Less than a week until a new season of Survivor takes our screens, which means it's time for me to dust off my gameplay knowledge and predict how the new Survivor 49 players are going to do. But before we meet the latest players to wear blue, let's remember which Sole Survivors have rocked the color before.
In 48 seasons, 10 winners started on blue tribes:
- Sandra Diaz-Twine (Survivor: Pearl Islands)
- Sophie Clarke (Survivor: South Pacific)
- Kim Spradlin (Survivor: One World)
- Denise Stapley (Survivor: Phillippines)
- Natalie Anderson (Survivor: San Juan del Sur)
- Mike Holloway (Survivor: Worlds Apart)
- Sarah Lacina (Survivor: Game Changers)
- Ben Driebergen (Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers)
- Chris Underwood (Survivor: Edge of Extinction)
- Erika Casupanan (Survivor 41)
The fact that 70% of these winners returned for Survivor: Winners at War shows that there's some historic fan power and brilliance behind our blue players. Will the season 49 castaways continue that legacy?
Watch the first look for our Survivor 49 players to make your own gameplay predictions and read on to see if we're on the same page for the Kele tribe.
Alex Moore
"I'm in the dirt right now, my feet are messy. I'm not used to this, I wear a suit to work every day."
Age: 26
Hometown: Evanston, Ill.
Current Residence: Washington, D.C.
Occupation: Political comms director
My Prediction: With a background in politics and communication, there's no doubt that Alex is going into the game with a potential for both strong social and strategic gameplay. If he makes the right allies early on, and if his tribe wins, he'll definitely make it to the merge. Once there though, either his loyalty or his desire to shake things up are going to become his biggest weakness and others will not want to keep him around long, fearful of going up against his game in the end.
Kimberly "Annie" Davis
"You should be able to live your best life regardless of what the world has to say."
Age: 49
Hometown: Portland, Ore.
Current Residence: Austin, Texas
Occupation: Musician
My Prediction: It seems like Annie is going into this season with zero expectations, which is the absolute best mindset to have at the beginning of Survivor—and at any point along the journey, really. It's when players start to feel they know what's going on or they can see what's happening next that they get blindsided. Annie's ability to live in the moment and stay authentic to herself will be her best assets. While there's high potential for her to make it to the Final Three (being someone's day 1 ally) she'll likely miss out on the $1 million if she doesn't also incorporate good strategy into her game.
Jake Latimer
"If I'm feeling down in the dumps or I'm feeling vulnerable...I just got to think of what's waiting for me back at home."
Age: 36
Hometown: Regina, Saskatchewan
Current Residence: St. Albert, Alberta
Occupation: Correctional officer
My Prediction: Jake is definitely going to be an early asset, but a later target as a physical threat. His personality and ability to provide for his tribe in challenges will no doubt get him to the merge, but if he is too forthcoming with his story, he will get a much bigger target on his back. He needs to keep his full picture of home as closely to himself as possible—without pushing away potential relationships—until Final Tribal Council because it's a winner's story that no one will want to sit next to and it will have more impact if it's revealed at the end.
Jeremiah Ing
"I want to be the first male Taurus to ever win Survivor."
Age: 39
Hometown: Windsor, Ontario
Current Residence: Toronto, Ontario
Occupation: Global events manager
My Prediction: There's no doubt Jeremiah has an infectious personality, which might be fine on a starting tribe of such social players. Kele is already giving Civa vibes a la Survivor 48, so I don't necessarily think Jeremiah will be voted out first, but I do have a feeling that not everyone on the island will be a fan of their personality being diagnosed by astrology and he might rub some people the wrong way. I can unfortunately see a world in which Jeremiah doesn't make it to the merge.
Nicole Mazullo
"I am a kid, and it's my favorite thing to be. And I don't ever want to grow up. Ever."
Age: 26
Hometown: Long Island, N.Y.
Current Residence: Philadelphia, Pa.
Occupation: Financial crime consultant
My Prediction: As one of the youngest players this season, Nicole's youth gives off fun energy, but when it comes to gameplay, people might see that as naiveté and someone who can't be trusted. While an alliance might bring her in initially, I fear that lack of trust is going to come into play because of a gameplay mistake. Whether early on and accidental or later in the season knowing it's a cost to pay for potentially pulling off a big move, Nicole is going to flip and it's going to hurt her game.
Sophi Balerdi
"I own three businesses and I have ten employees...so I know how to deal with putting people in their place."
Age: 27
Hometown: Miami, Fla.
Current Residence: Miami, Fla.
Occupation: Entrepreneur
My Prediction: Sophi definitely seems to have a plan of "playing dumb" and putting "meat shields" at the head of her alliance in order to keep the heat off of her as a potential gameplay threat. I predict this will backfire before or right after the merge, however, as her clear need to lead bubbles up. Unless she can find a day 1 ally who she can trust to keep her in check, there is going to be at least one instance that sets her fellow castaways alarms off to know that she's much smarter than she's letting on.
Survivor 49 premieres on CBS and Paramount+ on Wednesday, Sept. 24.