The Big Brother 26 finale airs on October 13, and the coveted $50,000 America's Favorite Houseguest prize will be awarded that night in addition to the $750,000 grand prize and the $75,000 prize for the runner-up, and Tucker Des Lauriers deserves to win America's Favorite Houseguest. The first America's Favorite Houseguest winner was legend Janelle Pierzina in Big Brother 7. Jeff Schroeder is the only Big Brother player to win the prize twice, in seasons 11 and 13. During Big Brother 24, Taylor Hale made history by being the first player ever to win both the game and America's Favorite Houseguest.
Through the years, Big Brother fans have voted several other incredible players as America's Favorite Houseguest as well. They include James Zinkand (season 9), Keesha Smith (season 10), Britney Haynes (season 12), Frank Eudy (season 14), Elissa Slater (season 15), Donny Thompson (season 16), James Huling (season 17), Victor Arroyo (season 18), Cody Nickson (season 19), Tyler Crispen (season 20), Nicole Anthony (season 21), Da'Vonne Rogers (season 22), Tiffany Mitchell (season 23), and Cameron Hardin (season 25). The prize wasn't awarded during Big Brother 8. Now Tucker deserves to join this iconic group for the following reasons.
Tucker Des Lauriers Accomplished More In His 45 Days Than Two Of The Final Four
Tucker Came To Big Brother 26 To Play
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Tucker lasted 45 days in the Big Brother 26 house, making it to exactly the half-way point of the 90-day season. This means that he'll have played for only half the time that the winner and runner-up will play. However, in his short time in the house, Tucker was a competition beast, winning one Head of Household (HOH), three Power of Veto, and two BB A.I. Arena competitions, for a total of six wins. Many houseguests don't have that many wins in an entire season, so this is very impressive.
The Big Brother 26 final four houseguests are Makensy Manbeck, Chelsie Baham, Cam Sullivan-Brown, and Rubina Bernabe. While Makensy and Chelsie have won many competitions throughout the season, Cam and Rubina have only won one each. Cam won a Power of Veto competition and saved himself from the chopping block, while Rubina saved herself with a BB A.I. Arena win. If Makensy or Chelsie wins the final HOH competition of the season, they'd be smart to take either Cam or Rubina with them to the end, depending on who's still in the game, because they'd have an almost guaranteed win against them.
However, this would mean that either Cam or Rubina, two lackluster competitors, would take home the $75,000 second place prize. When put into this context, it seems only fair that Tucker, who played the game hard while he was there, should take home some significant prize money as well. He deserves the $50,000 prize for putting his whole heart and soul into the game, and trying his hardest to win every competition.
Tucker Made Big Brother 26 Thrilling To Watch
Tucker Is The Definition of America's Favorite
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Not only was Tucker a competition beast, but he was also a wild card who made some thrilling game moves. Tucker saved Angela Murray with the Power of Veto, even though he was also on the chopping block that week. It was a daring move that established Tucker as the jolt of electricity that Big Brother needed after 25 seasons. Before his eviction, Tucker had been nominated three times in weeks 2, 3, and 4, and had found a way out of danger by winning either the Power of Veto or the BB A.I. Arena competition. He'd even volunteered himself as a pawn during weeks 2, 3, and 6.
Tucker made Big Brother 26 very exciting to watch, and his absence was felt immediately after his eviction. While he enjoyed living on the edge during the game, the remaining houseguests mostly preferred to play it safe, which brought the energy level down. Tucker should win America's Favorite Houseguest because he was the definition of what the prize means: a houseguest who keeps viewers on the edges of their seats and makes them want to tune in each week and watch the live feeds.
Tucker Turned Big Brother On Its Head
Tucker Played The Game In A New Way
Because of the BB A.I. Arena, during which the houseguests had an extra opportunity to save themselves before the live eviction, Tucker was able to play Big Brother in a completely different way from how it had been played in the past. He was confident in his ability to win, so he volunteered as a pawn in order to win Power of Veto and BB A.I. Arena competitions and take those victories away from other houseguests who he wanted to target. Although this backfired on Tucker during the week that he was evicted, it was a great strategy for the first few weeks of the game.
Tucker was a daring and innovative houseguest, who came up with new strategies for playing the game, backed up with competition wins. Because of this, he deserves to win America's Favorite Houseguest. He should be acknowledged for taking the game to a whole new level 26 seasons into its run. It's not easy to reinvent something after so many years, but Tucker did it.
Tucker Deserves To Win More Prize Money
Tucker Already Won $20,000
Tucker has already won $20,000 due to his successful run as the fan-voted A.I. Instigator. In this role, Tucker did what he does best: caused chaos in the house. He did this by sending messages through avatars of his fellow Big Brother houseguests. Fans enjoyed how Tucker handled being the A.I. Instigator, and so they then voted to award him the highest amount of prize money for it, which was $20,000.
If Tucker were to win the $50,000 America's Favorite Houseguest prize, he'd bring home a total of $70,000, which seems right considering that lesser competitors, Cam and Rubina, might be winning the $75,000 runner-up prize, or possibly even the $750,000 grand prize, although the latter scenario is unlikely. Tucker should be rewarded for what he brought to Big Brother 26 by winning America's Favorite Houseguest.
Tucker was the face of Big Brother 26, and he had everyone talking about the game. Although he could be a polarizing figure at times, he brought attention to the show after 25 seasons, and breathed new life into it. Tucker twisted the game around and played it in a completely unique way. He was also unapologetically himself and one hundred percent genuine. Tucker deserves to win Big Brother 26's $50,000 America's Favorite Houseguest prize.
Source: Big Brother/Instagram