American Ninja Warrior’s season 12 finale featured the Power Tower playoffs, and each of these races was more thrilling than the last. When Austin Gray faced Amir Malik on the Power Tower, we didn’t know who would take the win.
Season 12 was Austin’s third year of competition and he was three for three on buzzers, solidifying his reputation as a fast and relentless Ninja. Amir was a brand new rookie who had joyfully bounded his way on to the leaderboard in each round.
When a shocking fall from Joe Moravsky put Amir into the final eight, he had to face the top seeded Ninja, Jake Murray, who’d put up the fastest time in every round of competition. When Amir launched from the starting line, Jake was taken aback for a split second, allowing Amir to pull a surprise win.
Austin first faced Najee Richardson on the Power Tower. Season 12 was Najee’s sixth year on the show and he’d been in his element in every round. They traded narrow leads back and forth until Austin reached the buzzer just a moment before Najee.
That set the stage for a face off between the ambitious young Ninjas. You can watch their race above! Amir tried everything he could to catch Austin, including a huge leap for the buzzer that did no pay off. Austin would go on to face Daniel Gil in the championship round. Amir discussed their race with us in this interview.