MTV The Challenge Season 40: The latest season of MTV’s “The Challenge” has been filled with intense moments, but none more confusing than the recent elimination between Derrick Kosinski and Horacio Gutiérrez Jr. The incident, which occurred during the September 4 episode of “The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras,” left many fans and cast members in doubt about who truly won. To address the controversy, the show’s producers did something they’ve never done before in 40 seasons: they held a Zoom call with Derrick and Horacio to show them raw footage of the elimination.
The Elimination Challenge
In the elimination round, Derrick and Horacio were tasked with placing 40 pegs into a wall during a physically demanding endurance challenge. When host TJ Lavin announced Derrick as the winner, confusion spread. Horacio claimed that he had placed all of his pegs correctly, while Derrick had not. Horacio also suggested that the production team may have unfairly helped Derrick by picking up pegs that had fallen from his wall and placing them back.
Horacio’s Claims
After the episode aired, Horacio voiced his concerns in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. He argued that while he had correctly placed all of his pegs, Derrick had two pegs in one hole, leaving an empty slot on his wall. Additionally, Horacio pointed out that his ball got stuck on the platform, causing him to fall behind in the challenge. Horacio believed these issues may have contributed to Derrick’s victory, leaving the outcome in question.
Producers Take Action
Given the backlash and the ongoing debate among fans and cast members, the producers of “The Challenge” took an unprecedented step. On Tuesday, September 10, they organized a Zoom call with both Derrick and Horacio to settle the matter. During this call, the producers showed them the raw footage of the elimination along with the full set of rules.
According to Derrick, this was the first time in 40 seasons that producers had shown unedited footage to competitors. The video revealed the entire elimination from multiple angles and included five minutes of rules that had been told to the players before the competition began.
The Rules and Final Decision
During the Zoom call, one specific rule became clear: once a peg is placed in the wall, it counts, even if it falls out later. This rule had not been noticed by the competitors at the time. As Horacio admitted on Derrick’s “Challenge Mania” podcast, “The final rule was once a peg is placed, it counts. We all missed it.”
The raw footage also confirmed that the production team picking up Derrick’s fallen pegs did not give him an unfair advantage. Since the pegs had already been placed in the wall, they counted, regardless of whether they fell out later.
The producers also showed every camera angle possible, with four cameras focused on Derrick, four on Horacio, and one on host TJ Lavin. The final result showed that Derrick won by 13 seconds. Horacio acknowledged that the time spent picking up his own pegs and the delay caused by his ball getting stuck had indeed slowed him down. However, the producers assured him that his time was stopped when he faced these issues, and ultimately, Derrick beat him by a very narrow margin — less than a second.
One of the Tightest Eliminations Ever
In the end, the producers concluded that Derrick had won fair and square. They stated that the elimination was one of the closest they had ever seen on the show, with Derrick winning by just a fraction of a second. Despite the initial confusion, both Derrick and Horacio accepted the outcome after seeing the unedited footage.
Horacio, while disappointed, admitted that the rules were clear, and the producers had done everything correctly. Derrick expressed relief that the situation was finally settled and praised the producers for their transparency.
