I still can't believe that Tony Vlachos of all people was not only allowed to make the merge on an all-winners season, but made it to the end with no votes, and won. Just insane.
You have to think about who he is up against. Had it been a new cast he’d been target #1. But a game against all winners.. everyone is a target and everyone believes they’re the best.
I have mad respect for Denise but I think she made a big mistake when she used Sandra's idol to vote Sandra out. If you understand Sandra's gameplay you know that if Denise used the idol as an opportunity to get Tony out, the game would have shaped very differently. She had an opportunity there to really take the reins and become a power player not just for one tribal but for many more to come. The Sandra vote was a big gotcha blindside but it did nothing to serve Denise long-term. In fact, it arguably put a bigger target on her back once they hit the merge (she admitted this was the case in her podcast with Rob C). Not an ideal place to be that early in the game. She could have taken Tony out pre-merge and used Sandra as a shield to get further in the game, while still helping dictate who goes home. I do think though that ultimately it was Sandra's fault she got voted off that early because as Boston Rob told her in the Edge, she gave up her power to Denise that tribal, which is something you don't do on Survivor.
@@SaudAlThani I'm so glad someone has the same opinion as me on this! I was trying to explain this to my friend when the episode first aired, because if you think about it Denise made a terrible decision. In survivor, a game that no one can win without building trust with others, why in the world would she betray and blindside someone who is willing to work with her! The worst part is that it wasn't even a potential alliance she doesn't benefit from, because Sandra literally gave Denise an idol to save herself with. Idk about other people, but if someone were to give me an idol in survivor, I'd be 100% loyal to that person because they clearly have my back and want me to stay in the game. Now, what's worse, to make this move she literally wasted the idol she already had, meaning that she would lose the potential protection going forward into the merge. (And if you think about it, had she kept her idol, it would of had a major impact in the Tyson boot, Jeremy boot, even her own boot, just saying.) Now here's the other problem, Tony VOTED for her! Tony clearly wants her out of the game, so why in the world would she go after someone who wants to work with her, instead of this crazy guy who's hiding in the woods, isn't talking to anyone for hours, and is clearly gunning for her? The move definitely put a bigger target on her back too, Tony even said it in the next episode, and during the merge feast, Sophie related Denise talking about this move to an old war hero retelling their combat stories or something like that. Now, she enters the merge with Tony and ends up on the losing side of like 5 votes, of which Tony dictates, and is eventually voted out because of him. I agree that some of the fault goes on Sandra, but overall, this move was GREAT TV, but a very poorly thought out game move in the long run.
@@jonaskinsey4071 💯 yeah. It wasn't Sandra's best moment but I still think Sandra is an awesome player who doesn't need to prove anything. She tried something and it didn't work out the way she would have hoped. I totally agree about your point re Tony. I also didn't get a good impression that Denise felt particularly close to Tony either (though I do admit we are only seeing what the editors want us to see). So why she would choose to work with someone who clearly wanted her out versus someone who is willing to work with her (and has a better track record of doing so) is beyond my understanding 🤣
So the amazing thing is about Tony’s story is how much you don’t get to see. Normally stuff is left out because it’s irrelevant to the story but if you listen to both of Tony’s interviews on RHAP you’ll learn that he made so many moves without us seeing it because the editors didn’t want to make it so obvious that Tony was the winner. He spied on Nick and Kim, he changed the way he dressed to look more weak (wearing his buff like red riding hood), he always keep his arms down not folded in a defensive manner, he always stood lower on the beach so players looked down on him, he would lose games on purpose to pretend to be inept, he gave Jeremy his idol for one tribal so he’d vote with them to snipe Kim, he found fire tokens in nicks shoe so he knew he played in on Ben. Just so many amazing things and recommend watching the RHAP episode deep dive
I listened to that! Tony played an amazing game and we are at the point where we need hour and a half long episodes aka an extra 20 minutes without commercials, to truly understand what is going on.
Once Upon An Island agreed! I feel like an extra half hour would add more voting context, but also give the audience more room to see fake winner edits which would continue to make the season down the line more compelling. Like so many characters we see we are told are dangerous but don’t see them really being threats to win (Carter in Philippines, Allison in DvG, Andrea in RI etc) like it should be seen why people have chances to win not told
Back in season 28, I can still remember Spencer at the Final Tribal saying that Tony plays Survivor with a ferocity that ot rarely sees. He was just much more under the radar about it this time and it managed to get him the victory
Never thought id see tony win after his disastrous game changers outing. Really cool to see him revamp his game and beat all the winners. One of my favorites if not my favorite player of all time.
It was a 4 dimensional play from him to be voted out early in game changers, so he could be perceived a slightly less of a threat coming into Winners at War. The man is a genius.
Andrew Smith I “predicted” he would win season 40 only out of hope that he would win. I didn’t really believe he would win.. and then he did. He has also been my favorite castaway since 28.
The sophie blindside was his greatest move all season and second greatest move of his career Number one obviously is convincing Woo to take him to final 2
I'd argue a little, hahha, have you ever watched Australian Survivor? David Genat is right up there with Tony, in my opinion. He played twice.. and two totally different games; definitely worth watching!
@@scooterit I figured, which is why I couldn't really argue with ya.. start with the 2016 season, it's technically the third season but the first two seasons are from early 2000's days and most don't count them as canon since they were on a different network and all; hell, even All-Stars labels players from 2016 as bein' from season one but just be aware if ya go to find them online how they might be labeled wonky. They're a bit longer; lasts 50-55 days, 24 players but David first appears in Champions vs Contenders 2 [the 2019 season] then played All-Stars, which immediately followed his premier season and it aired around when WaW did. While we're all quarantined and all, definitely recommend checking it out.. the editing was phenomenal and kinda went downhill the last few seasons but I've been rewatching 'Australian Survivor' the last few months myself and it's worth the time / watch! Oh, there's even a guy I fuckin' loved watching in the 2017 season who implements a spy shack, hahha, he's said in interviews he got the idea from Tony.
