SX12: Redemption World

SX12: Redemption World is the innovative twelfth season of the Survivor X series which combines the Redemption Island and One World seasons of Survivor.  Unlike past seasons, this season took a major detour from the regular rules to bring a new evolution of the game.

There are two main twists this season. The first was the addition of Redemption Island.  Previewed in SX11, it was revealed from the start that once a player was voted out this season, that they would be sent to Redemption Island.  Whenever another castaway joined them on the island, they were to compete in a duel- the winner would stay on Redemption Island while the loser is out of the game for good.  At a certain point in the game, the player remaining on Redemption Island will return to the game and continue their pursuit for the title of Sole Survivor.

The second major twist involved both tribes living together on one beach.  Despite being divided into two tribes via pick'em, they would be merged in one camp.  This meant although they would compete separately for immunity, they would all go to Tribal Council and vote out a member of the losing tribe where the winning tribe would also cast their vote as well.  This twist in particular has caused much debate- as strategies are subject to change on the dime.

Despite being deemed the "Biggest Threat" on day one and being named the leader of a tribe that wanted to overthrow him, Phillip Sheppard/locolicious was able to successfully use the One World twist the best, carefully strategizing with the opposing tribe while using idol paranoia to his advantage all the while winning five out of eight post-merge immunities.  Despite being cast out of the core Zapatera alliance, he and his ally Matt Quinlan/chippewa8888 were able to outwit the competition and make it to the final two where the jury awarded Phillip the victory in a 7-2 vote.

Castaways

Contestant	Original Tribe	Merge Tribe	Voted Out	Redemption Island	Finish	Total Votes
Christina Cha Dr Will Hatch two point oh	Salani		1st Voted Out Day 3	Lost Duel #1 Day 4	18th Day 4	13
Leif Manson skullfucker9000	Zapatera		2nd Voted Out Day 3	Lost Duel #2 Day 7	17th Day 7	13
Matt Elrod lanternbz54	Salani		3rd Voted Out Day 6	Lost Duel #3 Day 10	16th Day 10	13
Jonas Otsuji keva	Salani		4th Voted Out Day 9	Lost Duel #4 Day 13	15th Day 13	11
Stephanie Valencia KingofCruel	Salani		5th Voted Out Day 12	Lost Duel #5 Day 16	14th Day 16	17
Kat Edorsson Aero Hollister	Zapatera		6th Voted Out Day 15	Lost Duel #6 Day 19	13th Day 19	10
Ashley Underwood dannystultz	Zapatera		9th Voted Out Day 21	Lost Duel #7 Day 22	12th Day 22	5
Andrea Boehlke StephenWasHere	Salani	Concepciòn	10th Voted Out Day 24	Lost Duel #8 Day 25	1st Jury Member Day 25	7
Francesca Hogi shoomrat	Salani		11th Voted Out Day 26	Lost Duel #9 Day 28	2nd Jury Member Day 28	6
Alicia Rosa survivorfan491	Zapatera		7th Voted Out Day 18	1st Redeemed Day 22	3rd Jury Member Day 28	13
			Eliminated Day 27	Lost Duel #9 Day 28
Ralph Kiser Suppis	Zapatera		12th Voted Out Day 30	Lost Duel #10 Day 31	4th Jury Member Day 31	7
Mike Chiesl TimmyTAR	Salani		13th Voted Out Day 33	Lost Duel #11 Day 34	5th Jury Member Day 34	3
Kim Spradlin survivorluver999	Salani		15th Voted Out Day 35	Lost Duel #12 Day 36	6th Jury Member Day 36	9
Colton Cumbie kamikaze156	Salani		8th Voted Out Day 21	Lost Duel #12 Day 36	7th Jury Member Day 36	5
Rob Mariano retro cord	Zapatera		14th Voted Out Day 33	2nd Redeemed Day 36	8th Jury Member Day 37	6
			16th Voted Out Day 37
Chelsea Meissner Versailles	Zapatera		17th Voted Out Day 38		9th Jury Member Day 38	9
Matt Quinlan chippewa8888	Zapatera		Final Two		Runner-Up	8
Phillip Sheppard locolicious	Zapatera		Final Two		Sole Survivor	3

