‘Survivor: Blood vs. Water’ prediction: Who do we pick as the season 27 winner?

We’ve been spotlighting individual castaways on “Survivor: Blood vs. Water” all season long, and we’re now at the point where we take on the difficult responsibility of trying to figure out who is good enough to win the grand prize and the Sole Survivor title.

The way that we’re doing this is pretty simple: We’re not going off of any spoilers for one, so rest assured that we are not out to ruin anything for you. This is based more on gameplay, perceptions that we have gotten from various interviews and videos, how we think the group will mesh together, and even how the jury will vote at the very end. If you agree or disagree, we of course want to hear from you below. Also, click on each castaway name to go to their spotlight article.

20. Colton Cumbie – Let’s be realistic here: The man has no chance whatsoever of winning. Nobody wants to be associated with him, and he’ll be taken out right away regardless of if he wants to change.

19. Rupert Boneham – There is little hope for Rupert this season. He’s too popular, and there are so many other camera hogs that he’ll be a target. He’s also not enough of a threat at Redemption Island to do well.

18. Marissa Peterson – To be honest, the majority of the people on the family tribe could be in better shape than the veterans, and we almost expect there to be a guy’s alliance that forms with Hayden, John, Brad, Vytas, and Caleb.

17. Katie Collins – See what we said above. Katie has little chance.

16. Kat Edorsson – Kat really has no chance of winning the game, so it is probably better for Hayden that she leaves pretty early and make him less of a target.

15. Monica Culpepper – No one wants to see Monica and Brad together at the merge; plus, we also imagine that Laura would not want anyone else trying to take over her leadership role.

14. Vytas Baskauskas – We see this as the first major blindside of the season. Concern gets just a little too high that he will come back with Aras and form a power-duo.

13. Rachel Foulger – The same thing with Rachel and Tyson, who is going to be threatening enough as it is once you make it to the merge (which could happen at 12).

12. Laura Morett – She is a good player, but she also is someone who doesn’t know how to be in charge. No one wants to deal with that deep into the game.

11. John Cody – Things start to fall apart now for that guys’ alliance, as the realization is made that if John is not taken out now, the four guys and Candice could run the table.

10. Hayden Moss – When one of the guys goes, it will be easier for the others. These “Survivor” players are much too arrogant to have someone like Hayden take home the prize.

9. Caleb Bankston – This will be a similar sort of agonizing situation as we have seen in the past, with Caleb going mostly because he’s the kind of guy who could sneak through and win in the end.

8. Gervase Peterson – A nice return for Gervase back into the game, and we think that he will play harder and it will hurt him. People will see him as a threat to win, and that will be the end.

7. Candice Cody – This should feel familiar to Candice, since it’s around the same place she has been taken out twice before. Plus, we don’t think she will have learned anything about pulling the trigger too quickly.

6. Brad Culpepper – He will be kept around this long just to be a human shield (along with a possible immunity run), and the thinking here will be that if he and Tyson fight on Redemption Island (see below), one of them will for sure go.

5. Tyson Apostol – We make the assumption that this is where the Redemption Island returnee re-enters, and that’s Tyson. (We originally see him leaving around around final ten.) Then, he’s promptly voted out again.

4. Laura Boneham – We don’t think that Laura is going to play a great game, but the final three are going to be a little more loyal to each other, and take their chances versus allowing Laura a chance at final tribal council.

3. Ciera Eastin – She’ll benefit from her mom leaving … but be the token juror that gets 0 votes after she is accused of hiding behind other people.

2. Tina Wesson – A great player comes back into prominence after the All-Stars debacle. The problem she runs into? This jury values different things than they once did back in Australia.

1. Aras Baskauskas – We’re going out on a huge limb here and saying that Aras will be the first two-time winner. Here’s why: He is strong, but not the strongest. He is likable, but he’ll know when to tone that down. He will constantly have people around him all game that are bigger targets than him, whether you are talking about Tyson, Brad, or Hayden. His strategy with Terry worked well on “Exile Island,” and with Tina, he also has another winner who will take some of that pressure off of him. If anyone can win this game again, it’s Aras.

Who do you think will win “Survivor: Blood vs. Water”? Leave us your thoughts below.

Photo: CBS