Season 17 of Big Brother will be underway soon, and in anticipation of the premiere, we've taken a look at the Houseguests profiles and interviews, in an attempt to predict the order of eviction, from the $500,000 grand prize winner, all the way down to the first eviction.
CBS is promising a ton of twists, and there's only so much we can see from the profiles and interviews, so a lot of guesswork was obviously involved here. We'll start with Josh's list, starting with who he thinks will win, and working down to the houseguest he thinks will be sent packing first...
Josh's Picks
1. Austin
Austin's smart and a legit superfan. His plan to counteract his obvious physicality by playing up past injuries is a winner and he has the social game to be a monster player. He'll win competitions when he needs to and play the house like a fiddle all summer long.
2. Audrey
She's a student of the game, hugely strategic, and a fan of my favorite boardgame, Risk. Emotions won't hold her back and she could be a competition beast. Her dispassionate, aggressive personality could rub other houseguests the wrong way, but her rumored "secret" could work like Frankie's did last year on BB16, and get her out of sticky situations. After being evicted, she'll be hired to run CINEMABLEND's Facebook page.
3. Liz
There's a good chance Liz will wear the wrong outfit and be evicted in week 1, like Risha from BBCAN. But if she survives, she could end up like Victoria from BB16, as someone so completely useless no one in the house bothers to evict her.
4. Vanessa
Professional poker players never do as well in this game as you'd think, but I like Vanessa's relaxed, confident style. She's smart and in control, and could end up playing a great game. Or she might play too hard and go out in week 3. We'll see.
5. John
John could annoy everyone and be evicted in the first two weeks, but I think the houseguests will find him funny and keep him around to play the court jester. At some point he'll win an endurance comp, scare the house, and they'll try to cut him. So he'll win a couple of vetoes to extend his life in the game long enough to make final 5.
6. Steve
I don't see his plan to play the innocent dweeb working as well as he thinks, and he's probably just Jordan Parhar version 2.0, but it's hard to imagine him not making jury. Expect to see Steve team up with Austin to form the Stonecold Steve Austin Alliance. Steve will completely trust Austin, and Austin will put on his top hat and stab Steve in the back.
7. Da'Vonne
Will recognize Vanessa as a famous poker player and team-up with her in an alliance. At some point an alliance will try to take out Vanessa, and be forced to settle for her partner Da'Vonne, instead.
8. James
Is a lock to end up as an outsider like Donny, and he'll spend the summer hanging out by himself while everyone else plays the game.
9. Shelli
Shelli will try to start an-all girls alliance, but quickly stab her alliance mates in the back while jumping into a showmance with Jace. Jace will keep her safe for a couple of weeks, before he's evicted, and then it's only a matter of time before she's out the door.
10. Jace
Will spend more time on his showmance with Shelli than he does on the game, only to be evicted for being the biggest physical threat remaining now that Clay is out of the way.
11. Meg
Meg will spend her first three weeks in the house as the perfect pawn, but in week four she'll be on the block against someone smart, and end up just another pawn who goes home.
12. Jason
He'll be so annoying that nobody will notice how weird John is. His alliance with Meg won't keep him safe and once Clay the physical threat is gone the house is going to want Jason out of the way.
13. Clay
Clay will win the first HoH in spectacular fashion, painting a huge target on his back, and resulting in a unanimous eviction in week two.
14. Becky
Becky will give pageant answers to every question asked of her, will make no connections with anyone the first night, and will end up being evicted in a day one twist because no one in the house cares if she's there.
Josh has Becky coming in dead last. Kelly disagrees completely. Check out her rankings on the next page...
Kelly's Picks
1. Becky
She knows the game and she's planning on going in with a low-key strategy from the start. I see her playing an amazing social game and winning the right comps to coast to the finale with enough support from the jury to actually win.
2. Austin
Austin already seems prepared to fib some things about his life to keep the target off his back, which could keep the houseguests from noticing he's a physical threat. He comes off as friendly enough in his interviews, which makes me think he'll have a good social game. Good enough to get to the end? I'm predicting yes, but maybe not flawless enough to get the votes to win.
3. John
John seems like kind of a happy-go-lucky dude, though he admits some people don't like him. Self-awareness is key in this game, so points to him for that (assuming it's true.) If he plays his game as the chill guy who's willing to ride the block without holding a grudge, he could get pawned through most of the game with very little blood on his hands (and then booted because people are afraid they can't win against him).
4. Da'Vonne
Her experience as a poker dealer makes me think she knows people and how they operate pretty well. I can see her locking arms with another player (Becky or Meg, maybe?) and then working through the house week to week, sort of like the way Helen tried to play in Season 15, except hopefully without overthinking things so much.
5. Meg
I think Meg's going to go far on a social game, and possibly win a Veto or two to leverage some solid alliances. Not sure she has the game to get to the end, but I can see her making jury.
6. Audrey
My initial reaction to Audrey is that she won't be able to fake friendliness, which could hurt her social game, especially if people feel like she's trying to manipulate them. But she seems determined to play a strategic game, so she could go far. Side-prediction: She ends up the victim of a twist or the second-boot during a double eviction.
7. Jace
I almost put Jace a lot higher, but I think it's possible people will recognize him as a physical threat, especially if he performs well in the first HoH competition. Unless he locks in with a solid alliance, I imagine him spending weeks trying to comp-win himself further and eventually being backdoored.
