Plus, the Challenge vet breaks down how the final ended.
Warning: This article contains spoilers forThe Challenge: USAseason 2 finale.
Tori Dealdidn’t winThe Challenge: USAseason 2, but she still feels like she walked away a winner.
Tori Deal.Jonne Roriz/Paramount
That’s massive."
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How do you feel about your season now that you’ve seen it all on TV?
TORI DEAL:I was really happy with it.
Michaela Bradshaw and Tori Deal.Jonne Roriz/Paramount
What are you disappointed with?
[Laughs] Ax throwing.
I did feel like it wasn’t my season.
I think that was my purpose in this game.
What did you think of the four trials on day one of the final?
It was veryHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
I felt like I was in the Triwizard Tournament!
That’s cool, so it changed the attitude around it.
I was a little embarrassed, I’m not going to lie.
Oh my god, amazing.
As aChallengevet, you’re able to listen to the way rules are described in the game.
And that clicked in my mind.
It was a gamble which ended up working out.
How did that eating challenge rank against the ones you’ve done in the past?
I couldn’t get it down and was puking nonstop.
So in comparison, this did feel like it was a legitimately nice restaurant.
I was like, “This is classy.”
I died when Michaela said I have gas station food standards.
She’s not wrong!
I can pretty much eat anything as long as it doesn’t have animal parts in it.
How were you feeling going into day two?
All three of us were very close.
But apparently I can’t throw an ax, and apparently you should use two hands to do it.
I never predicted that of the eight finalists, you and Fessy would be the last place DQs.
Do you blame the ax throwing checkpoint?
And then to have the next checkpoint be a purge?
The moment I missed that ax was the moment that the game was over for me.
I was basically just carrying a rock to my fate.
But it’s frustrating.
This was just another reminder for me to be calmer and slower when approaching [checkpoints].
I was just locked into beast mode in my mind.
It was a very rookie move of me, even though this was my sixth final.
I’m still learning the ins and outs of my abilities.
When I saw the sign, for sure.
I had this thought that maybe Chanelle could have been behind me if she missed her ax.
Clearly she didn’t, good for her.
But when I pulled up and I saw the little note, I’m like, “Damn TJ.
You just broke up with me through a text.”
He couldn’t even say it to my face!
Did you know that Fessy had initiate the wrong way?
[Laughs] Yeah, because I saw him running back.
And then they told him he had to run an extra 0.5 [mile].
He was like, “I didn’t hit the ax.
I have to run back.”
And I was like, “Oh God.”
I was looking over at one of the camera guys, and we were both just dead.
What checkpoints didn’t we see on TV?
We actually had an up-all-night challenge.
We stood on top of these little stumps and it was miserable.
The first time we counted to one hour and eight minutes.
The second time we counted to 57 minutes.
And then the last time we counted to one hour and four minutes and 30 seconds.
We also did work together on it, because we were all like, “This is so bad.
Nobody wants to be stuck up here alone.”
If we all jump down together, then nobody will be standing up here by themselves for an hour.
Nobody wanted to be that person.
Actually, Johnny Bananas didn’t, he jumped off first and got it right.
He only had to do two hours.
Do you regret anything about the way you played this season?
I wish I wasn’t trying to be so calculated.
Walking away from this season, that’s my biggest L that I took, aside from ax throwing.
I made the wrong decision on Josh, so in the future, I’ve got him.
If you didn’t vote for Josh, who would you have voted for?
I would’ve just walked out the door.
… Is that even allowed?
[Laughs] No, it’s not allowed.
I just don’t have an answer for that right now.
Then I would screw over Cory, and that’s just not what I wanted to do either.
It was a rock and a hard place, truly.
What are your thoughts on coming back for future seasons after this one?
But the break feels great.
There’s no guarantee of anything that’s coming up.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
