Adam Klein is crowned the winner of Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X.
The 25-year-old homeless shelter manager from San Francisco, CA was voted the Sole Survivor of the thirty-third season of Survivor. At the final tribal council, Adam talked about how he felt he played a game that balanced both “Gen X” and “Millennial” qualities, knowing when to stay loyal and when to flip. Even though Hannah claimed she made more decisions, Adam referred to them as blunders. Adam also talked about how while Survivor is his dream, he’s also been living with the nightmare that his mother back home has stage-four lung cancer.
Adam won in a unanimous vote, receiving all ten votes from the jury. Hannah Shapiro, the 24-year-old barista from Los Angeles, CA finished as joint runner-up alongside Ken McNickle, the 33-year-old model from Denver, CO.
During the reunion show, Adam revealed that his mother passed away one hour after he returned home from filming but he got to speak to her and tell her he loved her. He also announced that he’ll be donating $100,000 of his winnings to Stand Up 2 Cancer for lung cancer research.
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WOOHOO! So happy for Adam, and…so happy to have been right all along. <3 I may have doubted it a couple of times, but I just always felt like Adam was the winner. There was just something about him and the way he was depicted.
He was my second pick for winner after Jay.
Sad about his mother thou
With a 10 person jury, what would have happened in case of a tie? Also did Hannah and Ken split 2nd place money ??
No one is quite sure what would happen in a tie scenario. But I imagine Jeff would make them revote while still on location? And yes, Hannah and Ken split the 2nd and 3rd place money between them I believe.
Oh really? I thought they both get $100,000. That’s what Yau-Man said happened when Dreamz and Cassandra tied-by-default for 2nd with 0 votes. And Yau-Man got the typical 4th place prize of $60,000. Have they changed it since then? Because I know Rudy said 3rd place = $85,000.
I have mixed feelings on Adam Klein winning. The story of him and his mom is truly devastating, especially since he was uncertain if she knew he won in her last moments. He played a solid game. There were some head-scratching moments (trying to make friends with Taylor after voting off Figgy), but he did well overall. Making the right allies at the right time. Winning challenges.
That said, and not to be insensitive but why did he feel the need to reveal his mother’s cancer in the final tribal when he played the whole game only mentioning it once to Jay? I hate to say it but it seems he waited until the most opportunistic moment he could for himself. You can see the hope rush from Ken’s face as soon as he told the jury what was motivating him. Ken and Hannah knew at that moment any fence straddler votes would go to Adam, because who wants to vote against the kid doing this for his terminally ill mom?
Either way, a very solid season. More likeable cast than Khao Rong. I see several returns from this group.
Well, you DO realize that we see a small portion of a very long process, right? From exit interviews and such, I’ve gathered some intel on this. First of all, Adam had a conversation with Ken either right before or right after the Bret vote. He revealed his mother’s story to Ken that night, as a way of reaffirming the bond they had. Adam also mentioned that he had a F3 deal with Ken, too, so he was already working on Ken to vote David off and take him to the Final 3.
Secondly, you can see when Jay asked him his question, Adam restrained himself from revealing it then. But when David asked his question and Ken mentioned his daughter, Adam probably couldn’t hold it in much longer because I’m sure he was still full of stress and emotion after a 3 hour-long FTC. So I don’t think he did it as a manipulation tactic, but rather as an emotional release.
Finally, if you watch the “Jury Speaks” videos on CBS.com, you’ll notice that pretty much 8/10 of the Jurors were heading into the FTC with the intention of voting for Adam and only 2 of those 8 expressed minor bits of leeway. I would even argue the other 2 undecideds, both Millennials, seemed in favor of Adam first, then Ken, then Hannah, at best. Even David, Ken’s top dog, had NO intention of voting for Ken. He was 100% voting for Adam.
Thanks for the explanation. I deduced that Ken and Adam were working together based on what I could see on the “Pinball Wizard” challenge when Adam was assisting Ken to a win. I’m inclined to agree with you that it was an emotional situation. I’d be pretty heart-sick if my mom were in a similar situation. You’re conflicted because you’re living out your dream, away from aiding your mother during her most vulnerable moment. Tough choice and I’d be conflicted, even with her blessing.
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