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In the end, Survivor: South Pacific came down to this adage from host Jeff Probst: "If you want to stay in this game, you have to beat Ozzy."
Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth, the 30-year-old surfer from Venice Beach, Calif., who dominated the immunity challenges, looked poised to snatch victory from the original Upolu Tribe members. But was the third-time contestant named the sole survivor?
Unfortunately for Ozzy (and his myriad fans), the "Dragon Slayer" lost the final Immunity Challenge -- a puzzle-solving competition -- to 22-year-old first-time contestant Sophie Clarke. With the immunity necklace secure, it was goodbye Ozzy -- the competition's biggest threat and likeliest winner.
In one of the show's biggest upsets, Clarke, a medical student whom Ozzy called "a privileged, pretentious brat," was voted season 23's ultimate Survivor by the jury of ousted tribe members and won the $1 million prize.
Most viewers had thought Ozzy or fellow Survivor veteran Benjamin "Coach" Wade would take home the prize, but Clarke beat him in a 6-3 vote. The third Top 3 finalist, Albert Destrade did not receive any votes.
Although Ozzy didn't win as he had planned, he did receive a rather vindicating consolation prize. He won the $100,00 "Fan Favorite Award" for the season. According to Probst, he also won by the biggest margin in Survivor history!
So did the Survivor jury get it right? Did dark horse Sophie deserve the prize?
