TV Recap: S01E16 – Ninja vs Ninja American Ninja Warrior Championship Finals

American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs Ninja – Season 1: Episode 16 – Championships Recap

(If you just want to see who won what round, the points, and obstacle list, check out our Stats & Database about the episode)

Live from Los Angeles, California…

Here’s the format for the final round:

-For each matchup, everyone runs head to head.

-The first team to win 3 races will be victorious

-If neither team can get to three races after everybody’s run, relays races will decide the winner.

-No next round matchup here: the winner of each matchup will advance to the playoffs.

Here’s a profile of the teams and how they got here:

LaBreckfast Club (Jon Alexis Jr, Jesse LaBreck, Chris DiGangi)

-LaBreckfast Club beat Team Tarzin (Travis Weinand, Emmi Rose, Ben Melick) and Dark Horse (Karson Voiles, Tammy McClure, Lance Peekus) to advance to the playoffs.

-LaBreckfast Club beat Frostbite (Nick Hanson, Zhanique Lovett, Jackson Meyer) and Wolfpack (Ian Dory, Jeri D’Aurelio, Dan Yager) to advance to the Finals.

Iron Grip (Daniel Gil, Tiana Webberley, Mathis Owhadi)

-Iron Grip beat the InvincAbles (Victor Juarez, MaryBeth Wang, Abel Gonzalez) and Lizard Kings (Hunter Guerard, Sarah Schoback, Kyle Soderman) to advance to the playoffs.

-Iron Grip beat Beasts from the East (James McGrath, Erica Cook, Dave Cavanagh) and Golden Hearts (Grant McCartney, Natalie Duran, Neil Craver) to advance to the Finals.

Party Time (Brian Arnold, Barclay Stockett, Jake Murray)

-Party Time beat the Brazi Bros (Alexio Gomes, Brittany Reid, Lucas Gomes) and the All American Ninjas (Paul Hamm, April Steiner Bennett, Jonathan Horton) to advance to the playoffs.

-Party Time beat Hashtag Ninjas (Nicholas Coolridge, Larissa Cottle, Jesse LaFlair) and Tri Hards (Sean Bryan, Rebekah Bonilla, Adam Rayl) to advance to the Finals.

Team Ronin (Flip Rodriguez, Meagan Martin, JJ Woods)

-Team Ronin beat West Coast Warriors (JB Douglas, Lindsay Eskildsen, Alan Connealy) and Hashtag Ninjas (Nicholas Coolridge, Larissa Cottle, Jesse LaFlair) to advance to the playoffs.

-Team Ronin beat The Ballers (Lorin Ball, Paul Kasemir, Meiling Huang) and Lab Rats (Chris Wilczewski, Michelle Warnky, Brian Wilczewski) to advance to the Finals.

Tonight’s Course: Sonic Swing, Tic Toc, Wing Nuts, Floating Tiles, Criss Cross Ring Toss, Warped Wall

Matchup 1: LaBreckfast Club (John Alexis Jr, Jesse LaBreck, Chris DiGangi) vs Party Time (Brian Arnold, Barclay Stockett, Jake Murray)

Race One: Chris DiGangi (LaBreckfast Club) vs Jake Murray (Party Time)

Murray raced out to the early lead.

Then, DiGangi shockingly fell on Wing Nuts.

Murray completed the obstacle and gave Party Time the early advantage.

LaBreckfast Club 0 Party Time 1

Race Two: Jesse LaBreck (LaBreckfast Club) vs Barclay Stockett (Party Time)

“Flex” has never lost a head to head race. And Stockett has not lost this season. So something has to give.

Stockett had the lead early.

Her lead increased on Wing Nuts.

But Stockett got hung up on Ring Toss, and LaBreck passed her there.

Then, LaBreck kept her lead and made it up the Warped Wall, tying the score.

LaBreckfast Club 1  Party Time 1

Race Three: Jon Alexis Jr. (LaBreckfast Club) vs Brian Arnold (Party Time)

Alexis had a small lead to start.

And the big man’s reach extended that lead on both Wing Nuts and Ring Toss.

Alexis flew up the Warped Wall and put LaBreckfast Club one step closer to the final match.

This course seems tailor made for Jon Alexis Jr., which is big trouble for the rest of the field.

LaBreckfast Club 2 Party Time 1

Relay Race:

Stockett tagged Murray first on the first leg.

Murray slightly extended that lead, but it was small.

But once again, Alexis Jr’s reach was the key factor in moving LaBreckfast Club ahead and on to the final matchup.

