Survivor: 10 Players That Went Home With An Idol In Their Pocket

In Survivor, the hidden immunity idol is a crucial tool in keeping a player safe at tribal council. However, a player has to know when to use the idol, as its only good before the votes are read. Over the course of forty seasons, Survivor has seen many players fail to use their idols and be sent home with it still in their pocket.

In more recent seasons, players have learned to adapt to the hidden immunity idol and devise ways to blindside players in possession of the idol. As a result, some savvy game players with idols either got too comfortable or were betrayed by their allies, leading to their demise.

10 Sophie Clarke (Winners At War)

Throughout the beginning portion of Winners at War, Sophie was playing a winning game. She had found a hidden immunity idol, was in the majority alliance, and was a pivotal strategist in deciding who went home. Unfortunately, her close bond with Sarah put her in the crosshairs of Sarah’s closest ally, Tony.

Tony wanted to take Sophie out in order to keep Sarah more loyal to him, and he managed to round up the necessary votes to do so. While the majority alliance split their votes, Tony and the players on the outs voted for Sophie, blindsiding her and sending her out of the game with her idol still in her pocket.

9 Ozzy Lusth (Micronesia)

During Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites, Ozzy quickly became a dominant player by finding a hidden immunity idol, forming a strong alliance, and proving to be a challenge beast in competitions. This all led him to become overconfident and comfortable in his positioning in the game.

When Ozzy lost the immunity challenge and Jason became the easy target to send home, Cirie saw an opportunity to take out Ozzy. She managed to get the votes on her side, and, at tribal council, she blindsided Ozzy, sending him to the jury and flushing his idol in the process.

8 Kelley Wentworth (Edge of Extinction)

Kelley Wentworth was one of four returning players in Survivor: Edge of Extinction. She was targeted early on in the game for her reputation as a dangerous player, but she was able to avoid a strong majority alliance that helped her get to the merge. She also found a hidden immunity idol.

At the final nine, Wentworth was the last returning player left in the game and in a good position. However, she was a little too trusting of her ally, Wardog, who seized the opportunity to turn on her. In the end, Wentworth was blindsided, a surprising outcome for a player known for her impressive idol plays.

7 Jon Misch (San Juan Del Sur)

Jon and his girlfriend, Jaclyn, dominated the merge portion of the game as the two of them became swing votes and used it to their advantage. Jon also found multiple hidden immunity idols, correctly playing one on himself and finding another one soon afterward.

Unbeknownst to him, Jon made an enemy of Natalie after he helped vote out her closest ally, Jeremy. She planned to get her revenge on Jon and orchestrated his elimination. Feeling very comfortable in the game, Jon didn’t see Natalie’s betrayal coming, and he was voted out with his idol in his pocket.

6 Scot Pollard (Kaoh Rong)

Survivor: Kaoh Rong introduced a new twist that allowed two regular hidden immunity idols to be combined together to form a super idol, which could be played after the votes are read. Tai ended up finding one immunity idol, while Jason found the other, ensuring that they and their ally, Scot, would be safe.

Before the tribal council, Jason gave his idol to Scot with the plan that Tai would give the second idol to Scot after the votes were read. However, Aubry was able to flip Tai, manipulating him into not giving Jason and Scot his idol. At tribal, Scot received the most votes, and Tai refused to give him his idol, sending Scot home with Jason’s idol in his pocket.

5 Kellee Kim (Island Of The Idols)

Kellee showed some impressive game acumen throughout her time on Survivor: Island of the Idols and was able to find multiple hidden immunity idols. She even had some strategic idol plays when she secretly gave Dean an idol to save himself and vote out Jack.

At the merge, however, Kellee found herself on the wrong side of the vote. Prior to tribal, she had found two additional hidden immunity idols, but was targeted for her strong game and was blindsided, going home with both idols in her pocket. Unfortunately, Kellee had to deal with inappropriate touching from another castaway, potentially causing her to become dissociated from the game.

4 Aubry Bracco (Edge of Extinction)

A strong social and strategic player, Aubry returned for her third time in Survivor: Edge of Extinction with the goal of finally coming out on top and winning the game, especially after playing such a deserving game her first go around. Unfortunately, her third time playing would be cut short as she became the fifth person voted out.

Aubry was able to find a hidden immunity idol, but she was too trusting of her tribemates and found herself targeted right after the tribe swap. In the end, she was duped by the first time players and went home with an idol in her pocket, a truly poor performance from a returning player.

3 JT Thomas (Game Changers)

While a previous winner, JT was no stranger to bad gameplay. In Game Changers, he believed he was so comfortable that he left his hidden immunity idol back at camp, going to tribal council without it. This turned out to be a costly mistake, as he was unaware that Sandra was targeting him.

Sandra wanted revenge for JT’s role in getting Malcolm voted out at the previous tribal council, and she used the rivalry between JT and Michaela to lull JT into a false sense of security. At tribal, Sandra got her way and JT became the fifth person voted out of the game, a poor performance for a previous winner.

2 Lauren Rimmer (Heroes Vs. Healers Vs. Hustlers)

In Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, Lauren found an idol that was split into two parts. Add that to her extra vote advantage, and Lauren had a lot of power in the game, something that Ben recognized. As a result, he began targeting her and got Mike and Ryan on board.

Aware of the flip, Lauren made a questionable move when she gave half of her idol to Mike as a sign of trust, but, at tribal, Mike threw the half of the idol into the fire. Ben played his idol, negating all votes against him and his sole vote against Lauren eliminated her from the game.

1 James Clement (China)

The first player in the history of Survivor to be voted out with an idol in his pocket, James went home with not one, but two idols. Todd originally found the first idol and gave it to James after James was tribe swapped so he could protect himself. He also told James where to find the idol at the other tribe’s camp, giving James possession of two idols.

At the final seven, James was still in possession of both idols and felt confident he was safe and wouldn’t need to play either one until the next tribal. However, his allies Todd and Amanda were ready to vote him out and they orchestrated his blindside. James ended up not playing one of his idols, a decision that went down as one of the dumbest moves ever made.

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