Survivor South Africa: Champions

Survivor South Africa: Champions is the fifth season of Survivor South Africa.
Set in the South China Sea, Champions saw two South African sporting legends serve as captains for 20 new castaways. Though the season was largely defined by two primary alliances, allegiances within these factions were fleeting, leading to numerous blindsides especially after the merge. Champions is also notable for its extensive history of Hidden Immunity Idol thefts, a twist unique to this season. In the end, the leader of the dominant Rugrats Alliance, Graham Jenneker, defeated Buhle Madlala and Sivu Xabanisa in a 5-3-2 plurality jury vote to become the Ultimate Survivor.
Following the airing of Champions, the Survivor South Africa series entered its third and most recent hiatus until its resumption with in 2018.
To date, Champions has produced five returning players (Killarney Jones, Marian de Vos, Philip Dickson, Shane Hattingh, and Shona Macdonald) for a future season.
==Production==
Champions was filmed in , in October 2013. This was the last season to be produced by before production was taken over by .
==Twists/Changes==
*Tribe Captains: Two South African sports champions served as captains of the tribes. They would live at the camps, compete in the challenges with the tribes, and make some decisions, but they could not be voted out nor cast a vote at Tribal Council. However, both of them would join the jury in voting for a winner at Final Tribal Council. The captains were former rugby captain Corné Krige for Selatan and former player Mark Fish for Utara.
*Schoolyard Pick: On Day 1, the tribes were divided by a Schoolyard Pick, with the tribe captains choosing their tribe members.
*Captains' Duels: Several Reward Challenges were played as one-on-one matchups between the Tribe Captains.
*Hidden Immunity Idol: A Hidden Immunity Idol was hidden at each of the three tribe camps.
**Idol Stealing: This season, idols could be taken from the possession of another castaway without their consent. If a castaway left their idol at camp before being voted out, that idol can be taken by another castaway and played as an active idol.
**Idols in Revotes: As stated in Episode 11, idols could be played before the votes are read, including in the case of a revote.
* Revision to Tiebreaker Mechanics: Starting from this season, the rules employed in the event of a tie at Tribal Council have been revised to align with the mechanics used in Survivor (U.S.).
** Revote: In the event of a tie, a revote would commence where the castaways involved in the tie would not vote and the remaining castaways could only vote for those involved in the tie. This rule is only applied to Tribal Councils outside the final four.
** Rock-Drawing Tiebreaker: As confirmed in Episode 11, if a deadlock occurs after a revote, the remaining non-immune castaways will automatically be forced to draw rocks. Unlike in the U.S. version of the show, no open discussion is held.
** Fire-making Tiebreaker: In the event of a tie vote at the final four, the tied castaways will automatically compete in a fire-making challenge to determine the elimination.
* Tribe Switch: On Day 12, the fourteen remaining castaways competed in the Touchy Subjects challenge. When each castaway had answered six questions correctly, they were directed to a turnstile, which alternated in directing them to one of two grandstands. Once each grandstand was filled with seven castaways, the castaways were informed that this was a tribe shuffle, with each group representing a new tribe. Following the selection, both tribe captains were given the opportunity to select their preferred tribe, as well as negotiate to swap tribe members.
*Challenge Assistants: Various South African sports champions were invited to participate in challenges, helping the tribe who won the previous duel. In one challenge, two South African sports presenters participated, with each presenter helping one of the two tribes.
*Salvation: After the merge, the captains were taken away from the castaways and lived on the Salvation camp, where they would compete in duels for control over the Salvation Cup. The captain that wins each duel may bestow the Power of Salvation on any castaway before the votes are read at Tribal Council, negating one vote against them.
* Final Three: Unlike the first four seasons which featured a Final Two, this season featured a Final Tribal Council with three remaining finalists facing a ten-person jury. Also, for the first time since , no public vote was used to decide the winner.
