With a cast as lively as the one we met on Survivor 50, it’s no shock that the jury is stacked with standout, game-changing players. From first juror Dee Valladares to the newest addition, Cirie Fields, these eliminated castaways are still very much in the game in one key way: they’ll decide who becomes Sole Survivor and takes home the $2 million prize.
And as with any season, the big question is simple: who would have won if they’d actually made it to the end instead of the jury? Fans were crushed when favorites like Christian Hubicki, Ozzy Lusth, Rick Devens, and Cirie Fields—each of them playing sharp, impressive games—had their torches snuffed and were sent packing to the jury.
Now, in an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly, the nine eliminated castaways are opening up about life after elimination and looking back on the games they played. More importantly, they’re revealing which player, in their view, truly played a winner’s game that could have earned the $2 million.
And the votes? Honestly, they weren’t all that surprising.
First up are the players who didn’t get much love: Chrissy Hofbeck, Coach Wade, Emily Flippen, and Ozzy Lusth. None of their games were singled out as the strongest on the jury this season, which raises an interesting question — maybe they weren’t quite as threatening as the rest of the cast believed?
Then there’s Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, who would probably vote for herself if she could. Since she can’t, she lands on the list of players who were not in the conversation for the title and the prize had they reached Final Three. Dee Valladares also earned some praise from Rick Devens, who, even though his vote went elsewhere, still gave her credit for having “major annoying little sister vibes” — but in the best possible way.
Next came Christian Hubicki, who picked up two shout-outs. Both Dee and Emily agreed that he, along with an additional vote from each of them, played a strong enough game to deserve their support at the end. Dee also included Cirie Fields in her tie for best jury player, and she’s far from alone. Christian, Ozzy, and Devens all agreed that Cirie played the best game overall.
Christian even went so far as to say, “I get the hype. I’ve now lived the hype. I have joined the hype,” when talking about Cirie’s game, while Devens added, “I mean, come on, man.” The two sounded completely sold on the idea that no one else plays quite like Cirie — and that assessment is hard to argue with. Still, she didn’t walk away with the majority of the praise across the board.
The player who got the biggest wave of support from fellow jury members was Rick Devens.
“Everyone was afraid to sit next to him in the end,” Stephenie said, while both Chrissy and Cirie pointed to his brilliantly funny fake idol move. Devens may have been the clearest vote of the season because it was so obvious he had been playing an outstanding game. Chrissy, Coach, Stephenie, Emily, and Cirie all said they would have voted for him to win, and Aubry Bracco — who likely would have landed on the jury if Devens hadn’t — probably agrees.
And just like that, Devens appears to have a majority at the Final Tribal Council — if he had made it there.
For more SURIVIVOR updates, follow Daily News.
Come back here often for Survivor spoilers, news and updates.
