Is the 'Intentional Matsing' a Survivor Cheat Code?

Since Philippines introduced three tribes to modern Survivor, fans have debated the "intentional Matsing" strategy. The theory goes something like this: Throw every premerge challenge, minimize your threat level at the merge, and then win with your closest ally. It's a cool idea... but does it work? Well, it's complicated. I ran the numbers to help future Survivor players determine when it's a good idea to throw challenges... and when it might be a game-ending mistake. Hope you enjoy the video! Let me know your thoughts in the comments. This is pretty different from my usual ranking videos, so I'm curious to see what people think! All footage used here belong to Survivor and CBS; this is purely criticism and analysis of the Survivor game and metagame, which should fall under fair usage. VIDEO TABLE OF CONTENTS: 0:00 Classic vs Modern Survivor 1:10 The Intentional Matsing, Explained 4:45 Spoilers! Disclaimers! Nuance! 5:39 Intratribal Positioning 11:12 Intertribal Positioning 23:12 Every 3-Tribe Season, Explained 32:38 Should You Do the Intentional Matsing? A Flowchart