The Grand Final of the 22nd Manhunt International: Male Supermodel was generally a smoothly run affair with a reliable structure. However, they decided to add one pageantry element in what was previously packaged as a model search, as for the opening number they decided to return to the format of the contestants introducing themselves live. I suppose inspired by that viral memes involving Miss Universe contestants the 37 contestants introducted themselves with exaggerated announcements of teir country's names. I'm all for exerting pride and energy as you announce your own country's name, but there has to be a balance where it doesn't sound contrived and irritating like how most contestants did it. For me, the PHILIPPINES (Kenneth Stromsnes) delivered the best introduction--he delivered the right balance of energy and finesse in his introduction that I wish I could hear more of.
I couldn't quite pick out the name of the two hosts as their names are very long. Sure I know it's good to get native people to host the event and perhaps these two are the most experienced with English-speaking skills. However, I have to note that their dictions may sound incomprehensible to a native English speaker's ears--I guess we have to applaud the effort
The show was generally straightforward--after the introduction sequence featuring the contestants modeling in black formal wear, they then were presented in their haute couture fashions that we also saw in the preliminary judging--barring one, who changed his outfit to a less distinctive white-and-black tuxedo combo; I'll talk about him later. Then of course was the swimsuit segment where all 37 contestants paraded in the same blue Ricky Abad swimwear that we saw in at least two previous occasions. Then the Top 20 were announced, and the Top 20 paraded in red swimwear with black shawls. Quickly after that that Top 10 was announced. Normally one would assume that the Top 10 would parade again in formal wear, but it simply turned into a mass presentation of all 37 candidates in formal wear before wehe winners are announced.
In between those segments were interval segments of course. Some are typical, like the activities the contestants did in their eight-day stay in Ayutthaya, but my favorite was the trip down memory lane as they had a pre-recorded segment featuring several of the former MHI winners giving their greetings. It's nice to see how the original winner, Thomas Sasse, has held up after over 30 years, but greetings from the 2006 winner Jaime Augusto Mayol and the 2016 winner Patrik Sjõõ, gave us a couple of enlightening details: Jaime is actually of Puerto Rican origin, but ended up talking the banner of USA (East) when he competed as there was another one desinated with the Puerto Rican banner, while Patrik disclosed he was a Bulgarian orpan adopted by Swedish parents, which gave a little more poignancy to his story.
Another great interval segment similar in theme in celebrating the 30th anniversary of this competition was the presentation of the five previous winners present at the event: Peter Eriksen (1998, Sweden), June Macasaet (2012, Philippines), Truong Ngoc Tinh (2017, Vietnam), Paul Luzineau (2020, Netherlands), and Lochie Carey (2022, Australia). There was a little ceremony presenting them and the hosts then gave each of them a brief interview about general impressions of teir own experiences and advice to this batch of candidates. It's a lovely gesture paying appropriate tribute to the past, which most pageants don't do well these days.
Time to discuss the results of this competition. I realize that aside from the Digital Challenge category winners, the special awards turned out to be consolation prizes for those who failed to make the Top 20, with one exception, who might have won his continental prize by being the weakest of the three contenders from his continent.
As much as they were trying to spread the wealth and award consoloation prizes to practically everyone, four guys missed out of receiving any special award: FERNANDO DE NORONHA (Hudson Malagutti), MEXICO (Adrian Jesus Villela), NEPAL (Abhinav Tapa), and PAKISTAN (Ahmad Khan). Could we conclude that these guys were the bottom four of this batch? I feel it's unfair to grant that designation to MEXICO, but it seems to be the impression we're getting.
I guess COLOMBIA (Luis Gonzales) and VIETNAM (Huynh Vo Hoang Son) have to be content with their continental awards that they're the best performers for their continents below the Top 20.
I thought the judges would have a high regard for KOREA (Yoon Song) and PERU (Francisco Dall'Orso) and pegged them as Top 10 finishers, but the judges somehow didn't look in favor upon them and were shut out instead. So instead they are the Top Two contenders for the Lucas Malvacini Award, with PERU being the champion and KOREA the runner-up.
There were three non-finalists who got special awards during the World Final: EL SALVADOR (Andre Ticas), MACAU (Yue Yu) and MALAYSIA (Joash Choo), all of whom gotten Chat Cosmpetics special awards alongside the favored likes of COSTA RICA, FRANCE, PHILIPPINES, SPAIN, and THAILAND. That they were awarded this prize during the World Final and not prior to it means that the sponsor must have had a high regard fro these guys.
I've got 14 of the Top 20 correct. It's not a bad record, and I've had it worse back in 2011 and 2017, so in general I find it a satisfying performance. However, I found one choice a big headscratcher and he's...
HONG KONG (Song Yunye). I can't for the likes of me understand the judges preferring him over, say, PERU or KOREA, or a while host of other guys as for me he's one of the weakest links in this batch.
SIERRA LEONE (Sahr Fatoma) was the only survivor among the pre-Final sepcial award winners as he secured a Top 20 spot. So it's likely he only squeaked by the Top 20 by the tips of his fingernails and that the Best African Model prize was given because he was the closest to being eliminated. That's my theory based on the results.
I sense the Chalemet Effect could be in play here and definitely AUSTRALIA (Tim Gamlin) was a major beneficiary of that trend and hence made the Top 20.
