Parvati Shallow Wins Survivor

Fans Versus Favorites

In this sixteenth installment of Survivor, the twist in the show was Survivor fans versus past show favorites (not sure how Johnny Fairplay is considered a favorite). Since the "favorites" knew what was in store for them on the tiny island of Micronesia, it's no surprise that none of the fans made it to the finale. It did, however, surprise a lot of people that none of the male favorites made it to the finale either. The last three standing at the final tribal council were:

• Amanda Kimmel – This former beauty queen finished third in Survivor: China.
• Cirie Fields – This smart mother of three was cast off after making it to the final four in Survivor: Panama.
• Parvati Shallow – This model/boxer/waitress/non-profit organizer made it to sixth place in Survivor: Cook Islands.

Black Widows

As the alliance between the three ladies grew stronger, apparent leader of the pack Parvati gave the group the moniker "The Black Widow Alliance." Why pick an overused, clichéd name for the group? Well, by the way they spun the men into their web, mostly by shameless flirting on Parvati's part. Obviously, this simplistic game plan worked as the three ladies charmed their way to the top three spots. Even though Cirie and Amanda didn't win the top prize, don't feel bad for them, they both left with a sizeable sum of cash.

The Prize Money Breakdown

Given the success of the show, it doesn't come as a shock that the prize money went up substantially as compared to past seasons. Here's the breakdown for Survivor: Micronesia:

• $1 million for the last person standing
• $250,000 for second place
• $175,000 for third place
• $115,000 for fourth
• $85,000 for fifth
• $25,000 for the first person voted off the island