Previously, on Survivor: The game began as two teams, working together to win challenges. Then, at the merge, ten players had to work as individuals to progress to the coveted final two. Now, at the final two, these final two players, Bart and Mike, will have to face the jury consisting of 7 players voted out just prior to them. This seven person jury will determine the winner of the game. Here is the final tribal council, in which Bart and Mike must plea for votes. Click here to go directly to the juror votes.
MIKE'S OPENING STATEMENT

Ahem ...

::clears throat::

Hey guys. How's it going? So, we're all excited to be here tonight, eh? Ah, that's right ... you all hate me because I'm here with Bart and you're not. Well ... I guess this is my time to justify why I'm here rather than you all on the jury, so I'll go ahead and give it my best shot.

I came into this game ready for anything. I was ready to lie to people, ready to backstab, and ready to take it all the way to where I am now, in the final two. I was going to play heartless, and I was going to give it 102%. This would have been something new for me, because I've never played a game like that before in my life. But, the reason I say "would have been" is because that is not what happened.

The first few days of my stay here I met some people, and over the course of my stay in Siberia I came to like some of them. In particular, Kim, who I had been aligned with since Day 1 out here. Well, I learned something about myself, and that is that I can't do it. I can't play a Survivor game heartless. I can't go back on a word I give, I can't break a promise. I want to, but I mentally could not do it.

And so, the reason I stand before you all tonight is because of the certain promises I made in this game, and how I got from satisfying one to the next, without getting voted out.

The first promise I made on Day 1 to myself. That promise was that Kim and I would get into the final two together. I also promised this to Kim, but I don't think she knew those were my exact plans until a little later in the game. Anyways, that was the first promise I made, and I would do everything in my power to uphold that promise.

All was going well. Olkhon was dominating in the challenges, and if the cards fell right after the merge, it would indeed be possible to uphold this promise.

But then we had the dreaded switch. Hey, no biggie. Olkhon still had majority on both tribes. But, just in case the Olkhon tribe screwed it up somehow (which they ended up doing anyways, lol), we were going to throw immunity and vote out Bart. But alas, immunity was such that it would be difficult to throw. We failed in doing so because of Maria's talent in making the SOS sign (which I have yet to see, by the way! Damn, gotta wait till the episodes ...). This was the point where I took a short vacation from the game and left Kim and Eric to fend for themselves and for myself while I was unavailable to participate. Upon my return, a merge had occurred, a "deal" had been made, and I was on the chopping block. Who did I have to thank for this? Probably myself, but I can't be so sure. But, I couldn't do much for myself at that time as I hadn't spoken at all with Bart (whom the deal had been made with), so I just hoped that all went well in the end. Indeed it did, as it was obvious Kim and Eric convinced Bart to vote with us, and luckily, we didn't even have to go through with the tie because of James' vote.

The next tribal council I knew I needed immunity, as I wasn't so secure with Bart yet. So, I won it for myself.

And my fears had indeed come true. Bart switched his vote, and because of ... technicalities ... with our alliance, a vote was not cast, a tie was not forced, and my final three alliance partner Eric had been removed from play. Now I really needed to pull some strings to get things to work out.

So, in comes promise # 2. This promise, made to Bart, was that he would fill Eric's shoes in the final three. I had to promise him the final three so he would go along with us (knowing that we wouldn't dump him one all of Baikal was gone). Again, I was willing to break this promise, but obviously, my heart got in the way and I could not.

So, anyways, after a fierce tribal council in which a little luck gave the Bolkhon alliance (Bart+Olkhon) the upper hand, we proceeded to eliminate the Baikal threat.

And then promises 3 and 4 were made at the same time to the same person.

Bryan approached me in hopes of getting the privelage of staying longer in the game than Bart, as he felt it would be a disgrace for Bart to remain in the game (or something to that extent). Of course, because of my promise to Bart about getting to the final three, I had to decline to Bryan. But I wanted to mend the uncomfortable situation somehow, so I promised Bryan that Bart would not get into the final two, and I promised him as well that Bart would not win the game.

From then on it was just a matter of who went next, and when.

I'd like to comment on Blair's vote. Blair, as you can read above, it was because of my promise to Bart that I could not vote for him and had to indeed vote you out at that time. I know you were wondering about that, so there it is.

Anyways ... The final four. To the best of my ability, I tried keeping my promise with Kim. It failed. Miserably. Bart went ahead and tried to save himself. Which he succeeded in, but alas, ended up in the removal of my final two partner. The first promise I made had been broken.

So, we're now in the final three. Looks like the second promise I made has been indeed kept, but alas, Bobo, you were also with us. I KNOW I promised not to take Bart into the final two, but unknown to all, I promised myself before the switch even that a Baikal would not win this game, and I definitely thought of Bart more of an Olkhon than I did Bobo. Plus, I didn't want to sit next to someone who would just tell me to sniff and wiff (no offense Bobo).

