On Final Reckoning, Kam orchestrated a move where once she won the daily Challenge, she scared the entire house into exchanging votes 1 to 1 with other teams as they were fearful of accidentally ending up in elimination. It allowed Kam and Kayleigh to have total power as their SuperVote gave them the ability to vote anyone into elimination. Kam was able to do so by creating an extravagant scene where she told the entire house she would be throwing in Joss/Sylvia and Kyle/Brad, two of the teams they felt closest to. However, she had told Sylvia and Kyle beforehand, so each played it up.

Unfortunately, this move got wasted on creating a Faith/Angela vs. DaVonne/Jozea elimination. Kam figured she would instead use this move as a flex. She’d rather protect her friends than throw in a top player like Bananas or Zach. Then again, it was still very early in a game where they knew there was a Redemption House. If Kam had decided to go for a big target, then it would rank near the top. Instead, it is in the lower half of the top 10.

8 Kenny and Laurel giving Pete and Jill the daily challenge win on Fresh Meat 2

Kenny and Laurel won 4 of the first five daily challenges of Fresh Meat 2 to guarantee themselves safety. The one time they did not win, they went into elimination as they were the most significant threat in the game. When Kenny and Laurel earned themselves a 1 on 1 shot at immunity against their #1 allies in Jill and Pete, they chose to throw them a win because Jill and Pete had already seen two eliminations, and because they wanted to ensure trust within their alliance and prove to the other teams, they were a team you could work with reliably. In the end, this is the move that decided the rest of the game.

Wes and Evelyn created this massive alliance with all these little side deals, but they only had their interests at heart. They stretched themselves too thin and kept cutting off the members at the bottom of the totem pole. Eventually, Wes and Evelyn would allow their strongest allies, Landon/Carley and CJ/Sydney, to go in against one each other. It resulted in Wes and Ev facing each later on, and the demise of each team. To have a successful alliance, you have to give and take. Wes and Ev wanted a pyramid scheme, and in doing so, they found themselves on the bottom in the end.

Kenny’s move was symbolic of the fantastic game he and Laurel played all season.

7 Wes creating a deal with the rookies on Day 1 of Exes 2

During Exes 2, Wes used a small temporary power to set up the board for a long-term game strategy. He brokered a deal with Thomas and Jay to create an alliance with the big group of rookies. Wes was investing his money in low-risk low-priced stocks that could potentially pay out lavishly. When Jay and Jenna won a trivia challenge out of nowhere, they threw in Wes’ #1 target Leroy, putting a target on their backs while doing Wes’ dirty work.

Wes also made sure to maintain these relationships as he and Theresa could easily beat them in an elimination or a final. Again, it is a proactive move. Putting in a strong player will put a target on your back, but you would much rather face a weak player later in the game than a strong player. Unfortunately, Wes was not able to cash-in on his final lay-up due to the Redemption House twist, but Sarah/Jordan got to.

I do not include Wes convincing Leroy to throw in Zach/Jonna, mostly because it is a baffling move on Leroy’s part.

6 Evelyn bargaining for a spot on Kenny’s Boat during the Island