‘Big Brother’ 2021 Finale: Winner and America’s Favorite Houseguest Revealed

Big Brother’s 2021 finale is here, and we finally have a winner. The final three came down to Azah Awasum, Derek Frazier and Xavier Prather, but only one could win it all, becoming $750,000 richer in the process. We also learned who America’s Favorite Houseguest was, with all 16 houseguests eligible to win the $50,000 prize. Spoilers for Big Brother Season 23’s finale ahead!

For those unaware, the final two of Big Brother is determined via a three-part Head of Household competition and a quick eviction ceremony. The final HoH then chooses who they want to sit next to at the end of the game. The jury of evicted houseguests then votes on who deserves the $750,000 prize.

As shown in a previous episode, Xavier previously won the first round of the final HoH. In the finale, Azah defeated Derek F. head-to-head in Round 2. Xavier and Azah faced off in a quiz competition about jury members’ accomplishments, with Xavier correctly answering every question. (Though, it’s worth noting Azah only answered one incorrectly.)

At the live eviction, Xavier stay true to his word to Derek F. and evicted Azah, making her the final member of the Big Brother Season 23 jury. After the jury questioned the finalists and cast their votes, Xavier easily won over Derek F. The first 5 votes went to him, meaning he clinched the victory before all the votes even had to be read. After a commercial break, host Julie Chen confirmed the jury vote was unanimous in Xavier’s favor. This decision makes him the first Black winner in the U.S. version of Big Brother‘s entire run.

The America’s Favorite Houseguest prize was up for grabs between all guests, including the final 3 and the jury: Kyland Young, Hannah Chaddha, Tiffany Mitchell, Alyssa Lopez, Claire Rehfuss, Sarah Beth Steagall, Derek Xiao and Britini D’Angelo. Evicted pre-jury houseguests Christian Birkenberger, Whitney Williams, Brent Champagne, Brandon “Frenchie” French and Travis Long were also eligible. In the end, Tiffany won the title, narrowly beating out Derek X.

While no official decision has been made as of this writing, CBS Entertainment President Kelly Kahl recently told Deadline that he presumes the network will greenlight Season 24 soon, with Julie Chen expecting to return as host. “We feel great about Big Brother, it’s certainly one of the top shows of the summer, look at the ratings and demographically it’s a monster,” Kahl said. “Going forward, we feel good.” In the meantime, fans can look forward to Celebrity Big Brother Season 3, which will air on CBS in February 2022 after taking a hiatus in 2021.