Survivor Philippines: Celebrity Showdown

Survivor Philippines: Celebrity Showdown is the third season of Survivor Philippines. This season featured 18 famous local personalities from different fields ranging from film, television, sports, and pop culture.
Akihiro Sato defeated Ervic Vijandre and Solenn Heusaff in a 3-2-2 jury vote to become the Sole Survivor.
==Production==
Filipino model-actor became the new host of the franchise, replacing former host , who moved to another TV network after the second season finished airing.
The season was set in Ranong, Thailand, but the theme of the season was Burmese-inspired, given the location's close proximity to . The identities of the castaways were teased between July and August 2010 before the press release on August 14, 2010.
In a first for the Survivor franchise, the final four castaways faced the jury at the Final Tribal Council, with the jury and remaining four castaways voting for the final jury member. The results were read at the live finale, with the final person voted out joining the now-jury of seven, before voting for the winner commenced.
==Twists/Changes==
* Shorter Season: The season was filmed for 36 days, three days shorter than the standard 39.
* Celebrity Castaways: Eighteen celebrity contestants, glamorously dressed, supposedly for a press conference for the season, until they were abruptly whisked off to the island of Ranong, where they were informed that the game had already started.
* : For the first two days of the series, the still tribe-less castaways lived on one camp until the second Reward Challenge, where the tribes were formed.
* Tribe Leader: The two castaways who won the first challenge on Day 2 would be assigned as the leaders of their tribes. The third tribe leader was elected by the still tribe-less castaways at the first Tribal Council. In addition, only the tribe leader of the tribe that lost the first tribal Immunity Challenge would vote at that Tribal Council.
* Three Tribes: For the first time in the Philippine franchise, the castaways were divided into three tribes.
* Isla Misteryo: Following the same mechanics of the American version's , one member of each tribe was banished to Isla Misteryo until the next Immunity Challenge. Hidden across the island were bags of coins (functionally similar to Fire Tokens later introduced in the American version) which the exiled castaways can use to buy items from a "store" where luxury items, Immunity Bracelets, and creature comforts were available.
* Kidnapping: Completely different from how kidnappings were utilised in the first season, instead of the kidnapped castaway staying in the opposing tribe for a period of time, they would become a member of the tribe who kidnapped them. This power was given to the tribe that came in first at the Day 7 Reward Challenge.
* Tribe Switch: On Day 12, a Tribe Switch occurred, simultaneously dissolving the Magan tribe and mixing the remaining 14 castaways into two tribes of six.
* Joint Tribal Council: After Nagar, the tribe that lost the Day 19 Immunity Challenge, voted someone out, the winning tribe, Sar Mayee, entered Tribal Council where both tribes eliminated another member of Nagar.
* Immunity Bracelet: Like the previous season's Hidden Immunity Objects, this season's Immunity Bracelets were used akin to the American version's Hidden Immunity Idol. 
* Final Tribal Council Format: For the first time in any Survivor franchise, four castaways faced a jury of six. At the Final Tribal Council, the jury, along with the final four, voted for the seventh and final member of the jury, and the results of this vote were revealed at the live finale. The final jury member was voted out in public, after which, the now-complete jury voted for the Sole Survivor.
