In the year 2000 Bill Clinton was President, Eminem had the fastest selling album, Robert Downey Jr was arrested for possessing cocaine, and Survivor first aired on US television. In the year 2014 Barack Obama was President, Taylor Swift had the fastest selling album, and Justin Bieber was arrested for driving under the influence, oh, and Survivor was still airing on US television.
We are now in 2015, and next month Survivor airs its 30th season. Just read that back, has it sunk in yet? 30TH SEASON! Outside of say, Saturday Night Live, and The Price Is Right, how many shows go thirty seasons? And not only go thirty seasons but maintain, for the most part, a consistent quality. In fact, last year’s Survivor: Cagayan was one of the strongest seasons of all time, and proof that this format can still provide solid entertainment.
Three years ago ahead of the 23rd edition of Survivor, I posted my Best of the Best: Ranking the Survivor Winners on my old blog. Since then we have had seven brand new winners of different gender, race, and background. And as we approach the highly anticipated 30th season (Survivor: Worlds Apart) I thought it the perfect time to update that list. Not only will I be placing these new winners, but I will be re-evaluating the positioning of previous winners due to my opinions having changed somewhat over the past three years. I felt that last time I was perhaps needlessly harsh in some cases and too generous in others.
Remember that this list is purely subjective, even though I have tried to take out as much personal bias as I possibly can. My rankings are predominantly focused on game elements, such as strategy, social, control and this time around I have put a larger focus on the stats. I’m also of the belief that anyone who won deserved to win, there is no such thing as a “bad winner”, it’s just that certain winners played more impressive games in my eyes.
So with all that out of the way, let’s begin Ranking The Survivor Winners.
1. Sandra Diaz-Twine (Winner: Pearl Islands and Heroes vs. Villains)
Former professional boxer Joe Calzaghe retired undefeated in his sport with 46 fights and 46 wins. But when the topic of the best boxers of all time is brought up Calzaghe’s name is often shunted aside. Why? Well, some say that Calzaghe didn’t fight enough big-named fighters. He spent the majority of his career fighting in Europe rather than traveling to the US where at the time the competition in his weight division was of a higher standard. And his wins, while convincing, were unmemorable and often point based. Calzaghe just wasn’t a flashy or aggressively dominant fighter.
Why is he rabbiting on about boxing you may be wondering? Well, because many of the criticisms that are levelled at Joe Calzaghe could just as easily be applied to two-time Survivor champion Sandra Diaz-Twine. Like Calzaghe, Sandra is also undefeated in her sport – the sport of Survivor. But because her game lacks the showmanship and razzmatazz of other winners she is often unfairly maligned. However, unlike Joe Calzaghe who has to be ranked against many other undefeated fighters in his field, in the world of Survivor, there is only one undefeated champion, and that is why despite the criticisms I have to rank Sandra as the best winner of all time.
Nobody has mastered the “as long as its not me” strategy quite as well as Sandra. Intentionally playing under-the-radar, Sandra is always aware of her own position within the game. She follows the numbers, making herself a viable asset to the dominating alliance. Her social game is impeccable; a mixture of brash honesty and foul-mouthed humour that gives her an alluring charm in a game full of deception and lies. Sandra didn’t need to play aggressively, she made herself necessary when it counted (ousting Burton in Pearl Islands), and took a back-seat when it was time to let others take the heat.
Sandra’s reads are one of her biggest strengths. In Heroes vs Villains she read Russell like a book, and used his ego and paranoia to help vote-out Coach, and later recognised the animosity towards him as her winning tool. Russell stated at Final Tribal Council that Sandra’s failure to get rid of him was a mark against her, but what he was too foolish to realise was that by pitting herself as his arch-nemesis, Sandra warmed herself to the Heroes tribe (who made up the majority of the jury). Sandra knew she didn’t have to talk about big moves or the intricacies of her strategy, she correctly read the room, and knew that by highlighting the Heroes’ failure to help her vote out Russell would be enough to secure their votes.
Sandra isn’t a leader. She isn’t the one to create alliances. But that’s because Sandra plays for Sandra. She always makes the best move for her, and two times out of two, it’s a winning formula.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 7 (Pearl Islands) 8 (Heroes vs. Villains)
Votes Against: 0 (PI) 3 (HvV)
Votes For Ratio: 9/11 (PI) 9/12 (HvV)
FTC Votes: 6-1 (PI) 6-3-0 (HvV)
Idols Played: n/a (PI) 2 (HvV)
Seasons Played: 2
No. Days Played: 78
2. Kim Spradlin (Winner: One World)
There are some players that come to Survivor with potential but it takes them multiple seasons to perfect their strategy and win – take Boston Rob and Tyson Apostol for example. Then there are those that come to the game and with a little bit of smarts and a little bit of luck and make it all the way to the end their first time out. And then there is Kim Spradlin; a woman so naturally fitted for Survivor that you’d think she was built in a laboratory by Mark Burnett himself.
While I don’t mean to infer that Kim is a robot, that description is kind of apt for the Terminator-like precision she played the game with. Many have talked up the sheer dominance of Boston Rob’s performance in Survivor: Redemption Island, and while it was indeed impressive, it was also his fourth attempt. Just two seasons later Kim displayed the same dominance on her first attempt. From the very start Kim was in control of a solid five-person alliance, but she never acted like an overbearing dictator (see Colton on the opposing tribe). She listened, she comforted, she reassured, and she ultimately had those people doing whatever she wanted them to do.
Kim was an impressive challenge performer; winning four Individual Immunities. She had a solid social game, and throughout the season was a clear threat, but she used her powers of persuasion and manipulation to keep the target off her. During a tribe switch, herself and Chelsea created a separate alliance with Jay and Troyzan as a back-up plan, and used those ties to maintain a majority for the women at the merge. Once Jay and Troyzan had served their purpose, Kim cut them. Her style of play was methodical, surgical even, you can imagine her and TV serial killer Dexter getting along quite well. Any sort of unpredictability would be quickly nipped in the bud, hence her blindside of alliance member Kat.
Similarly to Sandra, Kim’s game wasn’t the most flashy. She didn’t play a bunch of idols or constantly tell the world how great she was. She just made smart moves and got herself to the end. One World itself is a predictable and mostly poor season, and therefore it can be easy to sell Kim’s game short. Certain folk also say that her competition was weak, but that is always an argument I take little notice of. The players don’t choose who they are cast with, and the majority of players in first-timer seasons are generally ill-prepared for the game.
Kim is the best one-time player without question. She ran her alliance like a well-oiled machine, making adjustments here and there, and disregarding broken parts when they had become useless.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 12
Votes Against: 3
Votes For Ratio: 9/10
FTC Votes: 7-2-0
Idols Played: 0
Seasons Played: 1
No. Days Played: 39
3. Parvati Shallow (Winner: Micronesia – Fans vs Favourites)
When it came to re-evaluating my first ranking, I decided that I wasn’t going to be quite so generous to those that have had the advantage of playing multiple times. But when you look at Parvati Shallow’s stats, it’s hard to deny that she is one of the greatest players to ever play Survivor. In her first season Cook Islands she finished in 6th place, and while her game lacked maturity, she was arguably the best positioned to win out of the former Rarotonga tribe. In her second season, Micronesia, she obviously won. And her third return in Heroes vs. Villains she was runner-up. Those stats don’t lie.
Parvati is often considered a “flirt”, but to boil her strategy down to that is to criminally downplay how nuanced and intricate her gamesmanship is. Parvati plays Survivor like an expert chess champion, constantly thinking two moves ahead. Whether it’s her blindside of Ozzy, or playing her idols for Jerri and Sandra, she always puts herself in a position of control. Her charm and confidence inspires loyalty; this can be overt like her control of the female alliance in Micronesia, or more subtle like her behind-the-scenes maneuvering of Russell in Heroes vs. Villains.
Some people believe that had there not been a sudden switch from a Final 3 to a Final 2, due to James’s medical evacuation, then Cirie Fields would have won Micronesia. And while I’m inclined to agree with that, we will never know for sure. Regardless, I think Parvati’s subsequent performance on Heroes vs. Villains cemented her legacy as one of the best to play. Every Tribal Council that Parvati attended in Micronesia she voted for the person that went home, she only had 4 votes against her the entire game, and was also a competent challenge performer.
