The Greatest Male Players in Challenge History: #25- Nelson Thomas
6 Seasons: Rivals III, Invasion of the Champions (2nd place), Dirty 30, Vendettas, Final Reckoning, Total Madness
9–3–1 Elimination Record
8 Challenge Wins
Daily Challenges: 6.5/10
Eliminations: 9/10
Finals: 7/10
Politics: 4/10
If these were rankings of the least intelligent players in Challenge history, the 2018th century man might earn the top spot.
But for all his shortcomings, Nelson has one of the best elimination records in Challenge history.
Nelson had a a fairly quiet rookie season when he and Amanda came in as replacements on Rivals III. They defeated Johnny/Jessica in Weight For Me, but lost in Chill Out to Jamie/KellyAnne.
His sophomore campaign was probably his best season, as he beat Anthony and Dario in eliminations, then his side deals with Cory and Shane helped him win the Bloodbath. He came extremely close to beating CT in the final, but came up just short.
Nelson’s Young Bucks were targeted early on Dirty 30, as he had to go against Hunter in the Rampage elimination. Nelson came out on top and was the last member of TYB standing (until Hunter came back from the Redemption House), but was kicked out of the game for his fight with Derrick.
Nelson again had to go against a fellow Young Buck, Cory, in the first elimination on Vendettas. He was able to win in the epic(ally lame) Balls of Fire soccer elimination.
He was one of the last six men standing, but he was sent home in a dubious and surprising purge.
Nelson looked like he had a great shot to win Final Reckoning getting partnered with Shane. On paper they complimented each other perfectly with Shane’s brains and Nelson’s brawn.
But they didn’t live up to expectations, not winning a single mission. They did have impressive performances in eliminations, shockingly choosing to go against Brad/Kyle and taking them out, and also defeating Cara/Marie.
But Nelson blew it on the Heads Will Roll purge mission, and then they got creamed by Bananas/Tony in the Redemption House elimination.
Nelson picked up another solid elimination win on Total Madness by beating Bear in Pole Wrestle, but fell on his sword for Cory and lost to Rogan in Hall Brawl.
Total Madness was a season that exhibited Nelson’s biggest shortcomings. He was a trainwreck politically, getting into spats with Kailah and Aneesa among others. Plus, he didn’t win a single daily challenge out of the 14 he competed in.
Nelson is almost the exact same competitor as Leroy. They’re both excellent at anything that requires brute strength, but are pretty much useless at everything else.
The only difference in their games is that Leroy is usually friends with the people running the game, while Nelson often finds himself near the bottom (other than when he’s teamed with the Lavender Ladies).
I don’t see Nelson ever winning, but he is always a threat to go deep in a season.
