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'Survivor' Picks Ultimate Winner After History-Making Tie-Breaker Vote

STUDIO CITY (CNN)  -- The tribe spoke, but, unfortunately, its members were split.

In the season finale of "Survivor: Ghost Island," the final vote came down to a tie for the first time in the show's 36-season history, leaving the responsibility to chose a winner solely on the shoulders of one person.

The final three contestants came down to Domenick Abbate, Laurel Johnson, and Wendell Holland, who competed against Angela Perkins in a fire challenge -- narrowly landing him a spot in the final three.

At the final tribal counsel, the jury vote resulted in a 5-5 tie between Holland and Abbate.

Johnson, as the finalist not involved in the tie, was forced to cast the deciding vote.

The cast reacted with shock that she would be the deciding vote, as did the audience at home.

"I hate that I had to do that, guys," she said after casting her vote in Fiji, where the show was filmed this season.

In the end, Holland was crowned the winner after Johnson's $1 million vote was revealed during a live broadcast in Los Angeles.

Laurel said she had trouble deciding who to give her final vote, but in the end chose Wendell for slightly superior game and social play.

For more about "Survivor" click here.

For a pre-season profile of Wendell Holland, click here.

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