The merge is officially happening in Survivor 50, and there are a ton of players still left in the game. Merging with 17 players is bound to cause a lot of chaos in the game, but there are a few players who will stand to benefit from the merge.
There is one player who is very obviously going to benefit from the merge, but there are a few other players who are less obvious. For the list, I'll start with the most obvious pick and then move through some of the players who quietly benefit from the merge.
There's one caveat, though! The merge is going to mean something different this season. We'll likely see the players split into smaller groups for challenges. How that breakdown happens will definitely impact who is safe and who is in danger.
Ozzy Lusth
Ozzy Lusth is the big winner of Survivor 50 heading into the merge. Ozzy, who is one of the most accomplished physical threats in the history of the game, has lost every immunity challenge so far this season. He might not be able to carry a tribe on his back like he has in the past—he literally hurt his back in the second challenge of the season—but we all know he's still Ozzy.
He was definitely the next person who would be voted out in Survivor 50 if the Vatu tribe lost again. Now, he should be able to reunite with Cirie Fields and link up with a few other players who want to work with him and make a deep run in Survivor 50. It's right there for Ozzy to make his move, win some immunity challenges, and find his footing in the game.
Aubry Bracco
Aubry Bracco has had quite a weird journey in Survivor 50 so far! We've seen Aubry as much as I thought we would heading into the season, but she's been on the right side of every immunity challenge so far. Early in the game, Aubry looked like she might be heading home early, but the tribe swap helped her. Now, the merge could help her even more.
Now, the game is going to get interesting. Aubry is close with Coach, as of episode 5, and Coach is in quite a strong alliance with Joe Hunter and Colby Donaldson. The thing is, Aubry is smarter than all of them put together. If she can use them to get further in the game while also gathering other allies thanks to the merge, things are going to be very interesting moving forward.
Plus, she has a hidden immunity idol.
Cirie Fields
Cirie Fields survived the first vote in Survivor 50, and since then, she's been the player everyone seems to want to play with. That's a very good thing for her game. With that said, she was on the wrong side of the tribe swap. She has allies now, but there was a scenario where Cirie and Rick Devens were in real trouble if the majority teamed up on them.
Now, Cirie has a chance to reunite with Ozzy. He gave her an advantage in the game that she's yet to use. That could be incredibly important as we see the group split into even smaller groups for Tribal Council. Plus, Ozzy has an immunity idol, as well. I'm sure, under the right circumstances, Ozzy will protect Cirie if he can.
Rick Devens
Speaking of Rick Devens, he's also, most likely, going to be in a much better spot when the merge happens. He was in the strongest alliance on the Cila tribe before Devens' top allies, Christian Hubicki and Emily Flippen, were swapped to the Vatu tribe, leaving Rick with only Cirie from his original tribe.
Like Cirie, Rick looked like he could be in major trouble moving forward. He tried to worm his way into the majority, which appeared to be targetting Rizo Velovic before turning on Charlie Davis and blindsiding him. Rick is in a better spot, but if his tribe kept losing and the real majority stayed tight, he was definitely going to be in trouble.
Now, Rick can reunite with his trio, and if they can keep a low profile, they could run this entire game. But, that's a big if, though.
Rizo Velovic
I was a little bit unsure of this last pick, and then it hit me. Rizo Velovic definitely benefits from the tribe swap. He's already in a pretty tight alliance from the early days in the game. Then, he seemed to charm most of his new tribe. But, if you remember, it didn't look like Rizo was in a great spot. He got lucky in some ways that his tribe picked Charlie instead of him.
If his tribe lost again, who would they pick? Rizo might be on the bottom, and Jonathan Young and Devens already talked about sending him home.
If Rizo can get back with Colby, connect with Coach, and then keep playing with some of his new tribe connections, Rizo is looking at a long run in Survivor 50.
Those are the five players who should benefit from the merge arriving in Survivor 50. I have a feeling we're in for a wild ride the rest of the game.