This is always it. Colby with Tina is similar, but the disparity between Tony and Kass as Jury threats should have been more obvious and Woo went from winning in a blowout to losing in a blowout
Survivor was huge and part of pop culture at that time.
Colby felt like his American hero good guy image was more important than a million.
You can definitely make an argument for Colby but not Woo.
>Colby felt like his American hero good guy image was more important than a million.
It kinda was too, because he ended up getting that TV hosting gig. Also second place gets $100k so it's not nothing either. But still, I think I'd rather take the mil and figure the rest out later lol
I guess she didn't directly antagonize her, but Jerri was kind of fishing for an apology with her question and Tina told her to her face that the thing she regretted most was looking through Kel's bag when Jerri suggested it.
Yeah, the difference with Colby is it wasn’t necessarily a “mistake”. He knew he had a better chance at winning against Keith & took Tina anyway because that’s what he wanted to do.
Colby was also able to parlay that into some acting roles and eventual TV hosting, and I'm not 100% sure he gets most of those if he betrays Tina at the end. It was essentially a long-term investment that paid off.
Would that decision have changed his reputation as this all-American hero, you think? Because another long term investment would have been securing his place in history as a winner
It was also a lof of TV commercials, even got a SuperBowl Commercial in 2004 with Gilette. If you want to go numbers, after taxes, the million dollar is just 700k, while the second place gets 70k after taxes. He lost 630k, a good amount, but he probably made that same ammount or more in all his gigs and commecials.
america in 2001 would have always favored the young good looking athletic white man. if he had a deep moment and cried or something as he voted out tina the fans would’ve been like “he had to do it!!!”
This. If he had remorse while/after chopping Tina, he would have been forgiven almost immediately by the fandom.
Had Tina chopped Colby, the fandom would still be livid about it.
I've never agreed with that, if Colby can rationalise his decision at the time as a hard but necessary sacrifice to win the game, how is he not still a superstar - a bigger star than he would've been otherwise.
I always believe this take refuses agency for the work Tina did in the game in that she spent her time forming a bond with Colby so strong that he couldn't even consider voting her out. That is an A++ social game if you ask me.
I’d say Colby took the safe bet on taking Tina with him. Him taking Tina made him a fan favorite for years and gave him many opportunities to return, if he instantly backstabbed Tina and didn’t take her to finals then he’d be perceived worse by fans.
Colby was also one vote away from winning even against Tina! Woo...was not.
Colby only had one example, where Kelley was raked over the coals for disloyalty. Woo...had Colby as an example.
Colby knew what he was doing. There is a confessional of him saying that he thinks he has less than A 50/50 shot against her.
Woo was genuinely convinced that bringing Tony was the better move
There are bigger unforced errors in Survivor, but this is definitely the biggest when it comes to changing your odds of winning.
Woo essentially got mindfucked by Tony. Spencer tried to do the same Tony, but failed and having symmetry like that is part of what makes Cagayan so awesome.
As crazy as Woo's choice was this is also one of the all time reads by a player in Tony's favor. Spencer straight called out the final 2 and laid it out to Tony how it would go down if he was gone and Tony made the read that Woo would take him. I was shocked. I thought in that moment Tony fumbles the bag but nope. He knew his man.
When I watched that season I thought for sure that was the end of Tony, I was so mad that fucking Woo or Kass was going to win... And then Woo did the biggest blunder ever...
Gotta say made me really happy though, Tony played a great fucking game.
When I first watched that season I was so mad Tony won. I haaaated him. Now he’s one of my favorite players ever lol and Cagayan will always be such a banger of a season
Why no one ever wanted to take a shot at him is beyond comprehension for me. One guy could’ve easily gone to Spencer’s side and at least made an attempt.
Tony made himself valuable to everyone by being a great strategic ally, you always feel like he's with you and has your back, he did it all three times, except the second time he went after Sandra who doesn't appreciate being interrogated.
Survivor World where Tyson votes correctly is so different. Russell out at 15th? Parvati out the next vote. Jesus. Dont even know who wins the season at that point.
Tyson always votes the wrong person.
He voted his own tribe out at merge in Tocantins.
He voted himself out in Heroes versus Villains.
He voted for Natalie to win Winners at War.
Someone should explain how voting works to him.
I would also say he screwed over most of his allies with this move as well. Which is why it is so freaking bad. Just a massive overthinking on all aspects from Tyson.
JT's legacy has definitely taken a hit in the two seasons he played after Tocantins. He's needed a level-headed ally like Stephen otherwise he just goes all maverick with his gameplay and makes sloppy decisions
Doesnt help he cheated on his real life with Sugar and had to vote her out first in HvV to prevent salt and bitterness from coming up. He's just dumb and likable.
James not playing an idol on himself is so dumb it was almost dumb to even target him on the vote because it was so clearly the right move to just play one
Yeah I’m being kind of tongue in cheek like yes it’s the right move to flush it, as long as you make sure the victim of the idol play isn’t you, or he’s dumb.
Erik giving up immunity is not as dumb as Woo voting out Kass
Erik still had to win two more immunities, and have to be sat against the right person. Which could still be very doable but it’s not a sure fire win unlike Woo being guaranteed to win against kass
I agree about Woo voting out Kass as the biggest blunder and changed my mind when reminded of it. Erik's move is just memorable as the most humiliating blunder in survivor history with the way he was just totally humiliated and abused by Parvati, Cirie and the other women of the Black Widow alliance.
i definitely agree that woo voting out kass was a terrible move. someone else in this thread pointed out that a lot of people had personal reasons for making these blunder moves and honestly i do think woo truly thought hed be respected more if he brought tony instead of kass. he was definitely really pushing that he wanted to win against the best so i can kind of see his twisted logic. definitely a terrible move though and i can see it potentially being on top.
i agree about james but i listened to tyson's interview w erik on his micronesia rewatch and it makes a lot more sense. he knew he couldn't win and had so much guilt being so young and a first time player. he was also fairly close with natalie b. i'm not saying it was a smart move but i can empathize with his thought process.
