PANAMA - Juan Carlos Gomez Cordova. He has reasonable charisma and is polished, but it's a challenge for him standing out over the likes of DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, HAITI, and NIGERIA. If there were more slots open, I would be pleased if there would be room for him.
PERU - Julio Cesar Lopez Dulanto. I find him handsome and he looked very charismatic in photos, that I initially regard him as one of the front-runners. But then, I'm discovering buzz is relatively muted and he looked a tad washed out during the formal wear round of the preliminary competition, so it's possible he would be pipped out of a Top 15 slot.
PHILIPPINES - Mark Avendano. In real-world terms he would be considered handsome, but I feel like we were regressing back to the pre-2010s period, where we just couldn't get in edgewise in most international pageants (with a few exceptions, of course). To his credit he seems to be well-spoken and well, he made the most in the national costume competition paying tribute to our most famous mode of transport, the jeepney (think Miss Universe Thailand 2015 and her tribute to the tuk-tuk). But with the guys he has a to contend with, it will be a big uphill battle for this guy to make the cut.
POLAND - Daniel Y. Dejne. He's a lean, handsome fellow with strong boyish appeal and a bit of edge with his elaborate right-arm tattoo sleeve. He seems to be garnering a lot of favor with the insiders that he could be considered the top European*2 in this batch, but then again, SPAIN might still have the upper hand as the top European..
*2 Though some might take note that North Cyprus may sometimes be considered to also be part of Europe, especially with Turkey straddling both Europe and Asia.
PUERTO RICO - Jorge Andres Guzman. He may prove to be more polished than initially thought but I feel he doesn't have enough charisma to make serious inroads to the Top 15.
SINGAPORE - Sean Nicholas Sutiono. He's the other guy who came from last year's Mister International, and just like last year, his best quality is his supremely buffed physique and very little else.
SOUTH AFRICA - Pierre Nel. He's one of several handsome scruffy guys in this batch and although he could be considered relatively shorter than most of his peers, he proved to be luminous during the preliminary competition. I also have a feeling that he might also have a strong edge in closed-door interviews, so it's possible that he could make a play for the Final Five.
SPAIN - Jesus Sanchez Camacho Miguel. He may not be at the same level of his predecessor, but he consistently performing at a high level that though he may not be expected to win, he might still place high.
SRI LANKA - Nathan Koch. In a less competitive batch he could be considered a solid, middle-of-the-road contender, but in a highly competitive batch like this one, he's considered middling at best.
SWITZERLAND - Santer Willy. I find his rippled physique and scruffy looks highly appealing, but buzz has diminished towards him that he is likely to be pipped at the post by other sterling contenders out there.
THAILAND - Setthapan Thongsuk. He has a very beefy physique and has tall stature. He looks like he has an inside track to the Top 15, and I wouldn't be surprised if e made it, but I'm wondering there are other sterling contenders out there and with such limited slots, it would be tragic who ever would make way for this guy.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - Joshua Long. Like in last year's edition, this guy is the winner of the Sy Lee Fabulousness award. Unlike his predecessor who got away with it and make the Top 10, I have a feeling this guy is clearly overshadowed by the more masculine, hunky contenders out there. Still we have to salute that this guy is still actually very appealing and performed solidly.
VIETNAM - Thach Kiem Ma Ra. In his pre-arrival photo, I find his darker-than-typical complexion and brooding looks highly appealing. However, as he arrived in Chiang Mai, he seems to be of a more slighter frame than the beefy guy in the modeling photos. Letting his hair loose into an assymetrical windswept style is also not a good look on him, if you ask me--he should've kept his top-knot / man-bun on. I would've rooted for him to make the cut but I feel he emerged a relative disappointment instead.
With all 39 contestants accounted for, it's time to trot out my leaderboard:
TOP CONTENDERS: CUBA, INDIA, MEXICO, MYANMAR, NORTH CYPRUS, SOUTH AFRICA, SPAIN
SHOO-INS: BRAZIL, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, POLAND
LIKELIEST: BELGIUM, COLOMBIA, HAITI, HONG KONG, INDONESIA, KOREA, NEPAL, NIGERIA, PANAMA, PERU, SWITZERLAND, THAILAND
EXCELLENT: ALBANIA, CAMBODIA, CHILE, CZECH REPUBLIC, JAPAN, PHILIPPINES, PUERTO RICO, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, VIETNAM
VERY STRONG: CANADA, FRANCE, MACAU, NETHERLANDS, SINGAPORE, SRI LANKA
STRONG: D R CONGO, LAOS
Now, here is my "Fearful" Forecast:
FINAL THREE: CUBA, MEXICO, SOUTH AFRICA
FINAL FIVE: MYANMAR, NORTH CYPRUS
TOP 15: BRAZIL, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, HAITI, HONG KONG, INDIA, KOREA, NIGERIA, POLAND, SPAIN, THAILAND
BUBBLING UNDER: BELGIUM, COLOMBIA, INDONESIA, NEPAL, PANAMA, PERU, SWITZERLAND
STRIKING DISTANCE: ALBANIA, CAMBODIA, CHILE, CZECH REPUBLIC, JAPAN, PHILIPPINES, PUERTO RICO, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, VIETNAM
This is one of the toughest pageants to call as no-one has emerged as a runaway front-runner. I feel there are ten guys who could conceivably win it all. Could it go to a clean-shaven Spanish speaker like MEXICO (Angel Garciglia) or SPAIN (Jesus Miguel)? Or a scruffy Latino like BRAZIL (William Gama) or CUBA (Juan Carlos Ariosa)? What about the handsomely scruffy and intelligent fellows like NORTH CYPRUS (Mehmet Agazade) or SOUTH AFRICA (Pierre Nel)? Maybe a boyish European cutie like POLAND (Daniel Y. Dejne)? Or an Asian like INDIA (Chena Ram Choudhary) or MYANMAR (Shein Min Thu)? Do not discount the outgoing personality and superb physique of dark-skinned fellows like DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (Michael Gomez) and to a lesser extent HAITI (Abdias Agustin) and NIGERIA (Senator Isinwa). Let's see how the finals will clear all these things up. Good luck to all the "Inspiring Gentlement"!
JUST ME!
JOSEPH
