That being said, Tony clearly has a killer social game.
Yes, his tightest relationship is with Sarah, but what returnee season hasn't been marred by prior relationships?
He has Ben around his finger, selling him on the idea of a "heroes" final 3 with Sarah. Nick trusted him completely. Denise, while working with him through Ben, recognizes his danger and threat level and still doesn't want to take him about before 4 or 5.
The best example of Tony's social game was the F9 Extortion Advantage. Fire Tokens aren't great, but they allow for the physical manifestation of social capital- Michele, Denise, and Sarah have tangible evidence of the power of their social games. Tony seemingly effortlessly got tokens from Jeremy, Nick, and Ben. It is public knowledge that Fire Tokens have some relationship to advantages, yet these three willingly gave them to a winner well-known for his flashiness. Incredible. It clearly indicates that Tony cultivated strong relationships with them prior to this.
Tony is loved by editors because he's hyperactive and pulls crazy stunts, but he has to have charm that goes underreported by the edit.