I wasn’t one of the those people that grew up with Survivor from the beginning of its run of dominance on network television in 2000, but I made up for lost time when I was first exposed to the show. I still vividly remember the night I lost my Survivor virginity. My parents had stumbled onto it one Thursday evening out of boredom, and were watching it when I walked into the living room. It was the second episode of Season 19: Samoa, and the infamous Russell Hantz was in the process of planting his “Russell Seeds” in the minds of his hapless Foa Foa tribe members, easily manipulating each and every one to do as he said while playing them off one another. “He’s like a little Kingpin!” I exclaimed with joy as I watched him work his “Houdini Magic.” From that moment I was hooked. And I never looked back.

Since then, watching Survivor has been something of a bonding activity for my family. Many days after school, we would come home, whip up some dinner, and watch an episode or two before going on about the rest of our evenings. Years later, my wife, Reagan, who had never seen the show before, and I have watched through almost the entire series from Season 1 through Season 47, further deepening the relationship I have with the show.

There are so many things to love about Survivor, but I think my favorite is the spirit of competition that the show provides in spades. And it’s my love for competition that begets my enthusiasm for lists. I love reading and making lists, and it was only a matter of time before I created my first one based around my favorite television show. It wasn’t easy, but after several attempts, I have narrowed down my picks for the 50 greatest survivors of all time up to the current season.

Before we get to the list, there’s one caveat: it’s hard to nail down a specific criteria with which to judge these individuals. So I put together this list taking into consideration a number of factors including winners, or individuals that I think should’ve won, the number of days an individual has played, the number of seasons upon which an individual has competed, and the overall effectiveness of the contestants’ strategies. But more than anything else, these Survivors are ranked by the one most all-important metric: entertainment factor. With that, let’s get to it.

50. Sean Rector

Season 4: Marquesas: Fifth Place
Days Played: 36

Without a doubt, Sean Rector’s exclusion from Survivor’s initial All-Stars season is one of the biggest blunders in the show’s history and arguably the biggest casting snub of all time. His importance and entertainment value to Marquesas, which had the potential to be on the duller side without colorful personalities like his and fellow accomplice Boston Rob (maybe you’ve heard of him) ensured that the season was far from it. Moments like Sean’s disastrous reward outing with the horses or jubilation at the downfall of John Carroll thanks to Pascal and Neleh’s alliance flip, the first in the show’s history, are all-time classics. But Sean’s presence on the show went beyond that as a vocally outspoken critic of the treatment of the black community during a time when their presence on the show was limited to say the least. Seeing him return alongside Boston Rob on All-Stars would’ve been incredible, but  the fact that the show has still never found a spot for him all these years later is pathetic at best and despicable at worst, and the idea that his outspoken criticism of the show’s treatment of him and others like him in the early years may have had something to do with that is a dark stain on the show that persists today.

49. Wendell Holland

Season 36: Ghost Island: Winner
Season 40: Winners at War: 13th Place
Days Played: 74

I may not necessarily agree with the outcome of the closest finish in the history of Survivor in Ghost Island, but I can’t deny that Wendell was one hell of a player and certainly one of the coolest people to ever win the game. While many fans apparently view Ghost Island through a negative lens due to its incredibly boring cast, I’ve always enjoyed watching the all-time great duo of Dom and Wendell run circles around the rest of that lobotomized crew. His tie with Dom in the end was also a key reflection point on two different approaches to the game: strategic vs. social mastery. Wendell excelled in the latter and, as soon as Laurel was the deciding vote, he had to know the work he put in with her was going to pay off big time. While his performance in Winners at War paled in comparison, he’s such a force during the first leg of the game that it feels like he lasted much longer than he actually did. He may regret what little time he spent with Michelle outside of the game (can’t say I blame him), but he’ll always have that legendary first season run that will be impossible to overlook.

48. Colby Donaldson

Season 2: The Australian Outback: Runner-Up
Season 8: All-Stars: 12th Place
Season 20: Heroes vs. Villains: Fifth Place
Season 50: In the Hands of the Fans: ???
Days Played: 98+

If Erik giving Natalie that immunity necklace was the biggest blunder in Survivor history then Colby’s final choice in taking Tina Wesson to the end rather than Keith the chef is a close second (or maybe third if you consider Russell’s choice of Natalie White in Samoa). Regardless, there’s no doubt that the Texas Cowboy absolutely deserved the win in his inaugural season and became one of the biggest TV celebrities of the age in the wake of it. He was never quite able to reclaim his glory (to say the least) in his subsequent appearances on the show, but I’d argue his entertainment factor only grew. Watching him navigate the star-studded cast of All-Stars as a pawn in Lex’s dominant pre-merge game was a lot of fun, but watching him get bodied by Coach Wade of all people, getting into an unnecessary fight with Jeff Probst, and bitching at his own brother during a loved one’s challenge during Heroes vs. Villains was even better. While I feel like I’ve probably seen enough Colby at this point in my life, I’ve actually been pleasantly surprised at how much I’ve enjoyed his presence on Season 50, as well, though perhaps the bar for that season is lower than I’d like it be.

47. Kathy Vavrick-O’Brien

Season 4: Marquesas: Third Place
Season 8: All-Stars: Eighth Place
Days Played: 66

Kathy was far from the flashiest survivor, but her game had the backbone for longevity and the potential for a big payday twice over. She would’ve been a much stronger winner for Marquesas than Vecepia Towery, benefiting from an, at the time, genuinely transformational arc over the course of the season that put her in an excellent position to win until she was outplayed at the final bell by Vecepia who cut a last-minute deal with Neleh Dennis during the final challenge. And had she separated her heart from her head in All-Stars, she could’ve taken that one, too, if she had found out a way to cut Lex before he cut her in the late-game. Instead, history will look back on her as a great player rather than a successful one, but I’ll never forget or stop appreciating Kathy for her strong narrative pull on both of her seasons and for proving that the “alliance of 1” strategy could be a powerful one before it was perfected by Sandra Diaz-Twine a couple of years later.

46. Ken Hoang

Season 17: Gabon: Fifth Place
Days Played: 37

Ken stands out for me for a multitude of reasons. Few characters in the history of Survivor have had the villainous character arc Ken did, starting as a lovable loser that felt accomplished just talking to women he had crushes on to a legitimate A-tier manipulator capable of turning allies against each other and driving votes from the shadows. Interestingly, since seeing him on the show, I have also come to know quite a bit about his life outside the game, specifically as a true game-changer and all-time important figure in the Super Smash Bros. competitive scene. If you want to see his importance there, I highly recommend the free 4+ hour The Smash Brothers documentary on YouTube. It might add to his intrigue, but you don’t have to know anything about Ken’s presence outside the game of Survivor to be entertained by his underhanded antics within it.

45. Terry Deitz

Season 12: Panama: Third Place
Season 31: Cambodia: 15th Place
Days Played: 51

Terry Deitz was a bit of a grower for me over the course of my time with Panama, one of the messiest and most chaotic seasons of the show’s history. My first time through, I was mostly on the Aras train of thought wherein Terry’s bravado and, frankly, his infuriating ability to back it up in the challenges, got on my nerves. On re-watches, though, I’ve grown to appreciate how one-sided his game was, dominating in the physical game, but completely bumbling in the social one that, as we all know, is far more important in Survivor. The best part is he knew it, too; “Last night was the fifth failure for me” has gone down as one of my all-time favorite Survivor quotes from anybody ever. I was excited to see Terry return for Second Chance (though imagine how much more entertaining it would’ve been for Shane Powers to have been there with him). Sadly, a premature exit due to a family emergency leaves us wondering what might have been. I doubt Terry was on pace to win, but if his second game would’ve been anything like his first, it would’ve been fun to watch.

