Hi Jury!

This game was an absolute rollercoaster for me. I didn't come into this game with a lot of people who I knew would have my back 100%. We had people who were viewed as pairs like Marwane & Chris, Alf & Patrick, Mike & Darrius, but I didn't have a pair coming in and I didn't really have anybody that stuck by my side for the entirety of the game.

My gameplay was extremely fluid and despite being in the minority of a lot of the votes, I maintained strong social connections with basically the entire cast even if they had voted differently than I did. While other people were making big moves and getting themselves targeted, I was relying on my relationships to keep me safe regardless of the fact that I was consistently voting for people who didn't go home.

I had strong bonds all across the board, even with the people who I had voted for multiple times. I turned my enemy into an ally after approaching Matt with an offer to work together since nobody was letting us take each other out. I did the same with Jake and was able to turn him from my #1 enemy before Max's exit to my #1 ally after. I was consistently safe from the vote because of the way I maneuvered socially and turned adversaries into new allies.

I also was very upfront and honest this game. I told minimal lies, only towards the end of the game, so a lot of people trusted my word and wanted to keep me safe because of that. I think I played an honorable game whereas my two fellow finalists unnecessarily lied and created enemies both in the game and on the Jury. Everyone knew where I stood, yet nobody ever wanted to take a shot at me.

Finally, I would like to highlight that despite going to the most Tribal Councils (all but one), I received less votes than either one of the other finalists and the one time I did receive votes I was able to use an idol to negate them. In short, I have 0 valid votes cast against me after 15 Tribal Councils, 14 of which I attended.

I am open to any and all questions. This was a really fun game and I have no hard feelings whatsoever. Good luck to Chris & Matt, may the best player win!

Hi guys. Firstly, I want to congratulate the other finalists on making it this far. It wasn’t easy to make it here and there were a lot of great players to get past in order to get here. We each took our own path, all of which led us to finale. No one can take that away from us.

My game has been all about adaptation and mending relationships. I was able to work with anyone in order to advance my game and take out the people I considered to be the biggest threats to my game. I was always looking to vote out people who I thought were closer to others than me, because then I could slip into that spot and become tighter with the people they were close with.

Throughout the game I made deals and formed alliances strategically to get myself into the best positions possible, while also letting my social game take over at certain points to gain people’s trust who I wouldn’t have otherwise had. I never let a possible relationship slip away even if we had voted against each other the round before, and only lied when absolutely necessary (ALL of the lies I told had a purpose). Even when I had to lie I made sure I immediately got back in the good books of whoever I lied to. This let me continue to make the moves I wanted to make, and most of you on jury are there in part because of me. I know that might make me public enemy number 1, but I hope y’all can respect the moves I made.

I think the biggest difference between me and the other 2 people sitting here with me is that I played a more strategic game. The entire game I was making moves and positioning myself to vote off people I considered threats, or those that I felt were obstructing a relationship I wanted to gain with another player. I think the other 2 here were comfortable for most of the game with their relationships and didn’t play a big part in most of the vote offs. I get that strategy because it manages to keep jury members happy, but what part does it actually play in how the game went? I don’t think it plays much of a part at all. I do love the other 2 sitting here, but that’s how I see it.

I’m gonna give a quick breakdown of each of the jurors and hopefully this will help further my point.

Ashley – I voted out Ash a few votes prior, but I was still able to mend things and become closer with her again. We voted together in the vote she was sent home due to Jake’s idol, and had she stayed she would have been a close ally because I was able to mend that relationship.

Alvaro – I didn’t talk a lot with Alvaro post-merge because I knew he was a number for Maxi that had to be taken out. This was strategic on my part, I didn’t want to build a relationship that I knew I was going to break soon after. Also by voting him out, Max became more anxious and was more willing to make a big move.

Mike – I felt alright with Mike and was able to work with him in previous votes, but I had to cut down numbers for people like Anthony and Austin so that they would feel closer to me, and unfortunately Mike was a victim of that.

Marwane – After Marwane got best social player, I knew he would have to go. It made a lot of sense for me to take Marwane out and cause a divide between Max and Chris, one that immensely helped my game. This also is the vote where I became Chris’ final 2, something that saved my game later on.

Max – Max is one of the people I feel demonstrates the points I am making the most. I was able to work with him and be adaptable even after he blindsided me because I knew it wouldn’t make sense for me to cut the relationship off at that point. Max saved me the vote after because I was willing to still work with him. I waited for the right moment to make the move and then struck. People probably credit Chris with this move because he was the one who was screaming at Max, but in reality Austin and I probably played the larger role.

