We're officially two weeks away from the Survivor 50 premiere on CBS. As I watch CBS's Road to Survivor 50, the re-airing of iconic episodes of the show's first 49 seasons, I couldn't help but take another look at the cast of Survivor 50 and start to think about what a solid performance on this season could do for each player's legacy.
Of that group, there are five players who have basically nothing to lose heading into the anniversary season and everything to gain. This season is the perfect season for someone to make the fans remember just how good of a Survivor player they are. And, it could elevate some of these players from the fringes and let them make a claim that they are one of the best players this show has ever seen.
Let's get the list started with one of my favorite Survivor players of all time, Aubry Bracco.
Aubry Bracco
To me, Aubry Bracco is the Survivor 50 player with absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain. Aubry is one of the best Survivor players of all time, but I don't know if she gets the credit she deserves. She's handled adversity as well or better than almost every player in the game's history. She finished runner-up in Kaoh Rong in one of the most controversial final votes of all time. She was a huge threat again in Game Changers, where she finished fifth. Had she reached the end, Aubry easily would have won.
If Aubry wins Survivor 50, though, she's a top 10 player in the history of the game. There are only a handful of players on the Survivor 50 cast who can make the leap, and Aubry is one of them. Even if she doesn't win and just has an epic performance, Aubry's legacy definitely improves.
Cirie Fields
Aubry and Cirie Fields are the two players I'm watching the closest in Survivor 50. We all know that Cirie is going to go down as one of the greatest Survivor players of all time when she's done playing. Honestly, she already is.
Cirie could be voted out first in Survivor 50, and it would be a badge of honor. These players should be terrified of what Cirie could do to them or make them do. She's so good at Survivor, and it's unfortunate that she hasn't been able to make it to Final Tribal Council yet.
If she could win Survivor 50, she'd be right there with Sandra, Tony, Boston Rob, and Parvati Shallow as the best players we've ever seen. She might even jump a few of those players on my all-time ranking, as well. Her legacy can only improve by participating in Survivor 50. Depending on how far she goes, she could rank second on the list of most Survivor days played behind Boston Rob.
Charlie Davis
Charlie Davis finished as the runner-up to Kenzie Petty in Survivor 46. This is no shade to Kenzie for playing a wonderful game, but there were a lot of fans who thought Charlie played a better game and was betrayed by his top ally, Maria Shrime-Gonzalez, who voted for Kenzie to win.
There are a lot of players on this cast who finished runner-up at one time or another, so Charlie is not alone here. But, I will say that if Charlie could win Survivor 50 and have that controversial runner-up as his resume, there aren't many Survivor players in history that could top that. He would go down as one of the best Survivor players of the new era; that's for sure.
The most interesting thing about Charlie is how overlooked he is as a strategic mind paired with his social game. He made so many players feel comfortable, and he helped orchestrate several consecutive blindsides of players who had immunity idols, including two other Survivor 50 players, Tiffany Ervin and Q Burdette.
Dee Valladares
Dee Valladares, the winner of Survivor 45, is one of the three Survivor winners on this cast, along with Kyle Fraser and Savannah Louie. Of those, I would say Dee is probably viewed as the biggest threat. Kyle is the most recent winner that the Survivor 50 cast saw before they played the game, and Savannah's season obviously wasn't aired until she won, which gives her a little advantage.
Of these three winners on Survivor 50, Dee seems like the one with the most to gain if she becomes a two-time winner or performs really well. The consensus is that she might be the best player of the new era. If she beats up on the rest of the competition and joins Sandra Diaz-Twine and Tony Vlachos as the show's only two-time winners, that could be incredible for her legacy. She would automatically jump into the conversation about the best players the game has ever seen.
I don't know if that happens for Kyle or Savannah if they were to win this season. They were both well-deserving winners, but I don't know if Kyle or Savannah will be viewed in the same light if they were to go deep in the game or pull out a win. Kyle was an incredible social player who had a few big-time immunity wins and pulled off one major blindside and manipulation.
Ozzy Lusth
No matter what happens in Survivor 50, I don't think much can hurt Ozzy's legacy. I mean, we're talking about one of the most physically dominant players to ever play the game. He is Mr. Survivor in a lot of ways. Although there are a number of players who could probably survive for quite a long time on a deserted island, Ozzy is the player who I'm absolutely sure could not only survive but thrive in that environment.
With that, he's made some key mistakes during his time in the game that have probably shaped how fans view him and his legacy. None of that matters, though. Ozzy is back for Survivor 50, and even if he's the first person voted out, it's not going to change how fans feel about him. If he's able to play a more social and strategic game and make a deep run, or possibly even win the season, that could change everything. Ozzy goes from being one of the top 10 Survivor players of all time to, probably, a top 5 or 6 player, and maybe even higher.
Watch Survivor 50 starting on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, on CBS and Paramount+!