Top Ten Survivor Players Ever

[Updated to include seasons through #40]

Having ranked the previous seasons in another posts, I got to thinking about the greatest individual players in Survivor history.

This list has evolved over the years. When I first did it, the likes of Johnny Fairplay, Rob Cesternino, or Danni were at least in consideration for the top ten. I have since cleaned it up to reflect players who remain in that conversation after 40 seasons.

Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order)

Brenda was certainly formidable. “You’re the black widow, king cobra and black mamba all rolled into one,” said Marty. Brenda was one sharp cookie and used her looks to soften up all of the men. She was the best player on her season (Nicaragua).  Ultimately, I had to leave her off the list because of her last day on the show when she seemed like she was “too good” to scramble for a vote. An Amanda, Parvati, or even Danni would never have been that passive. Then when Brenda came back for Survivor Caramoan, she was low-key and aside from a couple of challenge wins, didn’t do much.

Cirie: I don’t share America’s fascination with her (or Jeff Probst’s), but I do admit that she had a strong social game and was awfully crafty throughout. A successful, good player, but not top ten. And she was awfully good in her fourth appearance, Game Changers.

Colby: I had him in my top ten when I first did the list some years ago. A tough competitor in Australia but goofed by taking the wrong person to the finals. Plus, in his subsequent two Survivor appearances he was a dud.

Jeremy: I wondered what all the fuss was about in San Juan Del Sur but he answered that question by winning Cambodia. And in Winners at War he was a huge threat to win the game despite never having a strong alliance.

Joe (Worlds Apart, Cambodia, Edge of Extinction): Could very well be the best challenge competitor of all, but that arguably hurts him more than it helps as everyone is continually obsessed with voting him out.

Malcolm is certainly an excellent player, and very fun to watch, but not top ten. For all of his positives, the negatives are that he never made the finals, overconfidence knocked him out in two of his three seasons, and he was a good but not great challenge competitor. He’s one of the few three-timers I would want to see back for a fourth time.

Mike (Worlds Apart) was in my top ten for years but has dropped out. He pulled off the incredibly impressive feat of winning five of the last six immunity challenges (and he played an idol the one time he didn’t win). Every other player was gunning for him all six weeks, so if he had one even one less he would not have made the finals. His social game was also good except for his food auction blunder when he tried a trick he had just promised he wouldn’t try.

Ozzy has also been knocked out of the top ten. The freakishly athletic guy climbs trees and swims like a jungle animal. When it was time for a concentration-type challenge he had the concentration of a Zen master. Strung together a number of challenge wins in South Pacific. Made it to the finals of Cook Islands, only losing by one vote 5-4, and was the last person voted out of South Pacific. On the downside, he did not master the social game, and he got crushes on a couple of the women in the game which led him to make poor decisions.

Sandra: If she’s won the show twice, that proves it’s not luck, right? Well, sort of. While an unpleasant person who’s not much for challenges, she was a good strategist who mastered the art of staying out of the fray while bigger personalities self-destructed. I give her credit for that, but luck also played a part both times. Her best game actually came in Game Changers even though she was taken out fairly early. I’m going to disregard her halfhearted effort years later on Winners at War.

Stephenie: This New Jersey gal is tough as nails, very athletic and incredibly competitive. She was the last surviving member of her tribe in Palau. When she came back for Guatemala, she made it to the final two and you could make an argument that she deserved to win. The final challenge in Guatemala with Stephenie, Rafe, and Danni was very memorable. It came down to the two women and Stephenie gutted it out a really long time but finally slid to the ground and burst into tears. Stephenie didn’t have the social graces of some of the top players and could rub people the wrong way, but she is still one of the best female players to date.

Todd: Other than Richard Hatch and Boston Rob, he’s the only other obviously devious guy to win it all, as opposed to the “everybody’s best friend” type. Great finals oratory saved his bacon, and he strategized very well in his season. Just not top-ten caliber.

Tyson: When it comes to challenges he is one of the all-time greats, and his performance in Blood vs. Water was spectacular. I don’t have him ranked higher because that was the only season of his four in which he put it all together to have a shot to win.

And now we come to the top ten, in reverse order to maximize suspense:

#10 Russell (Samoa, Heroes vs. Villains, Redemption Island)

At first I saw Russell as a hissable villain, but then I began cheering for him during his incredible comeback in Samoa. His tribe went to the merge down 8-4 and incredibly managed to get seven consecutive people from the other tribe voted out!

Best finder of immunity idols since that twist was introduced, and pioneered the strategy of looking for one before the announcement that one had been placed! Russell is tireless, and he gets in the heads of his competitors.

I’m not sure we’ll see a better duel than the Rob vs. Russell battle that raged through Heroes vs. Villains. This was up there with Godzilla versus Mothra or the Hulk vs. the Thing. The Survivor producers tried to recapture that magic in Redemption Island, but Russell’s teammates were so obsessed with getting him out that they tanked a challenge on purpose to do so, a strategic blunder that they never recovered from.

Got to the finals on his first two seasons. Definitely should have won the first time, and probably both times.

Why he’s not ranked even higher: The same reason he has never won: Russell is not about making friends except for strategic purposes, and flying under the radar is not his M.O. People get mad at him for outmaneuvering them.

Most memorable moment: There are so many, but I’d have to go with the Tribal Council “No, not this time” moment that ousted Tyson (which I’ve already covered in two other posts).

#9 Kim (One World, Winners at War)

She won four challenges in One World but her main skill was making everyone like her even as she manipulated them. Had a sincere way of looking people in the eye, and everyone thought she was on their side.

Why she’s not even higher: Had the weakest competition of any top player and had it too easy in her initial season. In Winners at War her voodoo didn’t work as well, though ninth of twenty winners isn’t bad and with a couple more breaks I could have seen her make the finals or even win.

Most memorable moment: Didn’t really have one, another reason why she’s not ranked higher.

#8 Sarah (Cagayan, Game Changers, Winners at War)

Sarah was part of every key vote on Game Changers and engineered one of the all-time “gangster” moves in getting the Legacy Advantage. If you find it curious that I have her ahead of Kim: consider the Winners at War season which both were in — making everyone think you’re their best friend is supposedly Kim’s trademark but Sarah did it much more successfully. If Sarah hadn’t lost the firemaking challenge to Tony she could very well have become a two-time winner.

Why she’s not even higher: Her first effort in Cagayan is not memorable in the slightest, luckily the producers saw enough to want to being her back.

Most memorable moment: In Game Changers, noticing an advantage everyone else missed and swimming over to slip it in her shoe after the challenge.

#7 Amanda (China, Fans vs. Favorites, Heroes vs. Villains)

An excellent strategist who engineered many a key vote, including more than one blindside. Formed strong alliances in the game (Todd in China, Parvati in Fans vs. Favorites, and also with James in multiple seasons). Did pretty well in challenges too.

Made the finals of her first two seasons, making it close the second time at 5-3. Should have won Fans vs. Favorites for sure.

Why she’s not even higher: The only thing missing is her ability to “close the deal” by winning over a jury. Women in the game seem intimidated by her looks, and sometimes other players don’t see her as sincere.

 Most memorable moment: In Fans vs. Favorites, Amanda tells everyone she didn’t find the idol at Exile Island, and we are not shown her finding it. Then she pulls it out at Tribal Council – the votes against her do not count. She was telling the truth, too, having found it at camp later.

#6 Tony (Cagayan, Game Changers, Winners At War)

I had Tony as a mere honorable mention until he won the game for the second time, and with a masterful performance at that. A force of nature who’s almost definitely the most entertaining player of all time, he reined in his game and somehow beat 19 other season-winners despite being considered one of the top threats.

Why he’s not higher: In Game Changers he flamed out almost instantly by overdoing things, In Cagayan he played very hard and was the best player on his season, but was over-aggressive and was fortunate to stay in the game, though he did make it work as only he can.

Most memorable moment: His “spy shack” was his trademark, and he arguably topped it with the “spy nest” in his third season.

