Australian Survivor: Champions v Contenders (2018)

***Australian Survivor: Champions v Contenders*** **(2018)** is the fifth season overall of *Australian Survivor* and third of the Network Ten incarnation.

## Production

The season was filmed at Savusavu, a a town in the Fijian Province of Cakaudrove.[1]

## Twists/Changes

* **Champions v Contenders:** The contestants are divided into two tribes based on their occupations and degree of success in life:
	+ The Champions​ tribe is made up of public figures from fields such as sport and entertainment.
	+ The Contenders tribe is made up of everyday Australian contestants.
* **Imported Castaway:** Former American contestant Russell Hantz competes as a member of the Champions tribe.
* **Shorter Game:** This season lasts for 50 days, 5 days shorter than the previous two seasons.
* **Meagre Supplies:** Tribe were not given any sort of food rations or a source of water at their campsites and were only given a pot and machete.
* **Hidden Immunity Idol:** A Hidden Immunity Idol for each tribe is hidden at the tribes campsite. Also, for the first time, idols are hidden at Tribal Council.
* **Exile Beach:** Similar to the American version's Template:Dab, Exile Beach is introduced on Day 18 where the castaway voted out at the Tribal Council and the following one on Day 20 will have to compete to re-enter the game.
* **Tribe Switch:** On Day 25, a tribe switch occurred.
* **Save or Send:** On Day 28, the winning tribe would eavesdrop at the losing tribe's Tribal Council, where they would get a chance to vote either send home or save the castaway voted out at that Tribal Council. If the winning tribe chose to save them, they would join that tribe instead.
* **Vote Steal:** At the auction, a vote steal was put into play. This allows a castaway to steal another castaway's vote before the votes are cast. Should a tie occur, the advantage user is able to steal their victim's vote at a revote, but only if the victim is eligible to vote on the revote.
* **Moral Dilemma:** On Day 33, the Koro Savu tribe had to send one member to make a decision between getting a large bag of vegetables or a smaller bag of vegetables which came with an advantage at the next Immunity Challenge for that member. Another dilemma occurred on Day 47, where the two castaways that checked Tree Mail would get to decide whether to both steal a meal or both split it with the remainder of the tribe. If one person chooses split and the other chooses steal, the stealer will take the entire meal for themselves.
* **Dead Man Walking:** At the Tribal Council on Day 40, rather than voting someone out, the person who received the most votes would become a Dead Man Walking. This person cannot vote for the next two Tribal Councils, but remains eligible to win Immunity Challenges, use Hidden Immunity Idols, and be voted out. In addition, they will reside at Exile Beach until the final five.

## Season Summary

This season began with two tribes of twelve: Champions and Contenders. The physically stronger Champions dominated most challenges despite losing three Immunity Challenges before the tribe switch. In those three losses, the tribe quickly dispatched of American *Survivor* veteran Russell Hantz with an idol in his possession, and the former athletes plus Sharn and Sam formed a core majority alliance. The Contenders, despite voting out loose cannons Matt and Steve initially, featured various sub alliances such as the younger men, some of the women, and three of the parents in Tegan, Heath, and Jenna. Jenna's injury forced the tribe to vote her out, and the parents alliance suffered and were targeted shortly after. However, with Heath's idol and Tegan returning via a twist, the pair survived the swap. The Champions majority continued their dominance post swap as either Contenders or minority members of the Champions would be picked off.

The tribes merged at 12 with the Contenders in a vast 4-8 minority. Furthermore, Benji and Robbie jumped ship during the swap, leaving Fenella and Shonee as easy targets. Despite that, the Champions immediately turned on their own by blindsiding Lydia for being too big of a physical threat. Two of her allies Robbie and Sam soon followed, before Benji managed to orchestrate the blindside of Mat by both turning Brian and Monika against him and by convincing Sharn to not play her idol on Mat at Tribal Council. Benji's scheming and lying would eventually catch up with him, however, as Brian and Monika turned on him immediately afterwards and sent him to the jury despite Shonee playing her Vote Steal.

At the final seven, two firm voting blocs were in place: the remnants of the old Champions alliance (Shane, Sharn and Steve W.) vs the two pairs of Brian & Monika and Shonee & Fenella. Brian's alliance initially had the upper hand by voting out Steve W., but poor strategic play on Brian's part combined with Sharn finding a second idol saw Fenella eliminated next. Angered by this, Shonee flipped to the old Champions alliance and blindsided Monika in retaliation. After Brian won immunity at final four, the three women were forced to turn on each other, and Shonee found herself voted out after trying to orchestrate a failed 2-1-1 to avoid a firemaking challenge. This left an all-Champions final three of Brian, Shane and Sharn, with the latter winning the Final Immunity Challenge. Despite Brian's arguments to have 'one last showdown', Sharn ultimately took her ally Shane with her to the final two.

At Final Tribal Council, Sharn argued that she played a loyal and honest game, and survived despite being a big target towards the end of the game. Shane explained her under-the-radar strategy and the use of her social connections to her advantage. Sharn's argument, however, was derailed when Brian brought up her role in the Mat blindside as a sign of disloyalty. Shane was also able to demonstrate that she made genuine connections with the Contender women. Ultimately, Shane was able to defend her strategy more effectively and won the title of Sole Survivor in a close 5-4 vote.

## Reception

This season was deemed good by most fans, with the cast being enjoyable, but not quite as interesting as the two previous seasons.

1. ↑ https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/08/wednesday-1-august-2018.html
2. ↑ https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/08/thursday-2-august-2018.html
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4. ↑ https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/08/tuesday-7-august-2018.html
5. ↑ https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/08/wednesday-8-august-2018.html
6. ↑ https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/08/thursday-9-august-2018.html
7. ↑ https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/08/monday-13-august-2018.html
8. ↑ https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/08/tuesday-14-august-2018.html
9. ↑ https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/08/monday-20-august-2018.html
10. ↑ https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/08/tuesday-21-august-2018.html
11. ↑ https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/08/monday-27-august-2018.html
12. ↑ https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/08/tuesday-28-august-2018.html
13. ↑ https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/09/monday-3-september-2018.html
14. ↑ https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/09/tuesday-4-september-2018.html
15. ↑ https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/09/monday-10-september-2018.html
16. ↑ https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/09/tuesday-11-september-2018.html
17. ↑ https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/09/monday-17-september-2018.html
18. ↑ https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/09/tuesday-18-september-2018.html
19. ↑ https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/09/monday-24-september-2018.html
20. ↑ https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/09/tuesday-25-september-2018.html
21. ↑ https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/10/monday-1-october-2018.html
22. ↑ https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/10/tuesday-2-october-2018.html
23. ↑ https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/10/monday-8-october-2018.html
24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/10/tuesday-9-october-2018.html