Big Brother 18 is about to begin and the live feeds will start soon. Once that happens, our initial judgments of the HGs are sure to change, especially once we see what new twists and turns await them.
But the show has revealed the 12 new HGs and we have more than enough information to decide who has what it takes to win and who will almost certainly not. Last year my Top 4 picks were Jason (oops), Vanessa (spot-on), Becky (not quite) and Steve (the winner). Getting two of the Final 3 correct was pretty solid.
So what about Big Brother 18? I’ve divided the 12 new HGs into four simple categories in terms of their chances of winning the game. However, it’s worth noting that just because I think someone doesn’t have any chance at winning doesn’t mean they can’t go far. Victoria may have finished in third place on season 16, but that doesn’t change the fact that she NEVER had any chance of winning.
NO CHANCE AT WINNING
Natalie: She wants to start an all-girl alliance right away, just like Joey and Paola from season 16. And she’s a princess who hasn’t seen the show and has never lived with a man, which makes her seem like Victoria from that same season. None of these are good things and, even if by some miracle she gets dragged to the end, there’s no way on Earth anyone would vote for her to win the game.
Glenn: Let’s play ‘one of these things is not like the other.’ Ten of the new HGs are between the ages of 23 and 27. Another, Vanessa Rousso’s sister Tiffany, is 32. And then there’s 50-year-old Glenn. It’s a massive generational gap, so either he’ll be unable to fit in and go home early, or they’ll keep him around for a while and then cut him like token older HGs in past seasons like Donny, Chef Joe, Chicken George or, going back even farther, Gerry and Jack from seasons 3 and 4.
Bronte: She’s a math student who can’t do 9×9 in her head and she has the voice of a cartoon character. She thinks she’s smart, but the other HGs won’t take her seriously and that’s going to make it impossible to win.
VERY UNLIKELY
Bridgette: Maybe it’s because she’s a nurse, but all I see with her is season 14’s Danielle Murphree. She’s sweet, but she admits she’s bad at lying and is definitely going to get taken advantage of. I don’t see her winning unless she gets lucky and makes it to the end against someone everyone hates.
Corey: He’s a bland, attractive, all-American Texas boy and baseball coach. I highly doubt people will think of him as a serious gamer and strategist, which hurts his prospects of winning. However, Hayden Moss also played baseball in college, so I suppose there’s hope.
Jozea: He’s a classic recruit, someone who isn’t that familiar with the show and thinks he’ll be able to control everything. If anyone is going to play too hard, too fast, it’s probably him, which will make him a target early on.
DARK HORSES
Paul: There’s a decent chance Paul goes home first. He seems to fit the model of the So-Cal dude who is simultaneously chill and extreme, not unlike Braden Bacha, David Girton and Jace Agolli, all evicted first. But his beard may serve as a distraction and if he can keep his sneakiness hidden long enough, he might slide through a few weeks and then make some moves.
Victor: The Latin lover is a typical strong man, the kind of guy who could easily get into a guy alliance and a showmance. His bio seems arrogant, but he came across as much more personable and sweet in his interviews. If he can play the role of the sensitive but masculine dude who can win competitions, he could go far. But his size will also make him a potential target for the women.
Zakiyah: She appears to be a genuine superfan who knows the game. She’s young and beautiful without coming across as an airhead. However, her main goal is to get into a showmance. If she’s really lucky, there is a narrow path to victory for her, but it involves being Jordan and winning by default because her showmance carried her and she didn’t offend anyone.
FRONTRUNNERS
Michelle: Recruits don’t win. In the modern era, the winners are genuine superfans, people familiar with the game and who know what they’re getting into. Michelle most perfectly fits that Ian Terry/Steve Moses model of a tiny, nerdy superfan who can win a lot of later comps if she slides through the beginning. If she geeks out too much like Jason from last year, she’ll ruin her own game, but if she can play it cool, the other HGs may not see the obvious Ian/Steve comparisons because she’s a girl.
Paulie and Tiffany: The two siblings of former players (Cody’s brother and Vanessa’s sister) are kind of in the same boat. They’re not quite newbies, but they’re not veterans either. But with a season that has both newbies and (most likely) returning players, being in the middle may help. The veterans won’t target them right away and the newbies will be too busy targeting the real veterans, leaving these carbon copies of their siblings to go far. Since Cody and Vanessa both reached the Final 3 and Paulie and Tiffany seems quite similar to them in most major ways, it’s easy to imagine either one of them winning.
MY WINNER PICK
I’m going for broke and predicting that Tiffany Rousso, sister of Vanessa, will win. She seems like a better version of her sister and as long as no one targets her just because of her genes, she could do what her sister didn’t and win the whole thing. After Vanessa came so close and lost last year, it would definitely make the best story in terms of redemption.
Of course we also have at least four additional players and if the rumors are true, I’d say the odds of one of them winning are quite good. So it’s entirely possible that none of these 12 newbies will win the game. Based on the speculation, I would actually clarify that my real winner prediction is one of those four, a certain female HG from last summer who went out way too soon.
Big Brother 18 premieres Wednesday, June 22 at 8pm on CBS.
(Image courtesy of CBS)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
