From the moment that it was announced that Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans will be a landmark season with an all-star cast, fans have been very invested in it.
Fans have discussed things like which players they want to feud during the season. On top of that, there was a lot of interest when Jerri Manthey stated that Colby Donaldson tried to pregame with her when he thought she was going to be part of the season's cast.
While fans have discussed many different aspects of Survivor 50, there has been one topic that has dominated a lot of the discourse about the season. It seems clear that most fans are deeply invested in which players they expect could win Survivor 50.
With that in mind, it is fascinating to look at which players fans would be shocked and impressed by if they won the upcoming season.
Colby Donaldson
In July 2025, a fan on the r/survivor subreddit asked the community's other contributors about a specific topic regarding the cast of Survivor 50. "Which player would impress you the most if they won Survivor 50, and who would shock you the most by winning"? In response to that interesting inquiry, the top-most-upvoted response was from someone who would be shocked and impressed if Colby Donaldson won.
"Colby would both impress me and shock me."
During Survivor: The Australian Outback, Colby was a finalist, and he obviously could have won if he had brought Keith Famie to the end with him instead of Tina Wesson. Colby later returned for Survivor: All-Stars and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. During his two previous return seasons. Colby never seemed like a real threat to win no matter how far he made it in the game. During one of his return seasons, James Clement even spoke extensively about Colby seeming like a shadow of the player he was at the height of his Survivor success.
Since Colby hasn't played since Survivor's 20th season and he didn't seem that invested in the game when he competed on the show the last time, it makes sense that fans would be shocked and impressed if he wins Survivor 50. After all, that would almost certainly mean that Colby played hard and changed things up dramatically from his previous time playing.
Cirie Fields
Widely regarded as the best Survivor player who hasn't won the game, Cirie Fields is one of the most respected reality show stars of all time. As a result, there is no doubt that Cirie should be considered a major threat to win Survivor 50 if she makes it to the end. The second most-upvoted response to the aforementioned subreddit post argued that Cirie's threat level is exactly why her winning Survivor 50 would be so impressive.
"Definitely Cirie. Because if she can pull it out with her threat level, I might think of it as the most impressive win in survivor history."
To that fan's point, if I was competing as a part of Survivor 50's cast, the first person I would want out of the game is Cirie Fields. The reason for that is the fact that I recognize that Cirie becomes incredibly difficult to get out if she gets any purchase in the game. If Cirie manages to win Survivor 50 despite how intimidated by her everyone else should be, that truly would be incredible.
Mike White
Every Survivor 50 player entered the game with the albatross of how people perceived how they've played in the past around their necks. On top of that, Mike White began the season with a second thing that was poised to potentially drag him down in the game. Probaby for that reason, the third most-upvoted response to the subreddit post expressed how shocking Mike winning Survivor 50 would be.
'Most shocked if Mike White wins."
On top of being a former Survivor player, Mike White is a Hollywood producer, writer, and director who has worked on a slew of different movies and TV shows. Most notably, Mike is the creative force behind one of the most talked-about and successful shows in recent years, The White Lotus. Given how rich, successful, and powerful Mike is, it would be pretty shocking if his tribemates allowed him to make it to the end and then the jury rewarded him with Survivor's $1 million prize.
Survivor 50 premieres in February 2026! Stay tuned for more news abou the upcoming season!