Richard Outwits, Outplays, and Outlasts to Become the Ultimate Survivor

Thursday, August 24th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

And then there was one. The â€œSurvivorâ€ two-hour finale aired on KOTV Channel 6 Wednesday night and the ultimate survivor emerged. Despite acquiring a reputation as a manipulative schemer, Richard Hatch won the final vote among the last seven contestants. He was awarded $1,000,000.

Hatch defeated his last opponent Kelly by just one vote. He survived storms, roasting rats and spearing stingrays for 39 days. Kelly had won the last five competitions between the castaways on the hit C-B-S series. She was the only contestant that never received a single vote from any of the contestants to oust her from the island. An estimated 40 million viewers nationwide tuned in to watch the finale.

Kotv.comâ€™s â€œSurvivorâ€ poll revealed that Green Country viewers had guessed that Rudy, the former Navy Seal, would win the $1 million prize from among the four castaways left in the contest. More than 400 users logged on to vote for their favorite survivor. KOTV viewers picked Rudy first, followed by Kelly, Rich and Susan.

An all new â€œSurvivorâ€ returns to CBS and KOTV in January. â€œSurvivor â€“ The Australian Outbackâ€ will premiere following the SuperBowl.