The Final 5 of Survivor 50 has only one non–new era player left standing, and that gives Aubry Bracco a huge opening — but also paints a bright target on her back.
We’re down to the Final 5 of Survivor 50, and there’s only one player left in the hunt for the $2 million prize and ultimate bragging rights who isn’t from the new era. That player is Aubry Bracco.
I’m sure Aubry is happy to have outlasted Cirie Fields in the race to be the final non-new era player in the game. She’s now in a powerful position to win Survivor 50.
Heading into the finale, Aubry should have a significant advantage over the rest of the cast simply because of her story. She finished as runner-up to Michele Fitzgerald on Survivor: Kaoh Rong, the show’s 32nd season, which aired 10 years ago. That remains the closest she has come to winning the $1 million prize.
In her fourth time playing, Aubry has been fighting uphill from the start. She spent much of the season outside the majority alliance until she helped swing two major votes: Ozzy Lusth and Cirie Fields. Aubry can’t fully claim those moves for herself, but her name has seemed to come up at nearly every vote since the merge. Even so, she has somehow kept the spotlight off her back.
With just two challenges left, Aubry needs to survive one crucial vote and fire-making to reach the Final 3 with an incredible opportunity as the last old school player standing.
Why Aubry Bracco is the favorite to win Survivor 50
Even though some of the other players may have stronger relationships with the jury, Aubry has the advantage of familiarity. She has played Survivor four times in the last 11 years, so the rest of the cast already knows who she is and how she tends to play. There’s no mystery surrounding her game.
For everyone else, it’s a tougher case to make. No one has seen Rizo Velovic play Survivor before. Tiffany Ervin was one of the strongest players on Survivor 46, but she did not quite reach the end. Joe Hunter brought a very specific style to Survivor 48, and he has tried to repeat that approach on Survivor 50 with mixed results.
Each of those players still has to prove they played a better game than Aubry. Right now, Jonathan Young looks like the only one with a real argument. He has plenty of allies on the jury, making him the biggest threat to Aubry at the moment. He could likely secure votes from Chrissy Hofbeck, Coach, and Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, but he would still need more to convince the rest of the jury.
Aubry also appears to have the edge in jury management. At the moment, she may already have locked up votes from Cirie, Ozzy, Rick Devens, Christian Hubicki, and possibly Emily Flippen. That would give her five votes on an 11-member jury. She would only need one more to win Survivor 50.
The problem for Aubry? Everyone knows she’s the favorite to win Survivor 50
And that is exactly why she is heading into the next two immunity challenges with a huge target on her back. If Aubry loses, the others would almost certainly have to vote her out. Rizo is already locked into the Final 4 thanks to his immunity idol, which leaves Joe, Aubry, Tiff, and Jonathan fighting for survival.
Among that group, no one looks more dangerous than Aubry.
Rizo has played a solid game. He has held onto an idol for a second straight season and helped spark two of the season’s biggest turning points by removing Ozzy and Cirie. Tiffany has been in a similar position to Aubry, but she has also won a few challenges, survived, and put together a strong game. Joe has been a challenge beast and an important vote at key moments. Jonathan has been part of the tightest and clearest alliances in the game, and while he has made big moves, he still lacks that signature moment.
If there was ever a time for the four remaining players to work together and keep one person from winning immunity, this is it. These last two challenges are effectively worth $2 million to one player. Someone has to stop Aubry — or she may be all but guaranteed to win Survivor 50.
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