EVERY Sidemen Sunday Of 2023 Ranked

The Sidemen have been going strong for ten years now, and 2023 was arguably one of their best years for content ever – there were only a handful of videos I wasn’t a fan of, and the vast majority of them were entertaining bangers.

As has become tradition by this point, I’ll rank all fifty-two Sidemen Sundays of 2023 from worst to best based on my personal preferences.

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Cancelled

For the first time ever, I’ve had to introduce a new Tier to my Sidemen rankings for a video that didn’t even stay up for longer than a week.

52 – Countdown

A blemish on an otherwise fantastic year, “Countdown” was one of the few times the Sidemen have successfully been cancelled for a slip of the tongue.

I never even got to watch the video since I was on holiday at the time, but either way the fallout was uncomfortable yet necessary. A low point for Sidemen content.

Could’ve Been MoreSidemen

These videos were either underwhelming or outright boring, and felt like second channel content.

51 – The Greatest Sidemen Moments 2022

I can’t say I was surprised when the year started with a recap of 2022’s best moments, but I was still disappointed.

They were good moments, but I’d seen them all before.

50 – The Greatest Sidemen Moments 2023

Apparently, the Sidemen couldn’t wait until 2024 to release their best moments of 2023.

The moments themselves were funnier than 2022’s highlights, and the editing was top-notch across the board.

49 – Hide & Seek In Mini Europe

The worst of the “real” videos from 2023, and many seem to agree that “Hide & Seek In Mini Europe” felt like filler.

Any hide and seek video is a bit of a risk, but the mini Europe location they visited was too condensed and mundane.

48 – Deal Or Not A Deal

I tend to use the “Could’ve Been MoreSidemen” Tier ironically for videos that underwhelmed me, but in the case of “Deal Or Not A Deal” they literally posted the second half of the video on their second channel.

I like the original gameshow, but it’s too slow-paced and one-note for a Sidemen video.

47 – Hide & Seek In A Zoo

2023 wasn’t a great year for hide and seek videos, and the one set in a zoo was another snooze fest.

I like the costumes, and the banter is always good, but that’s about it.

46 – Sidemen VS YouTube Allstars Football Challenge

I can forgive the Sidemen for releasing a half-arsed football video in the run-up to their charity match, but I still think they could’ve done more with the premise.

Vik hitting the crossbar twice was one of his coldest moments, though.

Decent

These videos did the job. I wasn’t exactly blown away, but they were an enjoyable way to spend a Sunday evening.

45 – $100,000,000 Waterpark Hide & Seek

One of the better hide and seek videos of 2023 for the insane location alone, but that was a low bar to clear.

The lads were clearly in high spirits, I’ll give them that, but a lot of the runtime is spent doing nothing at all.

44 – Abandoned In The Desert Challenge

A good video idea with the wrong title and execution.

“Abandoned In The Desert Challenge” didn’t look like they were abandoned or like it was a challenge at all.

43 – Forfeit Wheel Of Fortune

What started as a fun gameshow-type video soon devolved into mediocrity.

The first half of “Forfeit Wheel Of Fortune” had some funny forfeits and good banter, but once the forfeits got worse and the Sidemen turned on Harry the vibes were irreparably ruined.

42 – World’s Hardest Food Challenge

I know I’m in the minority when I say this, but I never like it when the Sidemen do food or calorie challenges.

The challenges themselves were alright, but the Sidemen are spread thin and there’s not much humour to be had.

41 – Throw A Dart And Go Where It Lands (Europe Edition)

These “throw a dart” type videos never really do it for me for reasons I can’t explain.

Maybe the locations were underwhelming, or maybe there was a lack of urgency. Either way, I’m never re-watching it.

40 – Meme Olympics In Public

One of the biggest filler videos I’ve ever seen, and yet there was enjoyment to be had.

Some of the tasks worked, some of them didn’t, but it’s a testament to the Sidemen’s increasing standards that this felt like a week off.

39 – All Sports Golf Battle (Europe Edition)

Sequels always have the danger of feeling inferior to the original, and I don’t think there’s been a bigger drop-off between editions than “All Sports Golf Battle”.

Randy as ref was great, and Callux falling off the golf cart was so funny, but the rest was pretty boring.

38 – Sidemen Become Farmers For 24 Hours

I reckon a lot of people hated “Sidemen Become Farmers For 24 Hours”, but I had a decent time with it.

The tasks were a little boring, and it looked like a lot of things fell through on the day, but the lads’ general shithousery is always a blast.

37 – Drunk Fishing Battle

The Sidemen might think that “Drunk Fishing Battle” was a disaster, but it was the fun kind of chaos.

They didn’t catch many fish, and the ending was a bit random, but at least it was something different.

36 – $20,000 VS $20 Plane Ticket

I liked the premise of cheap and expensive flights, but it didn’t really work in execution.

Plans fell through, there wasn’t much to do on location, and the energy seemed a little low. I reckon they should try this concept again.