Rose Ella-Grace You talking about Luke? Haven’t watched that season but I know a bit about Aussie Survivor. Also I am watching Season 2016 on TH-cam from a channel called Survivor Official.
@@trollwayy5981 He was laying low and building trust. He even said it himself, if he were to come out of gate with flashy plays he would have a target on his back. Tony didn't even start winning immunity challenges till after the merger because that usually brings more attention to you.
@@Murmurrr so you are saying he ran the pre-merge AND didn’t do anything pre-merge. So which is it? I understand what you are getting at. It was his strategy and it worked. But you don’t have to “run the game” for your strategy to work.
I just can’t help but laugh every time tony enters a “spy shack” or “spy nest”. Dude is such a great TV personality. Definitely one of the most entertaining people to ever be on the show. You can’t help but love him.
Tony Vlachos was way ahead of his time. No player in survivor plays on the same tier as tony does. He has social game like Dr. Will. Ideas like Rob Mariano. Relationship skills like Kim Spradlin. This guy is an animal at this game and by far the best out of anyone who has ever played.
The most amazing thing about Tony's game is that He and Sarah were a clear duo just like Rob and Amber from the first Allstars yet the 2 were never targeted. Total domination from a Duo and had it not been from EoE the 2 of them likely get to the end without any votes against either of them. The most dominate Duo since Season 8.
They only got 2 votes cast against them the whole season because Rob votes for Sarah when he went home and then Adam votes for Sarah when he goes home. Tony of course received 0 votes against him while Sarah received 2 votes
Well Tony did vote out Sarah in Cagayan at merge. Unless they actually knew of a bond they had outside of the game, most probably figured they weren't super close.
@@rambo8550 Honestly, he made that finale so riveting to watch that I forgive everyone for making the EoE twist. However, it should of never come back in WAW.
@@mikemena3357 absolutely not. Not only was that not a winning game, but Parvati's entire survival in the game depended on Russell's decision making. Parvati is a legend due to her survivability, but nothing she's every done in an episode is at that level
@@harryash5414 I don't think you necessarily have to win to be a great player. Russ & Cirie totally shoulda won! Plus, Sandra won on her first two tries. Tony choked on G.C.
Watching this season was such a delight for me. Tony was already my favorite player of all time, and I felt like I was cheering on a little kid when I was happy with every little step he made. I was like "Yay not first out of the tribe" Then "yay made the swap" then "Woah made the merge somehow" to "HOLY SH*T HE'S GONNA WIN"
@Will Rambo Literally every episode he made it through was a delight for me. I honestly thought that the Sophie boot episode was going to be his own boot at the beginning, but when he finessed Sophie out, that’s when I began to believe.
@@nathanrice830 Tony and Parvati are the 2 best players to ever play in my opinion. Tony should be the undisputed G O A T. 2 wins, and he won with immunity challenge wins, strategy, socially, and he outworked everyone as well. He's a different breed. Sandra, is clearly 3 in my opinion, and Kim Spradlin-Wolfe, Boston Rob, Jeremy and maybe a few others go on the list of the second tier below Tony, Parv and Sandra.
Tony is my favorite hot ass mess lol. He's like the most organized- disorganized person ever. What I actually like about Tony and Sarah is that they are respectable villians (yes, I think Tony is mostly a villain). Both of them have great social awareness and the ability to use different modes of persuasion (this is something Russell Hanz lack). For Sarah, she got a "bitter jury" to respect her game. These two are among of my favorite survivors. I love to see their growth from Cagayan.
Just a note: Tyson and Jeremy would ALWAYS vote Natalie. Natalie lived with Tyson and Rachel at a time, and iirc she is the godmother to one of Jeremy’s children. They were really close on a personal level, and would almost certainly receive their votes
This is one of my favorite seasons ever. As a Tony fan it was great to see him come out and play even better than the first time around. He revamped himself, kept his alliance with Sarah until the end, and avoided being seen as a target despite being the clear threat to win. Hes the best to ever play, and he went out on top
Tony has this amazing skill to make people work with him even after he votes out their closest allies. For example, Sarah was willing to work with him even thought he voted her closest ally, Trish in Cagayan was willing to work with him even though he voted out LJ her close ally. He has that manipulative skill
Tony emanates ultimate crack head energy. Everything he does doesn't seem to make sense, but somehow always works to his advantage hahaha. So fun to watch.
I remember watching episode 11 live and it feeling like a fever dream.. Part of me was like wtf is this an all Tony Episode?? And the other part of me didn't care at all because I was fully entertained, on the edge of my seat watching him pull off all that madness. Solidified him as one of my fav players ever from then on
WOW 50 min! Thanks for the effort! I like Tony too. I feel that he had a very clean play as a Survivor Winner alumni, has a lot of moves in his Survivor resume and was not overly rude/ condescending to the other contestants or do things like ostracizing or running a military boot camp with his alliance. Mad respect for Tony!!
His win is so nuts that it makes no sense that he would win while also making complete sense that he would win. It felt inevitable and unbelievable at the same time. Genius.
In watching this almost nine months after the first time viewing it, two facts prove timeless: 1. The emotion when Sarah & Tony battle Final Four Fire is the most choked up I’ve ever been through 40 seasons of Survivor. More tear-wracking than when Johnny’s grandma died. 2. Once Upon an Island is setting THE standard for Survivor social media filmmaking ❤️🎞
You worked hard man! I’ve been following your series with The Survivor Specialists as well. Thanks for providing some amazing contents during this long ass off season.
