In an explosive season finale, Dino Paulo claimed the title of “sole survivor” in M-Net’s “Survivor SA: Return of the Outcasts”.
The season nine winner also bagged himself the R2-million cash prize in Thursday night’s episode.
During the season, Paulo also won a brand-new Mahindra XUV300 in week four and picked up a luxurious boat cruise on the Zambezi Queen, worth R80 000 on day 32 of the game.
The 31-year-old Johannesburg-based live escape game owner went from being blind-sided several times to becoming the strongest contender on the show.
Paulo, who formed part of the Yontau tribe, told IOL Entertainment that he was still processing his good fortune.
"Honestly, the win still hasn't fully sunk in. I am proud to take home the title and represent what has been a fantastic season. I have been overwhelmed with messages of love and support and for that I am so grateful.”
At the finale, Paulo and his long-time lawyer girlfriend embraced each other when he was announced as the season’s winner.
He also shared some news.
“I am a few weeks away from getting married,” he said in excitement.
Paulo, a season eight pre-merger, tasted victory in a 7-2 vote against season five’s post-merger, Shane Hattingh.
Hattingh landed in second place after successfully pleading his case after 39 days of intense competition on the Eastern Cape’s Sunshine Coast.
The majority of the jury members including Dante, Toni, Meryl, Marian, Phil, Tejan and Felix voted for Paulo with only Steffi and Killarney voting for Hattingh.
Unlike previous years, the show’s host, Nico Panagio broke the “Survivor South Africa” tradition by reading out the votes directly after they had been cast.
Fighting tooth and nail to the bitter end, Paulo’s pitche to the jury, sketched out his personal journey through this season, from entering the game with the same self-doubt that saw him eliminated in season eight, and seeing it grow exponentially to the point where he was able to turn diffidence into confidence and assert himself in the game.
He said he had focused on building social capital and being fluid and collaborative at the start of the game, before the tribe swap separated him from his alliance partners.
He also forged new relationships, mitigated the “idols” and advantages everyone knew he had, and played strategically and logically, rather than being flashy.
Paulo wasn’t alone in redeeming himself after his previous season.
Seamus, Felix, Killarney and Dante were also proud of being their authentic selves while Tania felt that she hadn’t learned her lesson and saw the same foibles send her home, a second time around.
Steffi and Shane had said that they noticeably softened their game play this season, while Dino had ultimately toughened up significantly – which undoubtedly contributed to his win.
An omnibus broadcast of “Survivor SA: Return of the Outcasts” will air on M-Net (DStv channel 101) on Saturday, August 27 at 3.30pm to 7.30pm.