There remains one more promise that is yet to be fulfilled. We'll see how well I do with that one, lol. But anyways, as you can see, it was all a matter of promises that I tried to keep to get here. They worked my way into my strategy, and so I am here now in the game without having ever lied on purpose (you could say I was lying to Bryan and to Kim and all, but at the time I was not purposely doing it). I'm feeling pretty good about how I played this game, and I hope thats enough to earn just a little of your respect so that I might indeed earn the title of sole survivor.

Thank you 

BART'S OPENING STATEMENT

Hello jury members. I'm not going to sit here and beg for your vote tonight, because frankily, I don't know if I deserve them. Throughout the game I've lied, backstabbed, gone against my word, and I probably wasn't pleasant to be around. However, there is one thing I want to say to you all tonight. That even though there can only be one winner, we all got the chance to participate in something great. I wish you all luck in your futures and I hope I can talk to you "outside" the game. Later everyone!

JUROR NUMBER ONE: ERIC

Well, I'm not for sure what to say tonight, because I'm not for sure whether what I will say here can influence the jury or not. I come out of this game having done what I wanted to, in that I did at least make the jury and merge, but I was upset at the way things went down late in the game. Mike, you would've been the first member of the jury if it hadn't have been for that immunity challenge. And you certainly wouldn't be sitting in the final two if it weren't for the work that myself and Kim did. I worked my ass off at coaxing Bart, and at the point that I almost had him on our side, Kim decided to run her mouth on and on and almost screwed everything up. Then is was good old Blair, who couldn't vote, which ended up sealing my fate. Neither of you two voted agaisnt me, which is one good thing in your favors.

First off, Bart.....when I switched to your tribe, it was almost planned thing that we would vote you off. We could have easily threw the challenge and had you outta there, instead, we ended up sacrificing an Olkhon. I don't feel you owe anything to us for not voting you out, you certainly ended up being true to your word later on and voting with us. Bart, you felt in a vulnerable position within the Baikal alliance, and voted with the Olkhon people for a few tribal councils. I'm sure you upset your original tribemates who are on the jury tonight by voting them out, but please realize that Bart did what was best for him, and given you were in that situation, I know for a fact that all of you would have.

Now, we have Mike, the other half of the final two. You proboably should have gone when I did, and that is when you deserved to go. Myself and Kim did all of the work during the switch and the early merge, and we saved your ass from going the week of the merge. Never really got a 'thanks, guys', a 'I realize I was vulnerable and I'll shapen up', or anything. You have played this game letting the others do your dirty work, and sitting back and feeding off of the results. I personally do not think you deserve to be in the final two, Kim deserved to be there much more than you did.

I think everyone has proboably determined their votes before coming to this final jury questions/statements sections, so I doubt anything I say will be taken into account for, and the Baikal people will proboably all vote for Mike simply because they are angry for Bart at what he did. Don't vote based on hurt feelings. Mike, I like you a lot as a person, but you played the game like s hit. You don't deserve to be there, I'm not for sure if Bart is the most deserving player of all, but he definately deserves to win more than you. I hope this little tirade doesn't cost you the game, Bart, but it needed to be said.

Gosh, that was long.....anyways, at more than one time, I made a promise, agreement, and/or implied agreement that I would vote for you if you were in the final two. Hence my dillema. In a stupid little way to let both of you have an equal chance to take my vote, pick a number between 1 and 10.

MIKE'S ANSWER

The answer I shall choose is 5.

BART'S ANSWER

I choose the number 8, because in the game of pool there are 16 balls (1-15 and the white ball). The white ball is the ball that is the last one standing. I choose 8, because it is the last ball you hit in the hole.

JUROR NUMBER TWO: MARIA

Mike I never got to know you very well but you always seemed like a good guy. I hope you win Survivor Siberia. Good luck to you.

My question to Mike and Bart is this: What if anything about this game surprised you the most?

Well I just want to congratulate you two on making the final 2! It's very hard to get to that far, and you two did a great job. I honestly believe that you both deserve to win. If Bobo was in the final 2 with one of you, I would definately vote for the other person, so it's a much harder vote to make. I will consider this vote very seriously, and I'll try to make the best decision that I can make. So here's my question to you two. How did you get to the finals? You can say a quality or events or anything. That's all I wanted to ask. You both did great jobs, and congratulations again!

BART'S ANSWER:

Probably the thing that surprised me the most in this game, were the people. Coming from where I live, I don't know all the groups of people out there. And some players in this game were sort of a culture shock. But this game has given me something that will help me for the rest of my life, to accept people for whom they are, and don't judge them until you've met them. The journey to the final 2… It was rough, I lied, backstabbed, and I probably wasn't the best person to be around at times. At times I believe I really don't deserve to be here. There were players in this game that played the game nice, and were always there for you. But the thing that kept me going in this game was my unwillingness to give up. I don't like to give up, and I tried my damnest not to.

MIKE'S ANSWER:

Hmm, good question. Well, the most surprising thing in this game I think (other than Bobo's sudden immunity win) was the dedication most of the players had to the game. I mean, I play a lot of online games, and there are many times where its sickening because you feel like you're the only one on your tribe, and I felt like for the past 39 days there was always someone online to talk with, so in an online games standpoint, that was what surprised me about this game. And I am glad it happened, as well.

