Quintanar del Rey, a municipality in the Spanish province of Cuenca, won the 2026 season finale of "Grand Prix del Verano" on La 1, the flagship channel of Spain's public broadcaster RTVE, beating the Catalan town of Polinyà 33-30 in the tightest finish in the show's 31-year history.
The Cuenca team was captained on set by comedian Miguel Maldonado, while Polinyà competed under the sponsorship of comedian Victoria Martín. The decisive contest featured constant tactical back-and-forth between the two towns and left numerical records unmatched across three decades of the format.
A back-and-forth contest
The twists of the night appeared to catch even host Ramón García off guard. Polinyà dominated the opening event, "La Cucaña," gathering nine hams, before the competition turned into an exchange of blows in games such as "La patata caliente" (hot potato) and "Los pingüinos matemáticos" (mathematical penguins).
The night's standout moment came in "Los supercocineros" (super cooks), when both delegations finished the course in exactly the same time, two minutes and fifteen seconds. Polinyà then set an unprecedented mark in "Los troncos locos" (crazy logs), catching 15 salmon against Quintanar del Rey's 10.
"Culete" becomes a breakout star
Quintanar del Rey's comeback was built in "Los superbolos" (super bowling), driven by a young contestant known as "Culete," who became the summer's biggest comedic breakout thanks to the show's following on social media. He knocked down eight pins in a single throw and was cheered on by grandmothers from his hometown in the audience.
The result pulled the scoreboard to within a handful of points heading into the final "Diccionario" (Dictionary) round, which Polinyà entered with a slight lead after winning the "Champions Prix."
The season came down to the last round of words. Polinyà gambled by claiming that "cruste," which the team proposed meant the crispy layer of a cooked dish, was a valid word. The host ruled the term invalid, confirming Polinyà's error and handing Quintanar del Rey the win with a final score of 33-30.
Ramón García's tearful farewell
Beyond the competition, the night carried an intergenerational farewell tone. Co-host Gorka Rodríguez ended up in the swimming pool, capping a season in which he had fallen in for others, while Lalachus and the technical team closed out the evening's musical numbers.
Before the result was announced, García sat down in the middle of the set and delivered a speech with a breaking voice, defending the continued relevance of a competition capable of bringing entire families together in front of the television regardless of ratings or digital consumption habits. García has fronted Spanish television's "Grand Prix" format on and off since the 1990s and is one of the country's best-known presenters.
Twelve towns, one summer tradition
"Grand Prix del Verano" is RTVE's revival of the long-running town-versus-town game show, in which teams of neighbours compete in traditional and often comic physical challenges. This season brought together twelve municipalities across Spain competing throughout the summer.
After the final verdict, contestants from Quintanar del Rey crossed the set to embrace their rivals from Polinyà in the stands, closing out a season that RTVE said had again turned traditional games and community spirit into one of the biggest hits of its summer schedule.
