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This article is about the challenge. For the episode of the same name, see "Sumo at Sea".

Sumo at Sea (also known as Kung Fu Cannibals, Sumo in Mud, Water Pillow Fight, Mud Sumo Wrestling, and Sumo-ans) is a recurring challenge that originated in Survivor: Palau and was used in later seasons.

Rules[]

One member from each tribe faces off on a platform surrounded by either water (Palau, Blood vs. Water, and San Juan del Sur) or mud (Fiji and Heroes vs. Villains). Using their padded bags, or any other body part other than their hands, they must try to knock each other off the platform. Doing so would score their tribe a point. The first tribe to reach a certain number of points would win.

History[]

United States[]

In Survivor: Palau, its debut season, Koror narrowly managed to beat out Ulong for immunity.

The challenge reappeared as a Reward Challenge in Survivor: Fiji. Moto won, taking home fishing gear, toiletries, coffee, and potatoes.

The Heroes won this challenge in Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains in a blowout 8-0 victory. In addition to immunity, the tribe also won rice, sugar, coffee, and the tribe's luxury items.

The challenge appeared once again in Survivor: Blood vs. Water. Although Tadhana started off strong, Galang managed to make a comeback and ended up winning their third Immunity Challenge.

The challenge appeared again in Survivor: San Juan del Sur as the second Immunity Challenge. The two tribes were very evenly matched, and Kelley Wentworth avenged her loss to Jaclyn Schultz in the first round by defeating her in the final round, securing immunity for Hunahpu for the second straight time.

Australia[]

Mexico (Unofficial)[]

The challenge was used as a Final Challenge in La Isla 2012, where the tribes played surrounded by water, and the first tribe to reach six points would win. The Celebridades tribe had a blowout victory, not letting the Famosos tribe score a single point.

New Zealand[]

Quebec[]

Russia (Unofficial)[]

In Serdtse Afriki, the challenge was used for immunity. During the challenge, Roman Lebedev doesn't let Dmitry Makarov get up, and Dmitry pushes Roman off the platform with his hands, both of which were against the rules. Ultimately, Sand claims immunity once again.

South Africa[]

In Santa Carolina, the tribes had to elect one member to represent them in the challenge, where the opponents would attempt to push each other off a balance beam using one of three stick weapons. Chibudu selected Okkert Brits, while Timbila selected Izak Davel. Although Izak won the first round, Okkert won the next three rounds to clinch an assortment of groceries for his tribe.

Sweden[]

United Kingdom[]

The challenge was used as the fifth tribal Reward Challenge of Survivor U.K. (2023), where the first tribe to score four points won camp comforts and hot chocolate. The rival Caletón and La Nena tribes were even heading into the seventh and final round, where Caletón's Rachel Golding faced off against La Nena's Christopher Haul. However, an unintentional headbutt caused both competitors to sustain injuries, prompting the Medical Team to step in and host Joel Dommett to cancel the challenge without a winner declared. Joel later showed up to both tribes with an even share of the reward.

Winners[]

Episode Challenge Type Winners
Palau
"Sumo at Sea"
Tribal Immunity S10 caryn tS10 coby tS10 gregg t
S10 ian tS10 janu tS10 jenn t
S10 katie tS10 tom tS10 willard t
Koror
Fiji
"Love Many, Trust Few, Do Wrong to None"
Tribal Reward S14 alex tS14 boo tS14 cassandra t
S14 dreamz tS14 edgardo tS14 lisi tS14 stacy t
Moto
Heroes vs. Villains
"That Girl Is Like a Virus"
Tribal Reward/Immunity S20 amanda tS20 candice tS20 cirie tS20 colby t
S20 jt tS20 james tS20 rupert tS20 tom t
Heroes
Blood vs. Water
"Opening Pandora's Box"
Tribal Reward/Immunity S27 aras tS27 gervase tS27 kat tS27 laurab t
S27 lauram tS27 monica tS27 tina tS27 tyson t
Galang
San Juan del Sur
"Method to This Madness"
Tribal Immunity S29 drew tS29 jeremy tS29 jon t
S29 julie tS29 keith tS29 kelley t
S29 missy tS29 natalie tS29 reed t
Hunahpu

