Hunter McKnight

Paul Hunter McKnight is a contestant from Survivor 46.

Notable for his outstanding challenge performances, Hunter's threat grew sharply after the merge and, as he began to lose allies, he found himself in an increasingly vulnerable position. This came to a head at the final nine when—after voting with the minority at the previous Tribal Council, losing the next Immunity Challenge, and revealing his possession of a Hidden Immunity Idol—Hunter fell squarely into the Nuinui tribe's crosshairs. At Tribal Council, Hunter fatally decided not to play his idol; when the votes tied between himself and Q Burdette, Hunter was voted out.

Profile[]

Retrieved from Parade.com

Age: 28
Hometown: French Camp, MS
Current Residence: French Camp, MS
Occupation: Science Teacher

Name three of your favorite hobbies: Building Survivor challenges, playing any sport, camping
List three adjectives that best describe yourself: Clever, Competitive, Adamant
How would your friends describe you? Competitive, a bit odd, intelligent, quick-witted, maybe a little arrogant, fun, hard-working.
What risks have you taken in your life to make a change for the better, even if the outcome wasn't planned? I left a full-ride scholarship and direct admission into medical school to come back and teach at my hometown. I decided I could be more impactful teaching here. Honestly, it ended up being an awesome decision.
What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? Making it through all my school without making anything below an A. I graduated college in 3.5 years.
What is something we would never know from looking at you? I graduated 4.0 in college. Graduated valedictorian at my high school.
What past Survivor would you play the game most like? Hayden.^[1]

Survivor[]

A self-proclaimed introvert, Hunter's assignment to the Nami tribe proved to be a challenging experience, as his reserved demeanor clashed with his tribe-mates' more boisterous personalities. Despite this, he was able to strike up a promising alliance with Tevin Davis which they named the "Andy Griffith Alliance". Furthermore, Hunter's challenge prowess led Nami to several victories and kept them away from Tribal Council. During this period of invulnerability, Hunter also found the Beware Advantage, which he was informed would lead him to a Hidden Immunity Idol either once Nami lost an Immunity Challenge or when the tribal phase ended. Due to Nami's winning streak, Hunter had to wait until Day 12 when he managed to retrieve the idol mere minutes before the other tribes arrived on his beach.

Due to his association with Tevin, Hunter was recruited into a six-person majority alliance at the merge. This alliance was tested as early as the Double Elimination arrived, when Hunter was grouped with the three former Yanu members and two former Siga members, the latter of whom campaigned against Hunter for his physical prowess. Left without his Nami tribemates, Hunter had to decide whether he could trust his alliance or play his idol. Ultimately, his faith paid off as Q Burdette successfully kept the target off him, leading Tim Spicer to be voted out instead.

Hunter's status as a threat grew further when he won the Get a Grip endurance challenge. Immune at that night's Tribal Council, Hunter did not intend to strategize, but when confronted with the possibility of his ally Tevin being voted out, he threw out his former tribemate Venus Vafa's name as an alternative before considering Q's plan of blindsiding Tiffany Nicole Ervin. However, the afternoon's scrambles came undone at Tribal Council when Q volunteered to be voted out, causing a hubbub that ended with Tevin's ouster.

Being the only person not to vote with the majority against Tevin, Hunter became an outsider at camp. Though he failed to secure another immunity victory on Day 17, Hunter believed that the tribe intended to vote out Q after his explosive theatrics at the previous Tribal Council. Hoping to ensure Q's elimination, Hunter told several of his tribe-mates that he would play his idol to guarantee his safety. The revelation of his idol caused the target to shift to Hunter as the rest of Nuinui coordinated a split vote between him and Q. At Tribal Council, Kenzie Petty continuously assured Hunter of his safety, overriding his instincts to play his idol. Consequently, he held on to his idol and the vote tied 4-4-1 between himself and Q; hopelessly exposed on the revote, Hunter was voted out nearly unanimously, becoming the third juror.

At the Final Tribal Council, Hunter entered expecting to cast his jury vote for Kenzie, to whom he attributed his blindside. However, after hearing Charlie Davis' discussion of his strategic control, he was swayed to vote in Charlie's favor. Charlie ultimately lost to Kenzie in a 5-3-0 jury vote.

Episode	Trribe Affiliation	Challenge	Challenge Type	Sit-Out?	Result
1	Nami	Tiers of Heaven	Reward	No	Won
1		Lizard King	Immunity	No	1st
2		Arch Madness	Reward/Immunity	No	1st
3		Blue Lagoon Bustle	Reward/Immunity	No	1st
4		Wear My Ring	Reward	No	2nd
4		The Deep	Immunity	No	1st
5		Knock One Back	Reward/Immunity	No	1st
Tribes Disbanded, Day 12
6	None	Super Ramp	Reward/Immunity	No	Won
Tribes Merged, Night 13
7	Nuinui	Bermuda Triangle	Reward/Immunity		Lost
8		Get A Grip	Immunity		Won
9		Stage Fright	Immunity		Lost
Voted Out, Day 17

Episode	Hunter's Votes	Voted Against Hunter
1	Nami Tribe Immune
2	Nami Tribe Immune
3	Nami Tribe Immune
4	Nami Tribe Immune
5	Nami Tribe Immune
6	Ineligible¹	Individual Immunity
7	Tim	Ben, Tim
8	Venus	Individual Immunity
9	Q; Ineligible	Ben, Charlie, Maria, Tiffany; Ben, Charlie, Kenzie, Maria, Tiffany, Venus²
Voted Out, Day 17
Voted for Sole Survivor	Charlie

^1 In "Tiki Man", Hunter lost his vote at the summit, making him ineligible to vote at the next Tribal Council he attended.
^2 In "Spicy Jeff", the vote ended with a 4-4 tie between Hunter and Q, forcing a revote. Kenzie and Venus changed their votes to Hunter on the revote, eliminating him from the game.