When in Manila and you’re a an avid watcher of the reality TV show “Survivor”, then you know that its new season (Survivor: Game Changers) will be out this month (March 9, 2017 – Manila Time). Favorites such as Sandra Diaz-Twine (2-time Survivor Winner), Tony Vlachos (Survivor: Cagayan Winner), Malcolm Freberg (Philippines and Caramoan), Andrea Boehlke (Redemption Island and Caramoan), Jeff Varner (Australia and Cambodia), and Tai Trang (Survivor: Kaôh Rōng) are making their return to the game in hopes of being this season’s sole survivor.
Heck, you might be even watching the season once this article is out since we’ve gone “Under the Radar”. A couple of my fellow Survivor fans/experts weigh in on their picks to win this season’s Survivor. Joining me on this write up are Mr. Wowie Lagman, Mr. Stan Sy (you may know him from his DJing, Podcasting, or being part of PWR), and Mr. Joel Guzman. We even put a little twist on things and also picked our possible first boots. Without further ado, here are our picks for Survivor: Game Changers.
Winner Picks
Sandra
Wowie: “It’s tough to pick a winner because there are several good players I am rooting for, like Cirie and even Ciera. I know it’s kind of a stretch but I would go with Sandra simply because she has this amazing ability to get people to listen. And despite being a threat, it’s easy to dismiss her once you see her suck at challenges. Her magic is in her social skills. Her strategy may not be too popular with the others but it is, statistically, the most effective. It is very simple: as long as it is not her. In a season where aggressive players target each other, she could easily go UTR (under the radar) and slide past each tribal. She’s lippy and endearing and I wouldn’t be surprised if she gets to the end and win again. Plus, wouldn’t it be great to see her win a third time?”
Aubry
Joel: “Probably going to win it at the end: Aubry for being low-key and strategic at the same time. Remember this is a returnee game, and those are seen as ‘playing the game’ so much at the early onset, would most probably be the first out. I love you, Queen Sandra, but third time’s probably not gonna be the charm for you. My fave’s still going to be Malcolm though. *laughs* I am going to root for him until the bitter end!!!”
Jeff
Martin: “Call me biased, but my pick to win would be Jeff Varner. The dude played ‘too hard, too fast’ in Cambodia and I think he’s going to ‘slow things down’ because of it. His advantage this time is that he’s in a tribe of former winners (Tony and Sandra) and physical threats (Caleb and Malcolm) and it will keep him off the target list for at least for the first half of the game. We saw him adapt (or at least he tried) to the speed of modern Survivor in Cambodia and with a year and a half since then, I feel he knows the new pace and would use the knowledge to his advantage. Jeff’s a bit of a devious guy too and he might stir the pot a bit just to keep the target off his back. The only thing that may stop him from winning the million, however, is how he manages the jury come final tribal. I’m hoping they don’t feel ‘burned’ by him if he had a hand in most of the vote-outs during the merge part of the game.”
Malcolm
Stan: “My preseason winner pick—and most likely my episode 1 winner pick—is Malcolm Freberg. I say this as a Malcolm Superfan, having loved him as a character in both of his seasons. There’s also probably a bit of homerism there, too, since Malcolm is the only Survivor player to have played two seasons in the Philippines. I just feel like this is the time when he puts it all together a la Tyson in BvW or Boston Rob in Redemption Island. Malcolm’s totally #MalcolmInTheMiddle since he can fit in with the superfan nerds, but not necessarily stand out. He’s really good at challenges, but won’t stick out like a sore thumb unlike Ozzy or Caleb. He’s also a capable social threat, but not to the same extent as a Cirie or a Zeke. In short, there are too many meat shields Malcolm can hide behind if he chooses to do so, and that makes him a viable winner pick!”
First Boot Picks
Tony
Wowie: “My pick for the first boot would have to be Tony and it’s not mainly because he won. Tony is the type of player no one would like to play with given his abrasive nature. He’s similar to Russell Hantz in a sense that he taunts other players and use the fear tactic. That might work for new players but not with these game changers. I could see others looking at him and thinking he will want to have his way all the time so it’d be better for them to get rid of him and also because they won’t be able read him accurately.”
Ciera
Joel: “Ciera for first boot – probably gonna go into the game with the ‘game’ on her face. And be a little too aggressive which may alarm and get her own tribe-mates to gun for her. But honestly, I’m torn between Ciera and Tony for the first boot.”
Tai
Martin: “For me, it would be Tai. I loved him during the first half of Kaôh Rōng thanks to his “bromance” with Caleb and his brief partnership with NBA Player Scot Pollard. But the next half saw how erratic his gameplay is and how his emotions could be used easily. I see Ozzy might think of Tai as the new Cochran in his tribe and would love to take him out immediately, or else suffer another blindside. In his CBS.com profile, he said he’s more confident compared to the last time. That seems nice but he’s playing with the pros now and it takes more than confidence to outwit, outplay, and outlast these other survivors.”
Andrea
Stan: “If I had to pick a first boot, I’d pick someone from Nuku so that Malcolm would definitely be spared from the first tribal council. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if it were Andrea Boehlke. Remember, she was almost the first boot in Caramoan, having narrowly escaped elimination 6-4 in that Favorites Tribal. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see Andrea go far either, so let me pencil in Debbie or Tai—two of the Kaoh Rong Four—as my first boot picks. They’re easy targets, and they’ll easily be looked as scapegoats if the tribe votes in such a way to make them stronger.”
Those are OUR predictions for Survivor: Game Changers. Like I said above, this article might be out and the first few episodes would have aired already. You can check back this article to see which one of us got the first boot right. We would also like to ask you once the season is done if we got our winner’s pick right. But what about you? Who is YOUR pick to win Survivor: Game Changers? Who was/is your pick to go out of the game first? Did you get it right or wrong? I would like to thank my friends Wowie, Stan, and Joel for sharing their thoughts and picks for this season of Survivor.
(Photos from: CBS.com)
Are you a Surivor fan? Who is YOUR pick to win? Give us a shout out on the comments section below!
