Survivor featured Savannah Louie being crowned the "Sole Survivor" and the winner of $1 million over Sophi "Soph" Balerdi during the Season 49 finale that aired Wednesday night on CBS.

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Savannah, a 31-year-old former reporter from Walnut Creek, CA, won Survivor in a 5-2-1 vote instead of Soph, a 27-year-old entrepreneur from Miami, FL, and Sage Ahrens-Nichols, a 30-year-old clinical social worker from Roxboro, NC, who currently resides in Olympia, WA, at the Final Tribal Council on Night 26 of the game.

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"Dude, it's insane," Savannah said of her victory during the Survivor aftershow filmed in Fiji.

"This whole season, I've had conversations with different people about imposter syndrome, and I think so many of us feel it. It's like we've grown up watching this show and we're obsessed with some of these major names."

Savannah acknowledged former Survivor champion Kim Spradlin as her inspiration, and she continued, "Maybe I didn't have the same social game that Kim did, which we can all recognize, but it feels incredible, and it's this larger-than-life feeling!"

Savannah concluded, "I usually have the right words and I usually have some crap to say, but in this moment, I don't even know what to say. I've never experienced anything like this before. It's just a crazy feeling!"

Soph received two jury votes to win, while Sage earned herself a single vote.

Rizo Velovic, a 25-year-old in tech sales from Yonkers, NY, finished Survivor in fourth place after losing the fire-making challenge to Savannah.

The Survivor finale broadcast began on Night 23 at Lewatu's camp.

The Final 5 castaways were Savannah, Soph, Sage, Rizo and Kristina Mills, a 36-year-old MBA career coach from Houston, TX, who currently resides in Edmond, OK.

Sage was worried that her former ally, Stephen, hated her for voting him out, but she acknowledged how she was playing for herself -- and no one else -- and to win the $1 million.

Soph apparently felt stupid for playing her as advantage incorrectly, and she said every part of her wishes she had stolen Rizo's idol and automatically secured herself a spot in the Final 4.

"I need to make up for that now!" Soph said of her embarrassing move.

But Soph realized that she may be a swing vote at the next Tribal Council between the two sides -- Kristina and Sage vs. Rizo and Savannah.

On Day 24, a boat dropped off a scroll to the Final 5, revealing that an advantage was hidden in the jungle. Scattered across the island were five color-coded bags, each of which contained puzzle pieces. Each castaway had to race to find the bags and solve the puzzle before the others.

Savannah jumped into the lead, but then Rizo copied her puzzle so he could catch up. The pair later teamed up to try to find the advantage so one of them could have it.

Soph was the only one who spotted the final bag high in a tree, and she knocked it down with a stick of bamboo. She therefore earned an advantage in the next Immunity Challenge, and Savannah claimed she was happy for Soph and her success.

"It will help me maybe blindside Savannah at the next Tribal Council," Soph quipped in a confessional.

Later that day, the tribe met Jeff for the penultimate Immunity Challenge.

Jeff retrieved the necklace from Savannah and instructed each player to crawl through a muddy pit and then race to pick up a grappling hook. They'd use that hook to drop a ladder, which they must race up to grab a bag.

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After sliding down a ramp, they had to walk on a barrel by pulling a rope and then maneuver a bag of puzzle pieces to the top of a platform. Once they reached the top, they'd race to solve a Survivor shark puzzle.

The winner would be guaranteed a spot in the Final 4 and win Reward in the form of a trip to the Survivor sanctuary, where he or she would eat steak, mashed potatoes, wine and carrot cake.

The next person voted out of the game would become the seventh member of Survivor 49's jury.

For her advantage, once Soph got to the platform, her puzzle pieces would already be halfway up, allowing her to quickly advance to the next stage of the challenge.

When Kristina slid down the ramp, she screamed, "Ow!" However, she insisted she was okay.

After being in dead last, Soph made up a lot of time with her advantage.

Everyone then raced to solve the puzzle simultaneously except for Kristina, who fell again and was struggling.

Savannah ended up tying a Survivor record by winning four Individual Immunity Challenges in a single season.

"You have tied a record. You have matched Kelly Wiglesworth, Jenna Morasca, Kim Spradlin, Chrissy Hofbeck and Rachel LaMont. Five women have done this," Jeff told Savannah.

Savannah asked Sage to join her at the sanctuary even though he had been on enemy lines for a while.

Savannah boasted about how her tribemates had been trying to get her out since the merge and they missed their chance. She laughed about how they just couldn't get rid of her.

Kristina said Savannah's victory messed everything up because she was going to be "the easy vote."

Kristina predicted that she or Sage was going to be voted out next, and so she tried to convince Soph and Rizo that Sage would beat all of them in the Final 3.

"Just because Savannah, Soph and I worked together the whole game, I'm here to win too," Rizo told Kristina.

Kristina then said she wanted to go against Savannah in fire if Rizo won the next Immunity Challenge.

