survivor 49 recently concluded, with Savannah Louie being crowned Sole Survivor. Overall, Survivor 49 was one of the most loved seasons of the new era. The cast was fantastic, there was some good drama, and most importantly, some impressive strategic gameplay.
However, the positivity surrounding Survivor 49 has faded recently. Before each Survivor season, players get together at the Ponderosa for a pre-season briefing. To make things fair, artists are not allowed to talk or connect with each other to prevent them from forming alliances quickly. While most members of the Survivor cast have followed these rules, some members of the Survivor 49 cast have reportedly decided not to.
Before the broadcast of Survivor 49, it was revealed that some contestants violated pregaming rules.
In each season of Survivor, two alternate players fly in with the main cast in case someone has to drop out at the last minute. There are male and female options, ready to step in at any time. Before Survivor 49 began airing, it was revealed that for the first time, both alternates had made it into the main cast. Jason Treul opened up about being the alternate during the mat chat, while MC Chukwujekwu joined the season as the female alternate. Both joined the Hina tribe. Jason finished in thirteenth place, while MC finished in tenth place.
Several stories surfaced suggesting that Jason and MC replaced the two players. Jeff Probst revealed that the replaced players were pre-gaming and had broken several rules. Although details were not revealed, it is clear that both players seriously disregarded preseason rules. Since both Jason and MC were in the Hina tribe, the replaced players must have been in the same tribe. It is possible that they knew this and tried to form an alliance before the game began.
Finalist Sage Ahrens-Nicholls later revealed that both Sophie Balerdy and Jake Latimer had reportedly pregamed
Sage Ahrens-Nichols made it to the Final Tribal Council, where she ultimately finished in third place. Immediately after the finale aired, Intelligent Shared on social media that he planned to share some things about the season. He hinted at cheating before the game, and invited participating players to contact him to explain why. Rishi insisted that he planned to reveal details including names, which caught the attention of many fans.
While SAGE indicated that there were several alleged culprits, it ultimately chose to reveal only two. The first was Sophie Balerdi, who came second. Sage also hinted that Jake Latimer was involved. Jake was a key player during the first few episodes, but was medically evacuated after being bitten by a sea krait. Sophie and Jake were both in the Kel tribe, so it makes sense that they would pregame together. At the beginning of the season, Jake and Sophie announced that they were the number one partner. However, they were never really seen bonding in the beginning. Sage’s accusations could explain this, as they could have linked up before the game even started.
Since there are only two replacements per season, production may have to choose the worst offenders for replacements. If Sophie and Jake did pregame, but not as hard as the others, it’s possible that production allowed them to stay. Although this is still breaking the rules, the season cannot go on without a full team of eighteen players.
Survivor 49 ex-juror Annie Davis recently supported Sage’s claims
Shortly after Sage’s allegations, her fellow Survivor 49 player Annie Davis defended her claims. Annie was the second player to be voted out and was in the Kel Tribe with Sophie and Jake. She admitted that she agreed with Sage and that she had seen several players talking before the game. Annie He insisted that he remembers talking to the players at night, when they had to leave their individual tents to go to the bathroom. Although she did not name names like Rishi, she hinted that there were many culprits.
The Survivor 49 cheating scandal has quickly become one of the most memorable things of the season. Survivor fans were shocked to hear the news, especially since Sophie advanced to Final Tribal Council. Moving forward, Survivor will make sure to implement additional strict measures for players before the games begin.
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TELL US – What do you think about the pregaming allegations made on Survivor 49? Are you surprised that Sophie and Jake are the alleged criminals?