‘Survivor 49’ Finale Ends With Shocking Fire-Making Showdown and Historic Final Three

After a tense endgame filled with strategic disagreements, emotional immunity wins, and a dramatic fire-making showdown between close allies, Savannah Louie was crowned winner of Survivor Season 49, earning the $1 million prize after securing the majority of jury votes at Final Tribal Council.

The finale began with five players remaining: Savannah, Sophi Balerdi, Kristina Mills, Rizo Velovic, and Sage Ahrens-Nichols. Savannah won the Final Five Immunity Challenge, ensuring her own safety at a critical moment in the game. With Kristina widely viewed as the strongest fire-maker left, Savannah argued to keep Sage and target Kristina, while Sophi and Rizo initially pushed to do the opposite, believing Kristina would be easier to beat at Final Tribal Council. In the end, Sophi and Rizo chose to side with Savannah, and Kristina was voted out. Oh, and Rizo finally played that dang idol!

At the next immunity challenge, Sophi pulled out her first win of the season in an emotional moment, earning the power to decide who would advance to the Final Tribal Council and who would be forced to make fire. Rather than have conversations with everyone back at camp, Sophi chose to keep her decision to herself, a move that Savannah did not love given how closely they had worked together throughout much of the game.

At Tribal Council, Sophi revealed her choice: she would take Sage directly to the Final Tribal Council and put her two closest allies, Savannah and Rizo, against each other in the fire-making challenge. Despite openly expressing little confidence in her fire-making ability, Savannah managed to defeat a more confident Rizo, officially sending the RizGod to the jury and securing the final spot at the end.

The Final Three of Savannah, Sophi, and Sage marked the first all-women Final Three in 20 seasons. At Final Tribal Council, the jury dissected each finalist’s game, with particular scrutiny placed on Sage’s decision to flip earlier in the season while in the majority. Sophi earned praise for her social game and relationships across the cast, while no love was seemingly lost between Savannah and Kristina when the latter pressed Savannah to name one family member for each juror — a pointed moment meant to highlight her limited social connections outside her core alliance. She attempted to answer, but struggled to name several, which she openly acknowledged.

In the end, Savannah still won in a 5–2–1 vote, with Sophi finishing as the runner-up and Sage receiving one vote. With her command of the late-game strategy, a crucial immunity win, and a clutch fire-making victory, Savannah outwitted, outplayed, and outlasted the competition to become the Sole Survivor.

A trailer for the highly anticipated Survivor 50, which premieres Wednesday, Feb. 25, was shown following the finale.

Related: ‘Survivor’ Ultimate Fan Cafe Is Coming to Miami for the Show’s 50th Anniversary