The Best Survivor Contestants Of All Time Ranked

Over 600 people have competed on "Survivor," the CBS reality competition about a group of strangers stranded in a remote location and forced to work together for survival while also competing against each other to win $1 million. Players are initially divided into tribes and vote each other out if they lose immunity challenges, but later compete as individuals. Around 16-20 people vie for the prize each season, but only one gets the title of Sole Survivor. Those contestants are often considered the best players of their respective seasons, but even those who don't win can be considered some of the best.

After two decades and 40 seasons, "Survivor" is still going strong and still giving us memorable players with each new installment. With "Survivor 41" currently airing and ushering in a new era of the show, here is a look at some of the best players from the first 40 seasons ranked based on their overall gameplay and how effective they were on their season(s). 

No matter how many challenges you win or how many people you blindside, getting to the end of the 39 (or this current season's 26) days and the Final Tribal Council is the most important aspect of "Survivor." Amanda Kimmel was the first person to accomplish this twice, as well as the first to do so in back-to-back seasons.

Her first season, "Survivor: China," saw her play a strong and loyal game, and even help orchestrate the blindside of her friend James Clement when he became too powerful after he acquired two Hidden Immunity Idols (items that negate votes against a player at Tribal Council). Her second season, "Survivor: Micronesia — Fans vs. Favorites," was another solid showing when she joined the Black Widow Brigade, one of the best all-female alliances in the show's history, and helped them dominate the game. She even saved herself from elimination by playing her own Hidden Immunity Idol when she was in danger. The only time she was ever voted out was in her third season, "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains," finally leaving the game after 108 days of play.

Add in several individual Immunity Challenges, and Amanda is one of the most well-rounded players, excelling both physically and mentally.

When talking about "Survivor" winners, you can't gloss over the first person to ever become the Sole Survivor. All of the gameplay that occurred in later seasons wouldn't have been possible without Richard Hatch. Entering the inaugural season "Survivor: Borneo" confident he would win the million dollars on the first day, Richard was the architect of the first-ever alliance. Gathering together all of his closest friends to form a voting block that would control the votes, Richard ran strategic circles around the younger and less savvy players while also controlling his alliance on the side.

While older seasons like "Survivor: Borneo" might not be as exciting as the seasons that come later, Richard's win is important in that he was able to effectively control everything that was going on without any of the extra advantages and flourishes that have come to define the current "Survivor" game. While Richard's win is still deserved, a string of controversies, including an alleged assault on "Survivor: All Stars," has left a stain on his legacy.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

It took Rob Mariano four tries to become Sole Survivor. However, it only took "Survivor: Fiji" winner Earl Cole one try to win. And his win came with a very impressive first: Earl was the first person in the history of the show to win the game by unanimous vote, as every member of the jury voted for him to win. Also significant is that Earl was the second African American person to ever win the game, after "Survivor: Marquesas" winner Vecepia Towery.

Earl's win was definitely deserved, as he was able to overcome being on a losing tribe by leveraging his strong alliance with fan favorite Yau-Man Chan to build strong relationships with others and use them to destroy the original majority alliance and control the endgame. Despite betraying Yau-Man at the end, this move would ultimately prove to be one of the defining moments that secured him the win in the end.

Everyone loves an underdog story, and "Survivor" is full of them. In "Survivor: Cook Islands," an alliance known as the Aitu Four was outnumbered 8-4 near the midpoint of the season. Despite this, the group emerged victorious and dominated the rest of the game. The leader of this alliance was Yul Kwon, who eventually ended up becoming the first Asian American winner in the show's history.

In addition to his natural leadership skills, Yul's discovery of the season's Hidden Immunity Idol was key to his success, as he was able to use the Idol to sway others to his side and tilt the game in his favor. But even before that, Yul proved himself to be a cutthroat player when he blindsided his alliance member "Cao Boi" Bui before the merge after he came up with the first-ever "split vote" strategy, which was the act of casting the same number of votes on two targets so one can go home if an Idol is played.

By getting rid of him, Yul was able to eliminate any strategic force that could upend his control.

Before Kim's all-female alliance in "Survivor: One World," there was the Black Widow Brigade of "Survivor: Micronesia — Fans vs. Favorites." This alliance was formed by Parvati Shallow, a contestant previously from "Survivor: Cook Islands" looking to play a smarter game the second time around. After winning her way to the merge, Parvati rallied most of the other women together to pull off a string of blindsides that helped launch her to the finals.

Almost as impressive was Parvati's third run on "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains." Despite being an outsider at the start on the Villains tribe, Parvati's alliance with Russell Hantz and her dominance in Individual Immunity Challenges kept her alive in the game. Her crowning moment during that season was when she played two Hidden Immunity Idols on her allies, destroying the Heroes' alliance and taking control of the game. These moves propelled Parvati to the final again, though she wasn't able to secure the win on that season.

When you first meet Tony Vlachos in "Survivor: Cagayan," his frantic gameplay and eccentric personality might not sound like a winning formula. But underneath all the flash was true strategy, as Tony was able to blindside both enemies and allies without caution while also finding Hidden Immunity Idols to secure near-total control of the entire season.

After playing such a strong game his first time, and fumbling during his second turn on "Survivor: Game Changers," Tony would return alongside 19 other Sole Survivors to celebrate the show's 40th season with "Survivor: Winners at War." In this season, Tony was able to employ some of the same tactics that won him his original season. These included building "spy shacks" to eavesdrop on other people's conversations and finding Idols to use to his strategic advantage.

While Sandra's second win was impressive, Tony's second victory over 19 other winners (including previously listed "Boston" Rob, Jeremy, Yul, Kim, Parvati, and Sandra) is truly remarkable. This easily makes Tony the "King" to Sandra's "Queen."