Unless we guessed wrong, and we don't think we did, Amber Brkich of Brighton, Beaver County, was not voted out of "Survivor: All-Stars" last night. If that's true, she's headed to the final episode in which the ultimate "Survivor" will be crowned Sunday night.

		'Survivor: All-Stars' When: 8 p.m. Sunday on CBS Starring: Amber Brkich

CBS will air the season-ender at 8 p.m. Sunday, followed by a cast reunion at 10 p.m.

Already Brkich has done better than her first "Survivor" outing, "Survivor: The Australian Outback." On that edition she didn't make it to the final four but was among the final six contestants.

In a teleconference with TV writers Tuesday, host Jeff Probst said Brkich was savvy in her game play this time out.

"I don't know why she chose Rob [Mariano] to be in an alliance with, but she's smart enough to let this guy, whose personality is so out front, take the bullets," Probst said. "I really think from early on they made a lot of decisions together. I only say that from watching how much they interacted."

He said that often "Boston" Rob Mariano would play bad cop to Brkich's good cop.

"If they end up in the final two, she could beat him because of all the bullets he took trying to protect her," Probst said.

At this point, Probst knows full well who the final two are -- "Survivor" was taped late last year -- but if the show follows its traditional course, he won't know the $1 million winner until he reads the votes Sunday night.

Because this is an "All-Stars" edition, runners-up will take home greater winnings than in past "Survivor" installments, and Probst said that makes a difference in the end too.

"The end is pretty personal. It's probably the most honest and emotional final tribal council since the very first season," he said. "They were friends, and there were a lot of hurt feelings when this thing was over."

Probst confirmed what's been rumored: However the game turns out, Brkich and Mariano are still dating.

"As far as I know they are. Technically, they're not supposed to be together or talk or e-mail, but anybody who believes that is naive," he said. "I think they're for real, but I'm going to find out on the live show. Part of me wonders, was somebody being played? We'll find out when the whole show is over."

Probst also expressed admiration for Mariano's game play.

"It's tough to come into this game and take a leadership role in your tribe, be in an alliance, determine who's going to be voted off and doing it with the girl tucked under your arm and daring anyone to knock you off."

So why wasn't he ousted? Probst speculates each player believed he or she was the only one in an alliance with Mariano.

"Did everybody think Boston Rob was their ticket to the final two? They've had the opportunity to get rid of him. Either they're living in fear of him, which makes no sense, or does everyone think, 'I'm his true partner' ?"

Once he's done with "All-Stars," Probst said he looks forward to the next "Survivor," which will feature a fresh rookie cast.

" 'All-Stars' was a fun experiment, but I would vote to never do it again," he said. "I think the game is better played by strangers."