Who Will Win 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 17? Ranking the Queens After Episode 8

RuPaul’s Drag Race is back, and that means that in a few short months, we’ll know America’s Next Drag Superstar v.17. After eight weeks, we’ve now eliminated five queens. But we’ve seen our girls walk plenty of runways, compete in plenty of challenges and deliver plenty of confessionals. So, while we still have weeks before the finale, we’ve got a lot of information already as pertains to the nine remaining queens.

🎬 SIGN UP for Parade’s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬

Which brings us to the question: Who will win Season 17 of RuPaul’s Drag Race?

To that end, I’ve put together a ranking of the full cast of drag queens competing this season, ordered from least likely to most likely to be crowned America’s Next Drag Superstar. It’s a power ranking, if you will, and while there are supposed spoilers on dark corners of the internet, I haven’t read any of them. And to clarify, this ranking relates specifically to their chances of winning Season 17 and not just making it far.

This week, Acacia Forgot was sent home after the judges felt her Dorothy wasn’t emotional enough. Last week, I ranked Acacia as 8 out of 10, so her exit wasn’t particularly surprising. She’d been in the bottom twice before and seemed to be a longshot for the crown. 

You can read last week’s ranking here, and check back every week throughout the season for updated rankings as the queens are eliminated. But without further ado, here’s our ranking after Episode 8.

Related: ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ Renewed for Season 10

RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17 Episode 8 Power Rankings

9. Kori King

Last Week: 7th
Track Record: Safe, Bottom, Bottom, Safe, Safe, Safe, Bottom

This week was Kori’s second time lipsyncing and third time in the bottom, without a single placement in the top. As Suzie Toot pointed out this week, Kori has not performed well in comedy challenges, and she’s also not performed well in fashion challenges. Her relationship with Lydia B. Kollins makes me think that we will be seeing a Kori vs. Lydia lip sync before too long–perhaps as early as next week. 

8. Lana Ja’Rae

Last Week: 10th
Track Record: Safe, Safe, Safe, Safe, Bottom, Bottom, Safe

Lana dodged her third lip sync in a row this week, but she’s still yet to place higher than safe. As less and less queens are safe every week, Lana’s time will certainly run out. She’s in the bottom tier of remaining queens, and it’s really just a question of what order she, Kori and Lydia exit. 

7. Lydia B. Kollins

Last Week: 9th
Track Record: Safe, Safe, Safe, Bottom, Safe, Safe, Safe

Lydia has only had to lip sync once, so I have her slightly above Lana and Kori. But with not a single top placement in eight weeks, she really doesn’t stand a chance at winning this season. Watching her face off against Kori, however, will certainly make for some good television. 

6. Arrietty

Last Week: 6th
Track Record: Safe, Top, Bottom, Eliminated/Saved, Win, Bottom, Safe

Arrietty managed to avoid the bottom again this week, I think largely due to the strength of her runway. She’s far and away the most fashionable queen on Season 17, and as we likely head toward another design challenge in the next couple of weeks, there’s a shot that she’ll earn a second win. That said, she’s struggled with performance challenges, and we’re running out of queens likely to stumble their way out the door before her. 

5. Lexi Love

Last Week: 5th
Track Record: Win, Safe, Safe, Safe, Safe, Top, Safe

After her initial win in Episode 2, Lexi has been safe for five out of the six following weeks. That’s a bit concerning, especially as the frontrunners find themselves in the top week in and week out. While Lexi certainly has the personality of a Drag Race winner, she might be headed toward a 5th place finish, followed by an extremely impressive All-Stars run. If she hopes to win Season 17, she’s going to need to earn a second win in the next week or two. 

4. Jewels Sparkles

Last Week: 4th
Track Record: Top, Safe, Safe, Safe, Safe, Top, Top

Jewels Sparkles has become the de facto narrator of the season with her exuberant confessionals, and she’s picking up steam with two top placements in a row. I’d argue, though, that Jewels could have won either of the last two weeks. Rather, a second win was given to another queen instead. RuPaul always has her favorites, and I’m sort of shocked that Jewels doesn’t seem to be one of them. She is still definitely in the hunt for the crown, but like Lexi, she needs to make a break soon or risk finishing just shy of the finale. 

3. Suzie Toot

Last Week: 2nd
Track Record: Win, Safe, Top, Win, Safe, Safe, Top

Despite two wins and two top placements, it’s been a ROUGH few weeks for Suzie in the edit. Her tantrum in last week’s Untucked and her continued delusion this week really is not making her a lot of fans on the internet. While that doesn’t necessarily matter to RuPaul, I do think she’ll need some kind of redemption arc in the back half of the season before Ru would actually crown her. 

2. Onya Nurve

Last Week: 1st
Track Record: Safe, Top, Win, Top, Safe, Win, Top

Onya Nurve has the best track record of any queen on Season 17 and seems to be RuPaul’s favorite of the lot. That said, as with Suzie, I think her handling of the spray paint situation with Lexi is a ding on her resume. Sometimes Ru gets a little bored in these long seasons as well, so it’s tough to peak so early. While Onya certainly could win, I think there are some potholes she’ll need to sidestep along the way. 

1. Sam Star

Last Week: 3rd
Track Record: Safe, Win, Safe, Bottom, Top, Top, Win

This week, Sam Star earned her second win. But more importantly, she “loosened up” in front of the judges and showed her more vulnerable side. As we saw last week with Crystal, being too polished can be the kiss of death on Drag Race. But Sam seems to have bucked that criticism. We haven’t really seen a straight pageant queen win since Jaida Essence Hall, so Sam would fit well into the pantheon of winners. She’s also the least problematic of the three frontrunners at the moment, which could help her. There’s still plenty of Drag Race to go, but Sam is very well situated for now. 

Related: Law Roach Has Been Manifesting His Spot on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ for Years (Exclusive)