Survivor Philippines: Celebrity Showdown

Survivor Philippines: Celebrity Showdown
Season Information
Version	Philippines
Season No.	3
Filming Location	Laem Son National Park, Kapoe District, Ranong Province, Thailand
Filming Dates	July 11, 2010 - August 17, 2010
Season Run	August 30, 2010 - December 5, 2010
No. of Episodes	70 (+ Final Showdown Special)
No. of Days	36
No. of Castaways	18
Winner	Akihiro Sato
Runner(s)-Up	Ervic Vijandre Solenn Heusaff
Tribes	Magan Nagar Sar Mayee Galone
Cast
Opening Sequence
Season Chronology
Previous	Palau
Next	Celebrity Doubles Showdown

Survivor Philippines: Celebrity Showdown is the third season of Survivor Philippines. This season featured 18 famous local personalities from different fields ranging from film, television, sports, and pop culture.

Akihiro Sato defeated Ervic Vijandre and Solenn Heusaff in a 3-2-2 jury vote to become the Sole Survivor.

Production

Filipino model-actor Richard Gutierrez became the new host of the franchise, replacing former host Paolo Bediones, who moved to another TV network after the second season finished airing.

The season was set in Ranong, Thailand, but the theme of the season was Burmese-inspired, given the location's close proximity to Myanmar. The identities of the castaways were teased between July and August 2010 before the press release on August 14, 2010.

In a first for the Survivor franchise, the final four castaways faced the jury at the Final Tribal Council, with the jury and remaining four castaways voting for the final jury member. The results were read at the live finale, with the final person voted out joining the now-jury of seven, before voting for the winner commenced.

Twists/Changes

• Shorter Season: The season was filmed for 36 days, three days shorter than the standard 39.
• Celebrity Castaways: Eighteen celebrity contestants, glamorously dressed, supposedly for a press conference for the season, until they were abruptly whisked off to the island of Ranong, where they were informed that the game had already started.
• One World: For the first two days of the series, the still tribe-less castaways lived on one camp until the second Reward Challenge, where the tribes were formed.
• Tribe Leader: The two castaways who won the first challenge on Day 2 would be assigned as the leaders of their tribes. The third tribe leader was elected by the still tribe-less castaways at the first Tribal Council. In addition, only the tribe leader of the tribe that lost the first tribal Immunity Challenge would vote at that Tribal Council.
• Three Tribes: For the first time in the Philippine franchise, the castaways were divided into three tribes.
• Isla Misteryo: Following the same mechanics of the American version's Exile Island, one member of each tribe was banished to Isla Misteryo until the next Immunity Challenge. Hidden across the island were bags of coins (functionally similar to Fire Tokens later introduced in the American version) which the exiled castaways can use to buy items from a "store" where luxury items, Immunity Bracelets, and creature comforts were available.
• Kidnapping: Completely different from how kidnappings were utilised in the first season, instead of the kidnapped castaway staying in the opposing tribe for a period of time, they would become a member of the tribe who kidnapped them. This power was given to the tribe that came in first at the Day 7 Reward Challenge.
• Tribe Switch: On Day 12, a Tribe Switch occurred, simultaneously dissolving the Magan tribe and mixing the remaining 14 castaways into two tribes of six.
• Joint Tribal Council: After Nagar, the tribe that lost the Day 19 Immunity Challenge, voted someone out, the winning tribe, Sar Mayee, entered Tribal Council where both tribes eliminated another member of Nagar.
• Immunity Bracelet: Like the previous season's Hidden Immunity Objects, this season's Immunity Bracelets were used akin to the American version's Hidden Immunity Idol. 
• Final Tribal Council Format: For the first time in any Survivor franchise, four castaways faced a jury of six. At the Final Tribal Council, the jury, along with the final four, voted for the seventh and final member of the jury, and the results of this vote were revealed at the live finale. The final jury member was voted out in public, after which, the now-complete jury voted for the Sole Survivor.

