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William "Will" Wahl is a contestant from Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X.

As the first high schooler to ever go on Survivor, Will started out as an eager, yet very quiet character, making his way to the merge with ease. After the merge, Will had a hand in a game-changing blindside, flipping on Zeke Smith and the majority alliance in order to "build his résumé". After the flip, Will attempted to take full control of the tribe, but his plan backfired, ultimately leading to his own elimination the following Tribal Council.

Profile[]

Retrieved from CBS.com

Name: Will Wahl
Age: 18
Current residence: Long Valley, NJ
Occupation: High-school student
Tribe designation: Vanua (Millennials)
Three words to describe you: Cunning, adaptable, and dynamic.
Hobbies: Watching TV (mostly Survivor), camping and fishing, and reading news articles.
Pet peeves: People who are fake and/or stuck-up.
What does it mean to be a Millennial? A Millennial is creative, resourceful, intelligent, and, above all else, adaptable.
Personal claim to fame: Being the youngest person to ever compete on Survivor, which is a dream that has finally become a reality.
Inspiration in life: Jesus Christ and Ronald Reagan.
If you could have three things on the island, what would they be and why? Noise cancelling headphones so I won't have to hear any annoying people; a tent to stay dry in during the rain; and a Bible so that I can keep my sanity.
Survivor contestant you're most like: I don't want to play like any past Survivor. Each season is its own game and should be unique. I will play the way I need to play in order to manipulate people. However, I do respect Randy Bailey (Gabon, Heroes vs. Villains).
Reason for being on Survivor: My primary motivation is to show people that, even though I'm young, I can do anything an older person can do and more. People don't respect youth and I'm going to make them regret that. My secondary motivation is to screw with people's heads and lie every chance I get. It just sounds like fun.
Why do you think you'll "survive" Survivor? I have a way of making people feel comfortable. I can manipulate people into thinking they are in control when, really, I'm the one making the big moves necessary to win.[2]

Survivor[]

Will began the game as a part of the Millennial tribe, Vanua. At the introduction of the season, Jeff Probst noted him on being the first high school student to be a contestant on Survivor. Will, along with the rest of Vanua avoided going to Tribal Council until Day 7. While initially set on voting out Figgy Figueroa, he was convinced to switch his vote to Mari Takahashi by Michelle Schubert. The next day, Will was selected via random draw in his tribe, along with Figgy, Taylor Stocker, and Jay Starrett to go to a summit to converge with members of the other tribe. Will avoided attending Tribal Council up until the tribe switch. He was placed on the newly formed Ikabula tribe along with fellow Millennials Jay, Hannah Shapiro, and Michaela Bradshaw, and Gen-Xers Sunday Burquest and Bret LaBelle.

Over on Ikabula, Jay and Will found a Hidden Immunity Idol together but were spotted by Michaela. He and the other former Millennials also became weary and distrustful of Bret because they suspected that he was a cop. Ikabula lost their first Immunity Challenge on Day 20. The former Millennials planned to go along with Michaela's idea of splitting the votes between Bret and Sunday and eliminating Bret on the revote. Jay later discussed with Will the possibility of blindsiding Michaela for being a strategic threat. Will went with Jay's plan and voted off Michaela in a 4-2 vote.

Will made it to the merge on Day 21 and became a member of the Vinaka tribe. Unfortunately for him, he was targeted by Adam Klein for seemingly becoming Jay's new right-hand man. Will thwarted Adam's plan to eliminate him by winning the first individual Immunity Challenge. In retaliation for his scheming against him, Will targeted Adam but failed to eliminate him after Michelle was blindsided in a 9-4 vote. Now, he was stuck in the minority with Jay and Taylor. At the next Tribal Council, out of fear of the majority alliance's numbers, Will voted against his ally Jay but it was Taylor who was eliminated from the game. The next day, Will tried to build trust with former Millennial Zeke Smith by telling him about Jay's idol but Zeke proceeded to tell the rest of the tribe this newfound information. At the Day 30 Tribal Council, Will was recruited by Zeke to vote out Hannah. After a deadlocked vote, Will drew rocks but was lucky enough to remain in the game.