44. Andrew Savage

Season 7: Pearl Islands: Tenth Place
Season 31: Cambodia: 12th Place
Days Played: 42

Andrew Savage is exactly the type of player that necessitated the reconfiguration of this list from the original version I wrote in 2016. He never would’ve stood a chance of making it on that version due to its emphasis on success in the game. Sadly, Andrew Savage has had very little of that, leading the doomed Morgan tribe and falling victim to the frankly unfair Outcast twist on Pearl Islands, and getting idoled out in truly epic fashion by Kelley Wentworth when he finally returned to the game more than a decade later. Even so, he managed to stand out as one of the most entertaining faces of both seasons, which is no small feat considering the ample talent on display in both. In Pearl Islands, his constant confessionals lamenting the constant failures of the Morgan tribe read almost like therapy sessions made all the more hilarious when juxtaposed against the thriving Rupert-led Drakes. And it wasn’t just his departure that was glorious in Second Chance; his hilariously heroic challenge performances in the pre-merge phase literally brought his fellow tribesmates to tears as Savage basked in the heights of melodrama.

43. Rudy Boesch

Season 1: Borneo: Third Place
Season 8: All-Stars: 17th Place
Days Played: 44

Maybe the biggest icon of the original season of Survivor as far as the American public (and CBS brass) was concerned, perhaps nobody is more emblematic of the ways the show has changed for the worse over the years than retired Navy SEAL Rudy Boesch. He’s the prototype of the type of person that would never be cast today: 72 years old at the time of his first appearance (75 on his second), about as closed-minded, hard-nosed and conservative as they come, and outwardly homophobic to boot, Rudy was everything America loved in 2000 and a figure that would be a political firestarter today in the polarized landscape of the modern US. But it was exactly because of his limited perspective that made his partnership with Richard Hatch, an openly gay (an often naked) fat guy with a completely different world view so engrossing and, I would argue, important for America to see in the early days of reality television. It didn’t hurt that he was entertaining as hell, too, constantly delivering some of the show’s all-time great one-liners like “Me and the homosexual became pretty good friends… not in a homosexual way, that’s for sure,” “I don’t know,” and “It sounded like they were talkin’ maybe incest.” Well, they were great in context, anyway. CBS and the majority of America was hoping Rudy would pull out the win instead of Hatch in Season 1. Of course, we know today the legacy of the show is much better that he didn’t, but he remains one of the most important and entertaining figures in the show’s history even to this day.

42. James Clement

Season 15: China: Seventh Place
Season 16: Fans vs. Favorites: Seventh Place
Season 20: Heroes vs. Villains: 14th Place
Days Played: 76

The sad truth is we’ll never truly know how great one of the most jacked men to ever play Survivor, James Clement, could’ve been. The man was just too damn unlucky. Taken prematurely out of the game two of the three times he played due to medical situations and injuries, James easily could’ve become one of Survivor’s most prolific stars if he wasn’t so injury prone. He was a threat to win every time he played, particularly in China where he dominated in challenges, was on good terms with basically everybody, and was armed with two hidden immunity idols to boot. But even if he wasn’t the most accomplished social player (far from it, actually), his physicality and likability made up for it, shining through in both of his first seasons and giving way to a surprisingly surly mood in Heroes vs. Villains. Though, to be fair, anyone would’ve probably been surly on that beautiful disaster of a tribe. Had the stars aligned, James could’ve been a three-time winner. They didn’t, but his legacy still shines bright as a rare big man and challenge beast that had the charisma and entertainment value to back up his physical gifts.

41. Malcolm Freberg

Season 25: Philippines: Fourth Place
Season 26: Fans vs. Favorites II: Ninth Place
Season 34: Game Changers: 17th Place
Days Played: 79

One of the few Survivor contestants in history to compete on back-to-back seasons, Malcolm had it all: a winning personality, a strong social game, and a penchant for learning information and using it to his advantage. He was easily the biggest star of his first season, and would’ve been the winner had he not blown that final immunity challenge. He then went on to create an alliance that was prepared to dominate Fans vs. Favorites II until they foolishly let their plans slip to Dawn Meehan who betrayed their position and led to their placement on the jury. Sadly, his third appearance ended in disaster as he was screwed by J.T.’s most bone-headed move to date (an impressive and competitive title, to be sure) and went home long before he should’ve. Despite his shortcomings, though, Malcolm was a great player and had the stars aligned, could’ve become one of the series’ great winners. Whether he will get the chance to do so for a fourth time remains to be seen.

40. Jeremy Collins

Season 29: San Juan del Sur: Tenth Place
Season 31: Cambodia: Winner
Season 40: Winners at War: Eighth Place
Days Played: 98

Whether you think he deserved it or not, the fact remains that Jeremy Collins emerged as the winner of what many consider to be one of the most competitive seasons of Survivor ever, and he did it with a clean sweep of the supersized jury, winning the million by an astonishing 10-0-0 vote over a very game Spencer Bledsoe and very forgettable Tasha Fox. He may not have played the game that Kelley Wentworth and Spencer did, but that’s because he didn’t need to; he was always on top in his “voting bloc,” always had a spare idol handy, and delivered one of the greatest speeches in Tribal Council history when he needed it most. Jeremy was no slouch and far from inconsequential in his earlier appearance, too, being voted out early in the merge phase in a blindside orchestrated by a legion of goats that correctly identified him as the biggest threat to win and inspiring his one loyal partner Natalie Anderson to embark on the ultimate revenge tour in his honor. His gameplay was a bit overshadowed by some of the bigger stars in Winners at War, but he was a major threat in that season, as well, putting in another easy jury-making performance.

39. Ozzy Lusth

Season 13: Cook Islands: Runner-Up
Season 16: Fans vs. Favorites: Ninth Place
Season 23: South Pacific: Fourth Place
Season 34: Game Changers: 12th Place
Season 50: In the Hands of the Fans: ???
Days Played: 128+

No matter how much Jeff Probst may wish it to be true with all of the lookalikes and half-baked wannabes he’s tried to cast over the years, there has never been anyone in Survivor history quite like Ozzy Lusth. The man can just about do it all, at least when it comes to the physical part of the game. He’s an absolute God in the water, a beast in challenges, loyal to his alliance members, and always a threat to win the big one. But for one reason or another, he just hasn’t been able to get it done. The closest he came was in his first season when he won his way to the end alongside Yul Kwon, but he turned in a couple of other legendary performances in Fans vs. Favorites, where he dominated the early portion of the game and had to be blindsided by his own alliance to prevent him from running the gamut, and South Pacific, where he utilized the unique Redemption Island gimmick strategically and intentionally to manage who remained in the game, massage the jury, and fight his way to the final immunity challenge. It’s a real shame he couldn’t pull it out; it would’ve given the season one of the series’ best winners rather than one of its worst. Ozzy was a bit more washed and less interesting (as was most of the cast, to be fair) in Game Changers, though he was at least one of the very few with a legitimate claim to the title. He’s even more washed in Season 50, but like with Colby Donaldson, there’s something interesting about seeing an old gunslinger past his prime forced to play the game differently and I’m liking what I’m seeing from him so far even though I highly doubt it will result in his first win.

