Votes are the currency of Survivor. They are the most important thing for you to possess, and most dangerous thing for you to receive—until the script flips at the end of the game and you’re pleading for the votes to make you the Sole Survivor.
And over the years, receiving votes has become a very nuanced signifier of social strategy. Did a player not receive votes because they were a savvy social threat who made the right relationships to never be put on the chopping block? Or did no votes come their way because they were so innocuous, people forgot they were even playing the game with them?
And even then, it’s the jury’s perception of someone’s game that ultimately decides whether or not it was worth $1 million or not. But how often do players actually get to the end without any votes to their name? We break down every castaways who never saw their name written down before arriving to Final Tribal Council.
Survivor: Borneo
Kelly Wiglesworth
In the very first season of the show, Kelly’s betrayal of her alliance was not seen as a strategic move, but as an opportunity to pander for jury votes. She became the target of her former majority alliance, but went on to win the four immunity challenges leading up to Final Tribal Council, securing her spot at the end. And in a close 4-3 vote, she ended up runner-up, possibly in part because of Susan Hawk’s infamous “rats and snakes” speech (in which Kelly was the rat).
Survivor: China
Amanda Kimmel & Courtney Yates
Amand and Courtney formed a Final Three alliance with Todd Herzog and the three actually made it to the end together. And despite Amanda being the first person to ever orchestrate a plan to flash a hidden immunity idol—and sending James Clement how with two in his pocket, nonetheless—and Courtney being regarded for her blunt honesty, neither were able to garner the jury’s favor. This led to a final 4-2-1 vote where Courntye became the runner-up and Amanda finished in third.
Survivor: Gabon
Sugar Kiper
The queen of Exile Island, Sugar was sent there the most out of all players her season—memorably renaming it the “Sugar Shack.” She found the hidden immunity idol on her first visit, but the frequent visits meant she wasn’t getting the same time back at camp to strategize with her fellow castaways. They saw her as a swing vote and despite getting to the end, ended up in third place in a 4-3-0 vote, making her the first person to truly get zero votes the entire season.
Survivor: South Pacific
Coach Wade
On his third attempt at Sole Survivor, Coach created a social bond with his tribe mates unlike any other. They all followed him like a cult leader as he promised to take each and every one of them to the end with him. But once they got rid of the whole other starting tribe, he had to begin cutting off his own allies, which rubbed most of them the wrong way. In the end, only three players voted in his favor, the rest calling him a liar, which landed him as the runner-up in a 6-3-0 vote.
Survivor: Philippines
Lisa Whelchel & Michael Skupin
While Lisa and Michael formed a long alliance that oversaw most of the majority votes after the merge, at the end of the game, Lisa was praised for her social game leading her to no votes, but told her strategy was too intertwined in her emotions. Meanwhile, Michael was disregarded for a lack of votes, being told by the jury that he wasn’t a threat and didn’t deserve to win. This led to the two being co-runner-ups after a 6-1-1 final vote.
Survivor: Edge of Extinction
Gavin Whitson
Gavin played an incredible game, using social strategy to hold a strong spot throughout the game. But despite getting no votes against him and effectively helping send most of the jury to the Edge of Extinction, he didn’t have the same relationship bonds as Chris Underwood did after spending most of his game on the Edge. Because of this, Gavin lost to Chris in a 9-4-0 vote making him runner-up.
Survivor 45
Austin Li Coon
A member of the Reba Four alliance, Austin was amongst the strongest group in the game until he put too much trust in his ally Dee Valladares. After planning a blindside against Dee’s—actual—closest alliance member, Austin ended up losing his—actual—closest ally instead when the blindside flipped on him. While he did a good job of explaining his game at Final Tribal Council, his moves simply couldn’t beat Dee who had outmaneuvered him at every corner, leaving him as runner-up in the 5-3-0 vote.
Survivor 48
Eva Erickson
Finding a solid day 1 ally in Joe Hunter, winning multiple immunity challenges, and staying authentic in her social game as a member of the Strong Five alliance, Eva made it to the Final Three without a single vote against her. But the jury couldn’t differentiate her game enough from Joe at the end, which landed her as runner-up of the season after a 5-2-1 vote.
Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans
Joe Hunter & Jonathan Young
After working together all season in the “honor & integrity” alliance that was torn apart except for the two of them, Joe and Jonathan secured their spots at the Final Tribal Council thanks to Aubry Bracco’s Final Three strategy of getting to the end with players even the jury did not see as a threat to their game. In the end, Jonathan received the “honor & integrity” votes over Joe leaving them as runner-up and third place, respectively, in a 8-3-0 vote.
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