Austin – Dad. Austin was someone I was pretty shaky on at merge, but he was an absolute stud this game and was my f2. I think voting out the people I did early in merge really solidified that I was his number 1, and that would benefit me as Austin told me everything he was hearing and was a 2nd pair of ears for me. In a game full of people I somewhat knew prior to coming in, it was someone who I didn’t know who ended up being my closest ally. That proves how adaptable I was, because I knew Austin was best for my game even if I didn’t know him outside the game at all. We would’ve been in the finals together if it wasn’t for Anthony’s idol ☹

Jake - … I really do feel bad about voting Jake so many times. At first he was just a Maxi number, but he became a vital part of the late game and someone I knew I had to get rid of. Even though we were constantly at each other this game, we STILL managed to work together a little bit (IE. the Marwane vote) and this was because I was able to somewhat mend our relationship, at least for a vote. He was a great underdog, which is why he had to go when he did.

Isaac – I don’t know what to say here. I tried to communicate with Isaac but he wasn’t responding lmao. He did randomly vote out Jake so king for that!
And now a little bit about the other 2!

Chris – King. I took him far because I knew he was 100% always a vote to save me (see last tribal) and because I think I outshined him on a game level. That’s not to say I don’t think he made any moves, but I feel like he played very emotionally (understandable) and didn’t always do what was right for his game.

Anthony – Alright, so I love Anthony and think it’s likely he will win because he hasn’t pissed off the jury which is, of course, great gameplay. BUT what exactly did he do strategically this game? None of the moves made were his except his idol play which was a necessity. His social game was phenomenal and his jury management was great, but I don’t think he actually PLAYED the game like I did.

So yeah, I hope that explains my game for you all. It was all about being adaptable and putting myself in a better position to win, whether that be by voting out a threat or voting out someone so that I could get closer to someone else. I think I had the perfect blend of physical, social, and strategic play. I hope you guys don’t just vote based on who didn’t vote you out, and instead vote for who actually made moves in this game.

Oh, and also, I won the 2 most important immunities of the season for my game. That being the one where Maxi got voted out (if I lost Max would've won immunity), and the one where I would’ve been voted out otherwise at final 5.

I welcome any and all questions. Good luck Chris and Anthony <3

Hello Jurors! Wow what a ride and definitely a weigh lifted off my shoulders. Coming into this vote, I know Im looked upon as the weakest of the three but my under the radar gameplay should not be overlooked and disregarded as wrong.
My game has been unique to the standard experience, joining with the most obvious duo (the longest standing one of the four) but played completely different sides than him, both coincidental due to swaps and personal likeability but also strategy, to cover both fronts and remain protected for as long as possible.

Personally, I believe my resume coming to you is stronger than it appears.
After a strong start of tribal wins, every time I voted in minority (patrick, alvaro, marwane) I was able to regain majority the exact tribal after and got out the people I considered the masterminds behind my blindside. Unlike anyone in the game my targets were CLEAR, starting from Darrius, who was guaranteed a spot in one of these chairs if he was allowed to merge and I succeeded in evicting him on a 3-2-2 vote that flushed a double vote. I consider this the second biggest and most defining move of the game that none of the other finalists participated in. Now you may ask what was the biggest move? It also had my name on it and it was my biggest blowout of this game aka Maxi. An ally who despite knowing his amazing gameplay will trump mine I would have allowed to make finals if he had shown me loyalty but after spearheading the eviction of Marwane, I publicly targeted him, evicted him and flushed his idol.

Whether its hiding my strong loyalty to Austin and Matt from Day 1, to foreseeing that Isaac will send a list and getting in his good graces to ensure the moves that I was able to achieve in the final rounds were achieved, to playing dead to diminish my target after merge (which was the deciding factor that sent marwane home over me), moves that I have not shared all helped me be in this position.

Through the ups and downs of this game I can genuinely say I dont have ill will for any of you and I hope regardless if you dont see me as a winner you think the same.

Some short tributes before questions:

-ashley although i didnt understand your decision to go against me premerge, i see now that i underestimated your relationship with darrius, regardless my targetting you was definitely overplayed so as to shift focus from my friends on opposite sides and to try to steal austin and matt from you

-alvaro truly one of my favorite people in this cast who I would gladly be sitting next to. Probably the biggest blindside for me of the game and one of the two “fights” i had with marwane in this game. You talked to maxi about jake being the vote, maxi told marwane, they freaked out that he would play an idol and that was your end. You deserved better

- mike : you truly seem like a person i could be great friends with, but with the lying in this game anyone that had a reason to turn on me I feel like eventually would and our lack of communication and trust stopped me from trusting you too much. Plus you seemed to me like the most likeable and an easy winner pick.

