For the first time ever here on Inside Survivor, we will be bringing you Survivor South Africa Power Rankings. As the battle to outplay and outwit goes down on the Wild Coast of South Africa, another showdown will be taking place right here between two Survivor veterans.
Fighting it out for Power Rankings supremacy are two past Survivor SA castaways, both from Island of Secrets, Jacques Burger and Meryl Szolkeiwicz. Meryl finished in 13th place on Survivor SA, while Jacques made it to 7th place. But who will come out on top in the Power Rankings? Let battle commence!
In Round 3, Jacques ranked Paul in 2nd place, earning him 2 points. Meryl, meanwhile, had Paul ranked at 10th, bagging her 10 points and extending her lead even further. There’s still a lot of season left to play, however, so let’s see how this week turns out!
RULES
We use the Gordon Holmes format of Power Rankings. Each week the two power rankers create separate rankings based on least likely to most likely to be eliminated. The ranking of the player who is voted out of the next episode will determine the number of points the rankers will earn. For example, if the person you ranked in 1st place is eliminated in the next episode, you will recieve 1 point. If the person you ranked in 20th place is eliminated, you will receive 20 points. At the end of the season, the person with the most points will be named the Power Rankings Champion.
Jacques
29
Meryl
45
1
Tyson
At the rate the game is going, Vuna's not going to tribal anytime soon. Tyson is also still sitting on his idol. He might just get out of this stage of the game with his idol intact!
1
Anesu
Anesu once again is consistent and is well-positioned in this game. She continues her streak as a pre-game favourite. Let’s hope she keeps it up till merge.
2
Marisha
For the first time, Marisha is not in my number one position. Expect her to gradually slide down the rankings as the merge approaches and physical threats become expendable. She is, however, in a big core alliance... it might be her saving grace.
2
Kiran
Kiran, like Anesu, has been consistent in keeping his head down and making wise decisions. I look forward to what Tyson, Anesu and he could do together as they have a strong alliance and an idol between them.
3
Renier
Renier has an excellent grip on the game's intel and core relationships with critical players. He's also a key asset in Vuna's success during the challenges so far and he's currently well insulated by bigger physical threats. The big question is, when will people begin to realise his strategic prowess and peg him as a threat?
3
Tyson
Tyson was one of my pre-game faves and now I think he might just win this. He seems to be the guy who everyone comes to with information. His idol and strong alliance might just take him all the way!
4
Santoni
The kingmaker of the Zamba tribe. Santoni has positioned herself well by ensuring she chooses who goes home each night. The flip-flop strategy is great if you can back it up with a real ride-or-die partner in crime, which she, unfortunately, lacks right now. If the merge swings round, I can see her running out of options. Luckily she still has the idol at tribal council!
4
Shaun
Shaun survived the pumpkin skin! Hives aside, I think he is a complex individual that is able to stay on the right side of the votes every time! I am glad to bring him back up in the rankings.
5
Amy
Amy did well to survive her "A raid is coming" faux pas. I expect her to keep up the camouflage game and let the other big personalities draw the incoming fire. It also appears as if she has formed some vital connections with the Zamba players. If she reunites with her original Renier & Co. gang, she might have the social capital to book a spot at the final tribal council.
5
Renier
Someone to keep an eye on as a strategic mastermind. We haven’t seen much from him since his brilliant performance in the premiere, and I'm sure there is still more to come.
6
Dino
Dino (AKA Vetkoek) had a very engaging episode and was in the middle of all the action. His session during the raid gave him some time to gather intel on the game that might prove vital later on. He also wisely decided to go back to the tribe with all the food and the note to prove he is still a team player. Did a stellar job of discarding his episode one stigma of being the "paranoid play for myself" player.
6
Santoni
Santoni is gaining momentum very quickly and perhaps the ascend is too rapid that people are starting to notice. If she can manage the next few votes and successfully play the triple agent, she would have gained control of the game.
7
Francois
The last remaining physical powerhouse that can guide Zamba to some much-needed victories. Also has a close connection with Santoni, even though he's been left out of the vote a couple of times. He's another player who you can expect to gradually slide down the rankings as the merge creeps closer.
7
Amy
Besides her big blunder, Amy still managed to maintain her position in the tribe. She is well connected and not the centre of attention which bodes well for the long game.
