After outwitting, outplaying and outlasting competitors for 26 days in Fiji, one "Survivor" Season 45 player on Wednesday received the title of Sole Survivor and the coveted $1 million prize that goes with it.
Dee Valladares, a 26-year-old entrepreneur from Miami, beat out the other three final contestants, Austin Li Coon and Jake O'Kane, in the final jury vote, receiving the majority of votes from players she had a hand in voting out all season.
The three-hour finale on CBS and Paramount+ started with the final five contestants, who were slowly whittled down to four, then to the final three, where a jury of their peers voted for the winner. The finale jumped straight into the aftershow after Valladares was crowned.
Here's what to know about the Season 45 winner.
'Survivor 45' full cast:Meet contestants competing for $1 million in fall 2023 season
In a 5-3-0 final jury vote, Dee Valladares beat Austin Li Coon and Jake O'Kane to claim the $1 million prize.
Dee Valladares is a 26-year-old entrepreneur originally from Havana, Cuba but now living in Miami. She was one of 18 contestants on the 45th season of "Survivor" and was placed on the Reba tribe.
The Reba tribe was strong in the first part of the season, consistently winning immunity challenges and rarely making it to tribal council before the tribe merge halfway though. Even after the merge, Valladares kept a strong alliance with the other Reba players through the rest of the season, so strong that other players refused to vote her out even if it would have been good for their individual game.
Valladares and other finalist Li Coon grew close through the season, admitting their feelings for each other.
After the merge, when the game switches from tribal immunity to individual immunity, Valladares was dominant, winning three times, the most for one person that season.
She won immunity with four players left, ensuring she and a player of her choosing would make the final three, forcing the other two players in a fire making competition to ensure their spot.
"Survivor" host Jeff Probst confirmed the show's 46th season after Wednesday's three-hour finale with an official promo teaser.
"Survivor" Season 46 premieres Feb. 28 on CBS and Paramount+.
