Prior to the Miss Universe 2013 preliminary competition last Tuesday, Miss Philippines Ariella Arida had been tipped as the top contender for the title. Was she able to maintain and even boost that momentum after her performance in the swimsuit and evening gown competitions? Is Miss USA Erin Brady still her closest competitor in the pageant? More importantly, can she live up to her frontrunner status and win?
The UK edition of the International Business Times reported on Friday that Arida and Brady are still the top favorites to win the title according to “popularity, betting and online pools”.
In assessing why Arida has a strong chance of taking home the pageant’s Diamond Nexus Crown, the IBTimes report written by Simi John noted Arida’s “smooth ride” in the competition following her arrival in Moscow two weeks ago.
“She impressed all during the Tony Ward Couture Fashion Show, and appeared twice on the ramp in the designer’s ensemble. She was one of the five beauties, out of the 89 contestants, chosen for the television advertisement of luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz. She bagged the top prize for the photo shoot for Italian lingerie brand, Yamamay, taken by New York-based Fashion Photographer Fadil Berisha. Most recently she was one of the ten contestants who attended internationally renowned culinary expert Chef Nobu’s Moscow Demo Show,” the IBTimes wrote.
The news site did not cite as many reasons why Miss USA is a top contender for Miss Universe other than saying that Brady is the top choice of bookies according to one betting odds site, Bet365. A check with the website of betting sites aggregate Nicer Odds UK, however, revealed that Miss Philippines remain the top pick of another betting site, BetFair which gave her a 3.85 Euro odds of winning the title, way ahead of Miss USA who is ranked 6th with a 12.0 odds of winning.
A win by either Miss Philippines or Miss USA would be a history-making achievement. If Arida triumphs, the Philippines would be the first country to bag the Miss World and Miss Universe titles in a single year since India’s Aishwarya Rai Sushmita Sen achieved the rare feat back in 1994.
If Brady wins, her country would have the first back-to-back Miss Universe titleholders since erstwhile powerhouse Venezuela romped off with the crown in 2008 and 2009.
A check with the fearless forecasts and preliminary competition reports of other reputable pageant sites, however, revealed that neither Arida nor Brady are locks to win Miss Universe. Over the last few days, other strong contenders for the crown have emerged and are still gaining momentum.
One of them is Miss Ukraine Olga Storozhenko now ranked as No. 1 in the top 20 Hot Picks of Missosology.org, a site that specializes in analyzing beauty pageants. Miss Philippines is ranked No. 10 while Miss USA is not even on the list.
Storozhenko is also at the top of the site’s Top 10 evening gown picks and No. 4 in their swimsuit top 10. Arida is at No. 10 in evening gown and No. 7 in swimsuit. Again, Brady is not even on both lists.
Miss USA is also not in the Top 5 list of Prestigious Beauty Pageants dubbed as “a haven of world beauty contests news”. The site has boldly predicted that Arida will win the title followed by Miss Poland Paulina Krupinska (1st runner-up), Miss Puerto Rico Monic Perez (2nd runner-up), Miss Spain Patricia Rodriguez (3rd runner-up) and Miss Australia Olivia Wells (4th runner-up).
Brady, however, is right up there in Miss Universe Pageant Hotspot, another reputable fansite of the pageant has also posted their top 5 that names USA, Puerto Rico, Spain, Ukrainer and Philippines as the last women standing in the final reckoning.
“She can be considered as one of the dark horses. Many might have foretold her to win it all, but it’s not the case in many pageant sites. Many forumers and pageant experts have already taken her off their lists… Based on how she performed in the prelims, she’s in for the top 5. We even chose her as one of the best candidates in long gown because no one registered well on stage like the way she did,” the site posted in its justification of Miss USA’s inclusion on their prediction.
On the other hand, the site described Arida as “controversial, one of the most-talked about candidates, she’s a frontrunner, and a real standout.”
It also noted that she is riding the Philippines’ current streak, with ascending runner-up finishes of the country’s last three representatives.
“She did an outstanding performance in the preliminary competition and aced every single battle in Moscow. She deserves every single right to be in the top list. She will be there like Janine [Tugonon], Shamcey [Supsup], and Venus [Raj].”
Other candidates who are also figuring prominently in online predictions are Miss Brazil Jakelyne Oliveira, Miss India Manashi Moghe, Miss Venezuela Gabriela Isler, Miss Vietnam Truong Thi May, Miss Panama Carolina Brid and Miss France Hinarani de Longeaux.
However, it is worth noting that all these predictions could be for naught because the pageant’s coronation night on November 9 (November 10, 2AM, Manila time) at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow, Russia will be judged by a new set of judges who will presumably look at the candidates with a fresh set of eyes.
source: interaksyon.com
