CBS Survivor

Fayetteville resident Sandra Diaz-Twine made reality show history by becoming the only "Survivor" contestant to win the game - and $1 million - twice.

Diaz-Twine was named sole Survivor of CBS' "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains" during a live reunion show Sunday broadcast from New York City.

She was one of 20 contestants playing in an all-star version of the popular show and lasted 39 days in Samoa, a country in the South Pacific Ocean.

She beat two of her fellow Villains, Parvati Shallow, known for her flirty but savvy ways and ability to excel at challenges, and Russell Hantz, a ruthless player who dominated the season's game play.

Diaz-Twine first won $1 million after competing in the show's seventh season, "Survivor: Pearl Islands," in 2003. In this 20th season of all-stars, she was one of four previous winners on the game. Shallow was another.

With her husband, Sgt. 1st Class Marcus Twine, in the audience, Diaz-Twine smiled as her name was called out. She was greeted by hugs from Twine and her family members.

As she sat on stage with a tiara sparkling on her head, host Jeff Probst asked her if winning twice makes her the best player ever. She emphatically agreed.

"Without question," she said. "I mean, I have two titles. What else can you ask for?"

She said she has been a fan of the show long before she became a contestant. She said she studied past seasons to help her own game, she said, and she played the game day by day.

"My goal is to make it to the end," she said. "I make it to the end, and I win. You can't beat that."

Shallow received the second most votes, while Hantz, who competed in the season immediately before this one, received none. However, he received enough fan votes to win $100,000 from Sprint.

Hantz said during the reunion that Shallow, who has played three seasons, should have won instead of Diaz-Twine. He said Diaz-Twine isn't a good player when it comes to physical challenges and strategy. Probst noted that Diaz-Twine is the only winner who has never won a challenge in her two seasons of play.

That may have been the case, but for the members of the jury, including Fayetteville's Candice Woodcock, that didn't seem to matter.

"In this game, the line between Villains and Heroes was blurred most of the time," Woodcock said as she cast her vote for Diaz-Twine. "But you work hard. You put family first. You always stay true to yourself. That makes you a true hero to me."

Throughout the game, Diaz-Twine was an underdog, particularly when members of her alliance were voted off one by one. An attempt to join forces with the Heroes failed, so she stuck with her fellow Villains, even though her dislike for Hantz was known.

But it was Hantz who brought her to the final three, assuming that he could beat her when it came time for the jury of eliminated players to choose a winner. Diaz-Twine was confident that she could get more than one vote, she told the camera.

And she felt like she owed it to her family and her husband, who has been in Afghanistan during the course of the game. He said on the show Sunday that he is home for two weeks before he returns overseas.

"He's out there in Afghanistan fighting for our country," she told the camera. "Here I am fighting to be the sole survivor. . If that makes our lives easier, than why not? This is how I hustle, this is how I make my money. I come and play Survivor."

Diaz-Twine, who works for BB&T in Fayetteville, will receive her winnings on "The Early Show" today on CBS.