Who won ‘Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro’? Finale results revealed
The highly anticipated finale for ‘Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro’ featured the three finalists competing to win the spot in the upcoming ‘DWTS’ Season 35. This included AJ Pritchard, Adele Zaikman, and Selena Hamilton. The final episode of the dance competition’s debut season, titled ‘The Final Step: Finale With Derek Hough and Witney Carson,’ saw Derek as the guest judge, Witney as the co-host along with the show judges, Mark Ballas and Shirley Ballas. To everyone’s surprise, Mark and Shirley also joined the troupe for the finale’s opening performance. “Tonight is as close as it gets to an actual Dancing With the Stars finale,’ said the guest co-host Witney Carson. As for the final dance performances, the finalists had the opportunity to choose their dance style and prepare it in three days.
Selena chose to jive with Olympic figure skater Adam as her celebrity partner. “Adam knows that push, and he’s not afraid when I give a correction,” noted Selena. After witnessing their performance, Mark stated that she was “an electric dancer and performer.” Shirley said that she was “Miss Wow.” As for the guest judge Derek, he told Selena, “You command attention when you walk on that floor. The cameras loves you. We love you.” AJ chose a Viennese waltz, and his partner for the finale was Charli. Mark felt that AJ was a "Fantastic ballroom dancer." However, he also pointed out a few “minor tweaks” from AJ’s final performance. While praising the precise technical mastery of the dance, Shirley asked: “Did you get the most out of this young lady?”
Adele danced on Samba with her celebrity partner Nev. She told the cameras that it was the “hardest Latin dance style” to learn. It was because her partner hadn’t danced in over six years and that she had “no idea that I would be teaching someone who never danced the samba before.” Derek applauded the challenge that Adele took on. “The queen cobra struck again tonight!” noted Mark. Shirley referred to Adele as a “magical teacher.” Further in the episode, fans witnessed a freestyle round. The first pair up for the performance was Selena and Adam, followed by AJ’s performance.
After a series of performances, viewers witnessed the moment that everyone had been waiting for. The judges revealed the winner along with the remaining finalists and their placements. Selena came third. Her reaction was, “I didn’t think I would make it past week one, so being in the top three has given me so much, and amazing friends. This is not the end.” Shirley announced the winner, “The next pro is…Adele!” With everyone cheering for her, Adele said, “I just feel like this is a celebration of all the sacrifices that I’ve done. It’s just like a big ‘I made it’ moment.” As for AJ, who was the runner-up, he told the cameras, “I’ve had the opportunity to dance in the finale - especially with Charli. Every single moment was so enriching and something I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.” With Adele winning the ‘DWTS: The Next Pro’ on September 2, 2026, her ‘DWTS’ Season 35 celebrity dance partner will be revealed.
