Sphere Search

**Sphere Search** is a reoccurring challenge that originated in *Survivor Winter Park: Exile Island* and reappeared in *Bloodlines*, *Worlds Collide*, *Island of Desolation*, *March Madness*, *Lord of the Lads*, *Guild of the Girlies*, *Clash of the Champions*, *Dynamic Duos*, and *All-Stars*.

## Rules

Players start with their backs turned away from a field. The crew scatters balls throughout the field, with fewer balls than players in the game. If a player fails to retrieve a ball, they are eliminated from the challenge. The last player left standing (or last tribe with players remaining) wins.

## History

The challenge debuted in *Exile Island*, as the first challenge of the tribe swap. Immediately establishing itself as a legendary challenge, Sphere Search was incredibly competitive. Coming down to Blake Cox, Clarisa Groff, Griffin Hallemeier, and Thorin Groth for Ogeuso, William Turner, as the sole member of Agnonoh remaining, would put up a good fight against the other tribe, only to be eliminated by Blake in the second-to-last round, securing the win for Ogeuso.

The challenge later returned in *Bloodlines*, with both tribes being quite evenly matched for the beginning rounds. Despite having four of six players in the end, the Kavuto members couldn't keep up with the speed of Jonathan Gebaide and Justin DeLoach of Sayaka, who would both go on to be the final two players remaining for an underdog victory.

In *Worlds Collide*, the first three-tribe iteration of the challenge saw the immediate collapse of the La'maui tribe, losing four of seven players in the first two rounds. This pattern would be matched by Ko'okiri in the following rounds and Vonaku after them, leaving for a balanced final round with one member of every tribe remaining. La'maui was unable to recover from their initial failures, with Pedro Kawamura failing to keep up with Jesse Roldan of Vonaku and William Turner of Ko'okiri, sending them to Tribal Council.

After a two-season gap, *Island of Desolation* made an explosive return for the all-returnee opener, with the two-most evenly matched tribes in the history of Sphere Search. The inclusion of many former winners of the challenge made the competition stronger than ever. Clarisa Groff, the sole member of Mohala remaining in the final round would go on to lose in a close match against Blake Cox and Pedro Kawamura of Va'ena.

In *March Madness*, both tribes went back in forth with eliminations, with the Yasu tribe losing players quicker until only Drew Desabrais remained in the Final 5. While Zachary Cohen-Neamie and other Zamba members schemed to target Drew, they would be unable to stop his dominance of the challenge, eventually winning in a one-on-one against Adam Holbrook to clutch up Yasu's victory.

In *Lord of the Lads*, the all-guys cast would use this challenge as an opportunity to prove themselves to the others, with both cross country athletes Derek Romich and Griffin Hallemeier being eliminated in the second and third round respectively. an advantage was hidden in the field to grant a second life to a player, which would be found by Bryant Richey (who was eliminated in back-to-back rounds).

In *Guild of the Girlies*, due to the rainy weather, the cast would quickly become exhausted from the challenge, especially following a round requiring the players to spider-crawl across the field. The challenge would come down to a race between Cecelia Gutman, Meaghan Schlossmacher, and Zoey Thomas while karaoke-ing, with Zoey locating the ball before the other two and beating them to it, winning individual immunity and sealing Cece's fate.

In *Clash of the Champions*, the cast of winners was competing against the other players in their gender groups, as the best from both groups would receive immunity for the first Tribal Council, with one player from both group being eliminated every round. For the final four round, the players were kicked off their field due to not reserving it earlier, deciding to move to a smaller location where Blake Cox and Delaney Gardner would win the first two immunities of the season.

In *Dynamic Duos*, a majority of the girls would quickly be eliminated, leaving the competition between Diego Lindauer, Keyes Rodriguez, Tuco Kawamura, and William Dietz. As all four guys were naturally athletic, the game would get more difficult as it continued, with Tuco edging out the win in a surprising finish.

In *All-Stars*, the challenge returned to the Tribal format, with both the Alpha and Beta tribe looking to weaken the currently undefeated Sigma tribe. Alpha would be quickly dismembered, with Beta holding a majority of their tribe members throughout the challenge. With only William Turner remaining for Sigma, the two other tribes would officially form a pact against the two remaining to ensure their defeat. In nearly poetic fashion, William Turner would once again be the last member of his tribe standing against Thorin Groth, a showdown from *Exile Island*. Thorin would win this, eliminating Will from the competition and sending Sigma to their only Tribal Council of the season.

## Winners

### Results Per Season

* Exile Island
* Bloodlines
* Worlds Collide
* Island of Desolation
* March Madness
* Lord of the Lads
* Guild of the Girlies
* Clash of the Champions
* Dynamic Duos
* All-Stars