#5 Richard (Borneo, All-Stars)

The mastermind who basically invented the concept of the alliance. In All-Stars he didn’t do so well, but everyone had their sights on him from the start.

Why he’s not higher: If he were on a Survivor today, with what works strategically and and what doesn’t being so well-established, he would still be a great player but would not dominate the way he did in Season One.

Most memorable moment: Upon being voted out of All-Stars, he exclaims “I’ve been bamboozled!”

#4 Parvati (Cook Islands, Fans vs. Favorites, Heroes vs. Villains)

The best female player to date. In Cook Islands all she did was flirt, in her other two seasons she flirted with everyone too but used that skill to devastating effect, becoming one of the most dangerous players in the game

She won Fans vs. Favorites and was more deserving than Sandra in Heroes vs. Villains, losing the final vote 6-3 with Russell getting no votes. Even in Cook Islands she made it to sixth. She has spent more days on Survivor than anyone but Boston Rob, who played four seasons to her three.

Why she’s not even higher: While her social game is arguably the best of any player, and she was solid in challenges, she’s not a super- athlete like those ranked ahead of her.

Most memorable moment: In Heroes vs. Villains, she gives two idols (one of which she kept secret from Russell) to tribemates at Tribal Council.

#3 Yul (Cook Islands, Winners at War)

Sort of a superhero, a great athlete with a genius IQ as well as being a likable guy. He found an immunity idol in the second episode and used his possession of it to his advantage throughout the season without ever actually playing it. He teamed with Ozzy to make a comeback despite being down 8-4, and edged Ozzy in the finals.

Why he’s not even higher: While he was the best player in his only season, the competition was less than other top players have faced – Parvati was not the player she later became, and Ozzy was Yul’s ally. When I first wrote this list I wrote, “It would have been interesting to see Yul against someone like Boston Rob, Terry Dietz, Russell, or Stephenie.” We did finally see this in Winners at War, and despite being 15 years older he gave a good accounting of himself. If he hadn’t overplayed his hand on the episode he was knocked out he could have been a contender.

Most memorable moment: None, as behind-the-scenes maneuvering rather than making a big splash was his secret.

#2 Tom (Palau and Heroes vs. Villains)

All hail Tom. Tom was your basic women-want-to-have-him-men-want-to-be-him type, and despite being 40 and grey-haired when the show was shot, he dominated like almost no other. He outlasted Ian in an incredibly grueling final challenge in a season when many challenges were very tough, and the season had a number of good players vying with him.

Why he’s not even higher: While he was unbelievable in Palau, when he came back for Heroes and Villains he was not the same player (though in fairness he was 45 that second time around), and the only player ranked ahead of him dominated multiple seasons.

Most memorable moment: He killed a shark on-camera. How much more impressive can you get than that?

#1 “Boston” Rob Mariano (Marquesas, All-Stars, Heroes vs. Villains, Redemption Island, Winners at War).

Could I choose anyone else and keep a straight face? When the best strategist and the best challenge competitor in the game are one person, that makes things pretty clear-cut.

I did not see his first season in Marquesas when he didn’t even make the jury, but let’s look at the rest of his body of work: In All-Stars after winning over Amber, he gets himself and his girlfriend to the finals and ends up finishing second and married to the million-dollar winner. In Heroes vs. Villains he delivers a great battle with Russell despite not making the jury. Then came his masterstroke, Redemption Island, where he picked the perfect 6-person tribe that he took all the way to the final 6, and won the final vote 8-1, winning the final challenge and plenty of other challenges along the way.

Heck, he even went on The Amazing Race and dominated that, only losing when his competitors convinced an airline to bring a  plane that was on the runway back to the terminal in an incredibly suspicious turn of events.

And then he was back on Winners at War at age 43. Despite being everyone’s main target from the first minute, he gave an impressive accounting of himself that season too.

Most memorable moment: In Redemption Island, Rob gets the tribe off of their beach, fakes an upset stomach and says he has to go to the bathroom, then sprints away to search for the immunity idol.

The tribe has spoken.