Survivor: One World's merged Tikiano tribe eliminated Jay Byars, a 25-year-old model from Gaffney, SC, from their tribe during Wednesday night's ninth episode of the CBS reality series' 24th edition.

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Jay was voted out of his tribe at the season's ninth Tribal Council session, the third session for the mixed-gender tribe since the merge. 

"That's the game for you. You never know what's going to happen out here. You never can tell exactly who's telling the truth. You make the best decisions based on what you know -- go with your gut as best as possible. I had a great time. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I tried to play this game as honest as possible and now I'm on the sidelines. I had an eerie feeling coming in here tonight, but I definitely didn't really see myself going home. Congrats girls, ya'll got me," Jay said following his ouster.

Survivor: One World's ninth broadcast began on Day 23 following the previous night's Tribal Council in which they had voted off Michael Jefferson, a 30-year-old banker from Seattle, WA.

Greg "Tarzan" Smith, a 64-year-old plastic surgeon from Houston, TX, talked to Troy "Troyzan" Robertson, a 50-year-old swimsuit photographer from Miami, FL, about how the remaining girls were "plotting to knock the guys out one by one" and he claimed their reasoning was because the men had fallen apart as a united tribe.

Troy listened to Tarzan's concerns and wondered whether the women were telling him the truth, especially since Mike and Jonas Otsuji had been the last two people voted out of the tribe. However, he wasn't too upset about Mike's departure, considering Kim Spradlin, a 29-year-old bridal shop owner from San Antonio, TX, had lied to and convinced him Mike was scheming to vote him off. 
 
Troy, then realizing his former Salani tribe alliance -- which consisted of Jay; Troy; Kim; Chelsea Meissner, a 26-year-old in medical sales from Charleston, SC; Kat Edorsson, a 22-year-old timeshare representative from Orlando, FL; and Sabrina Thompson, a 33-year-old high school teacher from Brooklyn, NY -- might have been dishonest with him about their intentions to remain solid and intact, discussed with Tarzan that all they needed was to bring one woman from that alliance onto their side.

If a woman opted to flip, Troy acknowledged the new alliance could be: Jay; Christina Cha, a 29-year-old career consultant from West Hollywood, CA; Leif Manson, a 27-year-old phlebotomist from San Diego, CA; Tarzan; and Troy. That result would then give them a five-to-four advantage in the numbers.

While the odds of that happening seemed a little out of reach for Troy, he then admitted he had to win all the Individual Immunity Challenges to ensure his safety in the game. In addition, he was thankful he had found one of the hidden Immunity Idols because he could use it in case he ended up in trouble. He said it was important to keep his eyes on Kim and Chelsea and their motives.

The Tikiano tribe members then received Tree Mail and were instructed not to open it until they were all together. The castaways then learned they'd be participating in a Self-Reward Challenge right there at camp. The rules explained there would be pegs in the ground featuring limbs that represented one to five points total. The players each had to throw a bolas, hoping to earn the highest number of points by wrapping it around that specific marked peg.

The castaways then had to draw their teams at random by selecting rocks out of a bag. The teams ended up being Kim, Leif, Chelsea, Christina, and Sabrina versus Jay, Kat, Troyzan, Alicia Rosa, a 25-year-old special education teacher from Chicago, IL, and Tarzan. The winning team would receive a boat ride to a secluded island where they would enjoy a local barbeque for the afternoon.

Troyzan's team ended up winning 6-1, and they were thrilled about enjoying their reward.

While on the secluded island, Jay told Kat he wanted to send Christina or Alicia home instead of Mike at the previous Tribal Council. He was worried the women were going to flip on the men since they had the numbers.

Jay then admitted to cameras he couldn't trust anybody, especially the girls. Jay told Kat they had to stick together and send the old Manono tribe members home before anyone else. Kat agreed with Jay on the fact Alicia, Christina, Tarzan, and Leif had to be the next three people to go, but she was clearly lying.

"I'm a little suspicious that the girls are playing tricks with us. There's definitely going to be some blindsides coming up. I just hope it's not me," Jay said.

On Day 24, Kim was glad the girls were in charge of the game and figured the remaining men had to be worried. She couldn't help but think the men believed they had made a mistake in voting Mike off.

"It's definitely a win-win to have another guy gone and know the women are in the majority and Mike's gone. So, my hope all along is that everybody will think I'm this kind of calm, soft-spoken, maybe a little forgettable and not calling the shots, but I do think at the end of the game, if I can sit there with the three, I think people on the jury will know that I was making most of these decisions," Kim explained.

Kim told Chelsea and Alicia the order of the men who had to go was going to be Jay, Troy, Tarzan, and then Leif. They discussed how their vote would depend on whoever didn't win immunity, but they knew they had to make the men feel safe and secure. 

