Who Will Win 'Survivor 46'? After Watching Every Episode, Here Are Our Predictions

So far Survivor 46 has been one of the wildest seasons in recent memory. Across twelve weeks, we've experienced huge characters, big conflicts, meltdowns, and a record number of idol holder blindsides. As we look ahead to the finale and three more days of gameplay, only five have survived the chaos to still remain in the fray: Ben Katzman, Charlie Davis, Kenzie Petty, Liz Wilcox, and Maria Shrime Gonzalez.

As we approach Wednesday's three-hour finale and reunion, here's how we gauge the chances of each of the remaining contestants to take home the title of Sole Survivor and the million-dollar check.

Related: Everything to Know About Survivor 46

Who will win Survivor 46?

Throughout the havoc of Survivor 46, there has been one constant: Charlie at the center of it all. Though initially branding himself as one of the younger castaways and Taylor Swift fanatic, he's written quite the resumé on the blank space he's been given. Charlie is the only player to have been in the know on every single vote this season. That's left him the decision-maker on a number of votes, including some of the biggest moves of Survivor 46. On top of that, he's left a relatively good relationship with everyone left on the jury, with Soda, Tevin, Tiffany, and Venus all wanting to work with him before their blindsides.

Charlie received his most direct shot yet last episode, targeted by Q and his own number one ally in Maria. But it was never in doubt that Charlie would survive, as he's spent the game building tight bonds with Ben, Kenzie and Liz. And one would assume those bonds will help him carry through to the Final Three. On top of that, Charlie is no slouch in challenges, having won two Individual Immunities. Of course, it's more of an unknown as to how Charlie would do with the jury, considering the perception from some that he lacks a "killer instinct." But even though putting a soon-to-be-lawyer in front of a jury is a far from guaranteed slam-dunk outcome, it can absolutely help Charlie describe the stellar game he's played this season.

If we were ranking the cast's odds purely on strategic maneuvering, Kenzie would not be as high as second. Though the salon owner has never been in danger throughout this postmerge, her story lacks the moves that some jury members may be wanting. The one time she did put herself forward to make a big play, it was to take out her number one ally Tiffany. And, unfortunately, the blindside happened when Kenzie actually relented on the plan, leaving her out of the vote.

Where Kenzie makes up for it, though, is having the best relationship management out of the Final Five. We were warned early on by her Yanu tribe members that Kenzie's warmth and charm would make her dangerous, as nobody would want to get rid of her. And we've seen just that, as the "mermaid dragon" has brought multiple people in with her siren song. This has happened in moments both seen--her multiple times comforting Ben through nightly panic attacks--and unseen--namely a tight relationship with Hunter that didn't make the edit. If the jury is voting primarily on who they feel the best about taking home the million dollars, that gives Kenzie a very good chance of winning if she gets to the end.

If this ranking had been done a couple of weeks ago, Maria would have placed right next to Charlie, perhaps even above him. For the majority of the game, she stood alongside him as his tightest ally, as the two of them served as Tribal Council turnkeys. Where Maria nudges Charlie out is in the challenge department. She's shown herself one of the most well-rounded competitors this season, showcasing endurance, hand-eye coordination, and puzzle skills to win three Immunity Challenges. As was indicated in the last episode, if she wins her fourth challenge or plays an idol at the Final Five, she's also the odds-on favorite to win the firemaking challenge and make it to the Final Three.

Unfortunately, Maria's game has majorly tanked the past couple of rounds. Though she has impressively won immunity twice, she didn't realize how much she needed them. She's become the biggest target at camp for how threatening she is. Socially, she lost some major goodwill in her choice to choose people for a pizza reward by rock, paper, scissors. Most unfortunately, though, Maria just attempted her biggest move of the game: Going after Charlie. The night ended in disaster when she lost her number two ally, Q, was the only surviving person left out of the vote, and just got caught attempting to blindside her number one ally. It's safe to say Maria is public enemy number one going into this finale. But if she can win out and squeak through, her dominance could earn her credit from the jury.

Related: Meet the Full Cast of Survivor 46

It's a sizable drop down from our top three winner candidates to our bottom two. And Liz doesn't necessarily make a case for herself when she openly said at the last Tribal Council, "I'm not gonna win any Immunity Challenge, I'm terrible at fire, and I'm not in an alliance. So don't vote for me!" It's been tough to put a finger on the game of the email marketing strategist. It's clear she has suffered the most from the elements, on the brink of starvation due to her numerous food allergies. And that culminated in an all-time Survivor meltdown, as she unloaded on Q for not taking her on an Applebee's reward.

However, taking a look at her actions, there are moves to Liz's name. After being resentful of Tevin for taking sole credit for Soda's blindside, she orchestrated Tevin's own blindside, getting nearly everyone in the tribe on board. Despite her clear resentment towards Q, she was the swing vote to keep him in the game and blindside Tiffany with an idol. And she eventually acted upon her desires when she helped blindside Q (also with an idol). It's debatable if Liz would be seen as a big strategist if she reached the Final Three. But, in a game where people have made risky moves simply for the resumé point, Liz has done that effectively.

As mentioned before, likability can get you everywhere in Survivor. And the fact that Ben instantly became the mascot and spirit animal of his Siga tribe shows how much the musician can rock the power of good vibes. Like Kenzie, we've even heard other players target him explicitly because they feared, if he was given too much clearance, he would shred the game to pieces with his social skills. If the jury feels they've been significantly burned by some of the power players sitting in the Final Three, there's a shot that they would throw their votes to Ben instead, who was able to stay out of the dramatic fray this season.

Unfortunately, to say Ben is struggling during this endgame is an understatement. He's been consistently experiencing night terrors and panic attacks, leading to massive fatigue and exhaustion. It all compounded to his biggest blunder, as he had a self-proclaimed "brain fart" in the voting booth and went rogue, writing down Kenzie's name. Ben has probably the best chance of making it to the end out of the Final Five. But he may have to shred the solo of a lifetime to make up for mistakes like that.

Next, check out our interview with Survivor 46 sixth-placer Q Burdette.