Russell Hantz’s Top 100 Greatest Survivors Ever

16. Rob Cesternino (Amazon, All-Stars)

Rob Cesternino should be MUCH higher on this list because he invented the style of play that’s so common these days. He was the original strategist and was the king of cutting people out of his alliance when he no longer had any use for them.

Rob was constantly running the show in the Amazon and is always considered one of the best to never win the game. It’s a crime that Rob hasn’t come back to play since he was taken out pre-merge in All-Stars, but we haven’t been completely robbed of his thoughts, as he hosts an incredible podcast (Rob Has a Podcast – Check it out if you haven’t already).

Hopefully, Rob returns again someday, but if not, we should be thankful for him playing a huge part in how Survivor is played today.

15. Yul Kwon (Cook Islands, Winners at War)

One of the best winners is Yul Kwon, who won Cook Islands. He was able to find the Super Idol early on in the game and used that to switch Penner over to his side and control things post-merge. Not only did Yul gain control of the game, but he made smart moves along the way, like taking Penner out to gain favor of Adam and Parvati who would soon be on the jury.

Yul looked to be someone who could make it far on Winners at War, but he was blindsided shortly before the merge after the tribe swap, which occurred due to the three voting him out having formed a pre-game alliance.

Even with his blindside on Winners at War, Yul’s win on Cook Islands is still one of the best we’ve ever seen.