"The girls said either Jay or Troy has to go home next, which is killing me right now, because I've looked Jay and Troy in the eyes and said, 'You can trust me 100% percent.' And looking them in the eyes and telling them they can trust me and then betraying them, that is just not me at all," Chelsea said.

Kim told Chelsea that Jay could win every single Immunity Challenge from that point on and Troy had an equally good chance of doing that as well, so it was important to get rid of them. Alicia and Kim then told Chelsea she had to stop playing the game with her heart and use her head instead. Alicia was aggravated Chelsea was being so sensitive about the plan.

Kat and Sabrina then talked about Chelsea's wavering attitude and Kat noted they couldn't have a crack in their alliance. She was surprised at how upset Chelsea was getting about voting off Jay and Troy. Sabrina said Survivor requires making some "big girl decisions" and Chelsea should've known what she was getting herself into. 

Meanwhile, Jay talked to Troy about their positions in the game, and they promised each other to stick together. They then determined Alicia had to be the next girl to go before Christina because Jay didn't trust how "tight she was with Kat." They thought they had a great chance to go to the final four as long as they could win Immunity Challenges and not be fooled by the girls.

"Me and Troy are good. We're still thinking me and him are going to work together for a real long time. He thinks that I'm comfortable sitting in the end with him. I'm going to let him keep thinking that, but he's dangerous," Jay explained.

"You don't want to sit at the end with him, because everybody likes him. He seems like he can tell a story better than anybody. But Kim and Chelsea, those are my final two girls I'm trying to work with, so you have to trust them a little bit. But at the same time, you still gotta keep them just as close as an enemy around here."

Jay ended up telling Kat that Alicia should be next on the chopping block. Jay said Alicia was a threat because she was on the former Manono tribe and attempted to work both sides. He told her she needed to vote with his alliance, and she lied to him by saying she was definitely onboard without question.

Kat then told the cameras the girls had to think with their minds to win the game, not their hearts. Kim then talked to Jay and Kat about the plan because Kat claimed she needed confirmation. Chelsea was still feeling really bad about the situation and said she "hated to be that deceitful." She wondered whether she could really go along with the girls and make the big moves to eliminate the guys.

On Day 25, Kim let Alicia know the guys were planning to vote her out, but she assured Alicia she was set and solid within the all-female alliance. Kim was ready to let the guys know where the women stood. Meanwhile, Troyzan watched Kim and Alicia have a conversation while washing bowls together from a distance and he wondered what they could have been talking about.

Troy noted it would be so easy for the majority of women to just vote off Jay and himself next. He then told Jay how he was feeling, admitted he feared that the girls may try to pull a fast one on them and blindside them. But Jay trusted his two girls and was confident in the plan to vote off Alicia next. Troy just didn't feel the same way, claiming he had to win the upcoming challenge.

Later that day, the merged tribe met with Jeff, who then explained the rules to what would be their ninth Immunity Challenge, but third Individual Immunity Challenge of the season.

The castaways learned they each had to stand barefoot on a small wooden perch while one hand would be tethered to a bucket. Once a player's arm dropped, he or she would be out of the challenge. Jeff also explained he was going to tempt the castaways with food items throughout the challenge, so if they opted to eat rather than continue competing, they'd also be out of the challenge.

Tarzan was the first person out of the challenge and he was then followed by Sabrina -- who chose to eat two cookies and milk -- and then Kim and Kat, who both decided they wanted to eat cupcakes. Alicia was out next and learned she could chow down on candy and chocolates. Alicia told Chelsea she was dropping out so Chelsea could win the challenge.

However, Chelsea acted as if Alicia didn't mean what she said and just wanted snacks. Whether she was serious or playing it up to show Jay she was still loyal to his alliance, Jay started laughing and thought his bond with Chelsea was strong. He found Chelsea's reaction humorous because he was convinced they were both going to vote out Alicia next.

Troyzan then dropped out of the challenge and he was followed by Jay. Once Jay saw chicken wings and beer, he took himself out of the challenge. Leif and Chelsea were the last two players in the challenge and Jeff tempted them with three burgers, chips and beer.

Chelsea said she wanted to prove herself after failing to solve a puzzle during the prior challenge, so she asked Leif to step down and told him the move would prove he was less of a threat in the game. Leif asked Chelsea if she was telling the truth before he dropped out of the challenge, and she asked him to look her in the yes and then confirmed what she had said was true.

As a result, Chelsea won individual immunity.

After the challenge, Kim was glad because she didn't think the other castaways viewed her as a threat anymore and Chelsea was thrilled about her victory.

"I still want to go further with Jay and Troy but I'm realizing now that that would be an idiot move. So, to turn this quick on them, I hate to be that person. But I love money, so," Chelsea said with a laugh.

