Edit after writing: This is way longer than I expected so feel free to pick and choose what to read but I touch on almost every aspect of my game in this speech.
Hey guys! I wanna say out the gate that I know I did not manage the jury well and I know that’s gonna be my biggest flaw but for me I just wanted to be as real as possible. So unless it benefited my game, I would have told the truth or simply not talked to people whom I didn’t feel like speaking with. That’s a large reason why I had little contact with you, the zombies. I didn’t wanna butter you up and be sleepy. I made promises to two jurors and they were the ones I intended to keep. Everyone else I made sure I just knew where they were voting through info in the game so I could plan accordingly. So it was less about control and more about assuring I know where the pieces lie in order to keep myself in another day. I learned quickly that I could let people do the heavy lifting on the zombies while I worked around the people in the game. This kept my focus on the prize and helped me to hone in on relationships and make people feel safe with me.
Starting the game I wanted this to be fun. I wasn’t here to be a boring game-bot like I usually am because Ikah cast us for a reason. I mean, he turned down like 13 people for us so clearly we had something to offer and I wanted to fulfill what Ikah cast me for. That’s when I decided this season I was going to be the drama maker and the outspoken one. However, I knew that I had to back that drama up with strategy which is where my target-plan began. My idea was to make up for my big personality that I needed to always have a known target in the game that way people would know I’m not after them and they can use me as a shield. This allowed me to target whoever I wanted which not only kept me safe, but always led to whoever I targeted’s eviction. I knew I wouldn’t make it trying to play UTR either so I went completely in the opposite direction and played a very Tony-like game where I controlled things by simply being the main voice speaking out.
Team rounds:
When the game began I got my entire tribe to dedicate the name after the one and only Tim Lionsden. This was a way for me to show my new gameplay out of the gates and also being vocal helped the other teams want to keep me around over my tribe mates like Keith and Kevin who got targeted early. On such small tribes I knew that I had to stand out so I wouldn’t be the one out of the four targeted because there’s no room for error there. Doing this and creating a common enemy also allowed my tribe to bond more than any other (that and the tribals we attended) which is where the final 2 I made with Ethan began. I did intend to flip on him at 4 but I was a little too late but I made the gamble as to whether Ryan or Ethan would beat me at final immunity and I chose wrong. I’ll talk more to that later because I do have further to say. With Tim leaving early I doubled down on my Jake target and threw Rose and Robin in as sub-targets because I needed options in case I got swapped. Yes, there’s a risk to openly coming for people like I did but I could tell this was a very calculated and strategic cast so I figured they would keep the heat off me since I could be a number and a shield for them. Honestly, this outspokenness is what gave me the inroads to most of my relationships so I do think I played the best I could. Regardless, those first days are what laid the groundwork for my future.
First Tribes:
This is where my strategy began to show its flaws. I received votes at both tribals I attended, however, I was able to pair up with Washed and join forces with
#TheStoners who saved my life here and targeted Jake with me. I won’t claim I had power here because I do think Patrick was the driving force behind this but I knew I was safe given my relationship with him and the reputation I had built. I think that’s a main point to my game. I may not have held power (until the end game I’d say at least) but I made sure I set myself up to move forward because this game was long and I didn’t need to control things until it was crunch time. My goal here was to make sure I got my name in the open as a big guy while forming bonds to use later when I needed to make a change happen. Sandra Diaz-Twine was a big inspiration for me because she did this in HvV where she was against Russel but knew when to go for it and waited. Obviously she never stuck because saw where the cards were. For me I did a similar thing by being upfront and in your face but sitting back and making sure I had the bonds necessary to get far. I think a mistake many of us fans make is playing too hard so I stepped back and allowed myself to focus on day 39 like Sandra and that’s what gave me the ability to make it through these votes and ultimately pull off some good flips in the late merge. Sadly this is the cycle Pietro left and I did want to work with him but as I said I was being adaptable and he was just put into a very bad situation with this cast as a whole and couldn’t shake his treat level. I also feel I owe Jake an apology for targeting him out of nowhere. I just knew I needed someone to target and based on Graveyard you seemed like someone who wouldn’t lash out too much after being called out.
Swap:
This swap is another where I really focused on relationship building. I got close to Gavin here and solidified my bonds with Cody, Ethan, Logan, and Kiara. I really wanted Billy to go because I knew he was closer with other people (i.e. Gavin) and I wanted them to myself. I felt extremely safe on this tribe so honestly there was a lot of just social play here. I think what makes my game so unique compared to Juan and Ethan is how adaptable I was. I mean I got some weird swaps but I always made them work to my best interest or at the very least had people around who I could trust to protect me. I knew y’all would be too good to manipulate so I did play passively at times and aggressive at others. I think that is what makes a good player and it’s what I attribute most of my success to. As long as it’s not me kept me on my toes and saved my on multiple occasions.