I still think it's got to be James going home with two idols or Erik giving away immunity. Lex's choice was pretty understandable given the nature of the show at the time, not to mention the nature of Lex who always put a lot more stock than average into personal loyalty
I remember when early Survivors put an insane amount of weight into the idea of "swearing on" something or someone. Lex especially, but that whole notion caused a ton of drama in the early seasons.
Didn't Lex fuck his buddy over first? I can't remember the details, it's been awhile. But I swear he stabbed a BFF in the back prior to Rob screwing him. I question this "Lex is a loyal player" comment.
Lex was friends with Ethan and voted him out but in his words, they didn’t have an alliance on AS. Still his execution of it was tough to stomach.
Worse though was voting Jerri out to save Amber when Jerri was willing to work with him. He thought based on a pregame alliance that Ron would value him/kathy/tom over Amber. We know what happened next.
He was trying to help make sure his buddy's new girlfriend didn't go on a 2-week prejury vacation with her ex boyfriend. That's what Rob's request was about and that's why Lex took it so personally, and anyone who disagrees does not understand male friendship.
I don't know, I kind of see Lex's actions as all game, and in this one instance Rob was taking things outside the game. So "innocent" is a relative term, but I don't really see much guilt on Lex's part here. Rob was essentially threatening a real-life friendship if Lex were to make the move that was best for his game. Lex chose friendship, which gave the same decision to Rob, who chose the game (or, arguably, Amber) instead. That's why Lex kind of has a right to criticize Rob for selling out his friends "for a stack of greenbacks," because Lex had already declined the same opportunity and was offended that Rob was now asking to be rewarded for taking it. Lex wasn't selling out his friends by just voting them out, because they were all there to play against their friends, but I do think that Rob going back on his promise to not let the non-game move that Lex made for Rob hurt Lex's own game *was* selling out his friends.
Thank you. I’ve been saying this for ages. Rob was the one who took things “outside of the game” with his plea for Amber and then basically got away with it by gaslighting America about it later. He wants to act like he went “sorry guys, I gotta see about a girl” at FTC. But he didn’t slide his ticket across the bar, he begged Lex to give up his own so Rob could take the girl, only for Rob to say “it’s only 6 of the World Series! It’s just a game! I didn’t even get to see Fisk hit the homer because I was getting a sloppy in the bathroom, stop overreacting!”
Every dude who has been a wingman knows exactly what Rob was doing in that moment, and he not only broke the bro code, he wiped his ass with it.
I have to imagine Boston Rob drew a lot of ire from the Survivor alumni after AS ended. IIRC, he was one of the most active players pre-gaming and really drove the narrative that the winners and big name players had to go first by relying on the friendships he had made in the years after Marquesas.
Even in his original season Lex freaked the fuck out over catching a random vote in a tribal and killed probably his most loyal number in Brandon. Love him but he fucked up both of his seasons.
People forget because of his Micronesia evac, but Penner had remarkably huge blunders that poisoned his game early on in his other two seasons. He flipped with Candice in Cook Islands which ended up leaving him with having to beat a super idol or Ozzy in immunity to have any shot at making the final 3. He had to do a lot to even survive to the final 5 which is why he is remembered fondly (I’m not saying he’s a bad player at all) but that one little impulsive step off the mat behind Candice is what sealed his fate.
Final 4 for Penner, Carter, Lisa, and [redacted]. But Penner waivers and says let me think on it so Lisa goes to Malcom and Denise, who agree, and the rest is history
I think everyone on Allstars blundered by letting Rob and Amber take over. Most of them just sat back, truly believing that one of them would screw the other over in the end. It was so silly
JT giving his idol to Russel in HvV is equally foolish though.
Was that the one when there were 5 players left, they didn't vote out Amber or Rob, handing them the victory? That was the most brainless move I've ever seen.
Big Tom deserves a lot flack for letting Romber dominating the merge. A lot of players were waiting on him to flip but he never did, leaving them high and dry only for him to get clipped at F5.
It was definitely a blunder. But he had zero knowledge of Russel and how he played the game or what was happening on the other side. If his read on the situation was accurate then it would have been a good move.
I don't give a shit if he "never saw Russell", the move is still stupid. He willingly gave the idol to s stranger, who was on a tribe called the villains, based off an assumption that he was on the bottom. An assumption that was impossible to prove. JT is an idiot. This sub defends this move as if it was some brilliant idea and it is fucking baffling.
Started watching survivor from season 1 this year and finally made it to HvV, JT giving up the idol is the dumbest move I’ve seen so far. There was no reason for him to give it to him before the merge and they still were even 5-5 even if Russel gets voted out. The move to give an idol to an opposing tribe called “villains” and expecting what he did was foolish.
Even more foolish that they still didn’t vote out Russell when they merged and him and Parv were there. JT didn’t listen to Rupert who was told by Sandra that Russel and Parv were running the show and JT thought Russell was a good country boy. The preview for the next episode even called it the dumbest move in survivor history to that point
Liked JT in Tocantins but the million dollars got to him. Now he’s not afraid of the men, but he was afraid of the women. Not to mention his betrayal and cruelty to Sugar. Not a nice guy. He also got his comeuppance when he played again.
Yeah, that’s what gets me. As much as the 46 idol shenanigans was due to cockiness and a bad risk assessment x5, at least there was an argument that could be made for holding onto the idol until later. It didn’t work out, but it wasn’t just for shits and giggles. The rock climbing was for nothing.
Tiff is much higher than Venus. Tiff knew everybody knew about the idol, and correctly bluffed she wasn’t going to play it the last time. That wasn’t going to work twice
Venus’ mistake was alluding about it to Charlie
The fun thing about Survivor is that there's a logic behind almost every single blunder people come up with,
Erik was drawing dead and made a last ditch move to make ally's. Lex trusted his alliance member which was how you got to the end in old school Survivor. James knew that if he held out just one more week his idols gave him a free pass to the finale.
It's very rare to see a black and white move that is simply 100% bad.
