Ben Driebergen
Born: January 1, 1983
Hometown: Boise, Idaho Occupation: Marine Seasons: Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers; Winners at War Placing: Winner (Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers); Fifth (Winners at War) Tribes: Levu; Yawa (v2); Solewa; Sele; Yara; Koru Total Challenge Wins: 16
Days Lasted: 76 Votes Against: 7 (11 Cancelled out with Hidden Immunity Idol) Awards: Strategy With A Smile (Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers); Best Strategic Move (Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers); Bamboozled! (Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers); Super Hero (Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers) |
Survivor: Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers
Ben was placed on Levu, Ashley Nolan and JP Hilsabeck immediately wanted to work with Ben due to his strength and perceived trustworthiness. Ben initially was close to Alan Ball, but that relationship worsened after Alan Ball went off on JP and Ashley. When Levu lost the very first Immunity Challenge, Ben joined the rest of the tribe in voting out Katrina Radke. Following her elimination, Ben became closer to Chrissy Hofbeck after the latter identified Ben as the best possible ally in this tribe. However, any further action with his fellow Levus was put on hold as a Tribal Switch occurred that put him on the Yawa with three Sokos (Mike Zahalsky, Cole Medders, and Jessica Johnston) and one Yawa Lauren Rimmer. Ben and Lauren became close as the only non Healers on the new Yawa tribe. Cole rubbed Ben the wrong way with his eating habits, and both Ben and Lauren tried to turn Mike against Cole. However, Yawa won the next three Immunity Challenges.
At the Merge, Ben was a swing vote between Soko Alliance and the remaining Heroes and Hustlers, the latter two groups which banded together. Lauren initially wanted to work with the Healers, but Ben's relationship with Chrissy and his rivalry with Cole caused him to prefer the Heroes and Hustlers. This led to the pagonging of the original Sokos until the final 9. During that process, Lauren told Ben about her Extra Vote advantage, Ryan Ulrich told Ben about his Hidden Immunity Idol, and Joe Mena tried to use Ben's marine status against him. Ben started to gain a target on his back as the leader of the majority alliance, referred to as "King Arthur" which would dub his alliance The Round Table. On Day 25, Lauren won a reward and included Ben, Ashley, and Devon Pinto to discuss making a move against JP, Chrissy, or Ryan Ulrich. This plan was also fueled by Devon's lack of trust in Ryan after he told both Devon and Ben about his Hidden Immunity Idol. During the reward, Ben found a second merged idol (the first being in Ryan's possession). Back at camp, Devon nominated Ben to act as a spy by voting for Mike in order to gain information from the new minority after the vote. The plan worked as his alliance and Joe and Mike blindsided JP, and Ryan and Chrissy had no idea Ben was involved.
For the next few days, Ben pretended to be betrayed by Ashley, Lauren, and Devon, much to Joe's amusement. After Chrissy won the next Immunity Challenge, Ben suggested to his alliance that they take out Joe because he was no longer needed. However, Ben's status as a strong player began to worry his allies. Ashley and Lauren considered voting Ben out before Joe, but Devon was unsure. Ultimately, they blindsided Joe and flushed Ryan's idol, relegating Mike to the minority along with Ryan and Chrissy. Returning from Tribal Council, Chrissy found out that Ben was playing double agent and called him out on it which caused the two to argue. On Day 31 Ben met his wife Kelly at the loved ones. Chrissy won the Reward Challenge and took enjoyment in preventing Ben from spending time with his wife. Things continue to heat up on Day 33 as Lauren, Devon, and Ashley were caught by Ben planning to vote him out. Ben tried to target Lauren, who had found the re-hidden idol as well as her extra advantage. Panicking for numbers, Lauren gave Mike half of her idol as a sign of trust. At Tribal Council, Mike threw Lauren's idol in the fire which allowed Ben to successfully eliminate his target in Lauren, despite needing his own idol to negate everyone else's votes against him.
