shoutout to natalie white for being one of the only people to win just by being a nice person.

Natalie White: STILL Holds the American Survivor Record for surviving the most tribal councils in a single season without the use of an immunity necklace or an idol.

The fact that Chris wasn't even in the game for most of the 39 days probably helped him not get votes 😂

Given the context Natalie White was playing in, she played a brilliant game and did exactly what she should do to win. The fault is on the show not editing her story. That would never happen today.

Its a shame in an alternate timeline where there is no forced firemaking Ben goes down as a massive jury threat and scrappy player prime for a second chance return (like Rick Devens) but instead...yeah.

My mom was team Wendell and I was team Dominick! Still to this day we debt the result!

One thing that would be interesting is to explore what I call the 'imperfect game.' someone who receives no votes against them and no votes to win

I get why he's not included here (since this is a math thing), but Mike's entire post-merge game in Worlds Apart was just so rough and messy. The guy would've been gone time and time again without Immunity, and if he doesn't have that Idol he's legitimately gone at Final 7 (he got the most votes, then).

Ben’s is the only win I feel really weird about because it just feels so shady. Whether it’s true or not, it feels like production wanted him to win so desperately. Ben finding all those idols and then there suddenly being a final four fire making challenge. Just very shady

I can just imagine Jeff and production in the back of Ghost Island happily freaking out bc a tie actually happened. GREAT TV. That season probably needed it to be considered even a decent season.

Natalie's feat is interesting if you think about it. When she got votes she was safe no matter what, if they tied the vote again she's immune and safe from the rock draw but since John flipped it saved her and this was the only tribal council she got votes against.

I knew Mr. Underhill would be on here. He drew far too much attention to himself.

Weird to put Natalie here considering she was only in danger at 1 tribal council despite attending all but 1 of them. Let alone the fact that the numbers were 5-5 so if a deadlock happens she’d be safe Mick, Jaison, and Russel were never going to flip and Shambo flipping was unlikely while John was majorly antsy and anti rock draw

OK someone has to tell me -- back when Jeff read the final votes live, the finalists already knew who the winner would be, right?? There's no way the players wouldn't talk amongst themselves and share their votes, right???

I loved Edge of Extension. It was so cool to see Chris come back!

I always assumed that Galu voted for Natalie because they knew it would be a tie and liked her the best (she would become safe if they tied again the 2nd vote).

It's interesting that everyone watching EoE wanted Rick to win, I also would've been satisfied with that, yet he also was voted off. I feel like people are more forgiving of him because he was so entertaining to watch.

Mike Holloway really put his foot in his mouth over the survivor auction controversy, to the point where it killed the survivor auction 😂 But he’s still my favorite winner

Interesting Fact: Russell knew he wasn't winning Samoa by talking to Shambo previous to it happening. She told him everyone pretty much hated him and that it wasn't looking good. That's why he looks so disappointed during the reunion, and after getting railed at the HvV final tribal, he basically went to both reunions knowing he was never winning anything.

5:50 Despite getting so many votes, I don't think she was at danger. Foa foa staying together + Shambo voting for Laura no matter what already creates at worst case scenerio rock draw - where Natalie would've been safe

So I forgot Mike from S30 was in the perfect winner vid, so before watching this I thought he was going to be on this list even though I like him as a winner and liked the season.

I think it's kinda funny Chris couldn't take out Wentworth but Wardog took both Chris and Wentworth out

Top 10 worst survivor winners: 10. You 9. Can't 8. Call 7. Winners 6. Bad 5. Because 4. They play 3. The hand 2. They're dealt 1. Gabler

A couple of opinions I would like to share about some of the people on the list Natalie: I don't think she is a bad winner because she played a game that the jury could respect compared to how Russell played. Chris: I know how a lot of people feel about his win because it would have almost been like if Lillian won Pearl Islands instead of Sandra, but that would have been worse. Even though Gavin played a more traditional game, he didn't do anything. Ben: I know his win is considered controversial because of the surprise fire making twist and there is a lot of conspiracy about how production made it so easy for him to find idols, but he played a great game! Where does Tommy Sheehan fall?

