1) Challenger 2) Competition 3) Competitor 4) Contender 5) Contender for the crown 6) Contestant of a kind 7) Last round participant 8) Last-round competitor 9) National Book Award nominee 10) Playoff survivor 11) Rival 
• (n.) Any of the players who meet in the final round of a tournament in which the losers in any round do not play again.
Fi'nal·ist noun (Sports) Any of the players who meet in the final round of a tournament in which the losers in any round do not play again. 
[n] - a contestant who reaches the final stages of a competition
a person entitled to participate in the final or decisive contest in a series, as in musical or athletic competition.