Rose Vote:
This vote I reigned it in a lot. I openly targeted Rose and Robin to further my bonds with the people I wasn’t after and I kinda just let people direct the vote so that I could fade into the background and build trust. Ethan was getting majority (probably?) but even if he wasn’t he told us about his idol and allowed me to really push for the vote to flip to Rose where she was then idled out. I don’t think I was the biggest factor here because as I said, I was laying low, But I do believe I helped push the vote onto Rose which allowed me to focus on just Robin for the time being. Again I owe another apology here because Robin pointed out I was getting rude to her (although the comments I made in that instance I stand by, Rose you are a terrible survivor player), I do think my trolling her was a bit much after she asked me to stop several times. That’s the one thing I think went slightly beyond game for me and I’m not proud of that. Regardless, it was great for my game to see Rose leave because It cleared up room for relationships.
Kiara:
I had bonded some with Kiara so losing her here hurt some but I feel she was closer to some others so ultimately I was fine with it. Again, I laid low here and continued to target Robin which actually went through but Gavin caught wind of it and played his idol. I really wasn’t worried at this point though because I knew I was one of the least likely yo get votes since I had not yet burned my bridge with Ethan Cow and Hufus. Funnily enough this is the round where I began that plan to flip on them. SO Cody had been playing super hard and he made several chats, one of which was me, him, Hufus, and Cow. This got me thinking about how I should go about things. I began really working on my relationship with Gavin and Juan specifically. I rekindled the kinda final 2 me and Juan had made from the very beginning and really bonded with Gavin over how we planned to come together when the time was right. These two bonds are what carried me throughout the rest of the game. I knew Cow and Hufus were smarter than to trust me so making these sort of parachute alliances from their “side” at the time kept the target off me for at least the next few votes. I also formed “The Vegans” alliance around this time because I introduced Ethan and Juan indirectly and we all bonded super well and decided to make that final 3. I excelled in the area of making my self so we’ll insulated that when I did go for the big moves I was planning, I wouldn’t be flipped on because I had some sort of final 2/3 with everyone that I planned to make the moves with.
Nathan:
SO on a personal level losing Nathan sucked but I could tell he was a force to be reckoned with so losing him was overall a good thing for me. On his way out I asked him to play my voodoo as well for a couple reasons: 1. It’s out of the game and I can relax and 2. I had deniability in case my allies got mad at me. Obviously this is where the sides kinda began to form but as I said, I still had Robin as my “public enemy” and made bonds with everyone so I wasn’t too worried about being the target in case my side lost the war (which we did lol). This round also began the CocoCunts alliance. With me and Robin. He was the one who initiated this so I won’t try to take credit but I do think this again shows my adaptability. Robin and I think had a mutual respect for one-another and he used that to really make an in roads with me. Now, I wasn’t fully loyal to him but this idea of my public enemy no longer being my real enemy made me even more secure in the war of the two sides. I was able to at least seem authentic enough to have Robin protect me for a bit and even form an alliance with Gavin, Robin and Ethan. I believe this is where Ethan informed me of his idol as well which helps so much because the only thing better than advantages and power in this game is knowledge. Knowing about his idol made me even more confident in my plan to get together a group in the future so I went to work bonding with almost everyone so that whoever left, I could work with those still in the game. Again, that’s a key element to how I played. I knew I wouldn’t direct every vote so I was prepared to deal with whoever stayed at the mercy of the people running things. (I do think I dropped the ball socially with Billy and Ester as I had treated them like zombies still and that was a flaw in my game).I won’t pretend I was in power but I will say I was prepared and geared up to seat myself in power in the future.
Logan:
This round I will credit to Ethan. He was the one who made the screenshot and exposed Logan. However, I took advantage of this round by working even more socially. I think that’s where my game stand out in comparison to Ethan. Ethan came in with friends and relationships while I had to work on mine. I really bonded with Ryan around this time which I hadn’t done as well before. I was still going with the flow because I knew it wasn’t time and I didn’t wanna get too fancy. I pulled from Danielle Reyes here by listening to the quote: “Keep your mouth closed and your eyes open” which really helped me to reign in my antics and focus on the future. Logan was someone I liked personally but I had to let it go in order to maintain the adaptable game I had worked so hard on.