For Rizo's part, he admitted he didn't want to sit next to Sage in the end. He apparently thought he could beat Kristina and Soph.

Meanwhile, Savannah and Sage bonded at the Survivor sanctuary. Sage warned Savannah that Kristina was good at fire.

Savannah told Sage that she wanted to go to the end with strong competitors. She said she wanted Kristina out next because she wouldn't want to face in her fire.

Later on, Rizo told Savannah that he wanted Sage gone, but Savannah said she couldn't write her name down and neither of them had much of a chance against Kristina in fire. Savannah poked fun at Rizo, saying he never wanted to take the easy way out and so he shouldn't start now.

No matter what Savannah had said, Rizo planned to keep Kristina and hopefully become one of the best players to ever win this game.

Sage attempted to talk Soph into voting out Kristina so she wouldn't have to compete in fire against her. But the more Sage spoke, the more Soph became afraid of her and realized she was a good, convincing speaker.

Rizo and Soph were going to be able to pick the next target, and Rizo said he wanted Soph in his Final 3. Rizo broke down into tears, however, about needing to play an individual game although the tres leches had been a solid trio for the majority of the game.

At Tribal Council, Kristina told everyone how Sage was such a strong social player and had emotional moments that seemed like strategy, including when she had lost an Immunity Challenge and cried, prompting people to surround her and comfort her.

Sage said she was offended because those emotional moments were authentic and she viewed herself as being expendable in the game.

Before Jeff read the votes, Rizo finally played his idol for himself after nine Tribal Councils.

Jeff proceeded to read the votes in the following order: Sage, Kristina, Kristina and Kristina.

Kristina said in her final words that her castaways had made "the best decision" because she had her final speech prepared and it was going to be a good one.

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On Day 25, the Final 4 castaways competed in the final Immunity Challenge of the season.

Each castaway was required to leap into the ocean and then head to shore, where they'd dig under a log and cross a balance beam, collecting two handles and a ball along the way.

Those two handles would be used to collect a second ball inside of a cage. Once they had both balls, they'd race to assemble a table track, on which they'd roll both balls in attempt to land them into two separate targets.

The first person to finish would win a spot in the Final 3 and earn the chance to plead his or her case to the Survivor jury about why he or she deserved to win the game.

The winner would also get to choose one person to advance to the Final 3, forcing the other two players to face off in the fire-starting challenge for the remaining spot.

Rizo was the first player to start the puzzle, with Sage and Savannah right on his heels.

Soph had a huge comeback putting her track together, and so the challenge came down to Soph vs. Savannah.

Rizo, meanwhile, still didn't have his track together.

In an "unbelievable comeback," according to Jeff, Soph won Individual Immunity.

"Dead last in this challenge and no quit!" Jeff shouted.

Soph, who started at the bottom of this Survivor game, cried because she hadn't won a single thing all season long, even when she was a member of a tribe. Soph said this was a dream come true and she earned her spot in the Final 3.

After the challenge, Soph told her tribemates that she wanted time alone to think and they should all practice.

Savannah said she was "disappointed" in Soph because it should've been an easy decision to have Rizo go against Sage in fire. Savannah wondered if Soph was going to screw her over.

"I have the least experience with fire over anyone here. And the fact this decision for Soph is not obvious, it tells me that she's seriously considering putting me out there because she views me as a threat to win this game," Savannah lamented in her final words.

"And it's annoying because I thought we had each other's back this entire game."

Savannah started to cry and asked, "Is this the real Soph? It feels like I didn't know my best friend out here. I think that's why it's so hard."

Savannah said she had never set a fire in the game, and so she focused her attention on practicing. With that being said, Savannah proudly sparked a flame and realized she could do it.

Rizo admitted his biggest opposition was Savannah going into fire.

Soph, for her part, said she was going to play with her head rather than her heart that night. She had been struggling between the two, going back and forth for weeks.

At Tribal Council that night, Soph announced that she was taking Sage to the Final 3 and so Savannah and Rizo were going to battle it out in fire.

Soph said she hoped this wouldn't affect her friendship with Savannah and Rizo outside of the game, but Savannah appeared a little salty and upset.

Savannah said she felt "zero percent confident" going into the fire-making challenge, but Rizo remained optimistic about his chances to pull out a win.

Savannah and Rizo raced to build a fire that could burn through a rope.

Savannah sparked a flame first but it fizzled out, and then the same thing happened to Rizo.

Rizo started another fire and lost it, and then Savannah got one burning.

In the end, Savannah's flame burned fast and high, and she was declared the winner.

Savannah gave Rizo a hug, and while he admitted he was sad, he told Savannah that he was proud of her and she should go win the million.

"You don't understand how much this game means to me. I talk about it with my friends all the time and I say, 'If Jeff Probst gives me one shot of playing Survivor, I promise you I'm going to make a name for myself. I promise you that I'm going to be a legend,'" Rizo told Jeff in tears.

