The winner of Survivor SA: Island of Secrets is …

It’s been a long and exciting season of Survivor SA where one dominating alliance took control. Will they be able to finish it off?

***Warning: there are major spoilers ahead for the season finale of Survivor SA: Island of Secrets.***

After 39 hard-fought days with a solid cast, Survivor SA continues to prove that they are by far the best international version of Survivor. Playing one of the most dominant games in recent memory, Rob Bentele is the Sole Survivor of Island of Secrets!

Coming into the finale, Rob was on the right side of every single vote, which puts him in elite Survivor company. More than simply knowing where the majority was going, Rob created and swayed the majority. Right from the beginning he was a key part of the formation of the Amigos alliance and was playing at a high level. That idol he swooned off of Paul during the second Tribal Council proved to be critical as the game went on.

What made Rob so successful was his ability to play such a strong social game despite being a physical target. He made that statement clear when Rob along with Seipei took the lead in taking out big Rocco. That trend continued as Rob was so effective at bonding with his conversations and making people trust him.

To say that Rob was the centre of communication is an understatement. Durão, Mike, Laetitia, Jacques, and several other players were deceived by Rob’s charm. He always had a way of making people think that he had their best interests in mind. That led to many of them sharing critical information about idols, advantages, and secret plans with Rob. He was able to use that information to understand who his biggest threats were, and he took them out one after the other.

In addition to his remarkable social game, he also dominated in challenges, coming out with clutch wins when he needed to. I understand that SA is a different iteration, but Rob’s mark of five Individual Immunity wins ties him for the record in US Survivor.

On top of all that, what amazed me the most about Rob was the ability to execute a bold blindside without losing the trust of his allies still in the game. That’s something only legends like Boston Rob, Tom Westman, and Parvati Shallow have been able to do. Rob’s dramatic move to blindside Steffi is a great example of that, but how did he deal with the repercussions of that betrayal? Let’s pick up the events from the final episode of Survivor SA: Island of Secrets.

The finale began with a shocked and grateful Durão for being saved by Nicole, while Laetitia attacked Nicole for throwing them under the bus. Learning where everyone’s head was at, Rob became cautious to even trust his number one ally.

The final fight for Immunity presented the classic ball drop challenge, with some epic scenery in the background! After adding an additional piece to the poles, Laetitia dropped the ball. Then came round two where Durão lost his ball, fairly quickly, pinning the final two Amigos against each other. With only the slightest of movements, Nicole’s ball fell off, giving Rob his fifth Immunity Necklace of the season and guaranteeing his spot at Final Tribal Council.

Laetitia was quick to approach Rob and explain her disgust for Nicole’s lying and manipulative attitude. Rob wasn’t initially buying it until Nicole told everyone that backstabbing is a part of the game. At the Final Four Tribal Council, Nicole’s comments only annoyed the jury more, while Laetitia began to gain favor with jury by exposing Nicole’s scheming.

The rift between these two players made Laetitia the main target for the Amigos, receiving all three votes and becoming the last member of the jury. She didn’t bother using her Vote Nullifier because she said it wouldn’t have made a difference, but I still don’t see why she didn’t play it or use it to bait Durão into voting Nicole out. That cemented the Final Three of Survivor SA: Island of Secrets: Rob, Nicole, and Durão who now had to face the wrath of the jury.

Jacques opened up the night by hating on Durão’s post merge game, taking him out of the running for the title of the Sole Survivor. I was relieved by Jacques’ comments, as it showed that the jury recognized Rob and Nicole’s stellar gameplay. Jacques’ opening speech was certainly a thing of beauty, helping us see how awesome of a player he was!

Mike was a little more polite with his questions, but that was really an anomaly for this angry jury. Seipei and Danté attacked Rob while Geoffrey and Meryl went straight for Nicole’s throat as they finally got the chance to unload. Steffi got very heated because of Nicole’s betrayal, but it was hilarious when Rob called out Steffi’s lie of seeing her friend before the family visit. That froze Steffi and quickly put an end to her rant.

Then it came down to the Final Three’s speeches. Realizing how the jury viewed his journey, Durão explained why he played the way he did, thanked all of the castaways and humbly understood that he wasn’t going to win.

When it came to Rob’s turn he put an end to being the nice guy and stated all of his incredible list of accomplishments and big moves he pulled off. Nicole thanked the players beside her, she emphasized her need to fight harder than Rob and how she was a key factor in each vote.

It was a close one! In the end, Nicole received four votes, while Rob won the game with six votes. Meryl, Danté, Geoffrey, Mmaba, Mike, and Laetitia voted for Rob, while Cobus, Seipei, Jacques, and Steffi wrote down Nicole’s name. Overall, it was a predictable season thanks to the dominant Amigos alliance, but the Sole Survivor put on an entertaining show as well as the rest of the talented cast.