Ranking every winner of The Circle from worst to best

With season seven of The Circle recently coming to a close, we take a look back at every winner of the Netflix reality competition show — ranking each winner, starting from the bottom of the barrel and working our way up to the best of the best.

Each winner played their own, unique games and while they are all fantastic in their own right, not every winner is created equally. We discuss some of the gameplay and in-game characteristics that separate the greatest winners of The Circle from the maybe not-quite-as-great winners.

7. James Andre Jefferson Jr. (season 3):

This is where things get a little tricky. James is the first and only winner of The Circle not to enter the game on day one; which can be interpreted as a huge positive as well as a huge negative. You can choose to see this as a big accomplishment as James is, to this day, the only winner to ever achieve this; however, James entering The Circle at the halfway point of the season did make his win a little underwhelming and felt like others deserved the win more, as they played the game from the early stages. It may be a flaw in the game, bringing players in at such a late point, but flaw or not, it does, in my opinion, put a damper on James' victory and makes him my lowest-ranking winner of The Circle.

6. Frank Grimsley (season 4):

Frank was an extremely likable player since day one. Frank was a three-time influencer and only rated as low as third in the entire season. While Frank's ability to remain well-liked and at the top of the ratings speaks volumes, his win just, unfortunately, felt a bit monotonous; we didn't see anything special in terms of strategy or ability to work his way back from the bottom from Frank. While you can absolutely argue in Frank's favor that despite his game perhaps feeling dull, he was always at the top and that should put him higher on this list; I would argue in-turn that a good winner puts their stamp on the game in some way or form and Frank didn't quite do so for me.

5. Brandon Baker as "Olivia" (season 6):

Brandon is the second-ever catfish to walk away as the winner of The Circle, which is a feat that only DeLeesa had achieved up until that point, so credit where credit is due. Brandon, who catfished as "Olivia," was rated at the top of the heap in episode one, but played an under-the-radar game and did not see power again until the very end, becoming the final "secret super influencer." Brandon formed strong bonds with quite a few players in the game, especially Myles who was "ride-or-die" partners with Brandon aka "Olivia," which made Brandon's choice as the "secret super influencer" to block Myles a huge power move, as he saw Myles as the biggest threat to stand in the way of his victory at the end.

4. Samantha Carmona (season 5):

Sam was the first winner in The Circle's history who had to claw her way back from being ranked dead last in the first ratings. Sam slowly worked her way up the ladder, cementing herself in the middle of the pack, and eventually became an influencer toward the end of the season. Sam's relationship with Chaz, the four-time influencer, who was by far the most powerful and influential player in The Circle, kept her safe throughout the majority of the game. Sam had Chaz as a shield and since she was not the powerhouse of the season, was less likely to be seen as a major threat and therefore was not strategically rated lower at the finale, leading to her victory.

3. Nicky & JoJo Scarlotta as "Gianna" (season 7):

The most recent winner(s) of The Circle, the social media influencers known as "The Scarlotta Twins" started off just about as poorly as you could, being blocked on day one, only to be saved by activating the "disruptor mode" twist. However, despite the horrific start, the twins clawed their way back, becoming one of the most popular contestants of the entire season. Nicky and JoJo maintained control of the game as a multi-time influencer and were able to form bonds and alliances with a majority of their castmates, such as runner-up Kevin Fernandez, who they worked closely with toward the end of the game despite directly targeting one another for a majority of the season.

The pair catfished as JoJo's real-life girlfriend Gianna, remaining completely undetected, making them perhaps the most unexpected catfish reveal in The Circle history. They were also the first duo to ever win the game, making the twins top-tier winners of the game.

2. DeLeesa St. Agathe as "Trevor" (season 2):

DeLeesa was the first ever catfish to win The Circle and truly created the blueprint for how a catfish should play the game. Catfishing as her real-life husband, Trevor, DeLeesa was able to use her knowledge as a woman to truly connect with her fellow female castmates and knew exactly how to manipulate and flirt with them. On the other side of the coin, DeLeesa used her outward persona as a man to form bonds with the other men in the house. Despite never being rated first and only being an influencer one single time, "Trevor" was consistently rated highly and would finally rate first at the finale, where it really mattered.

1. Joey Sasso (season 1):

You just can't beat the original. Joey Sasso was the winner of the inaugural season of The Circle. Joey played the game much differently than a lot of players we have seen in more recent seasons of The Circle. In season one, getting rid of the catfish was the main priority. Joey maybe wasn't at the level of strategist we've seen from other winners, however, he showed that being authentic and making true connections with others, and putting your true self out there for the world to see, is what was really important in this game; especially in The Circle's inception.

Joey stayed extremely loyal to the remaining day one contestants and took out everyone that stood in their way, having the final five be entirely comprised of day one entrants, which has since to be repeated. Joey's undying loyalty and strong connection to his fellow finalists, namely Sammie and Shubham, was enough to crown him as the first winner of The Circle.