Australian Survivor: Champions v Contenders (2018)

Australian Survivor: Champions v Contenders (2018)
Season Information
Version	Australia
Season No.	3
Filming Location	Savusavu, Fiji
Filming Dates	May 3, 2018 - June 21, 2018
Season Run	August 1, 2018 - October 9, 2018
No. of Episodes	25
No. of Days	50
No. of Castaways	24
Winner	Shane Gould
Runner(s)-Up	Sharn Coombes
Tribes	Champions Contenders Koro Savu
Prize for Winner	AU$500,000
Viewership (in Millions)	0.76
Cast
Opening Sequence
Season Chronology
Previous	Australian Survivor (2017)
Next	Champions v Contenders (2019)

Australian Survivor: Champions v Contenders (2018) is the third season of the Network Ten incarnation of the competitive reality TV show Australian Survivor.

After 50 days, Shane Gould defeated Sharn Coombes in a jury vote of 5-4 to become the Sole Survivor. To date, Champions v Contenders (2018) has produced nine returning players (Jackie Glazier, Lydia Lassila, Mat Rogers, Moana Hope, Shane Gould, Sharn Coombes, Shonee Fairfax, Steve Khouw, Zach Kozyrski) for future seasons.

Production

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Twists/Changes

• Champions v Contenders: The contestants are divided into two tribes based on their occupations and degree of success in life:
  • The Champions​ tribe is made up of public figures from fields such as (but not limited to) sports and entertainment.
  • The Contenders tribe is made up of everyday Australian contestants.
• Imported Castaway: Former American contestant Russell Hantz competes as a member of the Champions tribe.
• Shorter Game: This season lasted for 50 days, five days less than the previous two seasons.
• Meager Supplies: Tribes were not given any sort of food rations nor a source of water at their campsites and were only provided with a pot and machete.
• Hidden Immunity Idol: A Hidden Immunity Idol is hidden at each tribe's campsite. Also, for the first time, idols are hidden at Tribal Council.
• Exile Beach: Similar to the American version's Redemption Island, Exile Beach is introduced on Day 18 where the castaway voted out at the Tribal Council and the following one on Day 20 will have to compete to re-enter the game.
• Tribe Switch: On Day 25, a tribe switch occurred.
• Save or Send: On Day 28, the winning tribe would eavesdrop at the losing tribe's Tribal Council, where they would get a chance to vote either send home or save the castaway voted out at that Tribal Council. If the winning tribe chose to save them, they would join that tribe instead.
• Vote Steal: At the auction, a vote steal was put into play. This allows a castaway to steal another castaway's vote before the votes are cast. Should a tie occur, the advantage user is able to steal their victim's vote at a revote, but only if the victim is not involved in the tie vote.
• Moral Dilemma: On Day 33, the Koro Savu tribe had to send one member to make a decision between getting a large bag of vegetables or a smaller bag of vegetables which came with an advantage at the next Immunity Challenge for that member. Another dilemma occurred on Day 47, where the two castaways that checked Tree Mail would get to decide whether to both steal a meal or both split it with the remainder of the tribe. If one person chooses split and the other chooses steal, the stealer will take the entire meal for themselves.
• Dead Man Walking: At the Tribal Council on Day 40, rather than voting someone out, the person who received the most votes would become a Dead Man Walking. This person cannot vote for the next two Tribal Councils, but remains eligible to win Immunity Challenges, use Hidden Immunity Idols, and be voted out. In addition, they will reside at Exile Beach until the final five.

