Tina Wesson

TINA WESSON - A CASE STUDY

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Opening:

Voting strategy is dependent upon the social dynamics and relative strength of the individual players in the tribe. This is as much true at the beginning of the game as it is at the end and any discussion of strategy has to begin with a summary of the individual players in the tribe.

Amber: PP-player. She is not a leader, but Amber has the ability to get herself into the dominant group. She formed a very early relationship with Jerri and was obviously putting her support there.
Colby: AP-player. Colby was most definitely looking to be a N-player by the endgame but, for now, was keeping a lower profile. As the most obvious alpha-male of the group, his support was being sought by the two rival factions and he was keeping his options open at this stage. Ironically, in the later seasons of the game, players like Colby are usually distanced from the tribe as being too threatening. He had formed an early relationship with Tina but was also expressing loyalty to Jerri and her posse. He likely saw Tina as his ace in the hole but was laying low and letting others take the spotlight until he saw how things shook down.
Jerri: AU-player. The early dominant personality of the tribe and the closest thing the tribe had to a leader at this stage. Jerri had formed a support group very early, led by Amber and Mitchell and rounded out, she hoped, with Colby. Jerri was an overly aggressive player who alienated many members of the tribe and didn't understand the importance of, or was incapable of creating, a solid tribal dynamic.
Keith: PP-player. A solid tribe supporter but not one to build his own alliance. He will ally with others that he respects and likes. Keith felt his skills around camp should be enough to carry him deep. I don't think he had a game plan beyond that.
Kel: PP-player. Another tribe player who felt the skills he feels he brings to camp, and his athleticism, should be enough to carry him on. He seemed to lack either the ability or the desire to make strong relationships and soon found himself the most isolated player in the tribe.
Maralyn: PP or AP-player. Tough to call the type as it was her lack of athleticism that saw her go, and we never got an opportunity to see whether there was a strategic game there. One thing for sure, she had tremendous social skills and demonstrated rock solid convictions. Personally, I think she would have been a gamer if given the opportunity.
Mitchell: AU-player. Mitchell seemed to enjoy playing the opposing forces within this tribe and, like Jerri, didn't understand the importance of building a team as opposed to playing it catty.
Tina: AP-player. Tina made an early partnership with Colby, but also seemed to have a very strong relationship with Maralyn, though it is difficult to tell whether this extended to a formal alliance. I suspect not.

D-players: Amber, Colby, Jerri, Mitchell
T-players: Keith, Kell, Maralyn, Tina

Tribal Council 1 - Day 6 - Boot: Kel

Votes:
Amber, Colby, Keith, Jerri, Maralyn & Mitchell voted Kel
Kel voted Jerri

Tina voted Kel

Despite winning two of the first three challenges, it was clear that Ogakor was tribe in trouble as Jerri took on more and more the mantle of leadership. Type-5 players are dangerous to the whole tribe, and Ogakor had two of them leading the show: Jerri and Mitchell. This was the tribe's central problem and it needed to be dealt with. Instead the tribe followed the path of least resistance and voted out Kel, compounding the problem by further supporting Jerri's hold on this tribe while getting rid of one of their most contributing players around camp and, more importantly, in the challenges. Moreover, Kel was showing no interest in building alliances and seemed not equipped to play the social game. He also appeared the loyal tribe player, making him an ideal T-player.

At first, it appears that Tina's vote would not have made a difference, but her opinion holds sway. She most likely could have gotten Keith and Maralyn on board. Colby would have been more of a problem as this would force his hand earlier than he would have liked, but if Tina, Keith, Kel and Maralyn all voted Jerri, it would have left Colby little choice. It may not have come to that as Colby may have seen how much better the tribe would have been with Jerri gone. A more natural structure would have fallen out of the booting of Jerri with type-4s, Colby and Tina, leading strategy aided by type-2s Keith and Kell around camp. Amber would have fallen in line and Mitchell could have made an easy second boot without costing the tribe much.

Rating: Mistake - Tina, along with Colby, Keith, Kel & Maralyn, should have voted out Jerri.