I may have pegged LEBANON (Abed Seeman) and NICARAGUA (Jeril Vado) in my "Bubbling Under" list, but I always know that if any of my predicted Top 20 fell by the wayside, that would make room for these guys to advance.
INDONESIA (Stefan Yogi Firdaus) seemed to have earned his slot by winning the popular vote. Would he have missed the cut otherwise? I predicted that e would make the cut, so I feel that he may have still made the Top 20 anyway without that ticket.
I'm glad I was right in predicting ANGOLA (Felipe Salvador Maria), DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (Juan Starlyn Terrero), and NETHERLANDS (Ilyas Chaouki) made the cut. They truly deserved to make it. Now, I wonder what happened to ANGOLA's original couture outfit as he changed to a white-and-black tuxedo during the couture presentation? Did it got ripped hence the wardrobe change?
COSTA RICA (Roberto Mena) secured his Top 20 spot by being the overall Digital Challenge champion. With an extra Chat Cosmetics special award, it seems he's well regarded with sponsors and insiders. So it's a major upset that he missed out of the overall Top 10. Wonder why they could not make room for him in the Top 10?
With COSTA RICA, PERU, and KOREA out, I got seven out of Top 10 correct. It's interesting how they decided to give big honors to the Top 10, as they are all announced as members of the winner' circle and given formal announcements about their rankings. Wonder if they'll contunue doing this in future editions.
I had placed SOUTH AFRICA (Luke Van) in my Final Five, so I'm slightly surprised he ended up at the bottom of the Top 10. But I did notice during the World Final he doesn't quite sparkle and was drowned out a bit by the rest, and that was probably why he's ranked at the bottom of the Final 10.
BRAZIL (Ruan Mendes) would always be a standout in this group with his Afro hairstyle and mocha complexion. It just so happens that the judges have stronger preferences for the other guys I'll be discussing below, like...
...SWITZERLAND (Marcel Ignacio Riera), who finally broke out of his rut and finally made Top 10. I still wish the Beefy Vegan ranked higher, but I can still take this as a win.
I know that CANADA (Matt Dixon)'s blond hair and white complexion would make a standout impression, but I was slightly surprised the judges regarded him very highly. I do note that the Best Couture award is well-deserved, and that probably contributed to his 7th place overall finish.
I'm glad there is a high regard for SPAIN (Daniel Llorente) and even if he didn't make the FInal Five as I had predicted, his 6th place showing reveals he probably missed it by a few slivers as the judges had stronger preferences for a couple of others.
I got three of the Final Five correct. Even if I rated the two I missed not as highly, I have no objections to their inclusion.
I'm pleased to see ITALY (Vincenzo Melisi) in this circle. In my original forecast I would've ranked him third, but he got fifth place because the judges took a stronger liking to some guys I didn't rank highly.
I thought at first that VENEZUELA (Victor Battista) was overshadowed by COSTA RICA and PERU, but it emerged he's the best Latino in this batch as his classical handsome Latino features and perfectly buffed physique were undeniable. I had way underrated him, and this is a scenario where I'm glad I was wrong, and I salute him earing 3rd runner-up honors.
I never ranked PHILIPPINES (Kenneth Stromsnes) highly as I'm not tat into his features and neither am into his long hair. I did sense that the judges may like him because he has the tall stature, the boyish Timothee Chalemet vibe, and that he's the only one with Nordic heritage this year as there is no Nordic country represented. He earned a couple of special awards during the World Final with a sponsor's Personality award and is one of the reclipints of the Chat Cosmetics award. But I realized another thing working in his favor is the presence of June Macasaet in the judging panel, as he's also rocking long hair these days, and that might have influenced the other judges to reward this guy for his look. So, even if I have my own reservations, I'm pleased along with the rest of my countrymen to see this guy fare this well.
I think from the get-go, we all knew who the Final Two would be, and these two guys earned it as throughout their appearances they were at the top of their game. I also like that for the final announcement, they had the two guys hold each other by one arm as if they are about to arm wrestle--Mister Global tried having the two guys hold both hands together as the final announcmeent commences, and that didn't quite work as it looked a bit romantic and "girly". This strikes a masculine balance that worked.
We all witnessed both FRANCE (Lucas Schlachter) and THAILAND (Kevin Dasom) being both highly motivated contenders as there was a big drive when we see them on the catwalk. They both earned the Chat Cosmetics special award, and THAILAND actually secured his slot thanks to a sponsor's fast-track slot by his country's BMW dealership. I feel sad seeing the disappointment of FRANCE's face when he was not announced the winner, but well, I think it's just disappointment because he wants to win and not necessarily because he thinks the eventual winner was unworthy--despite nitizens declaring the contrary, posting that FRANCE is the "real" winner and that the event is a "cooking show". Some Latino netizens chimed it and believe VENEZUELA should've won. But I maintain the results are fair--yes, the optics of making the hometown contestant win on host country turf may be bad, but the guy earned his merits and deserved the victory.
Though the results had some surprises, I'm generally pleased with the choice of winners. I wonder if Kevin would get the opportunity to relay his story with his win, and hope there are rewarding opportunities ahead for him and all the top placers in this contest. Best of luck in all their endeavors!
JUST ME!
JOSEPH
