Although “Dancing With the Stars” often leaves the tough decision with regard to the big winners in the hands of audiences, the program’s season finale on Monday night avoided applying this particular formula and gave judges the chance to say out loud the name of their favorite contestant.

Straight from the beginning of last night’s show, Lee Goodman, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba praised the performances of Brooke Burke, who proved to be the best technical dancer of the competition, even though she was not the most original and inspired. Her results easily outshone those of Lance Bass and Warren Sapp, but it is uncertain whether voters will consider them. The judges hinted at the fact that Brooke Burke should be the winner throughout the entire episode of “Dancing With the Stars” and failed to eulogize the other competitors as well, particularly Lance Bass, who appears to have the best chance to triumph.

Following several clips reminding viewers of the contestants’ time on the ABC show, the struggle kicked off with a “samba smackdown,” which included the pairs dancing one after the other and a final group part, in which all six competitors swayed together.

Brooke Burke and Derek Hough’s performance was, unsurprisingly, very good, despite the fact that it has been highlighted repeatedly that samba is a party dance. And vigor and happiness are not Brooke’s strong points, as she masters technique and skills, without adding emotional or imaginative ingredients to the dance.

While Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer displayed vitality and youth by introducing clever elements in their dance, Warren Sapp and Kym Johnson exemplified the party-themed nature of samba.

Brooke and Derek got 28 points out of 30, followed by Lacey and Lance with 26 and Warren and Kym with 25.

Nevertheless, it was the freestyle round that set the three pairs apart. Brooke Burke impressed everyone with a sparkling and vivacious performance set to “You’re the One That I Want” from “Grease,” that drew the judges’ acclaim.

Len Goodman said that Brooke Burke’s freestyle dance was the best he had ever witnessed and offered her a 10, the top score. The 37-year-old model and actress received a perfect result, by collecting 30 points out of 30, and raised her total score to 58 out of 60.

Lance and Lacey delivered a hip-hop routine on Run-DMC’s “It’s Tricky,” while Warren and Kym closed the evening with a rather average freestyle on Ike and Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary.” Both pairs saw a combined total of 53 points.

The winner of the show’s seventh season will be named on Tuesday night after the three finalist pairs do their last dance. The scores offered by the judges will be combined with the results of the viewers’ votes so as to establish the champion. The two-hour finale will also include performances by previously eliminated couples, who are due to return to the ballroom.