Survivor Best Players by Season

This is part 3 of 3 of my Survivor posts.

Throughout my rewatch of every season of Survivor, I am picking out who I think played the best overall game that season.  This player isn’t always the person who ended up winning that season, but they often are.  For me, my best player is (if not the best) one of the best at strategizing and doing their best to make sure they were never a target of a vote.  I am looking for solid, all-around players with very few weak spots in their game, so people who were a liability in challenges won’t be on here much, and I considered players more if they were great at challenges.  Basically, based on what I saw, these are the people who I think most deserved the million dollars because I felt they exemplified a true survivor best.  Sometimes that person did not even make it to Day 39 and the Final Tribal Council, due to bad luck, losing the final immunity challenge, a betrayal, or a matter out of their control.  Here they are:

Borneo: Richard Hatch
Survivor was a lot different in its first season, and from what they showed, Rich was the only one who schemed or seemed to plan anything.  Heck, Sean even had his “alphabet strategy” because he didn’t know how else to vote.  Anyway, the producers didn't want Richard to win (instead they wanted Rudy) as Rudy was more likable.  Rich courageously and smartly knew he did not have to win Final 3 immunity as either Kelly or Rudy would take him to the end, so he stepped down and saved his energy.  That’s a ballsy move and one that I have not seen matched since.

Australian Outback: Tina Wesson
I would love to have given this to Colby, but at the final tribal council, it did not sound like Colby wanted to win.  He didn't fight for himself much at all.  I don’t know why he did this, but not having a killer instinct or a strong desire to win will make me not choose someone, and in this case that is Colby.  He was just too honorable to try to make Tina look bad, I guess.  Tina, meanwhile, didn't really get on anyone's bad side, and in a season without a true scheming player, she was able to be the first "nice" player to win.  Keith was close, but he didn’t do enough to justify me picking him over the actual winner, Tina.  Tina was always on the right side of the vote, and once they got Jeff Varner out via a tiebreaker of past votes, they had the numbers advantage and it was smooth sailing for Tina.

Africa: Lex van den Berghe
The first non-winner that was the best player was Lex.  He was easily the biggest challenge threat of the season.  He was such a force in the game that there was a rumor that Kelly had thrown a vote his way (when in fact it was Theresa), and he was able to get Kelly voted out as a result.  His only downfall was the final immunity challenge in which he had a stomach bug that kept him up all night the previous night, costing him immunity, because he physically could not go on further.  But if he had somehow gone to the Final 2 against either Kim or Ethan, he definitely would have won.  Kim knew she had a better shot against Ethan in the Final 2, despite Ethan’s likability.  She knew the jury would’ve respected Lex’s gameplay too much. 

Marquesas: Kathy Vavrick O'Brien
Kathy was definitely the most well-respected player in Marquesas.  Neleh always had Paschal to protect her and Vecepia just scooted by without drawing too much attention to herself or even doing much.  Kathy also was the challenge "beast" of the season, because everyone else was only mediocre.  Just like with Lex, the final immunity challenge cost her.  In this case, it was wearing a low cut top.  We know she would've beaten Vecepia or Neleh if she made Final 2.  Vecepia and Neleh had made a deal behind Kathy’s back to take the other if either won immunity (because each knew they couldn’t have beaten Kathy), so Kathy had to have won that challenge to win the game.

Thailand: Brian Heidik
Brian straight-up lied to people's faces, most notably Ted and Helen.  He told them they weren't going at the next vote, yet they did.  He also was the challenge beast of the season.  This season wasn't known for its great players; in fact, only one player (Shii-Ann) returned to play again that was from this season, and she didn't even make the jury this season.  But Brian was in control pretty much the entire game and was never in danger of being voted out.  Much like with Richard Hatch in Borneo, Brian seemed to be the only real strategist of the season.

