Mariano, through his hard work ethic and likeability from his new tribe, became the de facto leader. As a result of this, he formed a majority alliance with Andrea Boehlke, Grant Mattos, Natalie Tenerelli, Matt Elrod, and Ashley Underwood. As the game progressed, Mariano successfully eliminated opponents with relative ease and formed an alliance with outsider Phillip Sheppard due to his abrasive and unpredictable nature. Using his past experiences and ability to read his fellow players, Mariano controlled every vote he was involved in and was able to reach the final tribal council where he was praised for his dominant game over finalists Sheppard and Tenerelli who attributed their success to Mariano. On May 15, 2011, Mariano was revealed to have won the season in an 8-1-0 vote. Whilst viewers and fans were critical of his win, Jeff Probst characterized Mariano's game as the "most perfect game of Survivor ever". Island of the Idols Mariano, along with former castmate Sandra Diaz-Twine, returned for the 39th season in a mentor role for a new group of castaways. Unable to vote or compete in challenges, Mariano and Diaz-Twine lived together on a separate beach from the game and, at times, have one player visit to be taught a lesson on the various facets of Survivor. In addition, they would attend each Tribal Council in a hideaway. On the morning of Day 37, Mariano and Diaz-Twine departed from the eponymous Island of the Idols leaving a luxurious shelter and supplies for the final five castaways of the season. Winners at War At the finale of Survivor: Island of the Idols, it was announced that Mariano would be competing alongside 19 other winners of the show, including Brkich. He was placed on the Sele tribe where he quickly formed an "Old-School" Alliance with Parvati Shallow and Ethan Zohn, although the alliance ultimately fell apart due to Danni Boatwright informing Ben Driebergen of its existence. Mariano was later swapped to the Yara tribe with Driebergen, Adam Klein, Sarah Lacina and Sophie Clarke, where he was the sixth person voted out of the game. He was defeated by Tyson Apostol and Natalie Anderson respectively in the challenges to return from the Edge of Extinction and was sent to the jury for the first time in his career. He voted for Tony Vlachos to win the season, which he did in a 12-4-0 vote, making Vlachos the