At that point, Ben became the undisputed target. All the other contestants made it explicitly clear, though Ben continued to try to find other avenues. Unable to convince the tribe or win immunity, Ben resorted to finding idols and then taking out his chosen targets. On Day 36, Ben found his second idol moments before going to Tribal Council and played it before the votes were cast, and Ashley was sent home. On Day 37, Ben played his third idol (which he found hours after the previous Tribal Council) normally and forced a tie between Devon (his target) and Mike (who received Devon's vote). Mike was voted out in the revote. With no more idols in the game, Ben thought he needed to win immunity to ensure he made it to the end. He came close on multiple occasions in what was a back and forth Final Immunity Challenge, but was unable to capitalize and Chrissy won the challenge. However, a twist changed the Tribal Council from a standard vote to a forced fire-making challenge. Chrissy saved Ryan and forced Devon and Ben to participate in the tiebreaker, in which Ben succeeded.
At the Final Tribal Council, Ben's argument to the jury was that he was constantly playing hard in all facets of the game, especially in finding Hidden Immunity Idol. He was applauded for finding idols, but panned (particularly by Joe) for his weak social game, which Ben explained was the most difficult part of the game for him due to his PTSD from his marine tenure. Ben's astounding idol finding run and his ability to beat the odds and make it to the end were preferred over Chrissy's dominance in Immunity Challenges and Ryan's subtle gameplay, and he was awarded the title of Sole Survivor in a 5-2-1 vote. Also inspite of Joe's final tribal comments, his social game was deemed by jurors, especialy the majority of the early jurors and the Healers former tribe, to be superior to the often abrasive Chrissy and Ryan.
At the Merge, Ben was a swing vote between Soko Alliance and the remaining Heroes and Hustlers, the latter two groups which banded together. Lauren initially wanted to work with the Healers, but Ben's relationship with Chrissy and his rivalry with Cole caused him to prefer the Heroes and Hustlers. This led to the pagonging of the original Sokos until the final 9. During that process, Lauren told Ben about her Extra Vote advantage, Ryan Ulrich told Ben about his Hidden Immunity Idol, and Joe Mena tried to use Ben's marine status against him. Ben started to gain a target on his back as the leader of the majority alliance, referred to as "King Arthur" which would dub his alliance The Round Table. On Day 25, Lauren won a reward and included Ben, Ashley, and Devon Pinto to discuss making a move against JP, Chrissy, or Ryan Ulrich. This plan was also fueled by Devon's lack of trust in Ryan after he told both Devon and Ben about his Hidden Immunity Idol. During the reward, Ben found a second merged idol (the first being in Ryan's possession). Back at camp, Devon nominated Ben to act as a spy by voting for Mike in order to gain information from the new minority after the vote. The plan worked as his alliance and Joe and Mike blindsided JP, and Ryan and Chrissy had no idea Ben was involved.
For the next few days, Ben pretended to be betrayed by Ashley, Lauren, and Devon, much to Joe's amusement. After Chrissy won the next Immunity Challenge, Ben suggested to his alliance that they take out Joe because he was no longer needed. However, Ben's status as a strong player began to worry his allies. Ashley and Lauren considered voting Ben out before Joe, but Devon was unsure. Ultimately, they blindsided Joe and flushed Ryan's idol, relegating Mike to the minority along with Ryan and Chrissy. Returning from Tribal Council, Chrissy found out that Ben was playing double agent and called him out on it which caused the two to argue. On Day 31 Ben met his wife Kelly at the loved ones. Chrissy won the Reward Challenge and took enjoyment in preventing Ben from spending time with his wife. Things continue to heat up on Day 33 as Lauren, Devon, and Ashley were caught by Ben planning to vote him out. Ben tried to target Lauren, who had found the re-hidden idol as well as her extra advantage. Panicking for numbers, Lauren gave Mike half of her idol as a sign of trust. At Tribal Council, Mike threw Lauren's idol in the fire which allowed Ben to successfully eliminate his target in Lauren, despite needing his own idol to negate everyone else's votes against him.
At that point, Ben became the undisputed target. All the other contestants made it explicitly clear, though Ben continued to try to find other avenues. Unable to convince the tribe or win immunity, Ben resorted to finding idols and then taking out his chosen targets. On Day 36, Ben found his second idol moments before going to Tribal Council and played it before the votes were cast, and Ashley was sent home. On Day 37, Ben played his third idol (which he found hours after the previous Tribal Council) normally and forced a tie between Devon (his target) and Mike (who received Devon's vote). Mike was voted out in the revote. With no more idols in the game, Ben thought he needed to win immunity to ensure he made it to the end. He came close on multiple occasions in what was a back and forth Final Immunity Challenge, but was unable to capitalize and Chrissy won the challenge. However, a twist changed the Tribal Council from a standard vote to a forced fire-making challenge. Chrissy saved Ryan and forced Devon and Ben to participate in the tiebreaker, in which Ben succeeded.
