Savannah Louiewas counting the days until theSeason 49 finale of "Survivor."
Not only did she reveal that she won the reality competition series and the $1 million prize on Wednesday, Dec. 17, but she also confirmed that she would return for the upcoming 50th season alongside her ally Rizo Velovic.
The 32-year-old news anchor-turned-marketing strategist swayed over the jury in a 5-2-1 vote against runner-upsSophi Balerdi and Sage Ahrens-Nichols. The finale was the first all-women final three since the Season 29 San Juan del Sur finale, which aired over a decade ago in 2014.
Despite finding herself at the bottom of the merge, alongside Velovic and Balerdi, she navigated her way to the top relying on her competitive instincts, core allies and four immunity challenge wins.
Running on two hours of sleep and loads of caffeine, the California native spoke to USA TODAY about her underdog story in Season 49 and shared how she found out she was cast for "Survivor 50."
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
You played such a great, unique game that we don't really see from many winners. You were very authentic in yourself, while also lying, because it's still "Survivor." Could you talk about finding that balance between being your true self and playing the game?
I grew up watching the show, and when I was watching the old school "Survivor," I always appreciated how authentic some of these people were when they would put themselves on camera. And to finally be able to be part of the show, I told myself, "I am going to give it all."
People are going to know me 100% and they might love me. They might really hate me, but either way, I want them to be fully equipped with everything that I am and know me through all of this. And so that was my mindset going into the show.
Some of my strengths can come across as really polarizing and maybe intimidating at times, and maybe rub people the wrong way. Still, I think that I was able to find a way to lean into those strengths to not win every jury vote, of course, but basically to get enough jury votes to ultimately win at the end.
I'm thinking about you being perceived as a villain on the show. You talked about liking Jonny Fairplay and praising Russell Hantz. A lot of the most iconic players are villains. So, whether it's a compliment or an insult, do you agree that you are a "Survivor" villain?
I would say I'm a villain light. You watch some of the old seasons of "Survivor," and you see people who are truly diabolical. I look at my game, and I'm like, OK, I played pretty hard. I did rub people the wrong way. That I guess, is the quality of a villain. I played aggressively, and I was a bold player, too.
If you want to call me a villain, put me alongside people likeParvati (Shallow), Tony (Vlachos), Boston Rob (Mariano), Jonny Fairplay, and Sandra (Diaz-Twine), all people who have been called villains before. Yeah, I will gladly take that title and run with it. That is a huge compliment to me.
Before going on the show, you praised winners like Kim Spradlin and Dee Valladares, who played from the top and had control over every vote. You, Rizo and Sophi played from the bottom at one point and still had control of all the votes.
I think my game is so interesting because for the first half, I was playing from the top. I was in a great position where I had really nothing to worry about. And it kind of was a dominant game, similar to Kim and Dee's, until the merge, and I found myself at the very bottom.
I got punched in the face at a merge, so to speak, and I had to readjust my strategy. And at that point, there was no way I was going to play like Kim or Dee, because they hadn't really been in that position. And so I'm glad that I was able to forge my own way forward with two amazing allies.
I'm grateful that it happened the way that it did, because playing from the top and the bottom are two very different experiences, and I think it's the hallmark of a good player if you can get through both.
We've got to talk about the "Tres Leches" alliance. Let's start with Sophi. I know that before you even knew her name, you already gravitated towards her. What was that connection and how did that play in the game?
This sounds so silly, but she really did remind me of a friend from back home. We're both short, have similar vibes and similar fashion choices. She literally was wearing these platform sneakers, and I was like, "Oh, those are so cute. Like, that's something I would wear."
When we connected on the Hina Beach, that connection just grew. We both loved "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City." We both like to talk about how badly we needed to get a massage ASAP. There's something to be said about having a true personal connection with someone in the game that could really help get you through.
Rizo, on the other hand, was this pairing no one expected. You didn't really have similar personalities. What was it about Rizo that you gravitated to?
