Mamanuca Islands, Fiji
A three-tribe season remembered for an idol run so unstoppable it forced a permanent change to the rules of the game.
Sole Survivor
Ben Driebergen
Won the jury 5-2-1
Also read at the Final Tribal Council
How Ben Driebergen won
A Marine on the bottom and seemingly doomed, Ben found idol after idol to survive, and the brand-new final-four fire-making twist let him punch through to a jury that admired the fight.
Era
The New School Era
2010–2020
Timeline
35th of 50
Aired 2017
Filming
Fiji
4th of 19 seasons filmed here
The 3 tribes marooned when the game began — and where the names come from.
The Heroes tribe. From Fijian 'levu', meaning big, large, or many.
The Healers tribe. From Fijian 'soko', meaning 'to sail'.
The Hustlers tribe. From Fijian 'yawa', meaning distance or far — figuratively 'far out / unexpectedly extraordinary'.
At the merge · they became Solewa — Merge tribe — a portmanteau blending all three starting tribes: SO-ko + LE-vu + ya-WA.
The named voting bloc that ran this season — the stories give away late-game moves, so they sit behind the idol.
Named by the edit
The undefeated Healers tribe of Heroes v Healers v Hustlers, who steamrolled the pre-merge but never coordinated as a true bloc — Ryan and Chrissy rallied the Heroes and Hustlers against them at the merge and the once-mighty Healers got picked off almost to a person.
How it resolved
Owned stretches of the game, then fell — best finish 5th.
How it ended · 6 strong
Debuted this season
Idol moments
Marooned at the bottom with the whole game gunning for him, Ben found and played an idol at one Tribal, then did it again, then again — negating every vote against him on three straight nights.
In the record book
3
straight Tribals survived on idols
Doomed on the bottom, Ben played a hidden idol on three consecutive Tribal Councils, voiding every vote against him each time — the run that forced the final-four fire twist into the rules.
Around the fire
Cast your vote, drop a hot take, and climb your torch — every contribution is tied to your profile at Tribal Council.
Join the debate at TribalSeason 35 of 50