38. Q Burdette

Season 46: Sixth Place
Season 50: In the Hands of the Fans: 21st Place
Days Played: 31

The “new era” of Survivor is woefully short of true characters as the show has seemed to prioritize relatable, downtrodden regular people armed with melodramatic backstories designed to pull at the heartstrings over the colorful casts of yore. But Season 46 was a rare breath of fresh air in that regard and Q Burdette was a key part of the season’s undeniable old-school charm. With no shortage of hair-brained, likely half-baked moves and schemes including multiple pleas to vote him out, a haphazard navigation of a disastrous early tribe, his overzealous dedication to the protection of his virtually nonexistent alliance of six, his destruction of his partnership with Tiff, his intentional snubbing of Liz and her Applebee’s dreams, and ultimately getting voted out with an idol in his pocket, Q was a rich vein of entertainment and chaotic unpredictability. Sadly, he wasn’t around on Season 50 long enough to make as big of an impact on the current season, but I don’t think I’ll forget “Well, Ozzy, I’m Q” any time soon.

37. Rupert Boneham

Season 7: Pearl Islands: Eighth Place
Season 8: All-Stars: Fourth Place
Season 20: Heroes vs. Villains: Sixth Place
Season 27: Blood vs. Water: Last Place
Days Played: 104

Take a look at The Pirate’s stats for a minute. He’s one of only seven individuals to ever play at least four times. He’s one of only 11 to play for 100 days, and one of only 13 to play in back-to-back seasons. He made it to the jury three of the four times he played, and could’ve been a major player in Blood vs. Water if he hadn’t chosen to fall on his sword to give his wife Laura a chance to play. There’s no denying it; he’s a one-of-a-kind Survivor legend. Rupert was probably never destined to win the game; despite the ferocity he’s displayed at various times, particularly in his earlier seasons, he just lacks that killer instinct needed to pull it out in the end. But his statistics, and his status as an icon, ensure him a prominent place on this list and in the hearts of many old-school Survivor fans who will never forget his pet snake, his brazen theft of his opposing tribe’s shoes, his disastrous shelter in All-Stars, or the ridiculously badass mud-soaked aura he displayed in the legendary Heroes vs. Villains intro sequence.

36. Amanda Kimmel

Season 15: China: Runner-Up
Season 16: Fans vs. Favorites: Runner-Up
Season 20: Heroes vs. Villains: Ninth Place
Days Played: 108

Unlike Russell Hantz, the only other Survivor contestant to make it to the end of the game twice without garnering the title once, it’s hard to argue that Amanda deserved to be named the Sole Survivor either time she sat in front of the jury. But that doesn’t make her a weak player; far from it, she just shares the same fatal flaw with her fellow legend that has made it impossible for her to win up to this point: bad jury management. She doesn’t give the best end-game speeches and her choice of friends are a bit too powerful, but the stats don’t lie: Amanda Kimmel is one of the most successful Survivor contestant to never win the big one. And had things played out just slightly differently, she had enough equity to win all three of her times out. Her path to victory in China seems the most clear: Todd Herzog was one hell of a talker and had arguably the greatest jury performance we’ve ever seen, but had Amanda taken Courtney and Denise instead of Todd, I think it’s very likely she would’ve walked away with the title. Her position in Fans vs. Favorites was much more tenuous as she was aligned with two of the most socially powerful players to ever play in Parvati and Cirie, and I’m not so sure how her partnership with Ozzy would’ve gone for her, either. But in Heroes vs. Villains, she was clearly the best player left on the Heroes tribe after the early eliminations of Cirie and Tom Westman and did her best to drive the tribe to greatness and success in the wake of their departures. Ultimately, she was unsuccessful, but I’ve got to imagine if she would’ve managed to drag any combination of those fools to the end, she could’ve walked away with the win.

35. Andrea Boehlke

Season 22: Redemption Island: Fifth Place
Season 26: Fans vs. Favorites II: Seventh Place
Season 34: Game Changers: Eighth Place
Days Played: 103

I’ll get it out of the way and recognize that a small part of Andrea’s placement on this list may be due to her status as far and away my biggest Survivor crush. But beyond her out-of-this-world physical appearance and charming personality, Andrea’s arc on the show is a dynamic one in which she morphed from a hard-working, if naive farm girl that was taken advantage of by Boston Rob’s harsh regime into an excellent player that had to be betrayed and eliminated personally by the winners of both of her subsequent seasons because they recognized her as their single greatest threats in the game. Had it not been for Boston Rob, I’m confident Andrea would’ve emerged as the winner of Redemption Island following her late-game return from the titular gimmick, and I think she was well-positioned to win both Fans vs. Favorites II and Game Changers had their ultimate winners Cochran and Sarah not picked up on her threat level in time. Combining attributes of some of the greatest female players in the show’s history like Parvati Shallow and Amanda Kimmel, Andrea is a consistent late-game threat that just hasn’t been able to put everything together to emerge as the sole survivor. I’d sure vote for her, though.

34. Officer Sarah Lacina

Season 28: Cagayan: 11th Place
Season 34: Game Changers: Winner
Season 40: Winners at War: Fourth Place
Days Played: 96

Few could argue that “Officer” Sarah Lacina was worthy of being deemed a game changer going into her second season. She was hardly the first person to put herself in the middle of two alliances and ultimately find herself eliminated (I believe it was Amazon’s Christy Smith that originated that particular path to the jury) and she did little else in her first season other than be a foil for ultimate winner and all-time legend Tony Vlachos. Hell, I wouldn’t consider Sarah a game changer even coming out of her winning season, though she could certainly lay claim to that title more than half of the rest of her tribesmates that season. But what Sarah did perfect over the course of her three seasons is painting herself as someone it makes sense to work with to basically everyone on the beach and taking advantage of their trust time and time again, often in such a stealthy manner that the people she betrayed didn’t even realize it when they were willing her their legacy advantages or voting for her to win the game. Reunited with foil-turned-ally Tony in Winners at War (they’ve never played a season without each other), she was well-positioned to win it all if she could only have defeated him in that final four fire-making challenge on Day 38. To this day, it’s the greatest sequence that divisive little challenge has produced, providing the payoff to a partnership more than half a decade in the making and paving the way for the crowning of arguably Survivor’s greatest winner. Who knows how much higher up this list Sarah would appear had it been her that prevailed instead?

33. Kelley Wentworth

Season 29: San Juan del Sur: 14th Place
Season 31: Cambodia: Fourth Place
Season 38: Edge of Extinction: Tenth Place
Days Played: 86

Kelley Wentworth very easily could’ve been relegated to a forgotten hidden gem in the annals of Survivor history. She lasted a mere 13 days on her first season, finishing well before either the merge or jury phases of the game, and really did very little to stand out during that time. Luckily for all of us, the fans decided to give her a second chance when she was included as a long-shot option in the lead up to Season 31. And she made the most of it. Despite being on the outskirts of the Jeremy-led majority alliance, Wentworth found and utilized immunity idols at a level that had rarely been seen up to that point, surviving multiple tribal swaps that put her at a disadvantage, and ultimately becoming the single most serious threat to win the game before ultimately falling in the greatest destroyer of dreams this side of final four fire-making: the final immunity challenge. Wentworth was much less flashy, and therefore much less entertaining, in what was a much worse season of Survivor, Edge of Extinction, but that singular run of glory in Cambodia earns her a spot of honor on this list.

32. Shan Smith

Season 41: Eighth Place
Days Played: 19

Without question, Shan Smith is the greatest singular player to come out of the 40s and the biggest single snub on Season 50 considering how many people casting brought back from the “new era” of Survivor. Shan’s ability to manipulate the people around her was second to none on 41 and her presence was a rare bright spot on a season that went down as one of the show’s most hated. She convinced allies to give her their advantages. She went into the merge down in numbers but was able to maneuver herself into a power position. She had multiple pathways to the end between her conniving ally Ricard, and her race-based alliance, with enough winner’s equity to beat anyone she may have been up against in either scenario. And along the way, she literally wrote a theme song to go along with her manipulations in her head that the show actually turned into a real piece of music used during the show. Her nonappearance on Survivor 50 is a crime almost as bad as her relegation to one of the show’s most forgettable seasons, threatening to make her a footnote in Survivor history instead of the beacon that she should be.

