Terry Fator Award - Male in Reality

The Terry Fator Award for Best Male Contestant in a Reality Competition
2009: Dan Gheesling (Big Brother)
2010: Russell Hantz (Survivor)
2011: Rob Mariano (Survivor)
2012: Coach Wade (Survivor)
2013: John Cochran (Survivor)
2014: Tony Vlachos (Survivor)
2015: Mike Holloway (Survivor)
2016: John McGuire (Big Brother)
2017: Victor Arroyo (Big Brother)

2018 Results

10. Jordan Wiseley (The Challenge) 2 points
5th by Larry, Marsh

9. CT Tamburello (The Challenge) 3 points
4th by Marsh

8. Kevin Schlehuber (Big Brother) 5 points
2nd by Jack

7. Johnny Bananas (The Challenge) 6 points
3rd by Marsh

6. Chris Noble (Survivor) 8 points
1st by T-time

5. Josh Martinez (Big Brother) 8 points
2nd by Loose

4. Ben Driebergen (Survivor) 13 points
1st by Marsh, Tippy

3. Tony Raines (The Challenge) 13 points
1st by Loose, Jaydon

2. Domenick Abbate (Survivor) 14 points
2nd by T-time, Larry, Marsh, Tippy

1. Cody Nickson (Big Brother) 15 points
1st by Larry, Jack

Winners' Breakdown
1st: Larry, Jack
3rd: Loose
4th: T-time, Jaydon
No Votes: Tyson, Brady, Marsh, Bonz, Lenny, Cecil, Rizzo, Tippy

Terry Fator Award - Male in Reality

The Terry Fator Award for Best Male Contestant in a Reality Competition
2009: Dan Gheesling (Big Brother)
2010: Russell Hantz (Survivor)
2011: Rob Mariano (Survivor)
2012: Coach Wade (Survivor)
2013: John Cochran (Survivor)
2014: Tony Vlachos (Survivor)
2015: Mike Holloway (Survivor)
2016: John McGuire (Big Brother)

2017 Results

10. Ken McNickle (Survivor) 5 points
2nd by Tippy

9. Wes Bergmann (The Challenge) 5 points
2nd by Tyson

8. Jay Starret (Survivor) 7 points
1st by T-time

7. Brad Culpepper (Survivor) 7 points
1st by Tippy

6. Frank Eudy (Big Brother) 11 points
1st by Jack

5. Johnny Bananas (The Challenge) 12 points
1st by Jaydon

4. CT Tamubrello (The Challenge) 13 points
1st by Tyson, Rizzo

3. James Huling (Big Brother) 14 points
1st by Larry, Marsh

2. Paul Abrahamian (Big Brother) 14 points
2nd by Jack, Marsh

1. Victor Arroyo (Big Brother) 15 points
1st by Loose

This is the third win for Big Brother in the category and the second straight victory. Big Brother and Survivor are the only two series to win the Terry Fator Award. 

Winners' Breakdown
1st: Loose
2nd: T-time
3rd: Jack, Jaydon
No Votes: Tyson, Bonz, Brady, Lenny, Cecil, Rizzo, Tippy

Terry Fator Award - Male in Reality

The James Zinkand Award for the Reality Competition Contestant you love to hate
2009: Dan Gheesling (Big Brother)
2010: Russell Hantz (Survivor)
2011: Rob Mariano (Survivor)
2012: Coach Wade (Survivor)
2013: John Cochran (Survivor)
2014: Tony Vlachos (Survivor)
2015: Mike Holloway (Survivor)

2016 Results

10. Joe Bailey (Bachelor in Paradise) 3 points
3rd by Marsh

9. Spencer Bledsoe (Survivor) 3 points
3rd by Tippy

8. Dalton Rapattoni (American Idol) 6 points
2nd by Tippy

7. Jeremy Collins (Survivor) 9 points
2nd by Loose

6. Wes Bergmann (The Challenge) 11 points
2nd by Larry, Tyson

5. Johnny Bananas (The Challenge) 13 points
1st by Tyson

4. Caleb Reynolds (Survivor) 13 points
2nd by Marsh

3. James Huling (Big Brother) 16 points
1st by Larry, Marsh

2. Kyle Jason (Survivor) 16 points
1st by Jack, Tippy

1. John McGuire (Big Brother) 21 points
1st by Loose, T-time, Jaydon

This is the second win for Big Brother in the category and the first since Dan Gheesling won the award back in the first year of the Poolies. Big Brother has won six overall Poolies, including the best reality series honor in 2013.