35 – Sidemen Brutally Rate Themselves

We’ve had a few videos where strangers have ranked the Sidemen, but it was interesting to see them rank themselves.

I liked the various games they played to work the order out, but they did it better in the YouTuber version later in 2023.

34 – Extreme Hot VS Cold Camping

“Hot VS Cold Camping (Extreme)” is a tale of two halves, much like a lot of the team-based videos.

The cold team were an absolute delight from start to finish, but the hot team were really boring.

33 – $100,000 VS $100 Christmas Movie

I have no idea what the popular opinion is, but I found “$100,000 VS $100 Christmas Movie” to be significantly less entertaining than the song challenge a year prior.

The cheap team were funny, the expensive team were a fascinating insight into a costly production, but the finished products weren’t even in the final video!

If you’re interested in my pick, I thought the cheap team’s video was the more entertaining of the two.

Banger

We’ve hit the big time now. I really liked all of these videos, and they had individual moments that cracked me up.

32 – Sidemen Visit World’s Weirdest Restaurants

“Sidemen Visit World’s Weirdest Restaurants” had two fantastic teams and one underwhelming one. That’s still a majority banger!

The baby café and mean restaurant “Karen’s” were amazing, but the strip club-type place was a little too odd.

31 – World’s Hardest Cooking Challenge

I don’t usually like when Sidemen do cooking videos, but “World’s Hardest Cooking Challenge” was a pleasant surprise.

The team chemistries were great, the judging was harsh but fair, and the various fails along the way played out exactly as I expected.

30 – $100,000 Ancient VS Futuristic Holiday

I’ve seen some people say that the futuristic team was too boring, but I’ve recently visited Japan and I found all of their adventures to be just as fascinating as when I was there.

That being said, the highlights of “$100,000 Ancient VS Futuristic Holiday” all definitely came from the ancient team. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them so drunk!

29 – Race Across A Country (Europe Edition)

I find the races to be much more entertaining than the “abandoned” or “throw a dart” challenges, and they picked a country near and dear to my heart – Belgium!

Ethan and Harry cycling the length of the country will always astound me, so I just wish the tasks were more memorable.

28 – Jeopardy: Sidemen Edition 2

The Sidemen recently made a tier list of videos from the year and they put “Jeopardy: Sidemen Edition 2” right near the bottom. That’s crazy!

Sure, it looked like it failed logistically on the day, but the questions and vibes were great.

27 – Sidemen Break The Weirdest World Records

Another “filler” video that ended up providing more entertainment than I could’ve hoped for.

Harry slamming the award on Tobi’s head, the bath of baked beans, the exercise ball challenge … I was almost in tears for some of the records, and bored out of my mind in others.

26 – Electric Shock Hide & Seek

The best hide and seek of the year because they actually did something unique with the concept!

The electric shock punishment was a great way of adding urgency, as it actually made the in-between segments engaging.

25 – $100,000 Mystery Box Challenge (YouTuber Edition)

I was a little disappointed when they did a sequel to the mystery box challenge in the same year, but the added YouTubers made it fun.

The boxes weren’t as good this time around, and there were too many people on screen, but it was still a fun game to watch unfold.

24 – £1000 Car Challenge

I’ve never been a car guy. I know that’s controversial, but that’s the truth. That being said, I still really enjoyed “£1000 Car Challenge”.

I really like how each team pimped out their ride, and the Richard Hammond video messages were a neat touch.

23 – Sidemen Brutally Rate YouTubers

“Sidemen Brutally Rate YouTubers” had a similar appeal to when they rated themselves, but the added minigames and the banter between some of my favourite YouTubers made it much funnier.

22 – KSI & W2S Control The Sidemen For A Day

I groaned when the Sidemen uploaded a video without either JJ or Harry, but the concept they came up with ended up paying dividends.

George Clarkey was such a great addition, and both the gimp mask and butler parts were hysterical.

21 – Monopoly In Real Life 2

These kind of large-scale board games are always a risk, but in the case of “Monopoly In Real Life 2” it paid off.

The set design and banter were fantastic, and some of the individual challenges like freestyling or TikTok dancing were much funnier than I was expecting.

20 – 10 Year Anniversary Mukbang

I had no faith in a simple Mukbang, but the light-hearted conversations and annual award ceremony made it a really fun watch.

19 – Spill Your Guts Or Fill Your Guts 2

The questions were a little tamer this time around, but the selection of food on offer in “Spill Your Guts Or Fill Your Guts 2” still made my stomach tighten.

The highlight was definitely Josh sucking on JJ’s dreadlocks – a sight I didn’t have on my 2023 bingo card.

18 – Split Or Steal 2

The video that finally concluded Vik’s revenge arc.

The bitterness between the lads was so funny, and the ending where Vik screwed Ethan over was one of the best Sidemen moments of the year.

17 – Sidemen VS Beta Squad Among Us In Real Life

2023 was the year where I finally grew to appreciate Beta Squad in their own right, so their Among Us collaboration was a match made in heaven.

