Rich

**Rich** was a contestant of SurviVARs: Seven Seas and SurviVARs: Secret War.

## **Profile**

**Discord:** RichD

**Gender:** he/him

**Timezone:** EST

## **Survivor**

* S4 - Seven Seas
* S5 - Secret War

**Player Rankings (4th)**

Rich is another installation in the tradition of awesome dads doing really well in SurviVARS. He was a positive presence from start to finish and was a place of constancy in a sea of chaos. Really, though, the most consistent thing about Rich was his insistence that he was being blindsided each and every round. Rich was set to cruise control thanks to his lowkey playstyle and was a real contender to win until the live revote exposed his position in the middle. Rich was set to win, and he had most of the spec lounge rooting for exactly that. He won fan favorite by a mile, and there was never a doubt in our minds to bring him back for All-Stars. He has one of the best average placements in SurviVARS, and is definitely one of the all-time greats (both as a player and as a character). We’re all blessed to have Rich around.

### **Awards**

**Move of the Game**

This move is definitely one the Jury didn’t fully understand but it was without a doubt the move of the season. At this point in time, the game seemed to be shifting in a direction where all the “big” players would target each other and get picked off one by one. However, two extremely powerful players decided to find common ground with this vote and really blew up the game more than any other single move this season. Suzz and Lex were both the two biggest targets in the game at Final 8, and they had just gone against each other. This vote was supposed to be a straightforward Lex blindside, but something else happened… These two pulled together whoever they could to change the target onto Maya. Maya, at this point in the game, was looking like she was gaining momentum with BK and Winston, and the former Barbarossa tribe looked as though it was poised to run the endgame. This vote out accomplished several things:

- It opened up a spot in the game allowing someone else to align with BK and Winston, which Suzz took advantage of

- Lex, despite going out the next move, really had a shot to make a deeper run

- Suzz managed to escape another round without using any advantages

- It also opened up a spot at FTC for every player left for standing their ground and refusing to target “Bigger” players.

**Fan Favorite**

This award was SO CLOSE! We had a lot of players within one or two votes of being Fan Favorite, but ultimately there can only be one winner. This season’s Fan Fav is someone who played a really great game, and almost got away with getting to the end without people realizing how threatening they were. Hell, even this player themselves didn’t realize how threatening they were. Their confessional was always incredibly humble, sometimes to the point of being disparaging or self-deprecating. They were always worried about being blindsided, when in reality they were controlling much of the game. Their fellow castaways loved them, and so did the hosts and spectators. They were a positive presence in a season with a lot of low moments, and we’re very grateful for that.

#### **Voting History**

**Player Ranking (9th)**
This is where the rankings get REALLY hard. I feel bad ranking Rich this low, because he was everything but disappointing this season. Ultimately, he was just so much more lowkey and UTR than most of the players around him. This didn’t stop him from making a deep run, though, and had he made it to FTC against Biggy and JRay he would have had a GREAT shot at winning it all. His gameplay was rock solid, but he didn’t have the big moves that other players had. He wound up on the right side of a lot of the biggest votes, but they weren’t necessarily his to claim. Just like his first season, though, we all loved his positivity and lovable spirit, which very nearly won him Fan Favorite for the second time around. It’s only because this cast was so damn competitive that he wound up ranking this low. It isn’t a statement of his worth as a player, or the strength of his game, but comes from his relatively lower visibility compared to the others on this list.

### **Nominations**

**Best Move (Merlin's 3-2-1)**

Alice’s elimination was madness, but Merlin’s elimination was systematic execution. He was set up to potentially win the whole game, but losing Winston was not good for him. He lost a protector, and was left in the middle without either side really trying to save him. Still, he was far from being a major target. All eyes were on Biggy, Izzy, and Red as major contenders, and Merlin was set to skate through to FTC with some serious win equity. Unfortunately for him, Izzy and Red caught onto this and took advantage of Biggy and JRay’s trust to orchestrate a 3-2-1. Once the majority split their votes, Izzy, Red and Rich were free to grab a narrow majority and control the vote. It was smart, smooth, and entirely unexpected. It also left Izzy and Red with a greater chance at making FTC, which would have been much harder with Merlin alongside them.

**Voice of the Season**

Oh boy I just realized I turned this into the dad award. Our third nomination for voice of the season had to be Rich. Rich might have played the best UTR game this entire season that really came down to Izzy winning immunity, he may have been able to pull out a win at FTC. Though know what the best part about UTR players are? When behind the scenes, outside of the dms they tell you everything that’s going on in their head and why they’re doing what they’re doing to the confusion of everyone around them. That’s exactly what Rich did and much like Red he shared adorable pictures of his kid. Rich knows himself as a paranoid player but his paranoia really worked for him because a lot of his paranoid “hunches” were usually right on the money. On top of that Rich only voted wrong once ever in the mege and really was integral to Victoria and Merlins blindside, and he made sure we knew about it. In the end Rich’s voice could best be described as neurotic I kid, Rich was kind. Rich though he’d be nervous though he’d be unsure, and he cared about his personal relationships he always would try even though it wouldn’t always work out. Rich was the voice of reason yet again in a season of crazy and unpredictability much like his original season (shoutouts to seven seas). Thank you Rich for your grounded and rational voice to us reading.

**Fan Favorite**

And look at that, three out of the four Fan Favorites have made their way to a second nomination! Rich is a really lovely character (and a kid that’s pretty damn cute) so it’s no surprise that he’s here again. Rich’s game was pretty underrated by his fellow players, and he would’ve had a real shot to win if he was sitting at FTC. I’m glad that the spectators are giving this man the love and recognition he deserves for playing a great game, and being a positive presence along the way.

### **Awards**

**Best Move (Victoria's Blindside)**

This move was a major turning point in Secret War’s merge game. Victoria had so many advantages that I don’t want to go back to count them, and was going to be able to guarantee herself F5 and potentially comp beast her way to the end like she had done in Hogwarts. She was set up to become unstoppable, and all she had to do was survive F7. Unfortunately for her, Izzy recognized this too. It should have been 4-3 against Red, but Izzy flipped to send Victoria home. Victoria took a major gamble in holding onto her idol, and other players took advantage of that to send a massive threat home. It was the moment Izzy and Red cemented themselves as the players to beat, and set the stage for the rest of the game to come.