Survivor: Game Changers

Survivor: Game Changers Season Information Version United States Season No. 34 Filming Location Mamanuca Islands, Fiji Filming Dates June 6, 2016 - July 14, 2016[2] Season Run March 8, 2017 - May 24, 2017[1] No. of Episodes 13 No. of Days 39 No. of Castaways 20 Winner Sarah Lacina Runner(s)-Up Brad CulpepperTroyzan Robertson Tribes ManaNukuTavuaMaku Maku Cast Opening Sequence Season Chronology Previous Millennials vs. Gen X Next Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers Survivor: Game Changers, also known as Survivor: Game Changers — Mamanuca Islands, is the thirty-fourth season of Survivor.

This is the fourth season to feature a full cast of returnees, after Survivor: All-Stars, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, and Survivor: Cambodia.

After a chaotic season packed with multiple strategic shifts, the person who ended up controlling most of the post-merge with her calculated flips, Sarah Lacina, won in a 7-3-0 final vote over Brad Culpepper and Troyzan Robertson. To date, it has produced four returning players (Aubry Bracco, Sandra Diaz-Twine, Sarah Lacina, and Tony Vlachos) for subsequent seasons.

The season was filmed 25 days after the filming of Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X, following the back-to-back filming pattern of seasons since Survivor: Samoa.

This season features a nautical theme. The Tribal Council set is comprised of ten actual shipwrecks, most of which were retrieved in the aftermath of Cyclone Winston, the cyclone that hit Fiji before production for Millennials vs. Gen X began.[3]

The 20 returning players were initially divided into two tribes of ten: Mana and Nuku. The Nuku tribe enjoyed early success, winning the majority of the Immunity Challenges. At the original Mana, two-time winner Sandra battled for control of the tribe against Tony. She emerged victorious and further consolidated her power after the first tribe switch on Day 7, but her grip over the game was undone by the second tribe switch on Day 14. Through both tribe switches, the original Nuku held strong and eliminated numerous members of Mana. The most notable of these eliminations was that of Jeff on Day 18, who publicly outed Zeke as being transgender in a last ditch effort to save himself.

Following Jeff's dramatic elimination, the thirteen remaining players merged into Maku Maku the next day. Though the original Nuku had a 9-4 numbers advantage over the original Mana, the camp soon became divided into two alliances: One led by Andrea and Cirie, and another led by Sierra and Brad. While initially a member of Sierra's group, Sarah defected to the rival alliance on Day 26, eliminating Debbie.

Sarah continued flipping back and forth between the two alliances before eventually settling into a Final Three deal with Brad and Troyzan. Using a combination of Brad's strength in Immunity Challenges and numerous advantages and Hidden Immunity Idols, the trio were able to successfully eliminate Cirie at the final six before picking off the remaining outsiders, eventually reaching the Final Tribal Council on Day 39.

At the Final Tribal Council, Sarah was respected for her strategic control throughout the merge, and ability to manage her social relationships, but criticized for her numerous betrayals and manipulations. Brad was commended for dominating in Immunity Challenges but castigated for being condescending and not socializing with people outside his alliance. Troyzan was virtually ignored for his perceived coattail riding. Sarah's strong strategic control beat out Brad's dominance in challenges and Troyzan's lack of visible gameplay, and she was awarded the title of Sole Survivor with seven votes to win while Brad received three.