No. DON’T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT THOUGH – Here’s an amazing clip of Sandra’s Grade A Social Skills that won her her first cool mill. SHOULD HAVE WON : Can’t believe we are saying this, but we would have voted for Tara, who played a much better game than even she seemed to realise. BEST MOVE : Playing the Granddaddy role to human waterworks Sugar, who forced the Final 4 tie that allowed him a spot in front of the Jury in the first place. The Original Red John, this Harvard Grad arguably made the most controversial allegiance switch the game had ever seen (at least until Chaos Kass hashtagged her way through this current season). BESIDES, she’s still the only player to ever completely own Probst and live to tell the tale :-. Of course, this is Australian Survivor, whose 55 Day running time means all the best players start getting got circa Day 40 (aka when the U.S. version would be wrapping the game up). Having just crowned our 35th (35th!) In 40 Survivor seasons, I counted 11 winners the jury got wrong. The way he shepherded his crazy Casaya family post-merge was truly impressive, even when he calming influence gave way to an often arrogant and hot head. Her social game was always severely underrated by the public at large, who only seem to remember her now infamous ‘will strip for Peanut Butter’ challenge standown and that she was all prototype Regina George to poor deaf Christy and every other woman over the age of 25. Winner: Earl Cole If it weren't for Yau-Man and Dreamz, this might have edged out Thailand as the worst season ever. A one-stop shop for all things video games. PLAYING. Survivor: Millennials vs Gen X produced some memorable castaways, including Adam, Zeke, David. BEST MOVE : Quietly voting out his beloved alliance partner Yau-Man at Final 4, thus ensuring a guarenteed win against the remaining two competitors; Forging such strong bonds with Yau, Cassandra and Michelle that kept him safe in spite of the 1100 swaps that took place that season; The fact that his name was neither Cassandra nor Dreamz. The only thing harder than remembering who she was would have been to successfully pronounce her surname, which has less vowels than a Welsh street sign. His hyper-emotional answer to his final Final Tribal question was absolutely stellar – no doubt those were genuine tears about his unborn baby, but bravo for deploying them SO DAMN WELL (even Ciera – who was going to vote for poor Spencer – switched her vote after that moment). BEST MOVE : Managing to always be an essential vote to the Villains Tribe whilst constantly making the Heroes feel like she was trying to jump ship to them; Genuinely managing to fool Russell into believing that she’d get zero votes in the end (I rag on Sandra a lot but the fact she managed to snow him so completely on what was blatantly obvious to others is something that does deserve genuine credit – she did the same thing we all marvel at Parvati for, but she did it with an extra zero on her bank balance to show for it); Also, the fact that her name wasn’t Parvati or Russell. SHOULD HAVE WON : Rudy would have smoked anyone in the Final 16 had he made it, even if he is the human incarnation of Sh*t My Day Says…. Poor, poor Cirie. Not to mention a seemingly never-ending string of Hidden Immunity Idols that mysteriously being re-hidden right next to all of Ben’s favourite hangout places on the island. 9. If she had’ve actually decided to play for the title of Sole Survivor instead of just Fan Favourite, it all could have turned out so very, very different. But at least, unlike Kristie, Jericho actually made a few good moves, namely insulating himself as the least threatening member of his alliance (although they were never HIS Army, like he kept banging on about every five minutes). BEST MOVE : Forming strong bonds with all of his fellow castaways, and doing so in a way that Ken & (especially) Hannah copped ALL the heat at FTC, despite it being an incredibly equal partnership the entire way. Before the merge, he preached hard work and tribal unity. Much is made of whether Malcolm would’ve won in the Finals, but it was HER social bonds with Skoopin & Lisa that got them through those last few rounds. But Jesus Christ, when that is the best thing you can say about someone’s winning game, you know you’ve got some problems. Who is the best (and worst) Survivor winner ever? Everyone’s favourite little Mormon Munchkin played an incredibly impressive game in China, leading his motley crew of misfits including (snarky waitess Courtney, Wahh-nah Montana the Nature Guide and Denise The Talking Mullet) all the way to the end without ever appearing to be a threat. And that she could happily co-habit with both Muffin and Jaclyn after voting out their respective baes is astounding, because it almost never happens so seamlessly in Survivor, no matter how many deluded fanboys seem to think that it should. The way he