Russell Hantz, well known for everything he did in Survivor 19: Samoa. Currently playing in Survivor 20: Heroes vs Villains.
I am aware that there are massive fanboys who drool over Russell Hantz, I'm neutral. I have seen almost every interview involving Russell or about Russell. I have seen every episode and special involving him.
Russell Hantz is not overrated.
Some people believe he destroyed items at his camp just to be mean or stupid. Based on the reactions and results from doing this, I would have to say he did it out of pure strategy. It worked out amazingly for Russell and after 19 Seasons of Survivor he managed to make a tactic that no one had ever seen or thought of before.
I looked at every single person eliminated from Survivor Samoa and with the exception of the other tribe's losing and eliminating, Russell was literally single-handedly responsible for the demise of nearly every single player in the Samoa.
Now obviously we do not see everything, but there is a mass number of haters who do not want to declare Russell Hantz as the greatest player in history because he did not win. They blame his social game. I do not agree with this, I never once saw a person in a confessional saying "I hate Russell Hantz, he is annoying, smelly, and I cannot stand living with him." I see people smiling when he's in groups and I see people listening to him when they're alone with him.
I believe he is a very likeable person, his only downfall in Samoa was having the unfortunate luck of playing with a cast of people who do not respect what Survivor is about.
Survivor is a social experiment. They want to see how much people will lie, how sneaky people will be, and how differently they will play the game. It is unconditionally constructed for sociopaths.
I believe Episode 6 of Survivor 20 was an amazing example of how intelligent he really is.
Tyson is NOT an idiot, Tyson is a strong, and intelligent player admired by many. Now of course, it looks stupid to us because we know what Russell is doing. In Tyson's shoes, the game is completely different.
Russell read one of the most deceiving and manipulative players in the history of Survivor (Boston Rob) and knew exactly what he was doing. Rob thought the Idol would be burned and a player would be gone anyway. He was wrong. Russell read him like a book and didn't buy a single word he said and knew exactly what he needed to do. He planted the seed in a couple of sentences and was STILL gutsy enough to hand that idol off.
So not only did he read Boston Rob, he convinced another enemy, and had the guts to follow his instinct.
Those are elements that contribute to Russell Hantz being the greatest player in Survivor history.
I know Russell makes it to the end of Survivor 20, and since it is all already recorded, I can simply wish him the best of luck and I pray, I pray for the sake of the game and everything the game is about, that the jury will have enough respect not only for his game play, his strategy, and his passion but respect for the game enough to grant him the title of Sole Survivor for the ultimate collection of Survivor Castaways!
After episode 10, he faces a struggle to stay in the game. No more idols left to protect him, and the majority won't mind getting rid of him. He's a good player, but would not survive without idols.
I know I'm late to the party, but I just had to say that it's so nice to see somebody else that appreciates Russell's brilliant games !!! Best in Survivor History!!!! :D
