As “Survivor: Australia vs. the World” entered its second week on the air on Sunday, August 24, all three of the U.S. alumni on the cast – Cirie Fields, Parvati Shallow and Tony Vlachos – were still in the running to become the “Sole Survivor” of the international showdown.
With $250,000 on the line, as well as the title of “The Greatest ‘Survivor’ Player of All Time,” the American players entered the game as easy allies, joining forces in the first episode to blindside former “Survivor: South Africa” champion Rob Bentele from the World tribe.
While the American stars, joined by “Survivor: Finald” runner-up Tommi Manninen, “Survivor: Quebec” fan favorite Kass Bastarche and “Survivor: New Zealand” champion Lisa Holmes on the World tribe, managed to avoid a second date with “Australian Survivor” host Jonathan LaPaglia (JLP) for the remainder of the competition’s first week on air, Sunday’s fourth episode saw both tribes head to Tribal Council for one of the most dramatic elimination ceremonies in franchise history.
Two-Time Winner Dethroned During Dramatic Tribal Council Ceremony
As both the World and the Aussie tribes headed to the season’s fourth Tribal Council ceremony, a shocking last minute fire-making challenge saw the World tribe scramble to decide which of their tribemates would be the next voted off the island.
With Parvati having earned individual immunity earlier in the episode, Shallow lived up to her “Black Widow” moniker by conspiring with Cirie, Kass and Lisa to target one of the tribe’s remaining male competitors.
Noting the season’s trend of targeting and eliminating powerful male players, including former winners like David Genat and strategic threats like George Mladenov, two-time “Survivor” champion Tony Vlachos knew he was on the chopping block as his team prepared to cast their votes.
Network 10Tony Vlachos on “Australian Survivor: Australia vs. the World”
In a last ditch effort to save himself and stir up trouble, Tony accused Parvati of harboring a secret key to the hidden advantage the World tribe earned during the season’s initial reward challenge.
Motivated by Tony’s meddling, Parvati convinced her alliance to follow through with their plan to dethrone the two-time champion.
“Kitty’s got claws,” she said as she showed the camera her parchment with Tony’s name written down. Vlachos was subsequently eliminated in a 5-1 vote, becoming the fourth player voted out of “Survivor: Australia vs. the World” just moments before Shallow masterfully claimed the very advantage that Tony accused her of harboring – an Immunity Idol hidden at the base of JPL’s Tribal Council podium.
Tony Vlachos Claps Back After His Shocking Blindside Elimination
Immediately after the episode aired, Vlachos took to Instagram to clap back at the comment, writing, “Kitty ain’t got claws! Kitty’s got an #IMMUNITY necklace AND an idol at her arms reach at #tribal! THATS what kitty’s got which gives kitty that confidence to say: KITTYS GOT CLAWS!”
While Parvati’s all-female alliance were well aware that the “Survivor: Micronesia” champion had recieved a clue to the location of the hidden immunity idol, Tony’s last-ditch effort did manage to stir some discontent amongst the tribe, who began to question whether or not Paravati had betrayed them by sharing the information with Tony.
The repercussions of that discontent remain to be seen as the remaining “Australia vs. the World” castaways head into the Merged portion of the game.
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