Oh my gosh, his energy is just so infectious. And I said Sophi reminded me of a friend from back home, for Rizo, he was family. For me, I have a little brother. He's the same age as Rizo. We have similar mannerisms. They're both goofy and silly and full of life, and they just bring such positive light energy to any group that they're with.
And for me, Rizzo was literally like my brother out there. And I wish, I wish you were able to see a little bit more of our connection, because it does look like it was purely strategic at times. He's a great strategist; I will align with him any day of the week, but for me, it was so much more than that.
If Rizo got to make it to the final three, how do you feel like you would have fared? Are you nervous about how that would have turned out?
It's so hard to say, because I don't know if I would have won, and that's not to knock my game or anything like that, but we all played really wonderful games. I think that some of the votes that Rizo may have gotten were votes that I got at the end there. And I think also people clearly didn't love me, and I don't know if people loved Rizo either, and I'm very curious how that would have shaped out.
Part of me thinks maybe Sophi might have actually been able to pull out a win there.
Kristina's question asking you to name each jury member's family memberswas such a big moment in the show. It was very uncomfortable, but also felt very much like old-school "Survivor." Obviously, there are no big regrets because it worked out, but at the moment, did you have any regrets about not getting to know the family members more?
I appreciate Kristina's question. She's totally valid to ask that. That's the beautiful thing about being on the jury: You can ask whatever you want.
But at that point, dude, [in] my mind, like I could not remember. And even with Rizo, for example, I had talked to him for 25 days, we've talked about his girlfriend, Liz, like a million times. And even when I was going to him, I almost forgot his girlfriend's name. I'm bad with names, but get me out there when I'm starving and not sleeping and I'm sorry, there's no chance.
A lot of my conversations with people weren't necessarily about remembering a family member's name; it was more about what drives you? What are you passionate about in your life? Why are you the way that you are today? And you know, I apologize for not remembering a family member's name, but I don't know if people could remember my family member's name, and I would still think that we connected on a level.
Another disappointing moment was not winning that final challenge and beating that record for most immunity challenge wins by a woman. Can you talk about that defeat, and do you feel like you could have done it?
I'm maybe someone who's always going to be a little optimistic. I think that not winning, even though it would have been so incredible, was probably a good thing for my game.
I think it was important for me to show, at the very end, that everybody, including my closest ally, wanted me out of the game.
When Sophi sent me to fire. I was not happy about it at the time, clearly, but at the end of the day, I do think it almost served me well. Not because I necessarily won the fire-making challenge, but it just showed and illustrated that nobody wanted me here, and I was able to dodge all of these bullets and still make it to the very end and truly encapsulate the surviving part of "Survivor."
I didn't even think about that, because obviously, you played a social strategic game and you didn't have immunity all the time, but a lot of the time you did, so it's important to show people actually did want you out.
Exactly. I didn't want to just be a challenge threat. You know what I mean? Like, I wanted to show a little bit more than that.
Lastly, we need to talk about "Survivor 50." It's now revealed that you and Rizo are on it. A lot of people suspected that was the case, but you couldn't confirm it. When did you realize you're going to be on "Survivor 50"?
It was literally the day after the final tribal council, a couple of hours before we boarded the plane to the US.
I was called into a room. I see Jeff on a computer, and I thought he was going to congratulate me, or something like that, on the win, and then he starts going into 50 and I'm like, "Oh my gosh, I feel like he's playing a trick on me, there's no way this is real." But it was so incredible, and I felt just so humbled to be even asked and considered for it.
I grew up watching the show. And you didn't know at that time who all was going to be on 50, but you hear rumblings and rumors about people who are possibly going to be on the season. To even be in the same sentence or let alone the same beach as some of these icons, it's crazy and mind-blowing and just so freaking cool.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:'Survivor 49' winner Savannah Louie talks about 'that' jury question
