Every Survivor Challenger Ranked… So Far

The Challenge is one of the oldest competition reality shows, but there’s no doubt Survivor is just as (if not more) influential. In 2020, we started seeing castaways infiltrate The Challenge. But so far, they’ve had mixed degrees of success.

Just like I ranked the Big Brother Challengers, I’m going to do the same for Survivor players. I’m only looking at US Survivor players, and I’m just looking at the flagship show, so The Challenge USA won’t count. This significantly reduces our pool of Survivor players, because they’ve had a huge presence and been very successful on the spin-off series.

7. Tommy Sheehan

It might be unfair to call Tommy bad at The Challenge, but for a Survivor winner, he did not leave a strong impression on the franchise. On episode 1 of Spies, Lies and Allies, he was caught in a Survivor alliance scandal. While he emerged from that unscathed, he only lasted a few more episodes. He hit his head on the third daily challenge, emerged from the water naked, and was medically DQed from the show with a concussion.

6. Natalie Anderson

As our first Survivor winner on The Challenge, Natalie was an obviously strong rookie on Double Agents. She caught Wes’ eye, but she ended up in the first Crater where she beat Ashley. This made her a player to fear, and she probably would have made it deep into the season if she hadn’t medically DQed before the fifth daily challenge.

5. Dee Vallardares

Dee had a strong start on Vets & New Threats. She won the first challenge with Johnny Bananas and received a lot of focus because of her showmances with Johnny and Will. Then, Bananas went home, and she kind of fell under the radar. She had some good moments on the season, like when she won the Band Together challenge, but she also had low moments, like cheating on the Broken Dreams mini final.

4. Jay Starrett

As our first Survivor Challenger, Jay was fairly isolated on his debut season. He went into the first elimination and won. Then he went into the second elimination and beat CT. This quickly established him as a likable underdog, but we started seeing a sneakier side of him on Double Agents and Ride or Dies. He tried to take out the veterans, which wasn’t a super successful strategy. Then, he became a pseudo veteran on Battle for a New Champion, and he was kind of a villain. This made him somewhat unlikable, but it got him to his first final.

3. Michele Fitzgerald

There was decent hype behind Michele when she debuted on Spies, Lies and Allies, but she was sent home in the fourth Lair. Then, she came back for Ride or Dies, and she was more successful. She won daily challenges and took shots at the veterans, which put a subsequent target on her back and resulted in her getting sent home. Perhaps this is why she was much more alliance-focused on Battle for a New Champion, but Battle of the Eras was her standout season. Michele made her first final and would have been the runner-up if it weren’t for the karma points.

2. Michael Bradshaw

Michaela was the first boot on Spies, Lies and Allies, and her Challenge career could have ended there. Then, she returned for The Challenge: USA 2 and made the final. Technically, that’s not factored into this list, but the competitor we saw on USA 2 came on to Vets & New Threats. Michaela earned more points than anyone else during the first half of the season, and she and Cedric were one of the best pairs. Sadly, her ankle was injured going into the final, which held her back and resulted in a third-place finish.

1. Sydney Segal

The Challenge has done a decent job recruiting Survivor winners, but Sydney likely made the biggest impression on her rookie season — and she’s not a sole Survivor. She stood out as a cocky and confident rookie, but she backed it up. She was very successful in the daily challenges and was one of the best overall competitors, including the veterans. She made the final and was a front-runner during the race, but she fell into second place… mostly because Turbo anchored her.