Survivor 49 finalist Sophi Balerdi reveals the reasoning behind her late-game decisions

Survivor 49 finalist Sophi Balerdi offered a detailed account of the strategic choices that defined the closing stretch of the season. She explained why she had not moved against Savannah Louie or Rizo Velovic sooner and how those decisions shaped her path to the Final Tribal Council.

Finishing second behind Savannah, with Sage Ahrens-Nichols in third, Balerdi emerged from a finale that underscored how narrow the margins can be at the end of Survivor.

Following the Survivor 49 finale, in a recent interview with TV Insider, Balerdi addressed questions surrounding her late-game approach, particularly her loyalty to the Tres Leches alliance and her decision not to use the Knowledge Is Power advantage to strip Rizo of his idol when the opportunity arose.

The alliance, which included Balerdi, Savannah and Rizo, dominated the post-merge phase of Survivor 49 and consistently deflected attempts by other players to break them apart.

Savannah’s run of four individual immunity wins defined much of the endgame, repeatedly shutting down plans to vote her out.

Rizo, meanwhile, survived despite his idol being public knowledge for most of the merge, using persuasion at Tribal Council to redirect votes elsewhere.

Balerdi held one of the most powerful tools in the game, but delayed its use until it was no longer effective, a choice that became a central talking point after the season ended.

Survivor 49 and Sophi Balerdi’s endgame choices

Balerdi explained that her decision-making at the Final Four centered on balancing résumé-building with self-preservation. She won final immunity and was faced with choosing who would make fire. She said, 

“So that whole day, I was contemplating two things. One was either putting Savannah on fire or putting myself in fire against Savannah, which would’ve been a boss move.”

Instead, Balerdi opted to send Savannah and Rizo into the fire-making challenge. She said, 

“With everything I’d gone through in that game, I felt like I deserved to be in those final three seats. I earned the final immunity. I had survived a disaster tribe. I went to the most tribal councils out of anyone, voted the most people out of my season.”

She acknowledged the risk of sitting next to Savannah, who ultimately won Survivor 49. Balerdi said,

“I knew it was going to be harder with Savannah, but sitting next to them that I could potentially win.”

Her hope, she explained, was that Rizo would eliminate Savannah in fire, leaving a Final Tribal Council scenario she believed favored her.

“Me, Rizo, and Sage sitting there, I think I would’ve had a good chance to win it.”

At Final Tribal, Balerdi entered with modest expectations. She said, 

“I mean, I’ll be honest, sitting next to Sav, I knew I was not going to win. So I went into final tribal ready to throw everything at the wall, give it my all.”

She later recalled that Savannah told her just before the votes were read, 

“You just won this game.”

That outcome did not materialize, but Balerdi took pride in receiving votes. She said, 

“I thought I had no votes sitting next to Sav, so the fact that I had some, I was so proud of myself because she’s such a dominant player.”

Savannah’s résumé included four immunity wins, a fire-making victory and a reward challenge win, a combination Balerdi described as overwhelming.

Balerdi was more confident about her chances against Rizo. She said, 

“Now with Rizo, I had a couple of jury members tell me that had I sat next to them, I would’ve won.” 

She attributed that to her social game and shared credit for many strategic moves attributed to Rizo.

“A lot of the moves that we saw Rizo make on the screen, him and I did together.”

The question of why Balerdi did not target Savannah earlier came up repeatedly during Survivor 49. According to Balerdi, timing and circumstance repeatedly worked against her. She said,

“A lot of the time, when I was going to make a move, she would just save herself by winning immunity. So it looks like I’m just talk, not trying to actually act on it.”

At the Final Six, Balerdi planned to use Knowledge Is Power on Rizo and vote out Savannah, but that plan collapsed when Savannah won immunity. At Final Five, Balerdi said she could have joined Kristina Mills and Sage to vote Savannah out. She said, 

“Had Savannah not won that, we would’ve voted her out there too. But she always won when she needed to.”

One of the most scrutinized moments of Survivor 49 was Balerdi’s choice to target Steven Ramm’s Block a Vote instead of Rizo’s idol. In hindsight, she acknowledged the miscalculation. She said, 

“Now that I know Steven’s advantage wasn’t takeable, and I kind of looked silly, obviously taking the idol was a better move.” 

At the time, Balerdi believed removing Steven would earn greater credit with the jury. She said,

“I thought that yes, taking a Block a Vote is less flashy and sexy than taking an idol, but I knew taking Steven out with the perception of the jury was a bigger move than taking Rizo out.”

She added that she was unaware that Steven had to play the advantage before Tribal Council.

“That screwed me,” she said.

Balerdi described the twist as part of the game rather than unfair. She said, 

“It’s part of the way Survivor goes. I think it was a trap for me, and I fell for it. I should have taken the idol.”

She emphasized that even after the mistake, a path to victory still existed. 

“I still could have won if Rizo won fire, so who knows?”

At Final Tribal, Balerdi believed her social connections helped secure votes from MC and Kristina.

“For sure. That’s what they told me,” she said.

She highlighted moments that were not shown on television, including naming Savannah’s family members during questioning. 

“I was able to do it because I did have those social relationships.”

Looking ahead, Balerdi made it clear she is open to returning to Survivor. When asked about Season 50, she said, “Yeah, 100%.” She added, 

“Something tells me that my story’s not finished.”

With Savannah and Rizo both cast for Survivor 50, Balerdi acknowledged the sting of being left out but expressed motivation rather than bitterness. She said, 

“Runner-ups, they have so much more to prove than even winners.” 

As Survivor 49 settles into the franchise’s history, Balerdi’s explanations offer clarity on decisions that were debated throughout the season.

Her path to the finale, shaped by loyalty, timing and calculated restraint, ultimately left her one vote short of the title but firmly embedded in the strategic conversation surrounding Survivor 49.

Stay tuned for more updates.