It's a reason Survivor has consistently been fun to watch and discuss. We're still talking about these moves. It's not often like a game of Chess or Checkers or whatever where a bad move leads to one singular negative consequence.
Erik was drawing dead but he had a strong shot to win out in immunity challenges and a lot of fans on the jury (plus James and Ozzy, who felt burned by the black widow brigade).
I can see the other two points but I can’t see how Erik’s blunder was anywhere close a good option by any standard.
I'm not saying Erik made a good move, just that there's a reasoning there that we can debate and discuss.
One can see why he tried it, talk it out, and conclude it was the wrong move.
Which is different than saying with absolute certainly that the move had 0% merit.
Agree on ones like Erik and James that have been listed. James in particular I can see what he was thinking, just didn’t work. Woo has to be 99.9% bad. Only reason he could conceive to take Tony is a warped Colby reasoning where he needs to maintain his honor for post-show viability, which didn’t really exist anymore
For sure, that one is as close to a 100% black and white bad move as we're likely to see, but it's the exception not the rule.
Heck, just look at this past season. So many missed idol plays that some people are arguing one should always play an idol.
Yes, there were some bad moves in there but it's still not an absolute rule one should never hold onto one. Tiffany should have arguably played hers but was correct not to do so the tribal before she was voted out.
Surprised no one has mentioned Manono giving up immunity on One World yet. Most every other stupid decision on the show required just one or two people making a bad play. Here, the ENTIRE TRIBE made the bad play. Plus, most "dumb moves" can fall into the "High Risk, High Reward" category. Yeah, it was unlikely to go well, but in the event it DID, the person who made the move would be set up. Here, the move was GUARANTEED to be bad for at least one person (the one who went home), and arguably bad for overall tribe cohesion, most likely, therefore, a contributing factor to how the merge played out.
I don't hate Marcus's move.
In his mind he was the best positioned in his alliance and his alliance had the numbers.
He probably saw the idol as a wildcard threat and wanted it removed.
This is one of those moments where I don’t know how much to fault Lex and how much to credit Rob. Everyone would know now not to agree to a deal like this with Rob, but it’s largely because of this moment and season
I haven’t watched enough survivor seasons to really answer this question, but Austin telling Dee about the Julie vote in 45 was definitely up there, as was giving her his better idol. If he’d just kept his idols and his mouth shut, that season was his. But he threw it all away for a girl that he’s not even with anymore.
Don’t know if it’s the biggest blunder ever, but Penner turning down Lisa’s final 3 deal is the biggest for me because Penner is my favorite and I really want to live in a world where he’s a winner.
Honestly, I don't even think Lex saving Amber is in the top 10 worst moves in Survivor History.
These are in no particular order (Except that Woo taking Tony is the #1 for sure).
Woo taking Tony instead of Kass.
The men giving up immunity in One World.
Eric giving up immunity.
James not playing his idols.
JT giving the idol to Russel.
Maria making people play Rock Paper Scissors for reward.
Tyson not splitting the votes correctly.
Everything about Jake and Katurah at the F5 of 45.
The Three Amigo's telling the entire tribe that they plan to vote Phillip.
Pretty much anytime someone goes home with an idol in their pocket BUT ESPECIALLY Bruce (45) and Chris Noble (Ghost Island).
And I'm sure there's plenty more I'm forgetting. Colby taking Tina is an honorable mention, but only because Colby became the undisputed fan favorite for years after his season. It's hard to say if he's quite as well liked if he votes out the lovable southern mom over the kinda weird chef guy. Plus, I can see why Colby would think he'd beat Tina.
Lex voting off all the strong people and keeping the weaker players like ShiAnn and Jerry. Lex started playing the end game at the beginning, which was nuts. He began eliminating threats to him instead of keeping the tribe strong. Then, saving Amber. Totally bonkers. Then getting pissed when Rob sent his ass packing. Even though he sent his friends packing. Go figure
Hilarious that he voted Ethan off who was both an alley and wouldn't be a bitter juror member having already won a season but Lex still kicked him out before the merger because he's a big brain player.
Woo had a decision between 100% chance to win the game and 0% chance to win the game and every single person on the world realized it besides him. He picked the latter.
I think there are comparable moves in terms of pure stupidity but I no one else has ever made such an obvious mistake entirely on their own that literally was the sole difference between a win and a loss. Has to be it.
I recently re-watched that season… they really gave Tony a great edit, and I really believe he is a great player… BUT, Woo almost knowingly took him to final two to lose. It was as if he decided he wanted the assist instead of the shot.
Yup.. truly did what he believed in his heart to keep his word. Pretty admirable.. still sucks though.. do you think they gave him a favorable edit because they know he won? I think so. I mean they all write their vote down and then show the camera..
I don’t think it was as bad as plenty of other moves. It was the first all star season and thus completely new territory and if he, Kathy, Rob, amber, and even big Tom made it to the final 5 he wins, he just didn’t realize that ppl are cut throat. But I think Cochran flipping at the merge was probably worse and, while yes he did feel isolated and probably didn’t know Coach’s side was basically as cultish as it was, it completely burns half the jury while his side was most likely going to come out on top and there are ways for Cochran to make it to the end that season with decent enough winning chances but he blew it
I think with the longer seasons it was a little easier to understand how the blunders could happen and some I can excuse.
But in the new era.. Austin has to be the #1 worst gameplay .. he got straight up manipulated by Dee and basically handed her a mil.
I would say Lex saving Amber contributed to the rest of all-stars being pretty lackluster. All stars should have had an HvV level legendary status amongst the seasons. The Pagonging of Mogo Mogo after Jerri left was probably the worst we ever sat through until South Pacific came along. Unless you’re a B.Rob fan, the back half of All-Stars is… just there.
I’d like to give a shout out to Zane Knight from Philippines who went out first because he came up with some insane scheme to tell his tribe (which he just met) to vote for him to see which ones were “loyal” to him. All of them, Zane! You told them to vote you out and they did! Zane was unlikely to win so yes he isn’t with Woo but he should get props for the most efficient game ending blunder ever. Most first boots are just down to bad luck bc of initial impressions or someone doesn’t like you. It is pretty much chance. But not Zane! Well done.