Winner's Breakdown
1st: Loose, T-time, Jaydon
2nd: Jack
4th: Larry
No Vote: Tyson, Marsh, Bonz, Brady, Lenny, Cecil, Rizzo, Tippy

Terry Fator Award - Male in Reality

The Terry Fator Award for Best Male Contestant in a Reality Competition
2009: Dan Gheesling (Big Brother)
2010: Russell Hantz (Survivor)
2011: Rob Mariano (Survivor)
2012: Coach Wade (Survivor)
2013: John Cochran (Survivor)
2014: Tony Vlachos (Survivor)

2015 Results

10. Donny Thompson (Big Brother) 2 points
5th by T-time, Jack

9. Johnny Bananas (The Challenge) 2 points
5th by Larry, Marsh

8. Jesse Kovacs (Bachelor in Paradise) 3 points
1st by Lenny

7. Jeremy Collins (Survivor) 5 points
2nd by Tyson

6. Clark Beckham (American Idol) 9 points
2nd by Tippy

5. Wes Bergmann (The Challenge) 12 points
1st by Marsh

4. Joe Anglim (Survivor) 12 points
2nd by Mags

3. Caleb Reynolds (Big Brother) 23 points
1st by Larry, Jaydon

2. Zach Rance (Big Brother) 25 points
1st by Loose, T-time, Jack

and the Poolie goes to...

1. Mike Holloway (Survivor) 29 points
1st by Mags, Tyson, Tippy

Mike's win marks six years of domination by Survivor in the category, fending off worthy competitors Zach and Beast Mode Cowboy from this summer's Big Brother.  It's the third straight year and fourth time overall that a Survivor winner has won this category.  The series now has 17 overall victories, again, the most by far at the Poolies.

Winner's Breakdown
1st: Mags, Tyson, Tippy
2nd: T-time, Larry, Jaydon
3rd: Loose
4th: Jack
No Vote: Cecil, Rizzo, Bonz, Brady, Lenny, Marsh

Terry Fator Award - Male in Reality

Named For: Terry Fator (America's Got Talent)
Awarded To: The best male contestant in a reality competition series
2009: Dan Gheesling (Big Brother)
2010: Russell Hantz (Survivor)
2011: Rob Mariano (Survivor)
2012: Coach Wade (Survivor)
2013: John Cochran (Survivor)

Here are this year's honorees...

10th. McCrae Olson (Big Brother) 3 points
4th by Jaydon

9th. Hayden Moss (Survivor) 3 points
4th by Jack; 5th by me

8th. Philly's Finest Sambonis (Food Truck Race) 3 points
5th by T-time; 4th by me

7th. Bryan Voltaggio (Top Chef) 4 points
2nd by Marsh

6th. Spencer Clawson (Big Brother) 5 points
2nd by T-time

5th. Woo Huang (Survivor) 7 points
3rd by T-time, Jack

4th. Alex Preston (American Idol) 9 points
2nd by Jack, Ty; 3rd by me

3rd. C.T. Tramburello (The Challenge) 13 points
1st by Ty, Rizzo, Bonz, Marsh

2nd. Tyson Apostol (Survivor) 15 points
1st by Jaydon; 2nd by me

and the Poolie goes to...

1st. Tony Vlachos (Survivor) 21 points
1st by T-time, Jack; 1st by me

This is fifth straight year that a contestant from Survivor has won the Terry Fator Award.

Terry Fator Award - Male in Reality

Named For: Terry Fator (America's Got Talent)
Awarded To: The best male contestant in a reality competition series
2009 Winner: Dan Gheesling (Big Brother)
2010 Winner: Russell Hantz (Survivor)
2011 Winner: Rob Mariano (Survivor)
2012 Winner: Coach Wade (Survivor)



10th. Ben Clark (Love in the Wild) 0 points

9th. Ian Terry (Big Brother) 2 points
4th by T-time

8th. Wesley Stromberg (The X Factor) 4 points
3rd by Tyson

7th. Malcolm Freberg (Survivor) 5 points
3rd by Jaydon

6th. Nicholas David (The Voice) 7 points
1st by Tyson

5th. Dan Gheesling (Big Brother) 8 points
1st by Jaydon, Lenny

4th. Frank Eudy (Big Brother) 9 points
2nd by Jack; 4th by me

3rd. Mike "Boogie" Malin (Big Brother) 10 points
2nd by Jack; 3rd by me

2nd. Phillip Sheppard (Survivor) 17 points
1st by Jack; 2nd by me

and the Poolie goes to...