Amazon: Rob Cesternino
So far, the best players have either been 1st or 3rd.  Trust me, that will change.  Rob was the one true hard player this season.  Unfortunately for him, turning on Jenna and Heidi (and voting out Alex) cost him.  Also, not winning final three immunity just like Lex and Kathy couldn't, either.  But he basically controlled Matthew in the game and was the first true mastermind of the game.  What would've happened had he stuck with Jenna, Heidi, and Alex?  We'll never know.  But I don't blame him for picking Matthew and Butch; they were much more easily manipulated, and Rob had a VERY good shot at beating either of them in the Final 2. 

Pearl Islands: Sandra Diaz-Twine
Up until this season, no one had played the "as long as it's not me" game better than Sandra.  She always made sure was on the right side of the vote, and it helped that the opposite tribe struggled to win challenges.  However, she did not excel in challenges herself (at all).  In fact, she is still to this date the only Survivor winner not to win a single individual challenge, reward or immunity.  And she did it twice!  She excelled at the final tribal council, giving excellent answers to each of the juror's questions.  My favorite moment of hers was giving Burton and Jon a false sense of security by moping at camp.  She told Jon that she and the other two women did not form a pact to vote one of the guys out, when in fact they did, and she got the biggest threat left in the game in Burton voted out.  She also survived the horrible “outcasts” twist which saw Burton and Lil reintroduced into the game.

All-Stars: Amber Brkich
Now, I so badly wanted to go with Rob on this one.  Rob was the most manipulative player this season by far.  But I have to penalize players who backstab and betray people to the extent that it hurts their chances in the end.  Amber knew what she was doing.  She knew Rob would take all the bullets for her while still making all the decisions together.  She won the Final 4 immunity and I think would've won Final 3 immunity if not for a brain fart in hers in touching the idol with her other hand.  Rob betrayed Lex, Kathy, and Tom, and in some instances, such as with Lex, Rob did not handle it well at all and made Lex look like a fool.  You have to know where to draw the line, and Rob went too far.  Amber did not.  Sometimes the best move is to align with a bad guy, so you look better by comparison.

Vanuatu: Chris Daugherty
Yet again I pick the winner.  Chris went from challenge goat in the very first episode to winning the game.  He formed the "Fat Five" alliance, but once they picked off too many guys, the guys themselves started getting picked off by the women.  Chris then scraped and clawed and lied and deceived his way to the final two.  After that first vote where a woman finally got voted out (Leigh Ann), he was confident the rest of the way.  Sure, he betrayed Julie and Eliza, but they understood it was part of the game and voted for him to win anyway.  He also won the final two immunity challenges.  I think Ami was more of a challenge beast, but towards the end Chris really was in every single one of them, so he greatly improved his game in challenges.  Chris's game reminded me a bit of Brian Heidik's, in that once they got kinda near the end, they were confident in every vote and won the immunity challenges they needed to. 

Palau: Tom Westman
I'm sorry, but we're just in a stretch where the best player wins all the time.  This season wasn't known for its strategists.  Ian seemed to be the one doing the most talking and move-making, but he got caught in too many deals and lies, and ultimately to save face, he had to bow out of the Final 3 Immunity challenge.  Tom, meanwhile, was a beast at challenges, and I bet he set a record for the amount of times he was safe during an episode, whether it be tribal or individual immunity.  He did of course make moves and said things people didn't like, most notably Caryn and Coby, but he won by a margin of 6 votes to 1.  Many will describe him as one of the game's most deserving and likable winners.  Hard to go against that.

Guatemala: Rafe Judkins
I like to pick the challenge beasts, but not just because they do well at challenges.  Rafe had the most immunity wins, but he also did the best to set himself up to win the game.  He and Steph blindsided Jamie, Judd, Lydia and Cindy, yet Steph got all the blame.  Rafe was able to use her as a shield (Like how Amber used Rob).  In a final act of trying to win a jury vote (Steph), he told Danni she didn't HAVE to keep her word and take him to the end.  He did this because he felt bad for Stephanie and the way she fell out of the final immunity challenge.  He also did this in hopes Danni still would take him to the end.  She did not.  Had she taken him to the end, I think Rafe wins 5-2 or even 6-1.  He was well-liked and played the best all-around game, and Danni knew Rafe would have beaten her in the end.

