Are Younger Players Superior At Playing Survivor?

Throughout Survivor history, Jeff Probst’s beloved reality TV show has welcomed hundreds of players who’ve helped create many seasons of varying quality. Some of those players have been voted out early, been medically evacuated, or even gone on to win the show.

Since Survivor has many fans who are long past the point when they were wondering which seasons to watch first, the show has a very loyal fan following. Many of those fans will recognize that several surprisingly young people have gotten to play Survivor over the years. However, most Survivor fans have no idea how well or poorly Survivor’s youngest players have done in the game.

10 How Well Did Keith Sowell Do When He Played Survivor?

Was 19 Years 10 Months Old

In February 2023, Heavy updated their article about the youngest players in Survivor history. That article revealed that the show has welcomed some extremely young people over the years.

When really young or old people play Survivor, it sometimes feels like they are expected to prove that people like them belong on the show. Unfortunately, if Keith Sowell, who was 19 years old, was an example of how all young people play Survivor, they would be eliminated from the show.

During Keith’s Survivor tenure, he proved how ill-equipped he was for the show. Incapable of making strong bonds with his tribemates and bad during challenges, Keith became the second person voted out. Keith then went to the Edge of Extinction before becoming one of only two players during his season to give up and quit by raising the mast on day 17.

9 How Well Did Brandon Hantz Do When He Played Survivor?

Was 19 Years 7 Months Old

During Brandon Hantz’s Survivor player, he controversially showed a lot of immaturity. For example, Brandon made strange comments about Mikayla Wingle, and he destroyed much of his tribe’s food supplies after losing his temper. That immaturity could partially be explained by the fact that Brandon was 19 years old when he played for the first time.

Despite Brandon’s erratic behavior, he was very successful when he played as one of the youngest people in Survivor history. During Survivor: South Pacific, Brandon came in sixth place and served on the jury.

8 How Well Did Sami Layadi Do When He Played Survivor?

Was 19 Years 6 Months Old

The kind of Survivor player who is enthusiastic to pull moves, Sami Layadi wanted to show off his strategic skills. However, the main thing the 19-year-old Sami proved instead was how likable he was. It is worth noting that Sami lied to his tribemates about his age by telling them he was 22 years old.

Thanks to Sami’s pleasant nature, he was able to jump from one alliance to another. Sami was also able to outlast the merge before his duplicity came back to haunt him. Once the amount of remaining players dwindled down, Sami was the obvious choice to become the twelfth person voted out on day 21.

7 How Well Did Jessica Peet Do When She Played Survivor?

Was 19 Years 5 Months Old

Unfortunately for her, the 19 year old Jessica Peet is one of the least memorable Survivor players on this list.

After Jessica thought she had joined the most powerful alliance in her tribe, Elizabeth Olson singled Jessica out. That resulted in Jessica becoming the first player voted out during her season on day six.

6 How Well Did Natalie Tenerelli Do When She Played Survivor?

Was 19 Years 3 Months Old

During the season that “Boston” Rob Mariano won, the 19 year old Natalie Tenerelli proved to be one of his closest allies.

Memorable for how loyal she was to Rob, Natalie notably seemed to follow his every edict. Ultimately, Rob brought Natalie and Phillip Sheppard to the final tribal council with him. Unfortunately for Natalie, the jury didn’t respect her gameplay so she didn’t get any votes to win and became the second runner-up. Natalie would later be in the running to compete in Survivor: Cambodia — Second Chance, but she didn’t get enough fan votes to make the cut.

5 How Well Did Swati Goel Do When She Played Survivor?

Was 19 Years 2 Months Old

The most recent player included in this list, the 19-year-old Swati Goel played the game during Survivor 42.

Initially, it seemed like Swati was going to go far in the game. After all, Swati built relationships with many of her tribemates, which allowed it to seem like she had many options to move forward with. However, Swati became the fourth player voted out after she tried to take out Drea Wheeler and was deemed duplicitous.

4 How Well Did Julia Sokolowski Do When She Played Survivor?

Was 18 Years 11 Months Old

The first player on this who surpassed a threshold, Julia Sokolowski was only 18 years old when she played Survivor.

Julia proved to be a strategically and socially sound player as she formed bonds with both of the post-merge alliances. However, Julia’s undoing came when Aubry Bracco singled her out for playing both sides, which forced her to more definitively align with Scot Pollard and Kyle Jason. Julia’s timing proved to be bad as Tai Trang then sided with Aubry and their alliance voted Julia out 10th.

3 How Well Did Michael Yerger Do When He Played Survivor?

Was 18 Years 11 Months Old

A dynamic Survivor player at 18 years old, Michael Yerger proved to be very resourceful.

Unfortunately for Michael, he needed to be resourceful as he often found himself at the bottom of the game. However, Michael found two immunity idols and saved himself several times. That only made Michael more of a threat to his tribemates and he became the 12th player voted out of the game.

2 How Well Did Spencer Duhm Do When He Played Survivor?

Was 18 Years 10 Months Old

Another easy to forget Survivor player, the 18 year old Spencer Duhm laid low during the early part of the game.

Over time, the fact that Spencer was socially withdrawn, and he cost his tribe an immunity challenge caught up with him. Spencer became the fifth player voted out after a unanimous vote against him.

1 How Well Did Will Wahl Do When He Played Survivor?

Was 18 Years 8 Months Old

After the announcement of Survivor 47’s cast, Will Wahl remained the youngest player in the show’s history. After all, Will was only 18 years and 8 months old during Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X.

A player who initially seemed quiet, Will didn’t play a huge role in how the game played out early on. However, Will’s decision to flip on Zeke Smith altered the momentum of the game completely. After turning on his original alliance, Will attempted to take control of the game, but his efforts were rejected and resulted in him being the twelfth player voted out.

To sum up, results are generally mixed when it comes to younger contestants playing Survivor.