‘The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition’ Season 1, Episode 1 Recap

Reality television series, “The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition” made its Asian premiere last Thursday night, 18 March on AXN, the show’s official Asia broadcast partner.

The newest iteration of the hit franchise was everything fans expected it to be and more, with Episode 1 of 13 delivering on all fronts, including on its highly-anticipated physical challenge (a first for The Apprentice), and classic intense boardroom sequences.

ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong, his Advisor on the show, Niharika Singh, who also serves as ONE’s Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy, and Task Captain Dom Lau, ONE’s Circle and Ring Announcer, were all introduced.

The premiere also provided fans with a closer look at the show’s 16 global candidates, namely Alvin Ang, Clinton Tudor, Eugene Chung, Irina Chadsey, Jessica Ramella, Joy Koh, Kexin Ye, Lara Pearl Alvarez, Louie Sangalang, Monica Millington, Nazee Sajedi, Niraj Puran Rao, Paulina Purnomowati, Roman Wilson, Sho Takei, and Teirra Kamolvattanavith.

First Physical Challenge: Relay Race

For the first time ever on “The Apprentice” franchise, physical challenges made their debut. The group of candidates were divided into two teams, pre-selected by Chatri himself.

Roman, Paulina, Niraj, Alvin, Joy, Eugene, Lara, and Nazee made up the blue team, which became known as Team Conquest. Clinton, Kexin, Jessica, Teirra, Irina, Sho, Monica, and Louie made up the red team, which became known as Team Valor.

The two teams competed in a classic relay race, featuring obstacles with escalating degrees of difficulty. Candidates had to, not only push themselves physically and mentally in the challenge, but also employ a bit of gamesmanship as well, with Eugene employing a questionable tactic in the first leg of the race.

In the end, the race would be decided with spear throwing. The Philippines’ Louie Sangalang took home the victory for Team Valor, as he successfully hit the mark after only a couple of tries.

Curating the “ONE at Home” Fan Experience

The drama then shifted to the Boardroom, which remains the focal point of “The Apprentice.” Here, candidates will have to prove themselves worthy of advancing through the competition each week, or avoid getting eliminated.

For the season’s first business challenge, teams were tasked with curating a “ONE at Home” essentials kit, featuring a bundle of ONE Championship merchandise for fans. Each team was also asked to create a marketing plan that would be pitched to Chatri and Niharika.

Nazee of Team Conquest and Clinton of Team Valor were chosen as Project Managers to lead strategy and implementation. The two, however, had contrasting management styles, with Clinton taking point and opting for a more commanding approach, while Nazee handled different personalities within her team much more effectively.

As expected, clashing ideas and input dominated the cutting-room floor, as each team scrambled to piece together its final product.

In addition, teams also had to ‘pitch’ their product to Chatri and Niharika, presenting a business and marketing plan, as well as a product prototype. Suffice to say, both teams had their highs and lows in this segment, and it was up to Chatri and Niharika to decide which team won the challenge.

In the end, it was Team Valor which took home the victory. As a result, Nazee, Alvin, and Lara from Team Conquest were sent to the chopping block, where they were grilled by Chatri and Niharika on their performances.

Chatri was disappointed that Alvin’s copywriting skills didn’t live up to his team’s expectations, but he praised the young Singaporean for his passion for martial arts. He was also disappointed with Lara, who he believed should have spoken up and contributed more to her team, given her martial arts background.

Nazee, however, was praised for her leadership skills and called a “rockstar.”

In perhaps the biggest surprise of the episode, Chatri revealed this was a non-elimination challenge, and that no candidate would be sent home.