It seems like just yesterday that we were closing the book on Love Island UK Season 10. Sammy and Jess (one of the more forgettable winning couples in history) took home their 50,000 pounds and the rest of us were subjected to rewatching Tommy and Molly-Mae’s season as many times as possible before the next new season was released.

Over the summer, there was a nice appetizer that came in the form of Love Island USA Season 5. It was arguably the best Love Island USA season so far and it seems like our hometown season is finally getting the hang of things since moving to Peacock full-time. That has allowed for more raunchy scenes, the addition of Iain Sterling as narrator, and a baller new villa in Fiji.

However, this appetizer was dwarfed by the announcement of the Love Island Games. Our beloved franchise announced a brand new series that would feature contestants from past seasons of Love Island in every country around the world. The full cast has already been released and it includes some old favorites, some old villains, some old “oh yeah I kinda remember that person,” and even some people from countries that I didn’t know had a Love Island franchise.

This week the new series premiered and it hit like the first Pina Colada of a tropical vacation. The Fiji vibes, seeing some favorite old faces back in action, the voice of Iain Sterling, the arrival of Maya Jama (respectfully), and the overall Love Island branding just mentally transported me to a magical place. Therefore, I decided to break down the starting cast for Love Island Games Season 1 for people who don’t know some, or all, of the players (read: playaaaaaas).

Curtis, 27, Professional Dancer, UK Season 5

What to know about his original appearance: Curtis Pritchard will always have a soft spot in my heart for being a key part of my favorite Love Island season ever. Curtis arrived as a very early bombshell alongside Tommy Fury and the two of them made it to the Final together in what was one of the best bromances in the show’s history.

Curtis was a great Love Islander because he has huge theater kid vibes at heart, in a good way. Everything is a bit of a performance and a bit over-the-top but you can tell that’s how he is in life, not just to act up for the cameras. His relationship with my personal Love Island GOAT Maura Higgins was very entertaining and losing her will go down as an all-time bag fumble.

What to know about what he’s done since then: Curtis and Maura broke up a few months after the show to my personal dismay. Since then, he has been all over British television as one of the professional dancers on Dancing With the Stars, appearing on The Challenge- UK, and even having his own short-lived reality series with Tommy Fury.

Predictions for his performance in the Games: Curtis is incredibly charismatic and sneaky athletic as a professional dancer. He should be able to pick up a solid female partner and be popular amongst the girls and the public, while also performing well in competitions. He is an early top pick for me to go the distance and win this whole thing.

Toby, 25, Professional Footballer, UK Season 7

What to know about his original appearance: Toby is one of my favorite islanders of all time. When going through the originally announced cast list, my fiancee and I shared a glowing look when we read Toby’s name. He is the perfect Love Island contestant because chaos and drama follow him around like a loyal dog, but his innocent and likable manner makes it impossible to dislike him.

Toby famously ditched Chloe, whom he was coupled up with, multiple times and he eventually just put on a cute little smile and said “I actually still only like you” and she had no choice but to take him back. He ended up making it to the finals with Chloe and was runner-up of his season to Millie and Liam.

What to know about what he’s done since then: Toby was a semi-professional footballer for a team called Hashtag United. This team is one of the most fascinating stories in sports and highly recommend watching the video I linked under Hashtag United. If you don’t watch the video, the gist is that this team was founded by a very successful YouTuber who made football videos online.

He invested in the team by blowing up their social media channels, doing partnerships with brands, and signing players who were already influencers in some fashion. It went from a cool social media thing to them actually earning promotion and getting from the 10th tier to the 7th tier in English football over the past few years. Toby is also a legit member of the team and one of their leading goalscorers so it’s wild he can still cut out in the season to do this. I guess that’s why you play for a social media-focused team.

Predictions for his performance in the Games: Toby is another guy who is obviously very athletic and is well-liked by the public. However, if his dating strategy of running to every new girl that walks in is still the same, he could be in trouble when it comes to recoupling every week.

Jack, 27, DJ, UK Season 4

What to know about his original appearance: Jack is an interesting guy. He came into Season 4 as a very young guy and immediately went for Laura who was one of the older girls on the season. Everyone seemed very happy for them as Laura had been going through a tough time finding someone in the villa. However, Jack’s wandering eye got the better of him and he left a blonde girl named Laura for another blonde girl named Laura.

Jack and Laura 2 ended up getting dumped just before the Final and the final conclusion on him was that he was a cheeky chappy that provided some good TV moments but was ultimately kind of a douche.

What to know about what he’s done since then: Jack went with one of the most popular routes for semi-celebrities and became a DJ. He used his Love Island fame to get himself on the 1’s and 2’s in some of London’s hottest clubs and is now allegedly producing real music.

