Winners At War Episode 1: Poker Face

Raise your glass

A season 20 years in the making kicks off with 20 former champions on their way to meet Jeff. Parvati says she's hoping to tap into her evil side again. Ethan is just happy to be here, given his well-documented cancer scare. The boys get off their boat first, then come the women (with Denise and Danni falling in the water). Sandra is feeling betrayed, since Rob never told her he was coming back. Jeff seems to be basking in the moment too, and they have a toast. Jeff then divides the tribes and explains the new currency called fire tokens and the return of Edge of Extinction, which don't get a warm reception. Then he announces the 2 million dollar prize, which gets a huge cheer.

Almost had it

We also have a challenge out of the gate which is to grab the ring in the water and take it to your post, and they're shocked when they hear it's for immunity. The first matchup is Tyson and Yul vs Jeremy and Ethan. Tyson gets the ring first, and Yul is able to finish it off to score the first point. Next matchup is Sarah and Kim vs Natalie and Parvati, where Kim pulls Natalie's ponytail and is able to score a point. Ben and Rob take on Wendell and Tony, desperately needing a point, and Rob gets one. Denise and Natalie vs Amber and Sarah is next, and Dakal cheer Sarah to victory.

Dakal arrive at camp and look up the fire token menu, which doesn't phase Nick as he's used to twists. Wendell builds the shelter, but says he'd rather be building relationships. Tyson, Amber and Sarah bond over their kids, with Tyson even tearing up. Sandra and Tony recount their history and seem to be good now.

Tony on house arrest

We cut to Sele camp now where Rob knows he's a big target, thanks in no small part to having a giant statue last season. Adam and Denise go off to the water well where he tells her he would love to be her Malcolm. The rest of the tribe notice them gone however and it's making them a target. Back on the other tribe, Amber goes looking for an idol...a new experience for her. Yul and Sophie decide to work together, against Kim/Amber/Tyson (who are being referred to as the "poker alliance", in reference to a televised poker game that Rob, Tyson, Jeremy and Kim took part in).

Why are these dumbasses not targeting us?

Parvati and Rob agree to work together despite their past. But Rob's name is coming up too and Ben lets that slip to him. After an interrogation, Ben eventually gives up Danni as the source. Rob asks her directly and she admits it, which Rob respects. The next day, nobody knows who the vote is. Natalie suggests Adam. Ben warns Adam and he's pissed. Adam makes the case that Jeremy and Natalie are a much more dangerous duo having played together before. Parvati tries to get a name but can't get a straight answer. She then sits with Rob and laughs that they appear to be sitting pretty.

At tribal council, Ethan and Rob talk about how it's been a while. Denise confesses to being the one that walked off and made a target of herself after Jeremy refuses to say. Natalie says being first boot would be worse than when her sister was. Jeremy doesn't like Parvati's answer to a question, and asks Ben if Rob is pulling a fast one. The votes are read and we have 2 votes Denise, 1 vote Adam and 7 votes Natalie. Jeremy is pissed. Natalie leaves her token with Jeremy and heads to the Edge.

Jeremy looking for answers

The free agents call the shots

Yul, Sarah and Sandra have a talk about voting out Amber, where Sandra lets them know Rob lied to her. Yul, Sophie, Nick and Wendell seem to be in power right now, as the one-time players with no connections. Meanwhile Michele is bummed that she was out of the loop last vote, but Ben tells her he wants an old school player to go next.

A world away

Natalie is reading about how she can get tokens on Extinction, and she has her first assignment: find the "last spot you can see the sunset". After a long trek to the west side of the island, she finds an idol...she can offer it to somebody in the game for one fire token. Damn, the Edge players are gonna have a big impact on this season.

You won't see many players roll over this season

The immunity challenge is to row a boat out to a bag of number tiles, then come back over a rolling barrel, solve a combination lock and complete a ring toss. Sele row the fastest but hit an obstacle, allowing Dakal to overtake. Sele then struggle to get to their station. Both tribes struggle with the barrel, Rob needing to launch his tribemates over one by one and then eventually get pulled over by Ethan. Dakal have a lead and Sandra cheers them on from the sidelines. Wendell starts tossing and has a bit of trouble. Sele catch up and Jeremy proves really good at it, enough to get them the win.

Not so fun when you're on the bottom, huh?

After the challenge, lots of names are coming up: Amber, Nick, Sandra, Tony. Sandra is stirring the pot and now has an idol after buying it from Natalie. Tony guns for Tyson after hearing him say his name, wanting them to throw out Amber as a decoy name and blindside them. Tyson hears this and is now just in survival mode, throwing his allies Kim and Amber under the bus. Kim is getting a bad vibe and scrambling for the first time ever.

At tribal council, Jeff comments about Amber not aging. Tyson says you can see the different eras they come from reflected in the gameplay so far. Tony says he's taking a page from Sandra's book and pulling an "anybody but me". Kim says she feels on the outs and tries to reassure everyone that the poker alliance is not a thing. Amber says friendship was out the window once that 2 million was announced.

The votes are split between Kim and Amber (with one for Nick out there too), and Amber is voted out. She leaves her token with Rob and joins Natalie on Extinction. I feel bad for her, seems like it was her husband that got her voted out more than herself...but if it kicks off an awesome revenge storyline, I'm here for it.

STAR OF THE WEEK: YUL KWON

Yul seemed to be the one pushing the poker alliance as targets without getting caught AND has managed to form an important alliance nobody knows about yet. I'm ready to watch him puppetmaster the game from the shadows and be a key player.