Episode Challenge Type Winners
Australian Survivor (2017)
Episode 7
Tribal Immunity AUS4 ak tAUS4 anneliese tAUS4 jarrad tAUS4 locky t
AUS4 peter tAUS4 tara tAUS4 tessa tAUS4 ziggy t
Samatau
Champions v Contenders (2018)
Episode 2
Tribal Reward AUS5 brian tAUS5 damien tAUS5 jackie tAUS5 lydia t
AUS5 mat tAUS5 moana tAUS5 monika tAUS5 russell t
AUS5 samuel tAUS5 shane tAUS5 sharn tAUS5 stevew t
Champions (2018)
Blood v Water
Episode 5
Tribal Reward AUS9 alex tAUS9 chrissy tAUS9 jordie t
AUS9 josh tAUS9 khanh tAUS9 kj tAUS9 mark t
AUS9 mel tAUS9 nina tAUS9 shay tAUS9 sophie t
Water

Episode Challenge Type Winners
La Isla 2012
Cycle 3, Episode 11
Tribal Immunity 2012LI celia t2012LI daniel t
2012LI adolfo t2012LI ivonne t2012LI ricardo t
Celebridades (2012)

Episode Challenge Type Winners
Thailand
Episode 4
Tribal Reward NZS2 adam tNZS2 brad tNZS2 dylan t
NZS2 josh tNZS2 kaysha tNZS2 lisa t
NZS2 matt tNZS2 tara tNZS2 tess t
Khangkhaw

Episode Challenge Type Winners
Survivor Québec (2023)
Episode 5
Tribal Immunity QCS1 denis tQCS1 justine tQCS1 karine t
QCS1 martine tQCS1 maryse tQCS1 nicolas t
QCS1 pierrealexandre tQCS1 sylvain tQCS1 vicky t
Kalooban

Episode Challenge Type Winners
Serdtse Afriki
Episode 2
Tribal Immunity RUU1 alexey tRUU1 annak tRUU1 linda t
RUU1 lyubov tRUU1 natasha tRUU1 roman t
RUU1 samir tRUU1 vitaly tRUU1 vladimirv t
Sand

Episode Challenge Type Winners
Santa Carolina
Episode 3
Tribal Reward
(Hero Challenge)
ZAS3 craig tZAS3 gigi tZAS3 gys t
ZAS3 hanna tZAS3 okkert tZAS3 sade t
Chibudu
Maldives
Episode 1
Team Reward ZAS4 jacques tZAS4 mxo tZAS4 roxy tZAS4 vanessa t
Jacques, MXO, Roxy, Vanessa

Episode Challenge Type Winners
Robinson 2023
Episode 22
Individual Reward SES23 erik t
Erik Wahrolén

Episode Challenge Type Winners
Survivor U.K. (2023)
Episode 5
Tribal Reward None
Challenge canceled due to injury

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Tom Westman and Tyson Apostol are the only people to participate in this challenge twice.
    • However, Tom is the only person to be on the winning tribe of this challenge twice since Tyson only won it in his second attempt (despite Tyson losing his individual matchup).
    • Both competed in a variation with water and mud.
  • The occurrence of this challenge in Survivor: San Juan del Sur marks the first time a challenge has ever taken place in the ocean in seasons filmed in Nicaragua.
  • Tyson Apostol and Baylor Wilson have both been injured as a result of this challenge.
  • According to challenge producer John Kirhoffer, the matches are usually two out of three instead of one single bout.[1]

References[]