Predictions for his performance in the Games: Jack is the type of guy who will be able to woo a woman at the perfect moment. He could get the girl who is the best competitor in the villa to fall in love with him somewhat easily and then dump her once she gets him through a certain competition. Slightly sociopathic behavior, but also good for this type of competition.

Callum, 25, Poolboy, Australia Season 4

What to know about his original appearance: This is one of the most ridiculous people in the history of Love Island. He is a Welshman with the strongest Welsh accent that I have ever heard but lives in Australia so he was on that season. He came into the show and openly admitted he just wanted to hook up with hot chicks (frat) and didn’t care about their personalities at all.

In his intro this season, he said he is now only 80% about looks and 20% about personality so his maturity has come a long way.

What to know about what he’s done since then: It hasn’t even been very long since Callum’s season of Love Island Australia so there’s not too much report. However, he has definitely been taking steroids and got a very Pauly D-esque haircut so that is something to monitor.

Predictions for his performance in the Games: He is a very cheeky chappy and will definitely win some girls over who are into that type. However, he doesn’t strike me as particularly athletic and I also feel like he is not a very competitive guy. His overly chill attitude might be a detriment to his path to winning here.

Ray, 27, Dental School, USA Season 1

What to know about his original appearance: My Love Island USA knowledge is not entirely up to crack as I have never rewatched a season like I have with UK. Also, as Ray himself admitted in his Love Island Games intro, Love Island USA Season 1 was incredibly boring and forgettable. I remember Ray’s face and that’s about it, but after doing some quick research he came into the villa about halfway through the season, coupled up with a girl, and stayed with her all the way to the Final where they finished 3rd.

What to know about what he’s done since then: From a quick peek at his Instagram- Ray parlayed his Love Island appearance into a spot on a season of The Amazing Race and is modeling around New York City. He’s also a Jersey guy originally so he might just be the sweetest bitch we’ve ever met.

Predictions for his performance in the Games: Ray is the only American guy in the starting cast and I like that for the competition aspect. American guys naturally have better hand-eye coordination than British guys who grew up only playing soccer. Ray’s American-ness definitely should give him a leg up in certain challenges, and even with some women who may be into American guys.

Steph, 23, Model, France Season 2

What to know about his original appearance: I have never seen a second of Love Island outside of the UK, Australia, and USA seasons. Therefore, Steph is a total mystery to me. Apparently, Steph was only on his season of Love Island France for a week so I’m not sure how he was chosen for this but good for Steph.

What to know about what he’s done since then: Steph is a model (duh) and looks remarkably like Francisco Lindor. I literally couldn’t stop seeing Francisco Lindor when he was on my TV last night. Just astonishing.

Predictions for his performance in the Games: Steph is certainly a wildcard. He’s a very good-looking garcon and in great shape but I know nothing about him. So he could flop out in a week again or he could be the man to beat. Only time will tell.

Liberty, 24, Model/Influencer, UK Season 7

What to know about her original appearance: Liberty was the definition of “oh no sweetie you deserve so much better” during her original appearance on the show. She coupled up with Jake on Day One and she fell for him instantly. Jake tried to keep the door open to going with someone else as long as possible but eventually made it official with Liberty, partially because no new girl ever showed any interest in him.

Their relationship eventually was derailed on Movie Night when clips of Jake saying he isn’t that attracted to her and other such things came to light. They ended up breaking up on a yacht on their “final date” and went home voluntarily just before the Finale.

What to know about what she’s done since then:

Predictions for her performance in the Games: Liberty does not seem overly athletic but is certainly very competitive. She also isn’t outwardly the brightest bulb on the tree but is very determined. She has the type of personality where she could simply will herself to stick around in this competition and she will definitely get love from the public if that is a factor.

Jess, 27, Twitch Streamer, Australia Season 4

What to know about her original appearance: Jess is the “I’d find you” girl from Wedding Crashers IRL. She seems like a fun, sexy, flirty girl and lots of guys will be drawn to her. However, the first time you cross her she will threaten to murder you in her ridiculous Australian accent that typed out would look something like “I’ll leetarally keel yew.”

Despite not wanting to be mugged off, she inevitably dated two total fuckboys and made it to the last dumping before The Final of her season.

What to know about what she’s done since then: Jess also just came out of her season of Australia this year so there hasn’t been much time since her appearance. However, she seems to be all-in on the e-girl Twitch stream vibes so she could be a favorite of Big Content Guy if he decides to tap in here.

Predictions for her performance in the Games: Jess is not the type of girl who has much interest in getting her hands dirty or working hard. However, I do think she would cut someone’s throat to be able to stay on the show so that is certainly a very appealing trait to have in a competition series.

Justine, 30, Go-Go Dancer, USA Season 2

What to know about her original appearance: It’s hard to remember much from Love Island USA season 2 but I do remember Justine as she famously won her season of the show. She was a very cool girl, found a cool guy and they rode it to the end and won. Not much drama from Justine but the vibes are great.