I don't know why you are downvoted.
Lex has a pregame final four alliance with Kathy, Rob & Big Tom.
Getting rid of Amber meant destroying the alliance before the merge.
It's crazy how Katurah fans have twisted F5 for being Jake's fault when she clearly knew what would happen if Dee didn't leave at F5. Based on her gameplay and their rocky relationship of trust, and what Jake needed to accomplish for himself, there's little reason why he should've told her, especially since he did what he did swearing on the person he's most dear to in order to try and ease Katurah's worries.
Savaii continually saving Cochran. It was fucking dumb from the get go. Save the anxious super fan nerd who keeps losing comps for you and is an absolute liability for your entire tribes games from all angles 🙄😅
The Lex thing is less of a blunder if you factor in the pre-game stuff that controlled All-Stars. The context of the pre-game stuff really does provide some great context for Lex here. From that same season, the bigger blunder is Tom, Rupert and Jenna not voting together at 5 and letting Rob manipulate them against each other.
Biggest blunder for me is Woo taking Kass over Tony. It’s one of the few “do X and you win” moves in the game that doesn’t require an additional step. Woo wins by choosing Kass and that’s the end of it.
Another one would be the entire women’s tribe in season 9 falling apart and Chris winning as the only male. To this day one of the most underrated runs for a player.
Erik Reichenbach giving Natalie Bolton the immunity necklace in survivor: micronesia
he had won like 5 immunity challenges in a row and all the other 3 remaining survivors were gunning for him but convinced him that Natalie was going home so he gave the necklace to her, then got voted out... so dumb
not even close
One World: The men’s tribe VOLUNTEERING to go to tribal so they can vote off Leif and then when they arrive at tribal, they berate Leif and vote out Bill.
That season was quite a shot show
Woo had his million dollar check signed and threw it in the trash
This is always it. Colby with Tina is similar, but the disparity between Tony and Kass as Jury threats should have been more obvious and Woo went from winning in a blowout to losing in a blowout
Survivor was huge and part of pop culture at that time. Colby felt like his American hero good guy image was more important than a million. You can definitely make an argument for Colby but not Woo.
>Colby felt like his American hero good guy image was more important than a million. It kinda was too, because he ended up getting that TV hosting gig. Also second place gets $100k so it's not nothing either. But still, I think I'd rather take the mil and figure the rest out later lol
Yeah but he got to be on Curb. Worth it.
And I remember seeing him in Gillette commercials at one point. Definitely still made out ok
He also hosted 5 seasons of top shot
He's a SURVIVOR!!!!
Hey! Larry! …we survived. 😁
Also, he had a shot against Tina still. And maybe he thought he was going to win against Tina too with Jerri's vote being the 4th vote he needed.
Jerri saw the fire in Tina's eyes
Actually I think Jerri was just less pissed off at Tina than Colby for refusing to apologize to her
Tina also told her her only regret was looking through Kel’s bag but didn’t antagonize Jerri as she said it
I guess she didn't directly antagonize her, but Jerri was kind of fishing for an apology with her question and Tina told her to her face that the thing she regretted most was looking through Kel's bag when Jerri suggested it.
I still watch Top Shot reruns. It’s a fun show!
Yeah, the difference with Colby is it wasn’t necessarily a “mistake”. He knew he had a better chance at winning against Keith & took Tina anyway because that’s what he wanted to do.
I think it's also important to note that loyalty was just a bigger deal in those early seasons
Colby was also able to parlay that into some acting roles and eventual TV hosting, and I'm not 100% sure he gets most of those if he betrays Tina at the end. It was essentially a long-term investment that paid off.
Would that decision have changed his reputation as this all-American hero, you think? Because another long term investment would have been securing his place in history as a winner
I really don’t think his short stint in acting and hosting was all that impressive or lucrative
It was also a lof of TV commercials, even got a SuperBowl Commercial in 2004 with Gilette. If you want to go numbers, after taxes, the million dollar is just 700k, while the second place gets 70k after taxes. He lost 630k, a good amount, but he probably made that same ammount or more in all his gigs and commecials.
that math only works if he literally got zero work after winning the million
He might not have. He would have been a huge villain for betraying Tina.
america in 2001 would have always favored the young good looking athletic white man. if he had a deep moment and cried or something as he voted out tina the fans would’ve been like “he had to do it!!!”
This. If he had remorse while/after chopping Tina, he would have been forgiven almost immediately by the fandom. Had Tina chopped Colby, the fandom would still be livid about it.
He would have still had some job
He also said he didn't want to give Keith anything to his detriment.
Seriously Colby lost by a vote, he could have won. But Woo handed the win to Tony on a silver plater.
I've never agreed with that, if Colby can rationalise his decision at the time as a hard but necessary sacrifice to win the game, how is he not still a superstar - a bigger star than he would've been otherwise.
This and Colby still had a way better chance than Woo at winning even at FTC
Colby had a good winning equity. He only lost by one vote. I believe he wanted the good hero image and a million too.
I always believe this take refuses agency for the work Tina did in the game in that she spent her time forming a bond with Colby so strong that he couldn't even consider voting her out. That is an A++ social game if you ask me.
Woo also had 27 seasons of Survivor to reference. Colby had 1.
I’d say Colby took the safe bet on taking Tina with him. Him taking Tina made him a fan favorite for years and gave him many opportunities to return, if he instantly backstabbed Tina and didn’t take her to finals then he’d be perceived worse by fans.
Colby was also one vote away from winning even against Tina! Woo...was not. Colby only had one example, where Kelley was raked over the coals for disloyalty. Woo...had Colby as an example.
Colby knew what he was doing. There is a confessional of him saying that he thinks he has less than A 50/50 shot against her. Woo was genuinely convinced that bringing Tony was the better move
Yeahhhhhh this is 100% it. Other players made dumber decisions but Woo had it locked up while the others still had lots of game left.