Castaways

Contestant		Tribe Affiliation				Finish	Votes Against
		Original Tribe	Post-Kidnap	Switched Tribe	Merged Tribe
	Princess Snell StarStruck finalist	None				Quit Day 2	0
	Doc Ferdz Recio Veterinarian and TV host	Magan				1st Voted Out Day 6	1
	Myka Flores Comedienne	Magan	Magan			2nd Voted Out Day 9	4
	Buhawi Meneses Parokya ni Edgar/Franco bassist	Magan	Magan			3rd Voted Out Day 11	3
	Karen delos Reyes Actress and former commercial model	Sar Mayee	Sar Mayee	Nagar		4th Voted Out Day 13	4
	Pretty Trizsa Celso Stand-up comic	Sar Mayee	Sar Mayee	Sar Mayee		5th Voted Out Day 16	6
	Mico Aytona TV host	Magan	Magan	Nagar		6th Voted Out Day 19	5
	Ian Batherson StarStruck finalist	Nagar	Nagar	Nagar		7th Voted Out Day 19	7
	Jon Hall Model	Nagar	Nagar	Sar Mayee	Galone	8th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 22	5
	Aira Bermudez SexBomb Girls member	Sar Mayee	Sar Mayee	Nagar		9th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 24	12
	Michelle Madrigal Actress	Nagar	Nagar	Sar Mayee		10th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 27	11
	Ahron Villena Actor	Nagar	Nagar	Sar Mayee		11th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 30	7
	Elma Muros-Posadas Track and field athlete	Magan	Magan	Sar Mayee		12th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 33	5
	Moi Marcampo Commercial model and personal assistant to Piolo Pascual	Nagar	Nagar	Nagar		13th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 35	6
	Aubrey Miles Film and TV actress	Sar Mayee	Sar Mayee	Sar Mayee		14th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 36	11
	Solenn Heusaff Model and make-up artist	Magan	Magan	Nagar		Runners-Up	4
	Ervic Vijandre Basketball player and model	Sar Mayee	Nagar	Sar Mayee			5
	Akihiro Sato Model and TV actor	Sar Mayee	Sar Mayee	Sar Mayee		Sole Survivor	8

Season Summary

The 18 celebrity castaways, wearing formal attire, were made to believe they were attending a press conference, only to be abducted by locals and informed the game had already begun. The survivors initially lived in one beach without being assigned into tribes. At the first Reward Challenge, the winners, Buhawi and Aira were assigned as Tribal Leaders. Two days in, Princess quit the game due to anxiety and low tolerance for hunger. At the first Tribal Council, instead of voting a player out, the whole group voted for the third leader, Jon. The tribe leaders divided the castaways into three tribes: Aira's Sar Mayee, Buhawi's Magan, and Jon's Nagar, which had one less member due to Princess's departure.

Despite having less members, Nagar became the most dominant of the three tribes, finishing first in four of the first six challenges. Sar Mayee routinely finished in second place despite the frequent tensions amongst its members. Magan became the weakest tribe, losing every Immunity Challenge for the duration of its existence, mainly due to Buhawi's poor leadership. Past relationships came into play early on, with Aubrey having to deal having both her ex-boyfriend Jon and his current girlfriend Michelle in the game. Away from the couple in another tribe, Aubrey formed an alliance with Ervic. An added layer to the game in this season was Isla Misteryo, where a member of each tribe would race to dig up buried coins in exchange for creature comforts or game advantages.

A Tribe Switch on Day 12 equally spread the remaining 14 castaways across Nagar and Sar Mayee, after which Sar Mayee became the more superior tribe, winning two of the three post-swap Immunity Challenges. The tribes merged into the Galone tribe on Day 20. At the merge, Aubrey and Ervic slowly seized control of the game, starting by splitting the votes between Jon and Michelle in the event Jon played his Immunity Bracelet on either himself or Michelle. As Aubrey and Ervic's casualty count steadily rose, Akihiro, a loose member of their alliance, won multiple Immunity Challenges. The three alliance members, along with Solenn, the last of the ill-fated Magan tribe, became the final four, all of whom entered the Final Tribal Council.

A generally averse jury equally commended and blasted Aubrey and Ervic for leading the charge in most of the key votes in the game. Solenn was praised for playing an under-the-radar game, but criticized for lacking the strategic command that Aubrey and Ervic had. Akihiro was lauded for his general congeniality, work ethic and challenge performances, but was also chastised for being the least strategic. In a twist, the jury and the finalists jointly voted for the final jury member, the results of which were revealed at the live finale.

During the live finale, Aubrey was revealed to be the final member of the jury, first by an extremely close 3-3-2-2 vote, and then by a 5-3 revote against Akihiro. In front of a live audience, the complete jury voted for Akihiro to become the third Pinoy Sole Survivor in a 3-2-2 plurality vote.

