Right now, Francois "Chappies" Chapman (32), Nicole Wilmans (26) and Anela Majozi (25) are in the running for the title win of season eight of M-Net’s “Survivor SA: Immunity Island”.
With Chappies making history with his successive wins on the show, he is, without a doubt, a firm favourite.
However, if the reality series has taught us anything, it is to never count your chickens before they hatch.
While fans wait on tenterhooks to see who will emerge victorious in the two-hour special on Thursday night, we look back at some of the biggest blindsides on the show.
Episode 5: Thoriso M-Afrika (36) and Carla Gubb (29)
These two cast mates were the first to double-exit from the show as host Nico Panagio announced that Vuna (orange) and Zamba (green) were going to be voting someone off at tribal council.
Thoriso, who never fit in right from the start of the game, decided to outplay her fellow Vuna tribe members by getting Anesu (Mbizvo) to convince Tyson (Zulu) to share the parchment that came with his immunity idol.
She then went to her former Zamba members, Renier (Louwrens) and Paul (Cupido), and duped them into believing that she was in possession of the sought after holy grail in the competition.
But her deception caught up with her back at camp after the reward challenge. And Tyson was not impressed by her putting a target on his back and called her bluff by playing his immunity idol at the tribal council.
Meanwhile, Carla, who proved to be a formidable opponent, was confident about Chappies leaving, only to find out she was on the chopping block instead.
Such was Thoriso and Carla’s lesson that being deceptive is a double-edged sword.
Episode 8: Marisha du Plessis (36)
Assumption truly was the mother of all f**k ups as Marisha’s flame got extinguished.
The irony of it all being that she was one of the strongest players. She had a strong alliance as the Vuna and Zamba merger finally happened, and Osindile was born.
Of course, there was a lot of discontent, with Santoni taking great exception to Marisha predicting her longevity in the game.
But Tyson threw everyone off when he gave Chappies his immunity idol. This wasn’t only completely unexpected, it threw everyone off their voting game.
In the end, a confident Marisha became the first jury member.
Episode 9: Shaun Wilson (40)
While Chappies gloated about pulling off a spectacular blindside, Shaun made it clear that he was taking no prisoners.
Sadly, his alliance wasn’t strong enough to keep him in the game.
And his beef with Santoni ultimately sealed his fate as she joined forces with Kiran (Naidoo), Tyson and Wardah (Hartley) as Vuna maintained its stronghold over Zamba.
That Santoni outlasted Shaun still boggles my mind.
Episode 10: Renier Louwrens (30) and Amy Eliason (33)
After playing the game so cunningly, Renoir got a bit cavalier in the game.
The problem with this was that his fate was tied with that of Amy in a “what happens to one, happens to the other” twist.
Amy hoped to get Tyson, and in so doing, Wardah out with one vote. But Renier was on a different page as he pulled a Thoriso with the same disastrous result. Santoni called his bluff, as did Kiran, and things got really heated with a gatvol Chappies indicating he was ready to vote.
Amy wasn’t happy to have her torch snuffed out, but Renier got what he deserved by playing with fire.
Episode 11: Anesu Mbizvo (29)
Hell-bent on pulling off the biggest blindside, Anesu fell victim to one.
After her alliance with Tyson soured, she was gunning to have him out of the game. And Chappies was clearly on board with her, and he knew where Santoni would cast her vote.
She tried to convince Nicole and Anela to side with them to break the current trio of Kiran, Tyson and Wardah.
In the end, Anela stuck to his own agenda, and Nicole sided with him.
While Anesu didn’t see her end coming, when her name was called, she made one last crucial play by sneaking Chappies her tribal pass.
I guess this was her sweet revenge on her rivals.
The two-hour finale of “Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island” airs on Thursday, September 16, at 7.30pm.