DD's Opening Statement

[DD]

Hey everyone!

Most of you probably want to see me like this

I’d like to start off by thanking each of you for playing. You each made this game an extremely challenging, yet enjoyable and unique experience for me, and I appreciate it. It was great getting to know you guys better beyond the game, and I hope our friendships continue afterwards. Additionally, I’d like to congratulate Anthony on making it to the end of the game again. Doing it three seasons in a row is nothing short of well-deserved and impressive.

Now onto the good stuff: why I deserve to be the winner of Ultimate Game. If you’re looking to vote for a person who was heroic, played an honest game, and was loyal to all of their allies, then I’m not your winner. I played a cutthroat game and I’m okay with that; I’m aware of the type of game I played.

The pre-merge was a depressing time for me, because I lost potential merge allies nearly every round. I went into the merge pretty alone, as Austin and I weren’t very tight. I can go more in depth here upon request.

When the merge hit, I started talking to everyone I could. Because of how All-Stars 2 ended, I felt like I had a good relationship with Tracy, and it was easy to form a bond with her because she was in the minority alliance. When Heidi came back, she joined us and we formed a final 3 alliance (needless to say the GTI Alliance.) In addition, I heard enough information to realize that Yau-Jess and Parvati were at each other’s throats; therefore, I focused my strategy upon keeping them in the game as long as possible to lessen my target. Between the alliance, to which I intended to stay loyal, and my general merge strategy, I felt I could actually make the end if I played my cards right. I worked hard on the first immunity so people would have to work with me on the first vote of the merge, which would help establish my position in the game. After all, I was in the minority 9-2 in terms of tribes, so I wasn’t feeling comfortable.

I know that a lot of you gave me trust in this game and I broke it. I was wary of everyone because I heard that various people were either targeting me at the beginning of the merge, or had other intentions for their ideal final 2/3. I had to go with my gut on whom to trust, and it was never a personal decision.

I won’t bore you all with the details of what went through my mind every round, as that information is better suited as answers to your questions. However, I kept strong social connections and constantly criticized my own strategies in order to set myself up for the current round, the following round and the endgame.

I understand that many of you have written me off, but I ask for a chance to answer your questions. I welcome any and all that you may have.

Thank you,
DD

[DD]

I would like to take a few minutes to apologize to each of you who have asked me questions so far. I have been VERY busy with homework, and I hope you understand that it comes first. My paper is due tomorrow, so I promise to bear down on these questions by tomorrow night. I intend on answering them in the order they were asked, and giving each question its undivided and worthwhile attention.

Thanks guys! <3