Opening Statements:
Hi Jury! I'm sure many of you are less than impressed that I'm in the Final 2 and many have shared your dismay with me. However, I truly do think that I play a respectable game for a variety of reasons. Detailed below is a quick summary of my strategy, my strategy each round during merge and why I should win.
Strategy:
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Establish a core alliance within the tribe I inhabit
- Saaki: Formed an alliance with Dylan in the beginning ; Informal agreement with Daniel
- NuChikara: Formed an alliance with Daniel ; Informal agreement with Dodds ; Alliance between Daniel, Tyler, Robbie & Myself ; Made an informal pact with Sami
- NuNuKoji: Alliance between Daniel, Nicole & I
; Loose deal with Ginny - Merge: Alliance between former Saaki members ; Alliance between Daniel, Eric, Nicole & I ; Alliance between all former Saaki & Chikara members ; Final 2 deal with Daniel (Round 11ish) ; Final 2 deal with Eric (Round 12, shortly before his departure) ; Alliance with Sami ; Alliance with Sami, Craig, and Sassy ; Final 2 deal with Craig (Round 14) ; Final 4 deal with Nicole, Daniel, Chris and I (Round 13)
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I took the opportunity to socialize with everyone on the each tribe & at merge so that I was never the primary target. -
I promised people the moon in order to protect myself even if that meant backstabbing them.
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I play both sides in order to see what was going on at all times.
Merge - Strategy Breakdown:
Round 10: Coming into the merge I was pretty much between two sides. I wanted to make a move against one of the Chikara guys because I no longer trusted them and they were the strongest. While I did want to make a move I felt it was best not to rock the boat and paint myself as a target too soon. What worked perfectly that round was Robbie's idea of splitting the vote between Sassy and Jeffrey. While this happened I decided to leak most of the information being said to Sami to try to get her to trust me so that her side wouldn't target me. Ultimately, voting out Jeffrey was the best move because he was a wildcard and didn't fit into my end plan.
Round 11: In order to protect myself from being implicated in the previous vote I tried to convince Daniel that I didn't know what happened. I tried to tell him that Robbie might have tipped the others off because it was odd that he pushed for the vote to be split. I was trying to lay the groundwork to try and get him to flip, but that didn't really work. So my plan was to gradually work my way further into the alliance of Sami, Craig and Sassy. At least I knew that they were willing to take out one of the Chikara guys so it seemed best to side with them. Also, after the previous round it seemed like Eric and Nicole were on board to flip. I did try to lobby to Daniel to flip because I felt like the both of us were on on the bottom of the alliance. Ultimately, I did vote Robbie out because I felt he was too volatile and unpredictable so I knew I couldn't trust him in the end.
Round 12: After that vote I was able to further solidify my position with Sami and the others. I knew, however, that Daniel and the other boys were going to be mad that I had lied to them. Essentially, I spent that round trying to repair my relationship with Daniel because I knew if I lost him then I'd be alone. Also, I did form a Final 2 deal with him at this point as well. Additionally, I had a Final 4 alliance with Daniel, Nicole, Eric and I that was formed that round. Since I was between two separate alliances I knew what each side was thinking. When it came to the vote I remember Sami and I both brought up the fact that it might be a good move if Eric was voted out. The problem, however, was Eric had approached me shortly after reassuring that he was with me and he made a Final 2 with me. I didn't want to break a deal nor did I want further strain my relationship with a few others so I voted Chris out.
Round 12 - Second Vote: Once Eric left I played it up like I didn't know what happened to Daniel to make him feel comfortable. The position I was in coming into the second vote was less than ideal because I had two sides tugging on me. From a strategic standpoint I wanted Cody or Chris gone because I knew that they still posed a threat in the game. Although, I didn't want to be disloyal to Daniel or Nicole because I had been with them from the beginning. During the first round of voting I chose to vote Craig out because Nicole told everyone she had the idol. I didn't want to run the risk that I vote out Cody then be caught in a minority position (with Sami and Sassy) where I had made Cody, Chris, Nicole and Daniel mad. Then during the second round of voting I switched and voted Cody out because Nicole didn't use her idol. Additionally, I voted Cody because he was by far one of the better players in this game considering his past record.
