The Survivor 49 Final 3 managed to bring the end to a 20-season drought for women in the game of Survivor.
Heading into the finale, there were five players left in the game: Sage Ahrens-Nichols, Sophi Balerdi, Savannah Louie, Kristina Mills, and Rizo Velovic. There was no telling which of the Final 5 would make it through to the Final 3, as there was a path to the final tribal council for each of the five remaining players.
There were a lot of scenarios to factor in making it hard to predict who would be sitting in those Final 3 seats vying for the $1 million prize. In the end, those seats went to Sophi, Savannah, and Sage, who brought an end to a 20-season drought to become the first all-female Final 3 in over 10 years.
That’s right, not since Survivor: San Juan del Sur (season 29) has there been a Final 3 which was made up entirely of women in the game. Back in 2014, Natalie Anderson, Jaclyn Schultz, and Missy Payne managed to outlast the rest of the cast to become the third trio of women to make it to the Final 3 – with Sophi, Savannah, and Sage becoming the fourth trio to achieve this historic feat in Survivor.
Sophi, Savannah, and Sage are the first trio of women to make it to the Final 3 in the modern era of Survivor, not only bringing this drought to an end after 11 years but etching their names into the history books as the first modern era trio to achieve this feat. It’s honestly shocking that it took 20 seasons for the show to see another all-female Final 3, and we’re hoping it won’t be another 20 seasons before it happens again.
When was the first all-female Survivor Final 3?
The most recent all-female Final 3 is now Survivor 49, but the feat was first achieved in Survivor: Micronesia — Fans vs. Favorites aka season 16. Back then, the finale came down to just two finalists, and it was Parvati Shallow and Amanda Kimmel who made history by becoming the first all-female Final 2.
Season 16 was one for the ages gifting us with the Black Widow Brigade, an alliance that remains one of the most iconic and strongest alliances the show has ever seen. The alliance was founded by Parvati and Amanda with Cirie Fields rounding out the founding trio. They’d eventually expand their ranks with the additions of Alexis Jones and Natalie Bolton, with the group becoming a dominant force in the season with some of the greatest blindsides the game has ever seen. That season would end with Parvati winning what would be the first of two wins in Survivor U.S.
The first official all-female Final 3 occurred in season 24, Survivor: One World, when Kim Spradlin, Sabrina Thompson, and Chelsea Meissner made their way to the finale where Kim walked away as the season 24 winner. This season was also the first season to see an all-female Final 5 with Christina Cha and Alicia Rosa rounding out the Final 5, after the elimination of Greg "Tarzan" Smith.