Survivor: 5 Reasons Why Tony Is Now The Greatest Winner Of All-Time (& 5 Why It’s Still Sandra)

For many years, Sandra has been considered the Queen of Survivor as the only player to have ever won the game twice. But with the announcement that the latest season would be Winners at War and consist of all past winners, it meant there would be another guaranteed two-time winner. That winner was Tony, who won the series’ latest season as well as the biggest cash prize ever of $2 million.

It was a cut-throat season that saw the best of the best try to outwit, outplay, and outlast one another. And while Tony was the winner, is he really now the best of all time or is Sandra still the best to have ever played?

10 He Actually Won Competitions: Tony

Sandra skated by both times by never winning a single competition, and frankly, not even really trying to. Whenever she was on a team that had one too many members and someone had to sit out, she would volunteer herself to do so.

Tony, on the other hand, won competition after competition, trying his hardest every single time. He was also a master at finding Idols. That definitely counts for something because while the social game is a big part of Survivor, the athleticism and drive count for something, too.

9 She Is The Original Two-Time Winner: Sandra

While Tony might also be a two-time winner, Sandra was the first, so she should always remain the person with the title of being the first two-time winner. Not only that, but Sandra even won the second time playing against a bunch of much-loved heroes and despised villains.

Tony won twice now, too. But it isn’t as exciting a victory now that Sandra had already done it years ago. Plus, whoever won this season would have been a two-time winner so they had that title cemented ahead of time. Sandra’s was a total surprise.

8 He Won The Most Money: Tony

The Winners at War season saw the biggest cash prize ever given out on the show: $2 million, which is twice the usual $1 million cash prize for the winner.

So in total, Tony has won $3 million from Survivor while Sandra has won two. If we’re strictly looking in terms of monetary value, Tony is technically the biggest winner to date.

7 She Had Everyone Else Do Her Dirty Work: Sandra

It takes special skill to get everyone else to do your dirty work for you and not really be totally liked either. Sandra was more feared than liked. People were worried that she would come after them more so than they enjoyed her company.

Sandra didn’t have to lift a finger literally while playing. She didn’t help much at camp, didn’t help in competitions, stirred up the drama, and still won. That takes talent.

6 He Made Fire: Tony

Tony had to fight to the very end to make it into the final three by making fire against his best friend and partner in the game Sarah. And even though he wasn’t really good at it, he practiced all day until he improved enough to win.

His method was sloppy and he won knowing he was knocking out his friend by doing so. But he worked hard to make it to the end.

5 He Needed A Partner: Sandra

Sandra was pretty much a one-woman show. While she had allies, she was working for me, myself, and I, the entire time. Tony, on the other hand, would not have made it as far as he did without Sarah.

He and Sarah were partners through the entire game and if Tony didn’t have her, he would have been voted out long before. She was his shield, she got information for him, talked him down when he got paranoid and was an extra vote on his side that he knew he could always 100% count on.

4 He Played In The ‘New’ Game: Tony

The “new” game of Survivor includes a lot of new tricks and advantages, from fire tokens to hidden idols and special advantages. Tony had to play with a lot of different things thrown at him. For example, when Natalie came back from Edge of Extinction, she made it her mission to turn everyone against Tony by labeling him the biggest threat and the most popular player among the jury.

Despite all of this, Tony still emerged victorious. And he even created his own strategy that included building spy posts behind bushes or even in trees where he could listen in on private conversations.

3 She Is Unapologetic: Sandra

Sandra isn’t going to say sorry to anyone for anything nor is she going to ever mince words or pretend like she is playing for anyone but herself. Usually in this game, when you end up in the finals with an attitude like this, people are bitter and won’t vote for you.

But Sandra also fully owned up to every action and didn’t try to pin blame on someone else, and people respected her for that.

2 He Was Well-Liked: Tony

While Sandra was more feared, Tony was very well-liked. Everyone liked him in the game and enjoyed his company. He was a nice guy who could make people laugh and feel safe. The only negative thing people ever said about him was that he was a threat (and a bit paranoid!)

It takes skill to play in a game like Survivor and remained so liked that no one votes you out while also orchestrating many of the vote-outs behind the scenes.

1 She Played The ‘Old Game’: Sandra

There’s a lot of talk about the “old” and the “new” Survivor and both games are played very differently. There’s a lot of strategy that goes on in the new game that didn’t really happen in the original. Back then, it was more raw and honest. Now, it’s like you need a math degree to figure out what is going on with all the voting tricks and hidden advantages.

Tony had a lot more on his side whereas when Sandra won, there were Immunity Idols but that was about it. People didn’t have anything to help them but their own wits and ideas. So being strategic requires a lot more skill.

About The Author