A fan tribute

Congrats, Rick Devens

Big Brother 28 champion. America’s Favorite Houseguest. The first Survivor player ever to win Big Brother, and the man who made the Survivor 50 merge a lot more fun.

Jury vote
6–1
Fan vote
AFH
HOH wins
2
Veto wins
3
Rick Devens on Survivor

Two shows, one champion

The same year he snuffed his Survivor 50 torch with a wink, Devens walked into the Big Brother 28 house and walked out with the whole thing. Two Head of Household wins, three Power of Veto wins, a final HOH that sent his closest ally Drew out the door, and a 6–1 jury vote over Taylor Brown on finale night, October 1. Then America voted him its Favorite Houseguest on top of it. Only one player before him had ever won both.

The man who held four idols in one season on Edge of Extinction and talked his way out of a Double Duo vote with a fake one finally gets the ending his game always deserved. Survivor fans, this one’s ours too.

From Blacksburg to the Big Brother house

Before the idols and the coin flips, Devens was a Blacksburg High kid who stayed in town for college and graduated from Virginia Tech in 2006 with a degree in communication. A dozen years as a morning anchor in Macon, Georgia, two trips to Fiji, and one summer in the Big Brother house later, a Hokie is a reality TV champion.

  1. ’06Virginia Tech, communication
  2. S38Edge of Extinction, 4th place
  3. S50In the Hands of the Fans, 7th of 24
  4. BB28Winner + America’s Favorite Houseguest

Go Hokies.

The Survivor 50 run

Seventh of 24, on a season of legends. He planted a fake idol on Night 6, cashed it in for pure panic at the Double Duo vote, survived three votes without a real idol, then volunteered for MrBeast’s coin flip, called heads, hit it, and doubled everyone’s prize to $2 million. Twelve votes came his way across the season, tied for the most of anyone, and it took a unanimous one to finally send him home.

7th

of 24

12

votes against

22

fantasy points

Every Survivor 50 moment on his profile

DEVENS HIJINKS

Fake idols, coin flips and a Big Brother sweep. The greatest hits, in order.

  1. Edge of Extinction · Merge

    Back From the Edge

    Voted out on Day 11, he went to Extinction Island instead of home and won the re-entry duel at the merge. First player ever to come back from the Edge, and he played the rest of the season like his hair was on fire.

    Source: Survivor Wiki: Rick Devens

  2. Edge of Extinction · Post-merge

    The Idol Magnet

    Four Hidden Immunity Idols held in a single season, still the record, plus four individual immunity wins. He made it to Day 38 before losing fire-making to Chris Underwood and finishing fourth.

    Source: Survivor Wiki: Rick Devens

  3. Survivor 50 · Ep 1

    "I Voted for No Idols"

    Asked in the opening minutes how he voted on keeping idols in the game, the most famous idol hunter alive said he voted no. Secretly, he was rooting for idols the whole time.

    Source: Survivor Wiki: Rick Devens

  4. Survivor 50 · Ep 2

    The Fake Idol Heist

    As Cila grabbed their torches to leave Tribal, Christian took a perfectly timed tumble. While every eye was on him, Devens tucked a homemade fake idol into the Tribal Council set. Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock, pulling a museum job.

    Source: Survivor Wiki: Rick Devens

  5. Survivor 50 · Ep 8

    Cashing In the Fake

    In the crosshairs at the Double Duo vote, he pulled the "idol" out of the set in front of everybody and the whole tribe scrambled. He never played it. He did not have to: Coach and Chrissy went home as a pair.

    Source: Survivor Wiki: Rick Devens

  6. Survivor 50 · Ep 9

    Coming Clean

    Three votes landed on him, he survived them without an idol, and then he told the tribe the thing was fake all along to wipe the slate clean. Joe was not amused.

    Source: Survivor Wiki: Rick Devens

  7. Survivor 50 · Ep 10

    Heads.

    A $20 chip-in on a family letter at the auction set MrBeast's Super Beware Advantage loose. At Tribal he volunteered for the coin flip, called heads, hit it, and walked out safe with an idol while the winner's prize doubled to $2 million.

    Source: Survivor Wiki: Rick Devens

  8. Survivor 50 · Ep 12

    Snuffed With a Wink

    Out of allies, he went idol hunting at dawn with Jonathan watching his every step, rolled a Shot in the Dark that came up Not Safe, and went out seventh with a smile. That made 12 votes against him for the season, tied for the most in Survivor 50.

    Source: Survivor Wiki: Rick Devens

  9. Big Brother 28 · Finale

    The Big Brother Sweep

    He won Big Brother 28 on a 6–1 jury vote over Taylor Brown and took America's Favorite Houseguest on the same night. He is the first Survivor player ever to win Big Brother.

    Source: Wikipedia: Big Brother 28, Yahoo: Big Brother 28 winner revealed

A fan tribute, and only that

Survivor Tribes is a fan-run fantasy league site. This page was written by fans to say congratulations. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by Rick Devens, CBS, Big Brother, Survivor or Virginia Tech.