Battle Royale: Can The Kings’ Palace Competitors Win The Challenge?

For the many championships The Challenge has awarded over the years, Laterrian, Teck, Melinda and Nehemiah collectively boast only one (three of them have yet to even see a final). But on The Challenge: All Stars Season 2, they’re proving to be a huge threat as a united front. So now that The Kings’ Palace has secured its plot in the game, can these four take less-than-majestic pasts and turn them into long-awaited crowning achievements?

On the latest episode, as the foursome watched players like Brad, Jodi and Darrell maintain command over the game, Teck, Nehemiah and Laterrian made a pact to stay connected through the competition’s twists and turns, even if it meant going to battle with its toughest players.

“This is the Kings’ Palace, and we’re going to preserve it and save the palace,” Nehemiah said.

And Melinda, the group’s lone queen, echoed the sentiment, crediting the guys for supplying her with the most encouragement she’d ever had in a Challenge.

“The support system in this house is phenomenal,” she said. “There’s a part of me that felt like I’d hung up my hat, but the universe kept tapping me on the shoulder.”

And the universe seemed to look favorably on the group, as the events that followed “Bounce Back” seemed fated to keep them together. The mission, which challenged players to launch themselves off of trampoline stacks into water before solving a puzzle, saw Jodi and Darrell claiming victory again, and Melinda, who injured herself during a clumsy descent, was sentenced to The Arena alongside Steve, the day’s losing man.

It seemed like everything was falling apart for the alliance, but Melinda and Teck, the man eventually voted into The Lair alongside Tina, saw the looming battle — instead — as an opportunity.

“I’m gonna bottle up all these feelings and really bring it tonight in elimination,” he said.

And bottled-up emotions looked good on Teck. Though he started out “Switchback,” a game of endurance, at a deficit, he capitalized on a critical error Steve made during one of the game’s many sprints and sent Steve packing.

And, because Tina — who felt slighted for being nominated — eventually quit, Melinda won the same game by default, leaving the Kings’ Palace intact and in control of both Life Shields.

“I feel real good right now — this is my first elimination round win,” Teck said. “Now we’ve just gotta execute our plan and get everybody else out so we can all make it to the final.”

Still, Teck’s confidence quickly drew some negative attention.

“I’ve never seen anybody announce an alliance on this large of a scale,” Brad said. “But game is game, and now everybody knows you are aligned. There’s a cost to every move.”

What do you think — can the Kings’ Palace finally stake its claim as Challenge royalty, and did its members’ standout performances prove they’ve got what it takes? Or are they destined for more eleventh-hour heartbreakers? Share your thoughts, and hang tight for the next installment of All Stars!