Round 13 - After things went down the previous round I knew that I was in trouble. I decided to hedge my bets and side back with Daniel, Nicole, and Chris because I knew Craig and Sassy were unhappy with me. This round is a perfect example of why Sami and I did not have a pregame. One has to ask themselves why would she have voted against me if we had some devious pregame pact? Also, if I was her closest ally why did she choose Sassy and Craig over me? Either way Chris came to me this round and told me that Sassy was pushing hard for me to leave. Therefore, the only option I was left with was to side against Sassy and vote her out.
Round 14 - Once again I was left between two alliances, but this time I knew I was going to have to choose one side. When Nicole used her express pass I began to worry because this signified to me that she wasn't comfortable. Additionally, Daniel had came to me saying that Chris mentioned that he wanted me out at Final 4. Those two events really began make me reassess my position on their side. My fear was that at Final 4 Nicole and Chris would tie the vote which had the potential to seal my fate. So I went to Sami and Craig and promised them that I would go to the Final 3 with them. Our plan was to try and vote Chris out that round. Unfortunately with Chris winning I was put in a position in which I finally had to get rid of one of my strongest allies. I really was torn and that is the reason I sent it to a tie the first round of voting. Ultimately, I voted out Daniel because while we were together most of this game I felt he had been drifting away from me especially after I lied to him round after round.
Round 15: Part I - After Daniel left I went to Chris and Nicole to try and explain my actions. Whether they believed what I said or not didn't matter because I basically was their last resort. I had been leaning to vote Nicole out because I knew it would be suicide to bring her near the end. I think Nicole underestimated her ability because up until Round 15 she had not received a single vote, she was everyone's favorite and she was a strong competitor. The same can be said for Sami, but I felt that she was a more controversial figure than Nicole was. Also, at this point I had formed a Final 2 with Craig so I didn't want to break my deal right away with him.
Round 15: Part II - When Nicole left I began to realize that if Chris went next I may end up screwing myself over since Sami and Craig were together the entire game. I made a deal with him to go to the Final 2 and I assured him I would vote one of them out. Honestly had Sami not won that challenge she most likely would have left because I would have tied it with Chris. Ultimately, in the end I broke my deal with Craig because I found out he had a Final 2 deal with everyone including Chris. It all came down to the fact that I didn't want to risk coming all the way to the end to finally be backstabbed.
Round 15: Part III - At this point I had a Final 2 deal with Chris and Sami because I knew neither would bring each other to the end. My real end goal was to go to the finals with Chris because I had the feeling Sami had the votes to win. We all know how that turned out in the end though.
Why I Should Win:
I think I deserve to win because I definitely outwitted, outplayed, and outlasted. In order to do so I played a relatively ruthless game. I consistently made deals with people only to break them soon after. Perhaps that sounds like a bad way to play the game at the Jury stage, but I knew I had to make any deals in order to make it here. Ultimately, I wasn't going to be the person that blindly followed everything someone said because I knew better. That is exemplified by the fact that I was in two separate alliances all through merge acting as a double agent telling each side what the other was saying. The fact is I was able to do this for quite some time without getting flack for it except for the round Sassy finally realized I was going back and forth. Also, by positioning myself in the middle I was consistently a deciding vote as well.
I know some will say I just did the dirty work for Sami, but that is simply not true. I sided with Sami various times because I knew the people I voted off were not good for my game. I can say for a fact that Jeffrey, Robbie, Cody, Sassy and Craig did not have my best interests at heart. As for betraying Daniel over Sami that was one of my biggest regrets in this game. My rationale was that if I went to the Final 5 with Nicole, Daniel, Chris, Craig and I then my position within the group was murky. There were many reassurances given by them that I'd be safe, but I had been betraying them left and right so I figured deep down they'd never trust me enough to bring me towards the end. Also, I know some will somehow conclude that I was carried here by her because I didn't win challenges and sided with her consistently. I think it's pretty obvious that Sami depended on me, especially early in the merge, because I was her inside to what Robbie, Eric, Cody, Daniel, and Nicole were thinking and doing. Furthermore had it not been for me Sami could have easily left the game at various points during the merge. While there is no doubt she is a challenge beast that isn't what necessarily defines who should win or not. In conclusion I will leave you with this quote:
"To make oneself hated is more difficult than to make oneself loved."
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