Surviving Barstool Season 5 premiered Saturday on Rumble Premium, dropping 18 Barstool coworkers into a competition for $250,000, and by Monday night the reactions to episode 1 were still rolling in as episode 2 hit early access. The show splits the cast into tribes, and after one episode of gameplay, fans and talent alike are already sorting out who's actually good at this.
Gaz put out an early power rankings post grading everyone on gameplay, entertainment value and chaos, and it's the kind of unofficial scoreboard that's going to get argued about all week.
My power rankings (game play, entertainment, crazy moments) after episode 1 1) Rone 🧠 2) Turani 🧠 3) Ella 😢 4) BFW 😂 5) Game designer / builder Episode 2 drops tonight
The rankings matter more once you know who's already gone. Pat confirmed the first elimination fallout from episode 1, and it wasn't a case of the show's biggest villains getting sent packing.
Katic and Ella were simply too likable to keep around. Had to go. Welcome to the big leauges, kids! #SurvivingBarstool
That's the twist that makes early Surviving Barstool seasons fun to watch: being well-liked is a liability just as often as it's an asset. Katic and Ella going home means the tribes are already playing a numbers game instead of a popularity contest, and it's only going to get sharper from here.
Behind the eliminations, day 1 was also about figuring out who's a target and who's protected. Footage from the jungle-themed lounge set showed cast members sizing each other up before any votes were cast.
Cast members lounge and talk strategy in the jungle-themed set on Day 1, feeling out who's an easy target.
That same lounge, sponsored by Lucy Nicotine, is turning into the show's safe zone. Players who land there after a challenge get to skip the stress of a tribal vote entirely, which makes it one of the more valuable pieces of real estate in the game early on.
A contestant in Rat Tribe gear breaks down why the Lucy Nicotine lounge is the spot to be after a losing challenge.
With eliminations already in motion and alliances forming out of the lounge, episode 2 didn't waste any time following up. It went live early for Rumble Premium subscribers Monday evening before hitting YouTube for everyone else, with Jeff D. Lowe teasing one of the toughest challenges of the season still to come with the $250,000 prize squarely on the line.