Was Kyle Smart to Pick Kam?

After winning in elimination, Kyle flexed his power and stole Kam as a partner. He has a gold skull, she does not. Was this a good move?

Firstly, Nany and Kyle both wanted to split up. They came to realize they both work within the same circles, and they’re completely expendable for half of the house. Kam is on the other side of the game, and she is very connected to the people Kyle doesn’t work with.

On one side of the game, Kam is a leader. On the other side, she’s public enemy #1. She flexed her power by getting CT into the first elimination, and there’s no reason to believe she wouldn’t make another strong play.

Right now, it seems Kyle is in a position where this would be a strong move. He’s connected to most of the house and he has a really strong partner. Not to say that Kyle is a bad competitor, he isn’t, but he’s not a top dog like Kam. But this also means power is going to be a double edged sword. Kam will want to protect her side of the house, Kyle will want to protect his side of the house, and this will make it a stalemate.

Assuming the we continue to alternate male/female weeks, this shouldn’t hurt Kyle too much. Kam can jump down and get her skull if she needs to, and the worst case scenario is Kyle getting a new partner. But it’s too early to believe this will be the structure of the game. In Total Madness we had some random double eliminations, and this could happen again. If Kam wants to compete, she will get down there. This will hurt Kyle’s game.

Ultimately, this wasn’t a baseless decision. It could be super beneficial for Kyle’s game, but it has potential to hurt it. At some point competitors need take risks, and while it’s early, it’s not a death sentence for him.