He may not have won Survivor Australia Heroes vs Villains, but George Mladenov has cemented himself in global Survivor history with perhaps the best social and strategic game the franchise has ever seen.
After losing out on the final individual immunity and being voted out by close friends and tribemates Gerry, Matt and Liz at the final tribal council, the Tsar of Samoa had his torch snuffed (to the heartbreak of fans everywhere) and was sent packing to the jury.
But despite missing out on the final three and the title of sole Survivor (which ultimately went to former Olympian Liz Parnov), George tells TV Week that he still feels a ”great deal of pride and joy” about his gameplay.
George spent the season praying to Macedonian Jesus.
(IMAGE: Ten)”This was the greatest ever season of Australian Survivor, it’s been so widely acclaimed by fans at home and viewers around the world, especially in the United States,” George says.
”And the fact that I played the best game in Survivor history, surpassing my first series, is part of why this season has been so spectacular.”
Throughout this season George made a move at every single tribal council he was in attendance at and was directly responsible for 16 people going home.
But when asked which moment he was most proud of, George was quick to respond: ”The episode seven tribal council.”
”I am very proud of that tribal council which has since been recognised as one of the best in global survivor history. Just on a personal level to have that level of impact on the game and have former American winners reaching out to me and telling me how impressed they are, I’m very proud of that.”
Gerry, Matt and George remained a tight three from merge.
(IMAGE: Ten)When it came down to asking the hard questions as a member of the jury to Matt, Gerry and Liz, George didn’t hesitate, imploring his former alliance members to open up about moves they had made in the game that weren’t instigated by him.
And whilst Gerry and Matt floundered, Liz swam above, earning George (and the other six votes from the jury) in the process.
”I decided with Liz because she had the most control in the game from my perspective, what I loved about Liz is that she was very forceful with me,” George says.
”When she threatened me with an idol to save Flick, I loved that and when she called me soft and weak when I was voting with my heart over my head in the Matt and Nina vote I loved that again.
”She is the only person who has been able to vote me out and I couldn’t respect her more. I couldn’t think of a more deserving winner.”
Just a couple of besties!
(IMAGE: Ten)We were also desperate to know if there were any hard feelings from George for his two closest allies in the game [Matt and Gerry] when they claimed his moves as their own.
”I invested a lot of my time in Samoa in relationship building and I did that with everyone in the game, more so with my allies,” George says.
”I wanted every single player to be the best versions of themselves, I empowered Matt, I empowered Gerry, I empowered Liz and that’s the reason they wanted to work with me and not against me.
”If I made them feel like equals to me then that’s a job well done from my perspective, that’s what I intended to do with my social game.”
So, what’s next for this former political staffer and certified Survivor legend?
”I have a few projects up my sleeve, the ball will keep rolling….”
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