[SPOILER ALERT: Read on only if you have already watched the finale ofSurvivor: Ghost Island.]
Wendell Holland did not get the most jury votes atSurvivor: Ghost Island.
Yet the 33-year-old furniture builder still won a million dollars and was named Sole Survivor.
CBS
How shocked was Wendell by the tie?
Did he know he had Laurels vote?
We asked the newestSurvivorchampion all that and more just minutes after the reunion show was over.
Heres what the champ had to say.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So, first off congratulations!WENDELL HOLLAND:Yeah, its feeling good man.
I bet it is.
So, lets get into it.
Im sure you were doing the math in your head heading into that final Tribal Council.
There were people that I thought would vote for me that ultimately ended up not voting for me.
We had a brother-sister relationship out there.
Not great enough, apparently.
The first five people out in the jury voted for Dom.
The last six people out or in the finals in the case of Laurel voted for you.
There was a point at which the remaining people from the jury started having a conversation about my name.
It speaks to some part of my endgame, I think.
So I was very thankful for that shift.
I just thought,Man maybe I should start making these big plays.
And Im regretful for that decision because thats not the person I am.
So, good idea, not the best execution.
He was also coming after you a little bit at that Final Tribal.
Yeah, weve been friends, but no, we got to kill each other now.
I would have fought Dom at that point.
We both want that million dollar, so its not surprising.
And I just had to prepare myself for that and stand up for the game that I played.
And I thought that I did that all right.
[Laughs]I knew that I didnt want to go anywhere near the orange color for anything.
But Angela was willing to sit there so I was willing to go to the purple table.
And I think that it just gave me a little extra edge to get that fire made.
Maybe Dom should have sat next to me and put his fire making skills to the test.
Who do you think wins if he does that?I win.
Lets switch it then.
Lets say you win that final immunity challenge and everythings reversed: What would you have done?
[Laughs]I would have done what he did.
And I would have won.
But yeah, going forward, I think well see more things like that.
NEXT PAGE:Wendell on why he almost formally contested Laurels challenge win and if hes play again.
What was your best move of the game and what was your worst move of the game?
My worst move of the game?
I think there were two.
Early on after the first flop, the third vote out was Morgan.
And they just put all their votes on Morgan.
Now, those four votes could have went my way or Doms way.
They could have taken any of us out.
And I knew that!
I ran the numbers!
And she was like, No, I have Libby 100 percent, were good.
I thought worst-case scenario, but I didnt act on worst-case scenario.
That was a bad decision on my behalf.
If we have the numbers or whatever, you cant trust those people.
And that would have ended my game, I would have been the third boot.
Thats not me, Im not somebody that needs to do that to Donathan.
Hes a sweetheart and hes a good kid.
And yeah, I didnt love doing that.
What was your best move then?The best move in the game?
There was a time when I gave Sebastian a shell.
He found a shell and he wanted to save it for a particular reason.
And he hid it and I just felt like a flop was coming.
And I felt like I would be on Sebastians tribe.
And from that point, we became good friends.
And in the long run, it helped me.
I got his vote in the long run, but also he started working with me a lot.
There were a lot of conversations that I had where I had deep conversations with castmates.
And made strong relationships with the players, and those kinds of moves were my stronger moves.
My social moves were my stronger moves out there.
Did you ever consider formally contesting the result of that challenge when you didnt call Jeff over?
My ego wanted me to contest Laurel beating me at that moment.
The competitor in me wanted to contest it, the attorney in me wanted to contest it.
I didnt hear Jeff at the beginning say, The first person to call out my name.
No, I didnt hear that.
I heard, The first person to finish the slide puzzle.
I finished the slide puzzle first.
I wanted to say something more, but at that point I had to pick and chose my battles.
I knew Laurel was with me and it panned out.
And I didnt have that mistake that would haunt me in the long run out there.
And I dont want to spend it.
I want to make my money work for me invest it, save it.
I dont want to go buy a nice car.
I have the little things that I really am thankful for.
And I just want to be very smart with my money.
Id go back out there in a heartbeat.
But, Id go back out there if ever given the opportunity.
And for all theSurvivorscoop, follow Dalton on Twitter@DaltonRoss.