1st. John Cochran (Survivor) 19 points
1st by T-time; 1st by me

The Terry Fator Award- Male Reality

Named For: Terry Fator (America's Got Talent)
Awarded To: The best male reality competition contestant of the season
2009 Winner: Dan Gheesling (Big Brother)
2010 Winner: Russell Hantz (Survivor)
2011 Winner: Rob Mariano (Survivor)

10. Tony Lucca (The Voice) 0 points

9. Paul Qui (Top Chef) 2 points
2nd by Jaydon

8. Michael Odokara-Okigbo (The Sing Off) 7 points
1st by Jack

7. Phillip Phillips (American Idol) 7 points
1st by Larry and Rizzo

6. Bopper and Mark (Amazing Race) 7 points
1st by Jaydon and Cecil, 5th by Me

5. Colton Dixon (American Idol) 7 points
2nd by Tyson, 4th by Me

4. Brendon Villegas (Amazing Race/Big Brother) 8 points
2nd by T-time and Jack

3. Troyzan Robertson (Survivor) 13 points
2nd by Larry, 2nd by Me

2. John Cochran (Survivor) 13 points
3rd by Cecil, T-time, and Larry, 1st by Me

and the Poolie goes to...

1. Coach Wade (Survivor) 16 points
1st by Tyson and T-time, 3rd by Me

This is Coach Benjamin Wade's third nomination and first win for the best reality competition contestant of the season.  Coach was nominated for the honor back in 2009 and 2010 for his work on Survivor.  Here to discuss Coach's prowess is Poolie voter, Tyson.

____________________________________

Coach Wade: How could you not love the dragon slayer? A man who was fired for telling the school where he coached women’s soccer that he would be gone for a week and then took two months off to go on Survivor.

A man who claims to have set the world record for the longest solo kayak expedition on the ocean (an amazing 6,132 miles) despite the fact that current record holder Paul Caffyn kayaked more than 9,000 miles in 1980 and 1981, 30 years before Coach claimed the record.

A man who claims to have overcome a ruthless attack by Amazon pygmies.

The one consistent aspect of Coach’s character is that he lies. A lot. Normally, people don’t like liars but when someone is this disconnected from reality it doesn’t feel like lying anymore, it feels like storytelling and everyone loves a good story. I, for one, hope Coach keeps telling them.

by Tyson Brazell

The Terry Fator Award- Male Reality Contestant

Named For: Terry Fator (America's Got Talent)
Awarded To: The best male reality competition contestant
2009 Winner: Dan Gheesling (Big Brother)
2010 Winner: Russell Hantz (Survivor)

Place. Nominee (Series) Points (My Vote)

10. Flight Time and Big Easy (Amazing Race) 0 points

9. Morgan Wilson (Top Chef) 0 points

8. Zev and Justin (Amazing Race) 2 points (5th)

7. Lane Elenburg (Big Brother) 4 points

6. Hayden Moss (Big Brother) 6 points

5. Richard Blais (Top Chef) 9 points

4. Enzo Palumbo (Big Brother) 11 points (3rd)

3. Paul McDonald (American Idol) 12 points (4th)

2. Phil Sheppard (Survivor) 21 points (2nd)

and the Poolie goes to...

1. Rob Mariano (Survivor) 31 points (1st)

This is Rob Mariano's second Poolie nomination for best male reality competition contestant, and first ever win of the Terry Fator Award.

It took Boston Rob Mariano four seasons, but he finally won the coveted honor of Sole Survivor.  He did it with class.  He did it with style.  And he did it by completely controlling everyone on the island from start to finish.  Not only did he lie, steal, and back stab his way to the final tribal, but he brought with him two contestants that were not going to have a prayer of beating him at the jury vote.  He out Russelled Russell Hantz in a season that was dubbed "Rob vs. Russell" and we all were better for it.  Not only was he a fantastic player, but he was a joy to watch.  I wasn't in the Survivor game way back when this guy got started, but it's hard to imagine he was ever more entertaining than he was here, on Redemption Island.

Spring Poolies Watch- Reality and Others

With only two months left in the Poolies season, it's time to take another look at how things are shaking out before the final ballots are released on June 1st. Here's your chance to agree or disagree with the chairman in order to give whatever show or character tickled your fancy this year a shot at glory. Next up are the reality awards along with a few others, let's take a look around the pool...

The Battle of the Network Stars Award For Best Reality Competition Series

Definites
Big Brother, Top Chef, Survivor, American Idol, The Amazing Race, and The Sing Off. Nothing to see here folks. Keep moving.

