Jeff Probst hosts the Survivor 50 Live Finale at the Paramount Studios lot in Los Angeles, California on May 20, 2026. Robert Voets/CBS Logo text Jeff Probst mistakenly revealed who won the Survivor 50 fire-making challenge during the live finale episode on Wednesday night, spoiling the top three of the season for viewers.
During the season finale of the reality series, Rizo Velovic was brought out onto the stage prematurely before his fire-making competition against Jonathan Young was shown in the episode.
Earlier in the show’s episode, Aubry Bracco triumphed in the final immunity challenge and chose Velovic and Young to compete in the iconic Survivor challenge, which determines the final three competitors of a season.
Related Stories
TV Mike White Casts 'Survivor' 50 Stars Charlie Davis and Kamilla Karthigesu in 'White Lotus' Season 4
TV NBC Wins TV Season in Total Viewers for the First Time Since 2002
Probst pronounced that Velovic had become “the final member of our jury,” as the audience members barely clapped and the rest of the already-eliminated contestants and jury members looked visibly confused.
“What just happened?” Probst questioned, to which the eliminated Survivor contestants told the host and showrunner that “fire hasn’t happened yet” in the episode.
“I’m not even sure what’s happened,” Probst quipped as he sent the show to a commercial break. Once he returned, he shed light on what really played out live on the Survivor 50 finale.
“I love doing live television. In case you’re confused, this is what happened,” Probst said. “We were going to show you fire-making, and then have the loser of fire-making, Rizo, come out and talk about how charming he is and if how he had practiced fire-making, maybe he would have won. Instead, we did a Survivor twist. It’s the last twist of the season. We called it a peak into the future. So now, we’re gonna watch Rizo lose in fire to Jonathan.”
The episode then showed the fire-making challenge, where Young successfully sparked before Velovic, securing his spot in the final three of the season.
Ultimately, it was Bracco who was named the winner of Survivor 50, winning the show with a total of eight jury votes. The Sia Award was given to Cirie Fields, which is a fan-voted award that comes along with a $100,000 prize.
THR Newsletters
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day
Subscribe Sign Up
