Tag: survivor heroes healers hustlers

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).

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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)

Each week during this season of Survivor, I’ll be ranking the castaways in terms of best chance to win the game. Last week, Roark was voted off after being ranked No. 10 of the 14 remaining players.

Week 6 Power Rankings: 

1. Ben (Last week: 4): He didn’t show anything strategically in the last episode to get him moved up, it’s just more that the top three — Ryan, Chrissy and Ali — left me a bit more uncertain about their long-term prospects.

2. Ryan (Last week: 1): Look, Ryan did the right thing by keeping his ally Chrissy in the game — even at the risk of angering Ali. Hopefully he can mend fences with Ali. If not, he made a huge mistake by not getting Ali on board with the Roark vote. Never blindside your own allies. How will he explain this one?

3. Chrissy (Last week: 2): Ryan saved her this time, and I still really believe in her long-term game. But she can’t have too many more close calls like that.

4. Mike (Last week: 5): You can never underestimate Dr. Mike! That’s according to Dr. Mike, anyway. And heck, he found the immunity idol and formed more of a bond with Jessica. All good news!

5. Ali (Last week: 3): It was harsh news to Ali to find out ally Ryan didn’t vote with her when she wanted Chrissy out. This next episode is crucial to see how she moves on from that.

6. Devon (Last week: 6): It’s the Ashley/Devon show over on the blue tribe, but we’ll see what happens in a two-two split. Would they really go to rocks?

7. Jessica (Last week: 11): She’s starting to move up the ladder. I was impressed that she was willing to work with Dr. Mike and they found the idol together. If she doesn’t rely on Cole for everything, it could be helpful for her game in the long run.

8. Ashley (Last week: 8): It’s good that she and Devon are on the same page, and if they could get Joe out, it would be a major accomplishment. But they’ll probably need to pull in Desi to do that, and I don’t know if they can.

9. Lauren (Last week: 7): She didn’t do anything wrong, but I don’t really feel like she has a great alliance with anyone (the kind that would protect her if she really became a target).

10. Joe (Last week: 9): Look, Joe is very smart. But I’m not sure he can successfully play like Tony all the way to the end. That’s why I’m going to keep him lower in the rankings for now.

11. Desi (Last week: 12): We just don’t see much of Desi on the show. It’s hard to know if she’s making any moves, but I don’t think she is.

12. JP (Last week: 13): Each week, JP is sort of just…there. You have to play strategically in order to win.

13. Cole (Last week: 14): The spoon-licker with gross habits and a huge mouth isn’t going to win.

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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)

Each week during this season of Survivor, I’ll be ranking the castaways in terms of best chance to win the game. Last week, Alan was voted off after being ranked No. 13 of the 15 remaining players.

Week 5 Power Rankings: 

1. Ryan (Last week: 3): A great stroke of fortune to end up on the same tribe as Chrissy after gifting her the super idol in Week 1. Very few people will look at him as a threat at this point, and that should help him make the merge.

2. Chrissy (Last week: 4): She’s in a great position again, going right from one ally (Ben) to another (Ryan). And she’s got the instant bond with Ryan thanks to the super idol gift. I like her chances more and more, because she has a great social game.

3. Ali (Last week: 2): She’s on a remade tribe with two Heroes (Chrissy and JP), two Hustlers (herself and Ryan) and Roark in the middle. But I feel like JP would be the first target there, so I think she may be OK.

4. Ben (Last week: 1): He didn’t do anything wrong to get moved down after I had him at the top of the rankings all season, but he’s in an unfavorable position on his new tribe (which has three Healers, only one Hero and one Hustler, which is Lauren). So he needs to survive that first cut, which could be tricky.

 

5. Mike (Last week: 5): I’m going to keep Mike in the top five for now, if for no other reason than he has a clear majority on his new tribe (the one with three Healers). So he’s likely not going home in the next couple weeks.

6. Devon (Last week: 6): He got screwed by the vote steal last week (“That is not a secret advantage!”) and I wonder where this leaves him. Hopefully he can scramble to join up with Ashley and keep fighting that way.

7. Lauren (Last week: 8): She showed some social smarts by telling Mike the information about Jessica’s advantage that Cole had stupidly relayed to her. If she keeps that up, she could make the merge — although she’s in a terrible position with the numbers on her new tribe. She and Ben need to form an alliance and see if they can pull Mike in.