==Castaways==
Contestant	Contestant 	Tribe Affiliation	Tribe Affiliation	Tribe Affiliation	Finish	VotesAgainst
Contestant	Contestant 	Original Tribe 	Switched Tribe 	Merged Tribe 	Finish	VotesAgainst
 	Ashleigh Bryant22, Pinelands, WCHigh School Teacher 	 	 	 	 	7
 	Marsha Wessels40, Retreat, WCArmy Sports Officer 	 	 	 	 	5
 	Killarney Jones44, Benoni, GPMartial Artist 	 	 	 	 	6
 	Zan Lang24, East London, ECVehicle Salesman 	 	 	 	 	9
 	Shona Macdonald24, Craigavon, GPAccount Manager 	 	 	 	 	10
 	Philip Dickson32, Durban, KZNFirefighter 	 	 	 	 	10
 	Gena Alkana29, Sea Point, WCPR Manager 	 	 	 	 	6
 	Sonette Myburgh40, Witpoortjie, GPMortuary Attendant	 	 	 	 	7
 	Stephen Walker25, Johannesburg, GPBusiness Analyst 	 	 	 	 	4
 	Marian de Vos25, Lone Hill, GPEntrepreneur 	 	 	rowspan="11" 	 	10
 	Solly Mathiba32, Kathu, NCSports Manager 	 	 	 	8 	
 	Moyra Makina34, Claremont, WCHR Director 	 	 	 	6 	
 	Vel Bodiba26, Mabopane, GPActress 	 	 	 	8 	
 	Shane Hattingh42, Bryanston, GPMedia Salesman 	 	 	 	10 	
 	Altaaf Sheik29, Durban, KZNSAAF Helicopter Pilot 	 	 	 	5 	
 	Zavion Kotze25, Johannesburg, GPWedding Planner 	 	 	 	4 	
 	David de Wet53, Roosevelt Park, GPFarrier 	 	 	 	5 	
 	Sivu Xabanisa23, Khayelitsha, WCAstrophysics Student	 	 	SecondRunner-Up 	9 	
 	Buhle Madlala35, Northcliff, GPEvents Planner 	 	 	Runner-Up 	1 	
 	Graham Jenneker28, Bellville, WCFinancial Manager 	 	 	Ultimate Survivor	9 	
===Sporting Champions===
Champion 	Champion 	Purpose 	Tribe 	Tribe
Champion 	Champion 	Purpose 	Original Tribe	Special Tribe
 	Corné Krige38, Cape Town, WCFormer Springbok Captain 	Tribe Captain 	 	rowspan="2"
 	Mark Fish39, Cape Town, WCFormer Bafana Bafana Defender	Tribe Captain 	 	
33, Kimberley, NCRetired Bafana Bafana Defender 	33, Kimberley, NCRetired Bafana Bafana Defender 	Challenge Assistant	 	
36, Midnigi, ECRetired Proteas Bowler 	36, Midnigi, ECRetired Proteas Bowler 	Challenge Assistant	 	
44, Pietermaritzburg, KZNRetired Proteas Fielder	44, Pietermaritzburg, KZNRetired Proteas Fielder 	Challenge Assistant	 	
Presenter 	Presenter 	Challenge Assistant	 	
Derek AlbertsSuperSport Presenter 	Derek AlbertsSuperSport Presenter 	Challenge Assistant	 	
==Season Summary==
==Voting History==
==Trivia==
* Champions is the second season of Survivor South Africa to be filmed in the Johor state in Malaysia, following .
* Champions is the last season of Survivor South Africa to use "Awakenings" as its intro theme.
* Champions is currently the only season of Survivor South Africa to not feature a blue tribe.
* Four castaways this season tied for the most elimination votes received, receiving 10 each. Coincidentally, all four of these castaways would return in a future season.
* Champions is the first English-language season of Survivor where the winner won in a plurality jury vote.
==References==
Category:Survivor South Africa
Category:Survivor South Africa: Champions
Category:Survivor South Africa Seasons
Category:Seasons with a reused location