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Survivor South Africa: Champions is the fifth season of Survivor South Africa.

Set in the South China Sea, Champions saw two South African sporting legends serve as captains for 20 new castaways. Though the season was largely defined by two primary alliances, allegiances within these factions were fleeting, leading to numerous blindsides especially after the merge. Champions is also notable for its extensive history of Hidden Immunity Idol thefts, a twist unique to this season. In the end, the leader of the dominant Rugrats Alliance, Graham Jenneker, defeated Buhle Madlala and Sivu Xabanisa in a 5-3-2 plurality jury vote to become the Ultimate Survivor.

Following the airing of Champions, the Survivor South Africa series entered its third and most recent hiatus until its resumption with Philippines in 2018.

To date, Champions has produced five returning players (Killarney Jones, Marian de Vos, Philip Dickson, Shane Hattingh, and Shona Macdonald) for a future season.

Production[]

Champions was filmed in Johor, Malaysia in October 2013. This was the last season to be produced by Endemol before production was taken over by Afrokaans Film & Television.

Twists/Changes[]

  • Tribe Captains: Two South African sports champions served as captains of the tribes. They would live at the camps, compete in the challenges with the tribes, and make some decisions, but they could not be voted out nor cast a vote at Tribal Council. However, both of them would join the jury in voting for a winner at Final Tribal Council. The captains were former Springbok rugby captain Corné Krige for Selatan and former Bafana Bafana player Mark Fish for Utara.
  • Schoolyard Pick: On Day 1, the tribes were divided by a Schoolyard Pick, with the tribe captains choosing their tribe members.
  • Captains' Duels: Several Reward Challenges were played as one-on-one matchups between the Tribe Captains.
  • Hidden Immunity Idol: A Hidden Immunity Idol was hidden at each of the three tribe camps.
    • Idol Stealing: This season, idols could be taken from the possession of another castaway without their consent. If a castaway left their idol at camp before being voted out, that idol can be taken by another castaway and played as an active idol.
    • Idols in Revotes: As stated in Episode 11, idols could be played before the votes are read, including in the case of a revote.
  • Revision to Tiebreaker Mechanics: Starting from this season, the rules employed in the event of a tie at Tribal Council have been revised to align with the mechanics used in Survivor (U.S.).
    • Revote: In the event of a tie, a revote would commence where the castaways involved in the tie would not vote and the remaining castaways could only vote for those involved in the tie. This rule is only applied to Tribal Councils outside the final four.
    • Rock-Drawing Tiebreaker: As confirmed in Episode 11, if a deadlock occurs after a revote, the remaining non-immune castaways will automatically be forced to draw rocks. Unlike in the U.S. version of the show, no open discussion is held.
    • Fire-making Tiebreaker: In the event of a tie vote at the final four, the tied castaways will automatically compete in a fire-making challenge to determine the elimination.
  • Tribe Switch: On Day 12, the fourteen remaining castaways competed in the Touchy Subjects challenge. When each castaway had answered six questions correctly, they were directed to a turnstile, which alternated in directing them to one of two grandstands. Once each grandstand was filled with seven castaways, the castaways were informed that this was a tribe shuffle, with each group representing a new tribe. Following the selection, both tribe captains were given the opportunity to select their preferred tribe, as well as negotiate to swap tribe members.
  • Challenge Assistants: Various South African sports champions were invited to participate in challenges, helping the tribe who won the previous duel. In one challenge, two South African sports presenters participated, with each presenter helping one of the two tribes.
  • Salvation: After the merge, the captains were taken away from the castaways and lived on the Salvation camp, where they would compete in duels for control over the Salvation Cup. The captain that wins each duel may bestow the Power of Salvation on any castaway before the votes are read at Tribal Council, negating one vote against them.
  • Final Three: Unlike the first four seasons which featured a Final Two, this season featured a Final Tribal Council with three remaining finalists facing a ten-person jury. Also, for the first time since Malaysia, no public vote was used to decide the winner.

Castaways[]

