 2 back going into Total Madness. Like CT said, you can buy a lot of ice cream with 250k dollars.
Player Vitals
Chris Tamburello: 39 Years Old, 6'1, 250–275 lbs, 16 Seasons, 5–4 Elimination Record, 3x Champion (Rivals 2, Invasion, War of the Worlds 2), 8x Finalist
Skills and Physical Strength: There is no facet of the Challenge that CT is weak at, physically. CT is historically a strong swimmer (though he did seem to slow down a bit last season). When it comes to physical one on one contact with another cast member, nobody wants a sweaty 270 lb man to tackle them. CT has not done much sprinting in recent years, and part of me thinks he is still ridiculously fast, it might just take him a little bit to get the gas revved up first.
CT is nimble and has a strong sense of balance. He is not afraid of heights in any way after years of challenges and is historically one of the strongest eaters. His cardio is “good” in the sense that he will not quit. However, he can’t run at a fast pace if he wants to be able to finish a final. On War of the Worlds 2, CT only had to go at a quicker pace than the worst member of the opposing team. He won’t be able to keep pace with Jordan and probably would struggle to keep up with people like Bananas and Nelson as well. Hell, if it’s a gender-less final, I could see Tori and Jenny outrunning him. Which transitions us into politics/strategy.
SSMP (Social, Strategic, Mental, and Political) Game: CT allowed Derrick and Jordan to make the final of Dirty 30 as he played a very conservative political game when he held power for most of the early duration of the game. That was his downfall. If he aligns with the other power players because it makes his life more comfortable, then he’ll lose again.
As a social player, CT quietly has a decent amount of enemies. Aneesa is not a fan, as he has been a bit too honest when talking about her in recent years. Bear, Jenny, and Kyle got voted out into elimination by his alliance last season. Nany does not have a great relationship with him anymore, and then Cory/Nelson definitely view him as a major threat. He also gets into it with Jordan seemingly every season they do together.
CT does not have a lot of close friendships when you look at the cast. Rogan might be CT’s best mate. After that, Kailah and Wes might be the two best friendships he has, and those two are all over the place. In terms of the mental game, CT refers to himself as a puzzle master.
Eliminations & Winning Potential: The format is forcing CT to enter an elimination this season. CT has only seen two eliminations in his last six appearances and only four in his previous nine. CT eliminations are rare, and he is generally able to avoid them. I will be fascinated to see how he attacks the game, knowing he’ll have to go in. Part of me thinks he’ll wait till the end game as it is more natural for him, plus you do get additional payments based on how long you stay in the game.
Can CT win? I’m going to put this in every male article, but if Jordan is not there for the final, then mostly everyone has a shot. CT is the most well-rounded competitor in the game after Jordan. It’s just if the final is more like WOTW 1 instead of WOTW 2, then CT has a lot of weight to carry against people who can likely go at a much faster speed. CT has to be the favorite to make the final because everyone fears CT, and he isn’t getting into any drama like Jordan.