31. Ian Rosenberger

Season 10: Palau: Third Place
Days Played: 38

I consider Ian Rosenberger to be one of the sadly most unsung and overlooked players in the history of the game. He’s one of the many sidekicks the show has seen like Stephen Fishbach, Matt von Ertfelda, Lex van den Berghe, Earl Cole and Gabby Pascuzzi that are overlooked due to their partnership with all-time greats that overshadow their games. But like Ethan and Lex before him and Don and Wendell after him, the inseparable duo of Tom and Ian is what saves Palau from being a sleeper and makes it a classic season. Unlike the other partnerships, though, Tom and Ian’s threatens to end on the direst of notes as the two have a falling out after Tom catches him in a lie resulting in a 12-hour epic showdown between the two in the longest challenge in the history of the show. Who knows how long it would’ve gone had Ian decided to stick it out, but he ultimately decided to give Tom the win in order to save their friendship in a move that you would literally never see today and a reminder of how real the game was to its contestants back in the early years of the show. Fellow Palau contestant Coby Archa claims Ian was a finalist to return on Heroes vs. Villains and, while I can’t argue with any of the male heroes they decided to cast in his stead, it sure would’ve been cool to see Ian reunite with Tom and see them lead the Heroes to actual greatness rather than flail around rudderlessly as they did in reality.

30. Sue Hawk

Season 1: Borneo: Fourth Place
Season 8: All-Stars: 13th Place
Days Played: 54

The first season of Survivor was truly like the Wild West, and if Richard Hatch was the slightly unhinged sheriff that held it all together, Sue Hawk was the chaotic sidekick that stirred up trouble every step of the way. She was a superstar from the get-go, dressing down Rich and his “corporate world” during the show’s first true conversation just 30 minutes before cackling with pure glee at the idea of getting to deceive some of her tribemates after her tribe loses the first immunity challenge and must vote someone out at the first ever tribal council. By the end of the game, though, she isn’t too happy with Kelly Wigglesworth’s ability to deceive her, resulting in easily the most iconic and, frankly, game-changing, jury speech in the history of the game in which she compared Kelly to a rat and Rich to a snake ordering her fellow jurors to “let it be in the end the way Mother Nature intended it to be, for the snake to eat the rat.” Oh, and, by the way Kelly, if you were dying on the side of the road, I wouldn’t give you a drink of water. Rich has since claimed the speech was so vicious it actually made the final vote closer in Kelly’s favor, but even so the seeds were planted and that imagery of snakes and rats has been used in the editing of the show ever since. Sue was similarly chaotic and iconic in her return in All-Stars, though she sadly flamed out in epic fashion after an incident with Rich that he also disputes. We may never truly know exactly what happened, but that’s part of the brilliance of Sue Hawk. She’ll always keep you on your toes, off-balance and unsure of what she’s going to do next.

29. Sugar Kiper

Season 17: Gabon: Second Runner-Up
Season 20: Heroes vs. Villains: Last Place
Days Played: 42

Sugar is the definition of the chaotic good on Survivor. Her gameplay is so unpredictable in the game that it constantly leaves the viewers, and everyone in the game with her, guessing at what she’s going to do next. The best part: in most cases I don’t think Sugar even knew what she was going to do next. She winged it from one conversation to the next with absolutely no regard into what impact her decisions would have on the game, her fellow contestants, and how she would be perceived by the jury, which showed when she made it to the final vote without receiving a single ballot despite incredibly weak competition in Bob Crowley and Susie Smith. Gabon is well-known to be the messiest Survivor season of all time, so much so that host Jeff Probst actually quit the show briefly after it concluded before being convinced to return by CBS leadership. But for those with a penchant for the dramatic and the unexpected, it’s a delight, and Sugar is the chimpanzee with a hot glue gun that holds it all together.

28. Matthew von Ertfelda

Season 6: Amazon: Runner-Up
Days Played: 39

If it wasn’t obvious by now that I’m going with entertainment factor and my own personal favorites vs. those more broadly considered all-time greats, Matt’s placement in the 20s probably shines a spotlight on that better than any introductory warning ever could. But I challenge you to go back to Survivor Amazon today and tell me that Matt’s antics alongside season cornerstone Rob Cesternino isn’t great television. Throughout the season, Matt plays the bumbling sidekick to Rob’s incessant antics, but only when it comes to social maneuvering. Yes, he creeps out literally everyone else on the tribe, but he also is an ace in the challenges, once deciding to “throw” a challenge by intentionally missing the bullseye on a target during an archery competition by about two inches. The fact that Matt could have been the sixth winner of Survivor is both delightful and a devastating tragedy considering he lost to the objectively undeserving Jenna Morasca, who is a contender for worst winner in the history of the show.

27. Dominick Abbate

Season 36: Ghost Island: Runner-Up
Days Played: 39

I’ve recently learned that Ghost Island has been received as a bad season of Survivor, which is surprising to me given how much better it was than the horrendous Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers that aired just before it. While I’ll admit the season could’ve been a similar disaster considering how poor most of the cast is, it is saved by two men: Wendell Holland and Domenick Abbate. In that sense, it reminds me of Survivor Africa, which would’ve been similarly horrendous without the power duo of Ethan and Lex. Dom and Wendell, though, took their gameplay to the next level, planning out move for move throughout the game and working together to their mutual benefit against a cast of truly forgettable “goats” as declared by Abbate himself while on the show. The dichotomy of these two players as they run up to one hell of a collision course in the show’s finale is great to watch, and Dom’s rivalry with bonehead Chris Noble puts him over the edge as one of the show’s most entertaining masterminds. Why he wasn’t included on Season 50 is a mystery that I can’t even begin to comprehend.

26. Christian Hubicki

Season 37: David vs. Goliath: Seventh Place
Season 50: In the Hands of the Fans: ???
Days Played: 35+

Christian is one of those rare Survivor players that is able to please everybody. He’s also one that you have to imagine casting immediately locked in without a second thought as soon as they discovered him. I wouldn’t be surprised if his casting was a big part of the decision to go with the David vs. Goliath theme in Season 37. If so, it worked brilliantly; the entire show almost seemed to revolve around Christian until he was ultimately eliminated in the run up to the final episode. Christian was a shoe-in for a returnee as soon as they did a returnee season that he was eligible for, so I’m not surprised at all that he was cast for Season 50 and it’s one of the very few casting decisions made for that season that I agree with. After the first few episodes, I have to say he has been just as much a delight as before with potentially even more winning prospects thanks to his strong alliance with Rick Devens and Emily Flippen and ability to navigate himself out of rough spots. But even if he’s eliminated on the next episode, Christian’s presence remains a delight every second he’s onscreen.

25. Courtney Yates

Season 15: China: Runner-Up
Season 20: Heroes vs. Villains: 11th Place
Days Played: 64

In the race for greatest Survivor player on the mic, Courtney Yates is an all-timer. Immediately starting off on the right foot, mercilessly mocking the Chinese rites the Survivors were put through at the introduction to China (which two others took so seriously it brought them to tears and/or forced them to walk out), Courtney was a tour de force of entertainment throughout the entire season warring openly with antagonist Jean Robert, flirting with star-eyed Frosti, and bitching all the way to final tribal where she impressively ended up as the runner-up ahead of Amanda Kimmel who had enough equity to win the game. It was an all-timer of a performance that would’ve been impossible to replicate, but her chaotic allegiance with fellow troublemaker Sandra Diaz-Twine on Heroes vs. Villains made that appearance a close second. Even better, once she was voted out, she became the frontwoman of Coach’s Dragonz band, delivering easily the most entertaining Ponderosa arc ever produced. Go check it out if you haven’t; it’s borderline required Survivor viewing.