8
Anesu
Anesu is an enigma to me. On the one side, I love her ability to create multiple connections. However, I don't understand how everyone else isn't zooming in on this skill set of hers. If she keeps this up there's going to a moment with five people left in the game and everyone awkwardly looking at one another, asking how can we get rid lady with two votes left?
8
Qiean
Qeian got a little more screen time this episode. Love the colour that she brings when we do see her.
9
Qiean
We haven't seen a ton of Qieän. Her saving grace right now is her tribe's momentum and that she's in the majority. Hopefully as the number of characters start to wane, we will get more insights and confessionals from her.
9
Dino
Another great episode for Dino. He is so fun(ny) to watch. Again, he was the puzzle hero as well as having the tribe put their faith in him. I think that shifts him up in the ranking of his tribe.
10
Shaun
Shaun is a gem on our TV screens. It's very entertaining to see people playing who calls a spade a spade (albeit with some colourful language!). I'm glad he survived a medivac so we can have him in the game a couple of more rounds. Although he voted with the majority, he has few allies left. This is a slight worry for him to be on a tribe that seems destined to go to tribal council again.
10
Anela
Anela managed to speak his mind, keep his allies’ trust, and still be in on the vote. I think that is a win-win-win. He has such a great social game that he is able to maintain his positioning in whichever tribe he is in.
11
Kiran
Another individual of whom we've seen less of due to his tribe avoiding tribal council week after week. However, there have been embers of strategic brilliance in his confessionals. Hopefully, the embers can turn into flames as the season progresses!
11
Marisha
Marisha had such a great episode. The mom in me totally relates to what she was going through in that episode and her connection with Dino might go far. I think they made a really great team.
12
Wardah
Wardah has a close number two in Carla right now. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear as if Carla's "Vote Or Gloat" got well received last week. After voting out her nemesis, Paul, the question now is if she has enough social capital to deflect a vote from Carla if they target her ally.
12
Thoriso
Thoriso seems to be in some interesting conversations about trust, and her previews look quite promising. I’m not actually sure if she has any strong loyalties to anyone, so we will see how it goes.
13
Anela
We saw interesting insights into Anela's gameplay yet again: knowing an ally was going home but unable to save him and opting not to write down his name. He looks like a straight shooter at the moment. Unfortunately, the odds of him going to tribal next week are high. If the girls unite, it will either be him or Chappies facing a torch snuff. As a last-ditch effort to keep the tribe strong, I can see the Zamba voting Anela over Chappies.
13
Wardah
Call out the patriarchy! This was fun to watch. Great showing from Wardah that she is not to be messed with! She and Carla brought the house down on a very entertaining tribal, but I’m not sure if that was enough for the long haul.
14
Nicole
The lowest rated Vuna member from the majority alliance this week. There's a high chance that Kiran, Tyson & Anesu might make a desperate play with Tyson's idol or recruit two rogue votes (e.g. Qieän & Thoriso). If they do this, they will target an unsuspecting member of the core alliance and we might see Nicole being a casualty.
14
Carla
Carla (also see Carldah or Carleesi) had a great episode! Such a great player and intriguing to watch. She proved her loyalty to Wardah and was able to work her way up from the bottom, while Paul ate his way out of the game. I’m not sure that she will be able to keep the target off of her. She is also getting a strong edit... perhaps a final 3?
15
Carla
It's interesting how, when Amy lied about Immunity Island, her tribemates were quite blasé about it. Now that Carla did it, it's considered a great big scandal and they now have her firmly in the crosshairs. Carla's true test will be if she has enough social finesse to rally enough votes and shift the target to someone else.
15
Francois
And Chappies loses his closest ally again... He gets the most screen time and is an obvious target, but his strength has been integral in the challenges. Let’s hope he can mend fences, because there was very little unsaid during tribal council.
16
Thoriso
Let's hope this is the week that Thoriso makes a big move and starts moving up my rankings! As we move into the phase where people are smelling merge and want to start voting out physical threats, it might just be the opportunity she needs to pounce on. Her other options are, getting sent to Immunity Island or keep riding the Vuna momentum wave and stay by winning the challenges.
16
Nicole
Nicole has been getting some screen time, but I have been concerned about her placement in the tribe. Her only true loyalty seems to be with Marisha and I’m not sure that she will be able to escape the vote if they go to tribal.
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