Hello jury!!! I would like to start by congratulating Aria on reaching the final 2 with me!!! And special shoutout to Rubes as well, who was in our iconic final 3 and who was sadly Cirie’d this season.
So, I know coming into this final tribal council that a lot of you are going to be praising Aria’s game for being able to make it to the end again as a prior winner. However, I also came into this season as a prior finalist, and I honestly believe I played the best game this season and that I deserve to win All Stars. So I really hope you’ll all hear me out and listen to what I have to say, instead of voting based on preconceived notions from other seasons.
My main move this season was forming the massive eight person alliance that ran this season. This came to fruition after the second swap on Chisei. I had been sad and down in the game as two of my closest allies, Washed and Gustavo, were rocked out back to back, and I had realized that TJ had flipped on my alliance with him, Gustavo and Rubes. So, I decided to create an alliance and start spreading rumors that there was already a mega alliance on the other side and that we had to team up to take them down. I was able to recruit and convince Crypt, Ryan, Cameron, Logan and Vincent to align with me, and promised that I could get Aria and Rubes to unite with us come merge and have a solid group of 8. This obviously worked splendidly, as I was able to connect Livingston, Josh, TJ, Nik and Billy to each other as they were left on each others’ friends lists and in each others’ bios. Even if you five weren’t working together, I had made it seem like you were, which helped me in creating this alliance.
Knowing how precarious the situation after the third swap was, I was able to help convince this new alliance to throw the challenge to ensure that I wouldn’t be taken out and that the 8 of us could come together again come merge.
Come merge, our 8 was finally able to come together, but I knew I needed protection. After it was evident that Logan was attempting to flip and Vincent was talking to both sides, I was able to form a smaller group of 6 with Crypt, Aria, Rubes, Ryan and Cameron, who were the five people I knew I could trust the most in the game and who would never vote me out. While the Ryan vote went awry because of Vincent “self voting” and Logan flipping, the remaining five of us were able to stick together and proved to be a strong force.
Also at merge, I created a final 3 with myself, Aria and Rubes. Aria and Rubes are two of my favorite people in general and I love playing with them, so by getting the three of us to work together, it also solidified that when my 5 person alliance got too close to the end, that I could just side with Aria and Rubes and that would take me to the end of the game, which is also what happened.
Another instrumental moment in my game was the Crypt vote off. Crypt had been on every single tribe with me and was one of my closest allies, but I knew that he had an idol in his possession, and also assumed that he would not bring me to the end, as he knew all I was thinking and that I was at the forefront of creating all these groups. He had also been suspicious of my bond with Aria and Rubes, and I had to keep that under wraps as I knew that come the final 6, that we would have a smooth ride to the final 3. Plus, I knew that Crypt would’ve been able to pull Vincent and Cameron to his side to vote with him, and with the idol, he would’ve been able to take me out when he deemed fit. So, using my alliance of 3, we reached out to Pietro and took out, who I perceived, to be the biggest threat left in the game with an idol in his pocket. The move greatly hurt me, but I knew that it needed to be done if I wanted to be sitting at the end where I am now.
I also would like to clarify why I went to rocks at final 6. I know some of you probably think I’m a fool for going for rocks for Aria. But, the difference is, I KNEW Aria and Rubes would both take me to the end, because I knew I was closer to each of them individually than they were to each other. However, I knew that Pietro, Vincent and Cameron all would not take me to the end, and would’ve taken me out the very next vote had I flipped on Aria. Therefore, I knew drawing for rocks was my only chance at making it to the end.
I know a lot of you are praising Aria for surviving her 27 votes this season. And that is an accomplishment. However, everyone MADE Aria a threat by voting for her countless times this season. I would also like to point out that I helped Aria align with people like Rubes, TJ and Gustavo premerge, who, besides TJ, did protect her during that stage. However, Aria had not known them too much prior to this season, but I worked on ensuring that all my allies were aligned and working together, as that would help me down the line.
I love Aria so much and I am so honored and happy that the two of us made it to the end together after saying we would at the very beginning of this game. I just hope you all can recognize how much work and effort I put into this season in building bonds and alliances that helped me make it to where I am now. I also had 10 votes cast against me all season and successfully played an idol. I truly believe that I played the superior game this season, and I’m hoping that you all consider THIS season alone and what we accomplished THIS season, and not base your vote off of how someone played in a prior season. Thank you all so much for reading this far in, and I will be glad to answer any and all questions you may have :)