Survivor 49 is down to its final six players, and one player holds a secret advantage that could change this whole season around if she plays it correctly.
Sophi (Soph) Balerdi has a Knowledge is Power advantage that no one, not even her closest allies, knows about. If she pays it correctly, she can eliminate arguably the two biggest threats to win season 49.
As of right now, the three players with the best chances of winning, based on gameplay and jury makeup, are Savannah Louie, Rizo Velovic, and Steven Ramm. The first two have been Soph's closest allies since the merge, and they have stuck together since the tribes came together as one.
Steven has an advantage of his own - a Block a Vote advantage. It is powerful enough to break a three-three tie if everyone just voted along alliance lines. This late in the game, alliances are shaky things as everyone is playing for their own advancement.
How Sophi Balerdi should play her advantage on Survivor 49
Sophi began plotting to take out Savannah during episode 11, but she decided that voting out Sophie Segreti took precedence. If Sophi flips and votes with Steven, Kristina Mills, and Sage Ahrens-Nichols to take out Savannah, she can get rid of someone whom she thinks is her biggest competition.
Then, at the Final Five Tribal Council, she should play her Knowledge is Power advantage and take Rizo’s idol before he can play it for himself. Sophi can then play the idol for herself, have a plan to vote out Rizo in place, and guarantee herself a place in the Final four.
These would be two big, splashy moves that should play well with the jury and take out the two most significant threats to winning the game. By waiting until the end of the game, her moves will be fresh, and she can take full credit for them.
Of course, all of this discussion would be for naught if either Rizo or Savannah wins immunity during the next two immunity challenges. Rizo has been no threat in this arena, but Savannah has won two immunity challenges.
It would be easy for her to misuse her advantage, too. She could play it on Steven to gain his Block a Vote advantage if she calls it by the correct name. Rizo is sure it is a Steal a Vote advantage, but it is not. If Sophi decides to stick to her alliance to the end, she could very easily screw up her secret weapon.
If Sophi can play her advantage correctly and time it just right, she could catapult into the final three and battle it out with a couple of fresh moves to her credit. Otherwise, her chances to win will disappear because she hasn’t been a power player in the game so far, other than being a third vote for Rizo and Savannah.
Sophi can shake up Survivor 49 like no one else if she can make the right moves at the end.