Survivor players are often the epitome of entertainment, with their differing personalities clashing on the island — wonderfully so, for the audience's viewing pleasure. However, just because a player is entertaining to watch on-screen doesn't mean they have the smarts to win the game, or even make it far enough to be considered an intelligent player.
Seasons 41 and 42 of Survivor have introduced a new era, and along with it have come many new players that have proven to have intelligent strategies like never before. These contestants have gone down as having some of the best strategy in recent years, adapting to the many changes of the game and advantages (and disadvantages) that come along with it.
Romeo Escobar
Romeo Escobar may not have received any votes at Final Tribal Council, but it wasn't for a lack of trying. He owned up to his gameplay mistakes and flying under the radar, and itted that it was his strategy, even if it was a flawed one.
Romeo didn't try to come off as a player that he wasn't. He was honest with himself and the jury and did what he could to plead his case to the jury. Ultimately, it just wasn't enough compared to the likes of Mike Turner and Maryanne Oketch, but he was still a good player with intelligent instincts.
Jenny Kim
Jenny Kim's time on the show was short-lived, which is why many fans wish for her return on another season. Despite her only being in a few episodes, her fellow players (and viewers) saw her potential as a dominant player who was ousted well before her time.
Jenny made a tight alliance early on in the game by teaming up with Mike, and had it not been for Chanelle risking her vote for a chance of an advantage, Jenny may have made it much farther. Jenny's elimination wasn't because of the way she played the game, more of an unlucky circumstance and Daniel making the decision to betray her.
Tori Meehan
Tori Meehan was on the bottom for the entirety of her Survivor 42 game, and was only safe during the times she had individual immunity. She failed to make strong connections and allies, but the way she played the game was still deeply creative and innovative, especially given that she wasn't shown to be close to anyone in particular.
Tori's demise was inevitable, but like Romeo, it wasn't for a lack of trying. She fought to the bitter end, and was the victim of a double elimination. Tori's strategy was to get in people's heads, and she did just that. Her immunity run didn't hurt either, causing the merged tribe to have to target each other instead of her.
Jonathan Young
Jonathan Young was one of the most athletic contestants Survivor has ever seen. He led his pre-merge tribe to victory, provided at camp, and was friendly with almost everyone on the island.
Jonathan's social game lacked in a few areas, mostly because he preferred to align closely with men instead of women. When he finally did team up with former tribe-mate Lindsay however, the two of them created a strong alliance that furthered both of their games. Had Jonathan made it to the end, there's a good chance he would've gotten quite a few votes.
Mike Turner
Mike Turner was beloved by everyone on Survivor 42. Even though it's a game of lies and betrayal, nobody could ever get genuinely angry at Mike, because he acted as such a fatherly figure to his opponents.
Mike played a dominant game that earned him a spot in Final Tribal Council, however he failed to own his mistakes as well as Maryanne did hers. Despite his FTC blunder, Mike's overall gameplay was strong and assertive, with him never giving up and always being in the know of where the votes were going.
Drea Wheeler
Drea Wheeler was favored to win Survivor 42, especially given that she seemed to find every good advantage imaginable early on in the season.
Drea's game personality was also extremely likable, with a perfect balance of trustworthy and devious traits. Because of her smarts, Drea was a target post-merge, and it was only a matter of time before her tribe-mates turned on her. She proved to be just as aware and intelligent during her time as a jury member, when she asked Mike hard-hitting questions about his lack of loyalty as the game went on.
Lindsay Dolashewich
Lindsay Dolashewich was under-the-radar for the first half of the game, but was shown front and center in the later half. She had her hand in many of the season's biggest moves, and won immunity when it counted the most.
Lindsay's later dominance made her a huge jury threat, due in part to her likability among other contestants. Everyone loved being around Lindsay, and ired her strategy, making her a huge target going into the final stages of the game. Ultimately, her fatal flaw in the game was being too good, at least according to her fellow competitors.
Hai Giang
Hai Giang was one of the biggest threats for the entirety of Survivor 42, and was blindsided at the perfect time before he could really dominate and change the course of the rest of the game.
Hai's intelligence led him to a lot of success early in the game (even on the dysfunctional Vati tribe), including during the Jenny vote when he was fiercely loyal to his teammate Lydia, and unwavering in her decision to vote out Jenny. Hai's biggest flaw in the game was that he wasn't good at concealing the fact that he was good at it, putting a target on his back that he couldn't quite get rid of.
Omar Zaheer
Omar Zaheer was the mastermind of much of Survivor 42, which is exactly why he was voted out by Maryanne Oketch when he was.
Omar had a great read on everyone in the game, keeping his allies close and his enemies even closer. Even better, he was secretive about his strategy, and pawned a lot of his moves off of biggest threats so that nobody would know that he was behind the biggest blindsides. If it weren't for Maryanne, Omar could've easily won the game.
Maryanne Oketch
Maryanne Oketch was what Survivor players' dreams are made of. She had a bubbly personality, charming story, and a stellar Final Tribal Council performance that explained exactly why she deserved to win Survivor 42.
Maryanne wasn't everyone on her starting tribe's cup of tea, but that didn't stop her from being herself and playing with her heart and mind. She was a brilliant strategist, cutting Omar before he could get himself to the end, and saying farewell to Lindsay despite wanting to make it to FTC with her closest ally.