Russell definitely instigated the vast majority of the action that got the Foa Foa to the end including his idol play, flipping Shambo and flipping John Fincher.

The gaping flaws in Russell's game are very evident he is incredibly arrogant and oft cruel to his other competitors and I think people see through his schtick and see that he kind of is a scumbag in real life and not just the game and don't want to give him the money. In terms of the social game he's certainly able to pressure people into doing what he wants them to do to get to his intended result and reach the end but he doesn't really maintain a strong relationship with everyone in the merge tribe, has a poor relationship with some and needlessly promises everyone final 3. Obviously some people can get away with that but Russell doesn't have the charisma or general likability to make people want to give him the money at the end and I think hypothetically this would happen every time he plays Survivor so that's why I think he's not a great player or one of the all time best.

That said I think Natalie was very lucky to reach the end and I know she has her vociferous defenders but I didn't see anything to suggest that she's what I'd consider to be even a good Survivor player. In terms of Survivor history looking back I think we can now say that Natalie White is the Natalie that sucks.