Watch CT, Cara Maria, Laurel, and more champs arrive in first trailer for The Challenge season 39

The first trailer for The Challenge season 39 is here, and it features the return of some of the best to ever play this game.

While legendary champions CT Tamburello, Cara Maria Sorbello, Laurel Stucky, Jordan Wiseley, Darrell Taylor, Tori Deal, Kaycee Clark, Brad Fiorenza, Kaz Crossley, and Devin Walker aren't officially going for the grand prize in The Challenge: Battle For a New Champion, they are here to prove what it takes to win — and to steal a little money, if they can.

Season 39 features a cast of 24 players who have never won before, a.k.a. the "contenders," who will battle it out for their first-ever championship title. Making their road to their first win that much more difficult is that every elimination will be against the most iconic champs. The first trailer for the new season reveals that twist with glee, as CT gives his most evil laugh as he enters the arena. And he doesn't just throw down the gauntlet in front of the shocked cast — he literally throws a medieval-looking mace into the sand.

"If you want to win this game, you're going to have to go through a champ," Stucky says.

"We are not going to take it easy," Wiseley promises. "And we will run you into the ground. For fun."

Showrunner Emer Harkin knows that doing a season without any returning champions contending is a risk, but it's one the producers have wanted to do for a while.

"Our show is a long-standing soap opera of beloved characters that we've all grown up with and that we love, so having a lesser presence of those characters is always a gamble," Harkin recently told EW. "But The Challenge is a show and a franchise that is not afraid to be daring and to take risks, and to broaden our lens and to try new things."

She added, "The champions are there as roadblocks to stand in their way and challenge them to perform like a champion. In order to be the best, you're going to have to beat the best — and it really is like the Hall of Fame. They're out for blood, and not only do they reserve the right to beat them and get them out of the game, they can also steal their money. It's like the ultimate insult if a champ can come in and wipe the floor with you and take your money on the way out."

The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion premieres Wednesday, Oct. 25, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on MTV, with a sneak peek launch special airing in the same time slot on Oct. 18. Watch the new trailer above.

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Related content:

• Wes Bergmann explains why he's retiring from The Challenge
• The Challenge showrunner addresses concerns over season 39's cast of no champions
• Watch the first teaser for The Challenge season 39, featuring an entire cast of no previous winners