Question are you going to do a video breakdown of how Chris won the challenge USA season 2….it feels like his survivor story and honestly if it wasn’t for this season of the challenge I wouldn’t have went back to see his season

At 7:11 it Vytas!

To be completely fair, idols being rehidden at camp after being played has been a thing for 15+ seasons by the time Heroes vs Healers vs Hustlers aired. Ben exploited that, the others clearly knew about it because of how many idols he was pulling out, and they still never decided to just stay with him or watch him to prevent him from idol hunting. Knock Ben all you want, but his dedication to finding idols is unparralleled by any other survivor player before or since.

I feel like it wasn't until WaW, with the added Context of Natalie almost winning in the same way, when Chris's game actually got some light and became actually good? Hot take maybe, but Survivor is a social game about constantly adapting and rolling with whatever the game throws at you. Chris did just that, He figured out come Jury when he wasn't sent home, that there would be another chance to get back in the game, and spent his time on the Jury and on the Edge figuring out exactly what he needed to do to get a win, and he did it. Personally I feel like as a winner, Chris gets too much hate, from the same fan base that would have loved to see Matty, Mike or Andrea defeat Boston Rob in Redemption Island, or Ozzy make it to the end and beat Coach and Albert in SP. Part of that I feel is due to the editing. With not much going on at the Edge other than starvation, there wasn't much to show except Reem Ranting, which was fun, but going back, there's a marked Shift in Chris's game, come the merge. The moment Joe gets to the Edge, he's a much softer character, more focused on figuring out what happened at camp that led to the latest person being voted out, learning the tribe dynamics, and studying the tribal councils every night. He made the Jury feel comfortable with him on edge, and also fed into their negative feelings toward Victoria, Gavin and Julie. He made sure that the winner of the season would be someone from the edge, Lauren or Devens, and then systematically took out Lauren and Devens in such a way to guarantee his narrative that the one of those three to reach the end, would be the winner. It's such a rare game, that really could only have worked on the Edge or Redemption, and was something Ozzy had actually tried doing in South Pacific, but Chris Perfected, where he was playing Kingmaker, in order to make it to the end, propping up huge players most deserving to win, and then making sure he was the one to take them out and all eyes were on him. Thinking of it in comparison to other seasons where coming back is possible, it's like if Ozzy made it to the end with Albert and Coach, or Tina with Gervase and Monica, or hell, if Natalie had been able to somehow get Ben and Michele with her to the end of WaW. Playing from Redemption or exile, you have to change the mindset of the jury, that the players left in the game are these mighty figures, so when you return you can make a show of them being your Goliath, and Chris gets points in my book for being the only player to do that successfully, with Tina being a close second, since if she does get Monica to flip and force a tie against Gervase, there's no doubt in my mind She'd have been a two time winner. Like with Natalie White, it may not be the most respectable game, but it is the exact/perfect game he needed to play in order to win his season, and the results don't lie. Also, long comment, sorry, but I am a Chris/Ben Apologist, and have to rant. Ben too, was playing the perfect game to win his season, I don't believe in production interference for Triple H, considering Reality TV competitions need to go through approval from the network before starting when any twists are involved, so Production and the network had to be aware of F4 Fire and Revolving Idols before anyone even got to the beach, but again, hot take, Ben played a modern Johnny Fairplay game. By that I mean, at some point, he sees the writing on the wall, and pivots to being the season Heel. He's loud, rambunctious, hyperactive and unpredictable. If he's going down, he's going out swinging this season, and if he makes it to the end, he's making sure he's the only thing on that Jury's mind every night. I'm also one of those fans that hates the argument that Chrissy lost because of the stigma against villainous women in Survivor, no. Villainous women can absolutely win, Weirdly, I think Woo in Cagayan was a kingmaker in a way, where Kass did hold enough sway to win that game, I think Woo only wins against Spencer, considering Spencer didn't emotionally connect with the tribe, while Kass used people's emotions against them. The problem with Chrissy's game is twofold, one she was playing a Hantz game, and that's always a losing game, like Missy or Russell, she was just too cutthroat and in-your-face about disrespecting the jury as they left, to the point it leads into the second problem. She completely discounted Ben as a non-factor. Chrissy was so in her own head, and convinced she was going to win, that it feels like she genuinely doesn't care if Ben stays or goes, because she thinks she's playing a better game than anyone else, when the hard truth is, she was second place regardless of who wins that Firemaking challenge. If anyone complains about F4 Fire screwing someone's game, that's fine, but I truly see that particular challenge screwing Devon, far more than Chrissy. I think the only thing that changes should their plans go right and he beats Ben in fire, is that Ryan gets 0 votes, while Devon gets 6.