Parvati is a natural at Survivor; one of the game’s best manipulators, her tells and ability to read a situation are scarily perceptive. I’m not sure if Parvati will ever play again, but if she does I’d put money on her going deep.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 11
Votes Against: 4
Votes For Ratio: 8/8
FTC Votes: 5-3
Idols Played: 0
Seasons Played: 3
No. Days Played: 114
4. Brian Heidk (Winner: Thailand)
“If you’re committed enough, you can make any story work. I once told a woman I was Kevin Costner, and it worked because I believed it.” That quote comes from shady lawyer Saul Goodman from Breaking Bad; a self-confessed sleaze who shouldn’t be trusted, yet in spite of his misgivings is very good at his job. Now imagine those same words coming out the mouth of Brian Heidk. If Brian told me he was Kevin Costner, I’d believe him, and so would you. Brian Heidk is the Saul Goodman of Survivor.
A former used-car salesman, Brian described his time on Survivor as a “business trip”, and that is exactly how he approached the game. Brian made everyone feel like he was their friend; creating fake bonds and false promises and claiming that the season was “all about love”. He had his alliance so wrapped up in his web of lies, each of them believing they were the one that Brian wanted to take to the Final 2, that they were almost too scared to make a move against him. It was similar to how Boston Rob controlled Redemption Island, except Brian did it on his first try.
Much like One World, as a season, Thailand is often criticised as predictable and unlikable. I think this is simply an unfortunate by-product of when a player is so comfortably in control; they not only suck the life from their fellow players but they suck the life from the season itself. Brian doesn’t get many points for entertainment, or likability, but his skillful manipulation of Survivor Thailand is unquestionable. His keeping the weaker players around also meant he could dominate the Immunity challenges.
What keeps Brian from breaking into the Top 3 is the fact that he almost ended up losing to Clay in the Final 2. Clay was one of the biggest goats in Survivor history and Brian been one vote away from defeat puts his social game somewhat into question.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 11
Votes Against: 0
Votes For Ratio: 9/9
FTC Votes: 4-3
Idols Played: n/a
Seasons Played: 1
No. Days Played: 39
5. Todd Herzog (Winner: China)
It’s always a joy to watch a superfan come on Survivor and not only prove likable but actually succeed in the game. Todd was just 22 years old when he competed on Survivor China. As a huge fan of the show it would have been easy for him to become overwhelmed much like fellow superfan Erik in Micronesia or Cochran on South Pacific. But Todd took to Survivor like he had been preparing for it his whole life.
While there was a professional poker player on the season, it was Todd who displayed the expert tells. He knew how to influence people by appealing to the most malleable facets of their character. Whether it be their ego, their intelligence, or even their belief system, Todd had a canny ability to find common ground with anyone no matter their background. His solid social game and approachable nature was so on point that other players were physically handing him clues to the whereabouts of hidden immunity idols – yet Todd never had to use an idol to save himself.
Todd was in control of every Tribal Council he attended, always on the right side of the votes, and was a key player in numerous blindsides. His handing over of two idols to James could have proved a crucial error, but Todd was confident in his ability to control James and if need be get those idols back. He never did though, as he voted James out with both idols in his pocket. I’ve dropped him a couple of places from my previous ranking because he did receive five votes against him, and although his Final Tribal Council performance is one of the all time best, he did lose three votes due to his deceitful gameplay.
It has been well documented that Todd has recently gone through some hardships in his life, and I hope he can recover, not only because he is one of the nicest players Survivor has ever seen and deserves to live a happy, healthy life, but because he is someone that should have the chance to play Survivor again and prove why he’s one of the best.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 8
Votes Against: 5
Votes For Ratio: 9/9
FTC Votes: 4-2-1
Idols Played: 0
Seasons Played: 1
No. Days Played: 39
6. Tom Westman (Winner: Palau)
As a fan of the game I put much more weight on strategy and social scheming than I do the challenges, but to completely neglect the physical portion of Survivor would be to do a disservice to the unequivocal superiority of Tom Westman. Tom is a born-leader, Survivor’s very own Coach Taylor, inspiring his tribemates to give it their all. Clear Eyes. Full Hearts. Can’t Lose. And they didn’t lose. Tom lead the most successful tribe in Survivor history; winning every single pre-merge Immunity Challenge.
But if Tom was simply a great challenge performer he wouldn’t be this high up the list. Terry Deitz was a great challenge performer too but he lacked the social skills required to make it to the end. Tom was not only a power-house in challenges but he was an amiable and charismatic figure which allowed him to gain the trust of his fellow players, even when under the surface what he was doing was actually quite ruthless. Like all the best players, Tom stayed one step ahead of the competition, sniffing out his threats and disposing of them before they got him first – for example his voting out Coby and Greg.
Tom’s crowning achievement in Palau was using his likability and false sense of integrity to convince his biggest competition Ian into throwing the Final Immunity Challenge. In what is one of the most famous challenges in Survivor history, Tom displays both his physical prowess and his savvy intuition in a move that perfectly sums up his game.
Unfortunately, Tom wasn’t able to recapture former glory during his short-lived stint on Heroes vs. Villains, and despite winning Palau having never had a vote cast against him, this lackluster second run does sadly taint his overall record somewhat.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 17
Votes Against: 0
Votes For Ratio: 6/7
FTC Votes: 6-1
Idols Played: n/a
Seasons Played: 2
No. Days Played: 53
7. Tony Vlachos (Winner: Cagayan)
John Forbes Nash Jr. was a Nobel Prize winning mathematician that was widely recognised for his contributions to the concept of game theory. Nash was also diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and spent his life in and out of hospitals. He is what we would affectionately refer to as a “mad genius”. Now, I’m not saying Tony Vlachos is a genius, but his own contributions to Survivor game theory could be classified in a similar bracket.
Tony’s style of play was more Johnny Depp than John Nash; erratic and blustering. But there was without doubt method to the madness. You can choose to play this game methodical and low-risk, like Kim or Brian, or you can instead perform it like a high-wire juggling act. The majority of the time, that latter style of play is a sure fire way to get yourself booted, but if you can play with that much gusto and pull it off, then you deserve extra kudos, and so Tony those kudos are yours.
John Nash believed that rationality of thought put limits on a person, that in fact irrationality and paranoia allowed for thinking outside the box. And boy did Tony think outside the box. Whether it was his Spy Shacks or Bag of Tricks, Tony was constantly thinking. At times he would over-think things. Yet he always made the right move, and was never on the wrong side of the vote. His paranoia caused him to blindside LJ, and even though this could have been a risk, Tony’s ability to lie so convincingly made sure the vote went off without a hitch and it ended up benefiting him in the long run. His experience as a cop gave him the capacity to read people extremely well (knowing Sarah was a cop, his distrust of Tasha), and his timing of blindsides was near perfect.
Tony was an aggressive player but not at the expense of a social game. He got on well with most of his tribemates; of course it was his relationships with Trish and Woo that helped him hurtle towards the end. The matter of him having the “Tyler Perry” idol is always going to knock him down a couple of points, but a player can’t be blamed for the inclusion of a power, only how they use it, and Tony used just the mere threat of that idol to create a constant sense of fear.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 10
Votes Against: 5
Votes For Ratio: 9/9
FTC Votes: 8-1
Idols Played: 2
Seasons Played: 1
No. Days Played: 39
8. Richard Hatch (Winner: Borneo)
I think for long-time Survivor fans there is a propensity to look back on the earlier seasons and players through a nostalgic gaze, especially as it pertains to the legacy of original winner Richard Hatch. I’m guilty of this myself, placing Richard at No. 2 on my previous list principally out of respect for his pioneering strategy. But just because he was the first doesn’t mean he was the best. When Olivetti produced the first desktop personal computer it was “good”, but it isn’t the best – it isn’t as fast, functional and efficient as the latest model.
But you still have to acknowledge the Programma 101 for laying down the foundation of what computers would become in the future. And in that same sense you have to recognise the blueprint that was put down by Richard in Borneo, whom without his strategic thinking and cut-throat mentality, it is arguable whether Survivor would have lasted this long. Richard created the first successful alliance; controlling a four-person voting-bloc that picked off the competition one by one, and he did it with such confidence and bravado.
Richard had what I consider to be two major moves that cement his place in the Top 10; one demonstrated his ability to adapt, and the other showed incredible foresight and was way ahead of its time. The first move was using Sean’s “alphabet strategy” (Sean was voting for people in alphabetical order) to his advantage after Kelly decided to break off from the Tagi 4 alliance; Richard knew they still needed four votes to control who went home and he worked around a bad situation. His second was his decision to step down in the Final 3 Immunity challenge, recognising that Kelly and Rudy would both take him to the end.
