Dancing With the Stars Finale: Who Will Win Season 22?

Did Nyle DiMarco, Paige VanZant or Ginger Zee earn the highest scores?

By Lauren Piester May 24, 2016 1:36 AMTags
DWTS, Dancing with the Stars, FinalistsABC/Craig Sjodin

America's got a tough choice ahead of them.

Dancing with the Stars' final three contestants could probably not be more evenly matched, and it makes the prospect of tomorrow night's final show of the season even more exciting.

After tonight's final competition show, Paige VanZant is at the front of the pack by just a couple of points, with Ginger Zee in second place and Nyle DiMarco in third. However, after those freestyles, for which which all three contestants earned perfect scores, it's clear that any one of them could win and deserve that win.

Ginger smiled through an injury to her back and pelvis to dance her way right out of an old movie, while Paige pulled off some incredible lifts, and Nyle gave us what Carrie called the best dance she had ever seen on the show as he and Peta danced a powerful contemporary piece to "The Sounds of Silence."

If we could give them all mirror ball trophies, we would, but alas, only one can win.

Our gut says Nyle's going to sneak up from the bottom of the pack to take the top prize, but Paige or Ginger could just as easily come out on top tomorrow night.

Let's break down tonight's dances!

read
Dancing with the Stars: Who's Heading to the Finals After a Double Elimination?

6. Nyle DiMarco and Peta Murgatroyd, Quickstep: 27/30

Len said the dancing was "hectic," and we agree. Quickstep is just not Nyle's jam, and that's fine. He doesn't have to be good at everything.

5. Ginger Zee and Val Chmerkovskiy, Contemporary: 28/30

Even with her back injury, Ginger still managed a solid, flawless contemporary routine that we couldn't do in pique physical condition, so bravo!

4. Paige VanZant and Mark Ballas, Freestyle: 30/30

Those lifts were just perfection but can we retire "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" for like 20 years or so?

3. Ginger Zee and Val Chmerkovskiy, Freestyle: 30/30

So. Much. Fun. Like an old school movie musical we'd like to just jump right into.

2. Paige VanZant and Mark Ballas, Salsa: 29/30

Len clearly lost his mind for a minute in thinking he didn't see enough "hip action." This was the greatest, most enjoyable salsa we've ever seen and Paige looked like a pro.

1. Nyle DiMarco and Peta Murgatroyd, Freestyle: 30/30

The message was so on the nose (with the song, and the burning piano) but that became such an irrelevant complaint we had by the end of the piece. Just gorgeous. Clearly this is Nyle's element, and this number right here might have just won him the mirror ball.

What did you think of tonight's performances? Who do you think will win? Sound off in the comments!

photos
Meet Dancing With the Stars' Season 22 Cast