A Veto winner is crowned

The horn sounds and the competition gets underway. The six competitors grab their first color-coded rugby ball and start attempting to roll them to the top of their pitch. Daisy Mae is in the pink lane on one end next to Eugene in orange, Ellie in yellow, Alina in green, Chirag in blue, and Ethan in purple on the opposite end. As the players start their first rolls, the balls curve as they roll upward, making it clear there's going to be a learning curve to this competition.

ELLIE (Diary Room) - "So we have to roll this rugby ball up to the top of this slope, but this thing does not want to roll straight. No matter what I try and do, it falls off the side and I have waste time running to go grab it. If we were using volleyballs, I'd have this competition on lock, but these rugby balls keep tripping me up."

For the first couple minutes of the competition, the players make slow progress as they figure out how to get the rugby balls to roll predictably as well as how much power they need to use to get them to the top without falling off the edge. Before too long, however, the first houseguest manages to score a point.

DANIELLE - "And Daisy Mae is the first to land a ball! She can move on to her second."

Daisy Mae lets out a little 'Whoop!' before moving on to her next ball.

DAISY MAE (Diary Room) - "I'm the first to land a rugby ball, and I'm ecstatic! I want to win this Veto so badly because I need the power to decide how it's used. Even though my alliance would want me to use the Veto and put Julian up, I still think it would be better for my game if Alina went home this week. I'm not afraid to fight for what I want, so I'm putting my all into this competition."

The competition continues on and, about a minute later, Ethan manages to land his first ball. He pumps himself up with a loud "Let's go!" as he goes to grab his second ball and roll it, only for it to immediately knock off his first ball, putting him back at square one. Ethan lets out an exasperated "No! Are you kidding me?" as he runs to grab both of his balls and bring them back to his pitch.

DANIELLE - "Ethan has knocked his first ball off the pitch. Now he must attempt to roll it again."

A few more minutes pass with Daisy Mae remaining the only player with a ball at the top, though everyone is starting to get a feel for how the rugby balls behave and are close to making progress. Then, within a few seconds of each other, Ethan, Chirag and Eugene all land their first ball at the top.

DANIELLE - "Ethan has re-landed his first ball, and Chirag and Eugene have landed their first. They're all now tied for the lead with Daisy Mae!"

EUGENE (Diary Room) - "I started off this competition a little slow, but I'm starting to get the hang of it. Now that I've done it once, I just need to repeat whatever I did two more times and I'll win. I don't want to pull an Ethan, though, so I'm going to be a little bit more cautious and try to keep my second ball from rolling anywhere near my first one."

The competition continues on, and it doesn't take long for more points to go up on the board. Chirag manages to quickly land a second ball, taking the lead and leaving him just one more ball away from victory. Shortly after this, Alina manages to land her first ball, but she remains laser-focused on the competition.

ALINA (Diary Room) - "I finally get my first ball, but I don't have time to celebrate. This Veto is my life in the game on the line, and no one else in this house is going to use it on me. I need to lock in and win it for myself."

CHIRAG (Diary Room) - "I'm the first houseguest to get two balls up the slope, but this is when things get treacherous. I have the lead, so I need to slow down, be methodical, and make sure my last shot is perfect. Pitch perfect, you might say."

More minutes pass, and the pace for most players has slowed, as they're being careful not to disturb their balls which have already landed. The two exceptions are Ethan and Ellie. Ellie has yet to land a ball, and is starting to grow frustrated with herself as the rugby balls continue to give her trouble. Ethan, on the other hand, is throwing caution to the wind, overshooting many of his rolls and putting his first ball in danger. It pays off for him, though, as he gets his second ball to stop just on the edge of his platform.

DANIELLE - "Ethan lands his second ball. It's now Ethan and Chirag in the lead with two balls, Daisy Mae, Alina and Eugene with one, and Ellie still with zero."

It's neck-and-neck between Chirag and Ethan as any roll could end the competition. Chirag has a roll that looks good, but just undershoots, rolling back down to him. Then Ethan gets a good-looking roll, only for it to fall off the back of the pitch. It could end at any moment, but the next person to land a ball is...

DANIELLE - "And Ellie gets her first rugby ball to the top of her pitch!"

ELLIE (Diary Room) - "Finally, I'm on the board. But I look over and see that Ethan is super close to winning. Ethan is the one person competing that could potentially screw up the backdoor plan. I need to kick it into high-gear and win this myself."

Soon after this, Daisy Mae accidentally knocks her first ball off the top of her pitch, bringing her score back down to zero. She lets out an "Oh, shoot!" before running to gather everything up.

DAISY MAE (Diary Room) - "This competition's been going on for a while now, and it's clear to me that I ain't cut out to win this, but I'm really hoping that Ethan pulls it out. He's the one other person that I would trust to keep nominations the same this week. Come on, Ethan! I'm countin' on you!"

Fatigue is beginning to set in for the houseguests. Several minutes of running back and forth to collect dropped rugby balls is taking its toll. Ellie and Ethan are handling it the best and keeping pace, albeit with some heavy breathing and sweat. Alina and Chirag are doing their best to keep up, but they're taking longer pauses to catch their breath between rolls. Eugene and Daisy Mae have given up on running and can only walk to retrieve their balls, slowing their pace significantly.

ETHAN (Diary Room) - "At this point, I'm thinking I've got this in the bag. I'm in the zone, everyone else is slowing down, I've got two balls already at the top, and I just need one more. I feel like this is my competition to lose."

Ethan winds up, takes a quick breath to center himself, rolls his ball up the slope and...

DANIELLE - "Ethan has knocked one of his rugby balls off his pitch."

ETHAN (Diary Room) - "And I probably just lost."

Ethan gives a frustrated scream as he goes to collect his balls. While this is happening, Chirag is lining up a shot of his own. Despite the tiring conditions, he's been keeping his focus and taking his time trying to land the perfect shot. He's had a few shots now that looked like they could've been the one, but came up just short. Knowing he has the lead now, Chirag pauses to calm his nerves, then lets his rugby ball roll. It follows the same trajectory he's practiced, with just a touch more power. The ball crawls to the top, crosses over the lip of the slope, and gently comes to rest against one of the other balls.

DANIELLE - "And Chirag has all three rugby balls resting in the in-goal area which means Chirag wins the Power of Veto!"

Chirag shouts in excitement as the other houseguests crowd around to congratulate him. Danielle places the Veto medallion around Chirag's neck before he lays down on the ground in relief and exhaustion.

CHIRAG (Diary Room) - "Look who won the Veto! This competition was all about precision, and that's where I excel. Honey, I love you and I miss you. This Veto's for you!"