24. Ciera Eastin

Season 27: Blood vs. Water: Fifth Place
Season 31: Cambodia: Tenth Place
Season 34: Game Changers: Last Place
Days Played: 66

In every season, there are contestants who make alliances on which they’re the bottom who get eliminated before the end because they didn’t think ahead. As Blood vs. Water reached its climax, it seemed as though Ciera was destined to be one of those players. But rather than accept her fate, she took the game into her own hands, creating the biggest obstacle that Tyson Apostal had to overcome: drawing rocks. It didn’t work out for her and she didn’t last quite as long when she got her second chance, and was a non-factor on her third, but nobody can deny Ciera’s determination to be a great player and to make it as far as possible. The girl voted out her own mom to further herself. That’s how you play the game to win, but it evidently also makes it hard to recapture the magic on subsequent appearances. After all, who can trust someone who will burn their own family to get ahead?

23. Jonathan Penner

Season 13: Cook Islands: Seventh Place
Season 16: Fans vs. Favorites: 15th Place
Season 25: Philippines: Seventh Place
Days Played: 81

Jonathan was never the most charismatic player, he never had a flawless game plan, and he lacked the killer instinct that many on this list carried, but he was always a thoughtfully fascinating player that did know how to compensate for his mistakes. In every one of his seasons, he made blunders that seemed as though they would sink him (turning on his alliance in the Cooks, alienating Cirie in Fans vs. Favorites, pissing off Jeff Kent somehow), but each time he rebounded and survived another week or two before finally going down kicking and screaming. Perhaps my favorite aspect about Penner’s approach to the game is his composure, which was tested constantly all three times. Yet, regardless of how much his tribemates hated him and no matter how many times he screwed up, he never lost his cool and continued to play rationally, a great trait that always kept him in the mix.

22. Lex van den Berghe

Season 3: Africa: Third Place
Season 8: All-Stars: Ninth Place
Days Played: 65

In the much less-strategic world of old school Suvivor in the early 2000s, Lex was a nearly peerless strategist, bordering on paranoia, that could’ve easily become the game’s first ever two-time winner if not for a blown final immunity challenge in his first season and a fatal mid-game mistake in his second. When he wasn’t letting paranoia get the best of him as he did in the latter half of Africa after receiving a stray vote from T-Bird, Lex was a cool, calculated and deliberate player willing to not only vote out his friends like Ethan in All-Stars, but actually frontside them by telling them to their face before the vote and explaining his rationale. His All-Star game in particular is, to me, perhaps the greatest what if scenario in Survivor history. He was dominating in the early stage voting off late-game threats like Colby and Ethan early while surrounding himself with weaker players he knew he could beat like Kathy, Shii Ann and Jerri. Unfortunately for him, he let his heart get in the way of his game when he saved Boston Rob’s girlfriend Amber Brkich and was promptly betrayed by his former friend immediately thereafter. From all accounts, he’s never been the same since, which is easy to understand when you recognize what he lost for having a heart leading to a bitterness you just don’t get from today’s game.

21. Yul Kwon

Season 13: Cook Islands: Winner
Season 40: Winners at War: 14th Place
Days Played: 74

Due to his extremely high intelligence, an overpowered hidden immunity idol that he never even had to play, and the power of persuasion, Yul Kwon played one of the most dominant games in Survivor history during Cook Islands. The first survivor to effectively utilize the immunity idol as a bargaining chip, Yul was able to sway Jonathan Penner to aid his underdog tribe of four to defeat his opposing tribe of eight. And then, once Penner had served his purposes, Yul eliminated him. This guy’s game was so good, he beat Ozzy Lusth, one of the most beloved to ever play, in the final immunity vote the only time Ozzy ever made it to the end in what may have been the most anticipated and tightest winner vote read of all time with both players believing they were the winner. Like most of the all-time greats that appeared on Winners at War, Yul’s time in the game was cut tragically short, but it was still a delight to see him return to our screens over a decade following his dominant victory in the Cooks and a clear indication that Yul, still in great shape, has the chops to hang in with the game’s evolution.

20. Tom Westman

Season 10: Palau: Winner
Season 20: Heroes vs. Villains: 16th Place
Days Played: 53

Tom Westman has a reputation of being the Survivor winner with the cleanest style of play, but I’ve never seen things that way. The first time I watched his first season many years ago, I was furious that he manipulated Ian, my favorite, into throwing away his game by jumping off that pier in the longest immunity challenge of all time. But looking back now with all of my Survivor-binging experience, I can see that this ability to manipulate the weaker people around him was Tom’s greatest strength. As a leader on Koror, he went out of his way to check in with every player on the tribe every day, an effort that is apparently easier said than done considering how many people simply don’t make the effort. His leadership was reflected in the tribe’s results as the only in Survivor history to completely overpower the other, ultimately eliminating it completely from the beach and resulting in a merge-less game. And thanks to the groundwork he laid in the early game, he didn’t need to turn to the dirty tricks utilized by players like Boston Rob, Tony Vlachos and Russell Hantz because he already had things well in hand without them. It’s a style of play that is almost unheard of today, but for the way Survivor was played in the early days, it’s a true masterclass. While his stint on Heroes vs. Villains was sadly brief, he showed he had some new school chops, as well, taking advantage of a split vote and clever idol play to eliminate one of the game’s all-time greats in Cirie after correctly identifying her as the biggest threat on the tribe before ultimately falling victim to a wishy-washy J.T. Bet he wishes he could have that one back.

19. Spencer Bledsoe

Season 28: Cagayan: Fourth Place
Season 31: Second Chance: Runner-Up
Days Played: 73

Jeff Probst may not have been a fan of Spencer during his first read of the Cagayan cast (which really should be a red flag regarding his ability to be in charge of casting if the disastrous Season 44 isn’t evidence enough), but he won me over the second he first spoke in Cagayan. It’d be a job and a half to count the number of close calls Spencer has barely squeaked through over the course of his two Survivor seasons, but my ballpark guess would put it around 15. Things just never seem to be going Spencer’s way, but through willpower, a penchant for last-ditch speeches, and deft positioning, he has managed to hang in there until the end both times out. I have always maintained that he played the best game in Second Chance with the possible exception of Kelley Wentworth, and wish he would’ve gotten the nod over family-man Jeremy, but taking him to the end was a foolish error that one could argue was worthy of costing him the title. He’d make a top-tier candidate in the event Survivor ever put together a season of Survivor finalists that never won the game, but even if we never get more of him his legacy is that of one of the most brilliant players in the show’s history, as well as one of the most psychologically interesting.

18. Shambo Waters

Season 19: Samoa: Sixth Place
Days Played: 36

If I could’ve picked any single female contestant (and arguably ANY contestant period) to return for Season 50, it would’ve been Shambo Waters from Survivor Samoa. As I noted at the top, Samoa was my first Survivor season, so there’s no question I have a soft spot for pretty much everyone involved. But Shambo’s role in that season as the outlier to Laura’s click turned appointed leader in an attempt to try to keep her loyal only for her to flip anyway as soon as Russell gave her the opening to take out her biggest nemesis in Laura Morrett results in one of the all-time great character arcs in Survivor history. Shambo’s got the goods when it comes to confessionals, too, and could stand toe-to-toe with anyone on the mic, Coach Wade and Shane Powers included. The editors knew they had gold with Shambo and reportedly tried to get her back on subsequent seasons, but Shambo sadly refused. Hard to blame her, though; how can you improve on perfection?

