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Top 100 Survivor Players Power Rankings (#70-61)

Aug 27, 2020 by PowerRankings101

Last time, we ranked the top 71-80 contestants (Randy, Natalie Bolton, Hayden, Devon, Kelly Wiglesworth, Gavin, Danielle D, Rudy, Amber, and Mama C) and you had to guess for the next batch. Today, we’re gonna look at the 61-70 ranked contestants on my list. Again, this is only my opinion and earning a spot on the list in any way, shape, or form is a good thing, regardless of placement. You will disagree, and that’s okay, just be polite, kind, and respectful in your comments and healthy discussion. I cannot wait to hear what you think. Here we go!

*Number 70: Heidi Strobel (The Amazon)- Has Heidi been slightly forgotten over time? Unfortunately, yes. But in Survivor’s earliest stages, Heidi was a legend and an icon. The stripping for chocolate and peanut butter was one of the most iconic moments of the show’s history for many of its early run, and still a moment fans look back to today. But what is impressive about Heidi’s game is not the fact that she made memorable character moments, but because she was honestly a pretty great player. She used the flirt game to trance some of the men on the other tribe (aside from Rob Cesternino, maybe the dumbest group of people to be on one tribe), and once the merge hit, she was instrumental in getting Roger booted right away. Once the merge went along, she helped blindside Deena as well, and found herself fitting nicely with many majority votes, including getting Jenna Morasca (eventual winner) to GIVE HER THE IMMUNITY NECKLACE. Only few contestants have had someone give them the necklace at tribal, and Heidi is part of that esteemed club. She only goes out when she does because she was the biggest threat left, and because Rob was just that much better at the game and got the last laugh. I do think Heidi is underrated and earns a place on this list because she was one of the first to really utilize the flirt card, but proved that her brains were just as strong as her charms. A great old school player I wish we could’ve seen play again.

*Number 69: Natalie White (Winner of Samoa)- Natalie is someone who is deeply hurt by edit, because I do think she was much more instrumental in her season’s gameplay than she was shown to be. Of all the allies Russell had, the only one who was wise enough to not backstab or talk behind his back was Natalie. She saw what happened to Marisa, to Ashley, to Liz. All people who Russell had “aligned” with who he ultimately backstabbed because they were talking about him in a negative light (or not complying to his strategy). Natalie was smart enough to learn from them and keep her mouth shut, and only played hard when she needed to, and when she knew she wouldn’t be reprimanded for it. She made Russell think she was a guaranteed goat in the end, but as we saw from her final tribal council, she knew how to make herself look more positive, and ultimately won over the jury votes. Again, the edit buried her (especially with big characters like Russell, Shambo, Dave Ball, and others on her island), but I do think she plays an impressive game for her particular style. She’s one of the only female winners (next to Vecepia) who never got a second chance, but if she were to go back out in a future season, she may actually have a good chance to make it further than expected. I like Natalie White, and think she totally earns her spot on the list.

*Number 68: Yau-Man Chan (Fiji; Micronesia)- Yau-Man is the oldest living returnee player, which only makes his gameplay that much more impressive, seeing as how he was able to make it to final four as one of the oldest on his season. He really kicked the game into a higher gear, being the first to make a fake idol, being the first to send himself to exile, being the first to successfully play an idol in its new format, negating votes to prevent elimination. He really is a marvel. The most impressive facet of Yau-Man’s game, to me, is his actual survival skills, and how impressive he was in challenges. He’s such a small, old guy, but was able to beat top dogs in challenges, and pulled off some huge moves along the way. While Earl was the best player in Fiji, I think Yau-Man had a big part in getting Earl as far as he did. Why is he this low on the list then? I think his Micronesia game is pretty bad. He only gets booted on pure reputation, and is sent out with no real shot to go deep and play the game. Despite having some numbers on his side, Jonathan Penner was pretty much running that strategy and trying to get Yau the votes to stay, which is why I can’t really give Yau much credit for anything in Micronesia. Yau did find the individual immunity during the opening portion of the game, but that’s only because Jonny FairPlay got there first and gave away where it was (leading to Yau pretty much giving FairPlay a head injury). A messy second game, but I can’t fault him for his first game, which is pretty epic, and only gets cut off in the very end due to the iconic car deal with Dreamz. Yau played everything perfectly until the final four, and definitely earns a place on the list.