stood up for himself, stayed accountable and calmly demanded respect from a butthurt jury is truly the stuff REAL MEN are made of. Seriously, there must be something in the water in Samoa that makes people just become completely delusional to the merits of their game, because six months on and we’re pretty confidently Jeri genuinely thinks that he won this season on the strength of some stale ass cookies. Plus, her push to vote Roger (and his blatantly anti-vagina agenda) out at Final 10 was the first real case of someone intentionally shaping the jury to their advantage at such a pivotal point. BEST MOVE : Well, this is certainly an easy one for a woman who condensed 55 days of gameplay into 36 hours. Sassy, charming and hilarious as all hell (her burning Russell’s hat is still pretty much the most satisfying and unintentionally ironic Survivor moment EVER), Sandra made actively not-playing the game an art form. RELATED: The 10 Best Survivor Winners, Ranked Or at least it was at one point. Click through our 'Survivor: Winners at War' photo gallery that ranks the returning castaways from worst to best for Season 40. At the end of the day – a first tier game on a second tier playing field still pays the same amount of taxes, no matter how much Kool-Aid is consumed. We’ve seen hot woman make people fall at their feet before in the game of Survivor, but never anything like how this tubby redneck hick for brains managed to make an opposing tribe of six fall completely gaga in love with him. Allegedly blew through his winnings in less than a year, he now spends his time getting charmingly arrested and starring in amazing C-grade homoerotic thrillers. TIME. FINAL SCORE : 6-1-1 (against Blair Warner and whatever uninjured  parts were left of Michael Skupkin-Magoo). 34.5 KRISTIE BENNETT – AUSTRALIAN SURVIVOR (S1). Who could forget the idol at Final 7 that he not only burned, but whose very secrecy (and manner played) was the reason his bond with Ciera got incinerated in the first place? Actually, quips aside, Jonny Fairplay 100% deserved the win that season and is actually an incredibly underrated and lethal player, as he immediately proved in Micronesia (at least until the prescription med withdrawal kicked in..). We could go on all night (it’s already 11:42pm), but you can listen for yourself HERE. FINAL SCORE : 7-2-0 (against Jewellery Maker Sabrina and Clean Underwear Crusader Chelsea). Tour our gallery above to scroll through our list of the worst “Survivor” seasons of all time, ranked from bad to worst. SHOULD HAVE WON : *sigh* Russell. So, THAT’S IT from us. Low placing or not though, there’s no way to deny that he might just be the most genuinely amusing person to ever play this game :-. I know many in the RHAP community rate Fabio as the worst winner. We’re grading them on their individual winning game so, while Parvati may overall be considered the greatest female player of all time, only her winning game in Micronesia is deemed relevant to this discussion. There are seventeen more sensitive ways that idol could have been played, but none so firmly locked in her eventual win as the showmanship of how she did. Plus, playing up his shoulder injury is the kind of thing not enough strong male players think of doing, which never ceases to be baffling on account of it being SUCH AN OBVIOUS IDEA. FINAL SCORE : 7-0 (Against Poor Stephen, who really deserved better). Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Although, TBF – given that they got married straight after you could argue they both spent the finale scoring a LOT more than that.. *wink, wink, nudge, etc.*. Were the cards he was dealt so uniquely super-powered that, without them, we’d be writing up a Why Candice/Parvati/Ozzy won column instead? We’ve already gone on at length about how she’s one of our favourites ever (CLICK HERE) but, as far as winners go, she’s hands down the games most underrated. Less impressive when you consider that his competition was Cassandra and Dreamz. Seriously, every time you thought she’d settled in, there was another completely left-field baller move like flipping on Jon or playing the idol for Jaclyn. Amber does play a really good social game though. But the thing that impresses most about the Twinnie it’s okay to like is that her social game was SO. The TV series Survivor has seen its share of injuries and accidents through the years. Dragging a lonely goatherd to Finals is one thing, but managing to pull out a victory against truly worthy competitors is another level entirely. I didn't see these coming--or if I did, I was surprised they happened at all. Change ), SURVIVOR 36 : Ghost-Busting The Island Edit and Trying To Work Out Our Winner Picks →, Wow, the way my iPod’s shuffle is keeping my gym workout FED tonight.. None the less, her ability to switch seamlessly between unemotional snake-like cunning and sincerely genuine social interaction is as close to Survivor 101 as you’ll ever get. Both Hayden and Ciera had VERY strong cases for the win though had they been better at Magic Rock Divination. 