Panama/Exile Island: Cirie Fields
I surprised even myself with this one.  Cirie, to me, played the best strategic and social game.  She engineered getting Courtney and Shane out.  That to me proved she deserved my choice for best of the season.  Aras, the eventual winner, didn't do too much, as I saw Cirie doing more game-planning than him.  It's just a shame she lost the Final 4 firemaking challenge to Danielle.  Had she won that, Cirie probably would have gone to the end and won the whole game.  Aras and Terry had a heated rivalry, and as Aras won the final three immunity he probably would've taken Cirie as he was in an alliance with her as well.  And I honestly think she would've beaten him, not just because of her better strategizing, but because she was more well-liked by everyone, even the people she engineered in voting out.

Cook Islands: Yul Kwon
Was there any question?  Yul found the idol and was able to sway Jonathan over to his side in the most crucial vote of the game.  He went from a tribe down in numbers (just four people) and got them to the Final 4.  He played a very diplomatic and calculated game.  He almost always knew exactly what to say to make the person he's talking to happiest, or in other words, the least upset.  He always talked very politically you might say.  Before the change where the idol could be played after the votes, it was extremely powerful and nobody in two seasons even attempted to flush the idol out, and so they never got played.  He used that to his advantage perfectly. 

Fiji: Yau-Man Chan
It was a close call between Yau-Man and Earl.  What made me choose Yau-Man as best player of the season was that Jeff polled the jury at the reunion show, asking them who they would've voted for if both Earl and Yau-Man were in the final.  Yau-Man got at least 6 of the votes.  Besides that, he was actually better in challenges than Earl and found the idol first.  He was the first person in Survivor history to play an idol successfully, and nobody else this season nor the next played an idol successfully, either.  Yau-Man's downfall was trusting Dreamz, but he was smart to make that deal.  Dreamz should have realized by reneging on that deal he wouldn't get much love from the jury, and Yau-Man was banking on Dreamz realizing that. 

China: Todd Herzog
Todd was in control from the get-go.  It helped to be on the tribe that won more challenges, because if he was on Zhan Hu, he might've been an early boot.  Todd made alliances with almost everyone on his tribe and they all believed he was genuine.  He wasn't particularly good at challenges, with Amanda winning the bulk of the late challenges.  But he was a target from Final 7 on, and he never had an idol in his possession, yet made it by.  He somehow was able to convince Courtney and Amanda and Denise to go to the end with him even though they didn't have a shot against him.  I think he was able to convince the girls they had a shot against him, when actually, they didn’t.

Micronesia/Fans vs. Favorites: Parvati Shallow
Parvati smartly got a lot of people on her side, and she was never pointed out as a threat.  She made alliances with her fellow female Favorites in Cirie and Amanda as well as two female Fans Natalie and Alexis.  She got Ozzy out before he could use the Idol.  She was willing to betray James, but didn't have to because he was medically evacuated.  She spearheaded the Black Widow Alliance and led it all the way to the title of Sole Survivor.  Cirie may have been my first two time pick as best player in a season, but she lost the final immunity challenge.  Also, had this been a Final 3, Cirie may have won, but I still don't think she played the absolute best game.  Parvati did.

Gabon: Kenny Hoang
This is the player who (so far) has placed the worst of all my best players of their season, which is 5th.  In watching the Final Tribal Council, it's evident that none of the best players in the game got to the end.  Sugar didn't get any votes, Susie flip-flopped and did very little strategizing, usually relying on other players to tell her what to do.  And then there's Bob.  Bob was very good in challenges and very good around camp, but did almost no strategizing.  His moves of giving fake idols were other people's ideas.  So to me, Kenny was the best player.  He strategized as well as anyone, executing multiple blindsides, most notably Marcus.  To be able to do that despite Kota dominating in challenges was impressive, although the tribe switches helped.  Kenny's one bad move was getting sure of himself and not realizing he was as big of a threat as he was, but also trying to make Bob out to be the bad guy at the tribal council before he got voted out.  He made a deal with Bob to get his immunity necklace, but Bob reneged on that deal. 

