Survivor Season 49 Premiere Recap: 18 contestants, 3 tribes, and an exciting first challenge

Survivor Season 49 premiered on September 24, 2025. The latest season started with 18 new participants arriving in Fiji. After the show host, Jeff Probst, welcomed them, they were divided into three teams. They were:

• Blue: Kele Tribe,
• Yellow: Hina Tribe,
• Red: Uli Tribe.

Soon, the tribes faced their first challenge. It was to secure their supplies. After the Hina tribe won the challenge, the rest of them were given a second chance. For the one-on-one challenge, the Kele and Uli tribes sent each player to compete.

Later on in Survivor, viewers also witnessed multiple alliances forming among various tribe members. Read further to know more about the first immunity challenge and which tribe was sent to the tribal council.

Survivor Season 49 Premiere Recap: What happened after 18 cast members were divided into three tribes?

Survivor Season 49 premiere began with show host Jeff Probst announcing the participants and their assigned tribes. They were:

After the tribes were formed, it was time for the first challenge of Survivor Season 49. For that, participants had to carry the crates from the beach and arrange them in a particular order. It was supposed to be a puzzle. After that, climb up to the top and ring the bell. The tribe that completed this task the fastest would win supplies for themselves.

As the challenge started, the Hina tribe was in the lead while the Kele tribe was moving to the bottom. Soon, the Uli tribe overtakes Hina and takes the lead. After getting the crates to the beach, everyone started working on their puzzle. The Hina tribe was the first one to complete the task and ring the bell.

While the Hina tribe advanced to build their camp, the show host announced that the rest of the tribes would get another chance. For that, each tribe would send a player to participate in a one-on-one challenge. The Kele tribe sent Alex, while Uli sent Rizo. The two were sent to face the challenge, and their respective teams headed to build their camp.

For the one-on-one challenge, Alex and Rizo received instructions. They were supposed to find 10 coconuts with a particular mark and open them to get the puzzle pieces. It would lead them to a map where they had to dig and find a wheel. Then they had to use that wheel to raise the flag. The participant who manages to complete their task and raise the flag first would win the supplies for their tribe.

Alex started strong, leaving Rizo quite far behind while searching for coconuts. He also finished the puzzle and started the digging process. On the other hand, Survivor's Rizo was still searching for his marked coconuts. Later, Alex was searching for his wheel while Rizo worked on his puzzle, and he also dug out the wheel before Alex. As a result, the Uli tribe won their supplies.

Further in the Survivor episode, when Alex and Rizo returned to their respective camps, alliances started to form. Rizo's tribe, Uli, was happy that he won the supplies, while Alex was worried about his tribe's reaction. Alex allied with Sophi and Jake. Later, he also got into a secret alliance with Annie.

At tribe Uli, Jawan, Savannah, and Shannon also formed an alliance. They were looking for a stronger fourth person. Later, Nate spoke with Savannah about forming an alliance. He mentioned they should get Shannon and Rizo in their group, along with two other stronger players.

On the third day, the tribes participated in their first immunity challenge. Hina won the first challenge, followed by Uli, while the Kele tribe came in last. As a result, Kele was sent to the tribal council to face their fate.

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Fans can now stream Survivor Season 49 on CBS and Paramount+.

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