Castaways

Contestant		Tribe Affiliation			Finish	Votes Against
		Original Tribe	Switched Tribe	Merged Tribe
	Matt Dyson 35, Brisbane, QLD Traffic Police Officer	Contenders			1st Voted Out Day 2	7
	Russell Hantz 45, Houston, TX, USA Samoa, Heroes vs. Villains & Redemption Island	Champions			2nd Voted Out Day 5	13
	Damien Thomlinson 36, Sydney, NSW Former Special Forces Commando	Champions			3rd Voted Out Day 8	10
	Steve Khouw 58, Sydney, NSW Takeaway Delivery Driver	Contenders			4th Voted Out Day 11	11
	Jenna Austin 28, Perth, WA FIFO Worker	Contenders			5th Voted Out Day 13	9
	Moana Hope 30, Melbourne, VIC AFLW Player	Champions			6th Voted Out Day 16	7
	Anita Berkett 50, Sunshine Coast, QLD Sales Representative	Contenders			Eliminated Day 21	2
	Zach Kozyrski 39, Perth, WA Personal Trainer	Contenders			7th Voted Out Day 22	8
	Paige Kerin 24, Adelaide, SA Marketing Coordinator	Contenders			8th Voted Out Day 24	11
	Jackie Glazier 44, Melbourne, VIC Pro Poker Player	Champions	Champions		9th Voted Out Day 26	11
	Tegan Gasior 32, Derby, WA Management Consultant	Contenders	Champions		10th Voted Out Day 28	12
	Heath Davies 33, Brisbane, QLD Builder	Contenders	Contenders		11th Voted Out Day 30	12
	Lydia Lassila 36, Melbourne, VIC Olympic Freestyle Skier	Champions	Contenders	Koro Savu	12th Voted Out Day 32	9
	Robbie Skibicki 26, Adelaide, SA Construction Manager	Contenders	Contenders		13th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 33	11
	Samuel Hinton 26, Brisbane, QLD Astrophysicist	Champions	Champions		14th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 35	8
	Mat Rogers 42, Gold Coast, QLD Dual Code Rugby Legend	Champions	Champions		15th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 37	6
	Benji Wilson 26, Melbourne, VIC Entrepreneur	Contenders	Contenders		16th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 39	13
	Steve Willis 41, Sydney, NSW Fitness Specialist	Champions	Champions		17th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 42	5
	Fenella McGowan 33, Melbourne, VIC Interior Designer	Contenders	Contenders		18th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 44	8
	Monika Radulovic 27, Sydney, NSW Miss Universe Australia 2015	Champions	Contenders		19th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 46	3
	Shonee Fairfax 26, Tewantin, QLD Pro Skater's Wife	Contenders	Champions		20th Voted Out 8th Jury Member Day 47	6
	Brian Lake 36, Caroline Springs, VIC Former AFL Player	Champions	Champions		21st Voted Out 9th Jury Member Day 49	9
	Sharn Coombes 41, Melbourne, VIC Criminal Barrister	Champions	Contenders		Runner-Up	11
	Shane Gould 61, Bicheno, TAS Olympic Swimming Legend	Champions	Champions		Sole Survivor	10

Season Summary

This season began with two tribes of twelve: Champions and Contenders. The physically stronger Champions dominated most challenges despite losing three Immunity Challenges before the tribe switch. In those three losses, the tribe quickly dispatched of Survivor veteran Russell Hantz with an idol in his possession, and the former athletes plus Sharn and Sam formed a core majority alliance. The Contenders, despite voting out loose cannons Matt and Steve initially, featured various sub alliances such as the younger men, some of the women, and three of the parents in Tegan, Heath, and Jenna. Jenna's injury forced the tribe to vote her out, and the parents alliance suffered and were targeted shortly after. However, with Heath's idol and Tegan returning via a twist, the pair survived the swap. The Champions majority continued their dominance post swap as either Contenders or minority members of the Champions would be picked off.

The tribes merged at 12 with the Contenders in a vast 4-8 minority. Furthermore, Benji and Robbie jumped ship during the swap, leaving Fenella and Shonee as easy targets. Despite that, the Champions immediately turned on their own by blindsiding Lydia for being too big of a physical threat. Two of her allies Robbie and Sam soon followed, before Benji managed to orchestrate the blindside of Mat by both turning Brian and Monika against him and by convincing Sharn to not play her idol on Mat at Tribal Council. Benji's scheming and lying would eventually catch up with him, however, as Brian and Monika turned on him immediately afterwards and sent him to the jury despite Shonee playing her Vote Steal.

At the final seven, two firm voting blocs were in place: the remnants of the old Champions alliance (Shane, Sharn and Steve W.) vs the two pairs of Brian & Monika and Shonee & Fenella. Brian's alliance initially had the upper hand by voting out Steve W., but poor strategic play on Brian's part combined with Sharn finding a second idol saw Fenella eliminated next. Angered by this, Shonee flipped to the old Champions alliance and blindsided Monika in retaliation. After Brian won immunity at final four, the three women were forced to turn on each other, and Shonee found herself voted out after trying to orchestrate a failed 2-1-1 to avoid a firemaking challenge. This left an all-Champions final three of Brian, Shane and Sharn, with the latter winning the Final Immunity Challenge. Despite Brian's arguments to have 'one last showdown', Sharn ultimately took her ally Shane with her to the final two.

At Final Tribal Council, Sharn argued that she played a loyal and honest game, and survived despite being a big target towards the end of the game. Shane explained her under-the-radar strategy and the use of her social connections to her advantage. Sharn's argument, however, was derailed when Brian brought up her role in the Mat blindside as a sign of disloyalty. Shane was also able to demonstrate that she made genuine connections with the Contender women. Ultimately, Shane was able to defend her strategy more effectively and won the title of Sole Survivor in a close 5-4 vote.