Tony was actually my favourite player before winners at war existed because Cagayan was my favourite season but he’s really strategic and he deserves it
Watching Tony in the Fire making challenge was the most intense live TV moment I’ve experienced as a fan of anything ... and I’m saying this as a Boston native who’s gone thru many extremely intense playoff moments in every sport
My favorite survivor player! I loved him so much on his original season too - the man makes for great tv. And it was really cool to see his bonds with everyone, especially Sarah of course but also his friendship and loyalty to Ben was so sweet. He seems like a really stand up guy.
After Cagayan Tony immediately became my favorite player to watch in the history of Survivor, but after WAW he immediately became the greatest Survivor player of All-Time!
@@nathanrice830 he's the GOAT this guy took a cast of all winners and remained a step ahead of them every step of the way and ran circles around them strategically. He was able to outsmart Kim of all people who people consider one of the most dominant winners of all time.
I feel like the way WAW was edited, Michele was the hero, and cops r us were the villains, but I never rooted against him. I was rooting for tony and Michele all season
@A Nigerian ninja Really? Watching her season again made me realize how much she truly deserved her win. Michelle was a very good and well-rounded player.
Game Changers was the best thing that could have happened to Tony coming into WaW. I think if he doesn't play that season, his threat level is way too high for him to get past the pre-merge. Even with that, I thought that once Rob and Amber were voted one/two, that Tony would have been 3rd out before the season began. Tony is not only a top 5 player of all time but is also in the top 5 for most entertaining players of all time, an incredible combination.
41:25 Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Tony had to play his idol then to prevent being voted out on the revote. I wouldn't call it a wasted idol as he could very well have been sent home if he didn't use it then.
Yeah Tony advocate splitting the votes then revote Denise off if natalie played an idol. That move sunk Ben as he realized he made a grave mistake and offered himself to Sarah.
when I was younger I would have my parents call me down to watch the challenges and then go back upstairs cause that is all I cared about. It is nice to catch up on everything I missed
I'm a big fan of Tony. He's great. I liked him on his first season also. If Boston rob didn't win I'm glad tony did. I always loved Boston rob and Amber.
So I'm actually relatively new to the survivor fanbase. My first season was edge of extinction!!! I ended up really diving into the fanbase and learning stuff about past seasons and more from perdiam and r/survivor. The first winner I learned about that I didn't see live was Tony. I was watching a compilation highlighting his greatest moves in cagayan and I was thoroughly entertained. He quickly became my favorite winner, so when he was announced to be on WAW, I was hyped! I was gonna see the chaotic cop play in real time, and I did something bold. A lot of people called me crazy on r/survivor for this, but I made Tony my winner pick. People thought "he's too big and flashy! There's no way fellow winners would be stupid and not take him out pre-merge." I had faith. After the finale, I posted a meme that was like "Me with a Tony winner pick rn:" and the pic of thanos saying "they called me a madman" below it. I'm so glad I got into the show and the fanbase because it's been a wild freaking ride
Tony was really gonna go to the final two with Sara if he had his way. His ability to do things her way when he believed things would be different was also incredible. That’s a guy who you want in your corner for EVERYTHING!
Tony's metaphor about "Lions vs. hyenas" is SOOOO spot on. Hyenas could very well be the kings (they have stronger jaws than lions, and are equally good hunters) but they lack the speed and tactics of lions.
Tony on the outside is a crazy, sporadic, loose cannon. His mind and wits are what saved him. "To underestimate an opponent is to lose the battle before it starts."
He had no chance going into Game Changers. He was right in just trying to act like a fool in GameChangers. Game Changers was a joke with only 3 other winners.
That is fair! I am rewatching redemption Island, and man, Rob was SO SO good. BUT bot Kim and Rob had worse players on their season the both Winners at war and BvBvB.....Not downplaying how AMAZING their gameplay was, just thought Tony's was a BIT better
@@owenbabler7146 I feel you can only play who you are playing. Imo Rob should have won all stars. Both them dominated so great it made their cast look weak. Winner's at war obviously there are big targets on their back.
I see a bit a bit of Russell in Tony, but Tony is a lot slicker between the lines, Russell just doesn't care if he's sloppy. I consider both Russell and Tony, smart, very observant, evil(In the game), plus they're both very good at the game, just naturally. So I'm not too mad that Russell never won, and never got the chance to get on this season, because Tony reminds me of Russell!
How often are people like boston rob asking how another player pulled off an incredible game, laughing at tribal(but not at someone), just goes to show how impressively good his game was
Me and my family were so surprised Tony wasn't getting voted off, how did they trust him! I don't like that he won but I respect he is one of the best players ever
I think this season is definitely a bit of a turnaround for Tony from his sloppy fast gameplay in Cagayan which included swearing on people and having no patience or real loyalty at all and I think if Spencer wasn't even on that season, Tony probably would have lost to a bitter jury and this same paranoid strategy catches up to him in Game Changers when he plays crazy out of the gate and ultimately gets burned as the 2nd boot. While I do agree on Tony is a mad genius, in Cagayan he came off as like a wild card Villain and a minor one in Game Changers. But when he returned in Winners at War, while he was still seen as a genius in Cagayan (which also made us initially think he didn't stand a chance of winning again) and also giving us major comic relief, this time he played as more of a hero, as this time around he was able to play more patiently and calculated and was able to build a great social game that allowed him to not be seen as a target and he was able to win challenges when he needed to when Kim started throwing his name around. He was able to show a lot more true loyalty to people this time around mainly to Sarah and Ben. Him crying after eliminating Sarah in the fire making challenge just shows how much he had changed in the game personally after he imo came off as arrogant and paranoid in Cagayan. Which is why I think Tony's gameplay in Winners at War is an improvement and better than his first season.