Recurring Challenges
A Bit Dinghy · A Bit Tipsy · A Crate Idea · A Leg Up · A Numbers Game · Air Raid · Angry Chair · Around the Bend · Back in Slack · Balancing Point · Ballin' A Jack · Barrel Bridge · Barrel of Monkeys · Basket Brawl · Better Homes and Island Living · Beyond the Wheel · Blind Leading the Blind · Blue Lagoon Bustle · Blue Plate Special · Boats, Brains & Brawn · Bone to Pick · Boulder Smash · Bow Diddley · Box Your Mind · Braille Maze · Broken China · Buggin' Out · Build It Up, Break It Down · Butch Cassidy · By Any Means Necessary · By the Numbers · Cage Against the Machine · Can't Buoy Me Love · Cannonball Run · Caught in the Web · Cell Block Sea · Challenge Pitch · Chief's Choice · Chimney Sweep · Chinese Zodiac Symbols · Cling Ons · Choose Your Weapon · Coconut Juice · Crate Escape · Crocodile Rock · Crosswalk · Cube Crisis · Dear Liza · Dive Masters · Dizzy Gillespie · Dizzy Miss Lizzy · Domino Effect · Draggin' the Dragon · Dragging the River · Drop A Log · Drum Roll · Dulcimer Stomp · End of the Line · EOC · Eve 6 · Fallen Comrades · Fast Fire · Faulty Towers · Fauxconut Bowling · Fire and Water · Fire Fighter · Fire Starter · Flips, Flops, & Flags · Float Your Boat · Floating Puzzle · Game of Bridge · Gatecrasher · Get a Grip · Get Barreled · Get Hooked · Get Your Goat · Gimme Three Steps · Great Escape Run · Hands on a Hard Idol · Hear About It Ladder · Hot Pursuit · House of Cards · House of the Holey · Idol Hands · Jail Break · Jump Shot · Jungle Relay · Kamikaze · Keel Hauling · Keep It Up · Keep on Your Toes · Kenny Log-Ins · Kicking and Screaming · Kitty Litter · Know Your Loved One · Ladder Tree Golf · Last Gasp · Letter Hunt · Lock, Load and Light · Lock Step · Log Jam · Losing Face · Mask Match · Matchmaker · Matt Finish · Mayan Pizza · Memory · Mud Pack · Mud Slide · Muddy Waters · New School · New Tribe Member · Nut Bucket · O-Black Water · Odd Shaped Bottoms · Operation Balance Build · Out on a Limb · Over-Extended · Paddle Battle · Paddle Out · Perch · Pilfering Pirates · Piranha Feast · Pole Dancing · Pot Head · Push Me, Pull You · Puzzle Dig · Q and A · Quest for Fire · Race to Shore · Ram-Ball On · Rescue Mission · Rice Race · Rise and Shrine · Rock Bottom · Rock n' Roll · Rock the Boat · Rod Screw-It · Roll With It · Roller Ball · Rung O Star · Running Down a Dream · Sacrificial Lamb · Schmergen Brawl · Sea Crates · Sea Legs · Sea Salvage · Shipwrecked · Shoot 'n' Shuffle · Shooting Gallery · Shoulder the Load · Simmotion · Slip, Slide & Score · Slither Me Timbers · Smash and Grab · Snag, Drag and Bag · Snake in the Grass · Snake Island Relay · SOS Signal · Spear-it Hunt · Spit It Out · Splash Back · Sprung a Leak · Squared Off · Squatty Probst · Stacked Up · Stairway to Heaven · Stairway to the Stars · Star Man · Station By Station · Step on Up · Stomp-ede · Strung Out · Sumo at Sea · Survivor Auction · Survivor History · Survivor Pentathlon · Survivor Quiz Show · Swahili Scramble · Swing Break · Tangled Up · Temple Transfer · The Ball Drop · The Cruel Sea · The Game is Afoot · The Gauntlet · The Home Stretch · The Maze · The Obstacle Course · This Much · Thrash, Splash & Bash · TLP O-Course · Tomb Raider · Total Recall · Troubled Water · Uncomfortably Numb · United We Stand · Vampire Bats · Vertically Challenged · Vertigo · Wall to Wall · Well Stacked · What-er Drag · When It Rains, It Pours · Wicker Flicker · Will It Go Round · Witch Hunt · Wrist Assured · Yank Your Hank · You Shook Me
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