TV And the Survivor 43 winner is… Who won the money? Not whom we expected. By Dalton Ross Dalton Ross California Dreams was better than Saved by the Bell. There, I said it. EW's editorial guidelines Published on December 14, 2022 10:17PM EST Warning: This article contains spoilers for Wednesday's series finale of Survivor 43. Five people walked into Wednesday night's season finale of Survivor 43 (often walking in very dramatic slow-motion fashion, it should be noted). But only one walked out a winner when all was said and done, and that someone was… Mike Gabler. The 52-year-old heart valve specialist from Idaho was hiding in plain sight the entire game, but the "AlliGabler" finally emerged and absolutely devoured the competition at the very end — winning over Cassidy Clark and Owen Knight in an overwhelming 7-1-0 jury vote. The decisive victory was a surprising result for a player that received no votes the entire game because nobody seemed to fear going up against him at the end in the final three. Jesse Lopez, Cassidy Clark, Karla Cruz Godoy, Owen Knight, and Mike Gabler of 'Survivor 43'. CBS Gabler's path to glory began to be paved in the finale when Karla Cruz Godoy was eliminated in fifth place. Even though Karla had found an advantage for the final five challenge, she could not translate that to a competition victory, losing out on immunity to Charlie Brown/Owen Knight. While Karla tried to convince the others to take out Jesse Lopez instead of her, the tribe sent her to the jury instead (especially after Jesse revealed he had Jeanine Zheng's hidden immunity idol). But the key move to Gabler's victory was when Cassidy won the final stacking bowls immunity contest and then granted his request to take on — and take out — the game's biggest player in Jesse in fire making. (Part of Cassidy's thinking was that a Gabler victory still would not be enough to help him beat her at the end. Whoops!) The AlliGabler ate up Jesse in the contest, setting a new fire record of four minutes and nine seconds and sending a tearful Jesse to the jury to be reunited with Cody Assenmacher. (Gulp!) The 'Survivor 43' final five. CBS That victory helped boost Gabler's résumé in a final three matchup against Cassidy and Owen, and when Cassidy was called out for taking credit on a move that was not hers (the elimination of Ryan Medrano) and Owen failed to articulate any big moves he orchestrated, it opened the door for Gabler to take control of the jury. And he did, making them laugh while also pleading his case as to how he never had a single vote cast against him and also helped orchestrate Elie Scott's demise at the merge. In the end, Gabler walked away with the million dollars, although he doesn't even plan to keep it — vowing to donate the prize money to the veterans in need. Read our full finale recap, in addition to interviews with Gabler and the entire final five, as well as some intel on the next season of Survivor. Keep your eyes peeled on EW.com or follow Dalton on Twitter for all the updates. Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. Related content: Karla Cruz Godoy reacts to her rift with Cassidy on Survivor 43 Jesse Lopez delivers one more Survivor shocker Survivor 43 finalist Owen Knight says 'F--- the After-Show' Cassidy Clark had a panic attack after Survivor 43 result Mike Gabler reacts to that shocking Survivor 43 finish Survivor 43 finale recap: What just happened? Survivor 44: Jeff Probst shares intel on next season of the show The Survivor 43 final five speak! Jeff Probst says to prepare for a punishing Survivor 43 finale The Survivor 43 jury speaks! Survivor 43 finalists reveal how they want to approach the jury Cody Assenmacher says Jesse's Survivor idol play was 'the maddest I've ever been' Survivor 43 recap; Jesse is an assassin Jeff Probst addresses his future at Survivor host Sami Layadi says he fell victim to the Cassidy Curse on Survivor 43 Jeff Probst explains how two players beat a Survivor challenge The Survivor 43 loved ones that never were Jeff Probst weighs in on the future of Survivor returning player seasons