‘The Challenge’: Amber Borzotra Broke a Record With Her Win
Big Brother star Amber Borzotra competed on The Challenge seven years after making her reality television debut. Nonetheless, she went on to win her rookie season alongside legend CT Tamburello. The 33-year-old’s performance, which includes two elimination wins and the victory, has MTV’s Official Challenge Podcast hosts Tori Deal and Aneesa Ferreira calling her the “Rookie of the Year.” Additionally, her victory broke a record.
Amber Borzotra debuted on ‘The Challenge: Double Agents’
Following a short-lived appearance on Big Brother in 2014, Tennessee native Amber Borzotra didn’t return to reality television until The Challenge: Double Agents.
Competing as a rookie, she instantly connected with other newbies and naturally aligned with other Big Brother players. However, Gabby Allen felt Amber played both sides of the house and blindsided her into elimination.
Borzotra dominated the Hall Brawl, earning her gold skull, and returned to the game. After her partner’s elimination, she teamed up with Kyle Christie, someone on the opposite side of the house.
Her partnership landed her in another elimination, but she sent Big T Fazakerley home and picked Fessy Shafaat as a teammate, ensuring she’d be on the right side of the numbers. However, they only worked together for one challenge before switching partners for the third time.
She won her rookie season on The Challenge
During the last daily mission of the season, Amber struggled with the math portion, failing to advance past the first checkpoint.
Feeling like he didn’t have a chance to compete, Fessy threw himself into elimination with the hopes of teaming up with an ally and who he thought gave him the best chance to win, Kaycee Clark.
His plan worked, leaving Amber partnered with CT Tamburello, who she plotted against for most of the competition. Regardless, the two worked well together, as she proved herself a decent runner, and he effortlessly completed the puzzle-based checkpoints.
Therefore, the duo led the competition for the entire final, eventually claiming the $900,000 grand prize. The 33-year-old took home an extra $5,000 due to a daily mission victory.
Amber Borzotra broke a record with her win
In 2018, season 28 Vendettas featured former Big Brother stars for the first time. Twenty have since competed in the show, including Da’Vonne Rogers, Paulie Calafiore, Josh Martinez, and two-time finalists Kaycee and Fessy.
However, Amber is the first from the CBS reality competition series to take home the win, making her the only Big Brother star to hold the title of Challenge champion.
She also joins the short list of other female rookies who won their debut seasons: Coral Smith (Battle of the Seasons, 2002), Jamie Chung (The Inferno II, 2005), Tori Hall (The Gauntlet III, 2008), and Sam McGinn (Battle of the Seasons, 2012).
While it’s unclear if Amber will return, she recently noted on MTV’s Official Challenge Podcast that she wanted to spend time with her family, especially after losing her grandmother while she participated in the finals. The Challenge will return for its 37th season on MTV.
