After nearly a month of matching wits with mother nature and fellow contestants, 'Survivor' has found it's latest champion.
*Caution: Spoilers ahead!
Another exciting season of Survivor has come to a close, and one castaway has emerged the new champion, after a grueling contest of wills and sneakiness.
Wednesday's three-hour season finale covered the last three days of gameplay for the show's final five: Cassidy Clark, Karla Cruz Godoy, Mike Gabler, Owen Knight and Jesse Lopez.
Each made it to the final with uniquely different but effective strategies and styles of gameplay, and each came to lay it all on the line for a chance to come home with the $1 million grand prize.
But only one of them was able to truly outwit, outplay and outlast, to become the new winner! And the new Survivor 43 champ is...
... Mike Gabler! The 52-year-old heart valve specialist used cunning, guile and surgical precision in his gameplay to win by a commanding jury vote of 7-1-0!
In a surprising moment -- and one of the first in the show's history -- Mike revealed after the win that he plans on donating the entire $1 million prize to charity. Specifically, Veterans in Need, in honor of his father, Robert Gabler.
Speaking with his fellow castaways after the victory, Mike shared of the win, "It feels bigger than you know. We made history this season in 43. I am only the second winner in Survivor history who is over 50... but season 43 is a special season because of these special people, and because we're going to make history another way."
"We all had the chance of a lifetime out here, the adventure of a lifetime, what we all learned from each other is priceless. It all made us better," Mike said, to his confounded castmates. "And there are people who need that money more, and I'm going to donate the entire prize in my father's name to Veterans In Need."
The announcement earned Mike cheers and applause, and he detailed the significance of the organization, explaining it helps veterans who come back from service "with trouble from psychiatric problems, PTSD, and [they] help curb the suicide epidemic. We're gonna save lives, we're gonna do something good."
The night was long, intense and full of quick decisions and difficult challenges. After Owen won the first immunity challenge -- securing his place in the final four -- Karla wound up being the first to get voted off.
Mike ended up going against Jesse in a fire-starting contest -- and set a new Survivor record for fastest time, sending Jesse to the jury. When it came down to the final three -- Cassidy, Mike and Owen -- Mike managed to successfully make his case for victory, and secure his place in Survivor history.
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