Mike Zahalsky – Scrappy Wildcard
While I find it difficult to find a scenario where Mike can ultimately win Survivor Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, there are a few routes to victory that he can embark on. I don’t think he wins if Ben makes it to the end, but I do think that he has a better social game with members of the jury if he sits beside Chrissy and Ryan.
Look at it this way; the post-merge Tribal Councils saw the Heroes and Hustlers team together to take out, Jessica, Desi, Cole and Joe in four out of the first five eliminations. Sure, Mike may have bumbled his way to the Final 5 with some questionable plays, but he has shown to mix things up and be fairly flashy in front of the jury, including burning Lauren’s idol and help flip the Round Table.
More importantly, beside Chrissy and Ryan, he gets to debate the supposed game awareness of the two. How can they help orchestrate the destruction of the Healers if they were blissfully unaware of a game-altering flip where both were blindsided? Considering the distaste for Chrissy by the early jury members and Ryan’s lack of gameplay in the back half, Mike could scrap his way to victory if both Ben and Devon are voted out before the FTC.