Survivor fans had been waiting so long for the Survivor 50 premiere, and it definitely didn't disappoint. Now that the game has finally begun, we all want to know who is going to win Survivor 50. I picked the five players most likely to win Survivor 50 after watching the season premiere, "Epic Party."
Obviously, we already said goodbye to two players, Jenna Lewis-Dougherty and Kyle Fraser, in the season premiere. That leaves 22 players still in the running. Four players are probably doomed after the premiere, just based on how it played out, how much screentime they had, and where the season is probably heading. Of those 18 remaining players, these five players stood out from the rest in the quest for the $1 million prize and title of Sole Survivor of Survivor 50.
To preface, I have not seen any spoilers about Survivor 50. I know there are people who know who wins this season. That's the nature of a huge season like this with a massive cast and crew. I've looked around online a little bit, but so far, I don't think any outlets have published reports on the season winner yet.
Let's get the list started with Christian Hubicki, who had a fantastic premiere episode.
Christian Hubicki
If there’s one player that came out of the Survivor 50 premiere on the right side of everything, it’s Christian Hubicki. Although his tribe lost the opening immunity challenge, he was right in the thick of the action, connecting with everyone, forming relationships, and seemingly making decisions.
I like Christian a lot, and I think he was a good vibe to win with all these major players. He’s not threatening enough on the surface to be targeted, but he’s also way too smart to get to do what he wants in the game.
I will say, though, the one thing about Christian that gives me a little bit of pause was how openly Jenna Lewis-Dougherty was calling him out on her post-elimination press tour. If Christian wins or makes it to the end, I don’t know if CBS would love how Jenna is dragging him.
Cirie Fields
The fact that Cirie Fields made it out of the first tribal council after she, by all accounts, absolutely tanked her tribe’s chance of winning is proof that Cirie might have a chance to do something in Survivor 50. It genuinely feels like these players want to play with her. I would be staying so far away from her if I could. I watched what she did to Erik Reichenbach in Micronesia. If you give her life in this game, she’s going to make the most of it.
I also liked Cirie's edit this episode. We heard from her a few times in the confessionals, but it didn’t feel like it was that much compared to some of the other legends. That has me thinking she’s going to stick around for a long time, while those others probably won’t.
Genevieve Mushaluk
Genevieve Mushaluk seems like a really good pick in Survivor 50. She should be on everyone’s radar after the strategist she proved to be in Survivor 47. At first, it looked like Genevieve was in a really good spot. She instantly fell in with the Vatu majority alliance, but then Kyle tore his Achilles and got removed from the game, Colby Donaldson lost his vote, and so did Q Burdette. It’s hard to say where Genevieve fits in that group, but I’m not too worried.
She had a few confessionals in the premiere, and she’s leading off episode 2 with an emotional confessional following Kyle’s exit. There’s something to all this camera time if you ask me.
Aubry Bracco
Speaking of Genevieve, we have to talk about Aubry Bracco. I’ve had a great feeling about Aubry in Survivor 50 since we heard she was playing again.
There was something weird with Aubry’s edit in the first episode. It’s making it look like she’s already on the bottom and at odds with Genevieve right out of the gate, which led to a super awkward exchange. What do I make of it? Absolutely nothing.
I think there’s going to be weird narrative on this season, and the producers are going to play up some adversity while giving a lot of the early-season camera time to these legends who are doomed to lose Survivor 50.
Aubry’s also been a heavy favorite to win the season since before the season started on the futures markets, like Kalshi. I just think there’s something to watch with Aubry, and I wasn’t swayed as some fans were in the premiere.
Dee Valladares
I feel stupid picking a former winner to actually make it to the end and win Survivor 50, but that’s what I’m doing here. For me, there’s no way Coach and Mike White, despite getting more screen time than most of their tribe combined, are making it anywhere near the end of this game. For how good and dominant Dee Valladares was in her season, I think she’s overlooked among this cast. If she can find a spot on her tribe, she has a big opportunity to become the third two-time winner in the show’s history.
Will it happen? Probably not, but I think she looks to be in a good spot coming out of the premiere. She's a huge threat, of course, and if she can lower that profile a bit, she can make a deep run in the game.
We have 12 more episodes to find out who actually wins Survivor 50, but these are the five players who are right where they need to be in the season premiere.