Tribal Council 2 - Day 9 - Boot: Maralyn

Votes:
Amber, Colby, Jerri & Mitchell voted Maralyn
Keith voted Mitchell
Maralyn voted Jerri

Tina voted Maralyn

After winning their first two challenges, Ogakor has now lost their last three and this boot was all about rectifying the situation by taking out their least athletic player. Although there is some logic in this, the evidence is abundantly clear that building a functional tribe with respected leaders plays a far greater role in winning challenges than the athleticism of the individual players. The source of the problem in this tribe is even more obvious than it was three days earlier. Again, the vote should have gone to Jerri or perhaps Mitchell if people were worried about him physically. You would have to decide whether dealing with Jerri after Mitchell is gone would be more of a detriment than carrying the ailing Mitchell. It's a tough call, but either will adjust the leadership to where it belongs.

Tina claims that her vote for Maralyn was one of strategy, and I'm sure that was her reason, but the strategy was unsound. Likely she was still following Colby's lead and Colby's plan was to still play his relationship with both camps in this tribe keeping Tina as his ace in the hole. Tina doesn't have quite the hand she had with the Kel boot as, if Colby was set to voting with Jerri, Tina was left with little viable resource.

Rating: Dubious - Tina, along with Colby, Keith & Maralyn should have voted out Jerri or Mitchell.

Early Middle-game:

Tribal Structure:

Amber -> Jerri
Colby -> Tina
Jerri -> Amber
Keith -> Tina
Mitchell -> Jerri
Tina -> Colby

N-players: Amber & Jerri
D-Players: Colby & Mitchell
T-players: Keith & Tina

Ogakor has played a poor opening game, and Tina was no exception. Jerri's and Mitchell's determination to play the players in their own tribe rather than to play against the players in the Kucha tribe, coupled with Colby's desire to play both sides of the fence and not to step up to his natural leadership position, has left the tribe in a very bad state and the game very quickly slipping out of reach for each of its members. Their bad decisions in tribal council have played out in the challenges. After winning their first two, Ogakor has lost their next three and with Kucha gelling under Michael Skupin's leadership, it was starting to look like just surviving to the merge may be an accomplishment for Tina. But, by the end of the next stage, the tables will be completely turned.

Tribal Council 3 - Day 12 - Boot: Mitchell

Votes:
Colby & Keith voted Mitchell
Amber, Jerri & Mitchell voted Keith

Tina vote Mitchell and Mitchell went out because he had the most previous votes against.

Ogakor had now lost it's last five challenges and have gone to tribal council three consecutive times. They were now about to go down to five players, and the loss of either of the next two immunity challenges would mean almost certain death once the merge hit. Moreover, Colby was forced now to finally make a decision. If Keith were to go, he would be basically forced to ride fourth in the Jerri-Amber-Mitchell alliance and would no longer be able to protect his ace in Tina. More over, Keith going would remove yet another solid contributor to a team that is in desperate need of a win.

Something had to change and Colby finally realized what he would have been so better realizing a week earlier, Jerri or Mitchell had to go. Thanks to votes from exiting players, Colby could actually pick which one and it seems that Mitchell's failing health is what tipped the scales. It is interesting to note, though, that having Jerri still in the game keeps one extra card in Colby's hand. It would have been interesting to see how this vote would have gone if the health factor didn't factor in. Once Colby approached Tina and Keith with the plan to get rid of Mitchell, they would have been fools not to play along.

Rating: Great - Jerri's willingness to play hard for the tribe after this, despite being dethroned, showed that Mitchell was the right decision over Jerri.

New Tribal Structure:

N-players: Colby & Tina
D-player: Keith
T-players: Amber & Jerri

Tribal Council 4 - Day 21 - Boot: Jeff

The tribes merged and five new players have entered into Tina's game.

Alicia: PP-player. Despite an imposing persona, Alicia seemed satisfied riding several rungs down on the social ladder.
Elizabeth: PP-player. Loyal tribe player but not the type to climb to the top of the social structure.
Jeff: AU-player. Jeff seemed to enjoy playing the game but seemed to enjoy stirring desention more than building a team.
Nick: PP-player. I saw Nick as one of the central players in Kucha but when Michael was taken out of the game, his game seemed to collapse around him.
Roger: PP-player. Very loyal to the tribe but likely unwilling to weigh strategic thinking ahead of voting on conscious.

Votes:
Amber, Colby, Jerri & Keith voted Jeff
Alicia, Elizabeth, Jeff, Nick & Roger voted Colby

Tina voted Jeff and Jeff went out because of previous votes against.

