the first contestant in the series to successfully complete all elements of the skullbuster wins $10,000, is declared champion, and sets the time to beat for subsequent contestants. men and women have separate champions. if a contestant completes the course in a shorter time, he/she becomes the new champion and receives $10,000, and that time becomes the new benchmark. however, every time a contestant either fails to beat the champion's time or does not complete the course at all, the current champion wins an additional $10,000. during the first season, no prize money was awarded until the first successful completion of the skullbuster. the course has been modified at the start of each new season, and the previous season's champion is given the first opportunity to run it and set the time to beat.