Based off spoilers and what prediction markets were indicating, many Survivor fans felt they knew going into the season 50 finale who made up the final 3.
Well, a final spoiler was given during the live finale on May 20 that confirmed it. But this time, it came from none other than the show’s longtime host, Jeff Probst, who inadvertently revealed the loser of the final 4 fire making challenge.
Maybe it was too much Corona – yes, Probst shared some cold ones with members of the cast on stage as part of a promotion earlier in the night.
Or maybe it was the fact that the “Survivor” production team and Probst were rusty in hosting their first live finale in over six years and 11 seasons.
But regardless, Probst spoiled that Rizo Velovic was the final member of the jury and that he lost to Jonathan Young in the final 4 fire making challenge before it was shown on TV.
How did this happen? Just as Velovic and Young were set to battle in fire making at tribal council where the winner would make up the final 3, along with Aubry Bracco and Joe Hunter, the show went to commercial. Probst, who was moderating the finale during the live finale, brought out Velovic onto the stage in what proved to be a massive miscue.
After asking him about his gameplay, he then told the player who calls himself the Man, the Myth, the Legend to take a seat with the fellow jury members who were on stage in the auditorium.
There was just one problem.
The episode had yet to air the fire making challenge, spoiling the result to viewers that Velovic lost.
Watch the moment here:
Social media reacts to Survivor mistake of Jeff Probst announcing Rizo losing fire making
After the commercial break, Probst acknowledged the miscue but joked that it was the final “twist” of the season.
He then brought Rizo back for a final chat.
And the challenge actually took place where viewers already knew the result. Rizo indeed lost to Jonathan in a challenge that was no contest.
Rizo became the final member of the jury for the second straight season, losing in fire making for a second time.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Survivor fans react to Jeff Probst’s mistake during live season 50 finale
Reporting by Christopher Kuhagen, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
