ANW Grand Final 1 - 2022 Australian Ninja Warrior

ANW Grand Final 1 - Season 6 in 2022

ANW Grand Final 1 was, for me, a return to the exciting Australian Ninja Warrior we know and love. Perhaps it is that I’ve finished a bunch of the other work I was doing for the past 2+ weeks or perhaps it’s the departure from the excessive back story and drama of the heats, but sitting down and watching the Grand Final wasn’t the chore the rest of the Season has been.

ANW Grand Final 1 Course

A return to the head to head format, Ninjas run against each other on the Sprinting Steps, Launpad to Eagles Claw, Cat Grab, Salmon Ladder to Bar Hop, Spring Forward and finally the Warped Wall. The Ninja who hits the buzzer first, like in the Semi Finals, can progress through the rest of the 2022 ANW Grand Final 1 course.

Daniel Waterman on Australian Ninja Warrior

Daniel Waterman. One of the teens that time after time is impressing everyone watching, Waterman was nothing short of amazing in this first Grand Final episode. Missing the release to get off the Eagles Claw, Daniel had a lot of ground to catch up. Brodie Peace, a regular at Fighting Lyons in Essendon, was putting on a clinic and moving farther and farther in front. Over the Cat Grab, onto the Salmon Ladder but it was at the Spring Forward obstacle that Peace finally realised that Daniel had caught up.

Waterman displayed incredible strength, control and think-on-the-fly skill by single-arming his way through the tough obstacle. Like a gibbon playing in the jungle, Waterman was in front and off before Brodie. Seeing this, Peace was forced to rush and ended up falling short off the platform and into the water.

Taking the pressure off Daniel, it was now a race for time and on his second attempt, he scaled the Warped Wall. Daniel Waterman, with less than 5 seconds on the clock, managed to get through the underwater obstacle and finish the course.

Have you been to Fighting Lyons Gym?

Fighting Lyons - Essendon

Fighting Lyons is one of Melbourne’s best Ninja Warrior gyms and produces a stack of great Ninja athletes, young and young at heart.

STOP THE CLOCK!

Looks of uncertainty filled the screens on Australian Ninja Warrior. Who hit the Buzzer first? Rob Patterson was up against Alex Bigg and the race was intense. So intense that they both hit the buzzer at the exact same time.

Cue ad break while the judges decide. With only a single buzzer at the top of the wall, official ANW judges had to review the tapes and it was determined that, even though Rob Patterson touched the buzzer first, he didn’t do so with enough force to press the button down. Whereas Alex Bigg was second and clearly pressed it down, triggering the super cool smoke. Time resumed and Alex moved on, hitting the course completion Buzzer in the fourth fastest time for the night.

Ashlin Herbert Vs Mike Snow

I feel sorry for anyone who gets put against Ashlin Herbert. What a weapon. But it was an uncharacteristic unforced error that took Mike Snow out of contention. Missing his grip on the Eagles Claw, Mike made an early departure but it did leave us with a lesson in composure by Flashlin. Dude doesn’t even break a sweat.

Olivia Vivian

Olivia Vivian has competed so bloody well this year. Crushing every single obstacle so far so when she tumbled from the second Lightning Bolt grab, everyone was in shock.

But Liv has a Second Chance card to play. Earning the bonus by being the first woman in history to win Furthest Fastest in a Ninja Warrior Semi-Final, the last run for the Grand Final 1 episode was meant to be her redemption run.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be and Vivian fell on the exact same obstacle and out of the competition.