fter becoming the first U.S. “Survivor” star to get the chop on “Survivor: Australia vs. the World” this week, two-time series champion Tony Vlachos opened up about whether or not he’d ever consider returning to the jungle for another chance to outwit, outplay and outlast his way to yet another “Sole Survivor” title.

A Closer Look at Tony Vlachos’ Legendary ‘Survivor’ Career

Vlachos began his journey on the Emmy-winning reality competition series on the cast of “Survivor: Cagayan” in 2014. The Jersey City police officer eventually emerged victorious from the “Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty” season due in no small part to the introduction of his legendary “spy shacks,” which he used to eavesdrop on his fellow castaways.

CBS/Getty. Tony Vlachos on “Survivor: Cagayan”
He similarly established dominance on his first season by double-crossing his closest allies and successfully playing three Hidden Immunity Idols. His game-changing approach to “Survivor” eventually earned him the season’s $1 million grand prize and, later, an invitation to return to compete on “Survivor: Game Changers” in 2017.

CBS/Getty. Tony Vlachos on “Survivor: Game Changers”
Though Tony celebrated a much shorter stint on the show the second time around, getting eliminated in 19th place, his status as a former winner was enough to earn him an invitation from longtime “Survivor” host and executive producer Jeff Probst to return for a thrid shot at the crown on the cast of 2020’s “Winners at War,” which challenged 20 past champions to return to the jungle for the ultimate “Survivor” showdown.

CBS/Getty. Tony Vlachos on “Survivor: Winners at War”
Over the course of the season,Tony, adopting a more low-key approach to the game, was instrumental in orchestrating the blindsides of legendary “Survivor” victors like Amber Mariano (formerly Bkrich), Tyson Apostol, Nick Wilson, Adam Klein and Jeremy Collins. Eventually Tony was able to outlast all the other winners to become the second-ever two-time winner in “Survivor” history, pocketing the series’ largest-ever $2 million grand prize.

Network 10. Tony Vlachos on “Australian Survivor: Australia vs. the World”
Most recently, Vlachos set off on his fourth consecutive “Survivor” appearace as one of three players from the American flagship franchise, alongside Parvati Shallow and Cirie Fields, to join the cast of “Survivor: Australia vs. the World.” Competing against stars from international franchises in Australia, Finland, Canada, and South Africa, Vlachos joined the series with the express intention of claiming the “World Title” of “Greatest ‘Survivor’ Player of All Time.”

Unfortunately, Tony’s fourth “Survivor” journey was cut short on Sunday, August 24, just one episode before the Merge, when he became the latest victim of the World tribe’s all-female alliance, spearheaded by his American allies Parvati and Cirie.

Tony on Returning to ‘Survivor’: ‘I’m Retired, I’m Done, It’s Over’

After his blindside elimination, Tony appeared on the “Drop Your Buffs” aftershow to discuss his game and to reveal whether or not he’d ever consider returning to the series to join an elite group of five-time players that includes series legends like Rob “Boston Rob” Mariano.

During his exit interview, Tony admitted that, before appearing on “Australia vs. the World,” he was already ‘iffy’ about returning to “Survivor,” particularly when he heard that the prize for the currently-airing season was only $250,000 in Australian currency, a meager sum compared to the $3 million he earned over the course of his two wins in the U.S..

“But then when she told me it was the world crown, that you could win the title of the world, I was like, ‘Oh, my god.’ That’s what made me want to go out there and do that,” he added.

Now that Vlachos has had his “Survivor” torch snuffed for the second time, however, the two-time winner says he’s officially retiring from the franchise, making his nine-day run on “Australia vs. the World” his final appearance, at least as a contestant, on the franchise.

While Tony made similar claims that he was hanging up his “Survivor” gloves after winning “Winners at War,” he reiterated his stance, telling “Drop Your Buffs”: “I’m 51 years old. On Day 2 [of ‘Australia vs. the World’], I was laying down in the dirt, I said, ‘What am I doing here?’ A 51-year-old man with a family at home and I’m sleeping in the dirt like a little dog. And I realized that I don’t have an answer for that.”

Though the aftershow’s hosts, including “Survivor 41” alum Ricard Foye and “Australian Survivor” star Sean Ross, were hard-pressed to believe that Vlachos was truly finished with the series, Tony responded by looking down the barrel of the camera to tell fans: “I’m retired. I’m done…It’s over.”