My question is how does this light change if negated votes don’t count?

For ghost island i predicted either wendell or Dominic was gonna win this season from episode 1!!

When driving a truck, you always have to remember that the back end exists.

Do you have the stats on who had the most votes cast against them in a single season? I would think Russell and Ozzy would be up there.

I never watched all the the seasons of survivor

There was no guarantee Dom would have beaten Wendell at fire, nor was there any guarantee he would lose the jury. He played it right there. It also made for better TV. If he'd done what you wanted then an already blah season ends with either he or Wendell sleepwalking past a pair of nobodies, instead of giving us a rare FTC that has multiple contenders in it.

i’m so glad wendall is on this list. i can’t remember anything he did. meanwhile i remember all the moves dom made

A win is a win...

Tbh Nat is my fav winner because of how ‘wrong’ it was. She and Chris U have my fav wins.

One of the reasons Natalie was also voted for was because of the possibility of rocks and they actually liked Natalie the most lol.

The math doesn't lie, Ben.

Yeah, Chris and Ben definitely are too two messiest. But I would put Chris as number one since he did get voted out and had to come back

I think it's so fun that almost everything about the game is subjective & situational to a point it's nearly unbelievable!😄 Every winner in another season/environment/social structure could be a first out to anything in between. Even player's in-game reputations are subject to this, as the eye test may have you believe someone is a "smart" "villain" character, but objectively, they could be a "dumb" "hero" type! Again, so fun!

It shouldn't have been Laurel's vote....they should have tried a re-vote first, like they do with a tie at a normal tribal

These are some of my favorite contestants!

How does Yam-Yam stack up on this list?

I was expecting Fabio and Bob on the list but I guess they weren’t super messy based on these statistics

Funny how 35, 36, and 38 are all on the list

For Ghost island i was thinking Dom was going to win and deserved to win. That being said when Wendall won he deserved the win because at the end of the day Dom didnt do the one crucial play he needed to. Vote out the second most powerful guy in the game.

What’s more impressive though? Those who won and never been targeted like JT or those who always have a target on their back but still managed to win?

Ben should’ve had 5 more votes but that unprecedented rule change at final 6 saved him from that stat even if he still lands at 1

Being targetted doesn’t make you a bad winner… where did that come from ?? It’s quite the opposite actually because if you manage to get yourself to the end and win despite that target it makes you tough enough And most importantly, NOT being targetted does NOT necessarily make you a good player or a good winner Sandra wasn’t targetted at all, yet she’s not a great winner So does that mean Adam is a bad winner ? Same thing for Denise

I’ll admit. I’ve never thought about this, but if you had asked me how many votes winners received I would not have guess the 4th and 5th most would only be 8

A couple of thoughts: Saying Dom needed to go to fire is revisionist history that people say after watching him (barely) loose at ftc and not seeing what happens if he makes fire. I really don't think it's sensible to count revotes in this. Counting negated votes here when you didn't for perfect games is strange. Numbers don't lie but people do and they sometimes use numbers to do it.