Over the years Richard’s strategy has been adapted and perfected by, in my opinion, better players, which is why I can’t rank him quite so high any more. After all, he did only beat Kelly by one single vote, with his blunt social game almost costing him the $1 million. But on the flip-side, I can’t justifiably leave him out of the Top 10, because he did invent the template for how to play Survivor.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 6
Votes Against: 6
Votes For Ratio: 9/10
FTC Votes: 4-3
Idols Played: n/a
Seasons Played: 2
No. Days Played: 54
9. James “J.T” Thomas (Winner: Tocantins)
It’s a shame that the fondest memory of JT these days is his infamous letter sent to Russell on Heroes vs Villains which was cruelly scrutinized by that cackling hyena Parvati. Yes, his handing over the idol was a big blunder, but within the context of the game, at that point in time it did seem like a viable option, and was not nearly as embarrassing as its often purported. What JT should be remembered for is his unimpeachable social game and Jesus like walk to victory in Tocantins.
JT’s social game was so strong in Tocantins that he had other players sabotaging their own games to help him make it further. He effortlessly oozed charm and charisma, and used those qualities to build trust and alliances, both within his own tribe and the opposing tribe. Stephen Fishbach, traditionally perceived as the brains of the outfit, has stated in numerous interviews about how his alliance with JT was a partnership; all strategic decisions were made together. JT put suggestions forward just as much as Stephen.
It requires a great deal to not only be a tough physical competitor but a masterful social player, and on top of that, to have a secure grasp on the strategic aspects of the game is immensely impressive. JT was the first player to play a “perfect game”, not having a single vote cast against him all season and winning with a unanimous jury vote. Cochran is the only other player to have achieved this feat and it took him a second attempt.
Does JT deserve to be higher up the list? Perhaps. I placed him No. 7 last time. But even though I do think he had strategic skill, his self-confessed partnership with Stephen, while equal, does allow some of the credit to slip Stephen’s way. Whereas I feel the above players, while they obviously relied on their tribemates to make moves, formulated their strategies much more single-mindedly.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 11
Votes Against: 0
Votes For Ratio: 9/11
FTC Votes: 7-0
Idols Played: 0
Seasons Played: 2
No. Days Played: 66
10. Earl Cole (Winner: Fiji)
If Earl Cole had played on pretty much any other season of Survivor he would be heralded as one of the show’s all-time great winners. Unfortunately for Earl he played on Fiji, a season wrought with flaws and perhaps rightfully forgotten about in the minds of many Survivor fans. But Earl himself shouldn’t be forgotten about; he played one of the smoothest and smartest games in a season full of combustible personalities and unfair twists.
What should also be remembered about Earl is that he was recruited just two days before filming began, having little to no knowledge of Survivor. Now it is easy as fans to bash recruits, but it isn’t Earl’s fault that the producers wanted him on the show, and the fact he played so well makes his win doubly impressive. Earl’s game was slick; he lead his alliance with a silent confidence, keeping the clashing personalities in check, and recruiting new alliance members when he was in danger of losing numbers.
Earl’s game is actually very similar to JT’s. They both played their respective seasons with a strong partnership; JT with Stephen and Earl with Yau-Man. They were both incredibly well-liked by their fellow players, and they both won with an unanimous jury vote – although Earl had one vote against him early on in the season whereas JT was never voted against. The key difference is the challenges, Earl didn’t perform particularly well, however he was on the Ravu tribe whom due to the twist of the season were at a severe disadvantage. His failure to win individual Immunity could be held against him but it also makes his cruise to the finals even more notable.
Earl was a natural leader that applied his skills in business into a working Survivor strategy. There is an argument to be made that if Dreamz didn’t renege on his deal, and Yau-Man made the finals, that Yau-Man would have walked out with the $1 million cheque, but if you start to play the “what if?” game you could be here forever.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 6
Votes Against: 1
Votes For Ratio: 8/9
FTC Votes: 9-0-0
Idols Played: 1
Seasons Played: 1
No. Days Played: 39
11. Natalie Anderson (Winner: San Juan del Sur)
Recency bias aside I think it would be remiss not to rank Natalie Anderson in the top half of this list. Regardless of the public reception to San Juan del Sur and its lack of characters, there can be no denying that it gave birth to a shrewd Survivor player that carefully picked her moments and knew how to execute a plan with aplomb.
While for the early portion of the game Natalie remained relatively under-the-radar, a seemingly conscious response to her twin Nadiya getting voted out first on the opposing tribe, her every decision no matter how minor was thought of in the context of the game. From volunteering to go to Exile Island, to giving up rewards, to telling Jon to play his idol – Natalie had a pulse on the dynamics and was able to think quick on her feet. Her control and big-move plays in the latter part of the game was some of the most ballsy Survivor gameplay ever; its enough to make Parvati proud, and Natalie is the most Parvati-like player not named Parvati.
She was crafty, going her own way at Tribal Council (the Alec vote), performing for the jury (giving her idol to Jaclyn), and making sure she was the centre of every alliance. The reason I place her below Tony, our other most recent winner, is because Natalie was blindsided by the Jeremy vote and Tony was never caught off guard like that. But Natalie recovered from that position effortlessly, and even in plotting her revenge on Jon, she never let that cloud her judgement, she waited for the most opportune moment.
Natalie never received a vote against her at Tribal Council and scooped up the majority of the jury votes (and if it wasn’t a loved ones season I expect she would have won by a higher margin) which is a testament to her brilliant social game.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 13
Votes Against: 0
Votes For Ratio: 7/9
FTC Votes: 5-2-1
Idols Played: 0
Seasons Played: 1
No. Days Played: 39
12. Tina Wesson (Winner: The Australian Outback)
Survivor was still in its infancy when The Australian Outback aired, Borneo winner Richard Hatch had started building the ladder of how to climb to victory, but not all the rungs were yet in place. Then came Tina Wesson, the personal nurse from Tennessee, who for a long while was patronisingly seen as the sweet mom that beat Colby. But I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that outside of Richard Hatch, Tina contributed more to the evolution of strategy than any other winner in the first six seasons.
The thing with Tina is that she is deceptively cunning. To look at her it is easy to see a sweet, mild-mannered mother figure because she is those things, but she is also wily, secretly snarky and incredibly astute. Every person she voted for in The Australian Outback went home, and she achieved that by securing herself a tight alliance and swaying Colby away from Jerri and Amber. She was also cut-throat, voting out Jerri, a member of her own alliance, which at the time was unprecedented.
But the true testament to Tina’s shrewdness was her off-camera inquiry into who Debb had voted for in Kucha’s first Tribal Council – which Kimmi stupidly revealed. The information that she gleaned was crucial at the merge vote – at this point tie-votes were broken by the amount of previous votes a player had. Without this information the Ogakor tribe wouldn’t have been able to successfully execute their plan. Tina wasn’t merely scraping by on politeness and niceties, she was always thinking how to win, none more so than when she convinced Colby to take her to the finals.
I admonished Tina last time for being voted out first on her return in All-Stars, but as a former winner she really had no shot that season. And she redeemed herself with her respectable performance on Blood vs Water where she finished in fourth place (after returning from Redemption Island). Much like with JT and Earl, Tina had a strong partner in Colby (incredibly underrated as a strategist) which the edit underplayed, but it does swing some credit over to Colby and drop Tina a couple of points.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 5
Votes Against: 0
Votes For Ratio: 10/10
FTC Votes: 4-3
Idols Played: n/a
Seasons Played: 3
No. Days Played: 83
13. Ethan Zohn (Winner: Africa)
I said that Tina didn’t rely on politeness and niceties to get by but with Survivor: Africa winner Ethan Zohn, that is kind of what happened. Of course, that wasn’t just how Ethan won the game but I think more than any other winner Ethan’s defining factor was his remarkable social game, and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.
Africa, the season filmed in Kenya yet named after an entire continent, is to this day arguably the toughest most unforgiving terrain that Survivor has ever been to. The toll the environment took on these players both physically and mentally was brutal, and it is a testament to Ethan how he not only lasted the entire 39 days, but remained affable and aware. Ethan rode with his sturdy alliance comprised of himself, Big Tom and the scatter-brained strategist Lex. When this alliance had to cannibalise itself after Kim Johnson surprisingly won the last two Immunity challenges, it was Ethan’s congenial temperament that kept him in over Tom and Lex.
Ethan survived the first ever tribal switch which saw his two strongest allies sent to the opposing tribe, and his decision to throw that challenge in order to keep Tom and Lex safe is an underrated move. He also kept his composure when Lex’s paranoia was running rampant. Ethan never received a vote against him the entire game and was always on the right side of the votes at Tribal Council; those are huge pluses in Ethan’s favour because while he may not have been the most active strategist, it shows he was always cognizant and in control of his own position within the game. Having a strong social game and keeping in the controlling alliance is a viable and successful Survivor strategy.
