Ongoing discussions of “Survivor 50: In the Hands of Fans” have been rife with rumors, spoilers and speculation since the cast returned from filming in Fiji on July 2. The highly anticipated anniversary season is set to make its debut in February 2026, hosting the ultimate battle between old-school and new-school as 12 new-era players and 12 pre-Season 40 players return to compete for a $1 million grand prize and the coveted title of “Sole Survivor.”
Featuring returning legacy players like Cirie Fields, Ozzy Lusth, and Benjamin “Coach” Wade, as well as new-era winners like Dee Valladares and Kyle Fraser. Even Mike White, the creator of HBO’s hit comedy-drama series “The White Lotus,” will return for a second “Survivor” run after his runner-up placement on “David vs. Goliath.”
With heavy hitters, strategic threats, and even two mystery players from the as-yet unaired “Survivor 49,” there’s no telling how “Survivor 50” will play out when it premieres next year, but that hasn’t stopped Surviving Tribal, a dedicated “Survivor” fan site, to trying to figure it out ahead of time.
Following the official cast announcement for “Survivor 50,” Surviving Tribal tried to anticipate the upcoming landmark season by asking an AI engine to simulate a trial run of the 26-day game.
While Surviving Tribal’s simulation doesn’t take into account rumors regarding tribe divisions, the identities of the two players from Season 49, or the results of “In the Hands of the Fans” fan voting, here’s how AI thinks the first seven days of “Survivor 50” will play out.
Day 1: Tribal Lines are Drawn
Prior to the start of the AI-generated game, the 24-person cast is randomly separated into three tribes of eight players each. Here’s how the tribe divisions shook out:
Bula Tribe (Blue): Ozzy Lusth, Angelina Keeley, Jonathan Young, Chrissy Hofbeck, Kamilla Karthigesu, Colby Donaldson, Emily Flippen, S49 player #1.
Vinaka Tribe (Red): Cirie Fields, Rick Devens, Kyle Fraser, Jenna Lewis-Dougherty, Tiffany Nicole Ervin, Genevieve Mushaluk, Joe Hunter, Q Burdette.
Mana Tribe (Yellow): Christian Hubicki, Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Dee Valladares, Benjamin “Coach” Wade, Charlie Davis, Mike White, Aubry Bracco, S49 #2.
At the marooning challenge, Bula secures access to vital supplies: a flint, pot and machete. After losing the challenge, both Vinaka and Mana are tasked with sending one player from their tribes to compete in a secondary challenge to earn the materials. Sending Q and Emily respectively, Q struggles to overcome losing the marooning challenge, giving Emily the opportunity to win the challenge and bring flint back to Mana.
Early bonds between Colby, Jonathan and Ozzy emerge on the Bula tribe, while Cirie attempts to pull Tiffany, Kyle and Genevieve into an alliance at Vinaka’s camp. Meanwhile, Coach kicks things off at Mana by offering his tribemates a motivational speech in true “Dragon Slayer” fashion – though they don’t all appreciate the gesture.
Also on the Mana tribe, Emily returns to camp with supplies in hand only to be met with a formal alliance offer from Angelina. Meanwhile, Q returns to Vinaka empty handed, leaving his tribemates irritated and chilly as they try to get some sleep at the end of Day 1
Day 2: The First Person Voted Off the Island Is…
Day 2 brings with it the first immunity challenge – and the first Tribal Council – of the season. Tensions are high at Mana as Coach continues to annoy his tribemates with noisy early-morning meditations. Despite trying to forge an alliance with Charlie, Coach finds that the “Survivor 46” finalist is already in cahoots with Christian and Mike.
Meanwhile, at the other camps, rivalries start to form between Devens and Q on Vinaka, as well as between Angelina and Ozzy at Bula.
At the season’s first immunity challenge, Vinaka receives flint after their victory while Mana scrape up a second-place finish, sending Bula to the first Tribal Council ceremony of the season.
Back at camp, the Bula tribe is divided over who they want to send home first. Ozzy, Jonathan and Colby form an alliance to eliminate Angelina, while Angelina scrambles to secure votes by reining Emily, Chrissy, Kamilla, and S49 #1 into a last-minute voting block to target the alliance of physical threats before they become unstoppable.
Ozzy and Angelina debate at Tribal Council as the heads of their respective alliances. Jeff Probst then tells the tribe that it is time to vote.
The results: One vote for Ozzy, two votes for Angelina, and five votes for Jonathan, making the “Survivor 42” alum the “first boot” of Season 50.
CBS/GettyDay 3: ‘The Era of the Dragon Phoenix has Arrived!’
