The Maltavator Challenge TV Show Season 2 competition, proudly sponsored by Africa’s Best Premium Malt drink, Malta Guinness, is intensifying as the Maltavator hustlers took part in the first semi-final last week.
In the last three weeks, the Maltavators have shown their can-do attitude, hyper-energy and speed as they tackled a series of physical and mental challenges for a chance to win the life-changing $20,000 grand prize.
The episode four competition began with Ehiz and Regina announcing the three contestants from each country who had secured the fastest times in the first round and would be progressing to the Hustl
ers
Ro
und
.
Representing Nigeria were Melvin from Edo state, Abdullahi from Abuja and Leo from Anambra state. Progressing to the next round for Ethiopia were Elias and Abel who both put in a great performance in episode two and Tewodros who shone in episode one. Team Cameroon for the semi-finals was made up of Chris from Douala, Basseck from Douala and Arthur from Maképé.
Cote d’Ivoire’s team for the semi-final was represented by Elisee who secured the fastest overall time to get through to this round, Hermann and Kuoakou, who was not only representing her country, but also all the female contestants as she was the only one to progress to the next stage. Lining up for Ghana were Akumba, a sports science student from KNUST; Ibrahim, who grew up in Takoradi and Emmanuel, a police officer from Ashanti region.
Over the next three episodes, these 15 contestants will face new physical and mental challenges to see who can get one step closer to the grand final. There will be one contestant representing their country each week and up first were Abdullahi from Nigeria, Elias from Ethiopa, Basseck from Cameroon, Hermann from Cote d’Ivoire and Akumba from Ghana.
For the first challenge, they all went head-to-head as they tackled The Maltavuzzle and put their min
ds to t
he test
.
In front of each contestant was a box of puzzle pieces and a board on which they have to assemble the puzzle as quickly as possible within the 12 minutes on the clock. This, of course, is all about speed.
They all used different tactics, some starting on the board, some on the floor with Akumba from Ghana and Elias seeming to make early progress. But as the clock counted down, it was only Basseck from Cameroon who managed to complete the puzzle, giving himself an 18 second lead ahead other contestants going into the second challenge.
Next up they faced The B-Booster. One by one, they needed to complete the inflatable obstacle in the quickest time to move themselves up the leader board.
Elias was up first and had a strong start. But he lost his footing on the big red balls and had to go back to the start. You could see his determination on his second attempt and he made it across in
39
seconds.
Hermann from Cote d’Ivoire was up next and was full of energy. Before he started, he predicted he would complete it in 10 seconds. And he sure did.
Abdullahi, representing Nigeria, is ready to give it his best shot. He was also aiming for 10 seconds. Speeds across, no stopping him at all and was even quicker than he hoped – nine seconds!
Akumba from Ghana was next to take on the B-Booster and was going to give it his very best. He was hoping to get round in less than 10 seconds, and in spite of a good effort, he clocked 20 seconds as his time. Next up was Basseck from Cameroon who showed great strength as he powered across the challenge i
n 14 seconds.
Some slipped, some fell, but no one was gave up, and there was just one more challenge for them to take on – the Malta Duck & Dive. The final challenge required them to demonstrate speed, agility and skill as they ducked under and dived over the moving barrier, while remaining on their pedestal.
There are two minutes on the clock and the contestants needed to stay on for as long as they can. Time earned would be deducted from their final finishing time. They faced the added challenge of tackling the obstacle in the rain making it slippery.
Akumba was up first and showed great skill and balance as he ducked and dived for 1 min 22 seconds! Hermann was next to take on the challenge and after a wobbly start, found his balance and showed great concentration for one minute and 32 seconds until the barrier changed direction and took him with it.
Abdullahi from Nigeria showed off his athleticism springing over and diving under the barrier for a minute and 32 seconds as well. He was followed by Basseck who had great balance throughout the two minutes and stayed on for the longest time yet – a minute and 42 seconds. Elias, from Ethiopia, put in a really impressive performance for one minute 29 seconds when he lost concentration and tried to duck when he should have dived. A great effort from all the contestants!
The first five contestants were all very closely matched in these new challenges, but will any of them have secured their spot in the next round? Make sure you tune in next week on MTV Base at 4pm every Saturday with repeats every Friday at midday. You can also watch episodes on STV every Tuesday at 6 pm and on NTA every Wednesday at 6:30 pm to see how they compare to the next five contestants. It is all to play for in the Maltavator Challenge.
The great taste, goodness and vitality of Malta Guinness continue to fuel people across Africa to greatness.
To catch up on all the latest news on the Maltavator Challenge TV Show, follow the hashtag – #maltavatorchallenge2 or @maltaguinnessng on Instagram and Twitter and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaltaGuinness
