This season, both Qualifying and Semifinals were entirely held in Universal City in Los Angeles, while the National Finals returned to its usual spot in Las Vegas.
In the same season, Daniel Gil became the third (fourth recorded) ninja to achieve total victory, but completed the rope climb slower than Walker.
[1][2] Standing next to the main course is a new segment, "The Runoffs", which replaces the Power Tower but follows the same structure: it features four obstacles, with two copies of them located alongside each other.
In the semifinals, two contestants will run against each other, side-by-side, on the previously installed Runoffs course with Slingshot and Rope Climb added as a last two obstacles.
In the runoffs, Gary Weiland beat James Thorwart for the last men's spot after completing the balance obstacle and became the first amputee ever to move on to the semi-finals.
Jessie Graff returned again, and for the first time, her mother, 71-year-old Ginny MacColl, also competed (and ultimately failed the second obstacle, Greased Lightning).
Brothers Nacssa and Roberto Garemore, who first appeared on American Ninja Warrior Junior, made their main ANW debuts and both advanced to the semi-finals.
Firefighter Brandon Mears, one half of the duo called the "Towers of Power", returned after missing last season and announced that he would be making his final run on the course, but ultimately failed on Greased Lightning.
Two veterans, Jackson Twait and Donovan Metoyer, tried to run the course speedily to get a chance to try the Mega Wall, but both failed with the latter being eliminated after he fell on Domino Effect.
Sean Bryan took the fastest time and was the only competitor to clear the course fast enough to try the Mega Wall, but his attempt to scale it was ultimately unsuccessful.
Other notable competitors included West Side Story visual effects designer Daniel Novarro, who received encouragement from two of the film's stars, Rachel Zegler and Josh Rivera, before the start of his run (Novarro was ultimately defeated in the runoffs by police officer John Uga), and veteran Nate Tackett, who advanced to the semi-finals after receiving encouragement from his cousin, legendary country music singer Crystal Gayle.
Course 7 was completed by only two competitors, with two-time American Ninja Warrior Junior champion Vance Walker taking the top time after failing to hit a single buzzer in the previous season.
Meanwhile, the two fastest winners proceed to a modified head-to-head course at the end of each night where they race for a Safety Pass, an option for a second attempt on Stage 1 of the Finals.
Though he qualified for Vegas by winning his race, veteran Sean Bryan chose to withdraw after completing Hopscotch due to feeling pain in his arm.
Sandy Zimmerman won her race and earned her first trip to the National Finals after 8 years of competing after her opponent, Isabella Wakeham, shockingly fell on the second obstacle.
Other notable veterans not advancing to the National Finals include Abel Gonzalez, Grant McCartney, Nick Hanson, and Ian Dory (who had made his first appearance since season 11).
R.J. Roman took the fastest time and also won a Safety Pass after defeating Elijah Browning in the final race, finishing in under 40 seconds.
Veterans Brett Sims and Bob Reese advanced to the National Finals as the two top race losers after both of them completed the course.
During the races, veterans Joe Moravsky, Josiah Pippel, and Flip Rodriguez were eliminated, as well as reigning Last Ninja Standing Kaden Lebsack, who fell into the water for the first time in his three-year career.