Game History

Episode Titles	Redemption Island			Finish		Immunity	Eliminated	Vote	Finish
	Inhabitant(s)	Challenger(s)	Eliminated
Episode One: "I Was Just Voted 'Biggest Threat', Hello!"						Colton, Jonas, Kim, Mike, Stephanie	Christina	13-4-1	1st Voted Out Day 3
						Alicia, Ashley, Kat, Phillip, Rob	Leif	13-3-2	2nd Voted Out Day 3
Episode Two: "Assemble the #DreamTeam"	Christina	Leif	Christina	1st eliminated		Zapatera	Matt E.	9-6-1	3rd Voted Out Day 6
Episode Three: "Nail His Colors to the Mast"	Leif	Matt E.	Leif	2nd eliminated		Zapatera	Jonas	11-2-1-1	4th Voted Out Day 9
Episode Four: "They're Not Our Friends"	Matt E.	Jonas	Matt E.	3rd eliminated		Zapatera	Stephanie	10-3-1	5th Voted Out Day 12
Episode Five: "I've Got Unfinished Business"	Jonas	Stephanie	Jonas	4th eliminated		Salani	Kat	10-3	6th Voted Out Day 15
Episode Six: "Some People Never Learn"	Stephanie	Kat	Stephanie	5th eliminated		Salani	Alicia	7-4-1	7th Voted Out Day 18
Episode Seven: "This is the Day Everything Changes"	Kat	Alicia	Kat	6th eliminated		Francesca	Colton	3-2	8th Voted Out Day 21
						Phillip	Ashley	5-1	9th Voted Out Day 21
Episode Eight: "I Was Shocked, I Was So Incredibly Shocked!"	Alicia	Colton	Ashley	7th eliminated		Francesca, Kim, Matt Q., Phillip, Rob	Andrea	4-1	10th Voted Out Day 24
		Ashley
Episode Nine: "Expect to See Some Blood"	Colton	Andrea	Andrea	8th eliminated 1st jury member		Mike	Francesca	4-3	11th Voted Out Day 25
						Phillip	Alicia	4-4	12th Voted Out Day 27
Episode Ten: "You're Catching Up to Me, You Gotta Go!"	Colton	Francesca	Francesca	9th eliminated 2nd jury member		Mike	Ralph	5-2	13th Voted Out Day 30
		Alicia	Alicia	10th eliminated 3rd jury member
Episode Eleven: "A Hard Pill to Swallow"	Colton	Ralph	Ralph	11th eliminated 4th jury member		Rob	Mike	3-1-0	14th Voted Out Day 33
						Phillip	Rob	3-1-1	15th Voted Out Day 33
Episode Twelve: "I'm Not Willing to Draw Rocks"	Colton	Mike	Mike	12th eliminated 5th jury member		Phillip	Kim	3-1	16th Voted Out Day 35
		Rob
Season Finale: "Nothing is as it Seems"	Colton	Kim	Kim	13th eliminated 6th jury member		Phillip	Rob	2-2	17th Voted Out Day 37
	Rob		Colton	14th eliminated 7th jury member
						Phillip	Chelsea	1-0	18th Voted Out Day 38
Reunion						Jury Vote	Matt Q.	7-2	Runner-Up
							Phillip		Winner

