Australian Survivor: Champions v Contenders 2019 third runner-up Luke Toki has now surpassed the $500,000 prize money won by Sole Survivor Pia Miranda thanks to donations from fans on Go Fund Me.
In the penultimate episode of this year’s season Luke was considered the favourite until he lost an immunity challenge making him vulnerable to elimination, and in an emotional scene on the beach, Luke asked Pia to vote with him for Baden, which would force a tie so the two could battle it out in a fire challenge. Pia was genuinely conflicted and was left to decide whether she would vote with her head or her heart.
At Tribal Council, Luke gave a heartfelt pitch to the tribe for a second chance but in the end, Pia, Harry and Baden all voted for Luke and he became the 21st person voted out of the game.
Following this, a GoFundMe was set up by Dave Skow who wrote on the page:
“Let’s be honest…Luke Toki is the best Australian Survivor contestant, ever.
We first met the FIFO worker from Western Australia two years ago when he made a name for himself as the ‘King of the Jungle’ on the 2017 season of Survivor.
Then this year saw his return as a Champion in the 2019 season. Leaving behind his young family, he had one aim – to take out the title of Sole Survivor and in turn, win $500k to provide a better life for them.
With two young sons with autism and a baby girl with cystic fibrosis, $500k would be a life changing amount for the Toki’s.
Whilst Luke stumbled near the finish line and was voted out of the top four, true Survivor fans will recognise that he is the greatest Australian player ever to grace our screens. So let’s rally behind this Aussie legend and change this awesome young family’s life.”
The goal was set for $500k (The same amount as the Australian Survivor prize money) and was aimed to help Luke and his family who are dealing with a number of health issues, but Skow has stated that the plan is to go beyond that and raise as much money as possible.
On Tuesday Luke commented on his Instagram account,
“First of all, I would like to say a huge thank you to anyone and everyone who has donated to this ?
I’m still halfway through my media day and I keep getting updated on the total from each and every radio station which makes me my heartache.
It’s such a hard to post to write as I’m sooo utterly grateful.
I am just sooo thankful to the Australian Survivor gods for taking a shot on me when I first applied in 2017… You have changed my family’s life.”