Here are my rankings from 20-1 for gameplay in Season 27: Blood vs Water (Ranked according to my perspective on their strategy, physical ability and social play).
20: COLTON
No surprises, much like my Cagayan rankings the quitter is last. Quit for no reason other than he couldn't be bothered with the uphill battle he put himself in.
19: RACHEL
Rachel just didn't seem to have the 'oomph' that's required to play Survivor. I respect her decision to not allow Tyson to switch with her, but she was a sitting duck with very little impact on the season. Nice girl though.
18: RUPERT
Rupert made a selfless decision to allow Laura to play instead of him, basically. The move didn't work out so it's hard to judge his performance. From interviews I gathered he was very helpful on Redemption Island in terms of camplife.
17: KAT
Kat received a hugely different edit this time around compared to One World. Kat didn't really strategise at all, apart from telling Monica's closest ally that they should vote out Monica. Kat was quite weak this season and her antics at Redemption Island Arena and the union had us laughing at her, instead of with her, this time around.
16: CANDICE
Poor Candice. She was never really given a go and who knows how far she could have gone had it not been for her vote out on the beach. I loved her this time around mainly for how strong she was in duels and her strategy in the distribution of the hidden idol clue.
15: BRAD
Brad played the game hard but what good is it playing hard if you are disliked by nearly your entire tribe. On top of that, he seemed shocked when people revealed how they felt about him, so I perceived him as being not self aware at all, in fact quite clueless. The physicality of Redemption Island duels should have played to Brad's favour but it didn't. His tribe came together and won their first immunity after Brad was voted out.
14: MARISSA
Marissa was, to me, one of the standouts in terms of new players. She had so much potential and her game was cut short due to the antics of her uncle. Marissa straight out the gate realised Brad as a threat and voted for him on the beach after he said he would throw a challenge to aid Monica. She performed well in her challenge and duels and just fell short in the puzzle. If Marissa played in a normal season, I'd see her going far.
13: JOHN
John was the victim of the first blindside of the season. He was loyal to the men's alliance who, through no fault of his own, turned their back on him. He showed great strength at redemption, but was unable to capitlize when it counted most.
12: LAURA B.
After being voted out first on the beach and then given a second chance on a tribe of returnees, Laura quickly became an underdog. She surpassed my expectations of her by how far she made it in the game and how strong she was in challenges. I expected her to be out first so it became fun to watch her fly through week after week and just fell short at the final duel.
11: KATIE
I love Katie to bits as a person, however she seemed to just float through the game without having to do much and often relying on others (i.e. Tina or Hayden). She held her end in challenges though, and was a very likeable person. I wish we could have seen her show courage and vote against Tyson in the end, because he really didn't deserve Katie's vote at all.
10: VYTAS
There was a lot of hype by fans around Vytas but when it came down to it, he couldn't get the job done. He played the game hard but we've seen people play hard and fail before, so he was nothing special in that respect. Came across as bitter and self righteous too.
9: GERVASE
Gervase was solely responsible for angering Marissa's tribe and her eventual vote off at the start of the game. Rubbing a victory in the losing tribe's face was a horrible way to start the game, especially when you were the worst performer in that challenge. He recovered well for the mid-section of the game and did well in challenges and who he aligned himself with. In the end, however, his temper seemingly got the better of him again and he became a goat for the final three.
8: ARAS
Aras played probably the best pre-merge game and up until the merge I believed he would win it again. He wasn't afraid to make moves if he thought it would benefit him (e.g. voting out Laura M) but became too comfortable after the merge. It was his likeableness and his strength that got him voted out in the end but it was another good showing by the Panama winner.
7: HAYDEN
Hayden seemed to cruise along most of the game but played hard before being voted out. His ability to work to Ciera's weaknesses to flip her vote was extraordinary to watch and him surviving that vote was a miracle. He was strong in challenges and likeable, but the majority alliance got him and his allies before he could get them.
6: CALEB
Caleb possessed a key quality in Survivor and it is knowing when to make moves and knowing when to lay low. He made his moves at the right time (the attempted Tyson blindside and the sensational blindside of Brad) but laid low in other parts of the game. Caleb had a good showing in challenges and was unlucky in his duel. One of the most likeable players the game has seen.
5: TINA
Another player to surpass my expectations, Tina was fun to watch this season as she showed her ability to strategise and compete in challenges. Before the merge Tina was always on the right side of the numbers and making big calls (i.e. vocal in her beliefs to vote out Kat and Laura). Her crucial error was informing Monica she was bottom of the alliance and it cost her. However, she fought her way back into the game and was a vote away from the million.
4: LAURA M.
Laura initially didn't really fit in with the Galang tribe but was always assessing her options and always had her head in the game. She was flawless on Redemption Island and earned her way back into the game, where she found herself in the majority alliance and involved in decision making. The Blood vs Water twist worked for and against Laura. She was fueled and motivated by her love for Ciera but it was the fact that the two were the last remaining pair that she had to be voted out again. She made it all the way to the final duel where she just fell short. Laura was a standout this season and won a lot of fans over.
3: CIERA
Ciera flourished after the merge and morphed into one of the biggest strategists of recent seasons. She wasn't afraid to make moves and played an active role in the blindsides of John, Brad, Aras, Caleb and even her own mother (knowing if it weren't Laura, it would be herself.) Ciera even put her own game on the line to try and get herself into a better position by flipping on Monica to draw rocks. In the end, things came crashing down for her and the alliance of Tyson, Monica and Gervase decided to vote her out instead of Tina due to her being a jury threat and a great strategist. I expect to see Ciera again on another season.
2: MONICA
It wasn't until I rewatched the season that I agreed with those on numerous Survivor forums who claim Monica should have won Blood vs Water. Monica played a game that was almost flawless. She removed her threats (i.e. Kat and Laura), she dominated immunity challenges, winning three, which was the highest for the season, she flipped when she had to and went against her original alliance was Aras and Tina, she remained loyal to her alliance when pressured to flip in the end and gave compelling answers at tribal. I think others perceived her as fake but would have deserved the game if she won it.
1: TYSON
You can't argue with Tyson being top of the list. Again, self explanatory. The million dollars (arguably) went to the right person. Complete reversal to the Tyson we saw on his other seasons, always had control, played the hardest and was rewarded.
colton is a very emotional guy. he only agreed to return bc he thought he would be on the same tribe as caleb and when he wasnt he didnt want to do it at all. (not that i condone him quitting, but that was his reasoning and i at least understand it)
Vytas was better than Aras. Vytas led the charge to get Rachel out, he used charisma to get the women to save him over Kat and Laura B, he was smart enough to not go to rocks for dummy Brad Culpepper, he was top 5 at least in my books on gameplay
It was Tina who originally said to vote out Monica to Kat, not the other way around. Kat said in her interview with Parvati that it didn't go down how they portrayed it on the show. It was kind of like the LJ thing with Tony, Tony got LJ to say something to use to get LJ voted out. Tina got Kat to say Monica should go and Tina used it to rally the votes to get Kat out
