Five Housemates remain in the House, and each of them are in the same position: they must wait until Sunday to hear how South African audiences have voted, because that is all that matters, now. Strategies are moot: there are no more Nominations, no more Saves, no more Replaces. One of them will win R2 million, and everybody else is going home with nada. Strategy, however, played at least some part in getting them this far. Here’s how each of them did it.
Gash1
“The boys like to think they’re playing the game,” Gash1 told Biggie as far back as 30 January, “but they’re very invested in their emotions. They’re falling in love with these women.” This is hilarious, considering that Gash1 has been attached to Thato at the hip for the past few weeks, and has expressed an interest for much longer, going so far as to ask Big Brother to be allowed to take her on a date, of sorts.
Whether or not his relationship with Thato was purely strategic – and we’re inclined to think otherwise – it certainly didn’t hurt his chances. Social media sentiment toward it has been overwhelmingly positive, and his adoration of Thato led many to think of him as something of a knight in shining armour. Whatever his motivation, the ship provided something of a shot in the arm to his chances of winning.
He did declare a clear strategy, though: he was planning on being unpredictable, acting out different personas to keep the other Housemates guessing. We’re not sure how he thought this might give him an advantage, but he certainly followed through, at least at the start. Terry commented that she was “keeping an eye” on him, saying that she didn’t trust him, exactly because he was being inconsistent. Gash1’s determination to treat the game as exactly that – a game – also drew some ire from Yoli, who said that she refuses to treat the other Housemates like pawns as he does.
Whatever your opinion of how Gash1 played the game, it’s clearly worked. He finds himself in the Top 5 with a real chance to walk away with the R2 million.
Libo
Way back on 4 February, Libo said, “I do have a soft spot for Mpho. I think that’s obvious.” It was, but it was also temporary. While there did seem to be something of a connection between them, Mpho soon started to back off from any potential relationship. While both stated that they would like to remain amicable, this proved to be impossible. Much of their interaction over the course of the season have been incredibly bitter, and this resulted in the Libo adopting a decidedly antagonistic strategy.
Libo only ever had to survive a single Nomination, and that was early in the game, when there were “weaker” players that were Evicted instead of him. For the rest of the game, there was enough division amongst the Housemates to spread the votes a little thin, keeping him below the threshold needed to appear on the final list.
His alliance with Tulz and – to a lesser extent – Themba was strong enough to keep the Nominations lists populated by their targets: Mphowabadimo, Nthabii and Gash1. They were able to do this for long enough to make it to week 9, when Themba (for reasons that will be explained later), used his Ultimate Veto Power to secure Libo a spot in the final.
While his relationship with Mpho has certainly improved (particularly this week), viewers are still like to see it us a competition between those two, and votes are likely to be split accordingly.
Mphowabadimo
This is probably the finalist who had no clear strategy – at least none that worked. Early in the game, she had allied herself with Dinkybliss, who was easily one of the most temperamental of the Housemates, earning herself numerous Nominations from the other Housemates, leading to her being the second Housemate to be Evicted, on the same day as Mvelo. Being aligned with Dinky could not have helped Mpho’s chances, one bit. As her relationship with Libo grew increasingly bitter, she found herself isolated from most of the other Housemates.
There is the possibility that Mpho made too much of an issue of her perception of other people’s attitudes toward her. She felt that her being a sangoma was the reason that other Housemates were standoffish, going so far as to accuse them of actively persecuting her. She may have been right, but there is also the distinct possibility – at least in some cases – that she was being oversensitive. This led to her isolating herself even more, which made the problem even worse.
Her one ally came in the form of Nthabii, and the two were very close from the jump. They spent all their time together, very much the two of them against the world. There is no doubt that the friendship was a balm to Mpho’s pain, and Nthabii’s eventual Eviction reduced Mpho to tears.
Here’s the remarkable thing, though: she’s still there. Despite being on the Nomination list more often than any other Housemate, she remains in the House with a chance at taking home the R2 million. This is because – obviously enough – the viewers love her. Social sentiment has been behind her for a long time, and the voters have kept her in the game week after week. She is clearly a strong contender.
Themba
Themba – like Gash1 – was never under any illusion that this is anything other than a zero-sum game. It wasn’t always easy for him, however. While he claims to have walked into the House with a strategy, he quickly realised that it would need to be constantly adjusted. “I would say now,” he told Biggie, “that I am very far from my plan. I’m going to need more time.”
