Each week during this season of Survivor, I’ll be ranking the castaways in terms of best chance to win the game. Last week, Ali was voted off after being ranked No. 5 of the 13 remaining players.
Week 7 Power Rankings:
1. Chrissy (Last week: 3): Ryan got the blood on his hands with the Ali mess while Chrissy stayed out of it. Meanwhile, she goes into the merge with three loyal allies — Ryan, Ben and now JP — and won’t be viewed as a physical threat. Watch out, everyone!
2. Ryan (Last week: 2): Ryan did not handle the Ali situation well, and I question his moves the last couple weeks. That said, the self-described “friggin’ weasel” won’t be a target early in the merge and now has time to work some magic.
3. Ben (Last week: 1): Now that the merge is here, I’m worried he could be viewed as a physical threat and get booted. I don’t think that’s the case because of his social relationships, but it’s concerning enough to drop him a couple spots.
4. Mike (Last week: 4): Mike is pushing himself (he caught a small fish!) and also playing a smart game. He has an idol and a couple strong allies, and he also won’t be targeted as a physical threat in the post-merge game.
5. Joe (Last week: 10): I’ve been hot and cold on Joe all year, but he is dangerous and can play hard in the merged tribe now — especially since he has an idol. At the same time, he could also get voted off any week.
6. Devon (Last week: 6): How will Devon fare in the post-merge tribe. He’s got Ashley and Ryan, to be sure. Can he end up in the majority?
7. Ashley (Last week: 8): I’m not sure how strong of a position she’ll be in on the merged tribe. If Devon can bring her into a Chrissy/Ryan/JP alliance, though, she could last for awhile.
8. Lauren (Last week: 9): She’s not playing a bad game, but where will she fall in the post-merge alliances? That’s my biggest worry for her at the moment.
9. Jessica (Last week: 7): It feels like she’s ultimately going to get dragged down by Cole somehow. I wish she’d just forget him and play the game for herself.
10. Desi (Last week: 11): A couple people have mentioned I’m underestimating her, but I just don’t see her chances as being very strong. And in the post-merge tribe, will she have the numbers?
11. JP (Last week: 12): JP continues to play the “provider” game, but that’s all out the window now in the merged tribe. Now he’s just a physical threat who doesn’t know the game very well, although Chrissy and Ryan may carry him to the final three.
12. Cole (Last week: 13): He catches a fish and doesn’t share the fish. It just shows the type of player he is, although it’s getting to the point where the tribe might go after bigger targets (since they know he won’t win).
Eliminated:
Week 1: Katrina (ranked No. 6 of 18 remaining players)
Week 2: Simone (ranked No. 17 of 17 remaining players)
Week 3: Patrick (ranked No. 16 of 16 remaining players)
Week 4: Alan (ranked No. 13 of 15 remaining players)
Week 5: Roark (ranked No. 10 of 14 remaining players)
Week 6: Ali (ranked No. 5 of 13 remaining players)