Surviving Tribal
Fansided

Survivor players who benefitted the most from a second chance

By Leigh Oleszczak

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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 12
Next
Survivor
Finalist Tai Trang attends the CBS’ “Survivor: Game Changers – Mamanuca Islands” finale (Photo by Greg Doherty/Getty Images) /

17. Tai Trang

Second season: Game Changers

Tai is someone who played an emotional game during his first run in Kaoh Rong. He wasn’t great at the game, but he was beloved by the fans in spite of that. Because of his popularity, Tai was brought back for Game Changers and played a good game upon his return.

Tai found three Hidden Immunity Idols and not only that, but he played them all correctly and that obviously benefitted his game. He also was good in challenges, most notably beating Ozzy at a challenge that Ozzy had dominated in previous seasons.

Tai had a legitimate chance to win Game Changers and that’s exactly why he was taken out. Considering he was a zero vote finalist in Kaoh Rong for his wishy washiness, to see him flip the script and come to play in Game Changers was fun to watch.

16. Monica Culpepper

Second season: Blood vs Water

Monica was very much of a WTF pick to return for a second season, as she was a pre-merge boot in One World and honestly wasn’t that memorable. Her returning for a second crack at the game resulted in her making it to the Final Tribal Council and even receiving a vote from the jury.

While Monica was typically labeled as annoying and an overthinker during Blood vs Water, she won immunity challenges and was never in danger of going home. Her return game also gave her a chance to play with her husband, so her second chance gave their family four total shots at winning a million dollars (Brad is on this list too, so more on him in a bit).

In normal situations, Monica is a forgotten pre-merge boot who we never think much of again, but she was brought back and made it to the end. That’s a legacy booster for sure.

Home/Survivor Players