Tony wouldn’t have lost if Spencer was not there the Jury liked and respected him. His social game has always been good the edit just painted him as a villain for the season’s narrative. Also if he never broke his promises and was always loyal he would have lost the game. He couldn’t win those last few challenges with puzzles and would have been voted out at the F4 or F3 after idols are gone for being the biggest threat in his alliance. That’s why he had to turn on his alliance after he saw the minority alliance targeting him. He had to use them first before others and start destroying his own alliance from within while keeping people in the minority alliance as shields knowing that even if he turns on them, they won’t go against him in the next vote knowing these threats are still in the game that they have no shot at beating. His first game is underrated and while his gameplay is fast and erratic, he had a reason for everything he did and if something didn’t work he would correct it before it came back to bite him.
Thanks! Appreciate the excellent breakdown.
Thanks! I do these for lots of other players too :) check them out.
I still can't believe that Tony Vlachos of all people was not only allowed to make the merge on an all-winners season, but made it to the end with no votes, and won. Just insane.
I remember being so shocked he made the merge alone
You have to think about who he is up against. Had it been a new cast he’d been target #1. But a game against all winners.. everyone is a target and everyone believes they’re the best.
I have mad respect for Denise but I think she made a big mistake when she used Sandra's idol to vote Sandra out. If you understand Sandra's gameplay you know that if Denise used the idol as an opportunity to get Tony out, the game would have shaped very differently. She had an opportunity there to really take the reins and become a power player not just for one tribal but for many more to come. The Sandra vote was a big gotcha blindside but it did nothing to serve Denise long-term. In fact, it arguably put a bigger target on her back once they hit the merge (she admitted this was the case in her podcast with Rob C). Not an ideal place to be that early in the game. She could have taken Tony out pre-merge and used Sandra as a shield to get further in the game, while still helping dictate who goes home.
I do think though that ultimately it was Sandra's fault she got voted off that early because as Boston Rob told her in the Edge, she gave up her power to Denise that tribal, which is something you don't do on Survivor.
@@SaudAlThani I'm so glad someone has the same opinion as me on this! I was trying to explain this to my friend when the episode first aired, because if you think about it Denise made a terrible decision. In survivor, a game that no one can win without building trust with others, why in the world would she betray and blindside someone who is willing to work with her! The worst part is that it wasn't even a potential alliance she doesn't benefit from, because Sandra literally gave Denise an idol to save herself with. Idk about other people, but if someone were to give me an idol in survivor, I'd be 100% loyal to that person because they clearly have my back and want me to stay in the game. Now, what's worse, to make this move she literally wasted the idol she already had, meaning that she would lose the potential protection going forward into the merge. (And if you think about it, had she kept her idol, it would of had a major impact in the Tyson boot, Jeremy boot, even her own boot, just saying.)
Now here's the other problem, Tony VOTED for her! Tony clearly wants her out of the game, so why in the world would she go after someone who wants to work with her, instead of this crazy guy who's hiding in the woods, isn't talking to anyone for hours, and is clearly gunning for her? The move definitely put a bigger target on her back too, Tony even said it in the next episode, and during the merge feast, Sophie related Denise talking about this move to an old war hero retelling their combat stories or something like that. Now, she enters the merge with Tony and ends up on the losing side of like 5 votes, of which Tony dictates, and is eventually voted out because of him. I agree that some of the fault goes on Sandra, but overall, this move was GREAT TV, but a very poorly thought out game move in the long run.
@@jonaskinsey4071 💯 yeah. It wasn't Sandra's best moment but I still think Sandra is an awesome player who doesn't need to prove anything. She tried something and it didn't work out the way she would have hoped.
I totally agree about your point re Tony. I also didn't get a good impression that Denise felt particularly close to Tony either (though I do admit we are only seeing what the editors want us to see). So why she would choose to work with someone who clearly wanted her out versus someone who is willing to work with her (and has a better track record of doing so) is beyond my understanding 🤣
So the amazing thing is about Tony’s story is how much you don’t get to see. Normally stuff is left out because it’s irrelevant to the story but if you listen to both of Tony’s interviews on RHAP you’ll learn that he made so many moves without us seeing it because the editors didn’t want to make it so obvious that Tony was the winner. He spied on Nick and Kim, he changed the way he dressed to look more weak (wearing his buff like red riding hood), he always keep his arms down not folded in a defensive manner, he always stood lower on the beach so players looked down on him, he would lose games on purpose to pretend to be inept, he gave Jeremy his idol for one tribal so he’d vote with them to snipe Kim, he found fire tokens in nicks shoe so he knew he played in on Ben. Just so many amazing things and recommend watching the RHAP episode deep dive
I listened to that! Tony played an amazing game and we are at the point where we need hour and a half long episodes aka an extra 20 minutes without commercials, to truly understand what is going on.
Once Upon An Island agreed! I feel like an extra half hour would add more voting context, but also give the audience more room to see fake winner edits which would continue to make the season down the line more compelling. Like so many characters we see we are told are dangerous but don’t see them really being threats to win (Carter in Philippines, Allison in DvG, Andrea in RI etc) like it should be seen why people have chances to win not told
@@OnceUponAnIsland CBS should air unseen Tony WAW footage in the Fall while there's no season!
Back in season 28, I can still remember Spencer at the Final Tribal saying that Tony plays Survivor with a ferocity that ot rarely sees. He was just much more under the radar about it this time and it managed to get him the victory
That’s incredible... man... this guy is built and born for this game.
Tony is the champion of survivor hands down
him blindsiding sophie was the knockout punch he promised episode 1.
