Sole Survivor

Sole Survivor
Survivor Gameplay
Description	The person who has earned the highest number of votes from the jury.
Appearances	Every season

The Sole Survivor is the title held by the winner of the reality TV show Survivor, as determined by a plurality of votes from the jury. It is the task of the jury to award the title to the castaway it believes to have most thoroughly embodied the game's three-word slogan: "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast."

Criteria

There are no formal rules in choosing the Sole Survivor. The only eligibility requirement for the title is to make it on the final day of the game. (39 for most seasons, 42 in The Australian Outback, 39.5 in Blood vs. Water and San Juan del Sur).

On the final evening of the game, the Final Tribal Council will be held in which the finalists are subjected to questioning by the jury. The jury who may ask any questions or make any statements that they feel will help them make the best decision possible. As there is no objective definition of 'best' in this case, the methods by which castaways have won the game, and the reasons adopted by the jurors in voting for them, have varied widely throughout the history of the series.

Jury members are expected, however, to elect a winner that have credibly embodied the game's three-word motto: "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast."

• Outwit: The social element; the ability to bring about one's desired strategic goals without sacrificing one's social standing or alienating other contestants emotionally. A strong candidate will remain respected while playing an efficacious game.
• Outplay: The strategic element; the ability to outmaneuver other contestants and eliminate them in a manner conducive to one's own long-term success in the game. This component of the game may include alliance formation and management, execution of blindsides, use of Hidden Immunity Idols, advantages, or any other manifestation of guile, deception, or strategic command.
• Outlast: The physical element; the ability to literally survive the harsh realities of the game, such as harsh weather, grueling challenges, and the overall deprivation of the necessities and luxuries. It is expected that the Sole Survivor will have not only endured the physical difficulties of the game, but indeed will have borne them with enthusiasm and grace.

It should be noted that in the game of Survivor likability and respect are not always fungible qualities. In some cases, the winner may have played a game strategically dominant enough to overcome the fact that other finalists were more likable. At other times, the opposite may be the case, where a more sociable player may win due to the quality of their character even in the presence of a more strategically "active" but socially inept competitor. It is up to the idiosyncratic interpretation of the jury to determine who has fulfilled all three elements of "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast," and it is up to each finalist to present a compelling argument in their own favor, emphasizing their strengths and eliding their weaknesses at the Final Tribal Council. Regardless the jury's reasoning behind their vote, they fundamentally choose which finalist they feel comfortable losing to.

Prizes

The Sole Survivor receives a check of $1,000,000, to be received after the season finale. Earlier winners additionally received a car that is usually similar to the one given at the Reward Challenge where a car was also given, though this has been abandoned since Survivor: Cook Islands. The winner, and all contestants present in the live Reunion Show will also receive an extra $10,000 appearance fee, which immediately follows the finale broadcast. From Survivor: Panama to Survivor: Caramoan, the Sole Survivor was also eligible to win the Fan Favorite Award. All cash prizes are taxable at the U.S. rate of 35% leaving the winner $650,000.

Tony Vlachos, the winner of Survivor: Winners at War, received $2,000,000, billed as the biggest prize given in reality television history.

List of U.S. Sole Survivors

Richard Hatch Borneo	Tina Wesson The Australian Outback	Ethan Zohn Africa	Vecepia Towery Marquesas	Brian Heidik Thailand	Jenna Morasca The Amazon
Sandra Diaz-Twine Pearl Islands	Amber Brkich All-Stars	Chris Daugherty Vanuatu	Tom Westman Palau	Danni Boatwright Guatemala	Aras Baskauskas Panama
Yul Kwon Cook Islands	Earl Cole Fiji	Todd Herzog China	Parvati Shallow Micronesia	Bob Crowley Gabon	J.T. Thomas Tocantins
Natalie White Samoa	Sandra Diaz-Twine Heroes vs. Villains	Fabio Birza Nicaragua	Rob Mariano Redemption Island	Sophie Clarke South Pacific	Kim Spradlin One World
Denise Stapley Philippines	John Cochran Caramoan	Tyson Apostol Blood vs. Water	Tony Vlachos Cagayan	Natalie Anderson San Juan del Sur	Mike Holloway Worlds Apart
Jeremy Collins Cambodia	Michele Fitzgerald Kaôh Rōng	Adam Klein Millennials vs. Gen X	Sarah Lacina Game Changers	Ben Driebergen Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers	Wendell Holland Ghost Island
Nick Wilson David vs. Goliath	Chris Underwood Edge of Extinction	Tommy Sheehan Island of the Idols	Tony Vlachos Winners at War

Survivor: Winners at War

Main article: Survivor: Winners at War

To commemorate the series' 20th anniversary and 40th season, 20 of the 38 champions returned to compete in an all-winners season. Tony Vlachos emerged as the winner, becoming the series' second two-time winner, following Sandra Diaz-Twine, who also competed on this season.