Recap

In a twist like never before, nine men and nine women were given One World- where all eighteen castaways lived together on the same beach for the first time ever.  This is what they did:
On Day One, two castaways were deemed the biggest threats- Francesca and Phillip- and became the leaders of Salani and Zapatera.  Both leaders recruited a second in command- Colton and Ashley, and convinced five members from each tribe to unite in an alliance of ten known as The #Dream Team.  They easily targetted outsiders Christina and Leif, sending both to Redemption Island where they would duel for a second shot in the game.
The Salani Tribe going on losing streak initially, allowing Francesca and Phillip both used their pull to eliminate those not in The #Dream Team alliance and one by one they were sent to Redemption Island.  First Matt E. and Jonas was eliminated for being a weak link, followed by Stephanie who ruffled feathers early by trying to uncover The #Dream Team.  When the five remaining Salani members became frustrated and tension mounted between the two tribes, the Zapateras within the alliance then threw a challenge to vote out Kat for never voting with the tribe.
It seemed like the leaders were living up to their titles when Colton gave Phillip the Zapatera Hidden Immunity Idol cementing his control of the tribe, although not everyone was completely fooled.  That was until Night 18, Ashley joined Francesca, Colton and the rest of the members of the Dream Team within Salani to blindside the confrontational and suspicious Alicia without Phillip's knowledge.
Alicia was sent to Redemption Island where she outed the cross-tribal alliance of Ashley, Colton, Francesca and Phillip.  Alicia used her pull within the Zapatera Tribe to unite her allies Chelsea, Ralph and Rob officially against Ashley and Phillip.  Ralph and Rob also managed to snag both vote nullifiers from both tribes and were a secret force in the game.  Fearing a tie-breaker, the last member outside the Dream Team- Matt Q.- soon found himself in a power position to decide to fates of everyone in the game.  He ultimately chose to side with Alicia's posse, which caused a rift in Ashley and Phillip's relationship- leaving Ashley to be voted out and Phillip to be left alone with his idol.
To make matters worse for Phillip, Alicia's influence reached the Salani Tribe when Rob managed to convince Mike of the inner circle within the #Dream Team alliance.  Mike made a huge power move, not only securing the votes of Andrea and Kim but blindsiding Colton in the process.  Mike cemented his control when he found his tribe's Hidden Immunity Idol and both leaders were left alone without their second in commands.
It looked as if Alicia had won when she won the next duel, returning to the game but leaving Colton on Redemption Island, and she quickly positioned herself against both leaders.  A twist in the game left Mike and Andrea at Tribal Council with Alicia and her allies, forcing Mike to jump ship and send Andrea to Redemption Island.
However, Francesca and Phillip did not give up and pulled in both Kim and Matt Q. against Alicia's alliance of Chelsea, Ralph and Rob, leaving Mike and his idol firmly in the middle.  At the first official merge vote, Mike made his position known- siding with Francesca and Phillip's alliance.  However, Ralph and Rob both used their vote nullifiers resulting in their alliance taking the numbers and Francesca was sent to the jury.  With neither side deciding to defect, it came down to a PRoD elimination where Alicia was sent back to Redemption Island.
With the counter-alliance now in control, Ralph was next to be sent leaving Chelsea and Rob on the outs.  However, Phillip's growing suspicion of Mike and Rob's alliance was the catalyst to one of the biggest moves of the game.  When Matt Q. officially decided to realign with Chelsea, they proposed a new alliance of three to Phillip- for Phillip to use his idol on Chelsea and for the new threesome to vote out Mike.  And despite his concerns, Phillip went through with the move and at the game's double elimination night both Mike and then Rob were blindsided.
At Redemption Island, Colton's desire was put into question as he felt he stood no shot at the game.  However, one by one he was joined by those responsible for his blindside and he took all of them out but Rob.  At the last vote, Kim found herself as the last Salani standing and self-voted herself out of the game where she would face off against Colton and Rob in the final duel to get back in the game.
In the finale, Rob won the final duel and returned to Chelsea, Matt Q. and Phillip.  At this point, Phillip realized Matt Q. had prioritized Chelsea above him- but lucky for Phillip, Chelsea's desire was waning and she hardly believed she had a shot to win.  Phillip continued his immunity streak forcing Matt Q. to stick with him and sent Rob officially out of the game.  Phillip then secured the final Immunity challenge and his place in the finals, deciding to stay loyal to Matt Q. despite him not being loyal himself and voted out Chelsea as the final member of the jury.
At the Final Tribal Council, the jury of nine was out for both Matt Q. and Phillip- determined to make sure the right person one.  Although Matt Quinlan/chippewa8888 defended himself well, his strategy of hiding below the radar and waiting to make a big move ultimately did not pay off as he ended up in the finals with someone labeled as the Biggest Threat in the game since Day One.  However, Phillip was not let off the hook easily either as many felt that he used his challenge prowess and friendships to his advantage, ultimately questioning exactly how much social maneuvering he actually had to put effort into making.
In the end, Phillip Sheppard/locolicious's amazing track record was too much to overlook and he was voted as the Sole Survivor of Redemption World in an overwhelming 7-2 vote.   Although he was deemed the "Biggest Threat" on Day One and being named the leader of a tribe that wanted to overthrow him, Phillip was able to successfully use the One World twist the best, carefully strategizing with the opposing tribe while using idol paranoia to his advantage all the while winning five out of eight post-merge immunities for a total of six individual challenge wins.  Despite being cast out of the core Zapatera alliance, the Specialist was able to outwit everyone- outlasting the competition to make it to the end against all odds.  Phillip played a brilliant game and was the epitome of how persistence pays off.  He now stands at the top of the X Series leaderboard- just as he predicted at the game's onset.

