Final Three

The Final Three are three remaining contestants on Day 39 that are present at the Final Tribal Council to plead their case for the title of Sole Survivor. This is currently the only alternative format of the Final Two.

Introduced during the events of, Jeff Probst later explained that the reason behind adopting this end game scenario would be to prevent a strong, well-liked individual from getting to face off against a less respected individual, so by adding a third player in the mix, the odds are changed.

Whilst fan reaction to the change has been received mostly positively, several castaways have adopted taking two other castaways to the end with them who have not done as much or were obnoxious which in turn has coined a player who fits this mold as a "goat". It is also very common that only two of the three castaways in a Final Three to receive votes.

This format has been increasingly common and has been seen in thirteen seasons. A Final Three with a 9-person jury started in and continued through . This configuration has also been seen in six subsequent seasons, spanning from through to  totaling 8 seasons, making it the most common configuration for a Final Three. A Final Three with a 7-person jury was seen in, and , while a Final Three with an 8-person jury was featured in seasons spanning from  to  (sans Cagayan). A Final Three with a 10-person jury has been used in and.

Trivia

 * In seasons with a Final Three, the number of Sole Survivors based on the gender of the losing finalists have been:
 * Against both of the opposite gender, five (Todd Herzog, Bob Crowley, Natalie White, Sophie Clarke, and John Cochran)
 * Against both of the same gender, three (Fabio Birza, Kim Spradlin, and Natalie Anderson).
 * Against both of different genders, ten (Yul Kwon, Earl Cole, Sandra Diaz-Twine, Rob Mariano, Denise Stapley, Tyson Apostol, Mike Holloway, Jeremy Collins, Michele Fitzgerald, and Adam Klein).
 * ,  ,, and were the only seasons whose respective Final Threes all received votes.
 * is so far the only U.S. season to have the Final Three comprised only of African-American contestants.
 * is so far the only U.S. season to have the Final Three comprised of only men.
 * and are so far the only U.S. seasons to have the Final Three comprised of only women.
 * Both seasons with this accomplishment started out with blue and orange tribes.