Contestant Tribe Affiliation Finish Votes
Against
Original Tribe Switched Tribe Merged Tribe
ZAS5 ashleigh t Ashleigh Bryant
22, Pinelands, WC
High School Teacher
Selatan 1st Voted Out
Day 3
7
ZAS5 marsha t Marsha Wessels
40, Retreat, WC
Army Sports Officer
Selatan 2nd Voted Out
Day 5
5
ZAS5 killarney t Killarney Jones
44, Benoni, GP
Martial Artist
Utara 3rd Voted Out
Day 7
6
ZAS5 zan t Zan Lang
24, East London, EC
Vehicle Salesman
Utara 4th Voted Out
Day 9
9
ZAS5 shona t Shona Macdonald
24, Craigavon, GP
Account Manager
Selatan 5th Voted Out
Day 9
10
ZAS5 philip t Philip Dickson
32, Durban, KZN
Firefighter
Selatan 6th Voted Out
Day 11
10
ZAS5 gena t Gena Alkana
29, Sea Point, WC
PR Manager
Selatan Utara 7th Voted Out
Day 13
6
ZAS5 sonette t Sonette Myburgh
40, Witpoortjie, GP
Mortuary Attendant
Utara Utara 8th Voted Out
Day 15
7
ZAS5 stephen t Stephen Walker
25, Johannesburg, GP
Business Analyst
Utara Utara 9th Voted Out
Day 17
4
ZAS5 marian t Marian de Vos
25, Lone Hill, GP
Entrepreneur
Utara Utara Juara 10th Voted Out
1st Jury Member
Day 19
10
ZAS5 solly t Solly Mathiba
32, Kathu, NC
Sports Manager
Utara Selatan 11th Voted Out
2nd Jury Member
Day 20
8
ZAS5 moyra t Moyra Makina
34, Claremont, WC
HR Director
Selatan Selatan 12th Voted Out
3rd Jury Member
Day 21
6
ZAS5 vel t Vel Bodiba
26, Mabopane, GP
Actress
Utara Selatan 13th Voted Out
4th Jury Member
Day 21
8
ZAS5 shane t Shane Hattingh
42, Bryanston, GP
Media Salesman
Utara Utara 14th Voted Out
5th Jury Member
Day 22
10
ZAS5 altaaf t Altaaf Sheik
29, Durban, KZN
SAAF Helicopter Pilot
Selatan Selatan 15th Voted Out
6th Jury Member
Day 24
5
ZAS5 zavion t Zavion Kotze
25, Johannesburg, GP
Wedding Planner
Selatan Selatan 16th Voted Out
7th Jury Member
Day 25
4
ZAS5 david t David de Wet
53, Roosevelt Park, GP
Farrier
Selatan Utara Eliminated
8th Jury Member
Day 26
5
ZAS5 sivu t Sivu Xabanisa
23, Khayelitsha, WC
Astrophysics Student
Utara Utara Second
Runner-Up
9
ZAS5 buhle t Buhle Madlala
35, Northcliff, GP
Events Planner
Utara Selatan Runner-Up 1
ZAS5 graham t Graham Jenneker
28, Bellville, WC
Financial Manager
Selatan Selatan Ultimate Survivor 9

Sporting Champions[]

Champion Purpose Tribe
Original Tribe Special Tribe
ZAS5 corne t Corné Krige
38, Cape Town, WC
Former Springbok Captain
Tribe Captain Selatan Salvation
ZAS5 mark t Mark Fish
39, Cape Town, WC
Former Bafana Bafana Defender
Utara
Jimmy Tau
33, Kimberley, NC
Retired Bafana Bafana Defender
Challenge Assistant Selatan
Makhaya Ntini
36, Midnigi, EC
Retired Proteas Bowler
Selatan
Jonty Rhodes
44, Pietermaritzburg, KZN
Retired Proteas Fielder
Selatan
Carol Tshabalala
SuperSport Presenter
Utara
Derek Alberts
SuperSport Presenter
Selatan

Season Summary[]

Episode Air date Challenges Salvation Eliminated
(vote)
Finish
Reward Immunity Winner Recipient
1 January 19, 2014 Utara Utara TBD 1st Voted Out
Day 3
Selatan
Utara
2 January 26, 2014 Utara Ashleigh
(7-3)
3 February 2, 2014 Selatan Utara Marsha
(5-4)
2nd Voted Out
Day 5
Selatan
4 February 9, 2014 Selatan Selatan Killarney
(6-3-1)
3rd Voted Out
Day 7
5 February 16, 2014 Selatan None Zan
(8-1)
4th Voted Out
Day 9
Utara Shona
(7-1)
5th Voted Out
Day 9
6 February 23, 2014 Selatan Utara Philip
(6-1)
6th Voted Out
Day 11
Selatan
7 March 2, 2014 None Selatan Gena
(6-1)
7th Voted Out
Day 13
8 March 9, 2014 Utara1 Selatan Sonette
(5-1)
8th Voted Out
Day 15
Selatan1
9 March 16, 2014 Utara Selatan Stephen
(4-1)
9th Voted Out
Day 17
10 March 23, 2014 None None Mark TBD No Tribal Council
11 March 30, 2014 None Zavion Buhle Marian
(3-3-1-0;
6-3)2,3
10th Voted Out
1st Jury Member
Day 19
12 April 6, 2014 Moyra4 Corné Solly Solly
(6-2-1)
11th Voted Out
2nd Jury Member
Day 20
13 April 13, 2014 Altaaf4 Mark Moyra Moyra
(4-2-1-1)
12th Voted Out
3rd Jury Member
Day 21
None Buhle None None Vel
(6-2)
13th Voted Out
4th Jury Member
Day 21
14 April 20, 2014 None Sivu Mark Zavion Shane
(4-1-1)
14th Voted Out
5th Jury Member
Day 22
15 April 27, 2014 Zavion
[Altaaf,
Graham]
Zavion Corné Buhle Altaaf
(5-0)
15th Voted Out
6th Jury Member
Day 24
16 May 4, 2014 Graham4 Mark Buhle Zavion
(2-0)2
16th Voted Out
7th Jury Member
Day 25
[David]
17 May 11, 2014 Buhle4 David
(2-2;
tiebreaker)5
17th Voted Out
8th Jury Member
Day 26
18 May 18, 2014 Jury Vote Sivu
(5-3-2)
Second Runner-Up
Buhle
(5-3-2)
Runner-Up
Graham
(5-3-2)
Ultimate Survivor
Notes:
^1 This Reward Challenge saw each tribe battle in five rounds for a different reward item each round.
^2 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played, negating all votes against its user.
^3 The vote resulted in a tie. Per Survivor South Africa rules, a revote would commence.
^4 Combined Reward and Immunity Challenge.
^5 Per Survivor South Africa rules, in the event of a tie at the final four, a fire-making challenge would be held between the tied players.

