Warning: This article contains spoilers about Wednesdays season finale ofSurvivor: Winners at War.
He won the war.
Tony Vlachos turned in a dominant performance inSurvivor: Winners at War.
CBS
Nobody cast a single vote against him all season.
And nobody held it against him when he voted them out.
He is the champion of champions.
The second two-time winner ever.
The king to stand beside the queen.
How confident was Tony that he had the votes at the end to win the game?
How does this win stack up to hisCagayanvictory?
And what can he tell us about what we didnt see this season on TV?
We asked the newest face on the Mount Rushmore of greatestSurvivorplayers ever all that and more.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Congratulations, Tony on an epic outing.
TONY VLACHOS: Oh my God.
Thank you so much, Dalton.
I just finished watching the show.
It is so epic.
You know how I am.
I’m never confident until I see the final result.
I’m always, always thinking.
My wheels are always spinning.
I’m always keeping myself on my toes.
So, I’d never just let my cards down.
So I can never say I’m confident.
I’m always giving some kind of doubt in my head.
So I just don’t slip on anybody and get caught off guard.
Any votes that you were surprised you either got or didnotget?
So I was kind of upset.
It’s a lot to do with that.
Ethan again, for no fault of my own, I never got to meet him.
So he, like, how’s he going to vote for me?
He never even got to talk to me or say hello to me.
But I wasn’t surprised that Jeremy, I know why he voted for Natalie.
I definitely understand that.
Natalie’s like family to him.
So, family comes first.
Hetold me before the gamethat winners shouldn’t vote for someone from the Edge.
I don’t care if she was a goat.
I don’t care if she was dragged in.
I don’t care if she did nothing to get there.
I would have still given Sarah my vote just for loyalty.
And that’s how it is.
You got to understand that.
You got to respect that, I guess, right?
Oh man, let me tell you about that.
How was I that patient in the beginning?
Oh my goodness, how did I do that?
How did I do that?
How did I avoid getting any votes on me?"
That’s the first time in my career that I was ever blindsided by a vote.
That was the first time.
And I’m like, “Wow!”
So this time, this season, I just went through everything.
I went through the social game.
I went from winning challenges that I’d never done before.
I got blindsided that never happened to me before.
I built a Spy Nest.
So, there were a lot of firsts for me this time around.
So hit me up with some things that happened out there that you wish had made it to air?
Oh, man, where do I begin, man?
There’s so many.
Even from day one.
Sandra, as a matter of fact, she stole my Spy Bunker!
I was building it with her because I trusted her.
It was just so many things.
Me and Nick and Wendell and Sandra formed an alliance and we called ourselves the Justice System.
And then when Sandra tried to blindside me, we said, “Uh-oh, the system is corrupt!
We have to find another way of getting by the game.”
I was doing it all, Dalton.
I did not sleep.
You made a fake idol?
What’s the deal with the fake idol?
I’ve seen it.
“Oh, Nick is dumb.
He helped people.”
No, Nick wasn’t dumb.
Nick was playing it safe.
He was a little bit afraid.
Because I told them I had two idols.
I showed him two idols!
I woke him up in the middle of the night when he was a bit disoriented.
And I said, “Come with me.”
And I showed him the fake idol.
And he thought it was real because it was late at night.
He was in the middle of his sleep.
And I said, “I got you.
I got your back, Nick.
I got your back.
Anybody tries anything, I got your back.
And if they try anything on me, I’m going to use my idols.”
So there were a lot of things that people were confused about because they didn’t show it.
But there’s a lot of things that went on.
The most impactful moment of the entire finale was you and Sarah after battling at fire.
Watching that back right now, I was in full tears, man.
I usually attempt to act tough in front of my kids and my wife.
I tried to hold back tears, even though they want to come out.
But, this time, I couldn’t even hold it.
I couldn’t hold back.
Man, I was balling like a baby, man.
That was so impactful.
I can’t believe that.
That hurt me so bad.
But that hurts so bad, man.
But now thinking about it, Sarah would have kicked my ass at the final Tribal.
So, I guess it worked out perfectly for me, but it was so hurtful, man.
That was the worst, that was the worst feeling in the world.
If Sarah beats you at fire, how do you think she does against Natalie and Michele?
I would hope Sarah wins.
She 100% gets my vote.
I don’t know for sure, but I truly believe Sarah would win.
That was her social game.
I seen it with Kim.
I seen it with Sophie.
I seen it with Ben.
I seen it with Denise.
I seen it with everybody.
So she’s great at what she does.
I mean, she’s a greatSurvivorplayer.
And I think she learned from the best!
I think she gave me credit for myCagayangame.
We never saw your name written down once.
I’m going home tonight."
I never felt like that.
And that’s mind-boggling to me how that happened in the game.
But I guess it all just goes down with me being goofy.
Me just making everybody laugh.
Me keeping my shoulders shrugged down.
They’re like, “Okay, okay.
He’s not that threatening.”
I was never in their face.
I was like, “What do you think?
That’s what you think?
I’m with you, whatever you want.”
You know like, it was just crazy.
The little things that counted, that meant so much in the end.
And I tried to be a great player for the season."
Like they should want to have a big, epic winner?
I didn’t want to trigger any words that might turn the people off.
And I am the best.
I don’t think you should vote for Nat."
I couldn’t talk like that.
So again, just like I played my whole game, I chose my words wisely.
This is the biggest season ofSurvivor.
You guys are all involved in it.
What more could you have asked from me?
I won a fire challenge.
My social game was on point.
My strategy was on point.
I built a Spy Nest.
Like, I did it all.
There’s nothing more I could have done in the game."
But I’m not going to throw it out like that, you know?
But they got the point.
My game spoke for itself.
You just literally minutes ago won the $2 million.
How weird was it to have Jeff Probst give you those $2 million over a webcam?
$2 million, that is huge, man!
And this time you got to have your family with you when you won.
Oh, what a blessing.
This whole season’s been a blessing all around.
Just from the family visit, all my kids.
It’s just, it’s just amazing.
And I got to share it with my family on my sofa in my house.
It’s just so epic.
Tony, you’ve now playedSurvivorthree times.
You’ve won twice.
You’re on the Mount Rushmore.
You are the king.
Will we see you back on the island for season 50?
The Seniors edition.SurvivorSeniors Edition!
And for moreSurvivorscoop, follow Dalton on Twitter@DaltonRoss.
