5 Drag Race Winners Who Were Frontrunners & 5 Who Surprised Everyone

#5: Obvious: Jinkx Monsoon

All Stars 7

Eight previous winners returned to compete in the seventh all-stars edition. Jinkx Monsoon was the underdog on her original season. Throughout season 5, her struggles with her makeup and honing her drag aesthetic added some suspense to her eventual win. But nearly a decade afterward, she showed why shes one of the franchises most well-rounded queens. From the start, Jinkxs talents for comedy, music, and acting made her unstoppable. Her Judy Garland imitation is arguably the best Snatch Game performance of all-time, and that was only week two. The final lip sync between her and Monét X Change was purely a formality. Her track record made her the obvious choice.

#5: Surprising: Trixie Mattel

All Stars 3

Winning Drag Race is almost a footnote for this cosmetics guru, YouTuber, musician, and TV star in her own right. Trixie Mattel might seem like an obvious winner on paper, but given the track records on All Stars 3, she was looking like a safer bet for third or fourth place. BenDeLaCreme dominated the season like few queens before her. Then the gag of the century happened. Ben eliminated herself midway through. Then, the second biggest gag of the century happened. RuPaul introduced a jury twist that saw new frontrunner Shangela knocked out of the finals, leaving Trixie and Kennedy Davenport to vie for the crown. Trixie won, and the Drag Race fandom was absolutely, one hundred percent chill about it.

#4: Obvious: Symone

Season 13

Is your blood sugar low? Anyone who was watching this first post-COVID season live could tell you two things. It was so long, and Symone was going to win. Gottmik and Kandy Muse gave her a run for her money, but Kandys inconsistent track record and Miks respectable showing didnt hold a candle to Symones four challenge wins. Whether the seasons winner would be determined by track record or a Lip Sync Smackdown for the Crown, Symone had it in the bag. Her lip sync game was just as unbeatable as her runways, acting, and comedy chops.

#4: Surprising: Yvie Oddly

Season 11

This Denver queen more than lived up to her name. Yvie Oddlys drag was bizarre, always stretching the boundaries. But she was also a breath of fresh air. Compared to some of the recent winners, she lacked a certain level of polish and diplomacy. She was messy and edgy and confrontational. Yvie was never afraid to do something daring on the runway or let her fellow competitors have it in Untucked. She reminded us of old school Drag Race in a lot of ways. Despite being in the bottom twice, runner-up Brooke Lynn Hytes was the more likely winner of season 11. But Yvies lip syncs in the finale clinched it.

#3: Obvious: Bob the Drag Queen

Season 8

There was no way anyone else was going to win this season. At least thats what Bob the Drag Queen thought. And she turned out to be right. How good was Bob the Drag Queen? She won a maxi-challenge while wearing one of the worst looks ever to disgrace the RuPauls Drag Race Mainstage. Although the season 8 winner had one stumble that put her in the bottom two, the look that landed her there was actually one of her better ones. It almost seems like she was put there to lip sync against her rival, Derrick Barry, and send her packing for story reasons.

#3: Surprising: Jaida Essence Hall

Season 12

Jaidas win was a huge surprise, and not just because it was the first crowning held over Zoom. Airing as the COVID-19 pandemic ramped up, the 12th season sticks out like a sore thumb. Its not the winners fault. The Sherry Pie scandal and her subsequent disqualification ripped a hole in the seasons narrative. But even after losing one of its finalists, the season seemed all sewn up by the time we got to the virtual finale. Fans definitely expected Gigi Goodes four challenge wins to translate to a first place finish. But Jaida came alive in the last half, winning two challenges in a row. RuPaul crowned her after a fantastic virtual lip sync to Destinys Child Survivor.

#2: Obvious: Sasha Colby

Season 15

From the moment she walked into the Werk Room, she was shutting this thing down. Next to Sasha Colby, even the fiercest drag queens looked like amateurs. She skated through the competition and made it look easy. If she does have a weak area in her drag, she didnt show it on the season. After a while, it was almost ridiculous how high she sailed above the rest of her competitors. Mistress Isabelle Brooks had it right when she called season 15 the Sasha Colby Meet and Greet. Even RuPaul was fangirling for her at one point.

#2: Surprising: Willow Pill

Season 14

If you told us the winner of this season was the first person to pull the crown out of a chocolate bar wrapper, we might believe you. Season 14 was long, introduced a very weird, Willy Wonka-inspired twist, and had a crowded, five-queen finale. Willow Pills track record was the weakest going into the end of the season. When all was said and done, she had only won a single challenge. What she did win was many fans who fell in love with her wit and vulnerability about her chronic condition. She slayed the finale, and ultimately, she jumped ahead at the right time.

#1: Obvious: Bianca Del Rio

Season 6

She didnt suffer fools and she never let them see her sweat. Bianca Del Rios run on season 6 is the very model of a Drag Race steamroll. This New York comedy queen played to her strengths. She constantly generated memes and insults at an alarming rate. Most essential to her success, she stuck to what she knew. Its not every queen who could essentially wear the same dress week after week and get away with it. The moment the irascible, wisecracking queen was shown to have a warm, maternal side for her fellow contestants, we knew it was a done deal.

#1: Surprising: Sasha Velour

Season 9

Shea Couleé went into the final round with four challenge wins, and the finale should have been her victory lap. And then the first Lip Sync Smackdown for the Crown happened. Though talented and witty, Sasha Velour and her intellectual brand of drag had a hard time connecting with the judges all season. She was good, but never seemed like a favorite to win. She all but stole the win out from under Shea when she pulled the biggest reveal stunt ever. There was no denying it. If this was a lip sync for the crown, she won it hands down. She went on to battle Peppermint and win the whole season. It remains the most unexpected come from behind victory in the shows history.

Which Drag Race winner surprised you the most? Tell us in the comments.