Episode	Air Date	Challenges		Eliminated (vote)	Finish	Ratings9
		Reward	Immunity
1	August 1, 2018	Champions1	Champions	Matt (7-5)	1st Voted Out Day 2	716,000
		Contenders1
2	August 2, 2018	Champions	Contenders	Russell (4-4-2-2; 9-1)2	2nd Voted Out Day 5	615,000
3	August 6, 2018	Champions	Contenders	Damien (8-2-1)	3rd Voted Out Day 8	592,000
4	August 7, 2018	Champions	Champions	Steve K. (6-4-1)	4th Voted Out Day 11	610,000
5	August 8, 2018	Champions	Champions	Jenna (9-1)	5th Voted Out Day 13	620,000
6	August 9, 2018	Champions	Contenders	Moana (7-0)4	6th Voted Out Day 16	664,000
		[Paige]3
7	August 13, 2018	None	Champions	Tegan (7-1-1)5	Sent to Exile Beach Day 18	651,000
8	August 14, 2018	Champions	Champions	Anita (1-0)4,5	Sent to Exile Beach Day 20	634,000
9	August 20, 2018	None	Champions	Anita (no vote)	Eliminated Day 21	666,000
				Zach (7-1)	7th Voted Out Day 22
10	August 21, 2018	Contenders	Champions	Paige (6-1)	8th Voted Out Day 24	661,000
11	August 27, 2018	None	Contenders	Jackie (4-2-1-1)	9th Voted Out Day 26	674,000
12	August 28, 2018	Contenders	Contenders	Tegan (3-2-2; 5-2)6	10th Voted Out Day 28	667,000
13	September 3, 2018	None	Champions	Heath (5-2)	11th Voted Out Day 30	640,000
14	September 4, 2018	Survivor Auction	Sharn	Lydia (9-3)	12th Voted Out Day 32	668,000
15	September 10, 2018	None	Sharn	Robbie (9-1-1)	13th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 33	654,000
16	September 11, 2018	Mat [Fenella, Sharn]	Mat	Samuel (8-2)	14th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 35	664,000
17	September 17, 2018	None	Benji	Mat (5-4)7	15th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 37	732,000
18	September 18, 2018	Brian, Monika, Shane, Sharn	Brian	Benji (4-4; 5-1)2	16th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 39	654,000
19	September 24, 2018	None	Shonee	Steve W. (4-3)8	Dead Man Walking Day 40	627,000
20	September 25, 2018	Brian, Shane, Sharn	Brian	Steve W. (2-2-2; 3-1)2	17th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 42	696,000
21	October 1, 2018	None	Brian	Fenella (2-1-0)4	18th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 44	645,000
22	October 2, 2018	Brian [Monika]	Sharn	Monika (3-2)7	19th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 46	732,000
23	October 8, 2018	None	Brian	Shonee (2-1-1)	20th Voted Out 8th Jury Member Day 47	793,000
24	October 9, 2018	None	Sharn	Brian (1-0)	21st Voted Out 9th Jury Member Day 49	862,000
		Jury Vote		Sharn (5-4)	Runner-Up	877,000
				Shane (5-4)	Sole Survivor
Reunion						609,000
Notes: ^1 This Reward Challenge saw an individual of each tribe battle for a reward item. The winner of each battle kept the reward for their tribe. ^2 The vote resulted in a tie. Per the rules of Australian Survivor, a revote would commence. ^3 As part of the reward, the Champions were told to pick a Contender to join them. They selected Paige. ^4 A Hidden Immunity Idol was used, negating all votes against the user. ^5 Instead of being permanently being eliminated from the game, these two castaways would compete in a duel to determine who would be eliminated, with the other reentering the game. Tegan won the duel, reentering the game and eliminating Anita. ^6 On Day 28, after Tegan had been voted out, but before her torch was snuffed, the Contenders were able to decide whether to save or send Tegan. At a 5-2 vote, they decided to eliminate her. ^7 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played; however, no votes were cast against its user. ^8 Instead of voting someone out, the person with the most votes will become a Dead Man Walking, preventing them from voting at the next two Tribal Councils. In a 4-3 vote, Steve W. became Dead Man Walking. ^9 The final episode was coded into two programs—the first titled "Grand Finale" and the second titled "Winner Announced". Because of this, two separate sets of ratings were produced.

