What started as 12 intense competitors ended in one Sole Survivor. Congratulations to Stephanie for being the winner and Chris for being the fan favorite!
Leading up to tribal council, five were in the running for victory: D, Stephanie, Chris, Nicholas, and Emily all tied with 30 points.
As the winner of the individual immunity challenge, Stephanie could not be voted out. Jillian received a lot of votes, but successfully used her shot in the dark, so none of them counted. Several others played immunity idols and so, with just one vote, Emily was voted out.
D played an immunity idol for extra points and went straight to the finale while Chris, Stephanie, and Nicholas battled it out in a fire making competition to see who would join him. Chris was able to make fire with flint, easily defeating the other two. In the final showdown, Stephanie and Nicholas used matches. Ultimately, Stephanie's fire burned bright and she moved on to the finale where she was crowned the winner of a laser-engraved art piece and the title of Sole Survivor, dethroning the previous back-to-back winner (Jillian).
At the reunion it was revealed that Chris voted out Emily. She was highly offended but did eventually reveal that she voted for Chris. Stephanie made final two deals with everyone and sabotaged her new team after the tribe swap. Paula was tripped up by a fake idol planted by James. Chris found an immunity idol encased in a cryptex. Ben (the dog) made lots of promises and sad faces in exchange for marshmallows and cheese.
Photos here! Link is in the google doc - request access to view the google doc and I'll let you in: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kY9yXbLaSR8N1eBbuhBNaSTeTRfOEDUw-NJFdqP9K7E/edit?usp=sharing