What to know about what she’s done since then: Justine is an influencer (duh) but also went on a season of The Challenge so she is very familiar with the competition-style reality show.

Predictions for her performance in the Games: Justine could be a force here. She is a very pretty girl and seems very down to earth so she should do well with the guys. She is also the #1 athlete for my money out of this initial cast. Justine was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and survived the Rwandan genocide so it’s safe to say she has that dawg in her. She also was a college athlete so I expect huge things from Justine.

Imani, 22, Businesswoman, USA Season 5

What to know about her original appearance: Imani is one of the best characters in Love Island USA history. She came in somewhat late in the season and immediately whipped up the drama. Several guys wanted to go for her and she immediately made enemies with a couple of girls over her approach to getting to know their men. Things ended up not working out, almost because she had too many options. She has very big Whitney (Love Island UK) energy if you are looking for a comp.

What to know about what she’s done since then: Her season of Love Island USA ended a couple of months ago so nothing to report here.

Predictions for her performance in the Games: She is definitely athletic and will have no problems attracting guys. Her ability to stay mentally focused on the task at hand whether it be one guy or a certain challenge will be her biggest hardship.

Lisa, 27, Skincare, Sweden Season 3

What to know about her original appearance: I didn’t know Sweden even had Love Island but buddy,,, she is very beautiful to me. Just looking at her Love Island season on paper, she bounced to like 5 different guys, got dumped, got brought back for a second chance on the same season, and then got dumped again. So overall, not the best Love Island campaign but she stood out to the casting department for,,, obvious reasons.

What to know about what she’s done since then: Lisa has a shockingly small Instagram following of 15k as of the premiere of the Love Island Games. I expect that to blow up shortly. She is currently a professional skin therapist.

Predictions for her performance in the Games: Lisa dominated the shit out of the first competition, got her first pick of men and chose Curtis, and kept talking about her Viking blood. This girl is a PROBLEMMMMM! If she stays with Curtis the whole way, I could 100% see them winning this show.

Cely, 27, Influencer, USA Season 2

What to know about her original appearance: Cely is a sweet girl. She is very fun and likable but was in the Liberty camp of “oh no, sweetie” during her time on Love Island USA. Her ex-boyfriend Johnny, who has since joined this show, would get to know every new girl that came in and test Cely’s limits but always go back at the end of the day.

What to know about what she’s done since then: Cely has safely gone the influencer route and has even dropped some tracks since leaving the Villa.

Predictions for her performance in the Games: Cely worries me here. I feel like Johnny’s presence will rattle her hard and she will either get back with him or not be able to invest in a new guy with him around. I also don’t think she’ll be the strongest physical competitor so her time in this Villa may be shortlived.

Megan, 29, Model, UK Season 4

What to know about her original appearance: Megan was a tour-de-force in her season of Love Island. She struck fear into every man and woman who walked through the doors of that villa. Guys wanted to be with her despite their fear and girls were terrified she would steal their man. She did just that when she arrived, stealing Wes who was in one of the most established couples in the villa.

However, Megan and Wes did work and they ended up making it to the Final together. She also famously gets comparisons to Margot Robbie and Margot Robbie is actually a big Love Island fan and ended up chipping in on the debate.

Margot Robbie couldn’t believe that the cast of Love Island knew who she was. This show transcends time and space.

What to know about what she’s done since then: Megan is a model and podcast host. She also has an OnlyFans so if anyone wants to do some independent research into the type of content she’s doing there… feel free.

Predictions for her performance in the Games: Megan is not a competitor at the surface level. I don’t think she has any interest in being sporty, but at the end of the day, she is like Jess in the sense that I would not want to cross her. She will go the throat and do what it takes to win at the end of the day. Also, I don’t see a scenario where she will ever have trouble finding a guy to couple up with her.

Johnny, 25, Model, USA Season 2

What to know about his original appearance: Again, USA Season 2 seems like a lifetime ago. However, you can mostly find all about Johnny from my write-up about Cely. He fucked around his whole time on the show but always went back for her. Early on, it looks like he wants to try to get her back again.

What to know about what he’s done since then: Johnny is a fitness model and is extremely yoked. He has a very early 2000s ripped body in the sense that no one has informed him that big arms are out. He has the body of Ronnie from the Jersey Shore circa 2009 and also looks like he could knock someone out with “one shot, kid” and would tell his girlfriend to “cry some more tears, Niagara Falls” so Johnny and Ronnie may be spiritually connected in some way.

Predictions for his performance in the Games: He is here for trouble. As the great Deji said in Love Island UK Season 8, “I don’t want peace, I want problems.” Johnny is here to get Cely back or at the very least ruin any chance she has at enjoying herself here. He could also be a SERIOUS problem in physical challenges so he is certainly one to watch.

That’s it for the Love Island Games cast breakdown! I will make sure to add more as new (old) cast members continue to roll in.