Voting History

Survivor Philippines: Celebrity Showdown Voting History
		Pre-Tribes	Original Tribes	Post-Kidnap Tribes		Absorbed Tribes				Merged Tribe
Cycle #		1	2	3	4	5	6	7		8	9	10	11	12	13	Finale
Voted out:		Princess	Doc Ferdz	Myka	Buhawi	Karen	Pretty Trizsa	Mico	Ian	Jon	Aira	Michelle	Ahron	Elma	Moi	Tie	Aubrey	Solenn	Ervic	Akihiro
Vote:		No vote1	1-02	4-1	3-1	4-2-1	6-1	3-2-1	4-2-1-0-03, 4	4-2-05	7-2	7-1	5-1-1	5-1-0-06	4-1	3-3-2-27	5-3	3-2-2
►►►	Akihiro	—	—	—	—	—	Pretty Trizsa	—	Moi	Michelle	Aira	Michelle	Ahron	Elma	Moi	Aubrey	None7	Jury Vote
►►►	Ervic	—	—	—	—	—	Pretty Trizsa	—	Aira	Michelle	Aira	Michelle	Ahron	Elma	Moi	Akihiro	Akihiro
►►►	Solenn	—	None	Myka	Buhawi	Ian	—	Mico	Ian	Jon	Aira	Michelle	Ahron	Elma	Moi	Akihiro	Akihiro
►►►	Aubrey	—	—	—	—	—	Pretty Trizsa	—	Aira	Michelle	Aira	Michelle	Ahron	Elma	Moi	Akihiro	None7		Ervic
►►►	Moi	—	—	—	—	Karen	—	Mico	Aira	Jon	Aira	Michelle	Aubrey	Elma	Akihiro	Solenn	Akihiro		Ervic
►►►	Elma	—	None	Myka	Buhawi	—	Pretty Trizsa	—	Ian	Michelle	Aira	Michelle	Ahron	Solenn		Aubrey	Aubrey			Akihiro
►►►	Ahron	—	—	—	—	Karen	—	Aira	Ian	Jon	Aira	Michelle	Ervic			Aubrey	Aubrey	Solenn
►►►	Michelle	—	—	—	—	—	Pretty Trizsa	—	Ahron	Aubrey	Ervic	Akihiro				Ervic	Aubrey	Solenn
►►►	Aira	—	—	—	—	Ian	—	Mico	Ian	Jon	Ervic					Ervic	Aubrey			Akihiro
►►►	Jon	—	—	—	—	—	Pretty Trizsa	—	Ahron	Aubrey						Solenn	Aubrey			Akihiro
►►	Ian	—	—	—	—	Karen	—	Aira	Solenn
►►	Mico	—	None	Myka	Buhawi	Karen	—	Ian
►►	Pretty Trizsa	—	—	—	—	—	Jon
►►	Karen	—	—	—	—	Moi
►	Buhawi	—	Doc Ferdz	Myka	Mico
►	Myka	—	None	Mico
	Doc Ferdz	—	None
	Princess	Quit
Notes: ^1 Princess quit the game. No vote occurred for her removal. ^2 Only the tribe leader, Buhawi, was permitted to cast a vote at the second Tribal Council. ^3 Nagar faced a Double Elimination. In addition, Sar Mayee participated in the second round of voting as part of their reward. ^4 Aira and Moi played their Immunity Bracelets, negating any votes cast against them. ^5 Michelle played her Immunity Bracelet, negating any votes cast against her. ^6 Aubrey and Moi played their Immunity Bracelets, negating any votes cast against them, though they did not receive any votes. ^7 At the Final Tribal Council, the jury did not vote for a finalist to win, instead, the jury and the finalists themselves cast votes for the 7th jury member. The vote resulted in a tie between Aubrey and Akihiro. A revote commenced at the live finale, where Akihiro and Aubrey were ineligible to vote.

Trivia

• This is the first season in any Survivor franchise to have four contestants face the jury at the Final Tribal Council. However, voting at the Final Tribal Council was done by both the final four and the jurors to determine the final juror, with the results being read at the live finale. At the live finale, the person voted out joined the jury, with the actual voting for the winner commencing afterwards.
  • The resulting tie at the Final Tribal Council is the third such occurrence in any Survivor franchise, following Koh-Lanta: Bocas del Toro and Koh-Lanta: Palawan. It would later be followed by Survivor: Ghost Island and Koh-Lanta: Le Totem Maudit.
    • However, as voting at the Final Tribal Council was to determine the final juror, Celebrity Showdown is the only one among these seasons to have a tie occur at the Final Tribal Council, but not have a tie in the voting for the winner.