Draft Recap: Season 4

We only needed about two days to draft this out -- just like last year -- as each owner will only be receiving four players each. In an ideal world, we'd have seven owners to make all the teams even, but I guess with four extra contestants, they'll just have to be brought in later. This year we changed the rules a little -- doubling bonus points for more drama and adding a point if your contestant fights with their rival. Otherwise all rules stay the same and since we know exactly who these alumni are, we were ready to draft before the first episode.

Check out the draft results here and our order was: George, Yasmine, Jon, HT, Kim, Victor.

Round 1
Winning the draft lottery once again, George uses her number one pick on personal favorite Jenn. Last time she was in this lofty position, she took Evelyn, who promptly flamed out by quitting. We're pretty sure Jenn won't be quitting this Challenge and it looks like she'll assert her alpha female position again by teaming up with the veterans and chewing out the newbies. While we're not sure Jenn would have been our top pick, she's certainly a primetime player -- she went to the finals last season and scored the most points during Fresh Meat 2. Is Jenn ready to finally win a Challenge and take George to the top with her?

The rest of the first round played out as expected. Wes, Laurel, Evan, CT, and Kenny were quick off the board. There's no question that Wes, Evan, and Kenny are the strongest guys -- at least politically -- and they're sure to go far. And Laurel, well, she's got the skills to get competition and bonus points galore. The dark horse MVP here is CT of course. Everyone knows he can pretty much beat anyone else one one one, he's sure to get major bonus points, and if he can stay on the show, he's a player with giant upside. The question is how long he'll stick around and if his weakling partner, Adam K, will drag him down. We think Kim made a great gamble here and am excited to see how CT does this season.

Round 2
Using the wise rationale that each duo is only as strong as its parts, Victor selected Cara Maria (breaking my heart in the process) and is gambling that she's not actually a weak link and will team up with Laurel to dominate the competition. With the Rivals wrinkle, the big question really will be if a weak partner will be helped by a strong one, or if the strong one will be dragged down. Kim decided it would be the former as she threw her support behind Paula, who is a much weaker competitor than her rival Evelyn, but clearly has more drama potential. Evelyn wasn't selected by defending champion Yasmine until the second to last pick of this round, three positions after Paula. Interesting no?

The Yangs decide to team up by picking up Johnny and Tyler. Now they'll have a pair to both cheer for. HT made her triumphant return to fantasy Challenge -- ala Michael Jordan after his first retirement -- by snaking Mandi, which we think was a brilliant move. Mandi is quite a strong competitor and we think she's got star potential.

Round 3
It's crazy how fast the talent pool dips after just a dozen selections. George takes Sarah, completely forgetting that Katelyn is going to totally ruin their partnership. In Fresh Meat 2, Katelyn single handedly made Brandon lose -- trust me, I owned her that season. Rumors are that Adam K (RW: Paris, or the black one) gets some loving from a cast member, so Yasmine quickly scooped up this lothario. We're not sure if Adam is actually good at challenges as all we can remember is him getting punched out by CT after running around in a onesie last time he was on the show.

Jon decides Nehemiah is worth a shot here, as in the trailer he declares that he's "not afraid of any grown ass man." That's either a lot of macho posturing or true confidence. HT proves that despite her one season respite, she was watching the show last season as she takes Cutthroat's surprise performer Camila. If the volatile Brazilian can do just as well this season, HT will have made an excellent pick. Last year's first overall selection, Theresa, is Camila's rival and her new owner, Kim, hopes that she hooks up with someone. We're hoping she hooks up with at least three people, which is definitely within her abilities.

With the last pick in the round, Victor picks Ty, who is good for a bonus point or two, but was really pathetic in his elimination round last season. He literally gave up and just lay around on the ground. Ty's going to have to do a lot this season to make up for the foul stench he gave off last time.

Round 4
We think Jasmine breaks a mirror in the preview, and while we don't know much about her, she seems quite feisty and ready to stir the pot. We'll have to ask Victor why he selected her over the remaining candidates but I bet he's got a good reason. Kim selected Brandon, last year's stalwart warrior, and she even influenced HT's next pick, by predicting that Theresa and Adam R (RW: Vegas, or the white one) have a fling. We've never seen HT get influenced by another owner's opinions but maybe she knows a little something about Adam R. You can never discount the wily ways of a champion owner who has never technically lost (yet).

At the bottom of the barrel, Jon selects Leroy based solely on his skin hue and athletic looks, while Yasmine takes Jonna for some reason I can't figure out. Who is Jonna exactly? Please enlighten us in your team post. George cleans up the draft by taking Tyrie, who looks huge and fat this season. He could either be a monster of flame out quickly.

Undrafted
Clearly everyone thinks Aneesa and Robin are the weakest female group. Nobody wanted to touch either one of them, despite their veteran status. We're not surprised to see Katelyn ownerless either. She's proven to be a terrible competitor and sure whines a lot. The big insult here could be to Davis, who might be angry enough at being passed over to put up a few drama and competition points. Or he could be eliminated first!