With the premiere of Survivor 48 only a few weeks away, fans can't wait to see what a new group of players bring to the table. Now that we know who will be competing for this season's title of Sole Survivor, it's time for my favorite pre-season tradition: see if I can guess how everyone's going to fair on the island based only on first impressions.
In 47 seasons, three winners originally started on green tribes:
- Tina Wesson (Survivor: The Australian Outback)
- Aras Baskauskas (Survivor: Panama)
- Yul Kwon (Survivor: Cook Islands)
So go check the first look at the Survivor 48 players for yourself and see if you agree with my predictions for the players on the Green tribe.
Cedrek McFadden
"I want to be helpful so [my allies] can in turn help me advance in this game."
Age: 46
Hometown: Columbia, S.C.
Current Residence: Greenville, S.C.
Occupation: Surgeon
My Prediction: Surgeons on the show can often come off too strategic and threatening, but I think Cedrek will be very caretaker-focused in his approach to the game. His path will be about loyalty, which will ultimately be what puts him on the jury (because yes, I think he'll make it post-merge). But similar to last seasons Tuku Five alliance, he will likely be voted off simply because he is a number for someone in power and people need him gone to advance their own game.
Stephanie Berger
"In so many parts of my life I control how things go."
Age: 38
Hometown: New York City, N.Y.
Current Residence: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Occupation: Tech product lead
My Prediction: Stephanie is a big personality, which this season is proving to have a lot of. But she also seems like an intuitive person who understands how people think and what she needs to give in order to get what she needs out of them. I could see her being a bit of a sleeper agent and socially working her way to a post-merge spot before people realize she's actually a strategic threat and get her out and on the jury.
Mary Zheng
"I'm someone who really just doesn't care what people think about me. I do my own thing."
Age: 31
Hometown: Montgomery Village, Md.
Current Residence: Philadelphia
Occupation: Substance abuse counselor
My Prediction: I don't think Mary understands the game of Survivor to the level she needs to in order to get far. I love her tenacious attitude towards life, but as far as gameplay goes, a lot of how she approaches the world will not fly once she's dropped on that beach with 17 other people who want to win, too. I could see Mary being one of the first members voted off the green tribe.
Kevin Leung
"I wanna look as ditsy and clueless as possible because that's what's gonna help me go through far in this game."
Age: 34
Hometown: Fremont, Calif.
Current Residence: Livermore, Calif.
Occupation: Finance manager
My Prediction: Kevin is adorable and people are going to love having him around camp. He will be a very social player, which will either get him far or hurt him early. If he demonstrates his ability to connect with everyone too soon, he will likely be seen as a threat and people will want him gone before the merge out of fear he'll connect with other castaways. But if he stays kind while only sharing true connections outwardly with his alliance, I could see him making the jury.
Saiounia “Sai” Hughley
"You're not gonna tell me I can't or will not do something. It's gonna make me want to do it more."
Age: 30
Hometown: Philadelphia
Current Residence: Simi Valley, Calif.
Occupation: Marketing professional
My Prediction: Sai is strategic power personified. She comes off as clever and concise and definitely has the smarts and determination to get to the end. If she can keep a filter on everything she does in the game and make sure not to have a strategic seashells at the beach conversation or allow her expectations to disrupt her from finding advantages in every opportunity, both of which ultimately blew up Michaela Bradshaw's game in Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X and Survivor: Game Changers, respectively, then I think she could go far.
Justin Pioppi
"I'm hoping they see me as the goofy, happy-go-lucky, fun-loving kid."
Age: 29
Hometown: Winthrop, Mass.
Current Residence: Winthrop, Mass.
Occupation: Pizzeria manager
My Prediction: I think Justin has a real shot at the $ 1 million prize. He's the epitome of a stealth agent, in Survivor standards, and if he keeps everyone believing he's just going with the flow while secretly playing them like chess pieces, then there's not much that can stop him. But if he chooses to open up to anybody about his educational background, he's going to have an instant target on his back. He needs to stay "the pizza guy" until Final Tribal to make it work.