*Number 67: Stephenie LaGrossa (Palau; Guatemala; Heroes vs. Villains)- An icon of the game? Yes. But is Steph really amazing at the game? I’m not sure. Her being the last remaining person on her tribe in Palau is impressive because she outlasted all her other tribe mates, but it’s also a bit unimpressive because she was on the losing tribe EVERY time. What’s more impressive in Palau is how she’s able to infiltrate her way into the game at the “merge” or “absorption.” She could’ve been an easy first out, but made good enough bonds to be used as a number for the Coby vote, and survive till the final seven. Coming back for Guatemala, she probably has her best strategic game, being pretty instrumental in a lot of vote-outs, and making it all the way to final two. The problem is, she plays a pretty bad social game, so she only gets one vote in the end. I do think, however, her aggressiveness is impressive, and she is able to play a full game in Guatemala, without having to survive on a consistently losing team. Her HvV game is a dud, but I do think she was doomed from the start, having only one true relationship in the game with Tom Westman, and being on the wrong side of the numbers from the get-go. I do think Stephenie has one of the most interesting character arcs on the show, particularly between Palau and Guatemala. Stephenie being the last remaining Ulong member was a monumental moment in Survivor history, and gave her a great comeback story in Guatemala. Coming onto a season with a legacy, and being one of only two returnees (the first and only time it was done until Redemption Island), it was wildly impressive that she got to the merge on Guatemala, and then FINAL TWO!! A target like that should’ve been gone earlier, but Stephenie was able to play really well strategically, so I give her props. She is no doubt a legend in the game, even if I do think her gameplay has some blips and faults.

*Number 66: Jud “Fabio” Birza (Winner of Nicaragua)- Fabio has the messiest winning game of all time, but I still think there’s something so compelling about Fabio. Fabio is the epitome of being in the right place at the right time. It’s not his fault that two people quit back to back…it’s not his fault that he won immunities when he needed to. People say “well Fabio SHOULD have been gone earlier…” but luck was on his side, and he was able to get a free jump from final 9 to 7 (due to the double quit) and then won three immunities to get to final tribal. The only tribal he was vulnerable for after the quit was in Benry’s blindside, and all the others are to blame for not getting Fabio out when they had the chance. Yes, he wasn’t in control pretty much EVER, but Fabio may have used luck to his advantage better than any other winner. Strategy aside, he’s just a fun dude all around, and made it easy to root for him. His feud with Na’Onka was great, especially because EVERYONE liked Fabio more at the end of the day. He’s an underrated player, and I’d love to see him come back someday.

*Number 65: Matty Whitmore (Gabon)- Many people have forgotten about Matty by now, but Matty was a single fire-making challenge away from a potential unanimous jury vote. Everyone loved Matty, and he had one of the most epic loved ones moment ever, with him proposing to his girlfriend Jamie on the island. It was a beautiful moment. Matty is impressive because he was vulnerable for SIX whole challenges in the pre-merge, and never once got a vote. He was the physical leader on the Fang tribe, and was the only chance any of them had at winning a challenge for a while. The tribe was bad, but Matty was not. I think his physical game is great, but I do think he had a great social game as well. He knew when to talk and when to just be quiet and go with the flow, which I really appreciate. I love Matty’s game, and while I have two Gabon players above him (at numbers 64 and 61), I do think he’s an underrated player and a great person to root for.

*Number 64: Bob Crowley (Winner of Gabon)- Bob is about even with Matty because whoever won that fire-making challenge wins the game, as Bob did, but I think they’re about even in that they were super nice guys who weren’t too strategy heavy and proved to be impressive physical players. Bob was a bit more impressive in the post-merge game, winning three immunities and a fire challenge. I think Bob embodies the survivalist nature of the game, and is probably the best survival expert (save for maybe Boston Rob) that we’ve seen from a winner. I do knock him for being on the wrong side of the votes several times, but his fake idol move is really fun, and he is instrumental in winning Sugar over and getting her to tie up the vote. There’s a very good chance Sugar votes for Bob, and it’s a 3-1 vote, but by being so warm and genuine to Sugar, Sugar gave him a fighting chance. I think that’s a huge accomplishment on Bob’s end, as it gave him that shot to win his way into the final. He isn’t a strategy forward guy, but it didn’t matter, as he was a beast in the challenges in the end. I like Bob, and so did America, awarding him the fan favorite prize as well. AND he has the best way of utilizing a Survivor buff in history, making it a bowtie. Genius.

