Miss World 2018: HTH last group of candidates analyses and final ranking

Finally, here is the final report and analysis of MW18 candidates after watching all HTH great episodes. Comments by Albin Beart, scores by our 4 judges: Albin Beart (who also wrote the review you are about to read), GB´s own Andre Sleigh and Henrique Fontes, and Miss World expert and writer Sally-Ann Fawcett.

Here we go:

Group 17: MEXICO RUSSIA SPAIN MALTA NORTHERN IRELAND ARUBA

This was a very strong group! Every girl was impressive, and again, I really wish we could redistribute these girls so that the 20 who do advance are the strongest!

Miss Mexico stole this one for me. Vanessa Ponce de Leon became an instant favorite of mine when she won the Miss Mexico crown last year, but she has been somewhat overshadowed in Sanya. But here, she not only showed why she won Miss Mexico but also why she is such a strong contender for the Miss World crown. With a balance of beauty, vibrance, eloquence, a strong sense of mission and an easy relaxed air that masks her focus and determination, I have nothing to criticize. She is maybe the most complete girl at MW this year. Sure, Uganda is more beautiful, France has better presence, India is more eloquent, T&T more accomplished and Japan more elegant, but Mexico has a balance of everything, which is something I cannot say for all the others. In this episode, her answers had both content and conviction. GB SCORE: 9,245

Russia was a surprise! I can see now why the Miss Russia Organization sent her to compete at Miss World! Smart, caring and a doctor in training - this is a MW prototype for success. Although she couldn't speak in English, there was a thoughtfulness and sincerity in her responses that suggests that she is absolutely a girl to watch in the coming weeks. She elevated all of that with an unforced charm! GB SCORE: 8,609

Spain was not a surprise - I have been a fan of this beautiful girl since she won her national crown and she delivered. A great balance of vibrance, energy, beauty and intelligence. Manushi Chillar described a relentless curiosity as a key qualification of being a successful Miss World. If Amaia's life is an exhibit of this quality, she has it in spades. Absolutely worth seeing in the semis! GB SCORE: 9,038

Malta was perhaps my biggest surprise here. If someone were to take first place for eloquence and elegance in this very strong group, it would be her. She was perfectly presented and seems very aware of what her job as a Miss World Malta and a Miss World contender is, and although she did not physically stand out relative to the competition coming into this round, that should change after this round! Wow! I want her in the top 5 just to listen to her speak! GB SCORE: 8,587

Aruba also impressed with her styling, poise and answers! What a pity she had to be in this group! GB SCORE: 8,768

Northern Ireland is lovely and speaks quite well. GB SCORE: 8,734

Group 18: SRI LANKA HAITI TANZANIA TURKEY CROATIA TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

Wow! Another exceptional group! In my opinion, the only one that compares with Group 12 so far, and dare I say, even better?

Fro me the surprise in this group was Sri Lanka. Nadia Gyi is not the most beautiful girl we have seen from Sri Lanka but she brought qualities that I have not seen their representative bring to Miss World: confidence, charm and an ability to communicate. That she could do it in English was a bonus - as this has held Sri Lankan representatives back in the past. Nadia was not a favorite of mine when she won her national pageant, but now I see why she won. What a life story - she is not only an intelligent woman, but also self driven and incredibly hard working! Since her national contest, she has lost a lot of weight and improved her styling - and we are getting to see a much improved version of her. In her H2H round, she came across as very intelligent, very poised and very charming. Who can resist that smile! GB SCORE: 8,980

Haiti is the first winner from a new franchise holder in Haiti and I could almost write all the same things for her that I wrote for Sri Lanka. If I defined Nadia using 3 "C's", I am going to use 3 "S's" to describe Haiti - sincere, strong, sassy! Like Sri Lanka, she doesn't stand out physically but she really impressed - while her life story was captivating, it was her path forward that renders her so memorable. GB SCORE: 8,691

For me, the winner in this group was Miss Tanzania. How about 3 "E's" to describe her? Elegant, Enigmatic, Eloquent. Queen Elizabeth Makune was one of my pre-arrival title favorites and she cemented that favoritism here. She has a regal bearing, quite unlike anyone else in this contest. Like Mexico, Miss Tanzania's strength is her completeness, with the added bonus of an exceptional beauty, with a dimpled smile that reminds me of one of my favorite beauty queens - Sushmita Sen. Her performance in this round was solid. She was clearly nervous, but I was impressed with how she managed to keep this under control! We have never had an East African Miss World and I'd love to see the contest end with the crown on this beautiful girl's head! GB SCORE: 9,031

