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| Num Episodes: | 10 | ||||||
| Network: | Paramount+ | ||||||
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| Prev Season: | Season 15 |
Ink Master: OGs vs Young Guns is the sixteenth season of tattoo reality competition show, Ink Master which was announced on October 2, 2024.[1] It premiered on October 23, 2024, with the first three episodes premiering on Paramount+ and the following episodes being released weekly. Good Charlotte vocalist Joel Madden returns as host, while season 8 winner Ryan Ashley and Nikko Hurtado return as judges for their third season and three-time champion, DJ Tambe, returning for his second.[2]
Like the previous season, artists compete against each other for the title of Ink Master as well as a $250,000 cash prize. The season contains 16 new artists competing, which were unveiled before the season premiere. The season sees artists who have been in the industry for more than a decade and a group of newer artists who have only been tattooing for a few years.[3]
The judging panel is a table of four primary judges. The judges make their final decision by voting to see who had best tattoo of the day, and who goes home.
Whoever wins Best Tattoo of the Day, their team will be able to put one artist up for elimination, regardless what team they are on.
The two episodes featured 16 artists competing to be one of the 12 artists that were split into two teams of 6. Two OGs and two Young Guns were eliminated if they do not earn a spot on a team.
Names, experience, and cities stated are at time of filming.
| Contestant Name | Years of experience | Hometown | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Tex | 13 | Calgary, Canada | rowspan=3 |
| Cat Castro | 8 | Riverside, California | |
| James Tex | 26 | Calgary, Canada | |
| Stephanie Heffron | 14 | Tucson, Arizona | 4th place |
| Pony Lawson | 22 | Chicago, Illinois | 5th place |
| Jade Olivia | 3 | Everett, Massachusetts | 6th place |
| Lucy Hu | 20 | Alhambra, California | 7th place |
| Trevor Burtz | 9 | San Clemente, California | 8th place |
| Joseph Serrano | 4 | Puerto Rico | 9th place |
| Jorell Elie | 15 | Atlanta, Georgia | 10th place |
| Jenna Coffin | 5 | Edmonton, Canada | 11th place |
| Alena Wedderburn | 10 | New York City, New York | 12th place |
| Andy Pho | 13 | Hutto, Texas | 13th place |
| Manny Fernandez | 13 | Las Vegas, Nevada | 14th place |
| Johnny Angel | 4 | Sacramento, California | 15th place |
| Love Duncan | 6 | Alexandria, Virginia | 16th place |
| OGs | |
|---|---|
| James Tex | |
| Anthony Tex | |
| Stephanie Herron | |
| Lucy Hu | |
| Pony Lawson | |
| Jorell Elie |
| Young Guns | |
|---|---|
| Alena Wedderburn | |
| Joseph Serrano | |
| Jade Olivia | |
| Jenna Coffin | |
| Cat Castro | |
| Trevor Burtz |
| Contestant Name | |
|---|---|
| Love Duncan | |
| Johnny Angel | |
| Manny Fernandez | |
| Andy Pho |
Indicates the contestant was a Young Gun.
Indicates the contestant was an OG.
| Contestant | Episode | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | ||
| SAFE | TOP4 | LOW | HIGH | SAFE | HIGH | BTM3 | ADV | colspan=2 rowspan=3 | |||
| BTM4 | SAFE | HIGH | TOP3 | TOP2 | TOP3 | BTM3 | ADV | ||||
| SAFE | LOW | BTM4 | TOP3 | TOP2 | ADV | ||||||
| SAFE | TOP4 | TOP2 | LOW | SAFE | SAFE | BTM3 | ELIM | ||||
| SAFE | WIN | TOP3 | HIGH | HIGH | SAFE | HIGH | ELIM | ||||
| TOP4 | SAFE | BTM3 | SAFE | SAFE | HIGH | BTM3 | ELIM | ||||
| SAFE | TOP4 | SAFE | LOW | SAFE | BTM4 | ELIM | |||||
| BTM4 | SAFE | SAFE | BTM3 | BTM3 | ELIM | ||||||
| TOP4 | SAFE | LOW | BTM3 | BTM3 | ELIM | ||||||
| SAFE | WIN | BTM3 | SAFE | ELIM | |||||||
| TOP4 | SAFE | LOW | |||||||||
| SAFE | ELIM | ||||||||||
| SAFE | ELIM | ||||||||||
| SAFE | ELIM | ||||||||||
| ELIM | |||||||||||
| ELIM | |||||||||||
The contestant won Ink Master.
The contestant was the runner-up.
The contestant was eliminated during the finale.
The contestant advanced to the finale.
The contestant won Best Tattoo of the Day.
The contestant won their Head-to-Head challenge.
The contestant was ranked at the top by the judges.
The contestant was among the top.
The contestant received positive critiques.
The contestant received mixed critiques.
The contestant received negative critiques.
The contestant was in the bottom.
The contestant was put in the bottom by the Jury of Peers.
The contestant was eliminated from the competition.
The contestant quit the competition.
For the season's after show, No More Ink, contestants from previous seasons, veteran artists, and various celebrities are interviewed about their careers and opinions on the episode's tattoos by the contestants. The show is hosted by judge, Ryan Ashley. A segment called "Ink Remastered" is introduced, which gives a past contestant redemption on a tattoo they were sent home on.