In his return to All-Stars, Ethan took a more active role in the strategy side of things but was cursed by the anti-winner sentiment that prevailed over that season. He did, however, last the longest out of all the former winners that returned that season.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 7
Votes Against: 0
Votes For Ratio: 10/10
FTC Votes: 5-2
Idols Played: n/a
Seasons Played: 2
No. Days Played: 60
14. Yul Kwon (Winner: Cook Islands)
Cook Islands is remembered more these days for its controversial race divide twist and spawning the famous future returnees Parvati, Ozzy and Jonathan Penner, and to a lesser degree Candice Cody (formerly Woodcock). The winner of that season, the smart and methodical Yul Kwon, has somewhat fallen into the background as the years have passed by, and even by my own admission, I sometimes overlook Yul due to my dislike of Cook Islands as a season.
Yul played a thinking man’s game of Survivor; logical, clean and focused – basically a reverse Tony Vlachos. You could argue that Yul was never truly in danger due to him finding the all-too-powerful Hidden Immunity Idol early in the game; the idol that could be used after the votes are read (brought back as the “Tyler Perry” idol in Cagayan). But again, you can’t fault the player for a production decision. Yul could have sat back and snoozed his way to the end but instead he actively participated in the game, becoming the principal decision maker of his alliance, and using his idol to his advantage; best exemplified by getting Penner to flip at the merge.
His challenge performances were respectable, even in a season that featured challenge supremo Ozzy, and he led the Aituaki tribe into numerous victories even despite their severe numbers disadvantage. The twist heaviness of Cook Islands taints the win ever so slightly, as many of those twists went in the favour of the “Aitu 4”, but to hold that entirely against Yul would be silly. What is more glaring is that Yul almost lost to Ozzy, whom despite his physical abilities, was desperately lacking in strategy or real social game.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 12
Votes Against: 5
Votes For Ratio: 9/9
FTC Votes: 5-4-0
Idols Played: 0
Seasons Played: 1
No. Days Played: 39
15. Danni Boatwright (Winner: Guatemala)
So far on this list the majority of winners featured are players that had early control of the game and never let that up throughout the season; which is impressive and why they’ve placed so highly. But there is something to be said for an underdog that rises from a precarious position to a spot where they gain control and end up winning the season. No one exemplifies the underdog victory better than Danni Boatwright, one of the most underrated winners from one of the most underrated seasons in Survivor history.
In the world of Survivor, if you don’t have a big move or big alliance to your name, it can be easy to dismiss that person as a coat-tail rider. But sometimes lots of little moves are more noteworthy than one big move. Danni was the master of little moves; whether it was voting out Blake to gain the trust of Gary, buying the challenge advantage at the auction, or making sure she went into the merge with three strong guys knowing that they would be targetted before her. In fact, that last move is significant because with those guys being taken out before her, it allowed Danni to form social bonds with the majority alliance and work her way into their plans.
The way Stephenie and the Nakum alliance had a grip on the game, there was no way they should have let Danni get anywhere near the final, but Danni used every advantage she could to tear them apart. She even voted against her only real dependable ally Gary to prove her worth to the controlling alliance, allowing her to form a Final 3 pact with Rafe and Stephenie. Judd, Cindy and Lydia were voted out one after another, and before you knew it Danni had won the Final 3 Immunity challenge and took the goat Stephenie with her to the Final Tribal Council where she comfortably won 6-1.
You could say that the edit gypped Danni, but by Danni’s own admission (and others that season) she intentionally kept her strategy from production because she didn’t want the intricacies of her moves revealed in confessionals or by Jeff Probst at Tribal Council. Which is very smart, but much like Tina and her edit in The Australian Outback, it robs us of a clear explanation of just how exactly she won the game.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 11
Votes Against: 1
Votes For Ratio: 10/12
FTC Votes: 6-1
Idols Played: 0
Seasons Played: 1
No. Days Played: 39
16. Chris Daugherty (Winner: Vanuatu)
Chris Daugherty is one of those weird players that depending on who you talk to is either sorely underrated or painfully overrated. So I think hovering just below the middle of the pack is a good place for Chris, whom like Danni went on a rags to riches story, overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds to snatch victory away from those who held the power.
The defining moment of Chris’s game was how he managed to pierce the all girls alliance come the merge, using a mixture of social skills and convincing lies to warm himself to the women. The women themselves were eager to turn on each other, prone to in-fighting and petty squabbles, so Chris didn’t have to do a great deal to fracture their alliance, but his working over Julie to gain information and his ability to pull Eliza into an alliance with her bitter enemies Twila and Scout is commendable.
It could be argued that many of the moves were initiated by other players and Chris was merely a cog in the machine, for example bringing Eliza into the alliance was Twila’s plan but she needed Chris to execute it. But if Chris didn’t perform his duties so well then the entire plan falls apart, so his role is just as important. Once Chris had the numbers on his side his gameplay stepped up, disposing of the more physical threats which would allow him to win Individual Immunity, and perhaps most significantly, eliminating Eliza at Final 4 thereby guaranteeing himself the best shot to win against the two older ladies.
His underdog story doesn’t impress quite so much as Danni’s because the ruling alliance was already crumbling before Chris’s involvement, whereas Danni actively created cracks in a much tighter group. But Chris is a strong winner who was able to maneuver through the game despite a detrimental numbers disadvantage, and even though he exploited the personal relationships he made on the show, his tremendous Final Tribal Council performance earned him a rightful win.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 12
Votes Against: 3
Votes For Ratio: 10/12
FTC Votes: 5-2
Idols Played: n/a
Seasons Played: 1
No. Days Played: 39
17. Denise Stapley (Winner: Philippines)
Rounding out the trifecta of underdog stories is Denise Stapley, the only Survivor winner to have attended every single Tribal Council of her season and not only managed to stay in the game but eventually won it by a clear majority vote. Nobody else in the history of Survivor can say they were put in the position to be voted out as many times as Denise. You could argue that that was a flaw in Denise’s game, that a great winner should never find themselves in a position to be voted out, but anyone who can avoid the chop that many times is doing something right in my book.
So what was Denise doing right? Well, she had a killer social game, a strong work ethic, and a sound mind. It’s what kept her as one of only two remaining members of the terrible Matsing tribe, it’s what helped her integrate into Kalabaw when she joined their tribe, and it’s what allowed her to form bonds with numerous players that then gave her the ability to pick and choose between alliances come the merge. Denise had great timing, knowing when to make a switch and when to hold tight, she was only technically on the wrong side of the votes once, the other two times were intentional split-vote scenarios in attempts to flush out idols.
The reason I rank Denise and her underdog story below Danni and Chris is because, for one, Denise had more votes against her during the season than Danni and Chris ever did. But also because Denise had Malcolm alongside her for the majority of the season and they helped each other a lot until they finally had to turn on each other at Final 4. Chris and Danni never had an ally quite as strong as that, and both made their in-roads and connections off their own backs, especially towards the end-game So for that, I give them a little more credit. Although the rankings of Danni, Chris and Denise are extremely close with not much separating them.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 4
Votes Against: 6
Votes For Ratio: 11/14
FTC Votes: 6-1-1
Idols Played: 0
Seasons Played: 1
No. Days Played: 39
18. “Boston” Rob Mariano (Winner: Redemption Island)
Brace yourselves because this placing and the next one are probably going to be controversial. I fully expect these two rankings to garner the most backlash. I’m sure many fans who have been reading through the list so far will have been thinking “Where’s Boston Rob?” Rob is generally regarded as one of Survivor’s best players and I placed him at No. 5 last time. So why the monumental fall down the list?
I said at the top of the article that I was going to try and take as much personal bias out of my rankings as possible. I am unashamedly a big Boston Rob fan, he is the main reason I started watching Survivor after seeing him on The Amazing Race, which led me to checking out Survivor: Marquesas. I fell in love with Survivor after that and spent 2007-2008 watching every season from Borneo to Micronesia (I’m from the UK so we never had easy access to Survivor in the early 00s; Big Brother was our huge hit show over here). Anyway, my point is that I think Boston Rob is a Survivor god.
That personal bias is partly why I ranked Rob so highly last time, coupled with the fact that Redemption Island was the most recent season, and he absolutely dominated that game. But after seriously reevaluating, I couldn’t in good conscience rank Rob above so many other winners after it took him until his fourth attempt to win. However, while I know there will be people that think Rob is placed shockingly low, I know there will be others that still think he is ranked too favorably.