- marwane : my best friend, from doing most confessionals together to fighting to laughing to stressing i only played this because you were in it and without you it wouldnt have been worth it. Much love broski

- max : despite out public showdown and eventual make up, a truly great friend, a stellar character and an insane gameplayer. I dont think this season was ready for a supervillain winner like yourself so I had to do the dirty work and take care of that

-austin : probably because we’ve known each other for YEARS, maybe because you’re so chill and kind, i never had a doubt about you from the start. In a weird way i was sad to see you go but if you were here you were the definite winner and I wouldnt hsve the balls to take you out.

-jake : a person i really vibed with on a personal level but unfortunately was forced to go against. You really were the cat with the 7 lives and you should be proud of the game you played.

- isaac if you were active i think the game mightve been a bit easier for me to play but I understand you needing time off. You’re a great guy we’ll stay in touch

Thank you! Plz post many questions im ready to spill the tea as they say. Peaceeeeee
Matt my loyal brother, my pick for f3 from the star GL
Anthony stop being mad GL U TOO

Sorry for spelling its 7 am here :/

I'm just gonna keep this short and sweet and ask you guys each a question that I feel would tie in with the relationship I had with each and every one of you, and I was this to be answered as honestly as possible and if you bullshit me I'll know, and I'll base my vote around the answers you guys give me.

ANTHONY : What strategic moves have you made in this game, that you felt benefited you the most? Like, what was your peak point in the game, that you think would make you more deserving over Matt and Chris? Without saying that all your other fellow finalists did was lie, which I think is a natural part of the game. Do you think me giving you my idol is a big part of the reason as to why you are sitting here?

CHRIS : You mentioned you were the leader of me getting voted out, however, I quite frankly disagree with that a lot and I think you are giving yourself a lot of credit, despite many people believing most of your game was hiding behind Marwane and letting him do the talking. I want you to tell me, what was your biggest move in the game, aside from targeting me, that makes you deserving to win this game? Also, prove to us that your game wasn't emotional, but it was rather strategic.

MATT : I think you played a good game mid-merge, but before that, I feel like your game lacked any substance and it made you very vanilla in terms of a character/person that I enjoyed talking to in this game. Your game seems to be a very shallow version of Austin's, which most of the Jury can attest to. Tell us which moves you made in the game, without bringing in the assistance of Austin? I wanna know what you did, on your own.

My thoughts:
I think this is a very okay Final 3. I don't think all three of you played flawlessly, but I think you're all aware of the flaws that you did. And I can't really speak on that myself because I'm sitting on the Jury. However, I think a lot of you are giving yourself and you guys aren't being honest in your speeches.

Chris, I don't think you masterminded my elimination at all, I give that credit to Matt and Austin. They reacted based off of YOUR emotion. I don't think you benefited from me leaving at all because you were brought to Final Tribal Council as a goat, not as a strategic force in the game. I think Marwane also had a big role in you making it here as well, because if it weren't for him (and to some extent, me saving you AND Matt), you'd be gone earlier.

Matt, I don't see you mentioning that I literally saved your game pre-merge at all either. I also think you lacked a lot of personality and empathy to make me wanna draw my vote your way. I think if you showed more character and actually tried to sharpen your connection with other players, it would make my decision much, much clearer.

Anthony, I think you do owe a lot of your game to me because you literally played the same game I would've played had I used my idol at Final 7. I think what makes me shaky of voting you is your lack of dedication to the game early on. I think if you would've given it a bit more, I would 100% lock you in as my Jury vote.

okay imma ask my basic question because i like this one

why do you think the other two people should win? i want 2-3 sentences per person but not any more than that because i am illiterate

i also wanna know a reason why you should win and a reason why you should lose, in 1-3 sentences

if u dont answer my question im 100% not voting you over my dead body

MATT : I think you played a good game mid-merge, but before that, I feel like your game lacked any substance and it made you very vanilla in terms of a character/person that I enjoyed talking to in this game. Your game seems to be a very shallow version of Austin's, which most of the Jury can attest to. Tell us which moves you made in the game, without bringing in the assistance of Austin? I wanna know what you did, on your own.

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I'm not 100% sure of what you mean by "lacked substance", but I think you just mean I wasn't a big personality in the game. I agree with that. I don't usually like to make myself a huge personality because those tend to be the targets, take yourself for example. I get what you are saying about being vanilla, and honestly part of that really is just my personality. I'm pretty level-headed and although I like to think I have a personality, it probably doesn't show much in a game like this. I don't think you necessarily NEED to have that personality to be able to connect with people, though, and I think I was able to make the connections I had to and that is part of the reason I am sitting here.

