Who won “Big Brother 26”? Did Chelsie, Cam or Makensy take home the $750,000?

Chelsie Baham joined the ranks Big Brother Winner during the Season 26 finale on Sunday, October 13th.

Chelsie, 27, beat other finalists Makensy Manbeck And Cam Sullivan Brownwho took second and third place respectively. The trio worked closely together for the later part of the game, but Chelsie and Cam, 25, supported each other from the start.

Before the final, Chelsie won the first round of the final Head of Household competition and Makensy, 22, won part two. Chelsie and Makensy then faced off in the third live round of the final HoH competition on Sunday.

In the end, Makensy won the day and decided to take Chelsie to the final two. The two finalists then faced the seven jurors: Quinn Martin, T'kor Clottey, Leah Peters, Angela Murray, Kimo Apaka, Rubina Bernabe and Cam. Chelsie won unanimously. Tucker Des Lauriers was also named America's Favorite Houseguest in the finale.

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As the winner of four Head of Household competitions, Chelsie often held power in the house. After her alliance, the Pentagon, was outed by Tucker, 30, at the start of the game, she managed to adapt to her allies Cedric Hodges And Brooklyn Rivera were expelled. She formed close bonds with T'kor, 23, and Makensy and convinced Makensy to target Leah, 26, and Angela, 51, during their HoH week, which benefited Chelsie far more than Makensy.

Big Brother 26 premiered on July 17th. The big twist of the season, the BB AI Arena, forced the Head of Household to nominate three players for exclusion instead of two. The three nominees had to compete live on eviction night, with the winner receiving safety and the two remaining nominees having to face an eviction vote.

The twist, which ended after Week 7, made it harder for the HouseGuests to reach a consensus in advance about who to vote out. That meant last-minute votes were more common, like when Makensy voted to evict Joseph Rodríguez instead of Kimo, 36, after hearing his speech.

“The BB AI Arena forced people to make spontaneous decisions” Big Brother host Julie Chen Moonves exclusively shared Us weeklyis the reality stars of the year edition. “Because they couldn't huddle together and have a herd mentality, they found themselves in a situation early on where they had to think as individuals. … 'I may be on the wrong side of the vote, but I have to do what's right for me.'”

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The twist was a treat for dedicated live feed viewers who have become accustomed to knowing who will be voted out before live eviction episodes. The AI ​​Arena added a new element of unpredictability.

“I think it was successful,” Chen Moonves, 54, said of the twist, adding that she wouldn’t be surprised if it returned in one form or another in future seasons.

Another unique element of BB26 was the record number of vetoes used. The veto power was used at every single veto meeting until week 11. Most shockingly, Tucker vetoed Angela in Week 3 despite being on the block himself. He then won in the AI ​​arena and also saved himself from eviction.

“No question, this is the craziest year (of Big Brother),” said Chen Moonves Us.