Highway worker Chris Daugherty wins 'Survivor'

NEW YORK -- CBS's "Survivor: Vanuatu -- Islands of Fire" came down to two highway workers, but only Chris Daugherty was able to drive home with the $1 million prize and a new car.

Daugherty, 33, outplayed, outlasted and outwitted Twila Tanner, 41, in the 39-day contest. Daugherty received five of the seven-person jury's votes.

On the final episode, Daugherty won both immunity challenges. During the season's requisite final endurance challenge, Daugherty successfully held a warrior stance with a bow-and-arrow longer than Scout Cloud Lee, 59, and Tanner, giving him the power to take Tanner with him to the final two.

Daugherty, who lives in South Vienna, Ohio, works for the Ohio Department of Transportation. Tanner works for the Missouri Department of Transportation.

Toward the end of the game, Tanner pledged an alliance allegiance to Ami Cusack and Leann Slaby by swearing on her son's life but later backed out, infuriating some survivors.

This ninth edition of "Survivor" has been the most watched reality show currently airing, beating competitors such as "The Apprentice" and "The Amazing Race," according to Nielsen Media Research. But that hasn't stopped some fans from calling the volcano-laden season humdrum because the tribes were gender-divided (a tactic previously seen in the "Amazon" season) and strong alliances predictably plucked off tribe members (older men sent a series of younger men home; women voted off a row of men).

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On the Net:

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor9/survivors