8. Ashley (Last week: 7): She had everything set up well and looked like she’d be OK playing with Alan out of necessity, and then the secret advantage craziness ruined her side’s plans. I’m not sure where this leaves her and Devon.

9. Joe (Last week: 14): Just when you think Joe is a poor man’s Tony, he somehow scrambles and pulls off a crazy move. Is it possible he could keep this up? I don’t know, but it’s interesting to watch.

10. Roark (Last week: 9): The tribe Roark ended up on puts her as the swing vote for whenever the first tribal council happens. She should be safe for now if she navigates that correctly.

11. Jessica (Last week: 11): She misplayed the secret advantage (should have used it to take away Alan or Ashley’s vote, not Devon), but it still ended up working out anyway. Still, I don’t think she is a serious threat to win.

12. Desi (Last week: 12): She’s sort of along for the ride right now with Joe, which probably isn’t a very comfortable place to be.

13. JP (Last week: 10): It’s clear by listening to other players that JP has no respect as a competitor. Aside from working around camp, he’s not playing the game at all. So he won’t be winning the million dollars.

14. Cole (Last week: 15): This guy has such a big mouth. No one can trust him, not even Jessica. That’s not how you win Survivor.

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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)

Each week during this season of Survivor, I’ll be ranking the castaways in terms of best chance to win the game. Last week, Patrick was voted off after being ranked No. 16 of the 16 remaining players.

Week 4 Power Rankings: 

1. Ben (Last week: 1): I really hope he ends up with Chrissy on his new tribe, because I liked that pairing a lot. No reason to drop him in the rankings.

2. Ali (Last week: 5): She’s playing a great game. It’s too bad former ally Patrick couldn’t be smart enough to help her advance, but she’s good at forming relationships with many different kinds of people.

3. Ryan (Last week: 2): I’m still liking the game Ryan is playing, but I worry he could be targeted as a weak player in challenges on his new tribe.

4. Chrissy (Last week: 3): With a tribe swap approaching, Chrissy will need to get herself off the bottom quickly in order to avoid a similar “Mom Squad” scenario she experienced in Week 1. I hope she can find some people to work with.

5. Mike (Last week: 6): It’s more likely a tribe swap could help him than hurt him. He shouldn’t be a target right away, especially if he’s not on the same tribe as Joe (since Joe had been telling everyone Mike had an idol). On the other hand, he sits out of challenges and could be viewed as an easy target if people want to get rid of a weak competitor.

6. Devon (Last week: 7): I want to see more out of Devon before I can start to think he’s a major player in this game.

7. Ashley (Last week: 9): It’s hard to see her winning the whole game right now, but she’s not playing herself out of it as long as she avoids the JP relationship distraction.

8. Lauren (Last week: 11): Now that Patrick is gone and a tribe swap is approaching, could better days be ahead for Lauren?

9. Roark (Last week: 12): We still don’t know much about Roark, but she keeps moving up the power rankings because of people playing actively worse games than she is.

10. JP (Last week: 8): Despite his skills as a provider, he doesn’t seem to have much of a social game. We got some insight into his future when Chrissy and Ben were considering getting rid of him.

11. Jessica (Last week: 13): She seems like a sweet person (with rare kisses!) but not the kind of cutthroat strategist who would win Survivor.

12. Desi (Last week: 14): We don’t see much of Desi, except she and Roark were both offended last week by Joe throwing food away.

13. Alan (Last week: 15): He had a quiet week, so maybe he can establish himself on his new tribe. That said, I’m still not very high on his long-term prospects.

14. Joe (Last week: 4): This guy has been on a roller coaster in the power rankings. One week I’ll like his gameplay — because I want to like his style — and the next week I’ll be down on him. This week? Bleh. Throwing food into the woods because he’s too picky about it? Not a good sign at all.

15. Cole (Last week: 10): From my notes while watching last week’s episode, I wrote down, “Cole is dumb.” Maybe it’s because he’s going around telling everyone about Joe’s idol. Maybe it’s because of his showmance with Jessica. Maybe both. Either way, he’s not going to win Survivor.

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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)

Each week during this season of Survivor, I’ll be ranking the castaways in terms of best chance to win the game. Last week, Simone was voted off after being ranked No. 17 of the 17 remaining players.