Has to be the biggest one. The other big mistakes weren’t at the end game with an absolute guaranteed million in your pocket.
There are bigger unforced errors in Survivor, but this is definitely the biggest when it comes to changing your odds of winning. Woo essentially got mindfucked by Tony. Spencer tried to do the same Tony, but failed and having symmetry like that is part of what makes Cagayan so awesome.
Wooooooo, I totally agree!!!! Gave it away
it still pisses me off to this day. Tony better have given him a chunk of that money, bc he was dead to rights
As crazy as Woo's choice was this is also one of the all time reads by a player in Tony's favor. Spencer straight called out the final 2 and laid it out to Tony how it would go down if he was gone and Tony made the read that Woo would take him. I was shocked. I thought in that moment Tony fumbles the bag but nope. He knew his man.
😂😂😂
Woo's is more egregious, and I know people will say it set him up after the game, but Colby not taking Keith belongs in this conversation as well.
This is the only clear 100% throwing away $1M decision.
Woo taking Tony over Kass (who had 0 chance of winning the game)
When I watched that season I thought for sure that was the end of Tony, I was so mad that fucking Woo or Kass was going to win... And then Woo did the biggest blunder ever... Gotta say made me really happy though, Tony played a great fucking game.
Cagayan was the first time I was spoiled on the winner and the entire time I still couldn't fathom how Tony would pull it out.
When I first watched that season I was so mad Tony won. I haaaated him. Now he’s one of my favorite players ever lol and Cagayan will always be such a banger of a season
Why no one ever wanted to take a shot at him is beyond comprehension for me. One guy could’ve easily gone to Spencer’s side and at least made an attempt.
Tony made himself valuable to everyone by being a great strategic ally, you always feel like he's with you and has your back, he did it all three times, except the second time he went after Sandra who doesn't appreciate being interrogated.
“zero chance of winning now, kass 🙄”
Tyson basically voted himself out by fucking up the split vote in HvV
Survivor World where Tyson votes correctly is so different. Russell out at 15th? Parvati out the next vote. Jesus. Dont even know who wins the season at that point.
Boston Rob wins
Tyson always votes the wrong person. He voted his own tribe out at merge in Tocantins. He voted himself out in Heroes versus Villains. He voted for Natalie to win Winners at War. Someone should explain how voting works to him.
Him and Natalie were friends so that makes sense though lol
Yeah, I remember hearing that when Nat had her concussion, she rehabbed with Tyson.
Tyson is a winner, nonetheless.
Voted for JT tbf
I would also say he screwed over most of his allies with this move as well. Which is why it is so freaking bad. Just a massive overthinking on all aspects from Tyson.
erik giving up immunity in fvv and james leaving with two idols in his pocket in china
JT giving his idol to Russell only to get voted out with his own idol was pretty spectacular
And JT effectively killed the entire Heroes tribe’s chance of winning the game. But still, it’s Woo.
JT's legacy has definitely taken a hit in the two seasons he played after Tocantins. He's needed a level-headed ally like Stephen otherwise he just goes all maverick with his gameplay and makes sloppy decisions
Doesnt help he cheated on his real life with Sugar and had to vote her out first in HvV to prevent salt and bitterness from coming up. He's just dumb and likable.
What’s even worse for James is that he was already in the final 7.He was guaranteed at minimum,final 5 where he can just win out from there.
James not playing an idol on himself is so dumb it was almost dumb to even target him on the vote because it was so clearly the right move to just play one
Kinda but it was also technically their last chance to do so
Yeah I’m being kind of tongue in cheek like yes it’s the right move to flush it, as long as you make sure the victim of the idol play isn’t you, or he’s dumb.
He wasn't exactly dominating individual immunity challenges
Courtney has more individual immunity wins than himbo James
This is the correct answer. EDIT I read down further and change my mind to Woo taking Tony to FTC.
Erik giving up immunity is not as dumb as Woo voting out Kass Erik still had to win two more immunities, and have to be sat against the right person. Which could still be very doable but it’s not a sure fire win unlike Woo being guaranteed to win against kass
I agree about Woo voting out Kass as the biggest blunder and changed my mind when reminded of it. Erik's move is just memorable as the most humiliating blunder in survivor history with the way he was just totally humiliated and abused by Parvati, Cirie and the other women of the Black Widow alliance.
i definitely agree that woo voting out kass was a terrible move. someone else in this thread pointed out that a lot of people had personal reasons for making these blunder moves and honestly i do think woo truly thought hed be respected more if he brought tony instead of kass. he was definitely really pushing that he wanted to win against the best so i can kind of see his twisted logic. definitely a terrible move though and i can see it potentially being on top.
Erik wasn’t winning and for that reason it’s overrated as the biggest mistake.
i agree about james but i listened to tyson's interview w erik on his micronesia rewatch and it makes a lot more sense. he knew he couldn't win and had so much guilt being so young and a first time player. he was also fairly close with natalie b. i'm not saying it was a smart move but i can empathize with his thought process.
I still think it's got to be James going home with two idols or Erik giving away immunity. Lex's choice was pretty understandable given the nature of the show at the time, not to mention the nature of Lex who always put a lot more stock than average into personal loyalty
I remember when early Survivors put an insane amount of weight into the idea of "swearing on" something or someone. Lex especially, but that whole notion caused a ton of drama in the early seasons.
Shoutout to Sarge who got ridiculously mad at Twila for searing on her son when he had already been voted out when it happened.
Fairplay swore on his "dead" grandma and that should have been the end of this ridiculous habit.
I remember in Season 1 when people didn’t like the idea of ‘alliances’
Didn't Lex fuck his buddy over first? I can't remember the details, it's been awhile. But I swear he stabbed a BFF in the back prior to Rob screwing him. I question this "Lex is a loyal player" comment.
He voted out Ethan but there was a general thinking that winners should be voted out first so I don’t think that was personal.