Then it was Kim for swaying the votes
Never thought id see tony win after his disastrous game changers outing. Really cool to see him revamp his game and beat all the winners. One of my favorites if not my favorite player of all time.
he threw game changers. he said on few occasions when he saw cast with only 3 winners he knew he had no chance so he lost motivation
It was a 4 dimensional play from him to be voted out early in game changers, so he could be perceived a slightly less of a threat coming into Winners at War. The man is a genius.
Emrakul TPE he’s been my favorite player since his first season. I predicted he would win winners at war. He’s an incredible player
Cagayan was my first season watching live so tony was my early tav
Andrew Smith I “predicted” he would win season 40 only out of hope that he would win. I didn’t really believe he would win.. and then he did. He has also been my favorite castaway since 28.
The sophie blindside was his greatest move all season and second greatest move of his career
Number one obviously is convincing Woo to take him to final 2
Wooooo!
@@OnceUponAnIsland what do you think is his 3rd greatest?
I think it's when he showed the world he could speak Llama
Llama baby
Wu was dumb. Tony is solid. But not GOAT.
@@nathanrice830 after this season he definitely is
Tony is now officially the best player in history, you can’t even argue with me
I wonder if he tops Russell's list?
I'd argue a little, hahha, have you ever watched Australian Survivor? David Genat is right up there with Tony, in my opinion. He played twice.. and two totally different games; definitely worth watching!
Rose Ella-Grace dis ‘murica tho.
@@scooterit I figured, which is why I couldn't really argue with ya.. start with the 2016 season, it's technically the third season but the first two seasons are from early 2000's days and most don't count them as canon since they were on a different network and all; hell, even All-Stars labels players from 2016 as bein' from season one but just be aware if ya go to find them online how they might be labeled wonky. They're a bit longer; lasts 50-55 days, 24 players but David first appears in Champions vs Contenders 2 [the 2019 season] then played All-Stars, which immediately followed his premier season and it aired around when WaW did.
While we're all quarantined and all, definitely recommend checking it out.. the editing was phenomenal and kinda went downhill the last few seasons but I've been rewatching 'Australian Survivor' the last few months myself and it's worth the time / watch! Oh, there's even a guy I fuckin' loved watching in the 2017 season who implements a spy shack, hahha, he's said in interviews he got the idea from Tony.
Rose Ella-Grace You talking about Luke? Haven’t watched that season but I know a bit about Aussie Survivor. Also I am watching Season 2016 on TH-cam from a channel called Survivor Official.
Tony Vlachos ran this entire season from beginning to end. Without a doubt the best player in the history of the game.
He did not run this season at the start, post-merge yes, pre-merge hell no.
@@trollwayy5981 He was laying low and building trust. He even said it himself, if he were to come out of gate with flashy plays he would have a target on his back. Tony didn't even start winning immunity challenges till after the merger because that usually brings more attention to you.
@@Murmurrr you.. uhh.. think I don’t know this.. He did not, and I repeat.. he did not run the game pre-merge.
@@Murmurrr so you are saying he ran the pre-merge AND didn’t do anything pre-merge. So which is it?
I understand what you are getting at. It was his strategy and it worked. But you don’t have to “run the game” for your strategy to work.
@@trollwayy5981he definitely did. In a season of all winners, being able to lay low for a while is the only way to win
I just can’t help but laugh every time tony enters a “spy shack” or “spy nest”. Dude is such a great TV personality. Definitely one of the most entertaining people to ever be on the show. You can’t help but love him.
Tony Vlachos was way ahead of his time.
No player in survivor plays on the same tier as tony does.
He has social game like Dr. Will. Ideas like Rob Mariano. Relationship skills like Kim Spradlin. This guy is an animal at this game and by far the best out of anyone who has ever played.
I disagree. His wins def put him top 5. But, not GOAT.
How well would he do in the company of the real Natalie White? She might actually fear him.
@@nathanrice830 his wins do not place him anywhere. His strategy places him top 5
@@nickoangelo9156 Yup. He's def top 5. But, not the GOAT. Just my opinion.
@@nathanrice830 who is the goat in your opinion if not tony
Tony taking off through the jungle, yelling his lungs out on S34 is easily my favorite Tony moment
Tony outrunning the camera guys always makes for hilarity.
@@OnceUponAnIsland I literally fell out of my seat, laughing, when he started yelling
The most amazing thing about Tony's game is that He and Sarah were a clear duo just like Rob and Amber from the first Allstars yet the 2 were never targeted. Total domination from a Duo and had it not been from EoE the 2 of them likely get to the end without any votes against either of them.
The most dominate Duo since Season 8.
Sackeshi Productions id say in between add Dom and Wendell
JT and Stephen
They only got 2 votes cast against them the whole season because Rob votes for Sarah when he went home and then Adam votes for Sarah when he goes home. Tony of course received 0 votes against him while Sarah received 2 votes
Well Tony did vote out Sarah in Cagayan at merge. Unless they actually knew of a bond they had outside of the game, most probably figured they weren't super close.
Episode 11 is possibly the best showcase of one player a Survivor episode has ever seen.
He set the record for the most number of confessionals in one episode.
I think the only one that rivals it is Chris' winning episode in EOE
Will Rambo Parvatis merge episode in HvV
@@rambo8550 Honestly, he made that finale so riveting to watch that I forgive everyone for making the EoE twist. However, it should of never come back in WAW.
@@mikemena3357 absolutely not. Not only was that not a winning game, but Parvati's entire survival in the game depended on Russell's decision making. Parvati is a legend due to her survivability, but nothing she's every done in an episode is at that level
The hype is real.
the best player in the entirety of the game.
One of? Maybe. But, not the GOAT.
@@nathanrice830 whos the goat then???
@@harryash5414 I would say Hatch, B.R., Heidik, Sandra, Parvati, Cirie, Cochran, Russell and even Sarah are just as good if not better.