9. Together, they are responsible for all the major blindsides of the season, including Ozzy, Jason, and Eric. Like, has there ever been a more heartbreaking string of boots than the one-two-three-four punch of Henry – Tessa – Sarah – Luke? But a great game, truly – six seasons on from Cagayan and Sarah Lacina finally got to be Queen Sarah AFTER ALL. A big part of this season’s charm is the nostalgia of seeing players who haven’t played for a long time. Then we have Jericho, who has the distinct honour of NOT being the worst winner in (Modern) Australian Survivor History. BEST MOVE : Getting Colby to take her to the Final Traibal Council over the immeasurably more disliked Keith; Keeping Elisabeth and Rodger so close that not one single person in that Final 8 would consider ever crossing her. First off, you will find a lack of players who went early or out first. BEST MOVE : Uniting sworn enemies Twila and Eliza for the key Final 7 vote, securing his safety and irrevocably fracturing the core alliance without ever getting any real blood on his hands. Tyler Perry can tweet as many ideas to Jiffy Pop as he wants but, for sheer inventiveness and pure jaw-dropping ingenuity, there is not enough Madea movies in the world to top the way Tony tackled Brains vs Beauty vs Bores. SHOULD HAVE WON : Rob Cesternino, who is the offical title holder of ‘Best Player To Have Never Won Survivor Who Is Not Named Cirie Fields’. BEST MOVE : Aligning with (and eventually marrying) runner up Boston Rob, letting him take the heat for double-crossing everyone and her taking home the million dollar cheque. – and that’s what makes coming up with an objective and definitive ranking a hard task indeed. Plus, she beat a rat to death with a stick. Now, we’re the first to tell you that there is genuinely no one set way to win the game – besides getting to the end and receiving a majority of the votes (are you listening Russell?) “Survivor” has been on for 20 years now and is currently airing its 40th season, so there’s bound to be some stinker seasons now and then. into a million dollar cheque. So he might have played his endgame like a temperamental and trigger happy hyena, but he had the smarts to back it up. While flashy, this type of gameplay is indicative of a weak social game. A couple of things. During Micronesia, she formed a tight bond with Cirie and Amanda that defined the season. Is it her fault that there was a production twist? FINAL SCORE : 10-0-0 (over Hannah and Ken). SHOULD HAVE WON : Umm, no one? While Malcolm and Lisa and Ave-Abi Maria got all the attention, there is no denying that Denies played one hell of a solid game. His game just doesn't feel on the same level as other winners on this season. My Ranking Of Survivor Winners Best to Worst General Discussion I based my ranking on how well they played both the social game & strategical game, as well as factor in did they have the use of idols, advantages, how many times were they at risk of leaving, who they played against and how well they controlled the whole game. Still, all of that pales in comparison to the fact Kristie literally was about to get voted out of Vavau 3-1 on Day 29 and was saved SOLELY by a (then unprecedented) Production Twist that saw Sue be kidnapped by the other tribe right before votes were about to be cast. Basically spent the first 30 days of his Survivor experience loping around the Central American wilderness like some adorably overgrown lost Labrador puppy trying to less survive the element than to survive the inexplicable wrath of a sock-stealing Na Onka. Parvarti is one of those rare castaways who is good in all three facets of the game: socially, strategically, and physically. 'Survivor' has had some impressive winners over 39 seasons. Voting out Neal from the Jury was 100% the right call too. I mean – what’s not to love? BEST MOVE : Keeping himself nestled as the tiniest Russian nesting doll inside the Sarah/Michelle/Luke Asaga alliance and winning Final Immunity over Peter when he needed it. Kim played quite possibly the most dominant game in the show's history during Survivor: One World. BEST MOVE : Taking the slightly more reviled (and slightly more racist) Clay to the end; blinding convincing four other people that he was really, totally going to the end with them. SHOULD HAVE WON : We’ll never not wish that Aubry had taken this title, but we can’t really fault the votes falling on Michele either. Mostly, his first big idol play (for Fishbock) was actually kind of a terrible move – sure, it looked good in the moment, but it basically meant that his ride or die endgame ally would now have to eliminate him sooner rather than later as it would be an unwinnable situation for Stephen to go to the end with Jeremy (a lesson he well and truly learned after his last go-round).