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.
The winner of Survivor: Winners at War will receive $2,000,000, billed as the biggest prize given in reality television history.
List of Sole Survivors
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Survivor: Winners at War
- Main article: Survivor: Winners at War
To commemorate the series' 20th anniversary and 40th season, 20 of the 38 champions will return to compete in an all-winners season.
Trivia
Winning and Perfect Games
- In the very first season, Richard is the only winner to be revealed on location rather than during the Reunion Show.
- Sandra is the first, and currently only Survivor contestant to win two seasons.
- She will be joined by whoever wins Survivor: Winners at War.
- After Survivor: Redemption Island, Rob and Amber became the first and currently only winner couples. They later appeared on Survivor: Winners at War together.
- Ethan and Jenna were dating and competed on Survivor: All-Stars together before breaking up.
- Wendell and Michele were once in a relationship after their winning. Like the Mariano, both later appeared together in Survivor: Winners at War.
- 24 men and 14 women have become Sole Survivors.
- Because Sandra won twice, 15 seasons have been won by women.
- 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.
- Tony is currently the Sole Survivor with the most jury votes received in a Final Two, with 8.
- Jeremy and Adam are tied for the most jury votes received by all winners, with 10.
- Natalie White, Kim Spradlin, and Sarah are tied for the most jury votes received by any female winner, all receiving 7 jury votes.
- At 57, Bob is the oldest Sole Survivor and currently the oldest overall winner.
- Denise is the oldest female winner, being 41 at the time of her win.
- At 21, Jenna and Fabio are the youngest female and male winners by age at the time crowned,
- Tommy is the youngest by birth date.
- There are two pairs of winners who share the same names, "Natalie" and "Chris."
- Wendell is the first Sole Survivor to win following a tie vote in the Final Tribal Council.
- Chris Underwood is the first Sole Survivor to be voted out, earn his way back into the game, and win the game.
- There are 5 winners (Earl, J.T., Cochran, Jeremy, and Adam) who won a jury vote unanimously. All of them are male.
- J.T. is the first winner to achieve a Perfect Game by receiving no vote against. He is followed by Cochran.
- Despite having no votes counted, Jeremy did receive three votes that were voided by a Hidden Immunity Idol.
- Bob is the first Sole Survivor to also win the Fan Favorite Award.
Tribal Council
- Denise 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 is the only Sole Survivor to never attend a pre-merge Tribal Council.
- Nine winners have won without ever having a single vote cast against them during their winning season: Tina, Ethan, Brian, Sandra (in Pearl Islands), Tom, J.T., Cochran, Natalie Anderson, and Nick.
- Ben 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.
- In their winning seasons, nine winners voted against the person who was ultimately eliminated at every Tribal Council they voted in: Tina Wesson, Ethan, Brian, Amber, Tom, Yul, Todd, Parvati, and Tony.
Hidden Immunity Idol and Twists
- Yul is the first Sole Survivor to have found a Hidden Immunity Idol.
- Yul and Kim are the only Sole Survivors to find a Hidden Immunity Idol and keep it until it expired.
- Mike, Jeremy, and Ben are the only Sole Survivors to use a Hidden Immunity Idol successfully in their winning season.
- In addition, Sarah successfully used a Legacy Advantage to save herself.
- Ben has found and played the most Hidden Immunity Idols in a winning season.
- He played the idols in three Tribal Councils consecutively, having 2 of them played successfully.
- Sarah and Nick are the only Sole Survivors to have used a variation of the Extra Vote.
- In both "Fans vs. Favorites" seasons, Favorites won.
- Three first-time winners defeated a returning player in a jury vote: Danni, Sophie, and Denise. All of them are female. In Survivor: Winners at War, the three returned and became the second-time players.
- In both Blood vs. Water seasons, winners won in their third attempt on reality shows.
- Tyson competed in Survivor thrice, while Natalie Anderson participated in The Amazing Race two times with her twin sister before winning on her first try on Survivor.
- Aras is the first Sole Survivor to be on the Exile Island.
- Amber is the first winner to win an all-returning player season. She is followed by Sandra, Jeremy, Sarah, and the winner of Survivor: Winners at War.
- Jeremy is the only male winner of this format.
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, Sarah Lacina, Ben Driebergen, and Tommy Sheehan.
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).
- Seventeen 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, John Cochran, Tony Vlachos, Natalie Anderson, Jeremy Collins, Sarah Lacina, and Wendell Holland.
- Voted out twice: Ethan Zohn, Sandra Diaz-Twine, Amber Mariano, Parvati Shallow, and J.T. Thomas.
- Voted out thrice: Tina Wesson*, Tyson Apostol, and Rob Mariano.
- 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, 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 in 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.
See also
References