No, throw the HOH competition.

With all your alliances, you're in a pretty good spot in the house right now, so you probably don't need to win to ensure your safety this week. Winning would also force you to make nominations, which could put your relationships with other players in jeopardy. Overall, you determine that the risks of winning outweigh the benefits, so you decide to throw it.

As you are funneled into the backyard by the producers, you see that a large ramp has been set up and decorated with fake grass, trees, buildings and statues. At the bottom of the ramp are a line of clear plastic tanks, each labeled with a different number. The placements of the numbers are somewhat random, but the ones in the center are generally higher than the ones on the edges. The producers make you stand in a line at the top of the ramp where you're each given a different colored soccer ball. You're not allowed to talk while any of this is happening, but you're pretty sure you get the idea of what's happening. After about 10 minutes of waiting, you hear Julie Chen's voice over the intercom.

JULIE CHEN - "Houseguests, the power is up for grabs. Julian, as outgoing Head of Household, you are not eligible to compete. This competition is called Get The Ball Rolling and here's how it works. One at a time, each of you will take your soccer ball to the top of one of Rome's many beautiful hills. You must place your ball on the ground anywhere within the starting box, then kick your ball down the hill and through the obstacles so it rolls into one of the scoring zones at the bottom. The scoring zones range in value from 1 point to 25 points. The houseguest with the highest score once everyone has kicked once will be the new Head of Household. In the event of a tie for first place, those houseguests will kick again until a winner is determined. Does everyone understand?"

The houseguests all say yes.

JULIE CHEN - "Alright. Your order was randomly determined before we started and Chirag, you're up first. Please make your shot."

Chirag goes up and kicks his ball down, trying to aim towards the 23 spot near the middle. However, his ball bounces off a fake shrub and ends up just missing, landing instead in the 11.

Alina goes next, kicking her ball down the left side of the course trying to hit 18, but just misses and gets 7.

Marcus is next. He takes the same line as Alina, but manages to successfully hit the 18, putting him in the lead.

Liam follows up by going for the same thing as Marcus, and manages to match his score of 18, tying the highest score.

Raquel goes next. She aims down the right side trying for the 20 or 24, but the ball takes a bad bounce and lands in the 9.

Isabel is next and learns from Raquel's mistake, adjusting her shot slightly and successfully gets the 20, taking the lead.

Danielle is next. She tries the same route Chirag took, going for the 23 down the middle of the left side. Her ball knocks into the center tree, though, sending it off course and landing in the 19. A good score, but not enough to overtake Isabel.

As the line shuffles along, you get a short period of time to study the board. There isn't a single straight shot you could take to get a score higher than Isabel's 20. All of the highest scoring zones are protected by one or more obstacles, forcing you to take an indirect path and bounce the ball around in order to land in them. If you wanted to win this competition, you'd probably have to get lucky with your ball bouncing the way you want it to.

Ethan goes up next. He chooses to go down the right side of the middle path, hoping to get the 21 or 24. Unluckily, his ball lands right in the middle of the two and scores 12.

Victoria kicks down the right edge of the board. It looks like she was trying to bounce it off the bottom wall, but it instead misses and falls into the 8.

Daisy Mae takes a similar path to Ethan, going down the right side of the middle of the ramp towards the 21 and 24. Her ball bounces off the side of the first boulder, then slides just past the second to slip into the 21, taking the lead.

Roxy goes for the 23, but it's too well guarded by a tree and a fern and ends up getting 14 instead.

Now it's your turn. Daisy Mae is the current leader, and there's only two people to play after you: Eugene and Ellie. You'd be happy with either Daisy Mae or Ellie as HOH, and Eugene probably wouldn't be that bad for you, either, so your plan to throw this competition is in full force. You make like you're going for the 24, but intentionally miss your shot to the right, causing your ball to bounce around wildly and end up in the 17.

Eugene is the second to last person to kick. He aims towards the 23, but his kick hits off the first wall at the top of the ramp, causing it to go way off course and end up in the 6 on the far left side.

Ellie is the final person to take her shot. She places her ball in the left side of the starting zone, then kicks it to the right, angling towards the 24. She manages to thread the needle between the obstacles as her ball heads directly towards her chosen target. It looks like she's going to do it, but the ball doesn't quite get enough distance, falling just shy into the 12.

JULIE CHEN - "Ellie, that's a score of 12, which means congratulations to you, Daisy Mae. You are the new Head of Household! Julian, please hand over the key to the HOH bedroom."

Daisy Mae squeals and jumps up and down in excitement at her win. Most of the other houseguests clap and cheer or pat her on the back. You head over and pick her up in a big bear hug after she gets the key from Julian.

After a minute or so of your celebration with Daisy Mae, the producers file you back into the living room to close out the live show. After a few more minutes, Julie Chen appears back on the living room monitor.

JULIE CHEN - "Hello again, houseguests and congratulations again, Daisy Mae! How does it feel to be Head of Household?"
DAISY MAE - "Oh my gosh, I'm so happy. My sisters are probably freaking out right now and I can't wait to see pictures of my family!"
JULIE CHEN - "Well, go ahead and celebrate that win. You earned it, girl! I also want to talk to Eugene for a moment. You had a rough first week in the Big Brother house. You were a Have-Not, you were on the block, but you survived and are still in the game. How are you feeling with this new lease on life?"
EUGENE - "I feel incredible. I've had so much fun here even while eating nothing but slop. I'm grateful they decided to keep me."

JULIE CHEN - "Well, houseguests, our time is almost up but, before I go, I need to tell you about the first big twist of the summer. It's called the Gladiator Gauntlet. Over the next three weeks, in addition to the Head of Household and Veto competitions, there will be one additional competition held each week. This competition will take place before the nomination ceremony, and the winner will not only win a special prize, but they will also earn safety for the week, meaning they cannot be nominated for eviction. On the other end, the houseguest who performs the worst in the competition must endure a punishment which could impact their game.

Now, here's the twist. Everyone in the house will be eligible to compete in the Gladiator Gauntlet this week, but after you've played in the Gladiator Gauntlet once, you cannot do so again. So, it'll be up to each of you to decide when is the best time to compete. One more thing. Only the winner and loser of each week's Gladiator Gauntlet will be made public. For everyone else, it's up to you what you tell your fellow houseguests. The first Gladiator Gauntlet competition will take place tomorrow, so get some rest, houseguests. Good night!"

The houseguests all wave good night to Julie Chen and the viewing audience. The episode fades back to Julie Chen on the sound stage as she closes out the show.

JULIE CHEN - "Tune in this Sunday to see who will win safety in the Gladiator Gauntlet and who Head of Household Daisy Mae will nominate for eviction. Then, on Wednesday, the Power of Veto is up for grabs. Who will win and will they use it to save one of the two nominees? Then, on Thursday, it's the next live eviction where someone will become the second person to be evicted from the house. That's all from us tonight. From outside the Big Brother house, I'm Julie Chen Moonves. Good night, America!"

The live studio audience erupts into applause as the episode fades to black.