Survivor Winners at War: Who benefits most from tribe swap?

Survivor: Winners at War teased the first tribal swap of the season in the upcoming episode. Who benefits the most from this season’s swap-a-roo?

The tribe swap has been a staple in Survivor history that dates back to Survivor: Africa – the show’s third-ever season – which aired in 2001. Since then, it’s been used in some form in nearly every season and never fails to disappoint.

The swap is the prime twist in Survivor that proves a contestant is never as safe and secure in the game as they think they are. On the contrary, it also helps players who might have been in danger of going home next and could use new teammates to work with.

In order to determine who benefits the most from the Winners at War tribe swap, you have to look at both tribes and point to who was at the bottom of each.

For Dakal, it appeared to be Kim Spradlin, who was in danger of going home at the second Tribal Council and received a throwaway vote from Nick this past week. Kim had the potential to be on the upswing when her, Tyson, Sandra, Sarah, and Tony wanted to oust Nick, but that never came to fruition, as Nick received just one vote from the season’s fifth boot.

Kim is going to be a threat wherever she winds up because of how well she played in One World, but this tribe swap helps her because she more than likely can’t be put in a worse situation than the one she was in at Dakal. Yul made it a point to get her out early, and she was on the bottom ever since. The only thing to wonder with Kim moving forward is what happens with her idol if she and Sophie get split up, as Sophie currently has the other half of it.

On the Sele tribe, those who benefit most from the Survivor: Winners at War tribe swap are Adam, Parvati, and Rob, who were all at the bottom on that beach. Adam did it to himself, telling everyone about his plan to get Parvati out and lost the trust of his alliance as a result. He had a redemption episode this past week but had Sele lost, his name certainly would have been written down.

Parvati and Rob are also obvious benefactors to the switch because they were both on the bottom at Sele. They benefit from the swap, but don’t get it twisted; they’re still two of the biggest targets in the game. Life might not be a whole lot better for them wherever they end up, especially if they get split up in the process.

As for those who will get hit the hardest with the swap, we saw Michele’s now-famous confessional of being stranded on an island with her ex-boyfriend, so she has it bad no matter who else she’s with. Michele was also in a good spot on Sele, taking control of the tribe after being left out of the vote at the first tribal council.

The same goes for Jeremy, who was helping run things at camp Sele. He’ll be in a tough position moving forward because he played such a solid game in Second Chance.

From Dakal, pretty much everyone, but Kim won’t like the swap much. Sandra might have to surrender her spot on the “Sandra bench” and partake in challenges now, and we’ve seen in past seasons that’s not her strong point. That could make her an even easier target in the game.

The tribe swap is one of Survivor’s oldest and most fun traditions, and it should be a good time seeing who winds up on what tribe and what new alliances are formed.