Tocantins: J.T. Thomas
Hard to pick against a guy who played a perfect game, which is to say, never receiving any votes against and receiving every vote at the final tribal council.  He was in danger shortly after the merge, but he made “allies” with Coach and Tyson and Debbie and exploited the fractured Timbira tribe.  It’s amazing that while he was definitely considered a threat to win challenges and the game his entire time there, he never received a single vote against him.  And it’s not like he never went to tribal council vulnerable; his Jalapao tribe lost more than Timbira and he went into the merge down in numbers, and he didn’t win that many immunity challenges (at least not until late in the game).  It’s more impressive to win a game down in numbers after the merge than it is up in numbers.  If it was a close vote at the final TC, I might consider Stephen for this, but Stephen was the Robin to J.T.’s Batman.  Sometimes, just being a really likable person is all it takes to win the game.

Samoa: Russell Hantz
Survivor is a game where it benefits you to lie and deceive people and try to manipulate them, and perhaps no one in the game’s history has done it better than Russell Hantz.  From day one, Russell worked all the women on his tribe and was able to convince the rest of his tribe (Mick, Jaison, Natalie) to vote anyone out that borderline threatened him.  He also was the first person in Survivor history to find a Hidden Immunity Idol without a single clue, and he did it twice.  Nowadays, that’s a common occurrence, but Russell started it.  He entered the merge with a target on his back and greatly down in numbers, but thanks to idols and his manipulating and getting Shambo on his side, he was able to get all the way to the end.  The jury should have swallowed their pride and recognized Russell’s dominating game and voted for him.  His game was a bit like Rob’s from All-Stars, except Russell wasn’t really working with anybody closely.  And Russell didn’t “betray” people quite like Rob did.

Heroes vs. Villains: Parvati Shallow
I couldn’t pick Russell again, because I don’t think he played as good of a game as he did in Samoa, and I can’t pick someone who gets ZERO votes at the final tribal council (if they make it that far).  He played a game that not one person on the jury could respect.  As for Sandra, I just don’t think she did enough in the game.  Sure, she tried exposing Russell for who he is, but she basically lucked herself into the win.  Had the Villains gone to another tribal before the merge, she would’ve been gone.  As for Parvati, she made one of the biggest moves in Survivor history by giving Jerri and Sandra her idols to swing the numbers in the Villains’ favor.  Had she not done that, none of the three of them make the final 3.  And she was challenge beast throughout the season, being in every individual challenge and winning two of the last three.  She should’ve won, but too many of the jury members didn’t like how close she was to Russell.  But like she said, she did what she had to to survive, which at the beginning of the game was aligning with Russell.  All of the Heroes on the jury voted for Sandra because they felt she was the closest thing to a Hero in the Final 3, not because she played the best game.  The only villain to vote for Sandra to win was Courtney who was close to her in the game.  We also can’t forget how Parvati was a target almost all game long, from early on in the game to late in the game, and never got voted out.  To me, Parvati should have been the first two-time winner and not Sandra.

Nicaragua: Holly Hoffman
This was a hard one.  The best strategists of the season, Brenda and Marty, were picked off early.  Chase and Sash both lost to Fabio, but Fabio was just “along for the ride” and was in the finals thanks to some timely immunity challenge wins.  Holly, however, I believe played the very best social game.  She was betrayed by Chase big time and paid the price.  There is no doubt Holly would have won if she had just made it one vote further.  Her story was very inspiring: she went from thinking of quitting to having the desire to win, and she almost did. 