Voting history

	Original Tribes									Merged Tribe
Episode #:	1.1	1.2	2	3	4	5	6	7.1	7.2	8	9.1	9.2	Re-Vote	10	11.1	11.2	12	13
Eliminated:	Christina 13/18 votes	Leif 13/18 votes	Matt E. 9/16 votes	Jonas 11/15 votes	Stephanie 10/14 votes	Kat 10/13 votes	Alicia 7/12 votes	Colton 3/5 votes	Ashley 5/6 votes	Andrea 4/5 votes	Francesca 4/7 votes	Tie	Alicia No vote	Ralph 5/7 votes	Mike 3/4 votes	Rob 3/5 votes	Kim 3/4 votes	Tie	Rob 2/4 votes	Chelsea 1/1 vote
Voter	Vote
Phillip	Christina	Leif	Stephanie	Jonas	Stephanie	Kat	Phillip		Ashley		Alicia	Chelsea	Chelsea	Ralph	Mike	Rob	Chelsea	Rob	Rob	Chelsea
Matt Q.	Matt E.	Leif	Matt E.	Francesca	Stephanie	Kat	Alicia		Ashley		Alicia	Chelsea		Ralph	Mike	Rob	Kim	Rob	Rob
Chelsea	Christina	Leif	Stephanie	Jonas	Stephanie	Kat	Matt Q.		Ashley	Andrea	Francesca	Matt Q.		Phillip	Mike	Rob	Kim	Chelsea
Rob	Christina	Leif	Stephanie	Jonas	Stephanie	Kat	Matt Q.		Ashley		Francesca	Matt Q.	Matt Q.	Ralph	Chelsea	Kim		Chelsea
Kim	Christina	DNV	Matt E.	Jonas	Andrea	Kat	Alicia	Colton			Alicia	Chelsea	Chelsea	Ralph	Kim	Chelsea	Kim
Mike	Christina	Leif	Matt E.	Jonas	Andrea	Kat	Alicia	Colton		Andrea	Alicia	Chelsea	Chelsea	Ralph	Chelsea
Ralph	Christina	Ralph	Stephanie	Jonas	Stephanie	Kat	Matt Q.		Ashley	Andrea	Francesca	Matt Q.	Matt Q.	Phillip
Alicia	Christina	Leif	Stephanie	Jonas	Stephanie	Kat	Matt Q.			Andrea	Francesca	Matt Q.	Matt Q.
Francesca	Christina	Leif	Matt E.	Jonas	Stephanie	Kat	Alicia	Kim			Alicia
Andrea	Christina	Leif	Matt E.	Stephanie	Kim	Alicia	Alicia	Colton		Chelsea
Colton	Christina	Leif	Matt E.	Jonas	Stephanie	Kat	Alicia	Kim
Ashley	Christina	Leif	Stephanie	Jonas	Stephanie	Alicia	Alicia		Rob
Kat	Matt E.	Leif	Francesca	Colton	Stephanie	Alicia
Stephanie	Matt E.	Ralph	Matt E.	Jonas	Andrea
Jonas	Christina	Leif	Matt E.	Colton
Matt E.	Matt E.	DNV	Matt E.
Leif	DNV	Leif
Christina	Christina	DNV

Jury Vote
Finalist:	Matt Q. 2/9 votes	Phillip 7/9 votes
Juror	Vote
Chelsea		Phillip
Rob	Matt Q.
Colton		Phillip
Kim		Phillip
Mike		Phillip
Ralph		Phillip
Alicia		Phillip
Francesca		Phillip
Andrea	Matt Q.