Jake Billingsley
Sook Jai's founding father, who hand-picked a tribe and then watched it fall apart around him.
Known for
Thailand opened by handing Jake the keys: he and Jan Gentry, the oldest players out there, picked the tribes themselves. Jake built Sook Jai around youth and muscle, and the plan worked in challenges but not at camp, where Jed Hildebrand, Stephanie Dill and Robb Zbacnik drifted into their own orbit. Then came the fake merge, when the two tribes moved in together only to keep voting separately, and Sook Jai kept shrinking.
Down in numbers, Jake worked every angle to crack Chuay Gahn, trading adventure stories and warning anyone who would listen that Brian Heidik and Clay Jordan were running the show. His hustle earned him the nickname "Jake the Snake" and drove Penny Ramsey away from him. Once the rest of Sook Jai was gone, he was the last one standing, and the Chuay Gahn Five closed ranks on him. At the final vote he grilled both finalists and backed Brian.
Background: Survivor Wiki
The season they played
- 6Survivor 5: Thailandage 60, McKinney, Texas6th of 16 · 33 days · jury
Source
Seasons played, finishing positions, day counts, jury status, ages and hometowns come from the contestant table in each season's Wikipedia article, cross-checked against the series overview before publication.