*Number 63: Danni Boatwright (Winner of Guatemala; Winners at War)- I love Danni, and I appreciate her whole under the radar play in Guatemala, only letting production know the bare minimum, trying to keep her name out of people’s minds as much as possible. It’s hard to rank Danni because her Winners at War game was pretty brutal. She got her game blown up when she put Rob’s name out there, came clean and apologized, Rob earned her trust, but then she went and tried to turn on Parvati. It was a rough few episodes. That being said, you can’t deny how impressive her Guatemala game is. She also beat a returning player, which—if you had told someone after Palau that Steph would make final two and lose to a newbie—people would’ve called you crazy. She also made a big move in calling out that Gary Hawkins was really NFL player Gary Hogeboom. She had a keen sense of observation, and used her profession to her advantage. She’s a very underrated winner, and had she not blundered on Winners at War, I’d have her a lot higher. The best player Guatemala had to offer.

*Number 62: Erik Reichenbach (Micronesia; Caramoan)- Erik is an icon for all the wrong reasons. He should be hailed for being a comp beast, managing to get the tribe to vote Ami out over him in the pre-merge, and making it all the way to final five in Caramoan. Instead, Erik is remembered for giving away his immunity necklace, and being medevaced at final 5 in Caramoan. He made one dumb move that cost him his whole Survivor reputation, but I do think you have to look at his overall gameplay, which is rather impressive. He has lived on in Survivor infamy (appearing in both the HvV and Ghost Island reunions shows), and has built a name amongst the community. I do think Erik had a great game in Micronesia, being able to win comps and outlast people like Ozzy and James, becoming the ultimate underdog until his disastrous final episode. He lived every fan’s dream of playing with players like Amanda, Cirie, Parvati, Ozzy, James, Ami, and Eliza (amongst many others), and I think he was super easy to root for. If he gets a third shot (which he sadly probably won’t), I do think he’d be a force to be reckoned with because he showed so much promise at a young age and could do some damage at his older, wiser state of existence.

*Number 61: Kenny Hoang (Gabon)- Yes, I have Kenny above Bob AND Matty, and that’s because the primary strategic gameplay on Gabon came from Kenny. He ran the gambit of the pre-merge. While Matty was kept around for challenge strength and good relationships, Kenny kept HIMSELF around, being an underestimated underdog. Nobody estimated just how smart Kenny was. Gabon is known for underdogs, and there was no better underdog than Ken. He let people go after one another, sending bigger personalities out earlier on, but once the merge came around, Kenny was able to be instrumental in blindsiding Marcus AND Charlie, two of the most well positioned players in the game. Kenny and Crystal were a dynamic duo, but while Crystal got a lot of attention for being more outspoken and confrontational, Kenny was able to slide by and become the puppet master behind the scenes. I was incredibly impressed by his game, and the only thing that bit him in the end was just that everyone saw through his strategic prowess eventually. It was cool to see a bit of a rivalry between Kenny and Bob emerge in the final moments of the season, though Bob ultimately won challenges and Kenny couldn’t (despite winning one earlier in the merge). I think Ken is a great strategist and would do well on almost every season you put him on. The best strategist of Gabon that was only two tribals away from a win. Lots of Gabon rep on this list…I can’t complain.

That was my top 70-61. So here are some clues for the next batch of contestants on the list. Let’s see if you can guess.

60. This player is a much more new-school player, and found success working for CBS beyond their season(s).
59. This player, despite playing three times, has oddly never been involved with a tribe swap! An icon of the game, and possibly the greatest Survivor character of all time.
58. This player is the last player to be VOTED OUT on Day 38 of Survivor.
57. This player played alongside a certain cast-mate THREE separate times, and lost to them all three times.
56. This winner was supposed to be first boot of their season but ended up making it all the way and getting the victory.
55. This is the only winner to never make a “merge.” Keyword: MERGE.
54. This player was a fan favorite that came up just short of the final three because of fire making, after overcoming a close-call and almost being medevaced earlier on in their season.
53. This three time player has always made the merge, but has been voted out of the game FOUR times.
52. This legendary villain played the game and became an instant favorite despite never watching a day of the show in their life. They were so notorious, they were asked BACK a second time, and played second-in-command to the season’s eventual winner (another iconic villain).
51. This one time player got smaller screen time than others on the list, but made their mark, outlasting all the returnees on their season and making the finale.

If you have any guesses for the next installment of the list, please drop them below. What do you think of numbers 61-70 on the list? Looking forward to sharing 51-60 next time. STAY TUNED FOR LISTS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY!

#survivor
#casting

Comments

60. Malcolm??
59. Coach?
58. Tai??
57. James?
56. Nick?
55. Tom
54. Cydney?
53. Andrea?
52. Courtney?
51. Victoria??

Sent by Lemjam6,Aug 27, 2020

Lemjam6 WOW I'm impressed, you got all but ONE of them. Maybe I should make these harder...

Sent by PowerRankings101,Aug 27, 2020

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Top 100 Survivor Players Power Rankings (#70-61)

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