Ester:
As I mentioned I think I dropped the ball socially with Ester but I just didn’t want to be fake and I didn’t see him in my future plans. I knew we could vote Robin and get majority or at least tie but I also knew I could maybe do something with Robin and I was okay losing Ester to be honest so when I heard his name was out there, I kinda just let it go. I did vote Gavin here which I think hurt our bond some but I knew he’s is a very logical player and that I fit into his end game so he was quick to forgive and move past it. This is where I was finally set up to spend my social capital that I had built up. Ester going meant I had good bonds with everyone on my side and I could consider how to go about the flip. Not to mention I was able to bring back Patrick which is probably my best move of the entire game. Patrick served as not only a shield, but an in roads to Billy/Hufus. Literally without Patrick I don’t know if I can make the moves I do. He’s what gave me the confidence to gun hardcore for Cow (also I needed a new target since Robin was soon to be gone) and he’s literally the one who cracked the game wide open. And let me explain why I targeted Cow so hard as well:
1. I knew Cow was amazing at immunities so I figured he would start winning if he knew he was an active target.
2. He’s just genuinely a good player and I feared his ability
3. His “followers” as I referred to them would be very willing to flip on him since I had already been putting in work socially to make that happen.
4. Again, having this open target makes me so utterly valuable to those I’m working with
5. Finally, I knew calling him a jury threat, true or not, would put that notion into the game and completely ruin his chances to make it to final 3. That narrative is how I was able to get everyone to really climb aboard this idea and it’s what got me to where I am.
Cow was the hardest to target despite all the advantages because he is probably the best player in this game which means he knew exactly how to combat me. I quickly became a target for a few of them which got me votes but ultimately I was willing to take the heat because this is All-Stars and I wanted to win in the most bad-ass way possible.
Cody:
This is similar to the Nathan vote for me. Cody was a HUGE threat so being in the minority didn’t bother me since I knew I had protection on the other side and likely wouldn’t be getting votes (I still had a relationship with Juan, Gavin, and Hufus at this point so I felt good). I wasn’t too worried about no one flipping because Patrick already put in work, but I still kept pushing my anti-cow agenda to try and use that when a flip did occur. Cody already proved to be a monster in the game at this point but he wouldn’t hold up later when he returned either.
Robin:
I already spoke to this some but Patrick spear-headed this tribal. He already put in place an alliance of me, Hufus, Billy, Ethan and himself to try to blindside one of the other side. We all agreed that Robin was the best vote and kinda went with that. However, Cow was vulnerable so I really wanted to try something there. Me and Ethan waited til last minute where we spilled the plan to Robin/Gavin in order to flip them to vote against Cow. Sadly, Robin was very set on voting Pat and I knew Pat was better for my game than Robin was so I flipped back and decided to stick with Pat’s group to flip on Robin. I think this was such a crucial decision for me because I conceded defeat but still made the move to keep Pat who would ultimately serve as a target over me in the following vote when two idols are played and I very well could have been voted instead if not for Patrick being there. Genuinely I think If I didn’t bring Patrick back and keep him at the Robin vote that I would have been toast. This move shows just how even when I’m not in control I’m still able to guide the game to help me out in even the smallest of ways. These moves seems so passive but in reality they are the reason I survived. And before you ask yeah I credit Pat for a lot of my game and I am not afraid to admit it. He’s a fantastic player and I used his skill to benefit and protect me. Thank you Pat.
Patrick
This is where I finally turned in my social capital. We formed the Rosé alliance here of myself, Juan, Ethan, Gavin, and Ryan which is what carried all of us through the final stretch. Now I do wanna say I don’t think any one person formed this. Ryan maybe played the biggest part as he got the ball rolling but we all had individual relationships which allowed for us to be put together naturally. My role in this alliance was funny because I had a final two with every single person. So I would go from one conversation to the next and feign ignorance about what’s going on. I also knew about another mini alliance forming I believe between like Gavin, Ryan and Ethan (correct me if that’s off cause I can’t remember the exact details) but I knew I was getting to the end if this group stayed together. I had parachute after parachute and only got voted at the final 5 and 4 because I outright admitted who I was voting (we’ll get to that). Obviously Hufus figured out the plan (idk if someone told him or he guessed cause I did a shit job at convincing lol) but I knew Pat was getting votes so I was protected from the double idol play. I also knew I couldn’t sit next to Pat cause I would vote him over me so I was fine losing him but I do wish he stayed just a few more votes as I lost my shield and became more vulnerable the following votes.
