Who Played the Best Big Brother Game? Ranking the Final 9 Houseguests

This season on Big Brother has all come down to Dick, Daniele and Zach, a somewhat unlikely trio to be sitting in the Final 3. With six other houseguests in the sequester house getting ready to cast their final votes next Tuesday, I thought it might be interesting to rank the gameplaying of the Final 3 and the jury members. Of course, sometimes external influences affected the way someone could play the game (Eric being America's Player, for example), so the list requires a bit of subjectivity. But, hey, a little subjectivity never stopped me before, especially not from making one of my beloved lists!

So here goes...

1. Daniele
I hate to say it, because she's so often whiny and annoying, but she's played the game like a pro -- winning competitions, strategizing, lying when she needs to, and kissing ass when it benefits her, not to mention brilliantly using her father to do a lot of her dirty work for her. Her one weakness was getting to emotionally wrapped up in Nick, but she's managed to use it as motivation, instead of having it hold her back. Definitely the best player in the game.

2. Eric
Yes, he screwed up big time by not using the veto the week Jessica was HOH, but beyond that he dealt with every twist America threw at him as best as he possibly could, and pulled off the best strategic move of the game by evicting Dustin and aligning with Dick and Daniele.

3. Dick
It seems being abusive and being a good player are not mutually exclusive. His strategy may have crossed the line way too often (see my post Is Dick the Most Hateful Reality Contestant of All Time?), but there's no denying he and Daniele were a force to be reckoned with.

4. Jessica
Her biggest strategic move was not to piss anyone off too badly, and to stay loyal to Eric, and until he guided her the wrong way (getting rid of Amber), it was working out just fine for her. Add in the fact that she won 2 HOH's over the course of 3 weeks, and you gotta give the girl some props.

5. Dustin
Dustin made one fatal flaw -- being overconfident. If he had not volunteered to put himself up on the block, he would have definitely lasted longer in the game, and with tight friendships with Amber, Jameka and Jessica, he would have had lots of support on the jury had he made it to the Final 2. Oh well.

6. Zach
Zach would probably be at the bottom of this list if he hadn't won 2 out of the past 3 HOH competitions, a veto, and been competing for the final HOH tonight. He hasn't made one effective strategic move, but emerged through a rocky few weeks no worst for the wear. He's more a survivor than a real player.

7. Jen
Sure, she self-destructed and essentially got herself kicked out of the house, but lest we forget, she won an HOH and several Veto competitions, so the girl could play. She could also lie with ease, a vastly underrated skill in the Big Brother house.

8. Jameka
Yes, she was handcuffed by not being able to compete in 5 HOH competitions, but even in the competitions she was able to compete in she never made a dent. She also had no apparent strategy, beyond staying friends with Amber and Jessica, although I do give her credit for accepting Evel Dick's deal, thinking it might take her further in the game.

9. Amber
Sorry, crying is not a strategy, and if, somehow, it was, it didn't work. Amber never won a competition and was completely delusional about her place in the house. Pathetic.

What do you think of these rankings? How would you rank the houseguests, in terms of gameplaying ability?

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