Just one day to go before the 69th Miss Universe preliminary competition and not even a global pandemic could stop the “heat wave” that is plaguing Hollywood, Florida right now with74 of the hottest women converging at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
Despite the limited activities of the delegates since their arrival, the Miss Universe fever continues to heat up, with pageant aficionados being treated to a wave of social media posts.
Our pool of experts and correspondents are still one in saying that there is no clear winner yet in this group of amazing women. It is exciting to see who among the candidates will bring their A-game come the preliminaries. And here are the ladies who we are expecting to ace the prelims.
Leading our Hot Picks for the first time is Romania’s Bianca Tirsin. Although the pressure is very evident for her to give Romania its first ever placement in Miss Unuverse, Bianca is unfazed. It seems like she is taking everything one day at a time, and is always enjoying the moment. Bianca has been consistent since arriving in Florida. And with no less than Michael Cinco dressing her up for the evening gown round, we expect this Miss International and Miss Supranational alumna to ace the prelims. Considered as one of the most facially beautiful candidates this year, Bianca is expected to lead the group prior to the all-important preliminary judging given her previous Big5 pageant experiences.
Not far behind is Estefanía Soto of Puerto Rico who will continue to keep the Puerto Rican momentum that they regained in 2018 after several years of failing to make the first cut. Estefanía has a beautiful face and a statuesque figure, but her main strength is the fact that she is very comfortable to speak in English while in public. We always trust the Puerto Rican ladies to deliver when it really matters, and Estefania is proof that Puerto Rico is indeed a powerhouse in Miss Universe.
In third place is the eloquent Adline Castelino of India. Despite the difficult situation that her country is facing due to the pandemic and herself surviving Covid-19, Adline brought her A-game in Florida, enchanting everyone with her renewed confidence and unassuming beauty during arrivals. There is no doubt among our panel of experts that Adline has what it takes to be the winner. She’s also one of the best and most sincere speakers in the batch. As an old pageant saying goes, never let a Miss India talk otherwise the crown is already hers to lose.”
A new entry in our Top 5 is the lovely Mariangel Villasmil of Venezuela who reminds us so much of Miss Universe 2013 Gabriela Isler. And just like Isler, Mariangel is slowly but surely making her presence felt in the competition. What makes Mariangel stand out is her ability to project herself as an elegant woman onstage and that will be one of her aces come prelims. Her presence is undeniable add to that her strong command of the English language and we have a very strong representative from this powerhouse country.
Back in the Top 5 is the beautiful Rabiya Mateo of the Philippines, who is surely in the competition to win it. We have seen how good she is in interviews, but Rabiya also knows exactly how to present herself onstage (she won Best in Swimsuit in her national competition). She’s got that much-needed charisma and it is very evident that she is well-trained. She is a Miss Philippines so worry not when it comes to standing out during prelims!
Check out the full list of our Sixth Hot Picks below:
1 Romania, Bianca Lorena Tirsin
2 Puerto Rico, Estefanía Soto
3 India, Adline Castelino
4 Venezuela, Mariángel Villasmil
5 Philippines, Rabiya Mateo
6 Mexico, Andrea Meza
7 South Africa, Natasha Joubert
8 Costa Rica, Ivonne Cerdas
9 Brazil, Julia Gama
10 Vietnam, Nguyễn Trần Khánh Vân
11 Thailand, Amanda Obdam
12 Australia, Maria Thattil
13 Jamaica, Miqueal-Symone Williams
14 Peru, Janick Maceta
15 Czech Republic, Klára Vavrušková
16 Nepal, Anshika Sharma
17 Colombia, Laura Olascuaga
18 France, Amandine Petit
19 Cambodia, Sarita Reth
20 Curacao, Chantal Wiertz
21 Ukraine, Yelyzaveta Yastremska
22 Bolivia, Lenka Nemer
23 Panama, Carmen Jaramillo
24 Dominican Republic, Kímberly Jiménez
25 ndonesia, Ayu Maulida Putri
26 Spain, Andrea Martínez
27 Myanmar, Thuzar Wint Lwin
28 Great Britain, Jeanette Akua
29 Argentina, Alina Luz Akselrad
30 Nicaragua, Ana Marcelo
31 Finland, Viivi Altonen
32 Iceland, Elísabet Hulda Snorradóttir
33 Canada, Nova Stevens
34 Chile, Daniela Nicolás
35 Belize, Iris Salguero
