Who will win ‘Survivor’ 50? Rob Mariano reveals he’s rooting for castaway he coached before filming began
‘Survivor’ fans must remember Rob Mariano, aka Boston Rob, a renowned name in reality TV, especially after winning ‘Survivor: Redemption Island.’ While the currently airing ‘Survivor’ 50 is about to end and reveal the winner, Rob opened up about who he has been hoping would win. In his interview with USA Today, Rob noted, “These next couple of challenges mean so much. But it’s still anybody’s game.” Earlier, viewers witnessed five remaining contestants moving forward towards the ‘Survivor’ 50 finale. They are Jonathan Young, Rizo Velovic, Aubry Bracco, Joe Hunter, and Tiffany Ervin. According to Rob, it could be “anyone” who would put themselves in the best way in front of the jury. However, he has been hoping that Jonathan Young from Season 42 will win.
For the fans who may not know, Rob has helped Young ahead of his participation in ‘Survivor’ 50. They used to play tennis together, and Rob saw himself in Young. “I watched his gameplay, and I told him, like, things that I think he could improve upon, how he could play better, things I would avoid. And I kind of gave him a little bit of my playbook,” stated Rob. He recalled telling Young, “You’re not me, you can’t play like me, but you can play like you. And if I were you, this is how I would play.” The last elimination on the CBS show featured one of the strong contestants, Cirie Fields, going home. After her elimination, Rob believes Young could win the game.
Apart from him, Rob had also been rooting for Lusth. However, he was eliminated during the May 6 episode. Before his blindsiding elimination, Lusth was on his way to tying Rob’s record for having the most individual immunity challenge wins on the show. But it all ended after he was sent home with a 4-1 vote from fellow participants. Recalling Lusth’s elimination, Rob stated, “I do feel bad about the way he went out; it was kind of tough to see him meet the same fate.” Unlike Rob, his children were not rooting for Lusth, “My kids were happy when he was voted out. I was sad, but they were happy. ‘Like, daddy, you get to keep your record,” he recalled.
Viewers must remember that Rob has appeared on the show five times. His first time participating on ‘Survivor’ was back in Season 4 (2002), followed by Season 8 (2004), where he met his wife, Amber Mariano. Later, he was also part of Season 20 (2010) and Season 22 (2011), during which he won the $1 million cash prize. After that, he also returned in Season 39 (2019) alongside Sandra Diaz as a non-competing mentor. For the upcoming ‘Survivor’ Season 50 finale and winner reveal, Rob would be in Los Angeles. The winner will be announced live from the United States for the first time since 2019 (Season 39).