Part of my reasoning for his high ranking before was that his All-Stars game was equally as dominant as his Redemption Island game and I highlighted how the personal nature of the relationships that season went against Rob in the jury vote – but even if that has an element of truth to it, it doesn’t mask that Rob ultimately played a losing game, just as he did in his first season Marquesas and in his third season Heroes vs Villains. What I do give Rob credit for is his ruthlessness and out-of-the-box thinking. If Richard and Tina are the two winners of the first six seasons that most influenced Survivor strategy, then Rob is the first non-winner of the first six seasons to most influence Survivor strategy.
In Marquesas, Rob introduced a new kind of strategic thinking, voting out the strong tribe leader early rather than letting them gain control (a staple of the first three seasons), scooping up the underdogs and outcasts and using them to gain power, and employing the strategy of fear to get people to do his bidding. This style of play was a huge influence on players like Rob Cesternino and Jonny Fairplay who adapted it and used it to even greater success. While things didn’t pan out Rob’s way in Marquesas, he essentially used the same strategy in All-Stars and made it all the way to the end, and even though Amber won, at worst you can say it was a joint effort, and at best you can say Rob controlled that game.
But the main reason I still rank Rob above ten other winners is for his astounding game in Redemption Island. Yes, he had the benefit of having played multiple seasons but you could say the same for Rupert (also played four times), Amanda, Ozzy or Russell (three times each), but none of them were ever able to win and they never entered the game with as big a target as Rob did. Rob coming in with experience was an advantage but also a disadvantage; he managed to stay off the radar despite his target due to his sheer Manson like mind-control. “He played against idiots” is another argument levelled at Rob, it’s my least favourite criticism because people say the same thing about Kim or Earl or Brian – you play the cards you’re dealt. His alliances and sub-alliances, “the buddy system”, the separate shelters, scheduled eating times, his ego-boosting and manipulation of Phillip, it was all masterful.
For all his flaws you could never say Rob wasn’t a pro-active player in each season, he competed on, and that is effectively why he still ranks above other less pro-active winners. I had to write so much about this entry as I know it will be the most protested, well, at least as much as the next one.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 8
Votes Against: 7
Votes For Ratio: 12/13
FTC Votes: 8-1-0
Idols Played: 1
Seasons Played: 4
No. Days Played: 117
19. Natalie White (Winner: Samoa)
So if Boston Rob is the person that many individuals will say should be higher up the list, then I expect Natalie White will be the person many people say should be lower. Almost every winners ranking I’ve seen online has Natalie either ranked dead last or near to it, but I think it’s about time we dispel the myth that Natalie was a “bad winner” or “undeserving”.
One thing that Natalie was undeserving of was a lopsided edit that unfortunately underplayed her role in the season, as it did nearly everyone else on Samoa, so that it could instead tell the story of Russell and why he lost the game rather than why Natalie won. The biggest criticism of Natalie is that she rode Russell’s coat-tails, the reason I don’t like this argument is because it undersells Natalie’s awareness and acts as if she wasn’t an active participant in the alliance. People forget that there were other young females that Russell approached early in the game to form a Final 2 alliance with, but it wasn’t those girls sitting in the finals, it was Natalie, because unlike those other girls she knew exactly how to play into Russell’s ego.
I’m not saying that Russell didn’t play a good game in Samoa, I’m just saying that Natalie played a better game without the flaws that Russell’s had. While Russell was digging for his 1000th idol of the season, Natalie was building connections and relationships with her fellow tribemates. As early as Episode 4, we have Natalie revealing that she knows she can beat Russell in the end, therefore she makes a conscious decision to align with the person she knows will do the dirty work but also make enemies, while she focused on cultivating her personal relationships. It’s not a million miles away from Brian going to the end with Clay or Danni with Stephenie.
Natalie was on the right side of the votes at every single Tribal Council and the only time she had votes against her was the tie-vote in which the Galu tribe believed they would be drawing rocks, therefore their votes for Natalie were to ensure she was safe in that predicament (in the rocks scenario the two highest vote-getters end up becoming safe). Does this sound like someone just riding coat-tails? No, it shows that Natalie was always aware of what was happening around her and had a super strong social game. The Foa Foa tribe was a disaster but Natalie made herself a necessary part of the controlling alliance and when they entered the merge down in numbers it was Natalie’s move that saved them.
I talked earlier in Danni’s write-up about how sometimes lots of little moves are more worthy of one big move, in Samoa Russell’s moves were big and flashy, mainly because they involved idols. Natalie’s moves didn’t have the fanfare but you’d be hard pressed to find a better move that season than her convincing the Galu tribe to blindside Erik at the merge. Natalie had observed along with Mick and Jaison that Erik was a shifty character, and they believed he would be the right person to target. Having built up a bond with Laura during the early kidnapping twist, it was Natalie that approached the Galu women with the idea to blindside Erik and sold it to them as a mutually beneficial move. Even Russell was hesitant to believe she had achieved this because he, like people still to this day, underestimated Natalie.
Without the Erik blindside, the Foa Foa tribe may never have gotten a foothold in the game. Russell then idoled out Kelly, which was a well-executed move, but lacked the social maneuvering of Natalie’s play. Natalie played into Russell’s idea of her so well that he took her to the end believing he could easily beat her and instead she destroyed him after giving one of the best Final Tribal Council performances in history. She may have spent more time in the passenger seat than in the driver’s seat but even though the driver has his hands on the wheel, it is often the passenger holding the map, and Natalie had a clear vision of the road to victory, more so than the driver or any of the other load they were carrying that season.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 3
Votes Against: 8
Votes For Ratio: 14/14 (100%)
FTC Votes: 7-2-0
Idols Played: 0
Seasons Played: 1
No. Days Played: 39
20. Sophie Clarke (Winner: South Pacific)
While I expect the above two entries to receive the most criticism, I’m well aware that this placing could also attract some abuse. Despite her edit on the show being drastically underplayed, I know that Sophie Clarke has garnered quite a loyal following in the Survivor fanbase, with many of those people considering Sophie a top-tier winner. I also think Sophie is a good winner who certainly had more to her strategy than what we were provided with on the show, but unfortunately her stats just don’t stack up compared to many of the other winners.
Sophie shares a lot of similarities to Natalie White; they both successfully pin-pointed the goats of their season early on, in this instance it was Coach, and they both aligned with that goat while maneuvering themselves to the end alongside them. I think Sophie was more active in controlling Coach and manipulating his ego and delusions than Natalie was Russell. But I rank her lower because, unlike Natalie, there were a couple of times Sophie was on the wrong side of the votes (although one was an intentional vote-splitting scenario), and her social game wasn’t as strong. She was criticized at the Final Tribal Council for having a condescending attitude; although that’s part of the reason I enjoy Sophie as a personality, it isn’t a recommended trait for Survivor.
But her behind-the-scenes decision making alongside Albert and her use of Coach as a figurehead for the alliance was smart, efficient, understated strategy. When the original Upolu alliance started to turn on each other Sophie persuaded Coach and Rick to stick with her and targeted Brandon, and then later convinced Coach and Albert to take out Rick after Ozzy returned from Redemption Island and won Immunity. Sophie was also a strong challenge performer, and it was her win over Ozzy in the Final Immunity challenge that finally allowed the tribe to vote him out for good and took Sophie, Albert, and Coach to the end.
Her game wasn’t the most in-your-face, but it was quietly thought-out and required a real test of patience and endurance. Sophie isn’t the type of player that has to shout about her game from the roof-tops, but I bet if she were ever to play again, out of most the winners here, she would be the one to have the best chance of repeated success.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 7
Votes Against: 5
Votes For Ratio: 11/13
FTC Votes: 6-3-0
Idols Played: 0
Seasons Played: 1
No. Days Played: 39
21. Aras Baskauskas (Winner: Panama – Exile Island)
People have heard of Owen Wilson, right? The famous movie star from films like Wedding Crashers and Midnight In Paris. And his brother Luke Wilson? Slightly less famous but known for his roles in Old School and Anchorman. How about their older brother Andrew Wilson? No? He was in The Royal Tenenbaums. It must feel disheartening to be overshadowed by your more famous siblings, and that is kind of how I see Aras Baskauskas in relation to his fellow Panama cast-mates.
Aras is not new to the concept of overshadowing, as per the story told on his return season Blood vs Water, in real life his accomplishments have always overshadowed that of his older brother Vytas. But in Panama, it was Aras being overshadowed, and this time it wasn’t the fault of the editors. His social and strategic game was overshadowed by Cirie, his physical game was overshadowed by challenge dominator Terry, and his entertainment level was overshadowed by Shane and Courtney and pretty much everyone else that season. If this sounds like I’m being needlessly harsh on Aras, I don’t mean to be, I’m just trying to shed some light on why he has a low ranking.