As for the question, I honestly didn't become super close to Austin until after the Mike vote. Before that we had talked and were sorta working together, but the trust wasn't there. I think the biggest move I made without Austin would be the Mike vote. Austin did not want Mike out, and had made me aware of that. He even tried to get me to flip to Marwane. I knew that I needed Mike out though, and I got Austin to vote Mike out as well. This is why we ended up so tight. With Mike in the game, I am a lot less close with both Anthony and Austin as they would've had Mike as another number. I don't think my end game could've gone as it did had I not been part of the move to get Mike out.

Also, once Austin was out I was still able to make it here. I voted out someone I considered to be a huge underdog in Jake and also convinced Chris to save me over someone who probably wouldn't have received a single vote.

Another thing I will say is that you always need other people to make moves. Austin was someone I had on my side and we made a lot of decisions together mid-merge. We both wanted things done and were seeing eye to eye on the votes, it wasn't like I had no say in anything and just rolled with whatever he wanted. We happened to have similar targets for a few votes and got things done. I don't think either of us would say we take majority credit for those votes.

Matt, I don't see you mentioning that I literally saved your game pre-merge at all either. I also think you lacked a lot of personality and empathy to make me wanna draw my vote your way. I think if you showed more character and actually tried to sharpen your connection with other players, it would make my decision much, much clearer.

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I did mention it when I was talking about you in my speech! But yes, you saved my ass. Of course I appreciated it but it also was just another move you made that made it impossible to take you far in this game. I think part of this was that you felt I wouldn't have made a move against you at the time, and that was part of the way I tried to portray myself in this game. I wanted to look passive and like I was afraid of making moves because then people would trust me and take me further, thinking that I wouldn't go against them.

I think at times I came across shady and game-oriented, which is what you are getting at. I could've done a better job in that area, I agree. I guess I was trying to separate the game from emotions because I did not want to play emotionally. I do think I had at least decent connections with most of the people on the jury at one point or another though, and those connections were in part what got me here.

why do you think the other two people should win? i want 2-3 sentences per person but not any more than that because i am illiterate

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This is a very funny question.

I think Chris' best argument to win is that he was able to be the last one standing from the pre-existing group of friends that entered this game. One by one they were picked off, but Chris stayed. He was able to outlast them through his other relationships and gameplay, no matter what you think of said gameplay.

I think Anthony's best argument to win is very clearly his social game. He made sure to always keep good relationships with the jury, while simultaneously having good enough in game relationships to make it to the end.

i also wanna know a reason why you should win and a reason why you should lose, in 1-3 sentences

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I should win because I was the best game player in the final 3. I made the most moves and set myself up to be here. I was able to combine the 3 pillars (physical, strategic, and social) in a way that the other 2 could not.

I should lose because I couldn't keep strong relationships with the jury. Being a part of almost every jury members vote off definitely leaves a mark, and although I felt as though it's what I had to do, that doesn't change the fact that I could have managed the jury better.

ANTHONY : What strategic moves have you made in this game, that you felt benefited you the most? Like, what was your peak point in the game, that you think would make you more deserving over Matt and Chris? Without saying that all your other fellow finalists did was lie, which I think is a natural part of the game. Do you think me giving you my idol is a big part of the reason as to why you are sitting here?

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I think the moves that benefited me the most were the ones I made early on. As I stated in my speech, I feel like I played an almost entirely honest game when it came to voting and letting people know where I stood. I stood my ground on who I wanted gone and in doing so cemented a lot of strong allies early on. Examples include voting out Alf to keep Jake and voting out Patrick over Ashley pre-merge. In doing these things, I solidified my trust with almost half the cast before the Merge even began.

I had strong connections with Ashley, Alvaro, Mike, Marwane, & you entering the Merge, so I knew that no matter what I'd be safe for the first few votes as I was also in good with Austin by extension of Ashley, Jake by extension of you, & Chris by extension of Marwane.

Once the Merge hit, my close bonds were dropping one by one, but I was not discouraged as I knew that those were votes for me on the Jury and I was able to bounce back and create new bonds along the way. Every single person beyond the Merge trusted me to some extent (with the exception of Isaac) at some point and that is not an easy feat to accomplish.

I **WANTED** to make big moves. I wanted Matt to leave pre-merge, but you were actually the person who saved him. I wanted to band together with myself, Marwane, Chris, Max, & Jake, but you guys couldn't find a way to make it work. I was left to pick up the pieces after the civil war that left Alvaro, Mike, Marwane, & Max on the Jury when we all easily could have made it to the end.

