Dee Valladares has been crowned the winner of Survivor Season 45, beating the likes of Austin Li Coon, Jake O’Kane, Katurah Topps and Julie Alley in the finale.
The jury voted for the 26-year-old entrepreneur Dee Valladares in a 5-3-0 vote, beating Austin Li Coon and Jake O’Kane. Earlier in the episode, Katurah Topps and Julie Alley were eliminated, just missing out on making it to the final tribal council of the season to make their case for why they deserved the $1 million prize.
Ultimately, it was Dee’s three individual immunity wins, strong social game and genuine connections that bolstered her impressive crowning as Survivor‘s latest champ. And her key move of secretly clueing Julie in on the plan to vote her out, which Austin only learned about in front of the jury.
“Girls are better at playing guys than the other way around!” Austin said with a laugh after the votes were read. “All good!”
After Dee won final immunity, she ultimately chose to bring Austin, who she was in a showmance with, to the end with her, pitting Katurah and Jake against each other in the fire-making challenge.
Jake proved victorious and gave the Boston lawyer a much-needed resume boost heading into the final tribal council after his various blunders in the last two immunity challenges (including losing a puzzle piece and actually being ousted from an obstacle after breaking a piece of equipment).
Still, it wasn’t enough to net Jake any votes from the jury, with Dee proving that, sometimes, you don’t need a “big move” or idol to win Survivor in the modern era.
At the end of the finale, fans got their first look at season 45, which, in keeping with the current extended running time, will also have 90-minute episodes when it premieres on Feb. 28, 2024.