It's no secret that many of the show's best players are winners. It only makes sense, right? Well, yes it does, but there are also those players who played so well that some argue they should have won.
Before I dive into my 15 best players to never win, I want to make it clear that I am judging players on their entire Survivor careers, not just a single game. For example, someone like Lex Van den Berg might have played one of the 15 best non-winning single games in Africa but his All Stars game loses him a spot on this list. Without further ado, here we go:
#15 David Wright (Survivor: Millennials vs Gen X) -- David is one of those who could be higher up if this was a ranking of single games, and I admit that creating the list the way I am makes it a bit biased towards multi-time players, simply because they've had more of a chance to prove themselves. That said, 15th is no small feat and David absolutely earned this spot. He was one challenge away from a guaranteed win and with the new F4 format, he may have gotten it. I can't wait to see how he fares in Edge of Extinction.
#14 Russell Hantz (Survivor: Samoa, Survivor: Heroes vs Villains, Survivor: Redemption Island) -- Russell was a very tough one to rank. Strategically he may be the best to never win. He made it to the end twice and in both those seasons was the mastermind behind the majority of big moves. That said, he is one of the worst social players in the show's history, and despite his strategic prowess, I have a hard time seeing Russell ever winning a jury vote. And that's the sole reason he's so low on this list.
#13 Andrea Boehlke (Survivor: Redemption Island, Survivor: Caramoan, Survivor: Game Changers) -- Although she was still finding her footing a bit in RI, her Caramoan and Game Changers games were excellent displays of strategy, social play, and physical prowess. The reasons she is this low are the fact that she's never made the true end game (except in RI when she only had a slim chance of winning), and the fact that she was voted out with an idol in her pocket in Caramoan (though I'll give her that she couldn't have necessarily seen that blindside coming).
#12 Malcolm Freberg (Survivor: Philippines, Survivor: Caramoan, Survivor: Game Changers) -- Malcolm's Philippines game was fantastic except for his minor blunders at the end. I have real questions about his Caramoan game. The double idol play was amazing on the surface, but why. Philip? He could've taken out a real threat like Andrea or Cochran but failed to do so. I don't hold his early Game Changers exit against him as it happened due to a series of events completely out of his control. In fact, I like Malcolm's GC game as for the few rounds he lasted he seemed to be playing well.
#11 Tai Trang (Survivor: Kaoh Rong, Survivor: Game Changers) -- Tai has a higher average days-lasted record than any other multi-time player. That's pretty frickin' impressive. He was also amazingly close to winning, or at least tying, in GC had Culpepper not made the dumb move of taking Sarah to FTC. I do have critiques about his Kaoh Rong game but overall I can't ignore the fact that he's played very well and made it extremely far not once, but twice.
#10 Jerri Manthey (Survivor: The Australian Outback, Survivor: All Stars, Survivor: Heroes vs Villains) -- Aus. Outback was so early that most of the play was social and physical over strategic, and Jerri wasn't the best. Her All Stars game was very decent for a pre-merge game, and her HvV game was nearly a winning game. Overall not the very best, but definitely an extremely good, non-winner.
#9 Aubry Bracco (Survivor: Kaoh Rong, Survivor: Game Changers) -- Aubry's 38 days average is not far behind Tai's record 38.5. I believe her Game Changers game was a bit quiet (though socially she made some big improvements from KR). Her Kaoh Rong game was extremely strong strategically and she was a wonderful physical competitor in both her seasons. She's nearly the entire package when it comes to a Survivor player, and I'll have my eyes on her during Edge of Extinction.
#8 Kelley Wentworth (Survivor: San Juan del Sur, Survivor: Cambodia) -- Wentworth is another that could be even higher if this was a ranking of single non-winning games as her Cambodia appearance was a work of art. Her pre-merge exit in SJDS did knock her down a few pegs but I do believe that by and large she was a swap victim, and that her exit was out of her control. She has all the makings of a Survivor winner, and was dangerously close in Cambodia. Can she pull it off? I'm hoping that she can in EoE.
#7 Spencer Bledsoe (Survivor: Cagayan, Survivor: Cambodia) -- Spencer's Cagayan game, although it has a few flaws, would have definitely won him the votes if he made FTC. He played amazingly well for such a young, first-time player. I have more critiques of his Cambodia game as he didn't get a single jury vote and made some questionable social moves, though his strategy and physical prowess were still strong. He definitely deserves his ranking on this list.