There were a couple of fortuitous events that aided Ogakor into going into the late middle-game on top of Kucha. One was Kucha losing their leader to an accident just before the merge which, most certainly, took much of the fire out of them. The other was Kimmi, a member of the Kucha tribe that was later evicted, who flat out told Tina after their first tribal council that the outgoing Debb had put a vote on Jeff. Armed with this knowledge, Ogakor knew exactly whom to go for in the ensuing tie vote. Besides, as the only non-PP-player, Jeff was the one person that may have been willing to stir the pot and perhaps get Kucha into the game.

Having said that, one shouldn't underestimate the change that has occurred in Ogakor since their last tribal council. They were now behaving as a team, happier around camp, and have actually won two of the last three challenges. This sense of team continued after the merge right into the first individual immunity challenge where many of the Kuchas were the first to bail in an endurance challenge, including potential target Jeff, leaving only Alicia to outlast their target Keith, which she couldn't do. The final showing of team was, when they were the last two standing, Tina stepping down to allow the immunity necklace to go to Keith, foiling Kucha's primary target and leaving them scrambling.

Rating: Good - Tina voting any other way would have been foolish.

Late Middle-game:

N-players: Tina, Colby
D-player: Keith
T-players: Amber, Jerri
M-players: Alicia, Elizabeth, Nick, Roger

Tribal Council 5 - Day 24 - Boot: Alicia

Votes:
Amber, Colby, Jerri & Keith voted Alicia
Alicia, Elizabeth, Nick & Roger voted Jerri

Tina voted Alicia.

With Keith winning immunity once again, the door was wide open to remove either Alicia or Nick. It could have gone either way, but I agree with the Alicia call, mostly because she seemed to have her head more into the game then Nick who really had the wind taken out of his sails since Michael's departure before the merge.

Rating: Good - Either Alicia or Nick would have been fine calls.

Tribal Council 6 - Day 27 - Boot: Jerri

Votes:
Colby, Elizabeth, Keith, Nick & Roger voted Jerri
Amber & Jerri voted Elizabeth

Tina voted Jerri

Everything seemed to be shaping up for a continuation of the Pagonging until Nick won the immunity challenge. It appears that the vote was going towards Elizabeth when it suddenly shifted towards Jerri. Whether this was simply affection for Elizabeth, coupled with increasing annoyance with Jerri outweighing tribal loyalty, or an honest strategic move is difficult to say, but one cannot ignore the advantage of removing Jerri over Elizabeth, especially for Tina.

Ever since the Mitchell vote two weeks earlier, Colby had been leading Jerri along that they will keep her to the end. Jerri, having no allies anywhere else - including from the foolish Kuchas - continued to cling to this straw. Perhaps at the start, Colby was honestly keeping his options open, but it seemed that by this stage he was as tired of Jerri as anyone. The thing is, Jerri's support of Colby, which also tagged along Amber's support, gave Colby strength when it came to leading the tribe. The removal of Jerri subtly, but perceptively, shifted that strength to Tina.

As well, Jerri being an aggressive player, would likely have been willing had the Kucha's ever woke up and realized they were supporting the wrong Ogakor members. If Elizabeth were voted out, Nick's and Roger's best play would have been to team up Jerri and Amber and go after the tribal leaders in Tina and Colby. I'm not sure how likely this would have been, but removing Jerri now completely removes the possibility of a coup attempt.

That being said, it's not like going after Jerri was without risks as it required the support of the Kuchas and their best counter play would have been to vote Colby. The fun thing is, they wouldn't have even needed the help of Jerri and Amber. If the Kuchas pretended to play along with Colby and Tina, but then voted Colby instead, it would have been a tie: 3 Jerri, 3 Colby, 2 Elizabeth. After a tie, the two players that are tied don't vote and the remaining players revote and are only allowed to vote for one of the tied players, either Colby or Jerri. Keith and Tina would have voted Jerri but the three Kuchas would stick with Colby, leaving Amber to make a decision, force a tie by voting Jerri or voting out Colby. In a tie, it would have been Jerri that would have gone due to previous votes against but it's hard to imagine Amber voting out an ally from the very early stages of the game over someone who just turned on a tribe mate. Colby almost certainly would have been gone and Amber and Jerri would likely have no remaining feelings of loyalty to Tina and Keith. It would be a whole new ball game.