**Round 1**
14th: Grace Peters

**Round 2**
13th: Sawyer Roby

**Round 3**
12th/11th: Gabriella Pedrazzani and Indie Wolfe

**Round 4**
10th/9th: Leah Munro and Natalie Watkins

**Round 4**
8th/7th: Caleb Weeden and Samuel Bernbaum

**Round 5**
6th: Keyes Rodriguez

**Round 6**
5th: Thorin Groth

**Round 7**
4th: Griffin Hallemeier

**Round 8**
3rd: William Turner
**2nd/1st: Blake Cox and Clarisa Groff**

**Round 1**
18th: Jenna Liu

**Round 2**
17th: Caroline Dentel

**Round 3**
16th/15th: Abril Severino and Alexa Larson

**Round 4**
14th/13th: Aeisha Rivera and Carly Brooks

**Round 5**
12th/11th: Nolan Evans and Zachary Asarnow

**Round 6**
10th/9th: Kai Patel and Alyssa Posey

**Round 7**
8th/7th: Adelaide Tso and Amelie Halon

**Round 8**
6th: Alexander Rodriguez

**Round 9**
5th/4th: Darian Robbins and Owen Rimes

**Round 10**
3rd: Sofia Martinez
**2nd/1st: Jonathan Gebaide and Justin DeLoach**

**Round 1**
21st/20th/19th/18th: Adelaide Tso, Angelie Velasquez, Hannah Arnold, and Marina Rentz

**Round 2**
17th/16th: Caroline Dentel and Sienna Vittone

**Round 3**
15th/14th: Davis Hofmann and Sarah Riess

**Round 4**
13th/12th/11th: Jesse Susunaga, Jason Zavitz, and Zoey Thomas

**Round 5**
10th/9th: Daria Cuellar-Hernandez and Livi Fry

**Round 6**
8th: Drew Desabrais

**Round 7**
7th/6th: Lyndsey Keith and Owen Rimes

**Round 8**
5th/4th: Danyal Siddiqi and Matthew Rimes

**Round 9**
3rd: Pedro Kawamura
**2nd: Jesse Roldan
1st: William Turner**

**Round 1**
20th/19th/18th/17th: Daniel Jaffe, Jenna Liu, Marina Rentz, and Susan Mallen

**Round 2**
16th/15th/14th/13th: Grace Peters, Justin DeLoach, Madison Visconti, and Rylee Perrault

**Round 3**
12th/11th: Dorian Holt and Samuel Bernbaum

**Round 4**
10th/9th: Delaney Gardner and Hannah Arnold

**Round 5**
8th/7th/6th: Blake Cox, Landon Hurd, and Nicole Salmons

**Round 6**
Returns: Blake Cox (competition between previously three eliminated)

**Round 7**
6th/5th/4th: Jacob Thigpen, Owen Rimes, and Zachary Asarnow

**Round 8**
3rd: Clarisa Groff
**2nd/1st: Blake Cox and Pedro Kawamura**

**Round 1**
14th: Sydney Vargas

**Round 2**
13th/12th/11th: Alex Rodriguez, Arthur Pacheco-Navarro, and Marina Rentz

**Round 3**
10th/9th: Charlotte Batten and Olivia Hindle

**Round 4**
8th/7th: Benjamin DeLoach and Shane Rosenthal

**Round 5**
6th: Isabel Otero

**Round 6**
5th: Garrett Walker
**Round 7**
Returns: Olivia Hindle (won chance to return)

**Round 7**
5th: Olivia Hindle
**Round 8**
4th/3rd: Ava Thigpen and Zachary Cohen-Neamie

**Round 7**
2nd: Adam Holbrook
**1st: Drew Desabrais**

**Round 1**
14th/13th: Alexander Adams and Derek Romich

**Round 2**
12th/11th: Griffin Hallemeier and Henry Iddiols

**Round 3**
10th/9th: Joseph Ales and Reid Walker

**Round 4**
8th/7th: Charlie Hoeckendorf and Juan Varela

**Round 5**
Returns/6th: Bryant Richey (has extra life) and Maddox Muscato

**Round 6**
5th/4th: Bryant Richy and Samuel Fitts

**Round 7**
3rd/2nd: Alberto Oliveira and Pedro Kawamura
**1st: William Turner**

**Round 1**
14th/13th: Caroline Dentel and Lilly Yon

**Round 2**
12th/11th: Kami and Victoria De Notaris

**Round 3**
10th/9th: Carly Brooks and Mya Khatri

**Round 4**
8th/7th: Kaley Kolb and Lydia Yon

**Round 5**
6th/5th/4th: Jazlyn Dailey, Kristen Paul, and Van Nguyen

**Round 6**
3rd/2nd: Cecelia Gutman and Meaghan Schlossmacher
**1st: Zoey Thomas**

**Round 1**
14th/13th: Jazlyn Dailey and Zachary Asarnow

**Round 2**
12th/11th: Alex Rodriguez and Owen Rimes

**Round 3**
10th/9th: Jordan Rotz and Susan Mallen

**Round 4**
8th/7th: George Stedronsky and Sarah Riess

**Round 5**
6th/5th: Cole Groth and Madison Visconti

**Round 6**
4th/3rd: Charlie Hoeckendorf and Grace Wheeler
**2nd/1st: Blake Cox and Delaney Gardner**
TBA

**Round 1**
18th/17th: Davis Hofmann and Reid Walker

**Round 2**
16th/15th/14th: Adam Holbrook, Ryan Hagerty, and Zoey Thomas

**Round 3**
13th/12th: Kaley Kolb and Victoria De Notaris

**Round 4**
11th/10th/9th: Lyndsey Keith, Meaghan Schlossmacher, and Michael Collins

**Round 5**
8th/7th: Jacob Thigpen and Kristen Paul

**Round 6**
6th: William Turner
**5th/4th: Diego Lindauer and Griffin Hallemeier
 3rd/2nd/1st: Thorin Groth, Jesse Roldan, and Drew Desabrais**
## Trivia

* Tuco Kawamura is the only individual winner to not participate in Sphere Search multiple times.
* Pedro Kawamura, Owen Rimes, and William Turner all played Sphere Search four times, the most of any player.
* Blake Cox, Drew Desabrais, and Zoey Thomas all played and won Sphere Search three times.
* Owen Rimes holds the record for most losses, with three.