In For Now
Bachelor Pad, Ultimate Catch, America’s Got Talent, and The Bachelor. Sometimes I think about switching this award to only five nominees, but then I think about getting rid of one of the six above and realize that is not possible. With The Voice and X-Factor on the way, it seems even less possible.

The Terry Fator Award For Best Male Reality Competition Contestant

Definites
Enzo (Big Brother), Hayden (Big Brother), Richard Blais (Top Chef All-Stars), Morgan (Top Chef Desserts), and Phil Sheppard (Survivor Redemption Island). Morgan’s hatred of Zac, who you’ll find on the most hated list in a bit, was ultimately what made him a definite.

In For Now
Kevin (Top Chef), Lane (Big Brother), Jesse Kovacs (Bachelor Pad), Zev and Justin (Amazing Race 18), and Paul McDonald (American Idol). Unlike with the scripted series, there is a lot of time left for reality contestants to make their moves. No one is safe, but these five are even less safe.

Outside Looking In
Fabio (Survivor Nicaragua), Mike Isabella (Top Chef All-Stars), Boston Rob (Survivor Redemption Island), Flight Time and Big Easy (Amazing Race 18), David Good (Bachelor Pad), and Jet and Cord (Amazing Race 18).

The Kellie Pickler Award For Best Female Reality Competition Contestant

Definites
Britney (Big Brother), Tara (Ultimate Catch), Brenda (Survivor Nicaragua), and Natalie (Bachelor Pad). If you watched Big Brother, you’re voting Britney number one. If you didn’t, you should watch one episode, so that you will have reason to vote her number one.

In For Now
Lauren Alaina (American Idol), Mallory (Amazing Race 18), Danielle (Top Chef Just Desserts), Amanda (Top Chef), Haley Reinhart (American Idol), and Ashley Underwood (Survivor Redemption Island). As always, this is a tough category to fill out, which causes me to think about adding judges and hosts to the category. Then I always nix that idea.

Outside Looking In
Monet (Big Brother), Kelly (Top Chef), Peyton (Bachelor Pad), Nat and Kat (Amazing Race 17), and Andrea Boehlke (Survivor Redemption Island). I don’t like any of these people.

The Crazy James Zinkand Award For the Reality Competition Contestant You Love to Hate

Definites
Rachel (Big Brother), Ragan (Big Brother), Zac (Top Chef Just Desserts), Jane (Survivor Nicaragua), and Gia (Bachelor Pad). The reality awards are worth it if only for this category. There are so many contestants that I can’t stand, but these five definitely took the cake over the course of the year for me.

In For Now
Alex (Top Chef), Wes (Bachelor Pad), NaOnka (Survivor Nicaragua), Ralph (Survivor Redemption Island), and Jacob Lusk (American Idol). Lots to hate on the most recent seasons of Survivor and American Idol. Give these guys time and they’ll make their way to the top.

Outside Looking In
James Durbin (American Idol), Naima Adedapo (American Idol), Brook and Claire (Amazing Race 17), Carla Hall (Top Chef All Stars), Margie and Luke (Amazing Race 18), and Holly (Survivor Nicaragua). And there were more! Keep the hate coming.

The Johnny Carson Award For Best Late Night Host

In For Now
Jimmy Fallon
Joel McHale
Conan O'Brien
Daniel Tosh
Steven Colbert

Outside Looking In
Jon Stewart
David Letterman
Jay Leno

The Chris Farley Award For Best Sketch Performer

In For Now
Bill Hader
Fred Armisen
Kenan Thompson
Kristen Wiig
Jason Sudeikus

Outside Looking In
Jay Pharoah
Bobby Moynihan
Andy Samberg

The Flintstones Award For Best Animated Series

In For Now
Family Guy
South Park
The Ricky Gervais Show
The Simpsons
Archer

The Terry Fator Award- Male Reality Contestant

Named For: Terry Fator, winner of America's Got Talent Season Two
Awarded To: The best male reality competition contestant from
June 1, 2009 - May 31, 2010
Last Year's Winner: Dan Gheesling- Big Brother

Place. Contestant (Show) Points (My Vote)

10. Jet and Cord (Amazing Race) 2 points

9. Russell Kairouz (Big Brother) 4 points

8. Rick Moonen (Top Chef) 7 points

7. Nota (The Sing-Off) 9 points

6. Lee DeWyze (American Idol) 11 points

5. Jeff Schroeder (Big Brother/Amazing Race) 12 points (2nd)

4. 'Boston' Rob Mariano (Survivor) 13 points (3rd)

3. Susur Lee (Top Chef) 15 points (4th)

Runner-Up
2. 'Coach' Wade (Survivor) 15 points (1st)

and the Poolie goes to...
1. Russell Hantz (Survivor)
28 points (5th)

Here with his thoughts on Russell Hantz is Poolie voter, Jaydon...