That’s not to say that he gave up on strategy. Nothing could be further from the truth. “My plan is slow, but if I have enough time, it will work.” As it happens, he had enough time. He survived a few Nominations, proving that he had at least enough support from voters to make him competitive. He used that time wisely. He made liberal use of the Conspiracy Corner, arguing that it was an invaluable opportunity to see how other Housemates were thinking. He entered alliances that would give him utility. Then – to really give him a chance – he started to peak at exactly the right time. He started to win the Friday Night Games. Then he secured himself back-to-back Head of House positions (and the Save and Replace power that comes with it). Then – and this is crucial – he won the Ultimate Veto Power, giving him enormous ability to shape the Finale Week.
He used that UVP in a decidedly tactical way. While he has obvious affection for Mphowabadimo, he didn’t use it to save her, as this would have been very ill-advised. As we’ve already mentioned, Mpho has survived more Nominations than any other Housemate, and Themba is smart enough to know that this means she has massive support outside the House. He also identified Thato, Terry, and Sis Tamara as strong competitors, so pitting them against each other in last week’s Nominations was his plan to clear the board of as much competition as he could, meaning that his chances of making it to the top are that much higher.
Tulz
Right at the beginning of the season – Day 5, to be precise – Tulz told Biggie that his strategy revolved around “staying cool, staying calm.” He also said that he would be “trying to create a bond with each and every person.” While he didn’t necessarily succeed on EVERY count, he did well to stick to that strategy, overall. Tulz is not known for having a fiery temper. He generally remains calm even when annoyed and tries to talk things out in a reasonable way. This wasn’t always possible. In that same Diary Session, he admits to feeling bad about snapping at Acacia, who had been rubbing him up the wrong way. That didn’t matter though, as Acacia was not long for this game.
He certainly did try to bond with most of the Housemates, however. His early crush on Nale comes to mind, as does his very direct flirtation with Thato. In the end – perhaps because of these feelings being unrequited – he did start to turn on them, going so far as to use his Save and Replace power to put Thato on the block in lieu of Terry. By a few weeks ago, people had managed to identify Tulz as a threat, and tried to work to get him on the Nominations list, but it was too little too late, for two reasons.
The first reason is Sis Tamara. Tamara identified Tulz as being something of an “older brother figure” early in the game, and twice used her Save and Replace to keep Tulz off the Nominations list. Her refusal to get drawn into an alliance with Mphowabadimo, Thato, Venus and Nale also meant that there was never a considered strategy to keep the pressure on Tulz, meaning that he dodged Nominations even more.
The second reason is Libo. Possibly because of their teaming up against Mpho, the two formed an alliance at what proved to be a critical time. The week after Tulz was Head of House, Libo earned that position, and used it to Save Tulz from Nomination, yet again. So, while Tulz might not have been able to “create a bond” with every single Housemate, he created bonds with exactly the right Housemates, meaning that he finds himself in Finale Week without once having been up for Eviction, which is – no matter what you might think of him – an astonishing achievement.
That’s the lot – the story of how the Top 5 made it to this exalted position: plans followed throughs, a little bit of luck, and the support of the voting public. Only one of them will win the game. Find out on Sunday.
You can VOTE to SAVE your favourite Housemate via Mzansi Magic website HERE and the Mzansi Magic mobile site by selecting contestants of your choice and entering your number of Votes and click VOTE. Voting via these platforms is limited to 100 votes per user. You can also download the MyDStv app from the iStore for Apple devices or Play Store for android devices for additional Votes. Votes are free and Votes are allocated based on your subscription packages. The Voting window closes by 22:00 on Thursday. (CAT)
Big Brother Mzansi season 3 is broadcast live 24/7 on DStv Channel 198, you can stream it here. There is a daily highlight show on Mzansi Magic (DStv channel 161), Tuesdays to Fridays starting 25 January 2022 at 22.30. Sunday Eviction Shows begin on 30 January at 18:00 and will be broadcast on Mzansi Magic. This season will also see the return of fan favourite Shower Hour (22:00, Mondays to Thursdays on channel 161), Saturday Night Parties with Channel O and Friday night games. To join the conversation on social media platforms, use the hashtag #BBMzansi and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok!