Board Thread:Season 12 - All-Stars/@comment-13493331-20140216180732/@comment-11497002-20140217072758

Hi Sharky,

I don’t mean to come off as arrogant but I am proud of how I played this game. I have more to prove than the other two: they both knew they could make it to the end and win. Now I’m trying to prove the same thing. I’m also trying to outline how I played this game in as much detail as possible because I deliberately kept a lot of my allies, plans, strategy and moves hidden throughout the game, and now it’s time to let them be known. I didn't get a chance to play with you and Hickman so I also want to give the both of you a chance to get to know my game.

People didn’t pay attention to me during the Tribal phase and all I can say is that’s their mistake and not mine. You need to be on top of what’s going on in the game. I knew who everyone was, I knew what they were up to, I knew how the votes were going down and that’s how I was able to survive this entire game. There’s nothing wrong with keeping a low profile. It’s been proven to work time and time again. I didn’t want to be seen as a threat. I kept my strategy, moves and allies hidden exactly so that I wouldn’t be seen as a threat and there would be no reason to take me out. Gerda admits she didn’t have any idea what I was up to, which meant she didn’t know what kind of alliances were going on, she didn’t know the dynamics of the tribes I was on. She was oblivious to a large part of the game.

On Mpilo after the switch I was at the centre of the tribe but I knew people regarded Hunter as a threat and big player so I dictated my moves through him. I decided who would go and then I’d tell him to tell Henry and Jhet. When people asked me how I was voting I’d say ‘oh Hunter says to vote for this person’. People saw me as a non-threat because that’s exactly how I presented myself. That’s why no one took notice of me pre-merge. It’s not because I wasn’t doing anything, it’s because I hid everything I was doing. I covered my trails. I had several secret one-on-one alliances. I worked just as hard as anyone else pre-merge and it paid off for me because it kept me safe right until the end.

'''What is the single biggest flaw in your game? '''

My biggest flaw is definitely the inconsistency in my social game. I had great connections with people; I formed genuine bonds with them and built unbreakable trust. You can see that in Taylor and Lloyd at final four. Both were with me 100% Neither of them ever considered voting me out. Gerda showed Taylor a screenshot of my conversation saying I would vote Taylor out and he still trusted me over her. So whilst I didn’t have strong connections with lots of people, the people I did connect with I formed very powerful bonds. They’re the people I took to the end and they showed my social skills by never voting for me. Many of the people I eliminated still thanked me for playing the game with them and wished me luck. There are people I eliminated in the first quarter of the game who are still talking with me and wishing me luck. But there were also people I talked very little to or not at all. And that’s where the inconsistency comes in. I’m a friendly person but I’m also shy and have trouble opening up to people I don’t know. That’s part of my personality and I can’t really change that but it was a flaw to my game that I tried to overcome with my strategy by keeping in the people I did have connections with and who would trust me. Of course that means there are people sitting on the jury like yourself who really don’t know me. I can’t say we would have been best friends but if we had been on the same tribe at some point I certainly would have introduced myself, and tried to make you feel welcome and involved in the tribe like I did with everyone I played with pre-merge. If I lose, I think the biggest contributor will be that I’m not likeable enough. I can’t ask people to like me but I hope that you can have some respect for me and the way I played.

'''Is there anyone who you regret voting out? '''

I don’t regret any moves I made in this game because they’re what got me to the end. I didn’t play perfectly but I’m proud of what I did to make it here. So gamewise, no, I don’t regret voting anyone out. On a personal and emotional level there are many people I wish I hadn’t been the one to have to vote them out. Taylor and Andrei were two of my closest allies and friends in this game. I never would have voted them out early in this game but when it got to the end I had to do what was right for me, even though it really hurt to betray them, and it hurt to know they were hurt by it. Those are the two I most regret but I also regret voting out Hunter, especially one round before a tribe swap where he could have gone on to do very well. He was a very good player and was disappointed in leaving when he did and I was upset that he had played so well but couldn’t see that for himself.