Week 3 Power Rankings: 

1. Ben (Last week: 1): He seems open to working with whoever he needs to in order to advance, as evidenced by his potential new partnership with Chrissy. He’s playing a smart game so far.

2. Ryan (Last week: 2): Nothing so far leads me to believe he won’t make a deep run, so no reason to drop him down the list.

3. Chrissy (Last week: 4): The former Mom Squad member looks like she removed herself from the bottom of the Heroes tribe last week and I’m more optimistic about her prospects now that she has Ben’s ear. She seems to be very smart and thinks several steps ahead.

4. Joe (Last week: 15): I originally had Joe at No. 2 to start the season and dropped him all the way to 15th last week after he was over aggressive in the first episode. Now that he seems to have calmed down — and found an idol with the help of Cole — I feel a bit better about his chances of making a run.

5. Ali (Last week: 8): She continues to be the most pleasant surprise of the season for me and is obviously a smart player. For example: When Simone was on the outs, she saw it as a potential opportunity. That’s just good gameplay (although Simone was ultimately given the boot).

6. Mike (Last week: 5): I’m worried he will be targeted by Joe before the tribes swap, which could lead to an early exit. But if he survives that far, he should be a key player because no one will look at him as a target.

7. Devon (Last week: 3): I still really like his partnership with Ryan, but Devon himself doesn’t seem like the kind of strategic player who could ultimately win it all. If he makes the merge, he’ll have to win a lot of immunity challenges to take the whole game.

8. JP (Last week: 6): His ability to stay calm and try to be a provider by catching fish is very wise at this point in the game. Ozzy has made several decent runs that way, so that model could work for awhile.

9. Ashley (Last week: 7): She’s still plugging away. For now, she just needs to keep her head down and let Alan be a bigger target on the Heroes tribe.

10. Cole (Last week: 11): He helped Joe find the idol, but then Joe seemed to hint at wanting to get him out at some point soon after. Plus, it’s hard to tell whether his potential showmance with Jessica will hurt his game.

11. Lauren (Last week: 9): It looked like she could have a potential alliance with Ali, which isn’t a bad thing since she professes not to be much of a people person.

12. Roark (Last week: 12): It’s still hard to get a feel for her game, as she hasn’t been featured much on the show so far. That said, she’s not an obvious target in the next couple weeks.

13. Jessica (Last week: 13): Her relationship with Cole is still concerning, and I don’t know how much that will affect her game.

14. Desi (Last week: 14): She seems like mostly a non-factor so far.

15. Alan (Last week: 16): The former football player was happy he created suspicion at camp by targeting JP and Ashley. That kind of game play might work at times, but it’s not the recipe for a $1 million win.

16. Patrick (Last week: 10): He’s starting to run wild, annoy people and wear on everyone’s nerves at camp. Not exactly a recipe for the ultimate winner of Survivor.

 

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Eliminated: 

Week 1: Katrina (ranked No. 6 of 18 remaining players)

Week 2: Simone (ranked No. 17 of 17 remaining players)

Each week during this season of Survivor, I’ll be ranking the castaways in terms of best chance to win the game. The power rankings for Season 35 will be much more difficult at the start since there are no returning players. I don’t know anything about these people, so I’ve gone through all the bios on CBS.com to try and figure out who might have a good chance and who doesn’t.

Preseason Power Rankings: 

1. Ben (Heroes Tribe): I really like this guy’s potential. A former Marine who has dealt with all sorts of people and describes his game as a combination of Russell Hantz, Boston Rob and Joe. He describes himself as “hilarious” with a good social game. Maybe all of that will make him a threat, but it also might help him win.

2. Joe (Healers Tribe): He’s a probation officer but is on the Healers tribe instead of the Heroes. OK then. But anyway, cops have done well recently — Tony, Sarah Lacina, Bret — because they can relate to so many different kinds of people and also understand when others are lying. Joe has a fantastic chance of going very far in this game, based on what I see in his profile.

3. Mike (Healers Tribe): A superfan who has studied the game, Mike doesn’t appear to be much of a physical threat but calls himself “smart, strategic and social.” Those are traits of a Survivor winner, and if he can deliver, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mike play a major role in this game.

4. Patrick (Hustlers Tribe): I really like what he is planning to do for his game. Patrick says he has endurance and outdoors skills to go along with being good at bonding with others and making friendships — but won’t look like enough of a physical threat to get voted off early. That could be a very good formula if it works.