Everyone’s jokes were on top form, and JJ was amazing as the killer.

16 – Sidemen’s Got Talent: YouTuber Edition

The original “Sidemen’s Got Talent” was one of my favourite videos ever, so sadly the sequel didn’t compare. That being said, it was still a banger.

Some of the acts were a little cringey, but others had me rolling with laughter.

Elite

These were some of the best videos of the year, where more often than not I was in stitches.

15 – 20 Women VS 1 Sidemen: Kai Cenat Edition

Hot take time – Kai Cenat’s 20V1 was my least favourite of the year. It was still great, hence making the “Elite” tier, but his style of comedy isn’t for me at times.

It still had some amazing moments though – I really appreciated his confidence during the initial yes / no phase.

14 – Try Not To Move Challenge

An instant classic that would’ve ranked higher if it wasn’t so uncomfortable to watch.

It’s amazing how many insane ordeals they were put through – like the very last disgusting challenge – but it got to the point where I couldn’t look at the screen for some of them.

13 – Ultimate Bachelor Party

This was another video that the Sidemen ranked quite low in their personal tier list – maybe it was a bit wishy-washy, but it was a blast to watch!

Both teams had some really funny moments, but it was the “bad” team’s antics that left me in stitches.

12 – Road Trip: World’s Smallest VS Biggest Car

This video should’ve been boring, and yet it served up classic moment after another.

The small team’s car breaking down, the medium team’s car being swapped for Lightning McQueen, and the big team’s juggernaut not fitting anywhere made for such great content.

11 – Sidemen Stay At World’s Weirdest Hotels

An early banger in 2023, “Sidemen Stay At World’s Weirdest Hotels” had three separate adventures that I loved.

The Finnish team looked fun, the prison team was the weirdest, and the drunk team with Vik, Harry and Chris was the perfect amount of chaos.

10 – $100,000 Mystery Box Challenge

My favourite of the new video concepts this year was “$100,000 Mystery Box Challenge”, which proved that an increased budget could definitely lead to better content if spent properly.

Each mystery box’s contents was funny in their own right, but it was the multiple betrayals and arguments that I’ll remember this video for.

9 – $300,000 VS $300 Road Trip (Europe Edition)

More so than any of the other car videos this year, “$300,000 VS $300 Road Trip (Europe Edition)” felt like the Sidemen firing on all cylinders.

Switzerland was breath-taking, the tasks were funny, but the car heist was one of the greatest moments of the year bar none.

8 – Reverse 20 VS 1: Tana Mongeau Edition

It was always going to be a risk shaking up the 20V1 formula, but I think it paid off.

Tana did a great job working with the ridiculous prompts, and if the male candidates hadn’t been so creepy this could’ve ranked even higher.

7 – Weakest Link: Folabi Returns

“Weakest Link: Folabi Edition” was an absolute disaster. But that’s why I loved it so much.

Folabi is a great character and his punishments were really funny, but it was his botched question reading and questionable answers that had me dying with laughter.

6 – Sidemen Charity Match 2023

While not as good as 2022’s edition (I doubt anything ever will be), the 2023 Charity Match was yet another triumph.

There were lots of great moments like Max Fosch’s Uno Reverse card and Speed’s missed penalty, but the goals weren’t as spectacular and it wasn’t that close of an affair (and watching Theo Baker on the floor injured for 10 minutes wasn’t very fun either).

5 – 7 Star VS 1 Star Hotel (KSI Edition)

What made “7 Star VS 1 Star Hotel (KSI Edition)” so funny was the egregious gulf in quality between teams.

The expensive team had it good, but the cheap team was one of the worst experiences I’ve ever seen the lads put through.

GOATed

These videos were instantly iconic. Every single moment was gold.

4 – 20 Women VS 1 Sidemen: Deji Edition

I’ve seen some people say that Deji’s 20V1 was one of the least memorable so far, but I think Deji himself made it GOATed.

He was just as awkward as Harry but with even more unwarranted self-confidence, and he was always fair game to do the weird prompts – he sometimes even made them weirder without realising.

3 – The Roast Of The Sidemen 2

Stephen Tries’ absolute obliteration of the Sidemen will be what many remember from “The Roast Of The Sidemen 2”, but I thought everyone did an exemplary job.

2 – 20 Women VS 1 Sidemen: Speed Edition

There have been some cracking 20V1 videos over the past few years, but I can’t think of a more entertaining edition than Speed’s effort.

He’s got one of the most chaotic personalities I’ve ever seen, and I loved watching some of the women playing along with his antics.

1 – $30,000 VS $30 Hotel (Europe Edition)

Their first cheap vs expensive European holiday may never be topped, but “$30,000 VS $30 Hotel (Europe Edition)” came damn close.

Not only was the expensive team actually entertaining for once in a blue moon, the cheap team provided some of the best content ever seen on the Sidemen channel.

Aaaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: