Let’s get one thing out of the way. The winner of each “Survivor” season deserved to win, because they were able to do the most important thing in the game, which is to convince the jury to vote for them to be the Sole Survivor. Each season comes with a different set of circumstances and we can respect the decision process that goes into rewarding one castaway over the other with the $1 million prize. That doesn’t stop us from feeling a little outraged over some jury decisions, however. Tour our gallery below of the 12 “Survivor” runners-up we feel were most robbed of the title.
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12. Aubry Bracco
Image Credit: Robert Voets/CBS “Survivor: Kaoh Rong”
Fans of Aubry Bracco were shocked to see her lose to Michele Fitzgerald in “Kaoh Rong,” considering Aubry’s control over the game through most of the post-merge. While Michele played a strong social game that allowed her to win the $1 million, Aubry was much more involved in the strategic machinations and was even presented as a main character in the editing, so her loss was a big blindside to the audience.
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11. Chase Rice
Image Credit: CBS “Survivor: Nicaragua”
Chase Rice narrowly lost in a 5-4 vote to Fabio Birza, who controlled very few elements of the game. This season featured not one but two people quitting the game during the jury phase, they became jury members and they both voted for Fabio to win. Jeff Probst announced at the reunion show that quitters would not serve on the jury in future seasons, so Chase would have won 4-3 if the rule had been in place then.
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10. Gavin Whitson
Image Credit: Robert Voets/CBS “Survivor: Edge of Extinction”
Fans go back and forth on whether Chris Underwood really deserved to win considering he only played 11 days of the active game and spent a majority of the season on the Edge of Extinction. Meanwhile, Gavin Whitson played all 39 days without having a single vote cast against him and had a strong social game, but Chris’s flashy moves in the last few Tribal Councils and the bonds he made on Edge of Extinction carried him through to a win.
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9. Amanda Kimmel
Image Credit: CBS “Survivor: Micronesia”
It’s no secret within the “Survivor” superfan community that Amanda Kimmel is one of the worst performers at Final Tribal Council. Despite playing well enough in “China” and “Micronesia” to make it to Final Tribal Council both times, she failed to explain her gameplay with any confidence and lost the jury votes. But in “Micronesia,” Amanda manuevered throughout playing a great social game, pulled off an idol blindside at the final six and was smart enough to take Cirie Fields out of the game at the final three. Alas, she came up two votes short of the winner, Parvati Shallow.
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8. Ozzy Lusth
Image Credit: CBS “Survivor: Cook Islands”
The end of “Cook Islands” was the ultimate example of brains vs. brawn as the cerebral Yul Kwon beat challenge beast Ozzy Lusth in a narrow 5-4 vote. While “Survivor” has typically been a game where smarts are more valuable than muscles, Ozzy’s dominance in challenges was an epic sight to behold, carrying his core alliance to victory in the pre-merge and winning five of six individual immunity challenges after the merge. Some have said Yul’s super idol gave him an unfair advantage, and if just one more vote went Ozzy’s way, he would’ve been a millionaire.
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7. Carolyn Rivera
Image Credit: CBS “Survivor: Worlds Apart”
Carolyn played a stealthy great game in “Worlds Apart,” finding a hidden immunity idol on day one and not using it until the exact right moment at the final six. She was in the majority alliance throughout, won immunities and beat Rodney Lavoie Jr. in the final four firemaking challenge. But she lost to Mike Holloway, who played from the bottom for most of the post-merge and won so many immunities that they couldn’t get him out. Carolyn is one of many examples of older women not getting enough credit for the game she played or even unjustly punished for playing aggressive.
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6. Rob Mariano
Image Credit: Robert Voets/CBS “Survivor: All Stars”
This one has been debated since 2004, but there’s no question that Rob Mariano played a dominant game in “All Stars.” He backstabbed everyone but his eventual wife, Amber, and subsequently received a lambasting from the jury. Amber won in a narrow 4-3 vote, but most of Amber’s votes were really anti-Rob votes, as the jury freely admits. Luckily for Rob, he would win 16 seasons later on “Redemption Island.”
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5. Domenick Abbate
Image Credit: Robert Voets/CBS “Survivor: Ghost Island”
For the first time in 36 seasons, the final jury vote was a tie between Wendell Holland and Domenick Abbate, resulting in the no-votes finalist, Laurel Johnson, having to break the tie and pick a winner. Wendell and Domenick controlled the game together, with the latter having more of an aggressive style than former. In the end, it came down to Laurel having more of a bond with Wendell than Domenick, but we would’ve been fine with just making Wendell and Domenick co-winners.
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4. Colby Donaldson
Image Credit: CBS “Survivor: The Australian Outback”
America had Colby Donaldson fever in 2001, which made his loss at the end a bit of a shock, as loved as Tina Wesson was too. Colby won an astonishing five individual immunity challenges, keeping him safe from elimination from the final seven onward. He did make a fatal mistake not bringing the less loved Keith Famie to the end instead of Tina, but his dominance and likability made us wish he could’ve taken home more than just runner-up money.
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3. Parvati Shallow
Image Credit: CBS “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains”
Sandra Diaz-Twine did have more social bonds with the majority of the jury in “Heroes vs. Villains,” but Parvati Shallow played a pretty masterful game otherwise. She was eventually in possession of two immunity idols, which she doled out to two of her fellow Villains, in a move that allowed them to take control of the game. She was also closely aligned with Russell Hantz, which kept her safe but her association with him made the jury not want to vote for her in the end. While Sandra is the queen for a reason, Parvati was such a dominant player in “Heroes vs. Villains” that we wish she could’ve taken it.
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2. Stephen Fishbach
Image Credit: CBS “Survivor: Tocantins”
If ever there was proof of the importance of a strong Final Tribal Council performance, it’s Stephen Fishbach. While J.T. Thomas made rock solid social bonds and had a country boy likability factor, Stephen was the strategic mind of the season and could’ve presented a strong case for himself at the end. He did not, and he was sadly shut out 7-0 by the jury. Regardless, he will remain our favorite know-it-all.
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1. Chrissy Hofbeck
Image Credit: CBS “Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers”
Nobody ever said “Survivor” was fair, but it felt especially unfair when Jeff Probst sprung it on the final four of “Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers” that they were introducing a new final four firemaking twist rather than a vote-out. This meant Chrissy couldn’t get out Ben Driebergen, as had been the plan. Ben won the challenge and then the game, but his reliance on idols and twists has made his victory rather controversial. Meanwhile, Chrissy’s only real downside was a weaker social game. She dominated with four immunity wins, manipulated, made idol moves and got far too little appreciation from the jury.