Trivia

Winning and Perfect Games

• Sandra Diaz-Twine was the first Survivor contestant to win two seasons, having won both Survivor: Pearl Islands and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. She was later followed by Tony Vlachos, who won Survivor: Cagayan and Survivor: Winners at War.
• So far, 24 men and 14 women have become Sole Survivors. Because Sandra and Tony both won twice, 15 seasons have been won by women and 25 seasons have been won by men.
• Bob Crowley is the oldest Sole Survivor, while Fabio Birza is the youngest by age at the time crowned. Tommy Sheehan is the youngest by birth date.
  • Bob Crowley is the oldest overall winner, being 57 at the time of his win.
  • Denise Stapley is the oldest female winner, being 41 at the time of her win.
    • However, Tina Wesson and Vecepia Towery are older than Denise by birth date.
• Earl Cole is the first Sole Survivor to win a jury vote unanimously, as he garnered all 9 jury votes in Survivor: Fiji.
  • J.T. Thomas in Survivor: Tocantins (7-0), John Cochran in Survivor: Caramoan (8-0-0), Jeremy Collins in Survivor: Cambodia (10-0-0), and Adam Klein in Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X (10-0-0) have also won unanimously.
  • J.T. and Cochran received no votes throughout the entire game, achieving a Perfect Game. Jeremy received no counted votes, but did receive three votes that were voided by a Hidden Immunity Idol.
• Wendell Holland is the first Sole Survivor to win following a tie vote in the Final Tribal Council (5-5), in which the second runner-up cast the tie-breaking vote that awarded him the victory.
• Bob Crowley is the first Sole Survivor to also win the Fan Favorite Award.
  • J.T. Thomas, Rob Mariano, and Kim Spradlin have also won Sole Survivor and the Fan Favorite Award in the same season.
• There have been two LGBT winners: Richard Hatch and Todd Herzog.
• With Natalie Anderson's win, she and Natalie White are the first two Sole Survivors to share a name.
  • They would later be followed by Chris Daugherty and Chris Underwood.
• Chris Underwood is the first Sole Survivor to be voted out, earn his way back into the game, and win the game.

Tribal Council

• Richard Hatch is the only Sole Survivor to be revealed on location rather than during the Reunion Show.
• Tony Vlachos is the Sole Survivor with the most jury votes received in both a Final Two and a Final Three, with 8 in Cagayan and 12 in Winners at War, respectively.
  • He holds the record for the most jury votes received overall, with a total of 20 in his Survivor career. 
• Jeremy Collins and Adam Klein are tied for the most jury votes received by a winner in a season without the Edge of Extinction, with 10.
• Natalie White, Kim Spradlin, and Sarah Lacina are tied for the most jury votes received by any female winner, all receiving 7 jury votes.
• Denise Stapley is currently the only Sole Survivor to attend every Tribal Council of their winning season.
  • Natalie White is the Sole Survivor who was eligible to be voted out the most times, with 14.
• Michele Fitzgerald is the only Sole Survivor to never attend a pre-merge Tribal Council.
• Ten winners have won without ever having a single vote cast against them during their winning season: Tina Wesson, Ethan Zohn, Brian Heidik, Sandra Diaz-Twine (in Pearl Islands), Tom Westman, J.T. Thomas, John Cochran, Natalie Anderson, Nick Wilson, and Tony Vlachos (in Winners at War).
• Ben Driebergen has the most votes cast against any winner in a single season, with 11. This includes 9 votes that were negated by Hidden Immunity Idols.
  • Natalie White has the most votes cast against any female winner in a single season, with 8. This includes 3 votes cast during a revote.
• All 5-2 jury votes in Final Two seasons have involved a man defeating a woman: Ethan Zohn defeated Kim Johnson, Chris Daugherty defeated Twila Tanner, and Aras Baskauskas defeated Danielle DiLorenzo.
• The most common decision for Sole Survivor by the jury is a 4-3 vote, occurring a total of 5 times. This count does not include the 4-3-0 Final Tribal Council of Survivor: Gabon.
• Nine winners voted against the person who was ultimately eliminated at every Tribal Council they voted in: Tina Wesson, Ethan Zohn, Brian Heidik, Amber Brkich, Tom Westman, Yul Kwon, Todd Herzog, Parvati Shallow, and Tony Vlachos (in Cagayan).

