‘Survivor: Philippines’ rankings: Where can Abi-Maria go now?

Since we are doing our “Survivor: Philippines” exit press with Pete Yurkowski at a different time than usual on Monday, we are changing things up a little bit here when it comes to getting our rankings online earlier than usual. So really for this one week only, we are going to be taking a step forward into the future for the show before taking one last look back at the past.

We always consider a number of different variables when crafting these rankings, and this time it is no different: alliances, strategy, and even to an extent edit are all a key component in trying to figure out just how much longer some of these castaways will be a part of the game.

7. Abi-Maria Gomes (last week: 7) – Being that she has no alliance at the moment, it’s hard to rank Abi anywhere else. With that being said, however, do not be too surprised if she somehow finds a way to navigate through the current pacts and finds a way to survive for at least another week or two. After all, why get rid of someone who would be a sitting duck during final tribal council? Some things just don’t make very much sense.

6. Jonathan Penner (6) – Penner made a very dumb and almost incomprehensible move last episode by telling Skupin and Lisa that he wanted to wait before making a final four deal. Even if he did not want to make said alliance, he should have still pretended as though he did. Now, the four-person alliance of Skupin, Lisa, Denise, and Malcolm have an easy target if they so choose.

5. Carter Williams (4) – With Carter, this is more guilt by association. The only way we could see him leaving before Penner is if the returning player somehow wins immunity, and Abi-Maria works herself into the dominant alliance for at least a little while. If he does leave, though, is anyone really going to miss him?

4. Malcolm Freberg (1) – While we’ve ranked Malcolm at the top quite a bit this season, there is one thing that still makes us rather nervous: that he keeps getting to be a target thanks to having the hidden immunity idol. The fact that he has not played it twice is smart since he didn’t need to, but it makes us wonder if he is susceptible to a blindside in the next week or two.

3. Denise Stapley (2) – With Malcolm out of the game, Denise would probably be the easiest target. Plus, here is what we would do if we were Skupin or Lisa: form an alliance with Abi-Maria, take her to the final five, and then use her to get rid of the two people who would likely beat you in a vote at the end.

2. Michael Skupin (5) – Despite all of his injuries and strange moves in the game, Skupin has tripped his way into being in a great position now with Lisa. We still don’t know how he wins save for going to the end with Carter and Abi-Maria, that is unless he pulls off some sort of great argument about beating the odds.

1. Lisa Whelchel (3) – The more this incredible season progresses, the more we are impressed by Lisa’s game. Her move to make a final four alliance here was brilliant in that rather and allowing someone else to control her position (in Penner), she and Skupin made a move of her own. She is really playing this game all-out, and most importantly she’s still doing it in a way that is not going to make people hate her on the jury.

Who do you think is the best player right now? We want to hear some more of your thoughts below!