In terms of actual points on the board Aras has much more in common with Owen and Luke Wilson than he does Andrew, because he knows success, he did afterall win the season. He went into the merge with numbers and did well to keep those numbers together despite the clashing personalities. With Terry’s Immunity challenge streak, Aras was able to keep the alliance focused on eliminating Terry because without Terry in the game it could be argued Aras would have been the next big target. Aras was able to gain trust with relative ease, and he had the wherewithal to drop out of the Final Immunity challenge once Terry had been eliminated knowing that Danielle would take him to the Final 2.
Where Aras loses points is a rather weak social game. He had votes against him at multiple Tribal Councils, and also without the focus on Terry, his game awareness was questionable at times. When Cirie saw that Terry and Shane were planning to take Courtney to the end as a goat, it was her that convinced Aras, and by proxy Danielle, to blindside Courtney and subsequently Shane. What this shows is that Cirie had a firmer grip on the game dynamics because Aras was giving up easy Final 2 goats in order to stay loyal to Cirie, sometimes at the expense of his own game.
Aras even votes to keep Cirie at the Final 4 forcing a tie-break! This is odd on two levels. Firstly, if Cirie stays then you keep a weak challenge performer in the game and the main aim at this point was to make sure Terry didn’t win the Final Immunity because he would have beaten them in jury votes. Secondly, if Cirie stays and Terry does lose the Final Immunity, then it is Cirie and Aras in the finals, and while we can never say for sure, judging by the season and post-show interviews, Cirie would have comfortably beaten Aras too. Luckily for Aras, Cirie lost the fire-making tie-breaker and in the end he sat next to Danielle, someone with a worse social game than himself.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 10
Votes Against: 9
Votes For Ratio: 7/8
FTC Votes: 5-2
Idols Played: 0
Seasons Played: 2
No. Days Played: 64
22. Vecepia Towery (Winner: Marquesas)
Here is where I apologise for ranking Vecepia Towery dead last in my previous list. I will defend my choice a little bit by saying that Marquesas is one of my all time favourite seasons, it is the very first season of Survivor I watched actually. I felt that Marquesas was about the underdog story of Kathy, so when she was voted out at Final 3, and instead we were left with the underwhelming Final 2 of Neleh and Vecepia, I think I held that personally against Vecepia. I also wasn’t a fan of her bringing religion into the game in a way I found at least a tad hypocritical. But I’m meant to leave personal bias out of this as much as possible.
So I apologise to Vecepia for placing her right at the bottom last time because in re-evaluation I can actually see how much of a solid game she actually played. She was the first person to perfect the under-the-radar strategy that was later adopted to even greater success by two-time winner Sandra Diaz-Twine. Vecepia had a very good read on the dynamics of the game and the personalities playing it. She would subtly provoke people into crashing and burning by feeding into their egos, for example the way she encouraged Hunter early in the season. She kept track of the numbers really well so she knew when to flip or when to hold tight.
While the Maraamu tribe entered the merge drastically down on numbers, Vecepia made sure to use her social bonds to remain off the chopping block, voting with the majority against her former tribe to prove loyalty (voting out Rob). When an opportunity opened up to flip the game on the dominating Rotu tribe with a counter alliance, she took it, and her bargaining with Neleh in the Final Immunity challenge to ouster Kathy was brilliantly ruthless. Knowing based on previous seasons that the Final 4 Immunity challenge would likely be Fallen Comrades, Vecepia brought a journal as her luxury item and used it to keep information about the game and her fellow players. Even though I find this unfair, at the time, it was allowed within the rules of the game, and so for that Vecepia was smart.
The reason I still rank Vecepia relatively low and behind other under the radar players like Natalie White and Sophie Clarke is that it is easier to find criticisms with her game. While the flip against the Rotu alliance was a monumental swing in the game the likes of which had never been seen up until that point, her choice to align with a solid trio (Kathy, Neleh, and Paschal) was risky. She lost her tightest ally Sean and at the Final 4, she had to win Individual Immunity to survive. Also, the controversial Purple Rock tie-breaker where Paschal went home could have back-fired because Vecepia was adamant that night that Neleh be the one sent home, and at that point, Neleh was the only person Vecepia had a chance of beating at the end.
These criticisms may seem minor in the grand scheme of things because Vecepia still won the game (although it was an extremely close vote) but at this stage of the list, these small errors become magnified to separate the best of the best.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 4
Votes Against: 2
Votes For Ratio: 8/11
FTC Votes: 4-3
Idols Played: n/a
Seasons Played: 1
No. Days Played: 39
23. Jenna Morasca (Winner: Amazon)
Now that we’re at the lower end of the list this is when it gets a lot tougher. As I’ve said before, I don’t believe there is such a thing as a “bad winner,” so just because these people are at the bottom end does not mean that I think they are terrible players or undeserving of their win. 460 people have played Survivor and only these 28 players have won the game so that right there tells you everything you need to know. What I’m trying to say is that I think Jenna Morasca is a good winner, she is certainly not the worst winner ever like Jeff Probst once called her.
The reason I have ranked Jenna so low, with quite a significant drop from the last ranking I gave her, is that compared to the winners above there were more mistakes in her game that could have cost her the win. What do I mean by mistakes? Well, in the twist where the youngest members of both tribes travelled to an isolated location to act as ambassadors for their tribes, Jenna freely revealed all the inter-personal relationships of her tribe to Dave, which could have majorly backfired when they then had to pick new tribes, and of course Dave immediately took Jenna’s best friend Heidi. It wasn’t a fatal flaw in her game because it happened to work out, but when it gets down to the nitty-gritty of this list it’s these kind of things that separate the winners.
Jenna was also prone to becoming too comfortable with her position in the game and therefore was caught off guard, like the blindside of her alliance mate Alex, and other than maybe Natalie Anderson, out of all the other winners above, none of them were ever blindsided quite like that. And when she wasn’t in a comfortable position she could get quite down and there was a couple of times she wanted to quit; although she was only 21 years old when she played Amazon so I do give her a little bit of a leeway for that. It also felt like Jenna wasn’t in complete control until the very end, while she was in the majority alliance for most of the season, it always felt like others were dictating the moves, specifically Rob Cesternino.
But Jenna does deserve praise for being able to keep within the numbers throughout the majority of the game and recovering when she was on the outs. And despite wanting to quit, her perseverance and determination at the end of the game helped her win back to back Immunity challenges which ultimately led to her best move, voting out Rob and taking the goat Matthew to the Final Tribal Council.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 9
Votes Against: 3
Votes For Ratio: 9/11
FTC Votes: 6-1
Idols Played: n/a
Seasons Played: 2
No. Days Played: 48
24. Amber Mariano [formerly Brkich] (Winner: All-Stars)
I’ve had a couple of people tell me that I need to reevaluate my ranking of Amber Mariano, having placed her third from bottom in my last ranking. I have considered her game more, and I certainly regret saying she was carried by Rob the last time I did this because that was unfair and untrue. I still can’t rank Amber much higher because she doesn’t have that key move or depth to her strategy that can be analysed in quite as much detail as most of the other winners.
All-Stars itself is hard to analyse on a strategic level because it is an anomaly. Other than Heroes vs. Villains, this is the only season to have a cast entirely comprised of returning players, and this was the first time it happened. There were players that were never going to be able to win this season, and you can argue that every player has a chance, but the likelihood of former winners like Richard Hatch or Tina Wesson or known mastermind strategists like Rob Cesternino ever making it to the end were extremely slim. The bond and relationships between these first few casts of Survivor were also intensely strong, so lots of personal animosity and bitterness came out in the game.
That’s not to detract completely from Amber’s win, it just goes a little way in explaining how hard it is to judge her game in comparison to the other winners. Amber’s strategy itself is very linear, she finds someone she gets along with and stays loyal to them throughout the game. She did this in Australia with Jerri and again in All Stars with Rob. Both of those people happen to be quite abrasive, polarising figures who Amber would have a high chance of beating in a Final 2 scenario. But this isn’t like with Natalie White or Sophie Clarke who consciously aligned with a goat knowing they could beat them in the end, Amber aligned out of friendship, and later romance, and while I’m sure Amber knew full well she could beat Rob in All Stars, I don’t think that was her driving force.