LaBreckfast Club wins 3-1!!!

Matchup 2: Team Ronin (Flip Rodriguez, Meagan Martin, JJ Woods) vs Iron Grip (Daniel Gil, Tiana Webberly, Mathis Owhadi)

Race One: JJ Woods (Team Ronin) vs Mathis Owhadi (Iron Grip)

Woods raced out to the early lead.

But Owhadi made insanely quick work of Wing Nuts to take the lead.

And “the Kid” never slowed down from there as Owhadi hit the buzzer and gave his team the early lead.

Team Ronin 0 Iron Grip 1

Race Two: Meagan Martin (Team Ronin) vs Tiana Webberley (Iron Grip)

Martin is another ninja who’s undefeated in team competition.

The two competitors were even going into Wing Nuts.

Martin built a nice lead going into Criss Cross Ring Toss.

The Rock Climber had no issue at all with the fifth obstacle, made it up the Wall, and the hit buzzer to tie the score.

Team Ronin 1 Iron Grip 1

Race Three: Flip Rodriguez (Team Ronin) vs Daniel Gil (Iron Grip)

Now, here’s a dream matchup!!!

Flip had an early lead going into Wing Nuts.

Gil got caught up on the third obstacle, and Flip’s lead grew.

And Flip would never look back, heading up the Wall and putting Team Ronin one win away from moving on.

Team Ronin 2 Iron Grip 1

Relay Race:

Ronin is unbeaten on relays this season.

Webberly tagged her partner first.

Trying to catch up, Flip fell, giving Iron Grip a five second advantage.

But JJ Woods caught up, forcing a photo finish at the buzzer.

And it was Daniel Gil who hit the buzzer a fraction of a second ahead of Woods.

Team Ronin 2 Iron Grip 2

Final Relay:

The lineups stayed the same for the final race.

Martin tagged her partner just ahead of Webberly.

It was Flip this time who raced out to the lead and Owhadi who fell on Floating Steps.

And the five second head start was all Woods needed to get up the Wall first and send Team Ronin on to the Final matchup.

Championship Matchup: LaBreckfast Club (John Alexis Jr, Jesse LaBreck, Chris DiGangi) vs Team Ronin (Flip Rodriguez, Meagan Martin, JJ Woods)

The Course: Tonight’s Course: Sonic Swing, Tic Toc, Wing Nuts, Floating Tiles, Criss Cross Ring Toss, Warped Wall, Salmon Ladder, Rumbling Dice, ZigZag Climb

Race 1: Chris DiGangi (LaBreckfast Club) vs JJ Woods (Team Ronin)

Woods raced out to a big lead early.

And DiGangi fell once again during his individual race as he fell trying to land Tic Toc.

Team Ronin has the early lead.

LaBreckfast Club 0 Team Ronin 1

Race 2: Jesse LaBreck (LaBreckfast Club) vs Meagan Martin (Team Ronin)

Another matchup of unbeatens!!!

LaBreck had a slight lead going into Wing Nuts.

That lead was extended on Wing Nuts.

And Martin fell reaching for the final bar on the third obstacle, which was a moving target after LaBreck had just finished the obstacle.

LaBreckfast Club 1 Team Ronin 1

Race 3: Jon Alexis Jr (LaBreckfast Club) vs Flip Rodriguez (Team Ronin)

The two were even going into Wing Nuts.

But Flip’s fast pace continued as he raced past the big man on Wing Nuts.

But that long reach once again allowed Alexis to take the lead heading into the 2nd part of the course.

Alexis maintained his lead going into ZigZag Climb.

Flip nearly caught up, but Alexis held on and hit the buzzer first, putting his team one win away from the championship.

LaBreckfast Club 2 Team Ronin 1

Relay Race:

Flip and Alexis are going first. Unfortunately for Team LaBreck, that means not having the big man on Criss Cross Ring Toss.

The ladies will run the last part of the course.

Flip got caught up on Wing Nuts, giving LaBreckfast Club an early lead.

But Woods raced past DiGangi on Criss Cross Ring Toss.

But the lead switched again as LaBreck passed Martin on Rumbling Dice.

LaBreck kept the lead all the way up ZigZag Climb, hit the buzzer, and gave LaBreckfast Club the championship!!!

LaBreckfast Club wins it all 3-1!!!

Labreckfast Club takes the championship for the first season of Ninja vs Ninja. I hope you’ve enjoyed the recaps this season. Come back every Tuesday for recaps of ANW’s tenth season.

 

 

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