Voting History[]

Original Tribes Switched Tribes Merged Tribe
Episode 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Voted Out ZAS5 ashleigh t
Ashleigh
ZAS5 marsha t
Marsha
ZAS5 killarney t
Killarney
ZAS5 zan t
Zan
ZAS5 shona t
Shona
ZAS5 philip t
Philip
ZAS5 gena t
Gena
ZAS5 sonette t
Sonette
ZAS5 stephen t
Stephen
Tie ZAS5 marian t
Marian
ZAS5 solly t
Solly
ZAS5 moyra t
Moyra
ZAS5 vel t
Vel
ZAS5 shane t
Shane
ZAS5 altaaf t
Altaaf
ZAS5 zavion t
Zavion
Tie ZAS5 david t
David
ZAS5 sivu t
Sivu
ZAS5 buhle t
Buhle
ZAS5 graham t
Graham
Vote 7-3 5-4 6-3-1 8-1 7-1 6-1 6-1 5-1 4-1 3-3-1-02,3 6-3 6-2-1 4-2-1-1 6-2 4-1-1 5-0 2-02 2-24 Tiebreaker 5-3-2
Graham Ashleigh Marsha Shona Philip Shane None Solly Moyra Vel Shane Altaaf Sivu David Jury Vote
Buhle Sonette Zan Marian Marian Shane Vel Graham Shane Altaaf Zavion Sivu
Sivu Killarney Zan Gena Sonette Stephen Graham Graham Solly Moyra Vel Zavion Altaaf Zavion David
David Ashleigh Philip Shona Philip Gena Sonette Stephen Marian Marian Solly Moyra Vel Shane Altaaf Sivu Sivu Eliminated Graham
Zavion Shona Philip Shona Philip Shane Marian Solly Moyra Vel Shane Altaaf Sivu Sivu
Altaaf Ashleigh Marsha Shona Philip Sivu Marian Solly Sivu Vel Buhle Sivu Graham
Shane Killarney Zan Gena Sonette Stephen Graham Graham Solly Moyra Vel Zavion Sivu
Vel Sonette Zan Shane Graham David Graham Graham Buhle
Moyra Ashleigh Philip Shona Philip Marian Marian Solly Vel Graham
Solly Sonette Zan Shane Marian Shane Buhle
Marian Killarney Zan Gena Sonette Stephen Graham None Graham
Stephen Killarney Zan Gena Sonette David
Sonette Killarney Zan Gena Sivu
Gena Ashleigh Marsha Shona Philip Marian
Philip Ashleigh Marsha Shona Moyra
Shona Ashleigh Marsha David
Zan Killarney Solly
Killarney Zan
Marsha Shona Philip
Ashleigh Shona
Corné1 None None None None Solly Sivu Graham
Mark1 None None None None None Buhle Moyra Zavion Buhle Buhle
Notes:
^1 During the merge, Corné and Mark competed in duels to earn the Power of Salvation, which gave them the power to negate one vote against a castaway of their choice. At Final Tribal Council, they each voted as members of the jury.
^2 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played, negating all votes against its user.
^3 The vote resulted in a tie. Per Survivor South Africa rules, a revote was held where the castaways involved in the tie would not vote and the remaining castaways could only vote for those involved in the tie.
^4 Per Survivor South Africa rules, in the event of a tie at the final four, a fire-making challenge would be held between the tied castaways.

Trivia[]

  • Champions is the second season of Survivor South Africa to be filmed in the Johor state in Malaysia, following Malaysia.
  • Champions is the last season of Survivor South Africa to use "Awakenings" as its intro theme.
  • Champions is currently the only season of Survivor South Africa to not feature a blue tribe.
  • Four castaways this season tied for the most elimination votes received, receiving 10 each. Coincidentally, all four of these castaways would return in a future season.
  • Champions is the first English-language season of Survivor where the winner won in a plurality jury vote.

References[]

Survivor South Africa Seasons
Panama · Malaysia · Santa Carolina · Maldives · Champions · Philippines · Island of Secrets · Immunity Island · Return of the Outcasts
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