Izzy

**Izzy** (izzyibeam#7986) placed 12th in Season 2 & is the Sole Survivor of Season 5.

Starting the game strong on Matanisiga, Izzy formed close duos with Eli and Niall and seemed to be in a good position with everyone else in her tribe. After a tribe swap found her in the minority, Izzy would use her fun personality to help Gabriel decide to flip on his untrustworthy OG alliance. However, after being swapped into the minority with Brandon yet again at the second swap, Izzy’s game began to fall apart. Her usual charm was failing her, as her potential allies in OG Vula mostly wanted to keep her just because it meant getting rid of the bigger threat, Brandon. Brandon was able to convince Izzy that the entire OG Vulas were playing her, neutering their split vote plan to get her to vote herself out in a planned 3-2-1 vote. However, due to Harry accidentally voting wrong, she was doomed anyway and sent out in a 4-1-1 vote. Izzy is remembered for her funny confessionals, getting swap-screwed twice, and her bitter yet lighthearted parting words.

Starting the game off quietly, Izzy was determined to continue her streak of ORG wins on the Kisiti Tribe. An early target, Izzy was clocked as the type of player that would lay low until the very end and then play aggressively- a prediction that would end up coming true this season. She was on the bottom of the OG Kisiti Tribe, but had good enough relationships that she was not quite the target. This was to her benefit, as she enjoyed her name coming up in hopes of mitigating her threat level at the merge. At the swap, Izzy solidified a tight alliance called “Feet Lovers Anonymous” with fellow rats Basil and Lucas, which would remain her priority alliance until their departure. At the second swap, Izzy was in a rather precarious spot. Her name was thrown out fast, so she put in the work to keep her fellow rats from targeting a Gata instead. This saw the birth of her strategy for the rest of the game: as she was busy in real life due to chronic illness and work, Izzy would only put in more than the minimum social work when in danger. At the merge, Izzy reconvened with Anthony and formed a three person alliance with Lucas. This marked a shift in her game; while Lucas was her number one, Anthony held a lot of power in the tribe for her to make a shield. This also extended to the “Izzazzthony” alliance with Azzy, where Izzy recognized Azzy as a very loyal “goat” archetype of player. She also was able to form a lowkey duo with Will, with all of these bonds showing that while she did the bare minimum prior to game time, she was well liked amongst the tribe. (As well as being viewed as a goat to the end.) While her strategy was perceived as being better done by Will and Anthony having a chokehold on the game’s strategy, the two would make crucial end-game mistakes that saw Izzy able to rise from the ashes. Notably, Izzy made her path to the end solidified by sowing her seeds with Azzy during the tied vote in the Final 7. To ensure Azzy’s loyalty, Izzy spilled all of the tea to Azzy about Anthony’s views on his game and minion status, successfully flipping Azzy into eliminating Anthony with the majority as well as securing Azzy as her own new “minion.” At Will’s ouster, he heavily hinted at Izzy playing a better game than the others while opting not to name her to cause paranoia. This potentially helped her in the game, as at the proceeding vote it appeared as though the remaining players were able to pin this target onto Suari instead, despite Bel being very skeptical of Izzy’s game due to their strained social interactions. At the Final 4, Azzy made it clear he would never vote for Izzy and betray her, guaranteeing her firemaking at best. At the Final Tribal Council, the Jury was torn between Bel and Izzy’s games, feeling as though Izzy owned her game better and played better, but heavily questioned her perceived lack of commitment to the game. Izzy’s strength in giving Jury speeches became very apparent, as she won over many in the Jury via her transparency and humor, as well as her biting back at the shade thrown at her, particularly to Anthony and Harry. In the end, her strong speaking skills as well as her ability to own and not overstate her game saw her the Sole Survivor in a 7-3-0 vote, feeling that she made moves and did what needed to be done.