At the Final Tribal Council, Ben's argument to the jury was that he was constantly playing hard in all facets of the game, especially in finding Hidden Immunity Idol. He was applauded for finding idols, but panned (particularly by Joe) for his weak social game, which Ben explained was the most difficult part of the game for him due to his PTSD from his marine tenure. Ben's astounding idol finding run and his ability to beat the odds and make it to the end were preferred over Chrissy's dominance in Immunity Challenges and Ryan's subtle gameplay, and he was awarded the title of Sole Survivor in a 5-2-1 vote. Also inspite of Joe's final tribal comments, his social game was deemed by jurors, especialy the majority of the early jurors and the Healers former tribe, to be superior to the often abrasive Chrissy and Ryan.
Voting History
Episode |
Ben Voted For |
Voted For Ben |
1 |
Katrina Radke |
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7 |
Jessica Johnston |
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8 |
Desi Williams Desi Williams (Re-Vote) |
Joe Mena |
9 |
Cole Medders |
Cole Medders |
10 |
--- |
|
10 |
Joe Mena |
--- |
11 |
Hidden Immunity Idol (Ashley Nolan, Chrissy Hofbeck, Devon Pinto, Lauren Rimmer, Mike Zahalsky, Ryan Ulrich) |
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12 |
Hidden Immunity Idol |
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13 |
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13 |
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Jury Vote: Cole Medders, Desi Williams, JP Hilsabeck, Joe Mena, Lauren Rimmer |
Survivor: Winners at War
Ben was originally on the Sele Tribe and was impressed with Rob Mariano and his game, falling victim to Rob's magnetism as he told him that Danni Boatwright had thrown out his name. Originally, the group had eyes on Adam Klein and Denise Stapley for going off for a long period of time. However, after losing Immunity, Rob shifted focus to Natalie Anderson, wanting to split her up from Jeremy Collins. The vote went through as planned and Natalie was voted off.
After losing Immunity again, Danni wanted to blindside Parvati, but Boston Rob wasn't going to let his main ally go, so he began to target Danni and got enough votes to vote her out.
They then lost their second Immunity Challenge in a row and wanted to blindside Parvati. However, Adam told Rob the plan and when Robv told Jeremy and Michele Fitzgerald about Adam's playing both sides, they considered voging Adam out instead. However, they still wanted to cripple Rob's alliance, so they instead voted out Ethan Zohn.
There was then a Tribal Switch that saw Ben, Adam and Rob end up with Sophie Clarke and Sarah Lacina. Rob, Ben and Adam didn't trust each other but originally were planning on sticking together. Rob implemented his infamous "Buddy system" that saw the three guys stay at camp all day to avoid the girls persuading anybody. However, Ben and Adam didn't like Rob's dictatorship, so they went with the girls anyway and voted him out.
The Tribes then Merged and Ben was on the right side of the numbers, joining other big threats Tyson Apostol and Jeremy to get out some of the smaller threats. Originally, Jeremy wanted to vote out Nick Wilson, but Ben told Jeremy that the alliance had decided that they wanted Wendell Holland out because he is perceived as the biggest threat. Jeremy was reluctant but went along with it and Wendell was voted out.
The next time, Adam went to a few people and proposed that they vote out Sarah. However, Tony and Ben were close to Sarah and they moved to protect her, focusing the vote on Adam instead. Since Adam was already known as untrustowrthy, it wasn't hard to convince people. They decided to split votes between Adam and Nick and Adam was voted out.
Battle lines were then drawn as the majority alliance split into two alliances, bringing the outsiders with them in the process. On one side was Ben, Tony, Sarah, Sophie and Nick. On the other side was Kim, Tyson, Denise, Michele and Jeremy. Ben's alliance was targeting Jeremy, viewing him as the biggest threat in the game. However, at Tribal, Jeremy played his Safety Without Power advantage, allowing him to leave Tribal so that he couldn't be voted out but would also not be able to cast a vote. Sarah then played her Steal A Vote advantage to steal Denise's vote. Kim would play her Hidden Immunity Idol on Denise but Ben's alliance voted out Tyson.
