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 constraints on the rationale that jury members may employ in choosing the Sole Survivor. The only built-in requirement of eligibility for the title is to reach Day 39 (42 in The Australian Outback, 39.5 in Blood vs. Water and San Juan del Sur).
On the evening of Day 39, the Final Tribal Council will be held, in which the finalists are subjected to questioning by 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: 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/management, the execution of blindsides, the 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 of life. 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 $600,000.
List of Sole Survivors
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Trivia
Winning and Perfect Games
- Sandra Diaz-Twine is the first, and currently only Survivor contestant to win two seasons, having won both Survivor: Pearl Islands and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains.
- So far, 23 men and 14 women have become Sole Survivors. Because Sandra won twice, 15 seasons have been won by women.
- Bob Crowley is the oldest Sole Survivor, while Fabio Birza is the youngest by age at the time crowned. Chris Underwood 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 giving 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 Fan Favorite 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
- 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.
- Tony Vlachos is currently the Sole Survivor with the most jury votes received in a Final Two, with 8.
- Richard Hatch is the only Sole Survivor to be revealed on location rather than during the Reunion Show.
- 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.
- Nine winners have won without ever having a single vote cast against them: Tina Wesson, Ethan Zohn, Brian Heidik, Sandra Diaz-Twine (in Pearl Islands), Tom Westman, J.T. Thomas, John Cochran, Natalie Anderson, and Nick Wilson.
- Michele Fitzgerald is the only Sole Survivor to never attend a pre-merge Tribal Council.
- 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.
- 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.
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 Day 39.
- Mike Holloway, Jeremy Collins, and Ben Driebergen 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 Survivor to have used the Extra Vote twist.
- In both Fans vs. Favorites seasons, favorites 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 experienced both the Exile Island and Redemption Island twists.
- While Tyson was never sent to Exile Island nor Redemption Island, Aras was sent to Exile Island twice in his first season and was in Redemption Island before being eliminated in his second season.
- 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 only played once.
- From the four all-returning player seasons, Jeremy Collins is the only male Sole Survivor.
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.
- Nine 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, Sarah Lacina, and Ben Driebergen.
Returning Winners
- Eight winners have won the game as returnees: Amber Brkich, Parvati Shallow, Sandra Diaz-Twine, Rob Mariano, John Cochran, Tyson Apostol, Jeremy Collins, and Sarah Lacina.
- All were second-timers, except Tyson (third time) and Rob (fourth time).
- Fifteen Sole Survivors who had competed more than once have experienced being voted out, either prior to or after the season that each of them had won: Richard Hatch, Tina Wesson, Ethan Zohn, Sandra Diaz-Twine, Amber Brkich, Tom Westman, Aras Baskauskas, Parvati Shallow, J.T. Thomas, Rob Mariano, John Cochran, Tyson Apostol, Tony Vlachos, Jeremy Collins, and Sarah Lacina.
- Voted out once: Richard, Ethan, Sandra, Amber, Tom, Aras, Parvati, Cochran, Tony, Jeremy, and Sarah.
- Voted out twice: J.T., Rob, and Tyson.
- Voted out thrice: Tina*
- Jenna Morasca is the only Sole Survivor to play multiple times and never be voted out, as she quit Survivor: All-Stars.
- In All-Stars and Survivor: Game Changers, no returning Sole Survivors reached the merge nor became jury members.
- Tina Wesson, Sandra Diaz-Twine, and J.T. Thomas are the only winners to return twice after being crowned Sole Survivor.
- Tina Wesson is the only Sole Survivor to be eliminated first on another season.
- J.T. Thomas is the first returning winner to become a jury member and the first to be eliminated after the merge.
See also
References