#6 Ozzy Lusth (Survivor: Cook Islands, Survivor: Micronesia, Survivor: South Pacific, Survivor: Game Changers) -- Oh Ozzy. Still one of the most debated-about contestants to this day. Some people claim he's the best to never win while others don't think anything of him at all. Personally, I am somewhere in the middle. I don't think you can actually deny that he is a great player. I have Yul ranked as the second best winner ever and Ozzy was one vote away from beating him at FTC in the Cooks. Personally, I think South Pacific was his best game as he was one challenge away from a guaranteed win and played with gumption that season. Although his earliest exit, I personally felt he was playing fairly well in Game Changers too. The reason he doesn't quite make the Top 5 non-winners is his Micronesia game. Sure, he tried to play, but TBH he failed, and was voted out with an idol in his pocket (and unlike Andrea's blindside in Caramoan, he should have been able to see his blindside coming).
#5 Domenick Abbate (Survivor: Ghost Island) -- It speaks to the strength of Dom's game that he was able to land a Top 5 spot on this list with only one appearance. I'm not taking anything away from Wendell's game, I think he deserved to win, but Dom really controlled the season strategically (while Wendell controlled it socially). They were one of the most dynamic duos in Survivor history and the 5-5-0 jury vote was 100% justified. In the end, Wendell's social play edged out Dom, but it was a slight edge and Dom came so close to winning that season. Closer than any other non-winner in history.
#4 Amanda Kimmel (Survivor: China, Survivor: Micronesia, Survivor: Heroes vs Villains) -- Amanda is an interesting one. Like Russell, ten spots lower on this list, Amanda made it to FTC twice but never won. On the surface, there's a legit argument for why she should be lower on this list too. But when you dive deeper into her game, there's a lot more there. Amanda is fully capable of winning Survivor, she would just need the right jury and she'd need to be sitting next to the right people. She plays well enough socially, strategically, and physically to win. Her biggest fault is her FTC performances. She can't close it out. It doesn't help that in both China and Micro the juries came in to FTC with open minds. In a season like Ghost Island where people pretty much had their minds made up going into FTC, Amanda would stand a better shot. It also doesn't help that Amanda was next to great players (Todd and Parvati) who also played extremely well throughout the season, and who are both very strong at FTC. What you can't argue is that Amanda knows how to get herself to the end game (she was closer than people realize in HvV too) and in the right situation, could win.
#3 Rob Cesternino (Survivor: The Amazon, Survivor: All Stars) -- Cesternino is another interesting one to rank. IMHO, the three best non-winning single games in history are probably Cesternino in The Amazon and Cirie in Micronesia. Cesternino would be in a solid second place on this list if it wasn't for his All Stars game. It really wasn't the best. He was lazy around camp and over-played. That said, I overall still believe that Rob deserves this high ranking because his Amazon game really was a work of art, and it's possible/likely that one of the reasons for his early vote-out in All Stars was his reputation, not what he actually did in All Stars.
#2 Ciera Eastin (Survivor: Blood vs Water, Survivor: Cambodia, Survivor: Game Changers) -- This may be my most controversial placement of anyone on this list but I'm ready to defend it all day long. I actually plan to write a full article at some point on why Ciera is the second best player to never win, but a brief summary for now: she plays the game hard. So many people on this list (Amanda is a wonderful example) don't always capitalize on their opportunities to, in Ciera's words, Play To Win. Ciera does. In either BvW or Cambodia I struggle to see her losing FTC, regardless of who she sits next to (yes, even Tyson). She made it very close to the FTC in BvW (without RI in play she was in the F4), and I truly believe she would have made it very deep, quite possibly FTC, in Cambodia, had she not been idoled out. And what about Game Changers, you ask? I really believe that it was her past reputation more than her GC game that got her voted out, so I don't hold that against her. It's actually a compliment. I'm essentially giving Cesternino, Ciera, and Cirie all one "free pass" for their early exits, since their other game(s) outshine the early exits.
#1 Cirie Fields (Survivor: Panama, Survivor: Micronesia, Survivor: Heroes vs Villains, Survivor: Game Changers) -- There is no doubt in my mind that Cirie is the best to never win. She's one notch above everyone else on this list. Like Cesternino and Ciera, Cirie had one early exit but her other three games are all works of art. She was the best player of both Panama and Micronesia, being the last boot both times. I ultimately believe her Game Changers performance may have been her best as she was on track to win it all until that notorious F6 tribal. I'll be the first to say that it was "fair" what happened there as Cirie couldn't win an immunity challenge or get an advantage/idol, yet to a large extent, what happened was totally out of her control. And she was playing so well. Another reason I love her GC game is that she made it so deep despite being such a target. She should have been out at her first tribal, but the other players let her go deep, and that's because of her phenomenal social/strategic games. I'm not sure if it'll happen or not, but I would absolutely love to see Cirie back for a fifth time. I wouldn't be shocked to see her make it deep again, and maybe she could finally win.
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