Ben was angry at Jeremy for escaping the vote and refused to talk to him going forward as they planned to vote him out. Kim and Denise abandoned Jeremy and Michele and joined them in their plans to split the votes between Jeremy and Michele. However, Tony and Nick flipped on Ben's alliance and joined Jeremy and Nick in blindsiding Sophie.
The next day, Tony healed his relationship with Ben and Sarah and assured them that he is still with them. Ben still wanted Jeremy out, but Tony suggested that Tony, Ben, Jeremy, Sarah and Nick join together to vote out Kim, who is a massive threat to win the game. Ben and Jeremy temporarily patched things up and Kim was voted out.
In the following days, it was a war between Jeremy and Ben. Jeremy and Michele were aiming to vote out Ben, while Ben and Sarah were on par to vote out Jeremy. Tony and Nick seemed to be in the middle but they sided with Ben and Jeremy was finally voted out.
Now that the biggest target was out, Ben, Sarah and Tony were on track to the Final Three. They had to choose whether to vote out Nick or Denise. Nick and Michele were aiming for Denise, but Ben's alliance sided with Denise and Nick was voted out.
Natalie would then win her way back into the game and Michele won Immunity. Natalie was the easy target but Tony thought they should throw votes at Denise, convinced that Natalie had a Hidden Immunity Idol. However, Ben and Sarah didn't think she did, so they stuck with voting for Natalie. Natalie would play her Hidden Immunity Idol, prompting Tony and Ben to both play their Idols as well. The votes were cast for Natalie and Ben, so they had to re-vote for either Denise or Sarah and it was Denise who was voted out.
Back at camp, it was clear that Natalie and Michele were together and since Tony and Ben coudln't find the Idol, they were sure that Natalie or Michele has it. Natalie and Michele tried to get Sarah to vote out Ben but she wouldn't consider it, going to Ben to hash out a plan. However, Ben told Sarah that if she wanted to, he would give her his blessing to vote him out in order to pad her resume. Sarah was extremely emotional about it and eventually decided to vote out Ben, sending him to the Jury.
After losing Immunity again, Danni wanted to blindside Parvati, but Boston Rob wasn't going to let his main ally go, so he began to target Danni and got enough votes to vote her out.
They then lost their second Immunity Challenge in a row and wanted to blindside Parvati. However, Adam told Rob the plan and when Robv told Jeremy and Michele Fitzgerald about Adam's playing both sides, they considered voging Adam out instead. However, they still wanted to cripple Rob's alliance, so they instead voted out Ethan Zohn.
There was then a Tribal Switch that saw Ben, Adam and Rob end up with Sophie Clarke and Sarah Lacina. Rob, Ben and Adam didn't trust each other but originally were planning on sticking together. Rob implemented his infamous "Buddy system" that saw the three guys stay at camp all day to avoid the girls persuading anybody. However, Ben and Adam didn't like Rob's dictatorship, so they went with the girls anyway and voted him out.
The Tribes then Merged and Ben was on the right side of the numbers, joining other big threats Tyson Apostol and Jeremy to get out some of the smaller threats. Originally, Jeremy wanted to vote out Nick Wilson, but Ben told Jeremy that the alliance had decided that they wanted Wendell Holland out because he is perceived as the biggest threat. Jeremy was reluctant but went along with it and Wendell was voted out.
The next time, Adam went to a few people and proposed that they vote out Sarah. However, Tony and Ben were close to Sarah and they moved to protect her, focusing the vote on Adam instead. Since Adam was already known as untrustowrthy, it wasn't hard to convince people. They decided to split votes between Adam and Nick and Adam was voted out.
Battle lines were then drawn as the majority alliance split into two alliances, bringing the outsiders with them in the process. On one side was Ben, Tony, Sarah, Sophie and Nick. On the other side was Kim, Tyson, Denise, Michele and Jeremy. Ben's alliance was targeting Jeremy, viewing him as the biggest threat in the game. However, at Tribal, Jeremy played his Safety Without Power advantage, allowing him to leave Tribal so that he couldn't be voted out but would also not be able to cast a vote. Sarah then played her Steal A Vote advantage to steal Denise's vote. Kim would play her Hidden Immunity Idol on Denise but Ben's alliance voted out Tyson.