@@nathanrice830 russell and cirie never won???Only person who has a shot is sandra but she isnt as complete of a player as tony
@@harryash5414 I don't think you necessarily have to win to be a great player. Russ & Cirie totally shoulda won! Plus, Sandra won on her first two tries. Tony choked on G.C.
Watching this season was such a delight for me. Tony was already my favorite player of all time, and I felt like I was cheering on a little kid when I was happy with every little step he made. I was like "Yay not first out of the tribe" Then "yay made the swap" then "Woah made the merge somehow" to "HOLY SH*T HE'S GONNA WIN"
@Will Rambo Literally every episode he made it through was a delight for me. I honestly thought that the Sophie boot episode was going to be his own boot at the beginning, but when he finessed Sophie out, that’s when I began to believe.
@@thomclass2537 Solid win. But not GOAT.
Solid win. But, not the GOAT.
@@BadLuckBoi David? Lol. You are funny. I still say Parv and Sandra were two most adaptable players ever. I'd prolly put Tony 3rd or 4th.
@@nathanrice830 Tony and Parvati are the 2 best players to ever play in my opinion. Tony should be the undisputed G O A T. 2 wins, and he won with immunity challenge wins, strategy, socially, and he outworked everyone as well. He's a different breed. Sandra, is clearly 3 in my opinion, and Kim Spradlin-Wolfe, Boston Rob, Jeremy and maybe a few others go on the list of the second tier below Tony, Parv and Sandra.
Tony and Sarah's good-bye was so sweet. I hope they still talk to each other outside of Survivour.
They do I think
They do! They even had merch released together 😂😂 they’re close friends!
Tony is my favorite hot ass mess lol. He's like the most organized- disorganized person ever. What I actually like about Tony and Sarah is that they are respectable villians (yes, I think Tony is mostly a villain). Both of them have great social awareness and the ability to use different modes of persuasion (this is something Russell Hanz lack). For Sarah, she got a "bitter jury" to respect her game. These two are among of my favorite survivors. I love to see their growth from Cagayan.
Tony was a villain in cagayan no question Sarah was a villain in game changers no question but I'd argue they were both heroes in this season
The madlad actually managed the beat TH-cam's copyright system and upload this.
It only took 30+ re-edits and re-uploads!
Once Upon An Island dang
dedication
Just a note: Tyson and Jeremy would ALWAYS vote Natalie. Natalie lived with Tyson and Rachel at a time, and iirc she is the godmother to one of Jeremy’s children. They were really close on a personal level, and would almost certainly receive their votes
You are probably right, but I have to stick with what is shown on the show.
Once Upon An Island makes sense
Doesnt seem fair though. @creative_commander4973
I’m telling you ever since I saw Tony for the first season he was in. I knew he was meant for some greatness and laughter. Like he is a total beast.
This is one of my favorite seasons ever. As a Tony fan it was great to see him come out and play even better than the first time around. He revamped himself, kept his alliance with Sarah until the end, and avoided being seen as a target despite being the clear threat to win. Hes the best to ever play, and he went out on top
Tony has this amazing skill to make people work with him even after he votes out their closest allies. For example, Sarah was willing to work with him even thought he voted her closest ally, Trish in Cagayan was willing to work with him even though he voted out LJ her close ally. He has that manipulative skill
Cagayan cast was dumb. Tony is a GOAT. But, not the GOAT.
@@nathanrice830 please that same excuse can be said about everyone, i hate mfs like you lol.
@@JohnjOcampo You hate me? Now, ask me if I care.
@@nathanrice830 i wasn't expecting you to, just letting you know why people might hate you lol.
@@JohnjOcampo Don't give a fu**. Have a nice day
Tony's mind never rests. Hardest game working player.
Tony emanates ultimate crack head energy. Everything he does doesn't seem to make sense, but somehow always works to his advantage hahaha. So fun to watch.
Who else loves Tony for his spy shacks and spy nests?
Who doesn't?:)
I think tony needed to lose in game changers to lower his threat level, had he not returned and got voted out early I don’t think he would’ve won!
He probably wasn't too serious as he was at war. If anything he stated he didn't expect to win this one
ben and sarah really dropped the ball on thinking natalie wouldnt have the idol, even if she didn't there was no risk in splitting
Tony gives me JOY to watch. That’s what I feel every time he’s on screen. He’s just an absolute blast. ☀️
it took 40 seasons for survivor to find its best player ever, but they’ve found it
He may not be a strategic mastermind like some other winners but every move he makes, whether dumb or not, is always such a delight to watch!
How is he not a strategic mastermind?
He pulled a blindside against Sophie in a rare three way split and took out Kim
I love winners at war because it caps off an era of survivor and gives us the 🐐
I remember watching episode 11 live and it feeling like a fever dream.. Part of me was like wtf is this an all Tony Episode?? And the other part of me didn't care at all because I was fully entertained, on the edge of my seat watching him pull off all that madness.
Solidified him as one of my fav players ever from then on
I just love the passion of Tyson when he gets back in the game.
Tony's ladder
Tony vs Jeremy on days of the week
2 most pure comedy muments of the season!!
WOW 50 min! Thanks for the effort! I like Tony too. I feel that he had a very clean play as a Survivor Winner alumni, has a lot of moves in his Survivor resume and was not overly rude/ condescending to the other contestants or do things like ostracizing or running a military boot camp with his alliance. Mad respect for Tony!!
His win is so nuts that it makes no sense that he would win while also making complete sense that he would win. It felt inevitable and unbelievable at the same time. Genius.
Legendary Ultimate King Tony Vlachos 👑🏅🏆
Great player. But not GOAT!
@@nathanrice830 he is the Greatest of all time player in SURVIVOR history
@@christiangal2124 Top 10? Maybe. GOAT? Nope!