"And I finally got the opportunity and it was time to put my money where my mouth was, and honestly, for a little Albanian boy from New York City, to come out here and, Jeff, to say I have no regrets and to say that I made my family proud, to say I made a whole country proud, I truly feel like I left an impact on this game."

He added, "And sometimes not all the best players win the game, and I feel like I'm very happy with my journey."

On Day 26, Sage said it was her dream to have a Final 3 of all women because it hadn't happened in about 20 seasons.

After the three ladies enjoyed a feast, it became time for the final Tribal Council on Night 26.

The jury was able to ask Soph, Sage and Savannah questions, and the power was in the jury's hands.

The jury was comprised of Rizo Velovic, Kristina Mills, Steven Ramm, Sophie Segreti, Jawan Pitts, Alex Moore, Michelle "MC" Chukwujekwu, and Nate Moore.

Soph shared how she was a social player when her allies, Rizo and Savannah, brought the strategy and the muscle, respectively, to their alliance.

Savannah said she tried to win immunity to keep her group safe, and not just herself.

Sage revealed that she wasn't just an emotional player; she was a strategic one "under the radar" who had been in the military for years. Sage insisted she was scheming the whole time when people thought she was frantic and all over the place while working with Jawan.

Savannah went on to share how she had been let go of her job as a news anchor in Atlanta and she decided to follow through on her dreams, including playing Survivor.

Savannah, admitting her desire to win Survivor was a bit selfish, added, "I know other people have better 'whys' than I do, but you don't have to have the right 'why' in order to be the Sole Survivor."

Soph talked about how her parents are immigrants who came to America with nothing but the clothes on their backs and a good work ethic. She said she's done every job "for a dollar," including selling mangoes on the street and working overnight shifts at McDonalds.

Soph had sacrificed going to college to become a full-time caregiver for her grandmother, and so she said she played the game to make her proud and pay tribute to her memory.

And Sage revealed how she had played the game for her friend Jesse, who passed away from leukemia. Sage also said she played for her partner Austin who never left her side in 10 years.

After the emotional moment, Kristina said she prioritized a social game and it seemed like, at times, Savannah didn't "genuinely care to get to know people personally" who were in her alliance.

Kristina therefore asked Savannah to name one partner or family member of every member on the jury, but Savannah failed miserably and apologized for her shortcomings. Savannah remembered family dynamics rather than actual names.

Savannah then took credit for voting Kristina out, but Soph accused Savannah of having made an emotional decision because she wanted to sit in the end next to her pals.

Savannah snapped at Soph, in reply, that it wasn't her game to betray her closest allies in the end, referring to Soph's surprising fire decision.

When asked to name the strategic move they're most proud of, Soph said it was her social game. Savannah said it was her "real" conversation with Sophie in which they exchanged information and decided to work together.

And Sage admitted she was proud of turning on Sophie after she had flipped on Jawan. Sage said she could've voted out Savannah at that time but she wanted Sophie out because of her phenomenal strategic game.

It then became time for the Final 3 speeches.

"I feel like I've been on my hands and knees throughout this entire game, and somehow, I've gotten myself here," Soph announced.

"I've been to 12 Tribal Councils, I've voted out more people in this season than anybody here, and I've done it without having to hide behind Immunity necklaces and without having to hide behind Immunity Idols and without having to backstab my allies."

She continued, "I feel like I've done it in a way that was social, strategic and physical, when it mattered the most. I earned my spot here and nobody else can say that! I put Savannah and Rizo in fire."

Savannah said she thought she deserved the million dollars because out of everybody there, she "dodged the most bullets, successfully."

Savannah explained, "That comes down to three different things -- first, it was my adaptable strategy. When I learned I was on the bottom, I did what it took to survive. Secondly, I focused on important relationships. I understand I was not the closest with every single person, but they key relationships that I made, those are what eventually carried me to the top."

Savannah added, "For my third point here, I won Immunity necklaces. Yeah, I did need the necklace to stay safe because I was such a freaking threat. I think that's got to speak for itself!"

Sage then confessed those were tough acts to follow.

Sage told the jury how she had been herself throughout the game and she found her fellow "weirdos" to work with. Sage said one of her bucket-list items was to end up in the Final 3 with two other women, and so she expressed gratitude for her spot in the end.

The jury then cast their votes one at a time for the winner of Survivor 49.

Footage showed that MC had voted for Soph. MC apparently went into Final Tribal ready to vote for someone and then Soph changed her mind.

Stephen showed his vote for Savannah to win, and Jawan showed his vote for Sage in the voting room. Jawan explained how he had voted with his heart for his close friend.

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Jeff proceeded to read the votes for the "Sole Survivor" in the following order: Soph, Savannah, Sage, Soph, Savannah, Savannah, and Savannah.

Savannah therefore won the $1 million.

During the Survivor aftershow, Kristina revealed that she had cast the other vote for Soph.

And a preview of Survivor 50, which will premiere in Spring 2026, shows that both Savannah and Rizo will return to compete.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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