We are back for the post-merge episode of Survivor and thankful that FanDuel has expanded their coverage to some reality TV. Last week’s episode was huge as we saw Tyson return to the game, a double immunity challenge, and the clock finally struck 12 for Wendell who had been close to going home a couple times before. Denise continues to solidify herself as a major player as she now added an individual immunity to her resume that already included voting out Sandra. Is she making herself a targets as a threat as she is now showing great in challenges and playing a great social game? Time will tell.

Advantages and Fire Tokens

As we do each week, the following is a list of advantages and fire tokens that each Survivor has as this has shown to have a big impact on Tribal Council on a lot of weeks. Not only do these have the ability to keep the player in the game and stop them from getting voted out, using them also score you points in the FanDuel system. I will not be including those on the Edge of Extinction island this week, because barring a completely unforeseen twist, we won’t be seeing another player returning to the main game this week. Here is a list of what is still in play so far.

Sophie – immunity idol, 2 fire tokens
Kim – immunity idol, 1 fire token
Jeremy – Safety Without Power advantage, 2 fire tokens
Sarah – Steal A Vote advantage, 1 fire token
Michele – 4 fire tokens
Nick – 3 fire tokens
Denise – 2 fire tokens
Tony – 1 fire token
Adam – 1 fire token
Ben – 1 fire token
Tyson – 0 fire tokens

There are 11 people left, and this could be a monumental vote if the right alliances form. Will this big threat vs. small threat game continued that Jeremy, Tony, and Ben spoke of last week still remain? I also find it comical that Ben considers himself a big threat. He is physical in challenges and I feel like he feels he is playing a strong social game, but he is as strategic as a paper bag and savvy players like Tony and Jeremy could blindside him in a second. Remember that you also get points for crying as well as getting fire tokens bequeathed to them when someone is voted out. Let’s take a look at the best Survivors to fill out your five person roster for Episode 9.

The Survivors

I want to start this by saying that I think it is Nick or Denise that is going home this week. If Denise doesn’t win immunity, I feel like she has put a target on her back with her incredibly strong play lately. She is one of the strongest players out there right now, and she already has a big move on her Survivor resume. If she happens to win immunity, or if they look to go in another direction, I feel that Nick is in trouble. His only connection is to Michele really, and he would be voted out before her in my opinion. He isn’t great in challenges, and he seems like an easy vote. His name was definitely being kicked around last week, and in last week’s coming attractions for this week he was shown saying that he wants to get everyone who double crossed him on last week’s vote. Normally, I would say if they show it on a commercial this means he is safe, but he targets Sarah at least in that scene, and Sarah has way more connections than him, and a Steal A Vote so this doesn’t bode well for Nick.

Jeremy ($28) – This season didn’t start out strong for Jeremy, but right now he has to be seen as one of the bigger threats out there. He is extremely strong in challenges, he is playing a great social game again and really has no one after him to get rid of him. He doesn’t have any super strong allies that are likely to give him a fire token, but he does have the Strength Without Power advantage so is nearly a lock to not get voted out. His only downside is he was trying to align himself with Wendell last week, and now Wendell is gone. He is the highest salaried player, but could easily be worth using.

Sophie ($23) - It can never hurt to use someone who has an idol. It not only keeps them in the game, but if they are inclined to use it, you get extra points for that. If you want to know how tough Sophie can be, look no farther than last week’s episode. It was a cold, driving rain and heading into the challenge where they had to hold on to a pole, Sophie was visibly shaking as she was absolutely freezing. When the challenge started she put the cold behind her and actually lasted quite a while. Sophie has played a great social game, has great connections with Sarah and Ben among others, and surely seems like a lock to stay in the game this week, even if she doesn’t use her idol.

Sarah ($22) – As stated earlier, by the commercials for this episode it at least appears that we are headed for a Sarah vs. Nick showdown this week. If that is the case, look for more than one confessional with Sarah in it, which gets you points. I have my money on Sarah here. First of all, she has connections with at least Sophie, Ben, and Adam from the former Yara. Second, she is a far superior player in general. Lastly, she also has a Steal A Vote advantage that she could use to swing the numbers in her favor even if she was in trouble. While the advantage doesn’t guarantee her safety, if this really is Sarah vs. Nick this week, there is little doubt in my mind that it will go in Sarah’s favor.

Tony ($21) – Shockingly, Tony has remained on his best behavior all season, and in case you didn’t notice, hasn’t had a single vote cast against him yet this season. He clearly learned from his early exit in the Game Changers season, that his wild card antics won’t get him far. He has played a good social game, has strong ties to Jeremy, Sarah, and Denise, but Tony is a guy who will go the extra mile outside of his alliance if he thinks it will keep him in the game. He is always a character, and is likely to be featured in at least one confessional. He could also be sold an advantage or idol from the Edge, as everyone knows Tony to be a paranoid guy always looking to find ways to keep himself safe. He doesn’t have any protection of idols or advantages, but nothing so far has shown that he is in imminent danger now that the tribes have merged.

Tyson ($19) – He was already sent to Extinction once this season for being a big threat, and yet somehow Tyson came back into the game very quietly and wasn’t even under consideration to be voted out last week. Sure, that could change in an instant, but he is a savvy player, and certainly will do what he can to stay in. He has to be viewed as one of the top two or three to be best at challenges, and we know that he is a great social player. He is one of the most entertaining players out there, and is sure to have a confessional or two, which is part of FanDuel’s point system. He is also loaded with friends on Extinction Island so if someone is going to be offered the chance to buy an advantage or idol from Extinction, my money is on Tyson. He also could get one or more of Nick’s fire tokens as he did call Tyson one of his idols this season. Despite being one of the biggest names out there, it doesn’t seem like he is in trouble of going home.

Michele ($18) – She doesn’t have any protection at the moment, but Michele has been playing a good game. She has aligned with Jeremy at times, and now she is in pretty cozy with Nick. I know, I just said that I thought Nick was going home, but that could mean that Michele could be having another fire token come her way at the end of the episode. We have already seen that Nick is a sucker for a pretty girl (Parvati). She also already has the most fire tokens of anyone in the game, and they could come into play as a barter for a way to stay in the game. It would be a bit of a surprise if Michele weren’t still in the game after this Tribal Council.

Adam ($12) – But wait, Ryan he was almost voted out last week! I know, I know. I stand by my assertion last week that Adam is going to get dragged to the end as someone who has no friends on the jury, no real connections in the game, and is very unlikely to win a challenge as evidenced by him being the first one out last week. He is the equivalent of a sports DFS player that you use for a low salary to buy up the “studs” that you know won’t hurt your lineups much. Adam is an emotional rollercoaster this season, not that we should be surprised about that, it is kind of who he is. He doesn’t have any connections, he is often discussed as the person being voted out, and he is always scrambling to try to keep his torch from being snuffed. He nearly cried in a confessional last week when he was discussing being scared that he was being voted out, and this week should be no different. Reminder that you not only get points for crying, but also having a confessional, which Adam has had a ton of this season. Kim might have an idol and is only $1 more, but Adam could get you more points.

Example Lineup #1

Sophie
Sarah
Tony
Michele
Adam

Example Lineup #2

Jeremy
Sarah
Adam
Tyson
Michele