@@nathanrice830 He's #1
@@nathanrice830 th-cam.com/video/ISW_CmRiOxo/w-d-xo.html
In watching this almost nine months after the first time viewing it, two facts prove timeless:
1. The emotion when Sarah & Tony battle Final Four Fire is the most choked up I’ve ever been through 40 seasons of Survivor. More tear-wracking than when Johnny’s grandma died.
2. Once Upon an Island is setting THE standard for Survivor social media filmmaking ❤️🎞
johnny's grandma
Absolutely beautiful, loved it.... I mean u can't go wrong when you're talking about Tony that's why I liked this video immediately
You worked hard man! I’ve been following your series with The Survivor Specialists as well. Thanks for providing some amazing contents during this long ass off season.
Thank you!
ALL HAIL KING VLACHOS!!!!
44:20 That was unexpected, but wholesome AF. You can feel the raw emotion through the screen. Beautiful.
Made me tear up watching it
Tony was actually my favourite player before winners at war existed because Cagayan was my favourite season but he’s really strategic and he deserves it
Tony has such a great attitude. He’s great, and makes gold tv
Watching Tony in the Fire making challenge was the most intense live TV moment I’ve experienced as a fan of anything ... and I’m saying this as a Boston native who’s gone thru many extremely intense playoff moments in every sport
OUAI is becoming my favorite Survivor TH-camr.....love content like this....seriously i get mad if his videos are under 25 minutes...
I swear I watched him and thought he could never win he was so hilarious hiding in trees and making shacks.
My favorite survivor player! I loved him so much on his original season too - the man makes for great tv. And it was really cool to see his bonds with everyone, especially Sarah of course but also his friendship and loyalty to Ben was so sweet. He seems like a really stand up guy.
After Cagayan Tony immediately became my favorite player to watch in the history of Survivor, but after WAW he immediately became the greatest Survivor player of All-Time!
Great player?? Yeah. But, not GOAT!
@@nathanrice830 he's the GOAT this guy took a cast of all winners and remained a step ahead of them every step of the way and ran circles around them strategically. He was able to outsmart Kim of all people who people consider one of the most dominant winners of all time.
@@philbox3productions Dude, Sarah was controlling him behind scenes and his pre merge game sucked.
He’s the GOAT
@@savageguineapig5857 2nd if Richard was here though
Tony played the perfect game. Honestly! He might not be the greatest person to play but he played an amazing game!
He definitely is the greatest
I feel like the way WAW was edited, Michele was the hero, and cops r us were the villains, but I never rooted against him. I was rooting for tony and Michele all season
same. michelle’s moves kind of bothered me at times
@A Nigerian ninja Really? Watching her season again made me realize how much she truly deserved her win. Michelle was a very good and well-rounded player.
Cops r us were the real heroes
“What bird is in the nighttime?” Is my new favourite tony quote
I cant believe i watched this all, no breaks, like I thought I'd skip it all to the end but damn... Tony is a f*ckin smart and funny guy
I have a LOT of videos like this one :)
Just found your videos and have been watching them like crazy. I was hoping you'd cover my all time favorite player and here it is! Great vids!
As someone from England that may stream this series!….. Tony is the GOAT. Was my favourite before this season. And now cements his status.
The family visits always make me tear up. I love it!
Game Changers was the best thing that could have happened to Tony coming into WaW. I think if he doesn't play that season, his threat level is way too high for him to get past the pre-merge. Even with that, I thought that once Rob and Amber were voted one/two, that Tony would have been 3rd out before the season began. Tony is not only a top 5 player of all time but is also in the top 5 for most entertaining players of all time, an incredible combination.
Top 10? Maybe.
@@nathanrice830 tony is top 1
@@frankschaefer8890 Again, disagree.
Yes! A Tony video! Thanks once upon an island!
I already watched it but I’ll watch it again
i just found this utter gold mine of a youtube channel and i’m gonna need a parvati video asap please!!
Thank you :)
Tony was the main character, and no not because he won.
This is a great quality video. So glad I found this, keep up the good work!
Thank you :)
I hated him the first season he was on but he turned into one of my many favorites. He is freaking HILARIOUS!
31:15 “what bird is in the nighttime?” Lol
41:25 Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Tony had to play his idol then to prevent being voted out on the revote. I wouldn't call it a wasted idol as he could very well have been sent home if he didn't use it then.
Yeah Tony advocate splitting the votes then revote Denise off if natalie played an idol. That move sunk Ben as he realized he made a grave mistake and offered himself to Sarah.
This channel should be getting 100k + per video, I hope to see this channel get big someday.
Thanks! Sharing with others is crucial to making it grow :)
Massive Shout-Out To WOO From Making This Even Existed.
when I was younger I would have my parents call me down to watch the challenges and then go back upstairs cause that is all I cared about. It is nice to catch up on everything I missed
I'm a big fan of Tony. He's great. I liked him on his first season also. If Boston rob didn't win I'm glad tony did. I always loved Boston rob and Amber.
The spy shack had me in tears of laughter. For that alone he is the best.
So I'm actually relatively new to the survivor fanbase. My first season was edge of extinction!!! I ended up really diving into the fanbase and learning stuff about past seasons and more from perdiam and r/survivor. The first winner I learned about that I didn't see live was Tony. I was watching a compilation highlighting his greatest moves in cagayan and I was thoroughly entertained. He quickly became my favorite winner, so when he was announced to be on WAW, I was hyped! I was gonna see the chaotic cop play in real time, and I did something bold. A lot of people called me crazy on r/survivor for this, but I made Tony my winner pick. People thought "he's too big and flashy! There's no way fellow winners would be stupid and not take him out pre-merge." I had faith. After the finale, I posted a meme that was like "Me with a Tony winner pick rn:" and the pic of thanos saying "they called me a madman" below it.
