The Final Three are three remaining contestants on the last day of the game, who must plead their cases to the Jury at the Final Tribal Council for the title of Sole Survivor. This is the only alternative format of the Final Two.
Introduced in the Second Generation during the events of Caicos Islands, this format has been increasingly common and has now been seen in more seasons than the Final Two. A Final Three with a Jury of Nine is the most frequent configuration, first introduced in East Timor. Final Threes are present in every season featuring 20 or more castaways and the majority of 18-person seasons. Caicos Islands is currently the only Final Three season to feature 16-castaways, as the smaller cast is more suited to the Final Two format. After a chain of six seasons with the Final Three format, it took a two season absence after Conqueror's Crusade for the return of the Final Two. It then reappeared in three consecutive twenty-person seasons - Rejects vs. Royals, Polynesia and Unfinished Business - and one eighteen-person season, Ayia Thekla. It has most recently featured in Ragnarok.