5. Cole (Healers Tribe): He’s an outdoorsman who also describes himself as somewhat of a nerd like Spencer. However, this could be a boom or bust pick, because there’s a chance his personality could get annoying based on how he presents himself. If he’s able to get along with people and build an alliance, he could make it to the end.

6. Katrina (Heroes Tribe): The former Olympic swimmer says she’s great at convincing others to support her. She’ll need that skill if she’s going to become a winner based on being a “more outgoing, adventurous Denise.” If she’s able to bond with the physical threats, she’ll have a great shot to go far.

7. Chrissy (Heroes Tribe): It’s tough to tell why this 46-year-old actuary is on the Heroes tribe, but it might work in her favor. She’s traveled to every continent, has degrees from Penn and MIT and describes herself as similar to Tai — except a super competitive overachiever. If she’s as likable as she sounds, she might be able to bond with the other Heroes and make it far in the game or become the first boot from her group.

8. Roark (Healers Tribe): Her bio is pretty quirky and funny, and she seems like the type of person a lot of people would like and get along with. If that’s the case, I could see her playing a big role in a majority alliance. I’m not sure she can win the whole game, though.

9. Ryan (Hustlers Tribe): Most of this guy’s tribe seems to be sort of clueless — at least in their profiles — so I’ll give the benefit of the doubt to this superfan, who says he’s been wanting to play Survivor his entire life. He obviously knows strategy and social game, but he’ll need both of those to make it far since he doesn’t appear to be a physical threat. Also, he compares himself to Todd from Survivor: China — and I don’t even think I remember Todd.

10. JP (Heroes Tribe): This firefighter from Los Angeles compares his game to Jay (from two seasons ago). I don’t see a lot of strategy talk in his bio, and combined with being a physical threat, he might be a candidate to make the merge and then get booted.

11. Ashley (Heroes Tribe): Maybe I’m reaching here, but this lifeguard’s bio comes across as sort of cocky. She describes herself as “impressive,” claims her body can endure more than the average human and says “I am a winner” when comparing herself to Richard Hatch. If she’s going to make it far, she’ll have to tone down that attitude and show some humility on the island.

12. Alan (Heroes Tribe): In his bio, the former NFL player says his gameplay won’t resemble anyone who has come before him. That’s not a good thing, since it’s actually pretty smart to model yourself after those who have been successful before. That statement, in addition to his obvious presence as a physical threat, leads me to believe he can stick around for awhile but won’t come close to making it to the end.

13. Jessica (Healers Tribe): She says she could win a Miss Congeniality award on Survivor if there was such a thing, which is good. But her bio sounds like she’ll be likable and not necessarily strategic — which is a good recipe for making the merge but then failing to move further once it really gets down to game time.

14. Desi (Healers Tribe): After boasting about all her attributes, she concludes her profile by saying she’s “nearly unbeatable.” Groan. How often does the eventual winner of Survivor think that highly of themselves? I would guess that’s not a good sign. She also says she has no problem calling people out when necessary. Good luck with that on the island.

15. Devon (Hustlers Tribe): Though he compares himself to Ozzy and Malcom, this surfer dude seems to be planning on relying on his physical nature too much. In his bio, Devon says “every single immunity challenge is mine.” I hope he’s likable, because if not, he’ll be targeted as soon as people feel safe enough to start going after physical threats.

16. Ali (Hustlers Tribe): This celebrity assistant says she will be a “competition beast” but comes off as a very go-getter, Type A personality. I worry that may result in being one of the people who doesn’t make it to the merge, should that prove to be a turnoff to her tribemates.

17. Lauren (Hustlers Tribe): Geez, this Hustlers tribe is a mess. I like that she’s a fisherman, which is obviously a good trait to have on Survivor and might help her stick around for awhile. But her bio gives no sign she’s a fan of the game, which means she might get eaten alive when it comes to strategy. I don’t see her being able to win in the end.

18. Simone (Hustlers Tribe): Unless she’s joking, I don’t really like much of what she has to say in her bio. She compares herself to judging people like Michaela, says one reason she’ll win is because she has “good luck” and says one of her hobbies is “complaining.” Maybe that’s all just part of her sense of humor, but if not? She might be the first one out.