We don't descend from winners, we descend from whoever survived and it's not an individual competition.
If the only place a particularly beneficial mutation appears is wiped out by chance volcanic eruption, that's just how it is - the survivors who weren't near the volcano go on to reproduce.
In evolution the winners are the ones who survive to reproduce, and that includes 100% of our ancestors.
The cultural ramifications of choosing one word over another are significant though. "Winner" is a loaded term.
> In evolution the survivors reproduced, and that includes 100% of our ancestors.