Sole Survivor

The **Sole Survivor** is the title held by the winner of the reality TV show, *Survivor: The Sims*. The Sole Survivor is determined by the jury, which is made up of previously voted out contestants from the season. Whoever receives the highest amount of votes from the jury becomes the Sole Survivor. The jury is meant to award the title of Sole Survivor to the castaway who embodied the game's slogan the best: "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast."

## Criteria

While there are no formal rules in deciding who to vote as the Sole Survivor, the slogan "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast" is generally used to decide on the winner. Whoever fulfilled those categories, or the core of the game, "best" in each juror's eyes should get their vote. The only requirement for a contestant to be eligible to win is that they make it to the Final Tribal Council, or Day 39 of the game.

On the final day of the game at Final Tribal Council, the members of the jury question the Final Two or Three, and the jurors will ask questions which they feel will allow them to get the knowledge they need to make their decision on who to cast their vote for. It is completely subjective, and up to each individual juror to decide who they feel fulfilled "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast" the best, and who they should vote for to win the title of Sole Survivor. Each part of the slogan is explained below.

* **Outwit:** The *social* element; the ability to bring about one's desired strategic goals without sacrificing one's social standing or alienating other contestants emotionally. A strong candidate will remain respected while playing an efficacious game.
* **Outplay:** The *strategic* element; the ability to outmaneuver other contestants and eliminate them in a manner conducive to one's own long-term success in the game. This component of the game may include alliance formation and management, execution of blindsides, use of Hidden Immunity Idols, advantages, or any other manifestation of guile, deception, or strategic command.
* **Outlast:** The *physical* element; the ability to literally survive the harsh realities of the game, such as harsh weather, grueling challenges, and the overall deprivation of necessities and luxuries. It is expected that the Sole Survivor will have not only endured the physical difficulties of the game, but indeed will have borne them with enthusiasm and grace.

## Prizes

Along with the title of Sole Survivor, the winner of *Survivor: The Sims* receives a $1,000,000 check which is received after the season finale. In addition, all contestants (including the winner) who attend the reunion show receive $10,000.

## Trivia

### Winning and Perfect Games

* Keith Trager is the first ever Sole Survivor.
* So far, 3 men and 4 women have become Sole Survivors.
* Keith Trager is the oldest Sole Survivor by age at the time of declaration, at 56 years old.
	+ The oldest woman to be declared Sole Survivor at the time of winning is Stephanie Morales, at 33 years old.
* Michael Vega is the youngest Sole Survivor by age at the time of declaration, at 25 years old.
	+ The youngest women to be declared the Sole Survivor are Tatyana Kuzmina and Thao Pham, who were both 26 when they won.
* Omari Gentry is the first Sole Survivor to win by a unanimous jury vote, receiving all 8 jury votes in *Survivor: Cook Islands*.
* Keith Trager is the first Sole Survivor to not have won Individual Immunity.
* Stephanie Morales is the first Sole Survivor to have won the final three Individual Immunity challenges in a row.
	+ She was later followed by Tatyana Kuzmina.
* Tatyana Kuzmina holds the record for the highest amount of Individual Immunity challenges won by a Sole Survivor in a single season, with four.
	+ Keith Trager and Michael Vega hold the record for the least, with 0 Individual Immunity wins each.
* Stephanie Morales holds the record for the highest amount of consecutive Individual Immunity challenges won by a Sole Survivor in a season, with three.
* Michael Vega is the first Sole Survivor who had 0 votes cast against them, along with 0 immunity wins.

### Tribal Council

* Omari Gentry holds the record for most votes against for a Sole Survivor, at 7 on *Cook Islands*.
	+ Tatyana Kuzmina holds the record for the least votes received, at 0.
		- Michael Vega, who also had 0 votes against, later tied Tatyana's record.
* Omari Gentry holds the record for the earliest vote for a Sole Survivor to receive a vote against, getting 2 votes on the first Tribal Council (Day 3).
* Omari Gentry holds the record for most jury votes received by a Sole Survivor in a single season, with 8.
	+ Thao Pham holds the record for most jury votes received by a Sole Survivor in a Final Two, with 6.

### Hidden Immunity Idol and Twists

* Tatyana Kuzmina and Michael Vega are the only Sole Survivors so far to have won without ever having a single vote cast against them during their winning season.
* Stephanie Morales (*Survivor: Panama*) is the first new player to beat a returning player and become the Sole Survivor at Final Tribal Council. Stephanie defeated Michaela Thompson, who previously competed on *Survivor: Thailand*.

### Returning Winners

* So far, four Sole Survivors have returned for another season.
	+ **Returned once:** Keith Trager, Omari Gentry, Stephanie Morales & Thao Pham
* Four out of seven Sole Survivors have experienced being voted out.
	+ **Voted out once:** Keith Trager, Omari Gentry, Stephanie Morales & Thao Pham
* Danielle Douglas is the first Sole Survivor to win a season with all returning players.
* Danielle Douglas is the only Sole Survivor to never have been voted out, and played more than one season.
* Danielle Douglas has played the most days for a Sole Survivor, with 78.

No winners have returned to play *Survivor* as of now.