Outwit. Outplay. Outlast. Outslay. (Warning: Spoilers ahead!)
That is exactly what Yam Yam Oracho did to officially become Survivor's season 42 winner in the May 24 finale. The jury voted for the 36-year-old salon owner in an almost unanimous vote, besting Heidi Lagares-Greenblatt and Carolyn Wiger to secure the $1 million prize. Earlier in the episode, Carson Garrett and Lauren Harpe were eliminated, just missing out on making it to the final tribal council of the season.
The fan-favorite Tika trio of Yam Yam, Carolyn and Carson almost managed to make it to the final tribal council together, despite initially being the tribe with the least amount of members at the merge. But Heidi managed stop their takeover by winning the final immunity challenge, only to shock viewers by making a surprising decision: She put herself in the "Fast Fire" challenge against Carson in order to pad her resume and impress the jury.
"I'm taking a chance!" Heidi said of putting herself in the final fire-making challenge. "I don't want two, three or four, I want one!"
And Heidi's gamble paid off: Not only did she beat Carson, but she made the fastest fire in Survivor history. First introduced in season 35 (Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers), "Fast Fire" has been used at the final four tribal council to determine the final three since then.
Alas, Heidi's big move late in the game was not enough to sway the jury away from voting for Yam Yam, making him the first Puerto Rican man to win Survivor.
"This is not real!" Yam Yam, who was known for his strong social name and funny one-liners, said after he was named Sole Survivor.
Ahead of the season 44 finale, CBS announced that not only had Survivor been renewed for another season, but that it would be moving to 90-minute episodes when it returns in the fall. As host Jeff Probst would say: That is how you do it on Survivor.
So, how did all the previous winners spend this prize money? Find out how every Sole Survivor has spent, saved or wasted their $1 million:
Survivor season 45 will premiere this fall on CBS.