“Dancing With the Stars” Season 27 teams were spared an elimination during Disney night. However, while the teams were able to breathe a sigh of relief that none of them were going home, their biggest fear could be realized on Halloween night instead, as there’s a good chance the ABC series will make up for the non-elimination by having one that sees two teams leave the competition.

Double eliminations are the most feared on “DWTS” because they involve less protection for the remaining competitors. Whereas a single elimination can still see any team go home at any time, regardless of scores, a double makes it more likely that a team that may have been cushioned by another’s dismissal due to low judge’s scores or low viewer votes will also have to end their time on the show. Now, with the same number of teams going into Week 6 as Week 5, here’s why a double elimination seems more likely than ever.

There Needs To Be One

The finals for the season are set to take place in just a few short weeks, on Nov. 19 and 20, yet there are still nine teams left in the competition. With usually only three or four teams going into those nights of competition, but nine couple still competing, a double elimination is necessary for the number to go down to where it needs to be. Technically, two more double eliminations are needed, but this year, the show will, for the first time ever, go into the finals with five couples still competing.

Thanks to judge Carrie Ann Inaba (via Gold Derby), it’s been revealed that five teams will go into the first night of the finals. However, that will feature the first ever finals week double elimination, and going into night two, the show will remain true to its usual fashion, with only three teams competing one last time before someone is crowned as the champion. However, in order to get to five teams by finals night, a double elimination is necessary, because single eliminations would result in a six-team final.

There Was A Surprise Double Elimination Last Halloween

Last fall, during Season 25 of the show, a surprise double elimination occurred during Halloween night. Fans were stunned when Tom Bergeron announced that both Nikki Bella and Vanessa Lachey were being sent home, as that hadn’t been previously announced. The surprise element led to outrage from fans, who felt it was unfair to spring a double on both them and the cast with no warning.

However, while the show hasn’t mentioned what their elimination plans are, it appears that if a double is being planned for Halloween night, they may be looking to trick fans again with the news—unless Bergeron announces it at the beginning of the episode.

No Elimination Was Mentioned In A Press Release For The Episode

Interestingly enough, the show is likely planning to make a surprise announcement about a double elimination. In press releases for the first four weeks of the season, where the show revealed what routines would be performed and which songs would be used, a note was made about whether or not there would be an elimination. However, the release for Disney night failed to mention if any elimination would happen at all.

Now, the release for Halloween night also fails to mention an elimination. It seems unlikely the show would do two non-eliminations in a row, so not mentioning one yet again seems to indicate the show is trying to hide what their plans are. If it is just a single elimination, then there would be nothing to keep the news from being revealed.

Fans will find out if a double elimination is in the works by tuning in to “Dancing With the Stars” on Monday night at 8 p.m. EDT on ABC.

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