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New 'Survivor' Season Will Feature 3 Former Champions From Massachusetts

BOSTON (CBS) – When Survivor returns to CBS on Wednesday, February 12, the competition promises to be top notch. That is because every contestant is a previous Survivor winner, including three Massachusetts natives.

Survivor: Winners At War is the 20th anniversary edition of the show, featuring 20 former winners competing for double the normal prize - $2 million.

Here are the local contestants Bostonians will be rooting for:

Survivors Winners at War
Survivor: Winners at War will include local contestants (L-R) Jeremy Collins, Rob Mariano, and Ethan Zohn. (Photos: CBS)

JEREMY COLLINS

Collins is the most recent of the local winners. The 41-year-old firefighter from Cambridge now lives in Foxboro. He first competed on Survivor: Blood vs. Water in 2014, then won Survivor: Second Chance a year later.

What does he plan to do differently this time around? "I feel my last experience was a whirlwind and I forget a lot of experiences. This time I want to try and take some time to enjoy this last go-round."

ROB 'BOSTON ROB' MARIANO

One of the most recognizable Survivors of all time, Mariano has competed four times. He won on that fourth attempt, on the Redemption Island season in 2011. Now 43, Boston Rob was 25 when he was first stranded on Marquesas. He met his wife Amber on his second season, Survivor: All-Stars, which she won in 2004.

Mariano says the key to beating the other champions this season – which include his wife - is that you, "always got to adapt!"

ETHAN ZOHN

Zohn took home the top prize in Africa on Season 3, way back in 2001. He was back 3 years later in Survivor: All Stars. The Lexington native, now 45 years old, is a public speaker living in Hillsboro, New Hampshire.

Zohn fought a public battle against cancer several years after his last Survivor appearance. After a relapse and multiple stem cell transplants, he has been cancer free since 2013.

His key to taking home the $2 million this season, "I plan to adapt, have fun and push my mind, body, and spirit to the max."

All three men say they have watched Survivor since it first debuted in 2000, and never miss an episode.

Survivor: Winners At War premieres Wednesday, February 12 at 8 p.m. on WBZ.

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