"Troy right now is our biggest threat because he wants to win this game so bad I think more than anyone here. Jay on the other hand, gave up [the challenge] for food. He thinks he's safe. Troy didn't give up for food, so I think right now, he's the smartest person to take out."

Kim then told Chelsea they should split the vote in case Troy had a hidden Immunity Idol he could play at the next Tribal Council session.

"The split-the-vote plan, always risky -- makes me nervous. I'd sure rather know that everyone's voting for Troy, but there's always a chance that Troy's going to pull out an immunity idol. He's a very strategic player. I feel like he's thinking a lot and he's going to do absolutely everything he can to stay in this game. We still have some options today," Kim explained.

Jay verified with Kim and Chelsea that there was no funny business going on, and Kim assured him everything was good between them. Troy then confronted Kim about his suspicions that the women may turn on him and Jay, and Kim also lied and tried to convince Troy he was all set. Kim claimed she didn't trust Tarzan, Kat, Leif, and Alicia, and as a result, was on his side. 

"Kim just kind of kept going like, 'Don't worry, don't worry.' It was almost like too much. I don't know, it just seems a little fishy. Like if she wanted to get me out, she'd want to be extra sure that I felt like I was safe. It sounded like that a little bit. It just doesn't sound right, like, 'You're safe, you're safe!' You only had to say it once," Troy said.

Troy then told Jay he felt like Kim and Chelsea were going to play one over on them, and so he planned to play his hidden Immunity Idol. Jay told him he didn't think anyone was messing with him but he should do whatever made him feel at peace.

Troy then voiced his opinion on how they should probably vote for Kim to ensure their own safety in the game, but Jay said he wouldn't. Troy then gathered Tarzan and Christina in the hopes he could sway their decisions and vote for Kim.

Jay saw Kim being in his final three. So no matter what, he was going to vote off Alicia. Jay then began to worry Troy was going to find a way to get Kim out, especially if he could play his idol if votes were going his way, so Jay decided to warn Kim about what might happen.

"What's going on? I'm wondering if you guys are attempting to blindside Troy," Jay asked Kim.

"If we were, would you tell him?" Kim asked.

"Nope, but he's debating on playing an idol," Jay said.

"I figured," Kim noted.

"So, I think you guys should vote Alicia, get his idol out and then get him next time," Jay explained. "He's over there switching votes right now. He's trying to get Tarzan and Christina to vote you and he asked me to vote for you, and I said, 'I'm sticking with Alicia. Because if you all vote for him and he plays that idol, the next four votes are coming your way.

"Jay just put the fear of God in me. Troy does have an idol, he's planning to play it, and he's planning to send me home, and I have no time before the next Tribal Council comes to get to everyone. So hopefully we have enough people onboard who do enough of the right thing so that the right person will go home tonight," Kim said.

That night, Survivor: One World's Tikiano tribe members arrived for their third Tribal Council altogether as a merged tribe, the ninth session of the season overall. Jonas and Mike, the first and second members of the jury respectively, arrived to listen in on the session.

Jeff asked Troy whether it was still a men versus women game based on the fact Jonas and Mike had been the last two castaways voted out of the tribe, and Troy admitted he thought that was just a coincidence at first but had since changed his mind. Tarzan told Jeff the women were smarter than the guys in the game, while Jay said sitting at that Tribal Council was the first time he really didn't feel safe.

Afterward, Kim, Jay and Troy were the only members of the tribe who told Jeff they didn't feel safe.

"I noticed that when I went out [of the challenge], everyone applauded -- even some of the tribe that I thought would be rooting for me. I think they might be rooting against me. So that meant something," Troy said.

Chelsea explained people were probably curious about whether someone had an idol in their grasp, and then Alicia pointed out Jay and Troy were wearing different shorts -- implying they might have had an idol in their pockets.

After all the castaways cast their votes, Jeff asked if anyone wanted to play their idol before revealing the votes. Troyzan stepped up to the plate and decided he wanted to use his.

"Some of the dumbest moves in Survivor history have been made when somebody gets voted out and has this in their pocket. And that's not going to be me. I'm not going to join that group," Troy told Jeff.

Jeff then revealed the votes. Two castaways voted for Troy, one person voted for Kim, two tribe members voted for Alicia, and four people voted to oust Jay from Survivor: One World. Jeff did not reveal the final vote because it was another one for Jay.

After showing the votes, Jeff extinguished Jay's torch and Jay exited the game.

The episode's closing credits later showed that Kim, Tarzan, Sabrina, Christina, and Alicia all voted for Jay. Troy voted for Kim. Kat and Chelsea cast their vote for Troy, and Leif and Jay voted for Alicia.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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