Voting History

		Original Tribes											Switched Tribes				Merged Tribe
Episode		1	2		3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12		13	14	15	16	17	18		19	20		21	22	23	24
Voted Out		Matt	Tie	Russell	Damien	Steve K.	Jenna	Moana	Tegan	Anita	Zach	Paige	Jackie	Tegan		Heath	Lydia	Robbie	Samuel	Mat	Tie	Benji	Mock Vote	Tie	Steve W.	Fenella	Monika	Shonee	Brian	Sharn	Shane
Vote		7-5	4-4-2-21	9-1	8-2-1	6-4-1	9-1	7-02	7-1-1	1-02	7-1	6-1	4-2-1-1	3-2-2	5-2	5-2	9-3	9-1-1	8-2	5-43	4-41	5-1	4-35	2-2-21	3-1-0	2-1-02	3-23	2-1-1	1-07	5-4
►►	Shane	—	Russell	Russell	Damien	—	—	Moana	—	—	—	—	Jackie	Tegan	None	—	Lydia	Benji	Samuel	Brian	Benji	Benji	Fenella	Fenella	Fenella	Fenella	Monika	Shonee	None	Jury Vote
►►	Sharn	—	Russell	Russell	Damien	—	—	Moana	—	—	—	—	—	—	Send	Heath	Lydia	Robbie	Samuel	Brian	None4		Fenella	Fenella	None	Fenella	Monika	Shonee	Brian
►►	Brian	—	Jackie	Russell	Damien	—	—	Moana	—	—	—	—	Tegan	Shonee	None	—	Lydia	Robbie	Samuel	Mat	Benji	Benji	Steve W.	Steve W.	Steve W.	Sharn	Shane	Sharn	None		Shane
►►	Shonee	Matt	—		—	Steve K.	Jenna	—	Tegan	Heath	Zach	Paige	Brian	Brian	None	—	Lydia	Robbie	Samuel	Mat	Sharn	Sharn	Steve W.	Sharn	Steve W.	Sharn	Monika	Shane			Shane
																					Sharn
►►	Monika	—	Shane	Russell	Damien	—	—	Moana	—	—	—	—	—	—	Send	Heath	Lydia	Robbie	Samuel	Mat	Benji	Benji	Steve W.	Steve W.	Steve W.	Shane	Shane				Shane
►►	Fenella	Matt	—		—	Steve K.	Jenna	—	Tegan	Heath	Zach	Paige	—	—	Save	Robbie	Lydia	Robbie	Benji	Mat	Sharn	Benji	Steve W.	Sharn	None	Sharn					Shane
►►	Steve W.	—	Jackie	Russell	Jackie	—	—	Moana	—	—	—	—	Jackie	Tegan	None	—	Lydia	Robbie	Samuel	Brian	Benji	Benji	Fenella	None6						Sharn
►►	Benji	Steve K.	—		—	Paige	Jenna	—	Tegan	Heath	Zach	Paige	—	—	Send	Heath	Fenella	Robbie	Samuel	Mat	Sharn	None								Sharn
►►	Mat	—	Jackie	Russell	Shane	—	—	Shane	—	—	—	—	Jackie	Tegan	None	—	Lydia	Robbie	Samuel	Brian											Shane
►►	Samuel	—	Russell	Russell	Damien	—	—	Moana	—	—	—	—	Jackie	Shonee	None	—	Lydia	Robbie	Benji											Sharn
►►	Robbie	Steve K.	—		—	Paige	Jenna	—	Tegan	Heath	Zach	Paige	—	—	Send	Heath	Fenella	Mat												Sharn
►►	Lydia	—	Damien	Russell	Damien	—	—	Shane	—	—	—	—	—	—	Send	Heath	Fenella
►	Heath	Matt	—		—	Steve K.	Jenna	—	Anita	Anita	Zach	Paige	—	—	Save	Robbie
►	Tegan	Steve K.	—		—	Steve K.	Jenna	—	Zach		Zach	Paige	Brian	Brian	None
►	Jackie	—	Shane	None	Damien	—	—	Moana	—	—	—	—	Shonee
	Paige	Matt	—		—	Shonee	Jenna	—	Tegan	Heath	Zach	Benji
	Zach	Matt	—		—	Paige	Jenna	—	Tegan	Heath	Tegan
	Anita	Matt	—		—	Steve K.	Jenna	—	Tegan	Heath	Eliminated
	Moana	—	Russell	Russell	Damien	—	—	Shane
	Jenna	Steve K.	—		—	Steve K.	Paige
	Steve K.	Matt	—		—	Paige
	Damien	—	Jackie	Jackie	Jackie
	Russell	—	Damien	None
	Matt	Steve K.
Notes: ^1 The vote resulted in a tie. Per Australian Survivor rules, a revote would commence. ^2 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played successfully, negating the votes against its user. ^3 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played, but did not negate any votes. ^4 Shonee used the Vote Steal advantage, allowing her to cast a second vote by denying another player the right to vote for that Tribal Council. She chose to steal Sharn's vote. Because Sharn was unable to vote in the revote, Shonee could not steal her vote during the revote and could only vote once. ^5 Instead of being voted out, the person with the most votes will become a Dead Man Walking, preventing them from voting at the next two Tribal Councils. ^6 At the conclusion of the Day 40 Tribal Council, Steve W. became a Dead Man Walking, preventing him from voting at the next two Tribal Councils. ^7 Brian and Shane did not vote as they could only vote for each other. By virtue of winning the Final Immunity Challenge, only Sharn voted.