In an obscure way Chris Underwood is subjectively the best winner of the series. He really had no right in winning bc on paper, he didn’t really play much of what we know as Survivor. However, he exploited what is the least likable gimmick in the show’s history to his advantage, and did it perfectly. He is often considered one of the worse winners, but in reality fans can’t see his win for what it is. Perfect. Hate EOE all you want, Chris was only playing the hand he was dealt.

Interesting video, but I think a percentage of eligible votes would have been more accurate. Chris was eligible for 43 votes against him and received 14, that's 32%. Natalie on the other hand was eligible for 111 and only received 10, so 9%. Makes a pretty big difference. For someone not on the list, Mike Holloway was eligible for 55 votes against and received 6 giving him almost 11%.

Uggh this video just reminded me how much I disliked bens season, i cant think of a way that production didnt interfere with this as i really think they wanted him to win, finding 3 idols back to back is ludicrous then installing fire making to basically protect him or give him another shot it would only be more obvious if during final tribal, jeff unfurled the american flag behind him and then instigated an automatic army vets recieve 4/5 automatic jury votes

Feel like Mike Holloway has to be ranked prettty high on this

the post merge of HvHvH was so frustrating to watch. The way Ben keeps finding these damn idols made me waana kill my self at that time lmao

At least with Ben, he played the whole game. Chris took down Devens but he was arguably carried by Devens to the Final 4. IMO, Chris is the worst, should’ve gone to Gavin.

I actually disagree with Natalie being in danger at final 10. Bc foa foa had shambo for sure, especially bc laura didn’t have immunity. Meaning it would be 5-5 and 4-4 if John didn’t flip. And in a deadlock none of the foa foas would agree to vote Natalie bc this is the vote where they could truly gain the lead. Meaning if they went to rocks then Laura and nat would be safe. Also the foa foas had the advantage bc mick had immunity meaning Galu had a higher chance of picking the odd rock. Understand where your coming from tho. Just wanted to throw my opinion out there. Ok rant over 🙃

I don’t think Ben should be on this list. His gameplay was risky, but it was captivating, and as he points out in the statements with the jury, nobody carried him there he got himself there. But that’s just me

I hate the title of this video. If people are trying to vote you off they know you are a threat. If everyone is trying to vote you off and can’t then you are in a league of your own. Ben killed it.

ben's chaos is what makes him my fav tbh

I just re watched Samoa man that Natalie win is super frustrating. Say what you want about Russell but that guy revolutionized the game.

Wendell? Bruh what the hell

So I know that clearly Ben logically is one of the messiest winners of all time, but since we're going factually by numbers here I'm not sure he belongs on this list! In your video titled "The History of the Perfect Survivor Game (And Its Close Misses)" you claim that Jeremy Collins played a perfect game, despite having 3 votes cast against him, because those 3 votes didn't count due to him playing an idol. If we follow that same logic, none of Ben's idol cancelled votes should count! Obviously still a great video, but I was just thinking that as I watched

Ok jeremy for season 31 should not have won cuz spencer deserved it but jeremy talked about his upcoming kid hence the jury pitied him but ok....

Look, I understand while jury was angry at Russel. Russel was always meaner than he should have been. But man, his strategic, decoy and manipulative way was so much fun. Natalie was bland as fuck and only won because jury was bitter towards Russsels arogance...which I understand. All Russel had to do to win was to be a bit more humble and own up his game. Even if loser and often a dick, he is still the one of the funniest and most enjoyable players to watch playing this game.

Still like ben

You don’t even have the worst winners … to me it’s .. Todd basically almost killed him self after winning .. earl had the worst season ever .. ..worst seasons n winners season . 4 ,5 ,14, 17

I can't believe you don't got Michele on this list. She was good in waw but so lucky to have won in 32

Gabler and Sandra 2.0 are pretty messy

It absolutely blows my mind how Chrissy didn’t win !!!