Rating: Great - Despite the possible counter play by the Kuchas, the situation was read right (turning on Colby never even occurred to them) and the removal of Jerri was the best outcome from Tina's perspective.

Tribal Council 7 - Day 30 - Boot: Nick

Votes:
Amber, Colby, Keith voted Nick
Elizabeth & Roger voted Amber
Nick voted Keith

Tina voted Nick

A Kucha had to go and Nick was the obvious choice. There is no way it could have gone any other way and the Kuchas should have looked ahead and realized that removing Jerri three days earlier gained them nothing.

Rating: Good - A completely obvious vote.

Tribal Council 8 - Day 33 - Boot: Amber

Votes:
Elizabeth, Keith & Roger voted Amber
Amber & Colby voted Roger

Tina voted Amber

Many people love to dump at Amber because she didn't see this coming, but I don't think Colby saw it coming either as I am sure he was her in the final four with him. The problem was, he wasn't running this game anymore, Tina was. Colby apparently knew Amber was going but didn't vote for her knowing that Tina didn't need his support and he was thinking about her jury vote down the road. All this is fine, but it seems clear to me that if Colby were to make the call, it wouldn't have been Amber going.

Like the Jerri boot, this wasn't without an obvious counter play from Kucha, especially with the very dangerous stray vote that Colby threw out. This time, however, they would have needed Amber's support and whether she would have given it or not is unclear. In fact, approaching Amber runs the risk of her going to Colby and Tina for verification which may cause the vote to shift entirely to Roger, but frankly, I think it's a risk worth taking because playing along with Tina and Colby just drags out Kucha's death. It does not increase a Kucha's chance of winning.

The thing is, Tina once again called the situation right and the Kuchas were pleased as punch to play along. Removing Amber is one of the most subtle power plays this game has ever seen. It is not a struggle between rival tribes or alliances, but a quieter struggle between the dominant duo.

Rating: Great - Tina is now firmly in control of this game.

Tribal Council 9 - Day 36 - Boot: Roger

Votes:
Colby & Keith voted Roger
Elizabeth & Roger voted Keith

Tina voted Roger

Once again, it is obvious a Kucha had to go and if one went with both popularity and with strength in the challenges, the choice leans to Elizabeth, but not by a whole lot. What is interesting about the decision going to Roger is that Tina now goes into the endgame with three other players, all of which support her over Colby. She has just about guaranteed her position into the final two no matter how the immunity challenges play out. Was this deliberate on her part? I like to think so.

Rating: Interesting - Roger represents the last of the Colby supporters.

Endgame:

N-players: Colby, Tina
D-player: Keith
T-player: Elizabeth

Tribal Council 10 - Day 37 - Boot: Elizabeth

Votes:
Colby & Keith voted Elizabeth
Elizabeth voted Keith

Tina voted Elizabeth

No real choice here. It interesting to note that the counter of Keith and Elizabeth voting Tina (Colby won immunity) to force a tie doesn't work because of the previous votes on Elizabeth, not that either of these two players would have even thought of playing that aggressively.

Rating: Good - An easy vote.

Tribal Council 11 - Day 38 - Boot: Keith

Votes:
Colby voted Keith

Neither Keith nor Tina voted in this tribal council.

If Tina was destined to lose this game, it would have happened here. Clearly Colby's better play would have been to vote out Tina and go into the final two with the less popular Keith who did little more strategically than ride on Colby's and Tina's coattails throughout this game. Tina's investment in loyalty and support paid off, though, when Colby kept his loyalty to her.

Tribal Council 12 - Day 39 - Boot: Colby

Votes for winner:
Alicia, Elizabeth, Jerri & Keith voted Tina
Amber, Nick & Roger voted Colby

This is really a tough call on the part of the jury, but if I were there I would have voted Tina as well. It was clear that as the game progressed, it was her running the show, not Colby.

Grades:

Opening: C-
Early Middle-game: A
Late Middle-game: A+
Endgame: B

Overall Voting Strategy: B+

Overall Social Strategy: A
Comments: Tina was very well liked and respected by everyone that played with her. Though she let players like Jerri and Colby lead during most of the game, she was definitely controlling the votes in the later stages. Leadership: A-, Social Ability: A+

Overall Rating: A-