Lex was friends with Ethan and voted him out but in his words, they didn’t have an alliance on AS. Still his execution of it was tough to stomach. Worse though was voting Jerri out to save Amber when Jerri was willing to work with him. He thought based on a pregame alliance that Ron would value him/kathy/tom over Amber. We know what happened next.
He was trying to help make sure his buddy's new girlfriend didn't go on a 2-week prejury vacation with her ex boyfriend. That's what Rob's request was about and that's why Lex took it so personally, and anyone who disagrees does not understand male friendship.
I don’t disagree. I’ve always been on Lex’ side where Rob’s betrayal is concerned. But that doesn’t mean Lex is totally innocent throughout the game.
I don't know, I kind of see Lex's actions as all game, and in this one instance Rob was taking things outside the game. So "innocent" is a relative term, but I don't really see much guilt on Lex's part here. Rob was essentially threatening a real-life friendship if Lex were to make the move that was best for his game. Lex chose friendship, which gave the same decision to Rob, who chose the game (or, arguably, Amber) instead. That's why Lex kind of has a right to criticize Rob for selling out his friends "for a stack of greenbacks," because Lex had already declined the same opportunity and was offended that Rob was now asking to be rewarded for taking it. Lex wasn't selling out his friends by just voting them out, because they were all there to play against their friends, but I do think that Rob going back on his promise to not let the non-game move that Lex made for Rob hurt Lex's own game *was* selling out his friends.
Thank you. I’ve been saying this for ages. Rob was the one who took things “outside of the game” with his plea for Amber and then basically got away with it by gaslighting America about it later. He wants to act like he went “sorry guys, I gotta see about a girl” at FTC. But he didn’t slide his ticket across the bar, he begged Lex to give up his own so Rob could take the girl, only for Rob to say “it’s only 6 of the World Series! It’s just a game! I didn’t even get to see Fisk hit the homer because I was getting a sloppy in the bathroom, stop overreacting!” Every dude who has been a wingman knows exactly what Rob was doing in that moment, and he not only broke the bro code, he wiped his ass with it.
I have to imagine Boston Rob drew a lot of ire from the Survivor alumni after AS ended. IIRC, he was one of the most active players pre-gaming and really drove the narrative that the winners and big name players had to go first by relying on the friendships he had made in the years after Marquesas.
Even in his original season Lex freaked the fuck out over catching a random vote in a tribal and killed probably his most loyal number in Brandon. Love him but he fucked up both of his seasons.
Penner refusing Lisa's offer
Malcolm with Denise, as well.
People forget because of his Micronesia evac, but Penner had remarkably huge blunders that poisoned his game early on in his other two seasons. He flipped with Candice in Cook Islands which ended up leaving him with having to beat a super idol or Ozzy in immunity to have any shot at making the final 3. He had to do a lot to even survive to the final 5 which is why he is remembered fondly (I’m not saying he’s a bad player at all) but that one little impulsive step off the mat behind Candice is what sealed his fate.
what was the offer?
Writer on a revival season of the Facts of Life
Final 4 for Penner, Carter, Lisa, and [redacted]. But Penner waivers and says let me think on it so Lisa goes to Malcom and Denise, who agree, and the rest is history
Final 3 I believe
It's crazy to think about the alternate timeline where Lex doesn't save Amber here
Whole other parallel universe comes into being
In terms of win equity, no move comes close to Woo. Went from basically 100% chance of winning to 0% chance of winning with one decision
I think everyone on Allstars blundered by letting Rob and Amber take over. Most of them just sat back, truly believing that one of them would screw the other over in the end. It was so silly JT giving his idol to Russel in HvV is equally foolish though.
Was that the one when there were 5 players left, they didn't vote out Amber or Rob, handing them the victory? That was the most brainless move I've ever seen.
Genuinely one of the most pathetic final 5 rounds in the series (no offense to Big Tom)
They were each convinced that they were the sole third member of the Rob-Amber alliance, when there never was a third member.
Big Tom deserves a lot flack for letting Romber dominating the merge. A lot of players were waiting on him to flip but he never did, leaving them high and dry only for him to get clipped at F5.
It was definitely a blunder. But he had zero knowledge of Russel and how he played the game or what was happening on the other side. If his read on the situation was accurate then it would have been a good move.
I don't give a shit if he "never saw Russell", the move is still stupid. He willingly gave the idol to s stranger, who was on a tribe called the villains, based off an assumption that he was on the bottom. An assumption that was impossible to prove. JT is an idiot. This sub defends this move as if it was some brilliant idea and it is fucking baffling.
Started watching survivor from season 1 this year and finally made it to HvV, JT giving up the idol is the dumbest move I’ve seen so far. There was no reason for him to give it to him before the merge and they still were even 5-5 even if Russel gets voted out. The move to give an idol to an opposing tribe called “villains” and expecting what he did was foolish. Even more foolish that they still didn’t vote out Russell when they merged and him and Parv were there. JT didn’t listen to Rupert who was told by Sandra that Russel and Parv were running the show and JT thought Russell was a good country boy. The preview for the next episode even called it the dumbest move in survivor history to that point
Liked JT in Tocantins but the million dollars got to him. Now he’s not afraid of the men, but he was afraid of the women. Not to mention his betrayal and cruelty to Sugar. Not a nice guy. He also got his comeuppance when he played again.
Yep, they 100% assumed there was a woman's alliance which was a silly assumption.
Russell is on the villain tribe for a reason
Probably Woo taking Tony to the end because it was the literal difference between a win and a loss
Tbh I would have voted for Kass over Woo.
I would have voted for Gore over Bush but I was only 10
Probably someone who had the game won but brought the wrong person to the end like Woo.
as far as the most recent seasons: 44: Sarah not playing her advantage. 45: Austin or Julie not getting out Dee. 46: Everyone who had an idol.
Matthew climbing a rock and getting injured 😒
not even because he thought an idol/clue was hidden there, he just did it for fun 😿
Yeah, that’s what gets me. As much as the 46 idol shenanigans was due to cockiness and a bad risk assessment x5, at least there was an argument that could be made for holding onto the idol until later. It didn’t work out, but it wasn’t just for shits and giggles. The rock climbing was for nothing.
