Where does Survivor 35 winner Ben Driebergen stand on winner rankings?

The end of another Survivor season means another chance to update the winner rankings — so where does Ben Driebergen stand in them? Trying to rank 35 winners is no easy undertaking and it’s one that we’ve struggled with for a rather long time now. We’ve actually gone back and forth between Kim Spradlin and Boston Rob at the to of the leaderboard for many years.

If you want to view our full winners rankings, you can do that over at the link here. The purpose of this article is to try to explain where we have Ben.

For now, Ben is the 26th-best winner in Survivor history.

This was a tough ranking to determine because as a person, a motivational figure, and a reality TV character, we like Ben a lot. He gave a great exit interview and we really think he’ll use the money well. Yet, this is not a ranking of most likable or interesting winners. It’s who played the best overall game.

What Ben did really well this season was fight his way to the end. After he played three immunity idols in a row and then also won the fire-making twist, it’s pretty easy to praise him for doing everything that he did. He never gave up and he constantly worked to ensure his safety. He also was a part of one really entertaining strategic move when he decided to be a double agent for a little while at the time of the JP vote. He was also aware enough to realize when people were coming after him.

On the flip side, the fact that Ben needed to play so many idols speaks somewhat to a flaw in his game. He can be abrasive and commandeering out there to some players and was given the “King Ben” title because of it. He was also somewhat fortunate that A) nobody after the tribe swap wanted to throw a challenge to get rid of him and B) nobody on the merged tribe could be bothered to watch him during his search for idols.

There are some clear comparisons between Ben and Mike Holloway, another guy who won his way to the end (but with immunity necklaces). Mike is significantly higher up, and the biggest reason for that is that there’s less luck involved as a variable. Were it not for that surprise final four twist, Ben wouldn’t be the winner of the season. Even with that he’s still a better winner than some other players, but if this was old Survivor Ben would’ve finished fourth.

Where do you think Ben stands in the pantheon of great Survivor winners over the years? Share in the comments below! We’re going to be back soon to talk about where the season overall stands, as well.

If you do want to get some more news all about Survivor, our suggestion is rather simple: Like CarterMatt on Facebook now! (Photo: CBS.)