But Amber actually had an excellent social game. After the tribe shuffle, where the entire tribes basically switched except for Amber, the new Mogo Mogo tribe were devastated that Amber was no longer there. Her plea to Kathy at this point, coupled with Rob’s deal with Lex, proved crucial to her staying in the game. She also performed well in challenges and was always on the right side of the votes, so I do give Amber credit for working with what she had and taking home the crown.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 11
Votes Against: 6
Votes For Ratio: 8/8
FTC Votes: 4-3
Idols Played: n/a
Seasons Played: 2
No. Days Played: 72
25. John Cochran (Winner: Caramoan – Fans vs. Favorites)
On paper, John Cochran played a perfect game, a strong challenge performer who never received a vote against him at Tribal Council and won with a unanimous vote in the end. So you may be wondering why I ranked JT, the only other “perfect game ” winner, at No. 9, and Cochran way down here at No. 25. Let me explain. While Caramoan wasn’t quite the anomaly All-Stars was, it is still an odd season to get a grasp on because of the rather strange casting on the Favorites tribe.
I’m not going to completely discount Cochran’s game based on pre-game alliances because those are a factor in any returning player season, and just because you go into the game with pre-formed relationships doesn’t always mean they hold up, just ask two-time first bootee Francesca about that. But playing Survivor with friends made outside of the show is of course going to help you when it comes to not getting votes at Tribal Council, which is something JT never had when he first played. Of course Cochran never had that either when he first played, but in South Pacific he had a poor social game and a blunderous move at the merge which ultimately cost him the game, whereas JT won when he first played, with no votes against him and a unanimous jury vote.
However, Cochran did improve a lot from his first stint, in Caramoan he was a lot more confident in his decision making and with a group of strong allies was able to push things in the direction he wanted if he felt strongly enough about it, for example his targeting Matt and Brenda. But the majority of the time it felt like Cochran was just a spoke in the wheel rather than the person riding the bike. He would be the one to get a plan rolling rather than the one coming up with the plan, like when Dawn wanted to target Corinne or when Andrea wanted to target Michael. Being a spoke is a good role to be in, it’s a position that Chris Daugherty relished, but when Chris did it it was more impressive because he crafted that slot for himself from an underdog position, Cochran more or less came into the game in that position.
With that said Cochran worked that position to his advantage, letting Dawn take most of the heat for the betrayals and blindsides while he maintained a solid social game, and was also able to separate emotion from strategy and for that was rewarded with all the jury votes in the end.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 12
Votes Against: 0
Votes For Ratio: 9/12
FTC Votes: 8-0-0
Idols Played: 0
Seasons Played: 2
No. Days Played: 70
26. Tyson Apostol (Winner: Blood vs Water)
This one I genuinely feel sorry about because Tyson Apostol is one of my favourite characters to ever appear on Survivor. He’s funny and entertaining and overall a likable person, so its hard to rank him so low. Tyson has had the privilege of playing three times, in comparison to the other winners that is just one behind Rob and joint with Parvati and Tina, an advantage that the rest of the winners haven’t had. Yet I’ve ranked him below all of those other multiple time returnee winners, in fact, I’ve ranked him significantly lower than Parvati and Tina, so what gives?
Well, Tina won on her first time with an impressive, subtle control over the game. Parvati’s overall average speaks for itself, and her ruthless game in Micronesia topples that of most other winners. And while Rob has played the most, two of those games were utterly dominant, while the first was evolutionary in future Survivor strategy. Tyson, however, had a decent first game in Tocantins but was flawed by a less than stellar social game and an inability to see how much of a threat JT was; although to be fair that is more a testament to how good JT’s game was than a fault of Tyson. His second game in Heroes vs. Villains was embarrassingly short-lived after a huge blunder that in effect caused the downfall of Boston Rob’s, up until that point, impressive game.
However, in his third season, Tyson had learned from his mistakes. He knew when and where to look for idols; he developed a strong alliance by picking up the singles left in the game, and he kept those numbers with some crafty blindsides. Things could have taken a turn for the worst with Tyson’s lack of control over Ciera, who even forced Tyson into a rock drawing situation which could have been the end of his game, but luckily it went his way and from that moment on it was his game to lose. Also, while Tyson had tamed his personality somewhat, there were still times he was needlessly condescending at Tribal Council which had he ended up in the finals with anyone other than Monica and Gervase could have cost him jury votes.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 8
Votes Against: 2
Votes For Ratio: 9/10
FTC Votes: 7-1-0
Idols Played: 1
Seasons Played: 3
No. Days Played: 81
27. Jud “Fabio” Birza (Winner: Nicaragua)
When you look at Jud Birza and see those blue eyes and long blonde locks it is easy to dismiss him as a pretty-boy air-head, this is after all how he earned the nickname Fabio from his fellow tribemates. While Fabio might not have been the sharpest knife in the drawer, he was well aware of his tribemates’ perception of him, and from very early in the season told the cameras that if playing up to the air-head stereotype got him further in the game then that’s what he would do.
The reason Fabio ranks second from bottom is because his stats are some of the worst of any winner. He was on the wrong side of the votes a whopping four times, whether it was intentional to stay out of the strategy almost becomes irrelevant because to have that much lack of insight into what is going on is dangerous. Sandra may have taken a conscious step back from the plan making but she was almost always aware of what was happening around her so that if her name was brought up she could make a counter move. With Fabio unaware of the game going on around him, it put him at serious risk of being voted out and he almost was when it came down to a choice between him or Benry. From that point forward Fabio had to rely on Individual Immunity wins to stay in the game.
Fabio’s unconventional strategy is a risky one, but he somehow made it work with an underrated self-awareness and an acceptable social game; although he did almost lose to wishy-washy Chase. He was a strong challenge performer and a fun personality, but his lack of control over both the game or his own game puts him at the low end of the list.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 11
Votes against: 2
Votes For Ratio: 6/10
FTC Votes: 5-4-0
Idols Played: 0
Seasons Played: 1
No. Days Played: 39
28. Bob Crowley (Winner: Gabon)
The position that nobody wants to be in. I apologise to Bob Crowley for placing him last but I’m sure the fact that he won Survivor and has a $1 million in the bank helps him get over my irrelevant opinion pretty quickly. I’ve said it numerous times and I’ll say it again just for clarification, I don’t believe there is such a thing as a bad Survivor winner, so just because I’ve placed Bob last does not mean I think he is a “bad winner”. Ranking Bob last simply means that I felt his winning game was weaker and less impressive than the other 27 winners.
When it comes to the stats Bob is at the lower end of the spectrum. Like Fabio, Bob was on the wrong side of the votes on four separate occasions and this wasn’t due to vote-splitting or strategy it was simply down to Bob being out of the loop and out of the majority alliance. Where Fabio just edges Bob is that Fabio showed some self-awareness at the start of the game regarding his perception and knowing that he could sit back and play dumb and make it far, a risky strategy but a strategy nonetheless. With Bob you never got that sense of awareness, it always felt like he was on the back-foot playing catch up.
Bob was brought into the majority Kota alliance at the beginning as a disposable number, but even his own alliance rarely kept him in the loop and later replaced him with Randy. But when that alliance crumbled Bob survived through his superior social game. But it seemed like Bob was even sabotaging his best chance of winning the game. The fake idol he created was impressive but could have blown up in his face. Even though Bob claimed he was using it to gain favor with the Matty/Sugar alliance, I believe Bob could have used his social game alone to fit into that alliance; all the fake idol did was piss off Randy and almost lose Bob a jury vote.
For a significant portion of the game Bob had to rely on winning Individual Immunity to survive, and that’s exactly what he did. When he didn’t have Immunity at the end, he was kept in by the emotional decision making of Sugar, who forced a tie, and Bob then beat Matty in a fire-making challenge. Sugar’s unusual approach to Survivor and the way she controlled the end-game really saved Bob’s skin, but let’s leave that for another list called “Unintentional Survivor Strategists.”
Somewhere out there maybe there is a winner ranking list that puts more weight on challenge wins, and if so then I’m sure Bob ranks much higher. But for me, I see Survivor as a game of social maneuvering and manipulation, and I put much more focus on social bonds, game awareness, and strategic thinking, and I think when you combine all three of those elements Bob doesn’t quite match up to the other winners.
Stats
Challenge Wins: 14
Votes Against: 2
Votes For Ratio: 5/9
FTC Votes: 4-3-0
Idols Played: 0
Seasons Played: 1
No. Days Played: 39
And so there we have it. All 28 winners of Survivor ranked from top to bottom. Remember this list is purely subjective and based on what I look for in a winner and what I consider being strengths and weaknesses. You may agree or disagree or think I’m an absolute moron. If you think any of those things then feel free to let me know in the comments below.
Thanks for reading.
Key
Challenge Wins – the total number of challenges (both Tribal and Individual) won during their winning season.
Votes Against – the total number of votes received at Tribal Council throughout their winning season including votes voided by Immunity Idols.
Votes For Ratio – the amount of times they correctly voted for the person that went home at Tribal Council throughout their winning season.
FTC Votes – the amount of votes they received to win at Final Tribal Council.
