The Titan Games recap: The dogged determination of the Eastern Regional Finals

The Titan Games Eastern Regional Finals were all about determination. The determination to never give up, even if you’ve fallen far behind during a challenge. The determination to run the best race possible, even if you’ve been down this road a few times before.

The finals saw the return of the region’s runner ups and none of them wanted to give up. In the end, elite Titan Hannah Teter made it back to the mountain but couldn’t outrun Courtney Roselle. Josh Porter had to throw barrels like baseballs to beat out Tyron Woodley. But his rematch with Will Sutton gave the win, once again, to the show’s unexpected hero. Find out how it all happened below!

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The Titans: Will Sutton and Courtney Roselle

The returning challengers:
Men: Tyron Woodley, Andrew Hanus*, Josh Porter
Women: Hannah Teter, Dash Kuret, Haley Johnson

*Ryan Steenburg was injured during his Mount Olympus race. His runner up, Andrew, took his place in the finals.

How it works:

All the previous Eastern region athletes who lost on Mount Olympus have returned. First, all three will face off in Hammer Down. The last to complete the challenge is out of the games for good. The two remaining challengers will take on one more contest, Resistance. The winner gets their shot at Mount Olympus and the reigning Titan. The Titans standing at the end of the episode will represent the East region in The Titan Games Championship at the end of the season.

You can find a description of the challenges here.

Game one - Hammer Down - Women’s challenge

The challengers: Hannah Teter, Dasha Kuret, Haley Johnson

The moment: In a show of perseverance, Dasha went from last to first during this game. She struggled to bring her poles down, allowing Haley and Hannah to gain an advantage. But neither felt confident with the climb and fell back to the mats. This evened the playing field. Dasha found a great climbing strategy and shot to the victory chain. After a slow struggle, Hannah followed suit, sending former Titan Haley home.

Out: Haley Johnson
Advancing: Hannah Teter, Dasha Kuret

Steve Dietl/NBC

Game two - Hammer Down - Men’s challenge

The challengers: Tyron Woodley, Andrew Hanus, Josh Porter

The moment: Tyron and Josh traded falling poles back and forth. Andrew was a bit behind, but at one point, all three were working on the gold pole. Tyron and Josh dropped theirs at the same moment and clambered up the pole. They pulled their chains so close together that we’re actually not sure who was first. All we know is that Andrew was out.

Out: Andrew Hanus
Advancing: Tyron Woodley, Josh Porter

Steve Dietl/NBC

Game three - Resistance - Men’s challenge

The challengers: Tyron Woodley, Josh Porter

The moment: This was almost a stalemate from the start. Nether could reach the edge of their sections, so Josh just started throwing the 75 lb barrels with all his might. The strategy netted him the win. The elite Titan was fully out of the game.

Out: Tyron Woodley
Advancing: Josh Porter

Steve Dietl/NBC

Game four - Resistance - Women’s challenge

The challengers: Hannah Teter, Dasha Kuret

The moment: Both athletes scrambled to the end of their lines. Hannah quickly got one barrel out but then struggled to repeat the act. The two battled down the clock. When time ran out, Hannah’s barrel was all she needed to go back to the mountain.

Out: Dasha Kuret
Advancing: Hannah Teter

Mount Olympus

• Courtney Roselle vs Hannah Teter

The moment: Reigning Titan Courtney stayed about an obstacle ahead of Hannah. Hannah was steady in her pace and tried to make up ground with a fast trip through the Cage Crawl, but Courtney maintained her lead. They met up briefly on the Titan Tomb, with Courtney breaking through first and snapping up the finals title.

Eastern Regional Champion: Courtney Roselle

Steve Dietl/NBC

• Will Sutton vs Josh Porter

The moment: These two gave us a race worth watching more than once. Their race was so quick, and at points, so close. Once in the Cage Crawl, Will put down the pedal while Josh began to slow. Will literally threw himself down the mountain to reach the floor first. He hauled the Ball and Chain with all his might, slipping and stumbling several times. Will cracked open the tomb and claimed his fourth win as an exhausted Josh looked on.

Eastern Regional Champion: Will Sutton

Next episode:
The Titan Games season two finale - Championships
Monday, August 10 at 8pm EST/PST on NBC