Liars, Cheats, and Bigots Face Off in Round 3 of Primetimer's Ultimate Reality TV Villains Bracket

Farewell, Omarosa Manigault Newman — at least you're uniquely familiar with the process of being fired. The Apprentice contestant (turned Trump White House staffer) was one of eight reality TV villains to get the boot in Round 2 of Primetimer's Ultimate Reality TV Villains Bracket. Omarosa's early exit from the tournament wasn't the only upset in the Round of 16, which also saw Juan Pablo Galavis, the most hated man in The Bachelor history, fall to The Real Housewives of New York alum Ramona Singer, and embattled Dance Moms star Abby Lee Miller bow down to Survivor finalist Russell Hantz and his fedora.

In Round 3, the remaining participants vie for a chance to represent their region (Gaslight, Girlboss, Gatekeep, and Garbage) moving forward. Of course, it won't be easy to win a coveted spot in the Final Four: Ramona faces tough competition from The Real World scumbag David "Puck" Rainey, while Hantz will have tables flying his way courtesy of The Real Housewives of New Jersey's Teresa Giudice. The other side of the bracket delivers a Sandoval vs. Speidi showdown and a matchup between two very different reality TV personalities, Christine Quinn and Tyra Banks.

Just like in previous rounds, each villain's worst moments will be held up against their opponents', but as we approach the finish line, our team of experts — Claire Spellberg Lustig, Joe Reid, and Brianna Wellen — will also be evaluating their impact on their respective shows and the genre as a whole. Now, on to the Elite Eight!

Graphic: Amanda Cazel

Gaslight: The Liars

Tom Sandoval vs. Spencer and Heidi Pratt

Photos: Bravo/Everett Collection

Spencer and Heidi Pratt, as bad and intentionally calculated as they are, at least still have each other. They are raising two children together and, from the looks of social media, are supportive of and loyal to each other, even if they've left their other friendships and relationships in the dust. There's evidence to suggest that they have the ability to care about someone other than themselves — maybe parenthood has curbed their egomania ever so slightly.

Tom Sandoval, on the other hand, seems completely unbothered that he's isolated himself from everyone he cares about. It's not enough, apparently, that he betrayed the woman he was in a romantic partnership with for nearly 10 years. On the Vanderpump Rules Season 10 reunion, Sandoval callously dismissed James Kennedy's comments about Sandoval being like a brother to him (let's not forget that Sandoval paid for half of Kennedy's extravagant engagement to Raquel Leviss). He also lied to his best friend, Tom Schwartz, and dragged their business into the controversy.

At this point, Sandoval is more dangerous than Speidi because he doesn't have anything left to lose, and he doesn't seem to care. Like Spencer, he's relishing the spotlight his villainy has given him, and he seems poised to hurt more people as he continues chasing fame at any cost — in many ways, he's following exactly in Spencer's footsteps, making himself indispensable within the Vanderpump Rules cast. Speidi is now in on the joke of their own villainy, laughing at themselves to stay relevant instead of leaving more carnage in their path. There may be a redemption arc in their future, something that seems impossible for Sandoval to ever achieve. — Brianna Wellen

Winner: Tom Sandoval

Girlboss: The Arrogant Ones

Christine Quinn vs. Tyra Banks

Photos: Netflix/Everett Collection

As we've established, Tyra Banks was the villain of America's Next Top Model all along — it just took pop culture years to realize it. Tyra's distinct brand of "tough love" was intimately linked to her reputation as a supermodel who successfully worked her way to the top of a racist industry: ANTM always suggested that Tyra knew best, so who were the contestants to question photo shoots that required them to darken their skin or kiss bigoted male models?

But while her methods certainly haven't aged well, what separates Tyra from Selling Sunset's Christine Quinn is intention. However misguided, cruel, or poorly-delivered her criticism may have been, her goal was to push the models to that next level of success. (She's also taken ownership over her role in ANTM's toxicity and apologized.) Christine, on the other hand, acted only out of malice, and she remained unrepentant through it all. She insisted the other agents at the Oppenheim Group pick a side in her feud with Chrishell Stause; stirred the pot during conversations about Chrishell's divorce from Justin Hartley; and, in the storyline that led to her firing, attempted to bribe a client to stop working with Emma Hernan. Christine was fond of saying that she just wanted to sell real estate, but if that were really the case, she wouldn't have gone out of her way to create a cesspool of drama at the office.

In this battle of two Girlbosses, only one can win the region — and who's more deserving than the author of "How to Be a Boss B*tch"? As Christine put it, "If you're going to call me a bitch, I'm going to take it as a compliment." — Claire Spellberg Lustig

Winner: Christine Quinn

Gatekeep: The Bullies

Teresa Giudice vs. Russell Hantz

Photos: Bravo/Everett Collection

Sometimes a villain is so bad that even their own family can't support them. Survivor's Russell Hantz and The Real Housewives of New Jersey's Teresa Giudice both know a little something about that. Russell was such a sneaky, rude, disrespectful player across three seasons that when his nephew Brandon Hantz was cast in Season 23, Brandon explicitly stated that he was there to redeem the family name. Brandon did not succeed, unfortunately, and in the reunion after his season, Uncle Russell was in the audience and basically called his own nephew a failure who made the family look like losers on TV. It was hard to watch.

Teresa's problems with her own family weren't restricted to a single season. The animosity between Teresa and her brother Joe Gorga and sister-in-law Melissa Gorga has been powering storylines on RHONJ for a decade. But while it certainly seems like Teresa is the one who lashed out at Melissa (and her cousin Kathy Wakile) for daring to horn in on her TV gig, there's been enough give-and-take between Teresa and Melissa over the years to at least attempt the argument that there is fault on both sides. That sliver of mitigating circumstance is enough for Russell to advance. — Joe Reid

Winner: Russell Hantz

Garbage: The Worst

David "Puck" Rainey vs. Ramona Singer

Photos: Everett Collection

If this isn't the strangest blind date you ever could imagine. And yet Puck and Ramona actually have a lot in common. Beyond the fact that Puck's snot rockets and Ramona's poop moment in Cartagena will have them forever associated with gross bodily functions, they're both defined by their extreme interpretation of the virtue of "keeping it real." Puck seemed to go out of his way to deliver the most unvarnished version of the "truth" to his Real World roommates — and by a funny coincidence, that truth always happened to be that they were timid and boring and dishonest, while Puck was brave and real.

Ramona's radical honesty never seemed quite so calculated, which is why it's also much more dangerous. She has used and abused the "Oops, did I just say something harsh but true?" posture to truly wicked ends. Her Season 3 conversation with Bethenny Frankel on the Brooklyn Bridge stands as a quintessential Ramona scene: The ease with which she says the most hurtful things ("You have nobody in your life; right now you have Jason, you'll probably mess that up too") and then brushes it off as friendly honesty is chilling. — JR

Winner: Ramona Singer

It's a clash of the titans as Primetimer's Ultimate Reality TV Villains Bracket concludes with the Final Four and Championship rounds on Thursday. Only one will be crowned the Worst of All Time, but expect a fight to the bitter end to see who comes out on top.