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Ramesses wins Season 9 Championship!

Sullla’s AI Survivor is an annual competition of all Civilization IV AI Leaders by long-time Civilization enthusiast and streamer Sullla. CFC is very excited to announce that the popular series returns after almost a two-year hiatus with Season Nine. AI Survivor has become quite an event over the years for both old and new Civ IV fans.

Championship Recap: Ramesses of Egypt claimed an overwhelmingly dominant Space Victory to seize the Season 9 crown, and “dominant” isn’t hyperbole—this game was effectively over by the mid‑game. Favored Victoria of England stumbled early thanks to a mix of crucial misplays, some bad luck, and the unwelcome attention of aggressive neighbors Joao of Portugal and Zara of Ethiopia. Ramesses, meanwhile, spent ages quietly snowballing, pairing steady expansion with early shrine income to pull ahead of the field technologically. His first major war came when he teamed with Louis of France to eliminate the struggling Gandhi. Once India was gone, Louis made the disastrous choice to backstab a far more advanced Egypt, and France was swiftly erased as a result. From there, Ramesses coasted unchallenged to Alpha Centauri, finishing with an exceptionally early Turn 275 Space Victory.

The full Championship Game is now available on YouTube (linked at the top) for anyone who wants to watch the thrilling Season 9 finale unfold.

That’s a wrap, folks — Season 9 of AI Survivor has officially crossed the finish line and is heading off for a well‑earned nap. Season 10 will be back next spring, bringing fresh drama, new surprises, and the usual dose of AI‑powered nonsense. Stick around and join us when the chaos resumes.

Saxo Grammaticus represented Civfanatics majestically this season by winning the overall picking contest by an impressive margin. Saxo surged during the playoff and championship rounds with consistent success to overtake the field. Please congratulate him. Thrasybulos finished 5th in the contest, while a-pen-dragon finished in 6th. (Both were knocked down a notch by Thrasy’s own SmartRandom.org AI contestant, which finished 3rd…LOL) Kaitzilla was the top fanatic in the Championship game picking contest, finishing 4th. Overall, Civfanatics’ members performed exceptionally this season.

Season 9 Championship Game!

Sullla’s AI Survivor is an annual competition of all Civilization IV AI Leaders by long-time Civilization enthusiast and streamer Sullla. CFC is very excited to announce that the popular series returns after almost a two-year hiatus with Season Nine. AI Survivor has become quite an event over the years for both old and new Civ IV fans.

Playoff Game 3 Recap: Gandhi of India surged into the championship with a thrilling cultural victory in the playoff finale, outlasting the relentless aggression of Qin of China, while Zara Yaqob of Ethiopia delivered a powerful performance of his own, claiming second place and securing the final remaining spot in what promises to be an electrifying showdown.

Kaitzilla led all Civfanatics for Playoff Game 3 in what was a high-scoring game across the board!!! Saxo Grammaticus now holds a solid first-place position in the overall contest all by himself!!! (SmartRandom.org now sits at a distant 4th place, proving that Skynet has not yet taken control)

Championship Game ON July 10th (12:00 PM EST)

Championship Game: The Season 9 Championship gathers a wonderfully mismatched cast of empires: Egypt’s Ramesses polishing his monuments while hoping no one notices his paper‑thin borders, Portugal’s Joao racing to plant cities faster than his economy can breathe, England’s Victoria trying once more to turn her powerhouse traits into something resembling momentum, France’s Louis XIV balancing cultural grandeur with a habit of picking fights he can’t finish, India’s Gandhi quietly preparing a cultural detonation if his neighbors forget he exists, and Ethiopia’s Zara Yaqob smiling warmly at everyone right up until he decides they look conquerable. It’s a finale defined by clashing agendas, fragile alliances, and leaders who have all proven capable of brilliance and disaster in equal measure—setting the stage for a championship where any empire could rise, collapse, or accidentally enable someone else’s victory!

Season 9 Playoff Game 3!

Sullla’s AI Survivor is an annual competition of all Civilization IV AI Leaders by long-time Civilization enthusiast and streamer Sullla. CFC is very excited to announce that the popular series returns after almost a two-year hiatus with Season Nine. AI Survivor has become quite an event over the years for both old and new Civ IV fans.

Playoff Game 2 Recap: Victoria (Vicky) of England entered the game like a baby deer dropped into a den of wolves — the lone high‑peace‑weight leader on a map full of predators, sitting at over 70% First‑To‑Die odds – by the picking contestants – despite having respectable land. Things initially followed the expected script when Brennus of the Celts launched an early war, his stack perfectly capable of striking lightly defended London but instead wandering toward a sturdier target, giving Vicky just enough breathing room to repel the invasion and secure peace. From there, her fortunes flipped: she teamed with Stalin to dismantle Justinian and claimed most of the spoils, then quietly expanded and powered up while the other wolves tore into each other. By the time anyone thought to look her way again, she had already transformed from prey into a force of nature, unleashing her beloved Redcoats, spreading constitutional monarchy across the map, and delivering one of the season’s most commanding performances — a Domination victory with the earliest finish date this season.

Cheers to Saxo Grammaticus for putting Civfanatics back on the weekly leaderboard by placing #1 in the picking contest!!! a pen-dragon finished 3rd!!! Saxo Grammaticus, a pen-dragon, and Thrasybolus are now the 1st, 3rd, and 5th humans in the overall contest!!! (SmartRandom.org still sits in the top spot)

Playoff Game 3 ON June 26th (12:00 PM EST)

Playoff Game 3: This final playoff before the championship lines up six leaders who feel like they were drafted from entirely different shows and then shoved onto the same stage: Qin is trying to engineer a masterpiece while quietly ignoring the part where enemies exist, Gandhi is attempting to host a peaceful book club in a neighborhood that keeps catching fire, Sitting Bull is armed to the teeth but treating warfare like a strict “look‑don’t‑touch” exhibit, Elizabeth is poised to turn everyone else’s missteps into her next scientific breakthrough, Hammurabi is building cultural monuments as if the scoreboard doesn’t include conquest, and Zara is handing out handshakes and compliments right up until he decides someone needs to go. It’s a lineup full of clashing instincts and mismatched ambitions, and the map isn’t giving anyone room to hide. If you’re tuning in for a playoff where plans unravel, tempers flare, and one leader somehow stumbles into brilliance, this is the one to watch!