How Did Oscar Montoya Win Game Changer? Did Kimia Throw the Last Talent Standing Finale?

Oscar Montoya wins Game Changer Season 8‘s “Last Talent Standing,” but the ending is unusual because neither Oscar nor Kimia Behpoornia appears particularly determined to outlast the other. After more than 20 contestants have already been eliminated, the two friends continue producing new talents while repeatedly joking about how badly they want the extremely long competition to end. Oscar even admits that once he realizes the game has come down to him and Kimia, his strategy becomes finding a way to lose so she can win.

That makes Kimia’s eventual elimination look unusual enough that some viewers may wonder whether she deliberately threw the finale. The episode certainly shows both finalists becoming tired and willing to lose, but it never confirms that Kimia intentionally sabotages her final performance. What actually happens is stranger: Oscar repeatedly tries to make himself easier to eliminate, but his attempts keep working too well.

Related: Game Changer Season 8 Episode 10 Recap: Oscar Montoya Wins Last Talent Standing

Oscar Starts the Game With His Strongest Talent

Oscar enters “Last Talent Standing” convinced that dance is essentially his one major skill. His first performance is a hip-hop routine he originally choreographed when he was 12, and the judges send him comfortably through the opening round. Immediately afterward, however, Oscar admits that he has no idea what he will do next because he believes he has already used his best talent.

Instead of collapsing, he keeps improvising. Later performances include the Midwestern husband-calling competition, where he repeatedly screams for an imaginary husband named Gary, and a duo routine in which he pantomimes a shopping trip while Kimia supplies Foley sound effects. Oscar does not dominate the game through one specialized ability, but by continually turning random ideas into performances the judges are willing to accept.

Why Does Oscar Try to Lose Against Kimia?

By the time Oscar and Kimia become the final two contestants, the tone of the competition has changed considerably. The shoot has gone on long enough for people to joke about needing a second production meal, while eliminated contestants openly vote with the knowledge that ending the game means everyone can finally leave. Oscar then says directly that his strategy is to figure out how to get himself eliminated so Kimia can win.

His first major attempt involves basketball. Kimia has already survived after missing a shot into a cube, so Oscar decides he can imitate the idea and deliberately fail his own shot. Instead, he makes the basket, something he says he has almost never managed to do when actually playing basketball.

The accidental success keeps him alive. It also perfectly summarizes Oscar’s entire run because performances he expects to fail continually become good enough to survive. The contestant who began the game worried that he had only one talent now cannot seem to stop demonstrating new ones.

Did Kimia Deliberately Lose to Oscar?

The episode does not establish that Kimia intentionally throws the final vote. She clearly becomes ready for the competition to finish, and after her elimination she says that somebody has to lose and that everyone needs to go home. Those comments show that she is comfortable losing, but they do not prove that she deliberately performs badly to make Oscar the winner.

In fact, Kimia continues demonstrating genuine talents immediately before her elimination. She draws a recognizable dragon in 26 seconds and then performs an energetic funk-inspired dance that receives strong approval from the judges. Someone determined simply to quit could have failed much earlier, but Kimia keeps producing successful performances until the final stunt.

Her losing attempt is a larger version of an earlier board trick, which she calls “Bigger Tech Deck.” The extended jury ultimately votes against her, partly because the talent resembles something she has already done and because the episode has reached the point where somebody has to be eliminated. Kimia accepts that outcome rather than fighting it, which is different from the show confirming that she intentionally threw the performance.

Why Doesn’t Oscar Lose When He Tries to Stop?

Oscar’s biggest problem is that even his attempts to run out of talent turn into successful bits. After Kimia survives another dance, Oscar openly says he has no idea what else he can possibly do. Jess McKenna suggests that he teach everyone a dance, giving Oscar a new talent on the spot.

Oscar teaches the group a simple sequence involving a grapevine, steps and claps. Kumail judges the performance partly by how well Oscar’s students execute what he taught them, and the routine works well enough to earn another pass. Instead of finding a way out, Oscar once again turns a desperate improvisation into something that qualifies as a talent.

The judges therefore do not simply hand Oscar the victory because Kimia gives up. Oscar survives every vote required of him, including rounds where his own stated goal is no longer necessarily to win. Kimia is eventually the first of the two to produce a performance that the extended jury is willing to reject.

What Does Oscar Win?

Once Kimia is eliminated, Sam officially declares Oscar Montoya the winner of Last Talent Standing. The piggy-bank prize has expanded throughout the episode every time another contestant leaves, eventually becoming a Chili’s dinner for 46 people. Oscar immediately says he intends to invite everyone who worked on the show rather than somehow attempting the enormous meal alone.

The result is especially funny because Oscar spends much of the finale looking surprised that he is still competing. He starts with one obvious skill, repeatedly improvises his way into another round, unsuccessfully tries to help Kimia beat him and ultimately becomes the last contestant standing. Kimia may have been happy to lose by the end, but the episode itself gives the victory to Oscar because he simply cannot stop being good enough to survive.