Top 5 Favorite Survivor Winners
As the creator of Virtual Suvivor, it’s safe to say I’m a fan of the real show. Check out my five favorite winners of all time. Spoilers for Survivor, obviously.
5. Parvati Shallow
The black widow herself (not the original, but probably the most prominent). Parvati Shallow is an all time master manipulator. She is considered the biggest threat the moments she steps foot on the beach, and yet still lulls everyone into a false enough sense of security to keep her around. I like her more for the win she was robbed of, Heroes vs Villains. I think she went up against the biggest odds and still made it out on top, even if the Jury didn’t agree. However, her win with the Black Widow Brigade in Season 16 Micronesia is still impressive, I just consider it more of a group effort than necessarily the Parvati show. Still, she’s the best at what she does, and while everyone keeps trying to be “the next Parvati” there’s still only one.
4. Tony Vlachos
Tony is rightfully the King of Survivor. His ability to come off wild and unstable while internally thinking out every move is reality TV gold, and worthy of being one of the only two-time winners. His first win is impressive, and exemplifies what Survivor should be. Him convincing Woo to take him to the finals instead of Kass is textbook Survivor manipulation. Convince the person that you are their best route against all odds. While it’s impressive he found a win his first time out, he still had a super idol (one of my least favorite twists) to help him along. His more impressive victory was against a season of winners. Manipulating and strategizing against the best the game has to offer, I think Tony plays the best individual game by anyone ever in Season 40 Winners at War.
3. Jeremy Collins
Winners at War is great, but to me the season with the greatest pool of talent among the cast is actually Second Chance. The people’s choice and they chose incredible well. Some of the game’s greatest minds like Kass and Spencer. Old favorites like Savage and new favorites like Kelly Wentworth. Not to mention a few characters like Abi-Maria and Keith. So how can the person who wins this season with a technical perfect game not be among the favorites (technical because he received votes but cancelled them out with an idol). Jeremy Collins took absolute control of this season and got every single vote from the Jury. Jeremy is just an all-around likable guy. From the love he has for his family, to his heroic nature as a firefighter, to just the fact that he is a cool dude. It’s that simple, I think Jeremy is one of the greats.
2. Tyson Apostol
Tyson’s win is not necessarily the greatest (though extremely well deserved), but it’s one of my favorites. Watching how goofy and genuinely foolish Tyson can be in his earlier seasons and thinking “wow, that guy wins this one day” is a pretty cool thing. And he does win pretty dominantly. He controls the power alliance without his allies believing he is too much in control. And he does it all with his humor. From stealing coconuts with Gervase to hamming up his injury so he doesn’t have to work as much, I truly believe Tyson is the funniest person to ever play Survivor. But it’s the journey he had that made him one of my favorites. From voting himself out in Heroes vs Villains to standing on the beach alongside 20 other winners, it’s cool to see.
Honorable Mentions
Sarah Lacina
Sarah becomes a straight up Mafia boss in Game Changers (though like many other people in the cast I’m not sure why she was there in the first place). I’m still happy she was there, but her performance in Winners at War cementer her as an all time great in my eyes.
Rob Mariano
One of the game’s greats, and I even watched Deal or No Deal Island just for him. However, possibly hot take, I think the show put him and Russell on an island with a bunch of noobs just to hand a win to one of the two of them.
Denise Stapley
I wanted so badly to put Denise in my top five but I couldn’t pick a person to bounce. She’s the only winner that survived every single tribal council from the season. In a way she’s the ultimate survivor.
1. Earl Cole
Potentially unexpected pick at number one? Season 14 (the first time the show went to Fiji) is one of the first ones I remember watching. Earl Cole played the way I would if I were ever on the island. Be calm, cool and collected. Ally yourself with a strong strategic player in Yau Man. Get to the end and vote out your ally while paying them respect as the obvious winner if you didn’t get rid of them. Sweep the jury. Earl nearly played the first ever perfect game, but he got a single random stray vote in one of the first tribal councils. His win is so impressive but there’s one reason he jumps to the top. At the reunion Earl states that he had never seen an episode before playing. He went in like it was season 1, and played like it was season 40. What I wouldn’t give to see him play again.