Billy:
As soon as Hufus left this was an obvious one for me. Billy and I had very little contact and I needed him gone. Not to mention Cody returned which scared me because he knew I was us of him and I knew he was a good player and had potential to really flip the game on me. I wasn’t too worried about an Idol because I didn’t think Hufus would play one on Billy which is why I was okay receiving votes without a split. I did become a target for the other side though but I think that really goes to show that despite people warning about my game, I still managed to get by time after time and eventually showed that I am not to be messed with when I openly targeted Ryan and Gavin at the finals and they still left because I was that well insulated. I don’t think that Ethan had that same ability. He couldn’t be outfront because he didn’t have the same reputation as I did and his support system had me as a rat who was willing to turn on him while I knew I was making finals no matter what, as long as we maneuvered around Hufus’s idol.
Cow:
This vote was simple for me. Everyone was running around and making up lies and shit but I knew where I stood and I knew I wasn/t getting votes this time around. This is yet another example of me taking a step back when I know I don’t need to work too hard because even if Cow had an idol, I figured I was fine and I was honestly fine losing anyone that wasn’t me. This also marked my final blow to my target strategy and I didn’t wanna rub it in because I already tanked his game and Cow is such a good player so I wanted to respect his potential exit.
Cody:
As much as I would love to claim this round as my own, I really can’t. Gavin and Ryan are the ones who made this work for me so without him I probably leave. Our group of five all agreed to split, however, we needed the zombies for that to work. We assumed Hufus had the idol and that the zombies would vote him. This meant we could do 4–2-2 vote split and send out Hufus or Cody depending on the idol. Cody saved me in his decision on how to work the split. He proposed that me/Ethan be the ones to vote Cody since we knew our voodoo dolls were out of the game which meant we for sure had two on Hufus. Gavin saved me by changing the plan slightly to a 3-3-2 vote. He decided to vote Cody since we figured Hufus had the idol and if the zombies weren’t with us, at least the vote ties. If not for this, Hufus idols me about because we did not have the zombies.
It’s funny because this showcases the worst and best parts of my game. Obviously y’all were willing to vote me as zombies because I left a bad taste in your mouth and neglected that aspect of the game. Alternatively, My relationships with Ryan and Gavin saved my ass when I needed it most. Without these two to really formulate this plan I’d be gone. I knew I couldn’t me the mover and shaker strategically so I aligned with smart people like these two which saved me here and allowed me to basically secure my position in finals.
Hufus/Ryan/Gavin:
For me this was cut and dry. I knew with Hufus gone that I was in final three no matter what. Gavin and Ryan both trusted me individually and I have my final 2 with both Juan and Ethan and then my final 3 with them together. The only reason I got votes is because I told them I was voting them straight up because I’ve never been a fan of lying unnecessarily and since I knew Juan/Ethan wouldn’t flip on me, there was no reason for me to lie to either of them.
As for why I voted Ryan over Ethan:
1. I thought Ryan stood a better shot at final immunity and I wanted me/Juan/Gavin in finals so bad. I felt Ethan and Ryan were the two biggest jury threats so I took the gamble of voting Ryan thinking he would be more likely to win final immunity because in my mind I had to get them both out for the easiest win.
2. I didn’t want to go to final 4 with Juan/Gavin/Ryan. I think Juan would have stayed loyal even had I flipped on Ethan but even that’s unclear and I was very wary of Gavin/Ryan coming together as well. With Ethan/Juan/Gavin I knew for certain that I would be in finals regardless and to me getting to day 39 is so important. Having the opportunity to face the jury is so much more valuable than risking 4th when I know I played a hell of a game and I could potentially sway minds. And to be honest I do think Ethan worked under me in many scenarios and I wanted to prove that to y’all and what’s a better way to do it than against him? I would have forced a tie at 4 had Ethan lost immunity because I would rather be here against Gavin, but I do believe I played better than Ethan and Juan and I would love for you guys to ask me questions to see for yourselves.
Juan became my real final 2 around f8 or so because I knew he was around my level of gameplay and he and I have worked together since Graveyard.
Overall I don’t think I controlled every vote because none of us did, but I do think I played the best game I could given how I wanted to play. This is an All-Stars season, Ikahns, legends, and I wanted to be here and live up to the expectations that Ikah had for me and I truly believe I did that. I brought drama, I started fights, and I was outspoken all while maintaining a good strategic and social game. I believe I played the most well-rounded game out of the entire cast. After all, this isn’t real survivor so part of our job is to have fun and entertain and I believe I did that to the max. Feel free to correct me and ask questions because there are still so many things I don’t know about this season and I would love to discuss.
Thank you guys for such a great season and a great send off to my teen-aged career.