1. Will (2)
2. Dan (10)
3. Derrick (16)
4. Cody (22)
5. Chelsie (26)
6. Maggie (6)
7. Andy (15)
6. Maggie (6)
7. Andy (15)
8. Mike Boogie (7)
9. Jackson (21)
10. Xavier (23)
11. Hayden (12)
12. Jun (4)
13. Nicole (18)
14. Jag (25)
15. Evel Dick (8)
16. Drew (5)
17. Ian (14)
18. Rachel (13)
17. Ian (14)
18. Rachel (13)
19. Taylor (24)
20. Jordan (11)
21. Lisa (3)
22. Kaycee (20)
22. Kaycee (20)
23. Steve (17)
24. Adam (9)
25. Josh (19)
26. Eddie (1)
Will and Dan, in some order, were long 1-2 in some order in every serious list. Both were front men in an alliance, both had multiple decks stacked against them in making improbable runs in their return seasons. Dan's second appearance is arguably the best performance of any non-winner; Will's first place is a tough perch to leave, as its largely based on creating the BB gameplay template - minimizing the importance of competitions and creating a narrative that production is incentivized to follow. BB isn't rigged, but it's a tv show, and giving it a story to tell is part of advancing through the game. Derrick played the best ever single strategic game and by an amount so wide that were you to rank him first overall, even without benefit of the strong return game, that would not be unreasonable. My view of Derrick takes a little bit of a hit upon benefit of seeing the advantage that Battle of the Block gives to a large alliance in a second season. Had Vanessa won her season or Paul won his second season, they'd join this top tier. Cody's BB22 win was dominant on every level, he adds a physical dimension not found in the other top tier winners, and when you add that to his second place finish in his prior season, he absolutely must join the top 4 winners of all time and, really, I wouldn't object to any ordering. Chelsie was the most dominant female winner ever, she steered the jury phase of the game, she won physical competitions, she was forced to fight from underneath in mid game, she turns that top tier from 4 to 5.
It gets harder after that. Mike won what was maybe the most competitive season (although, had the benefit of Will) Dick controlled the house through previously unseen force (although, had the benefit of the America's Player twist) Maggie's not viewed as a particularly engaging player, but she marshaled a successful alliance essentially throughout the entire game (had Tiffany been able to make her way to the end of 23, I'd think of her right about here) Jun actively chose a midgame alliance with maybe the only player less popular in the house than she was, aiding her at the final vote. Ian, like, for example, Hayden or Adam was a subordinate figure in a large alliance, but won a very competitive season and got the vote over an all time great reality competitor (although, that vote was hard to justify) Bumping Ian back makes sense given that, like the case of winners during seasons dominated by Vanessa or Danielle Reyes, he was not in control of a game that was in the control of a superior player. Andy was both unable to be universally liked across the house and to constantly lie his way to position himself with the majority. His game wasn't particularly entertaining and it wasn't an especially competitive season, keeping his ceiling at 5. Nicole was a middling player in her first season and a half, but (sort of like Jun) was probably the best player in her house in the closing weeks of the game. Her All Stars performance helps - I had her, for example, ranked ahead of Ian going into All Stars, and she clearly outplayed him in that season justifying that distance. I'm going to be higher on Jackson than others, I'm guessing, BB has increased the rewards to physical competitors in recent years; Jackson dominated competitions like an elite Survivor comp winner; he also navigated his way out of a broken alliance (in which he was at the bottom) and overcame a run of "bitter juries" placing the more strategic player behind a more palatable ally. The similarity of the Cookout to the Brigade makes an Xavier/Hayden comparison inevitable; neither was the strategic engine of the alliance, but both lacked any real weakness and made sense as the member of their alliance to wear the confetti at game's end. If not for that pesky 10-0 eviction, Jag would easily make the top 10, having dominated the back 2/3 of the game strategically/physically (he also had my favorite final 2 speech - don't ask for their vote, demand it - juries do not choose a winner, they acknowledge the winner)
24. Adam (9)
25. Josh (19)
26. Eddie (1)
Will and Dan, in some order, were long 1-2 in some order in every serious list. Both were front men in an alliance, both had multiple decks stacked against them in making improbable runs in their return seasons. Dan's second appearance is arguably the best performance of any non-winner; Will's first place is a tough perch to leave, as its largely based on creating the BB gameplay template - minimizing the importance of competitions and creating a narrative that production is incentivized to follow. BB isn't rigged, but it's a tv show, and giving it a story to tell is part of advancing through the game. Derrick played the best ever single strategic game and by an amount so wide that were you to rank him first overall, even without benefit of the strong return game, that would not be unreasonable. My view of Derrick takes a little bit of a hit upon benefit of seeing the advantage that Battle of the Block gives to a large alliance in a second season. Had Vanessa won her season or Paul won his second season, they'd join this top tier. Cody's BB22 win was dominant on every level, he adds a physical dimension not found in the other top tier winners, and when you add that to his second place finish in his prior season, he absolutely must join the top 4 winners of all time and, really, I wouldn't object to any ordering. Chelsie was the most dominant female winner ever, she steered the jury phase of the game, she won physical competitions, she was forced to fight from underneath in mid game, she turns that top tier from 4 to 5.
