Survivor 43 Odds and Picks – Ryan Medrano Opens as Favorite to Win

• Survivor season 43 is one week in the books on CBS
• Ryan Medrano is the +550 favorite to win the season over Owen Knight
• Read below for Survivor season 43 odds, plus our betting pick for who will be crowned champion

A week into Survivor season 43, and the action is already fast and furious with plenty of contestants stepping up to prove they’re worthy adversaries to win the game.

A couple of early contenders are that of Ryan Medrano, who grew up with mild cerebral palsy, Owen Knight, who survived the first Tribal Council after a bit of a scare, and tribemate Jeanine Zheng, who has acclimated herself well already. Paralympian Noelle Lambert, 19-year-old Sami Layadi, heart valve specialist Mike Gabler and salesman Cody Assenmacher shone early as potential interesting contestants this year.

Lets’ take a look at the Survivor Season 43 odds to be crowned champion, and offer you our early pick.

Survivor 43 – Odds to Win Season 

Odds as of September 28th.

The game started with the now typical three tribes of six contestants each, with Vesi, Coco and Baka comprising the three units. Baka went to Tribal Council first, where Morriah Young was voted off 5-to-1.

Early Contenders

It’s easy to see why oddsmakers have installed Ryan Medrano as the early favorite to win this season. In the ‘Savvy or Sweat’ challenge, his team selected Sweat. It was deemed to have potentially taken four hours to complete, but his brilliant strategy to dig into the sand in an ‘X’ formation was successful within 30 minutes, where he pulled up the supplies.

Ryan – a mix of brain and brawn.

Completed the sweat challenge in under 30 minutes #Survivor43 #Survivor
pic.twitter.com/mPlYKKrC38

— JDM (@Joshua__DM) September 22, 2022

He also has an incredible back story, as he was born three months early with mild cerebral palsy and the doctors said he’d never walk. The fact that he was able to overcome that, and show so well in episode one, allows him to connect to the audience.

The second favorite is a mild surprise to say the least, in terms of what went down in the premiere. Owen Knight is listed at +600, despite potentially having his torch snuffed first. He obviously survived, but his tribe is already threatened by his physical presence and social skills. While he has time to make a recovery, he’ll be considered a threat for the duration of the season.

Better Value For Other Survivor 43 Players

Cody Assenmacher is either going to play extremely well this season, or be ousted very early. He has that look about him, as the first episode focused on him a lot. He brilliantly aided in the Vesi tribe winning a challenge by telling Dwight to maneuver the flint to fall in the center of the bamboo, allowing them to win. He also threw shade on Justine, who he claimed can’t be trusted because she’s a saleswoman – despite Cody being a salesman himself.

Cody (in sales) using the stereotypes about people in sales to put a target on Justine (in sales) is the kind of mess I enjoy on this show. #Survivor

— Kristina (@stinaknits) September 22, 2022

The man sporting a “livin’ tattoo will surely ruffle feathers but has a win at all costs mentality, and at +1000, sports good value.

Clinical Psychologist Elisabeth “Elie” Scott certainly has a great grasp on the game. She opened up with her teammates over the tragic passing of her sister, which immediately bonded her with the squad. She has the intelligence to go far in the game, and is also at +1000.

Love the horror music as Gabler talks about playing his Shot in the Dark. #Survivor

— Dalton Ross (@DaltonRoss) September 22, 2022

It would be a shocker if tribemate Mike Gabler (+1300) contended, however hilarious he’ll be. Gabler won an immunity idol, yet bizarrely claimed he was going to instead play his ‘shot in the dark’ attempt at Tribal Council, confusing absolutely everyone. This erratic behavior so early in the contest doesn’t bode well.

Survivor 43 Winner Pick

I’m looking towards a potential boom or bust candidate to take home the Survivor season 43 crown. 19-year-old pet cremator Sami Layadi, who lied and said he was 22 so as not to be dismissed, is a character. He’d be the youngest champion in the history of the franchise.

Not only did he correctly select the winning number in the ‘Savvy or Sweat’ challenge, but he started the fire after a long tribe struggle with the flint. This could go horribly wrong early, but I’m backing the kid to take home the cool $1 million dollars.

Pick: Sami Layadi (+2000)