17. J.T. Thomas

Season 18: Tocantins: Winner
Season 20: Heroes vs. Villains: 10th Place
Season 34: Game Changers: 16th Place
Days Played: 79

J.T. was far from the most strategic winner in Survivor history, but he may have been the most dominant. He absolutely destroyed Stephen Fishbach in the final vote, sweeping the jury for the first “perfect” victory in the history of the show and becoming one of the most lovable contestants in the show’s rich history. He was so beloved in Tocantins, in fact, that he had other players literally strategizing how to push him forward in the game at their own expense. Had he stopped there, J.T. would probably still be remembered as one of the all-time greats even more so than he is. While I would argue his entertainment factor actually peaked in Heroes vs. Villains, he was made out to be a fool by Parvati and Russell after making the ballsy yet ultimately bone-headed move to deliver his hidden immunity idol to Russell Hantz of all people on a silver platter. Even that performance seems impressive, though, when considering the absolute mess he produced in Game Changers, single-handedly ruining the game of his greatest ally Malcolm Freberg and following him out the door just one episode later. Turns out winning’s not so easy when you aren’t surrounded by people trying to hand you the money.

16. Erik Reichenbach

Season 16: Fans vs. Favorites: Fifth Place
Season 26: Fans vs. Favorites II: Fifth Place
Days Played: 72

On this list of my favorite Survivor contestants, Erik Reichenbach, dubbed the “Ice Cream Scooper from Hell” by Jeff Probst, earns an easy spot in the top 20. As a strategic player, however, there’s no doubt Erik had a lot of wrinkles. He made what is to date routinely called the dumbest move in Survivor history when he gave up his immunity necklace to the all-devouring female alliance (one of many brilliant schemes hatched by Cirie Fields that season), earning him a seat on the jury and 1 million reasons for regret. At the same time, though, he was a legitimate threat to win both seasons on which he appeared. It’s often overlooked that the reason the Black Widow Brigade hatched such a desperate scheme to send him to the jury in the first place is because they couldn’t beat him any other way, and considering how bitter the Fans vs. Favorites II jury was, I think it’s safe to say he would have at least peeled some votes away from Cochran’s perfect game had he made it to the end in either Dawn or whatsername’s place. Sadly, an unfortunate medical evac leaves that what-if scenario exactly that. Either way, 72 days is a hell of an achievement no matter how you scoop it.

15. Rob Cesternino

Season 6: Amazon: Third Place
Season 8: All-Stars: 15th Place
Days Played: 50

On the one hand, time has been very kind to Rob Cesternino. He has become one of the most prolific Survivor contestants of all time due to his popular podcast and active social media presence, and in a way has almost transcended the game that made him famous. But on the other hand, time has been detrimental to the man once called the best survivor ever. At one time, he was viewed as easily the best to never win the game, coming into All-Stars with a target on his back nearly equal to that of the winners on the season thanks to his game-changing execution of the alliance flip (multiple times) and goat-drag alongside the oblivious (but also entertaining) Matt von Ertfelda. This contributed to his premature exit as the first victim of Boston Rob’s brutal regime. Could he keep up with today’s ultra-competitive and advantage-heavy environment coming from a period before even the Hidden Immunity Idol existed? His performance in All-Stars isn’t the greatest indicator. Even so, Rob C has no shortage of fans that would be excited to see him return, myself included.

14. Tyson Apostol

Season 18: Tocantins: Eighth Place
Season 20: Heroes vs. Villains: 15th Place
Season 27: Blood vs. Water: Winner
Season 40: Winners at War: 11th Place
Days Played: 116

While he was immediately one of the many chaotically entertaining and delightfully vicious pieces of the Tocantins puzzle, it took Tyson a couple of seasons to hit his strategic stride. He may have bottomed out in Heroes vs. Villains as a pawn in Russell Hantz’s epic showdown with Boston Rob, culminating in perhaps the most explosive and incredible tribal council of all time, but once he got focused in Blood vs. Water thanks to the premature elimination of his then-girlfriend (and now wife) Rachel, he became one of the best to ever win the game. Tyson’s gameplay was more subtle than more famous survivors like Boston Rob and Russell, but these subtleties were his greatest strength. He always pretended to give those around him a chance to decide who was voted off, but in the end, he was the one who made the final decision every time. His great sense of humor and lovable personality made him an easy vote for the million, even after he had led the entire jury to the slaughter with a smile on his face and a tongue in his cheek. Like most of the best people on the cast, Tyson went early in Winners at War, though he at least fared better than most becoming the first to re-enter the game off the Edge of Extinction and battling his way to Day 25.

13. Parvati Shallow

Season 13: Cook Islands: Sixth Place
Season 16: Fans vs. Favorites: Winner
Season 20: Heroes vs. Villains: Runner-Up
Season 40: Winners at War: 15th Place
Days Played: 149

We’ve all met somebody who reminds us of Parvati, but we may never meet anybody as successful. The leader of the infamous Black Widow Alliance from Fans vs. Favorites, Parvati is one of the most dangerous to ever play the game because she’s the most infectious. Her sultry good looks are one thing (look up any list of the sexiest survivors ever and she’ll be at the top of all of them), but what really makes her a great player is her ability to charm all of her opponents into a stupor, and it doesn’t matter if they’re a man or a woman. She is the greatest social player of all time, and once she was able to learn how to use her temptress personality to her advantage, she made it to the end twice (one of only five to do so), and came extremely close to becoming the series’ first two-time winner.

12. Shane Powers

Season 12: Panama: Fifth Place
Days Played: 33

Perhaps the most unhinged player to ever play the game of Survivor this side of Brandon Hantz, Shane Powers was the single biggest contributor to the whirlwind of chaos that was the Casaya Alliance on Survivor Panama. And believe me when I tell you, that is really saying something. Quitting his multi-pack a day smoking habit cold turkey to travel to Panama to compete on Survivor, Shane’s sanity quickly began to unravel leading to a litany of unforgettable moments from calling a phone-shaped rock his Blackberry to genuinely yelling at his tribesmates who threatened to steal his thinking stump to believably threatening to murder a fellow contestant upon their return to the States. And yet, while Shane was undeniably brash, annoying and out of his mind, he somehow maintained a certain level of civility and levity that prevented him from going down the path of a truly hateable Suvivor villain with no redeeming qualities like that of Colton Cumbie or Brian Heidik. This particularly shown through when he was visited by his teenage son Boston during the loved-one visit, but it’s the litany of all-time hilarious Survivor moments from asking Cirie to examine and diagnose his chafing private areas to helping the medical team med-evac a suffering Bruce out of the game in his birthday suit, to finally getting his hands on a cigarette during an outage to a nearby village and sucking on it like a newborn at the teat to yelling at the tribesmates that voted him out at Final Five that it was okay because he was about to have a chocolate ice cream bar in “ONE MINUTE” that cement him as one of the all-time greats. Sadly, thanks to a comedy of errors and near-misses, Shane has never returned to the game and, at this point, it’s unlikely he ever will. But at least we’ll always have Casaya.

11. John Cochran

Season 23: South Pacific: Eighth Place
Season 26: Fans vs. Favorites II: Winner
Days Played: 70

Nobody has undergone a more dramatic transformation in the history of Survivor than the meek Harvard-grad turned dominant Survivor winner John Cochran. Beginning his first Survivor stint on South Pacific as an awkward loser who could barely will himself to take his shirt off, much less stand up for himself in a tribe full of overbearing bullies, Cochran evolved into one of the series’ best winners by the end of Fans vs. Favorites II where he clean-swept Dawn Meehan and Sherri whatshername in the final tribal council, capping off the second of only two “perfect games” in Survivor history via a jury sweep with no prior votes cast against him. It provided one of the most feel-good moments in all of Survivor’s 50 seasons, and inspirational proof that, with a bit of confidence and backbone, it’s possible to go from mediocre to all-time great.