It gets harder after that. Mike won what was maybe the most competitive season (although, had the benefit of Will) Dick controlled the house through previously unseen force (although, had the benefit of the America's Player twist) Maggie's not viewed as a particularly engaging player, but she marshaled a successful alliance essentially throughout the entire game (had Tiffany been able to make her way to the end of 23, I'd think of her right about here) Jun actively chose a midgame alliance with maybe the only player less popular in the house than she was, aiding her at the final vote. Ian, like, for example, Hayden or Adam was a subordinate figure in a large alliance, but won a very competitive season and got the vote over an all time great reality competitor (although, that vote was hard to justify) Bumping Ian back makes sense given that, like the case of winners during seasons dominated by Vanessa or Danielle Reyes, he was not in control of a game that was in the control of a superior player. Andy was both unable to be universally liked across the house and to constantly lie his way to position himself with the majority. His game wasn't particularly entertaining and it wasn't an especially competitive season, keeping his ceiling at 5. Nicole was a middling player in her first season and a half, but (sort of like Jun) was probably the best player in her house in the closing weeks of the game. Her All Stars performance helps - I had her, for example, ranked ahead of Ian going into All Stars, and she clearly outplayed him in that season justifying that distance. I'm going to be higher on Jackson than others, I'm guessing, BB has increased the rewards to physical competitors in recent years; Jackson dominated competitions like an elite Survivor comp winner; he also navigated his way out of a broken alliance (in which he was at the bottom) and overcame a run of "bitter juries" placing the more strategic player behind a more palatable ally. The similarity of the Cookout to the Brigade makes an Xavier/Hayden comparison inevitable; neither was the strategic engine of the alliance, but both lacked any real weakness and made sense as the member of their alliance to wear the confetti at game's end. If not for that pesky 10-0 eviction, Jag would easily make the top 10, having dominated the back 2/3 of the game strategically/physically (he also had my favorite final 2 speech - don't ask for their vote, demand it - juries do not choose a winner, they acknowledge the winner)
Rachel was a subordinate member of a large alliance in her season, less strategically successful than was Ian; personal likability really drove the win for Jordan/Taylor (Jordan's success the second time bumps her out of a bottom tier, strategic deficiencies aside); Rachel having beaten Jordan puts her first in this subgroup). Drew, Adam, Hayden were essentially numbers wins - they were in groups that had house control and won as the more likable of the options at the end. Kaycee is a little bit south of Hayden; the Brigade is the best comp for Level 6, but Hayden didn't have a Tyler leading the way strategically for him. Taylor's jury speech "choose story over gameplay" ackowledges her resume was light on gameplay. Adam's season was not played at a particularly high strategic level. Lisa gets a Danielle Reyes penalty, jury nullification gives her a not entirely on the up and up win. That penalty is multiplied by the one given to Josh; his beating Paul is the worst decision by a BB jury ever (possible exception of the OTT jury, which was the public, who awarded the lesser Willett sister over Jason Roy. Paul dominated the game like no one but Derrick, he should have gotten every vote against every opponent. Nicole in 18 was a reasonable winner, I would have voted for Paul, but it wasnt a robbery; Josh in 19 was a robbery) Steve also stands in the shadow of a significantly better player who completely dominated the game; Vanessa losing the toss up final HOH to finish third (she, Danielle, and Paul are the best players never to win; I would have included Tyler in that group before a lackluster All Stars showing and now I'd have Enzo as the 4th in that quartet) Eddie is listed just for completion, but BB1 was a different game.
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