Five couples are vying to win the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy at the Dancing with the stars season 33 finale — and they all have their eyes on the prize.

After the semi-finals on Tuesday, November 19 — which ended with the shocking announcement that neither duo would return home — the remaining candidates told exclusively Us every week how they prepare mentally and physically for the final.

“Obviously it’s going to be a long week,” the pro said Jenna Johnsonwho has been a favorite all season with her partner, Joey Graziadei. “There are longer dances, but I really want our mantra to be joy. I just want it to be a joyful experience, because it’s over so quickly and we’ll never get back to that moment in time. So, I really want it to be a positive week for us. Even though there is a lot to accomplish, I just want this to be a moment we will never forget.

Graziadei, 29, added that win or lose, he had already tapped Johnson, 30, to choreograph him and his fiancée Kelsey Andersonthe first dance of their wedding.

“It doesn’t take a disco ball to win this title. She has this title for everything she has done,” said Graziadei, who is the first former Bachelor to do the DWTS final. (Several former Bachelorettes have accomplished the feat.)

Ilona Maher and his partner, Alan Berstenhave also formed an unbreakable bond this season. Bersten, 30, said We that the two men “will be in each other’s lives forever” and shared their strategy for the finale.

“It’s just going to be about getting the best out of Ilona, ​​and she’s giving that every week. This week has been exceptional,” he said. “Ilona was able to be herself, and I think that’s what I’ve been trying to do this whole season.”

Maher, 28, who judges Carrie Ann Inaba dubbed the Most Improved Contestant of Season 33 during the semi-finals, joked, “It only took nine weeks.”

Danny Amendola And Witney Carsonmeanwhile, have made extremely impressive progress throughout the season and plan to finish strong with the same wow factor. When asked what viewers could expect from the duo in the finale, Carson, 31, replied: “Something memorable.”

Amendola, 39, added that he and Carson get into a winning mindset by performing “as many reps as possible” and staying “in the zone” no matter what.

“You kind of have to block out all the glitz and glamor of being live on TV and just focus on all the preparation you’ve done throughout the week,” the NFL alum said. “So that’s really what we do.”

“Yeah, we kind of lock ourselves in,” Carson echoed.

Related: The ‘DWTS’ Season 33 Cast Shares Their First Thoughts When They Met Their Partners

Season 33 of Dancing With the Stars has its cast, bringing together professional athletes, reality TV royalty, models and more to battle for the coveted Len Goodman Memorial Mirrorball Trophy. “I think it’s going to be a great season. I think it’s one of the few seasons where there’s not really an automatic favorite,” DWTS (…)

While Carson, Bersten and Johnson each have a Mirror Ball Trophy win on their resume, Season 33 marks Brandon Armstrongthis is the first time he has reached the final since becoming a DWTS pro during season 27.

“It’s incredible. … I just feel like any words I would put into the emotional aspect of doing it for the first time would be insufficient,” Armstrong, 30, said. We. Him and his partner, Chandler Kinneyhave been at the top of the standings all season and have a real chance of winning it all.

“What I’m focused on is using an opportunity that has been very fortunate for us to make sure that we reiterate something that we’re both passionate about, especially for the people who come after us and have the opportunity to grow and develop,” Armstrong said of his mindset heading into the final.

As for how he’ll put himself together for the big night, Armstrong said he plans to “drink coffee, be nauseous (and) try not to throw up.”

Although Kinney, 24, seemed skeptical of Armstrong’s habit of “having coffee on an empty stomach,” she noted that the two otherwise agreed on how they prepared for the show .

“We actually have to do a lot of things in exactly the same way,” she said. “We have our little space that we go into. We have our little Zen mode. And just enter our own little world.

The fifth duo competing for the mirror ball, Stephen Nedoroscik And Rylee Arnoldfell to the ground with relief after the cohost Alphonse Ribeiro announced after the semi-finals that no one would be eliminated.

Arnold, 19, has become just one DWTS pro last season and is also heading to the finals for the first time. She took to Instagram on Wednesday, November 20, to rave about this important milestone and to congratulate her partner.

“I don’t know how to express how I felt when I found out we had reached the final because it really was so special! … I just know for sure that little Rylee looks at where we are now with the biggest smile on her face and it’s so surreal to be realizing my biggest dream,” Arnold wrote. “I am the luckiest to have Steve on this journey with me and I know for a fact that we were matched for a reason because I truly made him a friend for life and that has been the happiest, the most fulfilling and amazing season I could ever ask for So Steve THANK YOU!!!! WE DID IT!!!!!! !!!!.”

The three hours Dancing with the stars The season 33 finale airs on ABC and Disney+ on Tuesday, November 26 at 8 p.m. ET. You can stream the episode on Disney+ the next day.

With reporting by Carly Konsker