SIERRA LEONE - Uthman Issa Bangura. He was originally supposed to compete in last year's batch but he could not make mainly due to visa restrictions. He was able to make it this time, and even if he retained his bleached-blond look, it turned out to actually be a plus factor as he made a major splash with his strong catwalk presence. This made him a Top Three finalist in the Supra-Model competition and looks like a shoo-in for the Top 20 with a possible play for the Top 10.
SLOVAKIA - Adam Palković. See PARAGUAY.
SOUTH AFRICA - Fezile Mkhize. He is already a very known quantity with his stellar 1st runner-up finish at Mister World 2019, and it seems all of those winning qualities that made him shine in that milieu are very much at play here--his background as a medical doctor, his superb communication skills, his buffed, athletic physique, and his undeniable charisma. It does look like this is his pageant to lose, and as much as the quality of this batch has ramped up from previous editions, they are all having to play catch-up against this guy.
SPAIN - Alvaro Germes. Again, this country fielded the tallest guy in this competition with this 6'5" looker. But he comes with a medical background being a cosmetic surgeon. He got some positive human interest buzz as he helped DOMINICAN REPUBLIC when he injured his knees and had to be briefly hospitalized. I find him extremely charismatic and in terms of handsomeness, only POLAND would outdo him in handsomeness. If you ask me, he should be making a play for the FInal Five, but I'm shocked that he wasn't shortlisted in the Supra-Model competition even if his torso-baring reveal seemed to be a highlight. Many may argue that his physique is on the lanky side, but those luscious pecs displayed in the Supra-Model competition made me think he's beefy enough to qualify as this year's Beefcake Behemoth in this group--just like his predecessor, the reigning Mister Supranational Ivan Alvarez.
THAILAND - Chonlawit Wongsriwor. He has a surprisingly strong command of English and he exudes a lot of carm and personality besides having strong communication skills to be a Supra-Chat finalist. He looks like a serious contender for the Top 10 as he's also a very polished presence all throughout.
TRINDAD & TOBAGO - Anderson Subero. He is better than his two recent predecessors, who both managed to make the Top 20 by sheer force of interview skills and personality. But I'm skeptical if he can pull off a streak with such a wealth of stellar standouts, especially with the likes of HAITI and JAMAICA also making major splashes. But he has made a major highlight as he won the Talent competition--he's the only one who didn't sing and instead perforemd an interpretative dance to Duncan Laurence's Eurovision 2019-winning song, "Arcade".
UNITED STATES - Alan Hierro. He's the least-buffed of this stellar group of contenders, but like CANADA, his redeeming factor is his strong communication and interview skills. Would that be enoug fro him to win over the Panel of Experts?
VENEZUELA - Marcos de Freitas. He garnered publicity for his background as a layman / altar boy in his Catholic church, but he exhibited a complete package of buffness, charisma, intelligence, and communication skills that made him a possible usurper to SOUTH AFRICA's presumed path to victory. Can he bring forth his country's second victory in this pageant and be the first country to have two victors in this pageant/
VIETNAM - Đỗ Quang Tuyển. The Southeast Asian contingent proves to be extremely competitive this year, with LAOS, PHILIPPINES, and THAILAND ruling the roost, and INDONESIA and MALAYSIA making major splashes. It's interesting that the's the last guy to be confirmed to compete, to the point that he wasn''t able to participate in Supra-Chat. However, he is short-listed in the Supra-Fan vote and Supra-Influencer, so like MYANMAR he could secure a ticket via this path, but he has stronger merits than the latter as he's way polished in his presentation and made a splash with his glittering red suit during the Preliminary Evaluation.
With all 36 contestants accounted for, let me trot out my leaderboard:
TOP CONTENDERS: NETHERLANDS,, SOUTH AFRICA, SPAIN, VENEZUELA
SHOO-INS: COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, LAOS, PERU, PHILIPPINES, SIERRA LEONE, THAILAND
LIKELIEST: ARGENTINA, BRAZIL, CZECH REPUBLIC, ECUADOR, HAITI, INDONESIA, JAMAICA, KOREA, MALAYSIA, MEXICO, NEPAL, POLAND, PUERTO RICO, VIETNAM
PERSONALITY FACTOR: CANADA, GERMANY, GUATEMALA, TRINIDAD & TOBAGO, UNITED STATES
FAN VOTE / INFLUENCER FACTOR: MYANMAR
EXCELLENT: COTE D'IVOIRE, INDIA, MALTA, PARAGUAY, SLOVAKIA
Here is my "Fearful" Forecast:
FINAL FIVE: NETHERLANDS, PHILIPPINES, SOUTH AFRICA, SPAIN, VENEZUELA
TOP 10: COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, LAOS, PERU, THAILAND
TOP 20: BRAZIL, CZECH REPUBLIC, ECUADOR, HAITI, INDONESIA, JAMAICA, MEXICO, POLAND, PUERTO RICO, SIERRA LEONE
BUBBLING UNDER:ARGENTINA, KOREA, MALAYSIA, NEPAL, VIETNAM
STRIKING DISTANCE: Everyone else.
Even if the looks of the "Personality" choices are glaringly weak, I would like to declare that this batch belongs in the "Magnificent" tier that is occupied by Manhunt International 2012 and 2020, Mister International 2015, and Mister World 2019. Even if there is an obvious front-runner with SOUTH AFRICA (Fezile Mkhize), we have other guys who would've been winner potential in another year, like the NETHERLANDS (Casey De Vries), SPAIN (Alvaro Germes), and VENEZUELA (Macos de Freitas) plus possibly the PHILIPPINES (Brandon Espiritu). Also, do not count out the likes of COLOMBIA (Rafael Rapelo), DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (Bray Vargas), LAOS (Sanonh Maniphonh), PERU (Joel Farac), , and THAILAND (Chonlawit Wongsriwor) from pulling off upsets and making major inroads. Plus do not count out the likes of MEXICO (Zait Reza), SIERRA LEONE (Uthman Issa Bangura), and the Goofy Hunk from POLAND (Patryk Karbowski) This is emerging as one of the most exciting editions of this pageant.
JUST ME!
JOSEPH
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