Daniel Gil and Adam Rayl’s Power Tower race was the fan-favorite

American Ninja Warrior closed season 12 in a way unlike any season before it. The final eight Ninjas raced side-by-side in the Power Tower playoffs. Each race was incredible, featuring match-ups we could have only dreamed of. While we loved them all, we wondered if there was one race that fans favored just a little more than the others.

We asked for your feedback via our poll. It was a close call, but the winning race was Daniel Gil versus Adam Rayl. Daniel’s race against Jesse Labreck came in second place.

We can see why people were excited about Daniel and Adam’s race. They are both top competitors. It’s only human nature to wonder who would win in a face-off when we generally only see them face the obstacles on the course.

Besides the hype before the action, the action itself puts this race on a pedestal. It was the essence of a nail-biter. This race could have gone either way and Adam and Daniel both knew they had to leave it all on the line. Take a look at these photos from the race.

Elizabeth Morris/NBC

Elizabeth Morris/NBC

Elizabeth Morris/NBC

Elizabeth Morris/NBC

As the pictures suggest, Daniel and Adam made the leap for the buzzer at almost the same moment. From watching this take place live, down below, we had no idea who won the race. Daniel was revealed as the winner only once the right camera angle could be examined.

Daniel reflected on that race in an interview with us shortly after the season ended.

“I knew that the race against Adam, to me at least, was going to be the hardest of any of the possible races in the Power Tower playoffs, because I’ve lost to him many times before in previous speed courses at local Ninja competitions. So I knew what he was capable of more than any of the other athletes out there. And for that reason, I knew that that was going to be the most difficult race. And, Lord, it was the closest match. It was the closest one.

But it worked out, it worked out. I was able to do what I believed I was capable of doing.”

We’re not sure if the Power Tower will be involved in any way in the upcoming season 13 of American Ninja Warrior. We do know the season won’t end with the Power Tower playoffs as the show will return to the four stages of the National Finals in Las Vegas. That means this may have been a rare chance to watch the greats push one another to even more greatness.