Survivor Contestants Who Could’ve Won Their Seasons But Were ‘Robbed’

There have been several controversial wins over 42 seasons of Survivor, and many times fans feel the runner-ups are the more deserving winners. There are also undisputed winners, like Parvati Shallow on Survivor: Micronesia and Boston Rob Mariano on Survivor: Redemption Island, among others. Check out several times castaways were robbed of the “Sole Survivor” title.

The game of Survivor has also changed over two decades, with blindsides, idols, and advantages taking over in the modern era of the show. There have been winners who were considered the villains of their season like Tyson Apostol, Survivor super fans and self-declared nerds like John Cochran, or key strategists like Yul Kwon. Since Survivor winners are chosen in a jury of their fellow castaways after a final tribal and chance to advocate for themselves, there are times that fans were left very confused by the jury’s pick.

Sometimes Survivor juries seem bitter about big moves made against them, and other times, the editing of a season is to blame. The latter is true for Survivor 41, where fan-favorite Xander Hastings seemed like the obvious pick for winner. He did what few physically strong players were able to do, which was make it to the merge, and eventually, the final three. He seemed like a strategic threat, as he caused Liana Wallace to waste her advantage, kept his own idol, and got his pick of who went home in a single tribal. Erika Casupanan ended up winning Survivor 41, and fans felt she was handed her “turn back time” advantage, leading to confusion over how Xander got no votes for winner.

Rewind several seasons, and there is a similar example in winner Michele Fitzgerald, as Survivor fans felt the jury was bitter towards the more strategic, Aubry Bracco. Aubry lost multiple allies after they were medically evacuated from the game and came up from the minority alliance. She was also a dominant force in challenges. Michele is considered one of the least-liked Survivor winners, as many felt Aubry was the more deserving of the two.

One of the most divisive castaways to ever play the game of Survivor is Russell Hantz. He is unequivocally a villain on the show, willing to blindside and trash talk anyone while also providing some very entertaining commentary. Russell controlled the game on Survivor: Samoa, and still holds the record for finding the most hidden immunity idols, a total of five across his three seasons. Despite having a more strategic game, he was so unlikable to the Survivor jury that they were willing to vote for anyone else, in this case Natalie White.

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