Jeff Probst explains how Katurah Topps and Jake O'Kane made the "biggest unforced error" on Survivor 45

Jeff Probst arguably has one of the best jobs in reality TV. As the host of the long-running Survivor 45, Probst has the kind of job security that is generally not associated with the industry. Every season throws its viewers and Probst a range of entertaining scenarios as cast members form alliances to avoid betrayals and survive until the end.

Season 45 of the epic Survivor series saw Dee Valladeres emerge as the winner, which means that she will also take home the grand prize of $1 million alongside a host of memories. The three finalists proved to be Austin Li Coon and O'Kane, in addition to Valladeres.

While O’Kane finished 3rd, it was what Probst describes as an unforced error that led to him and Katurah Topps not finishing in the top 2 via an EW interview.

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Jeff Probst claims Survivor 45 has biggest unforced error of all time

While Valladeres was a fitting winner whose presence of mind helped her, primarily through the final few challenges of the Season, others came quite close as well. Probst thought that, in particular, Dee could read the game’s momentum and adjust her strategies according to different situations, which led to her victory.

At the same time, what he described as the biggest unforced error of the season led to Jaturah Topps and Jake O’Kane losing out. The two decided to alter the plan at the last minute in the Finale, leading to Katurah changing her vote from Dee to Kulie.

This resulted in Dee reaching the final Tribal Council rather quickly, from where she took control,

“Katurah and Jake blew it. Jake wanted to make a big move in front of the jury, so he withheld valuable information from Katurah — that he was going to play the idol for her. And Katurah was never able to fully trust Jake, for obvious reasons, so she switched her vote. The combination of those two moves was probably the biggest unforced error of the game. The result was positive for Dee and negative for Julie. If Julie is there in the end instead of Dee, I think she wins.”

However, while Dee might have had some luck in making her way to the Final Tribal Council, it is clear that she had more than done her homework. Probst revealed that being a fan of the Survivor series, Dee had managed her alliances well,

“She did a really good job of ebbing and flowing based on the momentum of each day. In the early days, she focused on cementing a solid alliance with Julie, Austin, and Drew. As the game progressed, she decided she could trust that alliance enough to carve out an even deeper alliance with Julie. She continued to pay attention and recognize when the game was shifting to another stage, and that is what she based her decisions on.”

Hence, while fans, in the end, got a deserving winner, there was a lot of luck involved as well. According to the Survivor 45 host, things could have been much different had Katurah and Jake not changed their vote. Regardless, fans will already be looking forward to the announcement of Survivor 46, which is the popularity of the epic series.