Hidden Immunity Idol and Twists

• Yul Kwon is the first Sole Survivor to have found a Hidden Immunity Idol.
  • Yul and Kim Spradlin are the only Sole Survivors to find a Hidden Immunity Idol and keep it until it expired.
• Mike Holloway, Jeremy Collins, Ben Driebergen, and Chris Underwood are the only Sole Survivors to use a Hidden Immunity Idol successfully in their winning season. In addition, Sarah Lacina successfully used a Legacy Advantage to save herself.
  • Ben Driebergen has found and played the most Hidden Immunity Idols in a winning season, playing three idols in consecutive Tribal Councils. Two of the three were played successfully; the third was played before votes were cast.
• Sarah Lacina and Nick Wilson are the only Sole Survivors to have used the Vote Steal.
• In both "Fans vs. Favorites" seasons, a Favorite won.
• In both Blood vs. Water seasons, winners won in their third attempt on reality shows. Tyson Apostol competed in Survivor thrice, while Natalie Anderson participated in The Amazing Race two times with her twin sister, Nadiya Anderson, before winning on her first try on Survivor.
• Aras Baskauskas and Tyson Apostol are the only Sole Survivors who have competed with both the Exile Island and Redemption Island twists in play.
  • While Tyson was never sent to Exile Island nor Redemption Island, Aras was sent to Exile Island twice in his first season and was voted out and sent to Redemption Island before being eliminated in his second season.
  • Yul Kwon, Parvati Shallow, Tyson Apostol, and Natalie Anderson are the only Sole Survivors who have competed with both Exile Island and the Edge of Extinction, with everyone but Tyson having been sent to both.
• Danni Boatwright is the first new player to defeat a returning player in a jury vote. She was followed by Sophie Clarke and Denise Stapley.
  • Coincidentally, all three contestants to achieve this are women who have played twice.
  • Additionally, all three of these women's second season was Survivor: Winners at War.

Challenge Wins

• Tom Westman won the most challenges in a single season, with 17. Natalie Anderson and Michele Fitzgerald are tied with the most challenge wins for a female winner, with 13. 
• Tom Westman and Mike Holloway are tied with the most individual immunity wins out of any winner, with 5.
  • Jenna Morasca and Kim Spradlin are tied with the most individual immunity wins for a female winner, with 4.
• Natalie White and Chris Underwood won the fewest challenges out of all Sole Survivors, with 3; in Natalie's case, none of them were from individual challenges.
• Ten Sole Survivors have won without ever having won an individual Immunity Challenge: Tina Wesson, Sandra Diaz-Twine (both times), Yul Kwon, Earl Cole, Todd Herzog, Natalie White, Tony Vlachos (in Cagayan), Sarah Lacina, Ben Driebergen, and Tommy Sheehan.

Returning Winners

• Nine winners have won the game as returnees: Amber Brkich, Parvati Shallow, Sandra Diaz-Twine, Rob Mariano, John Cochran, Tyson Apostol, Jeremy Collins, Sarah Lacina, and Tony Vlachos.
  • All were second-timers, except Tyson (third time), Tony (third time), and Rob (fourth time).
• Twenty-five Sole Survivors who have competed more than once have experienced being voted out, either prior to or after the season that each of them had won.
  • Voted out once: Richard Hatch, Tom Westman, Danni Boatwright, Aras Baskauskas, Yul Kwon, Sophie Clarke, Kim Spradlin-Wolfe, Denise Stapley, John Cochran, Tony Vlachos, Natalie Anderson, Adam Klein, Ben Driebergen, Wendell Holland, and Nick Wilson.
  • Voted out twice: Ethan Zohn, Sandra Diaz-Twine, Amber Mariano, Parvati Shallow, J.T. Thomas, Jeremy Collins, and Sarah Lacina.
  • Voted out thrice: Tina Wesson* and Rob Mariano.
  • Voted out four times: Tyson Apostol*
• Jenna Morasca and Michele Fitzgerald are the only Sole Survivors to play multiple times and never be voted out, as Jenna quit in Survivor: All-Stars and Michele made the Final Tribal Council in both her seasons.
• In All-Stars and Survivor: Game Changers, no returning Sole Survivors reached the merge nor became jury members.
• Tina Wesson, Sandra Diaz-Twine, J.T. Thomas, Ethan Zohn, Parvati Shallow, and Tony Vlachos are the only winners to return twice after being crowned Sole Survivor.
  • Tina Wesson is the first Sole Survivor to be voted out first on another season (All-Stars), she would be followed by Natalie Anderson (Winners at War).
• J.T. Thomas is the first returning winner to become a jury member and the first to be eliminated after the merge.
  • Out of the other returning Sole Survivors in Heroes vs. Villains, Sandra Diaz-Twine and Parvati Shallow made the merge, but they were finalists, while Tom Westman was eliminated before the merge.
  • J.T., Aras, and Tina are the first three winners to become jury members in a subsequent season. They would be followed by the entire jury of Winners at War.

See also

• Survivor: Winners at War
• Final Tribal Council
• Final Two
• Final Three
• Reunion Show