Just one night after Sashi landed a big betting plunge to be crowned 2018 Masterchef champion, reality television fans don’t have long to wait to get their fix as the new season of Survivor Australia kicks off tonight, Wednesday August 1st.
It’s one of the world’s most popular television shows, with the Survivor brand spanning over 36 seasons in the US, and now it returns for its fifth season in Australia with the theme of “Champions vs Contenders”. 24 contestants will be dropped on an island and will try to outlast each other for 50 days, but only one will be crowned the ultimate “Survivor”.
There’s plenty of interest for sports fans this season with the “Champions” team comprising of several well-known former sporting champions. Some of those include former AFL star Brian Lake, Australian Rugby representative Mat Rogers, AFLW footballer Moana Hope, Poker champion Jackie Glazier, Winter Olympics gold medallist Lydia Lassila and former Swimming world record holder Shane Gould.
It will be an interest mix of skills, personalities and egos! The wildcard in the pack is undoubtedly the inclusion of US Survivor superstar Russell Hantz. Known for his extremely aggressive gameplay, Russell won’t be intimidated by any of these champions and is sure to add some fireworks to the series.
If the group of “Contenders” can maintain their numbers, it’s very hard to see them allowing a “Champion” to go all the way to win the $500,000 first place prize.
If you want to bet on Survivor Australia, the betting markets at Sportsbet/Ladbrokes offer some great value with Aussie former swimming superstar Shane Gould and Sharne Coombs opening as equal favourites. 61-year-old Gould will obviously be a fan favourite amongst Aussie fans and probably wont be seen as much of a threat as some of the younger contestants like Brian Lake or Moana Hope and definitely not as feared as experienced Survivor veteran in Russel Hantz. A bet on the former swimming legend could be good value here.
Shane Gould to win Survivor Australia
$2.25
It's hard to get a read on some of the contenders as they are all unknown players but one that stands out to us is Benji, who opens at a price of $10 and looks to have the right attributes to be a contender in Survivor. “I want to be a heroic villain. There is no likeable hero who can coast all the way to the end and win with loyalty and mateship. In order to win, you need to play a strategic game." Benji said, which seems like the right attitude to us.
Benji to win Survivor Australia
$10
The first episode of Survivor Australia “Champions vs Contenders” can be seen on Channel Ten starting tonight, Wednesday August 1st at 7:30pm.