Redemption Island: Rob Mariano
I don’t think one player has ever had this much control for this long in one season.  Boston Rob’s only “lack of control” came early on when his tribe lost some challenges and they had to vote out a few tribe mates.  But the other Zapatera tribe foolishly decided to throw a challenge to get out Russell Hantz, and Rob gained control from there by getting the numbers and controlling his tribe.  He almost treated it like some sort of dictatorship, where Rob did not allow his alliance members  to eat the other tribe’s portions of food or even talk to them alone.  Rob received votes, but only ever from the former Zapatera tribe members.  He even found an Idol that he never needed, and won immunities at crucial times, especially the Final 4 challenge in which I’ve never seen someone so relieved.  I would have to say that you really can’t play a better game of Survivor than Rob did in Redemption Island. 

South Pacific: Sophie Clarke
I seem to be always picking the winner now, but I think the jury got it right this season.  When I first watched this season, I thought the members of the jury were morons.  Now,  I think they chose correctly.  Obviously I had to choose someone in the five alliance as the best.  Rick did no strategizing and was generally poor in challenges.  Brandon was just off his rocker, but he should have gotten more respect from his family.  Albert was too wishy-washy and didn’t play a good social game.  Coach was my next choice, but he made the fatal move of making too many final three deals with people.  I look at Sophie’s game as a cross between Natalie’s of Samoa and Amber’s in All-Stars.  Her intelligence was vastly underrated, and she used a male player as a shield.  You get all the benefit of making the same moves without any of the blame.  And I didn’t even mention Sophie being the best at individual challenges, most notably defeating Ozzy at the Final Four immunity challenge. 

One World: Kim Spradlin
Kim dominated this game, and I think she played one of the best games we have ever seen.  She always put herself in a good position, and then won immunities when it mattered.  Her game was so dominant that she found an idol fairly early on and never came that close to playing it.  Troyzan was the only one who tried to take her out, but she took him out first.  And the biggest thing she did was convincing the other women that she wasn’t a threat to take out.  I would even argue Kim’s game was the most dominant game by a female in the history of Survivor. 

Philippines: Malcolm Freberg
Malcolm was often talked about being the biggest threat or the best player, and rightfully so.  He survived one of the worst tribes of all time, he integrated himself into the Tandang tribe with ease, and he formed a final four alliance with Skupin, Lisa, and Denise, that carried him to the final four.  Unfortunately, he got a F4 challenge that did him in.  I always think if one can find an idol, but they’re always so safe that they never need to play it, that they played a tremendous game, and that was the case for Malcolm.  He played a great social and strategic game, and came one challenge away from winning the million dollars. 

Caramoan: John Cochran
Cochran was never not in control.  Sure, he ceded “actual” control to Philip while Philip was in the game, but that was also a strategy of Cochran’s so that Philip would be the target before he was.  Who knows if or when Cochran would have taken Philip out if the “Three Amigos” didn’t idol him out of the game.  Just when Cochran was starting to be in danger, he won a couple immunities to help guide him to the end.  Cochran also played a perfect game, meaning he didn’t receive any votes against him, and he received all the votes at the Final Tribal Council.  Hard to go against that. 

Blood vs. Water: Tyson Apostol
Tyson was really in control most of the game.  He found two idols before other people, despite them having the same or more clues than him.  He always made sure he had at least two other people with him, usually Gervase and Monica.  He turned on Aras, Vytas, Tina, and Katie at the exact right time.  And then, just when he needed to most, he won individual immunities.  I think I would still have picked him for best player here had he drawn the white rock or if Monica had turned on him.  But it takes a bit of luck to win Survivor as well.

Cagayan: Tony Vlachos
I really could not go with anyone else.  Spencer would be 2nd best, if it’s any consolation.  Tony found a total of three (!) idols throughout his time there.  The funny thing is that he never had to use one to negate votes and save himself.  It was the way Tony talked them up and his “bag of tricks” which scared the other players into not voting for him.  Tony never won an individual immunity challenge, so he was eligible to get votes at every tribal council after the merge.  Yet, he never got the majority of votes.  I don’t like how he broke promises he made on his wife, child, and dead father, but that’s the way he plays, I guess, and it works.  But we have not, and probably will never see again, someone using Idols as a scare tactic better than Tony. 