10. Ethan Zohn

Season 3: Africa: Winner
Season 8: All-Stars: 11th Place
Season 40: Winners at War: 18th Place
Days Played: 95

When anyone says nice guys can’t win the game of Survivor, Ethan Zohn stands as indisputable proof that it isn’t true. Without question the more heroic winner of all time, Ethan navigated the brutal African desert with dignity, grace, and likability that nobody has matched since. His escapade with Lex into the African village to sell a live goat in exchange for a plate of french fries remains one of the all-time great sequences in the show’s history and is a great example of something that is missing from the current state of the game. Ethan had similar winner’s equity when he returned in All-Stars, easily outplaying all of the other previous winners during the season, which was no small feat considering the strong anti-winner prejudice that infected everyone else on the island. The only one that could stand in his way was his greatest ally Lex van den Berghe, who ultimately voted him out on Day 21 bringing a sad ending to Ethan’s Survivor career for more than 15 years. Ethan unfortunately developed a rare form of cancer called Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which ended the hopes of many of his fans, my wife in particular, that he would ever return to the game. Beautifully, he did return in Winners at War and, though the pace of the game was far beyond what he was capable of keeping up with, his time on the Edge of Extinction revealed that very little about him, other than his age and overall health, had changed. Despite his cancer diagnosis and early boot, Ethan maintained a level of grace and poise that has perhaps never been replicated in any other of the hundreds of people that have played the game.

9. Richard Hatch

Season 1: Borneo: Winner
Season 8: All-Stars: 14th Place
Days Played: 54

It would be impossible to have a list of the greatest survivors of all time without including the winner of the show’s inaugural season, Richard Hatch. Possibly the most interesting man to ever play the game, Richard was really the only one of the original 16 contestants that actually understood how the game should be played, ultimately setting the blueprint for every player to come after him. He’s the man that coined the phrase “alliance,” because he’s the man who invented the concept on the show. He worked his group of four just as easily as he voted out everybody else on the island, and by the time he made it to the end of the game, there was little doubt that he was the one that deserved the title and the money, though Sue Hawk still took it upon herself to make sure that picture was crystal clear for the jury in a moment that has stood the test of time nearly three decades later. Even today it’s one of the greatest winning games ever played, and perhaps still the most important. If Richard Hatch hadn’t won that season, there’s a possibility that Survivor would have become a flash in the pan like so many reality television series that came after it. Instead, it became a TV-altering phenomenon that we’re still talking about 26 years later. Hatch had no shot of reclaiming his title on the show’s first returnee season in All-Stars with a target the size of Jupiter on his back, but he still managed to be one of the most consistently entertaining contestants on the show, arguably even wittier and funnier than he was on his first outing, during the brief time he was there. Sadly an extremely controversial and somewhat disturbing incident with fellow contestant Sue Hawk, that really didn’t age well in our more politically correct age, and a run-in with the law over his attempt to dodge the taxes owed on his winnings from Season 1 have marred the legacy of a true original and perhaps contributed to the unfortunate fact that he hasn’t played since 2004.

8. Phillip Sheppard

Season 22: Redemption Island: Runner-Up
Season 26: Fans vs. Favorites II: 10th Place
Days Played: 67

As you will find in the upper echelon of my list, many of my favorite Survivors are of the polarizing variety; either you love them or you hate them. I understand that Phillip’s shtick as a the questionably sane former federal agent wore on some people as much as it wore on his tribesmates in both Redemption Island and Fans vs. Favorites II. But beyond his entertaining antics, which, personally, I never tired of, I think there’s a much deeper psychological game being played under the hood of both of Phillip’s games that is genuinely fascinating. On the surface, I’d argue Phillip is one of the most compelling, hilarious, and overall entertaining personalities the show has ever seen. His dubious connection with his ancestor Jessum Harring, his ability to stir up controversy and anger on just about anything from race to rice, and inability to pronounce Francesca were entertaining enough. But over the course of Redemption Island, Phillip pulls back the curtain just enough for the audience to reveal that there’s a method behind his madness, which ultimately earns him $100,000 as the runner-up of the season. Interestingly, Phillip attempted to play a much more straightforward, serious game in Fans vs. Favorites II, legitimately stepping up as a tribe leader even if the majority of the tribe was unable to see past reputation that proceeded him. Ultimately, his willingness to fall on his sword to protect the rest of his alliance during Malcolm Freberg’s short-lived uprising stands out as one of the most unsung and unappreciated heroic moments of the show leaving behind a lasting, if alienating legacy.

7. Natalie Anderson

Season 29: San Juan Del Sur: Winner
Season 40: Winners at War: Runner-Up
Days Played: 78

With the maximum of 78 days played between her two seasons and a victory and runner-up finish to her name, it’s almost impossible to have a better record than Natalie Anderson on paper. Her first run on San Juan Del Sur is maybe my favorite winner’s arc of all time. Playing in the second iteration of Blood vs. Water, Natalie lost her twin sister Nadiya immediately, leaving her to develop bonds elsewhere. She quickly did with future winner Jeremy Collins, forming what would have no doubt become one of the most dominant duos in the history of the game had Jeremy’s threat level not been detected by the rest of the cast leading to his early-jury elimination. To say the least, Natalie was pissed and embarked on the greatest revenge tour the game has ever seen, biding her time surrounded by some of the most unlikable Survivor contestants in the history of the game only to blow them out in the end and claim victory. Things looked dire for Natalie on Winners at War when she became the first person voted off, but thanks to the controversial Edge of Extinction, and no shortage of Fire Tokens, Anderson was able to battle her way back and come just a few votes, and maybe one fire-making challenge outcome, away from claiming a second victory.

6. Sandra Diaz-Twine

Season 7: Pearl Islands: Winner
Season 20: Heroes vs. Villains: Winner
Season 34: Game Changers: 15th Place
Season 40: Winners at War: 16th Place
Days Played: 110

Nobody would accuse Sandra Diaz-Twine of being the flashiest player on this list. She almost never does well in immunity challenges (Russell Hantz has called her the worst ever). She’s never in a dominant position in her tribe. She’s not the best social player. She has historically used very little strategy outside of her main calling card of “as long as it’s not me.” But for over a decade of Survivor history Sandra had a claim to something that nobody else who had played multiple times could boast: she was undefeated. The stealthiest player ever, regularly sneaking through the bush in order to listen to secret conversations, Sandra knows how to listen without speaking, but she also knows how to manipulate those around her when she opens her mouth. Despite her brash attitude, she became almost a whisper on the island during her first two seasons. Nobody she played with considered her a threat until they take her to the end. But by then it was too late. In fact, not only did Sandra win both seasons, she had never even received a vote against her until Game Changers. Her last two stints on the show were nowhere near as successful, both resulting in early-season boots long before the contestants even sniffed the merge or jury phase of the game. Even so, her presence on both seasons elevated them above what they would have been without her, particularly in Game Changers where her antics cemented her status as one of the most entertaining Survivors of all time.

