The finest -- and worst (4)
I believe the answer is:
best
I believe this is a double definition.
'the finest' is the first definition.
(thesaurus)
'worst' is the second definition.
(both can mean to beat someone)
'and' is the link.
(Other definitions for best that I've seen before include "former football star" , "Most suitably" , "First < outdo < top" , "Of the highest quality" , "unbeatable" .)