‘American Ninja Warrior’: And the Winner of Season 11 Is…
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the Season 11 finale of American Ninja Warrior.]
For the first time in four years, there’s another winner of American Ninja Warrior.
Season 11’s National Finals aired over four nights, and the ninjas made history on Night 3 when 21 of them hit the buzzer on Stage 2. (Previously, the most to make it to Stage 3 had been eight, in Season 7.) But on the final night, the ninjas had to face the upper-body intensive Stage 3 and the climb to the top of Mt. Midoriyama of Stage 4.
And the person who claimed the title of “American Ninja Warrior” and the $1 million prize is …
Drew Drechsel!
“I’ve been competing for nine years and I feel like I’ve been capable of this victory for so long,” the Real Life Ninja said. “It’s such an honor to compete alongside my fellow ninjas and have a community of support behind me. Even though I won, my goals remain the same — continue to inspire the next generation of ninjas and return to compete again because you know I’m coming back for more!”
Drechsel was one of only two ninjas to complete Stage 3. He and Daniel Gil beat the Grip and Tip, Iron Summit, Crazy Clocks, Ultimate Cliffhanger, Pipe Dream, Cane Lane, and Flying Bar. The stage was not timed, unlike the rest of the National Finals.
Don’t blink or you might miss @RealLifeNinja_’s legendary run! pic.twitter.com/MfDe6OMIps
— Ninja Warrior (@ninjawarrior) September 17, 2019
The two then faced off on Stage 4 and had 30 seconds to complete it. Gil finished Stage 3 one second faster than Drechsel and chose to climb second. Drechsel reached the top in just over 27 seconds. Gil timed out.
It all comes down to @RealLifeNinja_ vs. @KingdomNinja_.
Our newest #AmericanNinjaWarrior is… pic.twitter.com/6mElnzpPhA
— Ninja Warrior (@ninjawarrior) September 17, 2019
Four years ago, Isaac Caldiero climbed the rope to the top of Stage 4 faster than Geoff Britton. No one had made it past Stage 3 since.
Drechsel has had an impressive career so far on American Ninja Warrior. He’s made it to the National Finals every year since Season 7 and was the Last Ninja Standing and took home $100,000 in 2018.
In Season 11, he conquered the Mega Wall (earning $10,000) and earned the Speed Pass on the Power Tower in Atlanta City Qualifiers. With that Speed Pass, he’d booked his ticket to the National Finals, allowing him to run the City Finals course without any pressure — and he not only had the fastest time on the night, he also once again won on the Power Tower, securing the Safety Pass for Las Vegas.
He needed that pass on Stage 1, when he fell on Tire Run. But he conquered that and every other obstacle his second time on the course and hit the buzzer to move on to Stage 2. There, he even had a bit of fun entering the water for the final obstacle.
Congratulations to the Real Life Ninja!
American Ninja Warrior where to stream
