Hello everyone!

First off, I’d like to thank the hosts for putting on and running such a fun and amazing Survivor game! It has been a thrill, and aside from a few hiccups with challenges at the end, this has been one of the best-run games that I’ve ever been lucky enough to be a part of.
I’d also like to thank Julia, Spencer, the jury, and the pre-jury for sharing in this experience with me, and making it as great as it was. If you all are like me, you played this game because you enjoy the competition, and you love the game of Survivor. I’ll never get to play the actual game on TV, so this is about as close as it gets. I’ve had a blast getting to know you all and I know that I would not have made it this far if not for my allies and the relationships that I made.

You all might look at me and say, “Oh James, he’s such a nice guy and I really like him, but what did he do in this game? Why does he deserve my vote?” I’d like to try and answer that for you here briefly, before answering any questions that you might have.

As soon as the game began, I knew that I needed to get in with the strongest players on my tribe so that I would be in the number majority from the start.
I saw immediately what this game was - a bunch of chiefs running around trying to gain control and out muscle each other. As much as I wanted to be a chief too, I knew that I couldn’t play that same game. In a game packed with Alphas, I realized that I had to be the Beta…and so that’s what I did.

I made alliances with Spencer and Marisa on days 1 & 2 in order to protect myself.
Then, Michelle and I were sent to the nu-Ki tribe where even though I was in a much tougher spot, I did my best to get to know as many of the people from the Coast faction as I could. Michelle had to leave the game, which left me as the only Ki on a tribe of 9. While Spencer and Julia both sat on their safe and familiar tribes, I had to work to ensure that I was safe with players from different factions and different original tribes.
We swapped again, and I was once again put in the position of trying to bond with people that already had connections with each other just so that I could survive.

When the numbers got so low that I recognized that I was in danger, I was able to mutiny my way into safety. Or, at least……I could have run to safety had I gone to the tribe that had my alliance on it, the nu-nu-Sakai tribe. Instead, I decided to take a chance and mutiny to the nu-Ozato tribe, which was comprised of players from other tribes and factions. It was a risk, but I knew that making connections with Caleb, Kat, Eliza, and Sydney at that point would help me in the long run, much more than the promise of immediate safety.

When we merged, I found myself in the situation of actually having options. Options that I built through my social game. I had my original Ki alliances and partnerships with other players. I had put myself in a position where I wasn’t the biggest challenge threat or the strongest social target. While other players were able relax through the game in relative safety because of numbers, I found that I was in a better spot because I had taken the chance to get to know and rely on other players and depend on the relationships that I had built. I won’t say that luck had nothing to do with the way that things went. I was extremely lucky with the way that things fell at certain points in the game. The difference is, when I was able to do things to control my own destiny, I tried to make the correct choices for myself. When that happened, I was usually right.

I was non-threatening player when the occasion called for it, but I stepped up when I needed to.

I made moves when I felt like I had to throughout the game. When I had to save myself, I worked my ass off to make sure that I survived.

I tried my best to lie only when I felt that I had to…like when I was protecting an alliance, attempting to gain information, or when I was on the lookout for items and idols.

I stayed loyal to my alliance through it all. My friendship with Spencer was the one constant companion through the whole game. He was a valuable partner through it all…from day 1 to day 39.

You might say that I played an “under the radar” game and act like it’s a bad thing, but I’d like to say that the type of game that I played was essential for me to get to the end. I really wanted to be a player that made big moves throughout and won all the immunities, but I realized early that if I wanted to get to the end I would have to play a different game…one where I depended on relationships and being non-threatening rather than being loud and having my game on display for everyone to see.

I look forward to shining a brighter light on some of the individual moves that I made in the game. I had a strategic reason for each and every move that I made. Every decision that I made was thought out with the next move (and the move after that) in mind. I tried to get to know everyone and enjoy them on a personal level (as much as possible with the restrictions of our game), and treat everyone with respect. I didn’t want an alliance with everyone in the game, but a working relationship was essential to my survival. I know that I couldn’t have made it to the end without each and every one of you…and I know that you could all just as easily be sitting up here with or instead of me.

In the end, as you look at the three of us, I hope that you will vote for the person who outwitted, outplayed, and outlasted the best. I believe that without a doubt you will see that I am the one that deserves your vote for sole survivor.

Thank you.