San Juan Del Sur: Natalie Anderson
I hate always going with the actual winner, but I do think Survivor got better about the best player actually winning.  I was very tempted to award this to Jon, but he got too comfortable in his alliance and also got voted out with an idol in his pocket.  Natalie pulled off several brilliant moves, from “mistakenly” writing Alec’s name down, to blindsiding Baylor with her idol, to convincing Jacqueline that Missy and Keith were the threats she had to choose from.  She won a timely immunity challenge and of course, found an idol.  I was also surprised to learn she didn’t get a single vote against her all game, which is very tough to do.  She didn’t particularly get a winner’s edit, but she was the one player that kept on gaming and strategizing until the end. 

Worlds Apart: Carolyn Rivera
The fact that “Mama C” had to share 2nd place with Will is a travesty.  She smartly used Tyler as a shield until she could not any longer.  She found an idol on Day 1, despite not having the clue.  She knew Joaquin and So were looking for it and followed their footsteps.  She then joined the “Axis of Evil” alliance with the blue collars (minus Mike) and Will.  She won immunities when she needed it, and she played her idol perfectly, negating votes against her which included Dan’s extra vote.  She wasn’t overly impressive at the firemaking challenge against Rodney, which probably hurt her chances.  But she played a superior game to Mike, who made a horrible move to put himself on the outs and had to rely upon winning immunities to stay alive.  Carolyn never seemed to have to scramble, she always seemed like she was in control, and the one time we saw her in trouble, she remained calm.

Cambodia (Second Chance): Jeremy Collins
It’s hard to pick against someone who won unanimously at the final tribal council.  Jeremy played a very smart game.  One smart thing he did was not tell everyone his wife was expecting, as he may have been seen as a jury threat.  He also found two idols.  What always impresses me is when people are so sure of themselves in the game that they can play their idols for other players, and Jeremy did that for Stephen Fischbach.  Jeremy also smartly played his final idol at the “null votes” tribal council, and then won final immunity.  I’d say there was a chance he might have been turned on by Spencer and Tasha if he didn’t win that challenge, but he assured himself a spot at the final tribal council, where he gave some of the best answers I’ve seen there.  Somehow, Jeremy was never seen as a huge threat to win until it was too late, mostly because he aligned himself with people he knew wouldn’t turn on him (at least until it was too late).   

Kaoh Rong: Michele Fitzgerald
This was a very tough one to choose.  The one who outplayed the best was Tai, as he found an idol, won an advantage, and won multiple challenges.  But I went with the actual winner Michele.  I would argue she played one of the best social games in Survivor history.  She was never the backstabber of a vote.  She perfectly skirted between alliances.  The one time she was a target of someone (Tai), no one else wanted to vote for her because she had integrated herself so well.  She was talked about being a social threat late in the game, but she won the final four immunity to ensure her safety.  She then won the advantage to vote out a jury member.  She won challenges when it mattered, and she topped it off with a great final tribal council.  She deserved to win Kaoh Rong. 

Millennials vs. Gen X: Adam Klein
I was so tempted to pick David, but Adam won, and David didn’t.  David played too hard too soon and established himself as a threat.  Adam had about the same level of “outplay” as David, but Adam successfully used people as shields and took them out at the exact right times.  He also smartly didn’t tell anyone (except for Jay) about his mom’s cancer, which would have labeled him as a threat to win.  I mean, Adam did get every single jury vote, and it’s so hard to pick against that. 

Game Changers: Sarah Lacina
Yet again I chose the winner, but I just had to.  Sarah played a very sound strategic and social game.  She had a surprisingly little amount of blood on her hands by the end.  Her best move was getting the legacy advantage from Sierra even after she voted Sierra out.  She went into the game wanting to play like a criminal and not a cop, and boy did she.  She outed Tai, and she made Cirie look like a fool when Cirie tried to play Sarah’s advantage she had given Cirie to hold on to.  Very savvy and impressive game. 

Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers: Devon Pinto
Boy, this was a tough one.  I feel like the final four each had their strengths.  Ben relied too much on idols and that last minute twist, because without it, he was a goner.  Chrissy relied too much on winning immunity.  Ryan couldn’t keep a dang secret, and I think he only made one good move all game, finding the idol advantage and giving it to Chrissy.  But Devon did a good job of ingratiating himself into alliances.  He formed bonds with Healers, Ryan, Chrissy, and Ashley.  Ben saw him as a target, and at Final 5, Devon would have been gone had he not cast his vote for Dr. Mike.  Devon had the best social game, and I’m almost positive if he made it to the end, he would have won. 

Ghost Island: Wendell Holland
I had to go back to picking the winner again.  Wendell played a great social game, used Dominick as a shield, found an important idol, and won timely immunity challenges.  Wendell won the final 6 and 5 immunities.  Little did he know then, that him giving his idol to Laurel at final 5 probably ensured she voted for him in the tie-breaking vote.  That was huge.  He didn’t win the final 4 immunity, but he knew how to make fire so he didn’t have to win it.  Wendell didn’t really piss anyone off, and helped build shelters to help build a very strong social game. 

David vs. Goliath: Nick Wilson
Nick earned this win.  He flew under the radar for the most part, although he had to rely on Pat’s injury (possibly) to survive the first vote.  But after that, he smartly made little alliances with people, even giving them nicknames, like Mason-Dixon with Christian and the Rockstar Alliance with Mike.  What I always think makes a great player late is their ability to come in clutch and win a lot of the final immunity challenges, and Nick did just that.  But perhaps the best thing Nick did was boding with Angelina and Mike, making it very hard for them to turn on him. 

Edge of Extinction: Rick Devens
It’s too bad that everyone saw Devens as the huge threat he was to win.  He was like the Ben Driebergen of his season, finding idols and having a huge target on his back post-merge.  Unfortunately for him, unlike Ben, he did not win the fire-making challenge.  Chris took the opportunity to take him out, and he did just that.  Sure, Rick did get voted out, but he wasn’t out of the game too long.  I also want to add he wouldn’t have been voted out the first time if his tribe wasn’t so awful at challenges.

Island of the Idols: Janet Corbin
I’m not going to go into much detail, because I stopped rewatching at IOI, so  I’m going off my memory of what I remember watching over a year ago.  Janet was extremely likable and did surprisingly well in challenges, I remember.  It’s just unfortunate that in the game of Survivor, if you’re likable, you’re a target.  If Janet gets to the end, I think she beats anyone who finished ahead of her. 

Winners at War: Tony Vlachos
It would have been a travesty if Tony didn’t win.  He won numerous immunity challenges, especially when he needed them most.  He made a core alliance that he stuck with, and he eliminated anyone that opposed him (Kim) or anyone that was flaky (Jeremy, Nick).  He was given so little help in the game that, as he stated at the Final Tribal Council, he got more hurt by advantages than helped by them.  He found an idol, which he didn’t have to play, but after Natalie played hers at Final 6, he realized he better play it safe.  To top it off, he didn’t receive a single vote against him, and he won in a 12-4-0 landslide victory.  Tony is the king of Survivor.
To finish this off, some stats about the players I picked as the best player their season:

- 25 out of 40 times, I conceded that the winner was the best player that season.
- Three of these players received an amount of votes in the double digits: Lex, Carolyn, and Devens (who led the way with 12). Both Devens and Carolyn negated some votes with an Idol. Lex played when there were no idols. - Malcolm and Devens tied for seven individual challenge wins - Of the 40 players, so far 28 have gone on to play after the season I picked them as the best. That's largely thanks to Winners at War. - The lowest my best player ranked is 5th, shared by Kenny (Gabon) and Janet (Island of the Idols).