Survivor players who benefitted the most from a second chance

NEW YORK - MAY 9: Survivor All-star cast members "Boston Rob" Mariano proposes marriage and Amber Brkich accepted on the set of the Survivor All-stars Finale at Madison Square Garden May 9, 2004 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Gries/Getty Images)
NEW YORK - MAY 9: Survivor All-star cast members "Boston Rob" Mariano proposes marriage and Amber Brkich accepted on the set of the Survivor All-stars Finale at Madison Square Garden May 9, 2004 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Gries/Getty Images)
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Survivor
Contestant Kimmi Kappenberg attends CBS’s “Survivor: Cambodia – Second Chance” (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)

Second chances are hard to come by, but for these players, their second chance at Survivor changed their legacy completely.

Survivor likes to bring back former players and give them another crack at the game. For this article, we’ll be looking at the players who gained the most from a second stint at Survivor. Maybe a player won on their second shot, maybe they went from unknowns to fan favorites, or maybe a second appearance helped aid them in a later appearance.

Whatever the reason might be, a second crack at the game we all love greatly benefitted these players and their legacy amongst Survivor fans.

Let’s take a look at who made the list!

18. Kimmi Kappenberg

Second season: Cambodia

This one might puzzle some people, but hear me out. Kimmi was a pre-merge boot in her original season of The Australian Outback, which was the second season ever. Players were more famous back then, so people knew who Kimmi was, but as far as good players went, Kimmi was never in that discussion. She changed that mindset when she was voted onto Survivor: Cambodia.

While Kimmi was famously eliminated in the tribal council where no one received any votes due to Kelley and Jeremy playing idols, she was only taken out at that tribal because she made a move and the move she was planning was a juicy one. You see, Kimmi knew she wouldn’t make it to the end if she stayed with Jeremy, Spencer, and Tasha, so she corralled Keith and Kelley and their plan was to take out Jeremy.

It would have worked had Jeremy not played an idol and Kimmi would have been in the majority alliance at the final five. While it didn’t work in her favor and she finished in sixth place, she made a move and tried to go for broke. She didn’t just sit back and accept fourth place.

I probably wouldn’t have thought to include Kimmi on here, but Survivor Reddit made this point and it’s something that really jumped out at me. Kimmi didn’t get a great edit, but she still made a move when it mattered most. It didn’t go her way, but she made the most of her second chance.