Their elimination from the competition was a shock to everyone.

elimination 是动词 eliminate 的名词形式，由前缀 e-（表示"出"）和词根 limin（门槛、界限）加上名词后缀 -ation 构成，字面意思是"移出门槛之外"，引申为"淘汰、排除"的意思。