If the people I was working with early-mid Merge had listened to me, we would have all made it far and 3 of us (maybe not even me) would be sitting here. However, other people's failures led to their own downfalls and I made sure that they didn't drag me down with them. Self-preservation was the only move I had left to make and luckily it was the strategy that carried me to the end of the game.

Just because I didn't pull off huge flashy blindsides every Tribal doesn't mean I wasn't willing to make moves and do what was needed to win the game. I relied on me, myself, & I to make it to the end.

In regards to your idol, it definitely is a huge factor as to why I'm here considering if you hadn't given it to me, I would've been given 6th. However, even if you had used it on yourself instead, I do believe that I would still be sitting here. The game would've essentially been Me/you/Jake vs Chris/Matt/Austin with some potential for wiggle room and I would have probably been in the best position with that dynamic due to my relationships with both sides and the target that you and Jake as a pair would've had on your back. I 100% would've been safe in that scenario.

why do you think the other two people should win? i want 2-3 sentences per person but not any more than that because i am illiterate

i also wanna know a reason why you should win and a reason why you should lose, in 1-3 sentences

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I think Chris should win because he survived a number of close votes despite many people actively targeting him. He had one of the bigger targets on his back entering this game and he somehow managed to make it to the Final Tribal Council.

I think Matt should win because he seemed to consistently be in a good position despite doing well in Immunities and being a known threat. He seemed to be a part of the decision-making process on a lot of the names that entered Ponderosa throughout the later stages of the game.

I should win because I overcame the most adversity out of the people here at the Final Tribal Council. I was straightforward and didn't need to come off as overly fake to make my way to the end unscathed.

I should lose because I didn't make ~*BIG MEWVZ*~ and I wasn't on the inside of some of the things that happened when we got to the Merge.

Hello Max!

For me, my emotional game was in many ways strategic. The most obvious way is that as a person who values loyalty, when trust or communication is broken (from either side) its hard for me to put those people above others who have been loyal and therefore attempts to amend things just come off as fake or lying, which also happened in a couple of cases in this game. However, and most importantly, my emotion was controlled by my strategy. Could I have worked with Darrius and Mike with Marwane and have a strong 4 person core? Yes, but Darrius was close to way more people than I was and would eventually flip on me… like he did. Could I have targeted Austin or Matt over you for the Marwane vote, once again sure, but I saw you as my best option to 1. Get the obvious allies of matt and Austin and regain majority 2. Get the person out who I thought had the best chance of winning.

On the topic of your eviction, I strongly disagree with your opinion that it wasn’t my move and here is why. When it came to throwing your name out, when others said “I haven’t heard anything yet” I was the first with the balls to say your name and push for it. I was the one who talked to Isaac and convinced him you’re the way to go, which ensured your eviction and even when Anthony made last ditch efforts to save you, I was the first to know… and leak to Austin and matt to ensure they trust that I’m sticking to the plan. At the end of the day 1 different vote could have prevented your eviction and yes I agree that matt and Austin grabbed the opportunity by its horns but I don’t believe that opportunity would even be on the table without me.

When it comes to Marwane, I now VERY strongly disagree. When it comes to benefit to my game, Marwane’s existence in this game was likely much more damaging than actually beneficial and vice versa. To begin with, we were never on the same tribe pre merge aka the first half of this game. When it comes to the rest of the game, Marwane and I had completely opposite alliances, voted differently in almost every tribal we were in together, increased each others targets by a lot , were not able to convince each other to work with our respective friends ( Alvaro and matt in my case, Darrius and mike in his) and the one vote he actually flipped to help me was his demise. The only true benefit I see from him was information and mental wellbeing.

Hello Ash!

Matt- I would vote for Matt to win because I believe he was able to navigate best how to make big moves without becoming a target/ make enemies. Like he mentioned in his speech, although his voting pattern more likely resembled that of a flip flopper, he exuded loyalty and trust throughout the game.

Anthony - His ultimate advantage is his jury management. When thinking about final 3, I knew that Anthony had voted minority every single merge tribal except for the one that he used an idol in, which he also was on the wrong side of the vote and wanted to use that against him. However, after cooperation with my friend Austin we realised that his decision to vote minority is likely a very good strategy. He was able to remain friends with the people pushing for a specific vote, and despite knowing which way the vote was going voted differently and often acted surprised by the results he was aware would take place (maxi), which I’m sure has gained him great favour as loyal and an underdog.

2nd question:

I think my reasoning for winning is that despite being most targeted from the other two, and made the biggest moves, I was able to maneuver myself back into majority.

I think my reason for losing is that my real life schedule and timezone often conflicted with the game and I wasn’t able to voice/ show my moves as heavily as others.