The next morning, Ozzy and Colby are still reeling from Jonathan’s blindside at Bula while Q continues to ruffle feathers at Vinaka, leading Genevieve and Tiffany to ponder the idea of throwing the challenge just to send him home. Meanwhile, at Mana, Coach wakes the tribe up with the announcement that “The era of the Dragon Slayer has arrived.” Christian, Mike, Charlie and Stephenie are in agreement that the fourth-time player needs to go home as soon as possible.
Mana wins the second immunity challenge while Bula earns back their flint with a second place finish, sending Vinaka to Tribal Council.
Back at camp, Q accuses Tiff and Genevieve of following through on their jokes about throwing the challenge. Though the majority of the tribe seem on board with voting out Q, Jenna and Joe approach Devens to discuss blindsiding Cirie.
At Tribal Council, Q argues that getting rid of strong players won’t make a weak tribe stronger, while Cirie counters, “Strength isn’t just physical. Strategy is strength. Trust is strength.”
In the end, Q Burdette becomes the second person voted off “Survivor 50” after earning seven votes.
CBSDay 4: Legacy Players Struggle to Keep Up
The morning Day 4 sees S49 #1 strike up an alliance with Colby at Bula to pull off a potential numbers flip. Meanwhile, attitudes towards Coach shift on the Mana tribe, with Mike and Charlie agreeing that he’s not a threat and that they might be able to use him as an extra vote to blindside someone else.
Unfortunately for them, they have to put their theory to the test sooner than planned after Mana loses the immunity challenge that afternoon. Despite slowing the tribe down during the challenge, Coach manages to find allies in Christian, Mike and Charlie – who has also formed a secret alliance with Aubry. Together then men set their sights on blindsiding Stephenie. Meanwhile, the women of Mana are set on giving Coach the boot.
At Tribal Council, Coach asks his tribe if they think it’s more important to “cut the weakest link or the biggest threat?” In response, Aubry tells Jeff, “The minute you feel safe, you’re probably the target.”
While Stephenie, Dee and S49 #2 follow through with their plan to vote Coach, Aubry flips to join the men, sending four votes to Stephenie LaGrossa-Kendrick, making her the third person to have their torch snuffed on the computer-generated season.
CBSDay 5: ‘Sometimes the Easy Vote is the Wrong Vote’
While Coach consoles himself at Mana after a difficult Tribal Council, Christian discovers a Beware Advantage, which reveals that he must complete a secret task during the upcoming immunity challenge to earn a Hidden Immunity Idol. On other beaches, Angelina gets under people’s skin at Bula while Devens finds a fake idol kit at Vinaka.
Bula and Mana secure immunity at the immunity challenge, while Christian pockets an idol – but there’s a catch: The idol only has power after the Merge.
Devens is forced to begin carving his fake idol later that day after Vinaka finished the immunity challenge in last place. Lucky for him, Jenna finds his fake idol in the water well just moments after he hides it, striking up an alliance with Genevieve to give Joe the boot. Unluckily, Jenna quickly identifies the idol as fake. Ahead of Tribal Council, she enlists Joe to help her blindside Devens.
When Jeff asks the tribe at Tribal Council if there’s an “easy vote” tonight, Devens responds, saying, “Sometimes the easy vote is the wrong vote.” Despite his confidence, Devens receives votes from his entire tribe, directing his own at Joe. Regardless, the “Edge of Extinction” fan favorite becomes the fourth person voted out of AI “Survivor 50.”
CBSDay 6: Swing Votes and Blindsides
At the next immunity challenge, Angelina fails to save Bula from Tribal Council after she accidentally knocks over the final puzzle. Already on the outs with her tribe, half of Bula’s members are ready to vote the “David vs. Goliath” finalist off as they arrive at Tribal Council. Meanwhile, the other half of the tribe want to blindside Chrissy, leaving Kamilla as the swing-vote between the two three-person alliances.
At Tribal Council, Angelina is able to sway Kamilla and other tribe members to her side, winning a 5-2 vote that sends Chrissy home as the fifth person voted out.
CBSDay 7: A Tribe Swap Shakes Things Up
As the first week of Inside Survivor’s AI-generated season comes to an end, Bula loses their second consecutive immunity challenge. Now on the bottom of the tribe, Emily scrambles to convince Ozzy and Colby to flip on Angelina. Despite allying with Angelina at the last Tribal Council, Kamilla similarly conspired with S49 #1 to target her as well.
In the end, Emily is able to earn four votes towards eliminating Angelina, making her the sixth person voted out of the simulated competition.
CBSInside Survivor promises that the AI-generated season will receive future updates as the premiere date for the very real “Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans” approaches.
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AI Predicts the First Week of ‘Survivor 50’: Here’s the Shocking Results