Will realized that he wanted to have a strong resume so that he could win the game should he make it to Final Tribal Council, but in order to do so, he had to make big moves. He talked to former Gen-Xer David Wright about blindsiding Zeke, whom Will saw as a threat to win. At the Reward Challenge, Will was greeted by his mother, Irene. Jay ended up winning the challenge and chose Will, Sunday, and Adam to join him in spending time with their loved ones. After the next Immunity Challenge. Will heard Zeke's alliance planning to vote of Ken McNickle, out of fear that David may have found another idol. Will leaked this information to Ken, who in turn confronted Zeke's alliance about the plan. At Tribal Council that evening, Will was torn between making a big move in voting for Zeke's or playing it safe and voting for Hannah. Adam ended up playing his own idol on Hannah, but it was not needed as Will, the swing vote, voted for Zeke. Wanting to gain control of the game, Will realigned with Jay and plotted to go after David, another threat to win. Meanwhile, Bret, Sunday, and Adam targeted Will. Before the next Tribal Council, Jay and Will tried to garner enough votes to eliminate David, but Will was voted out in a 6-2 vote, becoming the sixth jury member.

At the Final Tribal Council, Will voted for Adam to be the Sole Survivor. He ended up contributing to his unanimous 10-0-0 vote victory.

Episode Tribe
Affiliation
Challenge Challenge Type Sit-Out? Result
1 Vanua Got to Choose Reward/Immunity No Won
2 The Ocean Reward/Immunity No Lost
3 Going Coconuts Reward/Immunity No Won
4 Water Slaughter Reward No Lost
Angry Chair Immunity No Won
Switched Tribes, Day 13
5 Ikabula Holy Diver Immunity Yes 1st
6 Blind Faith Reward No 2nd
It's in the Bag Immunity Yes 1st
7 Matt Finish Reward No 2nd
Bail Out Immunity Yes Lost
Tribes Merged, Day 21
8 Vinaka Fools in the Rain Immunity Won
9 All Mixed Up Reward Lost
Bo Diddley Immunity Yes1 Lost
10 Ferryman Reward No Lost
With a 10-ft. Pole Immunity Lost
Slither Me Timbers Reward No Lost
Rusty Gates Immunity Lost
11 Rope A Dope Reward Invited
Push Me, Pull You Immunity Lost
12 Wizard's Staff Immunity Lost
Voted Out, Day 34
Notes:
^1 Will elected to sit out of the challenge to eat grilled cheese sandwiches, chips, soft drinks, and beer.

Episode Will's
Votes
Voted Against
Will
1 Vanua Tribe Immune
2 Mari -
3 Vanua Tribe Immune
4 Vanua Tribe Immune
5 Ikabula Tribe Immune
6 Ikabula Tribe Immune
7 Michaela -
8 Adam Individual Immunity
9 Jay -
10 Chris -
Hannah;
Hannah1
-
11 Zeke -
12 David Adam, Bret, David,
Hannah, Ken, Sunday
Voted Out, Day 34
Voted for
Sole Survivor
Adam

^1 In "Million Dollar Gamble", the vote ended with a 5-5 tie between Hannah and Zeke, forcing a revote. Will did not change his vote on the revote.

Post-Survivor[]

  • Will attended Ohio State University and received his Bachelor's degree in 2020, majoring in Public Affairs and Political Science.[3]
  • Will is currently attending The Wake Forest University School of Law and is expected to graduate with his Juris Doctor in 2023. [4]
  • In 2023, Will engaged to Allisun Spears.[5]

Trivia[]

  • Will is the youngest Survivor contestant at the time of filming, being 18 years, 7 months, and 24 days old when Millennials vs. Gen X started.
  • Will is the first Survivor contestant to be a high-school student at the time of filming.
  • Will is the first man to win the When It Rains, It Pours challenge. He would be followed by Tony Vlachos in Winners at War.
  • Will lasted the longest without receiving a vote against him in Millennials vs. Gen X.
  • Will lost 20 lbs. during his time on Millennials vs. Gen X.[6]

References[]

Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X Castaways
 Adam
Vanua
S33 adam t
 Bret
Takali
S33 bret t
 CeCe
Takali
S33 cece t
 Chris
Takali
S33 chris t
 David
Takali
S33 david t
 Figgy
Vanua
S33 figgy t
 Hannah
Vanua
S33 hannah t
 Jay
Vanua
S33 jay t
 Jessica
Takali
S33 jessica t
 Ken
Takali
S33 ken t
 Lucy
Takali
S33 lucy t
 Mari
Vanua
S33 mari t
 Michaela
Vanua
S33 michaela t
 Michelle
Vanua
S33 michelle t
 Paul
Takali
S33 paul t
 Rachel
Takali
S33 rachel t
 Sunday
Takali
S33 sunday t
 Taylor
Vanua
S33 taylor t
 Will
Vanua
S33 will t
 Zeke
Vanua
S33 zeke t
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