Dee was a terrible winner aswell

ben is my LEAST favorite winner also...

I’m not sure I agree with the counting methodology here. First, you counted votes negated by idols, which was not the case in the perfect game episode. (Jeremy’s win was counted as perfect despite needing an idol play). Seems odd that idol negated votes DO count here but not there. Also, not sure it’s fair to count revotes on ties since that effectively lengthens the game being considered. So would Jeremy’s game NOT be perfect here?

Ahhh Tina Wesson has to be a mile worse than any of these players

Honestly Ben was one of my favorite winners, just clawing his way to victory despite being priority target #1

I Think Chris has Definitely Proved himself after he went on the challenge USA season 2 please do a episode on Chirs and his journey on television

Why does getting votes in tribal make you a bad winner? It means people knew you were a threat and TRIED to vote you out but failed.

For Chris for Wendell for even Ben I can see why they won. Where as Natalie is the one person we’re for a fact Russell definitely shoulda won. I would also say the same for Amber. But since Boston Rob won Redemption Island. I’m honesty fine with it.

Natalie is anything but the worst Survivor winner of all time. She was in a situation no contestant before or since has ever been in. She was forced to play the absolute barest bare bones of games on account of whom else was on the tribe. If she'd been a Galu, she would have been able to get away with a higher level of play. As Redemption Island proved all too well, it looks a hell of a lot easier than it really is. Oh, and did I mention that she was the _only_ Foa Foa that never advocated for Russell's elimination?

I wonder which players (in general) played the messiest games ever.

Repeat after me: Ben Does not count

I find the backlash against Chris’ win a little sad. I understand he was voted off and traditionally should not have been eligible to remain in the competition, but when he came back into the game he played REALLY well, especially for never having met half the remaining contestants and not even being on a tribe with any of them for weeks. He was incredibly strategic and a physical powerhouse, even beating Joe to get back into the game. I wish we could have seen more air time with him, but he really seemed like a genuinely nice and likeable guy who would have been a fan favorite if he hadn’t been eliminated early on. And I have a feeling that if he had not been voted off when he did, he probably still would have managed to get very far in the game. In some alternate reality he would have been a total fan favorite and one of the best winners of all time. But in this reality people hold a twist against him that he had no control over. He was playing the game, and almost anyone would have tried their hardest to get back into the game from the edge

Chris is the worst winner of all time, easily.

L O robed xD

If you include other versions of Survivor, the list changes. For example, in Australia, we have Kristie Bennett (13), Hayley Leake (13) and Shane Gould (14). If anyone's interested, the closest Australia has to a perfect game is Liz Parnova with 2.

The worst winners of all time are by far Natalie and Maryanne

Russell should have won. he actually played the game.

Chris and Ben are number 1 and 2 for me. Ignoring math, Mike, Bob, and Fabio would make the list for me too

It's because Wendell is black

The jury in season 38 will forever be remembered as disgraceful for giving winning votes to someone who wasn’t even in the game, and got way to many twist benefits. Was almost the case in WaW, but thankfully, Tony was there.

Chris is one of the best for me

Ben’s win personifies everything wrong with modern Survivor. You could play a perfect game only to get idoled out in one of the last rounds.

Rick Devens should have won that season.

Dominic should have won

At the end of the day, I'll always respect who the jury chooses as a winner but Natalie still should not have won that season lol

Ngl imo there is only two winners who i think shouldn't have won. Natalie in season 19 and Sandra in season 20. I think Russell should have won season 19, because yeah he was terrible socially wise, he still did pretty much everything. As For Sandra, i think Russell or Parvati should have won, but i would've loved it if Colby won aswell even though he placed 5th, that would've been such an amazing redemption arc considering he was on the outs pretty much day one