Idols Played – the total number of times they played a Hidden Immunity Idol during their winning season.
Seasons Played – the total number of different seasons they have played.
No. Days Played – the total combined number of days played throughout their time on Survivor.
Header Photo Credit: jeffgunn via Compfight cc
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I just have to comment on this part:
“Votes For Ratio – the amount of times they correctly voted for the person that went home at Tribal Council throughout their winning season.”
As part of strategy, I don’t think this a valid point to consider especially when split votes happen. Just my two cents.
And as much as I am concerned, challenge wins especially wins during the individual portion of the game is pretty much a very good indicator of how the castaway gets to the end. As much as Survivor is a social game, the physical aspect equally matters, in my opinion.
Probst thought he could hand mold a Survivor movie star with Rob and he forced that idea on us time and again. However, if you look at the stats you’ll see that Rob’s winning season was the lowest ever. Why? Because people like me got bored watching a bunch of little girls following him around like they drank the Kool Aid. Also, the stats will prove that it took a few seasons to get the numbers back up since returnees were another favorite of JP’s.
Now that we’ve had some newbie seasons and fresh personalities the numbers are up again. Conclusion: Rob was a minus for the show and should be ranked much lower. Needing four tries is abysmal.
This is idiotic. Taking 4 times to win is not abysmal. Some people could play 100 times and not win. Also, when looking at Rob’s game he should be seen more as a 2 time winner. Also, if tyson didn’t make that bone head move it looked like he would go deep into that game. I’m not even a rob fan but your comments are stupid.
I don’t think you should consider previous performances because you are ranking winners, not the greatest player ever. You should take into account the amount of past experience people like Rob, Tyson, John, and Parv have over their competition but I don’t think a person’s losing seasons really matter. I personally would also split Sandra’s two performances into two separate entries.
I just want to say thank you for not giving Natalie White as trashy a ranking as most people. I find it humorous when people praise Parv’s game in HvV but then obliterate Natalie’s game in Samoa because, aside from Parv’s idols and 3 immunities, their games and treatment of Russell were very similar.
Natalie White isnt as bad of a winner as several others out there, but to suggest that Parv’s game mirrored Natalie’s is just wrong.
Parvati was far and away viewed as the biggest threat the entire season. Natalie was viewed as Russell’s pawn until the last tribal. They considered getting rid of her earlier because they needed challenge threats to compete with Brett. Russell never in a million years gives Natalie an idol, and He gave Parv 2. You have to credit her social game for that. Parv was only ever on the chopping block because she was so well respected as a threat, players knew she’d get to the end and have a huge change to win if they didn’t try to oust her earlier. Parv had a much bigger voice in all decision making, was a challenge beast and the game was played on a higher level (besides JT/Tyson, whose errors you have to give major credit to Parv and Russ). The only similarity is they both teamed up with Russell and stuck with him to the end. Parv established herself as a far superior player to Russell early on, while Natalie wasn’t able to do so until the final tribal. I think Natalie is a better player than most give her credit for, but Parvati is arguably the most well rounded Survivor ever. No comparison.
Thank you for giving Natalie White some respect. Always felt she was brilliant for stroking Russell’s ego on a daily basis.
She was a great player who didn’t deserve the backlash because Hantz was over-rated.
Bob at the bottom? I would have had Fabio at the bottom
Just justifying Tyson’s drawing rocks move– Tyson drew rocks after realizing that Ciera wouldn’t budge, and having his only two options be to vote Monica out and lose his numbers (forcing him to win challenges or come in 5th or 6th) or take a 1/3 chance of going to Redemption, where he would more than likely win the duels. He weighed the risk of acting vs. not acting, one of the best abilities one can have in Survivor. Had he voted out Monica, he would have a 100% chance of needing to win challenges, and drawing rocks lowered that chance by two thirds.
You forget, Tyson had an idol in his pocket during the infamous drawing rocks tribal council. He had a 1/3 chance of going home specifically because he chose not to play the idol.
Tyson nearly went home because of a clear flaw in his game ability; time and again he wasn’t particularly skillful at successfully reading his tribe mates and anticipating their behavior in high stress situations. It’s why he went home in HvV and why he nearly went home in BvW.
He should have given the idol to Monica or played it himself, as either one would have secured Hayden’s elimination. If he had lost the draw and went to Redemption island he would have had to win two duels to come back. Assuming he beat Tina he would have had to beat Laura and most likely Monica (maybe Gervase at an endurance challenge. He then would have had to win the remaining two immunity challenges against Hayden, Ciera, and Katie to make it to the end. Even if he pulled that off Hayden would have had the incredible story of being the only new guy in a half all-star season to beat the faves strategically.
I still think Sophie did not win during her season. Coach just had a terrible FTC or would not own a villainous game. Up until the FTC, Coach played a flawless game. When you think about it, in recent seasons, the winners (Tony, Natalie, and Mike) overcame poor FTC performances. Coach could have won with a different jury.
I wasn’t surprised at all that Coach performed so poorly during FTC. Time and again players would say in confessional that they didn’t feel he was being genuine.
Coach played a very typical game. He built agreements with way more people than necessary, but stuck with whichever alliance that gave him the most security (which happened to be his day 1 alliance). He constantly gave placid agreements or noncommittal answers when people came to him to strategize, thinking that would keep them from being bitter jurors.
His strategy resulted in an inability to build lasting relationships, contrasted with Sophie’s hard core work on the jury and elaborate displays of tears, it made sense Coach wasn’t able to garner much jury support.
Of course, none of that was really why he lost, he lost because of a classic mistake: he failed to bring the right people to FTC from the top 5 (partly a result of his lack of knowledge about individuals members of the jury).
Your ranking system is somewhat flawed. For the winners who played in more than one season, you should rank them solely based on the performance in the seasons they won. With that being said, while I think Boston Rob’s win is overrated, he should be ranked higher. So should Tyson and Aras.
Aras played a better game than Natalie and Sophie.
Taking other seasons winners have played into consideration is not fair precisely because if some of the winners who have played once were to return, they might play worse than Rob, Tyson, Cochran.
Further, Sandra should get two rankings since she won twice. One for each winning performance.
My “Winners” rankings would be as follows:
1. Kim Spradlin (S24)
2. Tom Westman (S10)
3. Parvati Shallow (S16)
4. Brian Heidik (S5)
5. Natalie Anderson (S29)
6. Sandra Diaz-Twine (S20)
7. Rob Mariano (S7)
8. Yul Kwon (S13)
9. Tony Vlachos (S28)
10. Earl Cole (S14)
11. J.T. Thomas (S18)
12. Tyson Apostol (S27)
13. Richard Hatch (S1)
14. Mike Holloway (S30)
15. Todd Herzog (S15)
16. Tina Wesson (S2)
17. Chris Daugherty (S9)
18. John Cochran (S26)
19. Aras Baskauskas (S12)
20. Ethan Zohn (S3)
21. Denise Stapely (S25)
22. Sophie Clarke (S23)
23. Sandra-Diaz Twine (S7)
24. Danni Boatwright (S11)
25. Jenna Morasca (S6)
26. Amber Brkich (S8)
27. Bob Crowley (S17)
28. Jud “Fabio” Birza (S21)
29. Natalie White (S19)
30. Vecepia Towery (S4)
Yeah that’s probably a better system. I would have Tom and Rich lower (Tom put himself in a position where he could have easily been voted out as a threat and while Hatch invented a lot of Survivor strategy, it has evolved, and I don’t think he could have won if placed on any season other than the first) also Natalie White higher, just above Jenna because I reckon she pretty much played a better version of Amber’s All-Stars game.
When I think of a great Survivor player I think of staying alive despite having the numbers against you, thus Bob and Fabio are wonderful winners in my book. The premiere of Gabon was the firs full episode of Survivor I saw and I immediately guessed Bob would be the winner. He and Fabio were well liked. Fabio was funny and Bob made Tai look like Will Simms at his worst. He was building furniture and fixing the hut. No one wanted him gone any time soon. Both of them then ended up in the minority despite winning some important tribal challenges. They then did an important part of the game appear non threatening. They then won challenges, which is a major part of staying in the game.
Fabio then showed his strategic prowess. He had immunity in the final six and needed two more. He then convinced the majority alliance to target his biggest physical threat, Jane. That left Dan (old and week), Holly (bad at challenges), Chase (fit but unmotivated), and the weaker Sash as the only ones who could stop his immunity run.
I think I’m more disappointed that Yul is 14th than I am that Rob is completely discredited. Seriously 13 winners are not better than Yul Kwon, who could easily be in the top three. Especially not 11.5 one-time winners.
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