RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 10 has been a season of drama, twists, turns, and a slightly confusing new format. With the season a little over halfway done and the “Tournament of All Stars” semifinals fast approaching, here is a breakdown of the new format, what you’ve missed during the brackets so far, and what you should know going into the semifinals on Paramount+.

How do the RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 10 brackets work?

RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, and the flagship series, plays with format frequently. While every season has similar elements in terms of challenges (there’s almost always a Snatch Game and a “Rusical,” plus mini and runway challenges), the ways the queens are eliminated can vary season to season. In All Stars Season 7, no queens were eliminated at all. Instead, they competed for stars, and the queens with the most stars advanced to the finale. Host RuPaul and his team likes to keep viewers on their toes by changing the formats frequently, as it’s part of the show’s formula since its inception to poke fun at the different rules across the reality competition genre.

All Stars Season 10 is the first time a bracket format has been used, and it has the largest cast in the history of Drag Race with 18 queens. They have been divided into three brackets of six. Over the course of three episodes, each bracket competes in challenges to earn points. The top three queens with the highest number of points after the three weeks move on to the semifinals, while the other three queens are sent packing.

Points Breakdown

Terrible news for the gays who can’t do math. The point system is a bit complicated.

Every week, there are two winners. They both earn two points and then “Lip Sync for Their Legacy” for one extra point. The four bottom queens are then given a Most Valuable Queen (MVQ) point that they must give away to another queen in the bracket.

What happened during the RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 10 brackets?

The Orange Bracket (Bracket One)

The Orange Bracket had a little something for everybody. There was a variety of challenges in this bracket. First was a head banging rock performance of the song “Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner,” for which the queens had to write lyrics. Then there was a whodunnit murder-mystery improv challenge called “Murder on the Dance Floor,” and finally a makeover episode featuring collegiate women’s basketball players. Like many past All Stars seasons, the runways in all of the brackets did not come to play. Notable runways were Irene the Alien’s (formerly Irene Dubois) Family Resemblance look with Estelle the Alien, Olivia Lux‘s Lil Kim look for the Slits and T*ts runway, and all of Bosco‘s looks, especially her entrance look.

For drama, this bracket was a congenial one. MVQ points were evenly distributed and alliances like Aja, Olivia Lux, and Deja Skye‘s Melanation Station were made and kept. There were some squabbles, but most were resolved within the episodes. And Aja finally challenged Michelle Visage‘s common “It looks a little costume-y” critique. But the most impressive part of this bracket was Irene the Alien blowing everyone out of the water by winning every challenge, despite going home in the first episode of her original season.

The Pink Bracket (Bracket Two)

The Pink Bracket was for the musical-challenge lovers. It started off with a design challenge where queens had to create looks from materials found in giant 8-Balls. Then there were not one, but two musical challenges: a “Rappin’ Roast,” which combined the songwriting challenge and a roast, and Starbooty: The Rebooty, a crime-solving musical inspired by the Starbooty films from the mid-1980s and 2007 starring RuPaul. Standout runways were Tina Burner‘s 8-Ball look, which was a huge improvement from her design challenge in Season 13 (the coat was LINED!) and Lydia B Kollins‘ Wild, Wild West look.

Much like a fork being found in a kitchen, of course there was drama in this bracket. With queens like Mistress Isabelle Brooks and Nicole Page Brooks, there was never a dull moment. The main gag of the bracket, and maybe of the season, was Mistress and Jorgeous conning their way into receiving two MVQ points, leaving Nicole Page Brooks and Kerri Colby, who both had an “alliance” with Mistress, with zero points. The other queens tried their best to beat Mistress, but her scheming succeeded, landing her a spot in the semifinals.

The Purple Bracket (Bracket Three)

We are currently two episodes into the Purple Bracket, and it has been an interesting ride. So far, we have had a Wicked-themed design challenge where the queens paired up to create good and wicked-witch looks, and a country songwriting challenge for the first ever Stagec**ch Festival, inspired by festivals like Austin City Limits and Stagecoach. Next is a canine-themed acting challenge where the queens will star in The Golden B*tchelor. Remarkable runways include Daya Betty‘s punk entrance look, Acid Betty‘s Pyra, the Wicked Witch look, and Denali‘s 2013-inspired Miley Cyrus look.

Things have been congenial so far, but there have been hints of things heating up. Alliances have begun to form, but will they stick? During the MVQ point distribution, the queens opted to award their partners in the design challenge with their MVQ points instead of their alliances, leading to an even distribution and a slightly disgruntled Acid Betty. Both she and her ally, Cynthia Lee Fontaine, commented on the pressure to evenly distribute the points instead of honoring their alliance. Acid Betty also threw in that she doesn’t like to feel “oppressed.” Will this lead to more drama in the next MVQ point distribution? Off-screen, there have been allegations of favoritism around Ginger Minj‘s winning the “See You Again” by Miley Cyrus lip sync in the most recent episode.

Who’s in the RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 10 Semifinals?

The Orange Bracket

• Irene (7 points)
• Bosco (6 points)
• Aja (5 points)

The Pink Bracket

• Jorgeous (7.5 points)
• Lydia B Kollins (7 points)
• Mistress Isabelle Brooks (4.5 points)

The Purple Bracket

What will happen in the RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 10 semifinals and finale?

Production has been fairly tightlipped on the details of the semifinals. What we do know is that there will be two maxi challenges and a Lip Sync Smackdown for the Crown in the finale.

If your favorite queen did not make it to the semifinals, don’t worry. RuPaul has alluded to a wild card lottery twist that will reintroduce an eliminated queen into the game. Regular judges Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley, Ross Mathews, and Ts Madison will each have the opportunity to choose a queen they want to bring back. Then, one queen will be chosen from the list to compete in the final Lip Sync Smackdown. Will this even out the playing field after the underhanded tactics, twists, and drama that happened during the brackets? Or will it become another twist that is widely disliked by the fan base like All Stars 3‘s jury vote?

When is the RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 10 finale?

RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 10’s finale will be available for streaming on July 18th on Paramount+.

RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, Fridays, Paramount+