I'm so glad I got into the show and the fanbase because it's been a wild freaking ride
Tony doesn’t go crazy.....he’s just a really hard worker who makes things happen.....like winning more money from survivor than anyone else ever.
God, Tyson was so funny this season. Just wanted to point that out -I feel like his wit is super underrated.
Tony was really gonna go to the final two with Sara if he had his way. His ability to do things her way when he believed things would be different was also incredible. That’s a guy who you want in your corner for EVERYTHING!
Do you think he still beats Sarah?
@OnceUponAnIsland yes. Clealry.
the last moment between him and sarah omg🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺
Tony getting to the end without a vote and how crazy he was just shows he is the goat of survivor.
i havent even watched yet but know this video is great
Tony's metaphor about "Lions vs. hyenas" is SOOOO spot on. Hyenas could very well be the kings (they have stronger jaws than lions, and are equally good hunters) but they lack the speed and tactics of lions.
Tony on the outside is a crazy, sporadic, loose cannon. His mind and wits are what saved him.
"To underestimate an opponent is to lose the battle before it starts."
Dude is the king. I couldn’t stand him his first season, but this season changed it all. He was awesome!
He had no chance going into Game Changers. He was right in just trying to act like a fool in GameChangers. Game Changers was a joke with only 3 other winners.
You can be a game changer and not be a winner but yeah most of the cast was pretty underwhelming
I haven’t ever watched an episode of Survivor but for some reason these videos interest me lol. Well done!
Once Upon an Island and Survivor Specialists. Like a big fat steak on the grill and a berry pie cooling on the rack 😋
the unquestionable GOAT of survivor: Tony
I firmly believe this was undeniably the best game ever played in Survivor, and between both of his wins, Tony I believe is the best to ever play!
I do think he's the best player all time. But his individual winning seasons not the number 1 for me
@@gqprince2 Who was that?
@@owenbabler7146 kim in one world or Boston rob in Redemption Island
That is fair! I am rewatching redemption Island, and man, Rob was SO SO good. BUT bot Kim and Rob had worse players on their season the both Winners at war and BvBvB.....Not downplaying how AMAZING their gameplay was, just thought Tony's was a BIT better
@@owenbabler7146 I feel you can only play who you are playing. Imo Rob should have won all stars. Both them dominated so great it made their cast look weak. Winner's at war obviously there are big targets on their back.
Tony is definitely a top 5 player all time no doubt....
Greatest player of all time
This was a great video. I loved WaW, and thought Tony’s victory was more than well deserved. 😃
well done. thank you!
Tony is one of the best to ever play Survivor, no doubt about it
Great video man!👍
The greatest player of all times and no one can say nothing against that fact. The King of Survivor🤴
I see a bit a bit of Russell in Tony, but Tony is a lot slicker between the lines, Russell just doesn't care if he's sloppy. I consider both Russell and Tony, smart, very observant, evil(In the game), plus they're both very good at the game, just naturally. So I'm not too mad that Russell never won, and never got the chance to get on this season, because Tony reminds me of Russell!
Tony is very aggressive like Russel but he's got a wayyyyyy better social game
How often are people like boston rob asking how another player pulled off an incredible game, laughing at tribal(but not at someone), just goes to show how impressively good his game was
Me and my family were so surprised Tony wasn't getting voted off, how did they trust him! I don't like that he won but I respect he is one of the best players ever
He came as a genuine human but also being the best survivor player ever
Tbh I loved Tony’s gameplay. I couldn’t turn away and tbh his season is the reason I really got into survivor
Tony: We never had a king of survivor
Richard Hatch: Am I a joke to you
Yes
Richard Hatch is a joke to him though LMAOOOO
He is a joke
Thank you for putting this on youtube, wes man you got an art for this storytelling shit
I think this season is definitely a bit of a turnaround for Tony from his sloppy fast gameplay in Cagayan which included swearing on people and having no patience or real loyalty at all and I think if Spencer wasn't even on that season, Tony probably would have lost to a bitter jury and this same paranoid strategy catches up to him in Game Changers when he plays crazy out of the gate and ultimately gets burned as the 2nd boot. While I do agree on Tony is a mad genius, in Cagayan he came off as like a wild card Villain and a minor one in Game Changers. But when he returned in Winners at War, while he was still seen as a genius in Cagayan (which also made us initially think he didn't stand a chance of winning again) and also giving us major comic relief, this time he played as more of a hero, as this time around he was able to play more patiently and calculated and was able to build a great social game that allowed him to not be seen as a target and he was able to win challenges when he needed to when Kim started throwing his name around. He was able to show a lot more true loyalty to people this time around mainly to Sarah and Ben. Him crying after eliminating Sarah in the fire making challenge just shows how much he had changed in the game personally after he imo came off as arrogant and paranoid in Cagayan. Which is why I think Tony's gameplay in Winners at War is an improvement and better than his first season.
100% this is his best game
Tony wouldn’t have lost if Spencer was not there the Jury liked and respected him. His social game has always been good the edit just painted him as a villain for the season’s narrative. Also if he never broke his promises and was always loyal he would have lost the game. He couldn’t win those last few challenges with puzzles and would have been voted out at the F4 or F3 after idols are gone for being the biggest threat in his alliance. That’s why he had to turn on his alliance after he saw the minority alliance targeting him. He had to use them first before others and start destroying his own alliance from within while keeping people in the minority alliance as shields knowing that even if he turns on them, they won’t go against him in the next vote knowing these threats are still in the game that they have no shot at beating. His first game is underrated and while his gameplay is fast and erratic, he had a reason for everything he did and if something didn’t work he would correct it before it came back to bite him.
this video was really well made good job my guy!