8. Steve
This may be wishful thinking but I can see Steve latching on to a physical competitor and working with them for as long as he can. If he does that, he has a good chance to make jury, but I'm not sure he'll have the social game to get close to the end.
9. Shelli
She seems prime to have a solid social game, but if she performs too well in competitions, or latches on to people who do, I don't see her getting past the middle of this marathon. Josh thinks she'll end up in a showmance with Jace, but if we're calling that, I'm going to say it'll be Shelli and Clay.
10. Clay
See: Jace. He needs a strong alliance or he's going to be pinned as a physical threat and sent out the door as soon as people can make it happen.
11. James
From his interviews, I'm not sure James will be able to play under-the-radar enough to last long in the game without putting a big target on his back, especially if he proves to be good at competitions.
12. Jason
Jason could prove to be hugely entertaining, but he has a lot of personality, which could make him an easy target early on.
13. Vanessa
I'm honestly torn between thinking Vanessa could go all the way, using her poker smarts to work these houseguests. Or thinking she'll overplay her hand early on and be among the first to leave the house. I landed on the latter, unfortunately, but I'd like to be proven wrong on this one.
14. Liz
Unless she wins first HoH, I imagine her nominated Week 1. At the risk of judging a book by its cover, I can see Liz coming on strong with a fun-flirty game but possibly failing to connect with anyone enough to keep her safe.
Mack has a completely different take on where the houseguests will finish. Check out his final take on the next page...
Mack's Picks
1. Austin
Never underestimate a man with a knee-jerk, comical appearance. Austin's wild mane, professional wrestling aspirations and goofy smile will put others at ease and likely cause some to underestimate his intelligence. If he can play a good social game and just be everyone's buddy, he'll hang around for a long time, or, like a real heel, he may eventually flip and become one of the most unapologetic villains Big Brother has ever seen.
2. Vanessa
Most professional poker players put people on edge immediately, but with a seemingly likeable personality, I suspect stupid people will let Vanessa into their confidence. She will manipulate them and ultimately serve them up like a sneaky, vindictive executioner.
3. Liz
Liz is the riskiest pick on the board. She will not blend in. Her personality may well dominate the entire house, and that will rub people the wrong way. If she can throw her hook into one of the more likeable guys and find a few key female allies, however, she may loudly orchestrate power moves week after week. It'll bite her in the ass eventually, but it could be a long run before it catches up to her.
4. Audrey
I'm not in favor of Audrey keeping her secret. I think it actually benefits her, as people will want to seem as inclusive as possible and will likely consider voting her out too early as being in bad taste. That might sound unfair and outlandish, but Big Brother is all about using every single card you can play, whether it's race, gender, class or background.
5. Shelli
Shelli definitely has a little more aggression inside her than her southern charm lets on. That should help her quite a bit. If she can play the sweet girl on the outside, she may be able to quietly wield power without anyone realizing there's anything sneaky going on.
6. James
This dude is going to be my favorite player during the season. I'll root for him hard, but ultimately, his military background and shady-looking face will cause a pack of houseguests to band together and eliminate him near the end. It'll be a sad day for both of us.
7. Da'Vonne
I would be all-in on Da'Vonne if she didn't unashamedly admit she doesn't play well with others or enjoy cooperating. This game is all about faking it, and while I appreciate her increased perception skills from years of dealing poker, I'm not sold on her ability to play nice for enough weeks to get to the end.
8. Jace
Jace's entire future in this game is directly related to challenges. If he's too good at challenges and shows that early on, he's going to get a one way bus ticket back to the ocean. If he's incompetent, people are going to keep him around for weeks because he's clearly not a threat. I have no confidence in his scheming ability. I expect him to be a tan and affable pawn.
9. Meg
Meg seems to think she's one of the most approachable and easy-going human beings on the planet. How far she gets in this game will depend on whether or not she's right. Some people who think they're very easy to get along with are the exact opposite and have no self awareness. For her sake, I hope she's really the sweet, non-threatening tomboy she makes herself out to be.
10. Jason
I'm not entirely sure whether Austin will be a villain or not, but Jason certainly will be. He's an unapologetic schemer and shit-talker who would backstab anyone to further himself in the game. His social game will be on point, but he'll likely piss off too many people and wind up blindsided. Fortunately, he will have an all-time memorable reaction to being voted out.
11. John
Mild mannered dentist who blends in works in Big Brother. Obnoxious and hyper-aggressive dentist does not. Given his work out habits, he'll be a beast at physical challenges too. I suspect he'll last longer than a few others because people will think he's too unlikeable to ever win, but I still think he's gone within a matter of a few weeks.
12. Clay
This dude is going to get voted out early. He's too likeable and too athletic to survive long. On the bright side, almost everyone who votes for him will genuinely feel bad about it. The game is the game though, and you can't let former college football players with genuine attitudes stick around when so much money is on the line.
13. Becky
Poor Becky. She has really high expectations for herself going into this competition, but I'm convinced she's going to rub people the wrong way. Plus, with her outdoor experience, she'll wildly outperform expectations in the first physical challenge and immediately have a target on her back.
14. Steve
I think Steve thinks his aww schucks geeky attitude will make him come off as a non-threat. Personally, I think it's going to aggravate everyone else and get him kicked out during the first week. It might be "cool" to be a nerd in this day in age but not this nerdy and not in this house. Big Brother Season 17 premieres Wednesday, June 24 at 8:00 p.m. ET on CBS.