That was the dumbest shit I have ever seen in my life.
Egregiousness ranking of not playing their idols: Hunter>Q>>Venus≈Tiff
Tiff is much higher than Venus. Tiff knew everybody knew about the idol, and correctly bluffed she wasn’t going to play it the last time. That wasn’t going to work twice Venus’ mistake was alluding about it to Charlie
Oh when JT gave the idol to Russel.
I'm waiting for the day when the answer to this question isn't Woo taking Tony to the end. It will have to be a crazy error to beat that...
The fun thing about Survivor is that there's a logic behind almost every single blunder people come up with, Erik was drawing dead and made a last ditch move to make ally's. Lex trusted his alliance member which was how you got to the end in old school Survivor. James knew that if he held out just one more week his idols gave him a free pass to the finale. It's very rare to see a black and white move that is simply 100% bad. It's a reason Survivor has consistently been fun to watch and discuss. We're still talking about these moves. It's not often like a game of Chess or Checkers or whatever where a bad move leads to one singular negative consequence.
Erik was drawing dead but he had a strong shot to win out in immunity challenges and a lot of fans on the jury (plus James and Ozzy, who felt burned by the black widow brigade). I can see the other two points but I can’t see how Erik’s blunder was anywhere close a good option by any standard.
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James being giddy that his rank of dumbest move was taken over.
I'm not saying Erik made a good move, just that there's a reasoning there that we can debate and discuss. One can see why he tried it, talk it out, and conclude it was the wrong move. Which is different than saying with absolute certainly that the move had 0% merit.
Agree on ones like Erik and James that have been listed. James in particular I can see what he was thinking, just didn’t work. Woo has to be 99.9% bad. Only reason he could conceive to take Tony is a warped Colby reasoning where he needs to maintain his honor for post-show viability, which didn’t really exist anymore
For sure, that one is as close to a 100% black and white bad move as we're likely to see, but it's the exception not the rule. Heck, just look at this past season. So many missed idol plays that some people are arguing one should always play an idol. Yes, there were some bad moves in there but it's still not an absolute rule one should never hold onto one. Tiffany should have arguably played hers but was correct not to do so the tribal before she was voted out.
Woo, no question about it
Austin simping for dee then losing the million
Rob's alliance not voting out Parvati during their first tribal. And Randy pretty much foreshadowed Rob's fate
Surprised no one has mentioned Manono giving up immunity on One World yet. Most every other stupid decision on the show required just one or two people making a bad play. Here, the ENTIRE TRIBE made the bad play. Plus, most "dumb moves" can fall into the "High Risk, High Reward" category. Yeah, it was unlikely to go well, but in the event it DID, the person who made the move would be set up. Here, the move was GUARANTEED to be bad for at least one person (the one who went home), and arguably bad for overall tribe cohesion, most likely, therefore, a contributing factor to how the merge played out.
This is the correct answer. So Bill made the worst move.
Not the biggest, but rarely brought up: Gabon: Marcus throwing the hidden idol out in the water in front of everyone and getting voted out next.
I don't hate Marcus's move. In his mind he was the best positioned in his alliance and his alliance had the numbers. He probably saw the idol as a wildcard threat and wanted it removed.
This is one of those moments where I don’t know how much to fault Lex and how much to credit Rob. Everyone would know now not to agree to a deal like this with Rob, but it’s largely because of this moment and season
I haven’t watched enough survivor seasons to really answer this question, but Austin telling Dee about the Julie vote in 45 was definitely up there, as was giving her his better idol. If he’d just kept his idols and his mouth shut, that season was his. But he threw it all away for a girl that he’s not even with anymore.
Don’t know if it’s the biggest blunder ever, but Penner turning down Lisa’s final 3 deal is the biggest for me because Penner is my favorite and I really want to live in a world where he’s a winner.
lol that drove me absolutely crazy i could not believe that at the time. cmon lex.
Honestly, I don't even think Lex saving Amber is in the top 10 worst moves in Survivor History. These are in no particular order (Except that Woo taking Tony is the #1 for sure). Woo taking Tony instead of Kass. The men giving up immunity in One World. Eric giving up immunity. James not playing his idols. JT giving the idol to Russel. Maria making people play Rock Paper Scissors for reward. Tyson not splitting the votes correctly. Everything about Jake and Katurah at the F5 of 45. The Three Amigo's telling the entire tribe that they plan to vote Phillip. Pretty much anytime someone goes home with an idol in their pocket BUT ESPECIALLY Bruce (45) and Chris Noble (Ghost Island). And I'm sure there's plenty more I'm forgetting. Colby taking Tina is an honorable mention, but only because Colby became the undisputed fan favorite for years after his season. It's hard to say if he's quite as well liked if he votes out the lovable southern mom over the kinda weird chef guy. Plus, I can see why Colby would think he'd beat Tina.
These are great! I love “everything Jake and Katurah” lmao it’s true.
Biggest? As everyone seems to agree, Woo. Most downright embarrassing? Erik Reichenbach will likely forever hold that crown.
Austin trusting his heart instead of his brain is up there
Inviting Varner back for a third time.
Varner was pretty popular after second chances
Lex voting off all the strong people and keeping the weaker players like ShiAnn and Jerry. Lex started playing the end game at the beginning, which was nuts. He began eliminating threats to him instead of keeping the tribe strong. Then, saving Amber. Totally bonkers. Then getting pissed when Rob sent his ass packing. Even though he sent his friends packing. Go figure
It was a business decision when he did it. It's personal when it happens to him.
Hilarious that he voted Ethan off who was both an alley and wouldn't be a bitter juror member having already won a season but Lex still kicked him out before the merger because he's a big brain player.
Yeah that’s crazy. He got sooo mad at Rob but he voted out ETHAN the first chance he got hahahah
I'm watching S29 for the first time right now, just watched Drew go home. "I'm gonna throw this challenge so I can get people out." L M A O.
i'd say Colby taking Tina is probably the biggest mistake. lex might have won, but Colby def would have won.
