Charlotte wins The Summit cash
One player walks away with the lion's share of a $500,000+ cash prize -but not without sharing some of it.
- Published by David Knox
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NSW Nurse Charlotte has emerged as the winner of The Summit walking away with a $336,000 prize in Nine’s finale, last night.
The season finale saw Charlotte, Simmone, Mat and Trisha trekking to the top of a mountain on New Zealand’s South Island, carrying $580,000 in their backpacks.
But there were two more twists to come, with self-appointed leader Mat Rogers culling Trisha before the final ascent, sending her home and forfeiting the $53,000 she was carrying.
After three made it to the top, host Jai Courtney warned of one more twist, as the ‘mountain’s keeper’ chopper dropped a final yellow bag, giving Charlotte the right to decide how the remaining cash would be divided.
12 eliminated players, forming a kind of ‘jury,’ weighed in on how she should divide the money, some recommending equally, but others coaxing her to take the whole loot.
In the end Charlotte awarded actor Simmone Jade McKinnon and former NRL champion Mat Rogers $100,000 each, leaving her with $336,000.
Both Charlotte, who was born with a congenital birth defect leaving her with half an arm, and 51 year old McKinnon had defied the odds to make it to the mountain’s summit. 48 year old Rogers, a seasoned Australian Survivor player, was proficient in flying under the radar when needed, manipulation and forming alliances.
Charlotte, 35 from New South Wales, said: “I feel I’ve shown myself and those watching that ability truly comes from the heart. That with determination, humour and a few tears, anything is possible. I took the first step towards that peak with the incredible support of my family, friends and partner, and also the support of those on the mountain who believed in me, Olympia, Lochie, Rosi, Mat and Taylor.
“The prize money will allow me to create security for myself and my family, something I didn’t think would ever be possible as a public healthcare worker. Representation matters. This was for all the nubs out there. You can do it!
“My truest hope is that anyone who has questioned their ability, physical or otherwise, may allow this experience to be a kernel of hope that they too can do anything. Despite seemingly insurmountable odds, we can all put one foot in front of the other and persevere.”
Simmone, 51, from New South Wales, added: “I went in solely for the money for a better life for my son and I, but what I got was a reignited fire deep in my soul. I’ll be forever grateful that The Summit handed me the match.”
Mat, 48 from Queensland, said: “Reaching the summit was amazing. And to do it with the people I’d committed to, getting there with was worth every bit of heartache and struggle.”
The format developed by Endemol Shine Australia and Nine has trailed the competition in its second season, but has sold to several other countries including an upcoming US version for CBS.
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11 Responses
Congratulations to Charlotte! Well deserved! I’m glad she gave $100,000 each to Simone and Matt. And I’m glad Charlotte took over $300,000 because she did say she is helping her mum financially and she deserved it too. Well done to her. Can’t wait for season 3 of The Summit. I would love to see Ros come back if they bring back previous contestants.
That money split left a really sour note on the series for me. It was clear Matt could have laid claim to the final bag decision, but let Charlotte take it; and it was clear he made enemies along the way, he was so keen to get those two women to the end with him. I was particularly upset with the comments that Charlotte needed the money more as she was a nurse, and Simone was an actor! Clearly people are uninformed about what kind of money most working actors make even in a good year, and Simone hasn’t done that sort of work she said since 2008. I thought it was mean-spirited to give the woman raising her son in a caravan a token amount. Charlotte would never have made it to the end without Matt, and he would have done the right thing.
i’m not a reality guy..never watched survivor or any of those shows,but i watched this.mostly for the the scenic beauty,some of it jai,partly i think because the helicopter was like a sinister character…which was kinda odd…in season 1 at least.was wondering if anyone had any theory why it’s never rated very well..expecially against an awful “dream home”.and what are the chances,you figure,of it getting a season 3?i know its made some international sales,but it must be really costly to produce.
Agree with the comments below. Matt definitely “carried ” and supported those 2 girls every step of the way. He was so loyal to them and determined that they would be the last 3 standing, no matter what.
Without Matt’s help, there is no way Charlotte would have made it to the top.
Very disappointing that she chose not to split the money evenly 3 ways. Matt definitely would have done the right thing.
I wasn’t on the mountain but my reading is they all supported each other. Matt had more camera time as the experience reality player, but I suspect has made considerable wealth from NRL? More than a nurse I reckon.
Yes, the 3 of them seemed very close and worked together as a team. So only fair that they split the kitty three ways, irrespective of who has earnt the most money in their career.
As the self appointed “leader”, Matt kept the girls, at the expense of all the other other contestants and helped them so much.
He was loyal to Charlotte and I believe would have definitely split the money evenly.
So should the best player win or the one people feel sorry for and needs the money more? This was a big issue on latest Survivor US. The jury voted for the one who had the saddest story about why she needed the money. Matt does heaps of work for charity and he is from the days when footballers didn’t earn anywhere near what they do these days.
No right or wrong answers, just emotional responses and all are valid.
Also disappointed with the ending. Matt would definitely have gone the 3 way split which is as it should be.
I was quite surprised by the way Charlotte distributed the prize money. Without Matt’s help, she would not have made it to the final three. I actually admired her throughout the series until this point. It would have been better to split the prize three ways. I felt bad for Simone because of her situation and wanted her to get at least $150k or $178k.
Disappointing ending. I would have thought Charlotte would have at least given Matt more than Simone because if it wasn’t for him, she wouldn’t even be there. He helped her so much.