==Castaways==
Contestant	Contestant 	Tribe Affiliation	Tribe Affiliation	Tribe Affiliation	Tribe Affiliation 	Finish 	VotesAgainst
Contestant	Contestant 	 	 	 	 	Finish 	VotesAgainst
 	Princess SnellStarStruck finalist 	 	 	 	 	QuitDay 2 	0
 	Doc Ferdz RecioVeterinarian and TV host 	 	 	 	 	1st Voted OutDay 6 	1
 	Myka FloresComedienne 	 	 	 	 	2nd Voted OutDay 9 	4
 	Buhawi MenesesParokya ni Edgar/Franco bassist 	 	 	 	 	3rd Voted OutDay 11 	3
 	Karen delos ReyesActress and former commercial model 	 	 	 	 	4th Voted OutDay 13 	4
 	Pretty Trizsa CelsoStand-up comic 	 	 	 	 	5th Voted OutDay 16 	6
 	Mico AytonaTV host 	 	 	 	 	6th Voted OutDay 19 	5
 	Ian BathersonStarStruck finalist 	 	 	 	 	7th Voted OutDay 19 	7
 	Jon HallModel 	 	 	 	rowspan="12" 	8th Voted Out1st Jury MemberDay 22	5
 	Aira BermudezSexBomb Girls member 	 	 	 	9th Voted Out2nd Jury MemberDay 24 	12 	
 	Michelle MadrigalActress 	 	 	 	10th Voted Out3rd Jury MemberDay 27	11 	
 	Ahron VillenaActor 	 	 	 	11th Voted Out4th Jury MemberDay 30	7 	
 	Elma Muros-PosadasTrack and field athlete 	 	 	 	12th Voted Out5th Jury MemberDay 33	5 	
 	Moi MarcampoCommercial model andpersonal assistant to Piolo Pascual	 	 	 	13th Voted Out6th Jury MemberDay 35	6 	
 	Aubrey MilesFilm and TV actress 	 	 	 	14th Voted Out7th Jury MemberDay 36	11 	
 	Solenn HeusaffModel and make-up artist 	 	 	 	Runners-Up 	4 	
 	Ervic VijandreBasketball player and model 	 	 	 	Runners-Up 	5 	
 	Akihiro SatoModel and TV actor 	 	 	 	Sole Survivor 	8 	
==Season Summary==
The 18 celebrity castaways, wearing formal attire, were made to believe they were attending a press conference, only to be abducted by locals and informed the game had already begun. The survivors initially lived in one beach without being assigned into tribes. At the first Reward Challenge, the winners, Buhawi and Aira were assigned as Tribal Leaders. Two days in, Princess quit the game due to anxiety and low tolerance for hunger. At the first Tribal Council, instead of voting a player out, the whole group voted for the third leader, Jon. The tribe leaders divided the castaways into three tribes: Aira's Sar Mayee, Buhawi's Magan, and Jon's Nagar, which had one less member due to Princess's departure. 
Despite having less members, Nagar became the most dominant of the three tribes, finishing first in four of the first six challenges. Sar Mayee routinely finished in second place despite the frequent tensions amongst its members. Magan became the weakest tribe, losing every Immunity Challenge for the duration of its existence, mainly due to Buhawi's poor leadership. Past relationships came into play early on, with Aubrey having to deal having both her ex-boyfriend Jon and his current girlfriend Michelle in the game. Away from the couple in another tribe, Aubrey formed an alliance with Ervic. An added layer to the game in this season was Isla Misteryo, where a member of each tribe would race to dig up buried coins in exchange for creature comforts or game advantages. 
A Tribe Switch on Day 12 equally spread the remaining 14 castaways across Nagar and Sar Mayee, after which Sar Mayee became the more superior tribe, winning two of the three post-swap Immunity Challenges. The tribes merged into the Galone tribe on Day 20. At the merge, Aubrey and Ervic slowly seized control of the game, starting by splitting the votes between Jon and Michelle in the event Jon played his Immunity Bracelet on either himself or Michelle. As Aubrey and Ervic's casualty count steadily rose, Akihiro, a loose member of their alliance, won multiple Immunity Challenges. The three alliance members, along with Solenn, the last of the ill-fated Magan tribe, became the final four, all of whom entered the Final Tribal Council.
A generally averse jury equally commended and blasted Aubrey and Ervic for leading the charge in most of the key votes in the game. Solenn was praised for playing an under-the-radar game, but criticized for lacking the strategic command that Aubrey and Ervic had. Akihiro was lauded for his general congeniality, work ethic and challenge performances, but was also chastised for being the least strategic. In a twist, the jury and the finalists jointly voted for the final jury member, the results of which were revealed at the live finale. 
During the live finale, Aubrey was revealed to be the final member of the jury, first by an extremely close 3-3-2-2 vote, and then by a 5-3 revote against Akihiro. In front of a live audience, the complete jury voted for Akihiro to become the third Pinoy Sole Survivor in a 3-2-2 plurality vote.
===Voting History===
==Trivia==
* This is the first season in any Survivor franchise to have four contestants face the jury at the Final Tribal Council. However, voting at the Final Tribal Council was done by both the final four and the jurors to determine the final juror, with the results being read at the live finale. At the live finale, the person voted out joined the jury, with the actual voting for the winner commencing afterwards.
** The resulting tie at the Final Tribal Council is the third such occurrence in any Survivor franchise, following and . It would later be followed by and Koh-Lanta: Le Totem Maudit.
*** However, as voting at the Final Tribal Council was to determine the final juror, Celebrity Showdown is the only one among these seasons to have a tie occur at the Final Tribal Council, but not have a tie in the voting for the winner.
==References==
Category:Survivor Philippines
Category:Survivor Philippines Seasons
Category:Survivor Philippines: Celebrity Showdown
Category:Seasons