Jeff Probst reveals results of unaired “Survivor 47” schoolyard pick

The host also explains why the scene was ultimately cut from the episode.

Just two weeks ago, when Survivor 47 randomly divided three tribes into two teams for a reward challenge, I complained that the show was missing out on plenty of potential drama by not having the players partake in a old-school Survivor schoolyard pick 'em.

Just imagine the story that could be generated by Rome Cooney not getting picked first, I argued. Or fake 45-year-old Sue Smey being picked last, I insisted. Would Andy Rueda — who already suffered one mat meltdown after his tribemates did not cheer for him when he opened a coconut — have a relapse if he was chosen after everyone else? There just seemed to be endless possibilities with this bunch.

Related: Survivor 47 recap: Rome gets fact-checked

Which is why my heart soared when host and showrunner Jeff Probst announced on this week's episode that they would, in fact, do a schoolyard pick to divide the three tribes into two teams for the big merge challenge. Just one problem, however: We never saw the actual picking. We didn't see who became captains by random draw. We didn't see who got selected when, and by whom. We saw nothing.

On the latest episode of his On Fire With Jeff Probst podcast, the host explains why they decided to do the first schoolyard pick of the new era. "We thought it would be interesting at this point in the game to force them to expose their thought process," Probst says. "And it was a fascinating thought process, especially seeing who was left at the end. And as we've talked about, if you're going to do a schoolyard pick to see their thought process, you got to allocate the time in the show so that you can show it."

Unfortunately for viewers, in the end, that time did not exist. "When we got to this episode with 90 minutes, there was so much gameplay happening that centered around the vote that we once again had to make some tough cuts," Probst says. "So as fun as it was, we knew, 'Well, look, the result doesn't change even if we don't show it. So we won't show it.'"

Related: Survivor 47 star Andy Rueda details comeback from meltdown to merge

My sources tell me that Teeny and Tiyana were the captains by random draw. And the first four picks in order were Sam, Gabe, Kyle, and Sol. But the host himself divulges some intel on the latest On Fire. "I will give you a little secret information from that schoolyard pick," he says on the podcast. "The last two players were Sue was the next to last pick, and the last pick of all players — Andy."

The fact that the fiercely proud Sue and the emotionally vulnerable Andy — who spoke with Entertainment Weekly about his journey from meltdown to merge — were the last two picks makes it even more surprising that the scene did not make the final cut. "That's why you want to include it in the episode," Probst acknowledges, "because you had a moment where Andy was standing there and I got to ask him, 'Andy, we're going back to day one. This has been your story.' And he goes, 'It's always my story, but I'm still in the game.' There we go."

For more from Probst on the latest episode, check out the On Fire podcast.

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