JUROR NUMBER THREE: CIPHER

hello mike, bart, and my fellow jury counterparts.

before i begin, let me just clarify that what happened to me in this game did not, and does not, bother me. i've already let some of you know my perspective on the game, and it is merely that; i lost a game. i wasn't enraged, i wasn't sent into self denial or a comatose state of paranoia. i didn't even pause to think about the game until my jury duties were requested. because, frankfully, i don't shed a single care.

the two of you are obviously in the final positions because you have both played the best game. however, just because you've made it thus far, doesn't hold you in any high regard to me at all. i browse through all of your faces, and they all look the same, to me. i don't distinguish one from the next.

i did not encounter any real, lasting impressions, and i would rather avoid future speaking to all of you. not because i'm bitter, but because most conversation during and after my stay in the game consisted of nonsubstancial babble and/or unconstitutional whining.

i will not judge either of the final two based on what they've lacked to learn from the game, how frequently they've betrayed or backstabbed, or how disgraceful i found them towards humanity. the game will remain a game, i won't take it personally, although ugliness and imaturity was indeed abundant. and please stop speaking like machines.

my vote will be based on how close you correctly define the word 'cipher.' knock yourselves out.

MIKE'S ANSWER

\Ci"pher\, n. 1. A character which, standing by itself, expresses nothing, but when placed at the right hand of a whole number, increases its value tenfold.

2. One who, or that which, has no weight or influence

BART'S ANSWER

\Ci"pher\, n. 1. A character which, standing by itself, expresses nothing, but when placed at the right hand of a whole number, increases its value tenfold. 2. One who, or thatwhich, has no weight or influence.

JUROR NUMBER FOUR: KIM

Well I just want to congratulate you two on making the final 2! It's very hard to get to that far, and you two did a great job. I honestly believe that you both deserve to win. If Bobo was in the final 2 with one of you, I would definately vote for the other person, so it's a much harder vote to make. I will consider this vote very seriously, and I'll try to make the best decision that I can make. So here's my question to you two. How did you get to the finals? You can say a quality or events or anything. That's all I wanted to ask. You both did great jobs, and congratulations again!

BART'S ANSWER

I got to the finals in a way that I am somewhat ashamed about. I lied & backstabbed people who had put so much trust and belief into me. I don't know if I really deserved to make it to the final 2, because I had to lie to people that I believed in, and I thought were amazing people. And in the end, I lost some of my friends in this game.

MIKE'S ANSWER

*sigh* ... Refer to my opening statement LOL.

But, to sum it up (I guess), I played with honor and dignity (yada, yada, yada ... all that cliche crap).

Heh, I dunno. I just played the game to the best of my ability to such a point where I am not dissappointed in the game, and to such a point where I can truthfully say that I've made friends in this game (even after they were voted out). So, whatever that way was, I think it worked, but we'll see.

JUROR NUMBER FIVE: BLAIR

Congrats on making it this far Bart and Mike, I think that both of you played the game the best and deserve to be here. You both risked positions to get here and that obviously payed off. Good luck to both of you.

Question: If you could choose two people to be in the jury who aren't who would they be?

MIKE'S ANSWER

Hmm, let me think about this one. Well, I can't speak for Carl, Tonnya, or Bambi as I have never met them, so I'd have to say that I would have liked to see Robert get into the jury as he was a pretty hardcore player over in Olkhon. I feel as though the switch cut him short. I'd probably also say that about Noelle, even though I didn't get as close with her in this game as I did with Robert.

BART'S ANSWER

I would have to say Bambi & Noelle. I would choose Bambi, because she was a sweet, caring, girl who was absolutely amazing. I truly feel she is a great person. The other player I would have to say is Noelle. I've never met her, but from what I've heard she is a great girl, and was a great player.

JUROR NUMBER SIX: BOBO

all of u guys are weasels...and smell like them too... all i got to say is sniff and wiff and enjoy your little lives and u guys can sniff all ya want cuz there is plenty to go around for
i dont kno who should win so i'll just base it on this question, who do u like better Ichiro or Shinjo

BART'S ANSWER

Ichiro

MIKE'S ANSWER

Well, tough question. As I'm not much of a fan of the japanese baseball league, I can't say that either of them appeal to me more than the other.

Thus, I will choose Shinjo for no particular reason. 

NOTE: BRYAN WAS UNABLE TO ASK A QUESTION, BUT DID VOTE.

MIKE'S CLOSING STATEMENT

Well, I don't know much else that I am able to comment upon. I hope that everyone in the jury (and those not on the jury, for that matter) had fun with this game. I know this has been one of the best games I've ever been in. I'm glad I was cast and had the experience to meet and make friends with some of the best people I've ever met online.

So, no matter what your vote tonight, its all good. Kathy's loss of Survivor: Marquesas will be avenged!

SOMEONE FROM VERMONT'S GONNA WIN IT!



Thank you all  It's been a blast.

BART'S CLOSING STATEMENT

Bart had no closing statement.

Click here for footage of the final tribal council not seen - the chat transcript. It's sure to bring some laughs, and has some extra questions that you did not see. Click here!