Ben was angry at Jeremy for escaping the vote and refused to talk to him going forward as they planned to vote him out. Kim and Denise abandoned Jeremy and Michele and joined them in their plans to split the votes between Jeremy and Michele. However, Tony and Nick flipped on Ben's alliance and joined Jeremy and Nick in blindsiding Sophie.
The next day, Tony healed his relationship with Ben and Sarah and assured them that he is still with them. Ben still wanted Jeremy out, but Tony suggested that Tony, Ben, Jeremy, Sarah and Nick join together to vote out Kim, who is a massive threat to win the game. Ben and Jeremy temporarily patched things up and Kim was voted out.
In the following days, it was a war between Jeremy and Ben. Jeremy and Michele were aiming to vote out Ben, while Ben and Sarah were on par to vote out Jeremy. Tony and Nick seemed to be in the middle but they sided with Ben and Jeremy was finally voted out.
Now that the biggest target was out, Ben, Sarah and Tony were on track to the Final Three. They had to choose whether to vote out Nick or Denise. Nick and Michele were aiming for Denise, but Ben's alliance sided with Denise and Nick was voted out.
Natalie would then win her way back into the game and Michele won Immunity. Natalie was the easy target but Tony thought they should throw votes at Denise, convinced that Natalie had a Hidden Immunity Idol. However, Ben and Sarah didn't think she did, so they stuck with voting for Natalie. Natalie would play her Hidden Immunity Idol, prompting Tony and Ben to both play their Idols as well. The votes were cast for Natalie and Ben, so they had to re-vote for either Denise or Sarah and it was Denise who was voted out.
Back at camp, it was clear that Natalie and Michele were together and since Tony and Ben coudln't find the Idol, they were sure that Natalie or Michele has it. Natalie and Michele tried to get Sarah to vote out Ben but she wouldn't consider it, going to Ben to hash out a plan. However, Ben told Sarah that if she wanted to, he would give her his blessing to vote him out in order to pad her resume. Sarah was extremely emotional about it and eventually decided to vote out Ben, sending him to the Jury.
Voting History
Episode |
Ben Voted For |
Voted For Ben |
1 |
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2 |
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3 |
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5 |
--- |
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8 |
--- |
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9 |
--- |
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10 |
--- |
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11 |
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12 |
--- |
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13 |
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13 |
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14 |
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14 |
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14 |
For Sole Survivor: Tony Vlachos |
Trivia
- Ben is the third castaway from Idaho, the first two being Sherri Biethman and Taylor Stocker.
- Ben is the oldest male member of the original Levu tribe.
- Ben is the first person to negate every single vote but his own with a Hidden Immunity Idol. He would be followed by Denise Stapley on Winners at War.
- Ben holds the record for the highest percentage of votes negated with the Hidden Immunity Idol at roughly 85.71%.
- Ben is the first castaway to play an idol at three consecutive Tribal Councils.
- Ben is the first person to play an idol before the votes were cast under the current rules.
- Ben has the shortest time between playing an idol and finding another one, finding his third idol the in the same night he played the second idol.
- Ben holds the record for the most votes cast against a Sole Survivor, receiving 11 votes in Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers.
- Of all Sole Survivors, Ben played the most "imperfect" game, receiving 11 votes against him and losing 3 Jury votes, totaling up to 14 votes lost.
- Of all Sole Survivors, Ben played the most "imperfect" game, receiving 11 votes against him and losing 3 Jury votes, totaling up to 14 votes lost.
- Ben is the second castaway to become the Sole Survivor after winning a Fire-Making Challenge, following Bob Crowley. They would be followed by Wendell Holland, Chris Underwood, and Tony Vlachos.
- Ben is the first Sole Survivor to share a birthday with a previous Sole Survivor. Both he and Denise Stapley were born on January 1.
- Ben is the first person to become the 15th member of the Jury.
- Ben is one of ten winners (along with Tina Wesson, Sandra Diaz-Twine, Yul Kwon, Earl Cole, Todd Herzog, Natalie White, Tony Vlachos, Sarah Lacina, and Tommy Sheehan) to win Survivor without winning individual immunity.
- Of all Sole Survivors, Ben played the most imperfect game, receiving 11 votes against him and losing 3 jury votes, totaling up to 14 votes lost.