5. Tony Vlachos

Season 28: Cagayan: Winner
Season 34: Game Changers: 19th Place
Season 40: Winners at War: Winner
Days Played: 84

While Tony came a bit too late in the game and is slightly too derivative of the few all-time favorites I have above him for me to justify putting him any higher on this list, his status as the second ever 2-time winner of the game, including in a season against all winners no less, gives him a legitimate claim as the greatest to ever play. In Cagayan, Tony was already considered an all-time great winner not because he didn’t make mistakes, but because he did. Host Jeff Probst said it best when he noted Tony made plenty of them, but he was so far ahead of everyone else that they couldn’t catch him. And as a viewer, his gameplay was so chaotic and haphazard, it made for some unforgettable television. He played similarly to Russell Hantz, but unlike Russell was able to retain a sense of likability among his fellow contestants that he ran over night after night, an impressive feat that felt like a notable pivot away from the over-importance of loyalty and conservative social dynamics toward all-out, ballsy gameplay. Tony’s reputation preceded him in Game Changers, which wasn’t helped by his initial decision to run out into the woods and proclaim he was looking for a hidden immunity idol, but that humbling experience left him in the perfect position to come back in historic fashion in Winners at War where he managed to restrain himself from running wild in the early game while all of the game’s biggest threats were eliminated before turning on the afterburners and delivering another convincing victory in arguably the most competitive field in the history of the game.

4. Cirie Fields

Season 12: Panama: Fourth Place
Season 16: Fans vs. Favorites: Third Place
Season 20: Heroes vs. Villains: 17th Place
Season 34: Game Changers: Sixth Place
Season 50: In the Hands of the Fans: ??
Days Played: 121+

Just about everybody loves Cirie. She’s the Survivor that famously “got off the couch” to play the game and forever changed the way it was played thereafter as arguably the greatest strategist in the history of the game. She was supposed to be the first to go in Panama, but she somehow managed to navigate the unhinged minefield that was the Casaya Alliance nearly all the way to the end thanks to her ability to relate to, clearly, any human being that walks, introducing new strategies like eliminating goats other players wanted to drag to the end to create more room for herself. After all, who could beat her if she made it to the final tribal council? She proved this Panamanian stint wasn’t beginner’s luck in Fans vs. Favorites, one of the greatest seasons ever, when she became the decider of just about every single vote that went down before ultimately blowing it in the final immunity challenge (which she didn’t even think would occur due to the Final Three being suddenly and unexpectedly shaved down to a Final Two). I’ll always maintain that she deserved the million in that season over Parvati and Amanda, and maybe she would’ve gotten it had she made it to the end, but her peers took note of her ability to persuade; she was voted out early in Heroes vs. Villains not because she was weak, but because she was the biggest threat in the game and it still took an idol play and split vote from one of the best to ever do it, Tom Westman, to get the job done. Years later in Game Changers, Cirie wasn’t even voted out due to the over-abundance of idols and advantages that she didn’t need to rely on to advance her position, an unfair screwjob that she will hopefully get the chance to rectify on Season 50. She comes in as arguably the biggest threat in the game, even over the few winners that will be out there, but it’s happened before and history has shown that you can never count Cirie out until her torch is snuffed, which is easier said than done.

3. “Coach” Benjamin Wade

Season 18: Tocantins: 5th Place
Season 20: Heroes vs. Villains: 12th Place
Season 23: South Pacific: Runner-Up
Season 50: In the Hands of the Fans: ???
Days Played: 96+

Coach Wade is a show stealer every time he pops on the television, which is why he’s played four times and will likely (hopefully) break the 100-day mark during his stint on Season 50. His “strategy” in Tocantins left a lot to be desired, but that’s not what he was about. Every confessional, every story, every easily avoidable confrontation with his Timbira tribemates is pure, unadulterated gold. And that’s to say nothing of his legendary “martyr approach” to Exile Island, which the producers have said could’ve probably filled an entire episode of television on its own. Coach returned just two seasons later in Heroes vs. Villains where he was surprisingly a lot more humble and even outwardly insecure (again to hilarious effect), but he was widely outclassed strategically by tribemates like Russell Hantz, Boston Rob and Parvati Shallow and just barely made the jury (where he would go on to start one of the most hilarious bands to ever walk the Earth alongside Courtney Yates and J.T.). Fascinatingly, Coach’s game took a hard turn in South Pacific where he walked into his tribe as an outcast but quickly turned it into an uncomfortable, cult-like empire that made him easily deserving of the million, which would’ve taken the season from an interesting footnote into an all-time classic. His manipulation of Cochran, who would go on to be one of the most dominant winners of all time just three seasons later, is still truly impressive and was the result of a man operating at the absolute peak of his game. Coach may have been screwed by a clueless, bitter jury, but he’ll always be a winner to me and, no doubt, to himself.

2. Russell Hantz

Season 19: Samoa: Runner-Up
Season 20: Heroes vs. Villains: Second Runner-Up
Season 22: Redemption Island: 17th Place
Days Played: 88

Russell himself said it best; he was born to play this game. Love him or hate him (and there are millions on either side), there is no denying that Russell Hantz is one of the most influential to ever play the game of Survivor. Every person that looks for a hidden immunity idol without a clue today does so because of Russell’s game-changing decision to do so back in Samoa without precedence. Truly the game was never the same after his back-to-back run in Samoa and Heroes vs. Villains. Other than Amanda Kimmel, Russell is the only Survivor contestant to make it to the end in back-to-back seasons, and he dominated the game in both, dictating not only his own path to the end, but also that of the other finalists that joined him. But there is a fatal flaw to Russell’s game and it’s not the one so many argue that it is. It’s not the venom with which he plays the game, although certainly toning that down would probably help. It’s that he just doesn’t understand the social psychology of who to take to the end. In Samoa, Russell probably could’ve easily beaten Jaison, Mick or Shambo had he taken them to the final tribal council, but instead he took the lovable Natalie White, perhaps the most liked person on the entire season, and it cost him $900,000. He made the same mistake in Heroes vs. Villains, sitting alongside two of the greatest of all time when he could’ve been sitting next to Jerri Manthey, Danielle or Courtney Woodcock. His brief stint in Redemption Island and even Australia’s Champions vs. Contenders season indicates he’ll never be able to go deep in the game again now that everybody knows what a threat he is, but that only proves that he’s one of the all-time greats.

1. Boston Rob Mariano

Season 4: Marquesas: 10th Place
Season 8: All-Stars: Runner-Up
Season 20: Heroes vs. Villains: 13th Place
Season 22: Redemption Island: Winner
Season 39: Island of the Idols: Mentor (Non-Player)
Season 40: Winners at War: 17th Place
Days Played: 152

Not only is Boston Rob the coolest man to ever play Survivor, he’s also one of the most dominant. The man is a total package; he’s a challenge beast, a great leader, a hard worker, all-time great shelter builder, and he’s the most manipulative talker and greatest double-dealer to ever play the game. Even Jeff Probst has gone on record to say that Boston Rob is his favorite survivor of all time. And who can blame him? Rob has played the game longer than anybody else at 152 days, without even counting his odd stint as a mentor on Island of the Idols, has made it to the end twice, and played arguably the most dominant game in history when he easily twisted his Ometepe tribe in Redemption Island around his Godfather-like fingers before picking them off one by one, securing all of their votes for the million along the way. He was basically unopposed, which has turned many off of the season as a whole. But I’ve always enjoyed it not because it was competitive, but because it wasn’t. Before that, Rob was a legitimate game-changer on Season 4, eliminating the tribe’s strongest competitor Hunter Ellis and aligning himself with the easily manipulable Sarah Jones. While contestants like Richard Hatch and Jerri Manthey were considered villains before him, Rob was Survivor’s first true villain, weakening his tribe as a whole so that he could rule by fear. His antics caught up to him early in Marquesas, but he was able to take his game to another level in All-Stars where he ran a similar playbook, backstabbing allies like Lex van den Berghe and turning would-be adversaries like Big Tom and Rupert against each other with a smile while locking up a runner-up finale opposite his now wife Amber, who really only won because the jury was so damn pissed at Rob’s actions in the game. Although the game had clearly passed beyond Rob’s mafioso style by the time of Winners at War, the strength of his legacy remains unimpeachable.