Now That We're Down to the Final Three, Who Will Win Big Brother 21?

From Oprah Magazine

At the end of a long day, sometimes the best way to feel like you're living your best life is with some comfy PJ's, a glass of wine, and gratuitous reality television. In our series "Not-So-Guilty Pleasures," we remove the "guilt" and break down the latest happenings in your favorite TV indulgences.

• With the Big Brother 21 finale on September 25, fans are officially starting to speculate about the winner of the season.

• The $500,000 grand prize will either go to Jackson Michie, Nicole Anthony, or Holly Allen.

Well y'all, we're nearly to the end of Big Brother 21, where all season long we've not only critiqued game play, but the questionable decision-making of many of the houseguests. From accusations of racism, bullying, cheating, and a surprise jury-house romance, this summer has been eventful to say the least.

As we get closer to finale night, there's one question that's also on the forefront of our minds. With Jackson, Holly, and Nicole in the final three, who will win Big Brother? There's no sure-fire way to answer this because as you know with this show, you must always expect the unexpected. But we can definitely speculate with a few theories.

The final HOH competitions are huge indicators of a Big Brother winner.

As it has been with every previous season, once it gets down to the final three, the remaining cast members must compete in a three-part HOH competition. The face-offs determine who will earn the title of last HOH, evicting the last game player of the season and effectively picking who will compete against them for the $500,000.

As we saw on Sunday night, Jackson won the first round, meaning he'll fight for the title of HOH in the third and final competition against whoever won the second. And major spoiler alert, we know who that is thanks to live feeds. In the second heat (and to the massive disappointment of BB Twitter) Holly beat out fan-favorite Nicole, meaning the showmance will compete against each other for HOH on finale night. And if we're looking at fan theories, Holly's second round win could have sealed her BB fate.

Now, since they're boyfriend and girlfriend, many fans have pre-determined that Nicole is sitting in third place this season, with no chance at making it to final two. Oh, and Holly and Jackson have basically confirmed that one of them is winning.

Now, we don't want to lose all hope for Nicole. By some miracle she may be able to convince one of her fellow housemates that they'd have a better shot if they brought her to the final instead of their significant other. But we're not holding our breath. So right now, it looks like either Holly or Jackson are taking home the $500,000 grand prize.

OK, but who played the best game all around?

Every Big Brother fan seems to have their own definition of what a "good game" is. If we're looking at the purely physical, Jackson is the winner by far, as he has a total of 8 Veto and HOH competition wins combined. And in what can be considered the ultimate manipulation of the season, he managed to convince Cliff and Nicole not to evict Holly.

But despite this, many viewers have taken issue with his social strategy, disrespect for fellow houseguests, and apparent disregard for Have-Not rules early in the game. To some, the negative far outweighs the positive.

Looking at Holly, throughout the season she's been able to fly under-the-radar despite being in a high-profile romance. She's also won three HOH competitions and has managed not to upset anyone on the jury. But have her actions been "flashy" enough to warrant a win?

And then there's Nicole. If you value social play, she's it. In a season full of problematic characters, Nicole has remained without controversy—and throughout the entire summer, she was only nominated for eviction once. Despite a rocky first few weeks, she's always had solid relationships with the cast to the point where they often wanted to protect her for their benefit. Oh, and starting with the double-eviction, she began winning competitions during some of the more high-pressure moments. But her ultimate downfall? Ignoring her gut and trusting Cliff, resulting in an eviction of Tommy instead of Holly.

Jury votes are important, too.

Yes, when it comes down to it, the nine-person jury has the final say in who wins. So where do their votes lie? Well, we know that Cliff promised Jackson that in the event of his eviction, he'd fight to turn the jury against the Nashville server.

And during last week's jury segment, we saw two different takes on his "dirty game." Kat said, "Personally I wouldn't want to reward Michie's dirty game. It's so much more than winning comps. You actually have to play a great social game. You have to be a good person, too."

On the other hand, Analyse seemed to zero in on his impressive strategy. "I am not a fan of Michie, but I do think Michie is playing a really good game. It's a really dirty game. It is working out and he is doing a good job at it." So as of now, votes seem extremely iffy for Jackson.

As for Nicole, members of the jury are catching on to her low-key moves, which could earn their respect.

And finally, Holly. Admittedly, not much was said about her, but Jack did mention she "was able to maintain really good relationships" and made some "cool game moves," so there's that.

Basically, it all comes down to whether the jury wants to reward Jackson's savage but dominant gameplay, acknowledge Nicole's subtle and wholesome strengths, or root for the solid (but not over-the-top) Holly.

What are the polls saying?

If you're going off of fan-voted polls, JokersUpdates.com has predictions for every scenario. For example, who they think will win the show (Jackson) versus who they want to win (Nicole). And if you want to weigh in on the conversation, head on over to the site and cast your own votes.

But ultimately, it comes down to the BB21 jury. And on the September 25 finale, we can throw theories out the window and find out the real winner. Yup, it's gonna be an exciting night.

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