Russell Hantz is a Survivor master who has been robbed of being the ultimate survivor twice in a row by a jury of worthless babies.

Russell Hantz is a buffoon who doesn’t realize that the social game counts just as much, if not more, than cunning your way to the end.

Which is it? They’re both true. I say who cares. Survivor is a broken game, maimed by petulant, self-obsessed dupes for jurors. May I quote the esteemed Pool Master General, “Congratulations to Sandra for becoming the first person to win Survivor twice. I don't know if that makes her the best player ever, but it certainly could be.”

*Sparty boot *

Christ on a stick, this is a travesty. I’ve seen both of Sandra’s seasons. She’d be lucky to crack a Top 20 list. Why do we watch this charade? Well, it’s often a great ride filled with excellent betrayals and blind sides. It’s still a twisty good time after 20 seasons. As the show that pretty much gave birth to reality TV, it has maintained a certain prestige, even in waning popularity, as one of the few reality competitions that can be taken seriously. Maybe we should stop taking it seriously. This is a show that rewards mediocrity and coat-tail riding in near equal step with worthy performances. If you look at past winners there are enough shameful ones to start feeling like maybe it isn’t worth it. But it is worth it if you can accept that it’s more about the journey than the winner. I’m sure that’s how Russell rationalizes the game.

Russell is undoubtedly a top 5 all-time Survivor competitor. This is especially noteworthy since he’s among the worst at the social game. He’s so good at everything else that despite this Achilles heel, he’s still an undeniable force. The fans have validated him twice by handing him the consolatory Player of the Season prize. In a 99 day stretch of his life he played 78 days of Survivor, 39 of which were against some of the best players the game has ever seen. He made it to the finals both times and won the final immunity challenge both times. For this he was rewarded with a total of 2 out of a possible 18 votes from the two juries. He was robbed clean during Samoa, but for this past All-star season, he was arguably outplayed by Parvati. She subverted his cocksure “I run this game” fantasy by successfully stringing him along and making independent strategic moves. Russell was so butt hurt about Parv keeping secrets from him that he turned on his own alliance, eviscerating any sort of jury advocacy for the finals. On the positive end, the Bald Hobbit continued to embarrass the Survivor producers with his Hidden Immunity Idol magnetism. He Jedi Mind Tricked Tyson to pretty much vote himself out of the game. He made JT look like Shortbus McGillicutty with the whole “female alliance” letter fiasco. The man was making moves and adapting to shifts in play on a dime (recall his brief alliance with Rupert and Colby before he booted them both in a row). This led to some serious jury alienation and the game was given to Sandra over the two actually worthy finalists. The Pool has shunned Russell, but he really doesn’t deserve it. He’s an excellent player with a formidable flaw. He also can be excused a little for playing back to back games. He deserves our recognition as having played the best game out of all male reality competitors this season. Maybe next All-star, he’ll have learned how to make it to the end without incurring the wrath of the entire jury. It’s that third time around where Russell will either prove himself worthy of the GOAT conversation or cement his legacy as a very skilled, fatally flawed, one-trick pony.

by Jonathan Stuart

Poolies Watch- Terry Fator Award

The Terry Fator Award is given each year to the best male contestant in a reality competition series, as honored by the Poolie Voters. With a second season of Survivor chock full of all-stars and American Idol finals still on the horizon, I don't see more than five of these current nominees staying put. Of the top five that I like to stick around, Jeff and the Russell's should be confident in their performances. Each demonstrated both the ability to play their respective game and the ability to entertain me in the process. With Russell Hantz coming back for Heroes vs. Villain and Jeff rumored to be on this spring's Amazing Race, they both have chances to win this thing.

Those With a Chance
Jeff Schroeder- Big Brother
Nota- The Sing Off
Russell Hantz- Survivor Samoa
Russell Kairouz- Big Brother
Terrell Owens- The Superstars

The rest of these guys are highly unlikely to make the final cut, but it's nice for them to get noticed among those that performed well this summer/fall. Flight Time has the best chance to sneak in if no one from the spring version of The Amazing Race does anything well.

Not Likely
Beelzebubs- The Sing Off
Bode Miller- The Superstars
Brian- The Amazing Race
Casey Turner- Big Brother
Flight Time- The Amazing Race
John Fincher- Survivor Samoa
Zev and Justin- The Amazing Race

Anybody else deserve a look? Any good cooks out there from Top Chef?