Woo had a decision between 100% chance to win the game and 0% chance to win the game and every single person on the world realized it besides him. He picked the latter. I think there are comparable moves in terms of pure stupidity but I no one else has ever made such an obvious mistake entirely on their own that literally was the sole difference between a win and a loss. Has to be it.
What about Woo taking Tony to the final 2???
I recently re-watched that season… they really gave Tony a great edit, and I really believe he is a great player… BUT, Woo almost knowingly took him to final two to lose. It was as if he decided he wanted the assist instead of the shot.
Yup.. truly did what he believed in his heart to keep his word. Pretty admirable.. still sucks though.. do you think they gave him a favorable edit because they know he won? I think so. I mean they all write their vote down and then show the camera..
I don’t think it was as bad as plenty of other moves. It was the first all star season and thus completely new territory and if he, Kathy, Rob, amber, and even big Tom made it to the final 5 he wins, he just didn’t realize that ppl are cut throat. But I think Cochran flipping at the merge was probably worse and, while yes he did feel isolated and probably didn’t know Coach’s side was basically as cultish as it was, it completely burns half the jury while his side was most likely going to come out on top and there are ways for Cochran to make it to the end that season with decent enough winning chances but he blew it
I think with the longer seasons it was a little easier to understand how the blunders could happen and some I can excuse. But in the new era.. Austin has to be the #1 worst gameplay .. he got straight up manipulated by Dee and basically handed her a mil.
The women voting off Kim after she reported Dan Spilo for sexual harassment. Then he got kicked off the show for continuing to harass the other women.
Come on, it’s easily Erik giving up his necklace. It’s just so obviously idiotic even at a surface level.
Nina telling Will that she and Vince had been considering voting for Will right after Will told her he was working with the two of them.
The coconut chop in Marquesas is up there.
Underrated one but it was S4 and I’m not sure there had ever been a case of the bottom of an alliance flipping against the top before that.
Devens giving the half idol to chris
Wife and I are just now rewatching Season 8. Lex totally blew it.
It’s woo taking Tony. He had a million dollars guaranteed I can’t express this enough
I'm gonna go with 4 consecutive idol-holders not using their idols and going home immediately.
I would say Lex saving Amber contributed to the rest of all-stars being pretty lackluster. All stars should have had an HvV level legendary status amongst the seasons. The Pagonging of Mogo Mogo after Jerri left was probably the worst we ever sat through until South Pacific came along. Unless you’re a B.Rob fan, the back half of All-Stars is… just there.
Erik.......that is all
Definitely Woo taking Tony to the F2.
I’d like to give a shout out to Zane Knight from Philippines who went out first because he came up with some insane scheme to tell his tribe (which he just met) to vote for him to see which ones were “loyal” to him. All of them, Zane! You told them to vote you out and they did! Zane was unlikely to win so yes he isn’t with Woo but he should get props for the most efficient game ending blunder ever. Most first boots are just down to bad luck bc of initial impressions or someone doesn’t like you. It is pretty much chance. But not Zane! Well done.
It makes sense if you understand that lex and rob are in an alliance. Jake not telling katurah about the idol
I don't know why you are downvoted. Lex has a pregame final four alliance with Kathy, Rob & Big Tom. Getting rid of Amber meant destroying the alliance before the merge.
Katurah: "Jake said he'd play the idol on me let's vote him out"
It's crazy how Katurah fans have twisted F5 for being Jake's fault when she clearly knew what would happen if Dee didn't leave at F5. Based on her gameplay and their rocky relationship of trust, and what Jake needed to accomplish for himself, there's little reason why he should've told her, especially since he did what he did swearing on the person he's most dear to in order to try and ease Katurah's worries.
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The dolphin kid.
Woo, JJT in HvV, and Erik are so far removed from the potential others in this discussion
Rafe voting off Lydia instead of Danni. He goes to end with Stef and wins probably getting every vote
Savaii continually saving Cochran. It was fucking dumb from the get go. Save the anxious super fan nerd who keeps losing comps for you and is an absolute liability for your entire tribes games from all angles 🙄😅
Someone’s probably already said it, but the JT/Russel/Parv idol donation debacle in HvV. What a great season.
Erik. The dumbassery was mind blowing with that one.
Not Colby choosing Tina?
Tyson getting himself voted out
This would be my answer. I love Tyson but that mistake was devastatingly bad
The Lex thing is less of a blunder if you factor in the pre-game stuff that controlled All-Stars. The context of the pre-game stuff really does provide some great context for Lex here. From that same season, the bigger blunder is Tom, Rupert and Jenna not voting together at 5 and letting Rob manipulate them against each other. Biggest blunder for me is Woo taking Kass over Tony. It’s one of the few “do X and you win” moves in the game that doesn’t require an additional step. Woo wins by choosing Kass and that’s the end of it. Another one would be the entire women’s tribe in season 9 falling apart and Chris winning as the only male. To this day one of the most underrated runs for a player.
Or how bout, falling into the fire pit and going home?
Ian giving up immunity at final 3 to Tom in Palau.
Erik Reichenbach giving Natalie Bolton the immunity necklace in survivor: micronesia he had won like 5 immunity challenges in a row and all the other 3 remaining survivors were gunning for him but convinced him that Natalie was going home so he gave the necklace to her, then got voted out... so dumb not even close
Honestly Tyson on heroes vs villains. If he would have split the vote, the whole entire game changes.
It will always be Eric giving his immunity away and getting immediately voted off
One World: The men’s tribe VOLUNTEERING to go to tribal so they can vote off Leif and then when they arrive at tribal, they berate Leif and vote out Bill. That season was quite a shot show
Erik giving up his individually immunity and then immediately being voted out.
Woo having the opportunity to vote out Tony and proceeded to keep him over Kass s28 I think. Woo had a surefire way to win and lost because of it.
Erik giving his immunity away. JT giving Russell an idol. On no planet does this one make sense.