Talking about nerves, poor Miss Croatia was almost crippled by fright! She has no reason to be! She's gorgeous - dare I say one of the most stunning faces in this contest! And when caught off guard, her smile lit up the room. Behind the nervous energy, there is a genuine and charming young woman. She has no reason to be scared! She was a delight! Nothing programmed at all over here. GB SCORE: 8,435

If the lack of experience held Croatia back, it was experience in abundance that propelled T&T forward! Perhaps the most accomplished girl in this entire batch of Miss World finalists, she impressed as expected, confident, eloquent and mature. Ysabel is a very stong contestant who has really made a very strong effort since her national contest to polish her look and candidacy for the contest, and it shows. She has the aura of former finalist Carinna Tyrell (who interestingly, was a student at Cambridge!), and we would not be surprised to see her make similar inroads in this contest. GB SCORE: 9,005

Miss Turkey held her own in this very compelling group. Like Sri Lanka, she is one of the first Miss Turkey winners in years that has had a facility in English and it really translated well in this contest. She was charming with a very memorable look and style! She may have been a little overshadowed here, but she still impressed! GB SCORE: 8,374

Group 19: POLAND EL SALVADOR KENYA ECUADOR MADAGASCAR ARGENTINA

After riding on the high of two stunning groups, we return to Earth. I was disappointed with Group 19.

Poland had a great video, one of the best but I think she struggled a bit in her interview. I don't know if it was nerves or the decision to speak in English but she looked uncomfortable, and it made us as well. GB SCORE: 8,218

El Salvador was one of the last delegates chosen to compete in Miss World but she didn't let the lack of preparation time limit her candidacy. She was prepared and surprisingly charming! I was surprised to see her as well spoken in English, but ultimately, it was too little to separate from the pack. After their first semi finalist placement last year, El Salvador may have to wait another year for a turn at the crown. GB SCORE: 7,745

Kenya came across as trying way too hard. And her first response was too programmed although her common question was better. Like Guam, while her youth lent her a vibrant energy, it also made her appear as a bit cutesy. In a MW batch of strong speakers, unless you have an exceptional beauty or charm, no quarter can be given. GB SCORE: 8,375

Ecuador was more beautiful and eloquent than I expected. While she scored on both fronts, and may be enough to win this group, I found her a bit long winded and I think she will have to find a way to really amp up her presence if she wants to go further in MW. GB SCORE: 8,134

Madagascar was cute and vibrant, like Kenya. But unlike Finali, Miantsa came across as more charming. But I think it might end there. GB SCORE: 7,601

Argentina was solid. She's pretty, sweet and well spoken, with bonus points for her flawless English. On the basis of merit, it is either her or Ecuador in this group. I give Argentina the slight edge. GB SCORE: 8,650

Group 20: HONG KONG GUINEA BISSAU HONDURAS UGANDA ANGOLA

The girl who really stood out in this group for me with her story was Miss Honduras. OK, she's not the most stunning, but what a story, what a personality! It was impossible not to be moved. The humility and strength of this young woman is an inspiration! GB SCORE: 8,519

Hong Kong was charming, and remarkably prepared for someone who literally was crowned after girls had arrived in China! I think she's really pretty and I'd love to do brunch with her, but I don't know if that is going to get her through this round. If she get's a re-do, she must organize her thoughts and be more concise. GB SCORE: 8,516

For me, the clear winner in this group is Miss Uganda. Quiin Abenyako has almost without contest, the most beautiful face in this contest. Such a rare beauty that in fact, one is left hoping desperately that there is more there - after all, we have so often been let down by beautiful girls who are vacant shells. Fortunately, Uganda is not one of those girls, and I think she was well spoken, demonstrated that she cares about social issues and her answers were bathed in a relaxed charm. In a way, she reminded me of Leila Lopes. As long as she can convince the Miss World organization that she has the character to do the difficult job of a Miss World, we may have our winner here. Uganda would be such a different and stunning winner! All she has to do is to ensure that she doesn't come across as too laid-back. Passion must be on display! GB SCORE: 9,098

Guinea Bissau (GB SCORE: 8,114) and Angola (GB SCORE: 8,399) both did well. I thought Angola had the better answers, but there was nothing to make her stand out. On the other hand, Guinea Bissau was a little too laid back, but she is really gorgeous! I found myself wanting her to win the Sports Fast Track just so we see her in the semi finals. 8.25

The winners from each of these 20 groups faced off in 10 head to head debates that will be centered on their beauty with a purpose projects, to determine who is most skilled at advocating for a cause. Now, we know that the voting component of this Fast Track pretty much ensures that populism rather than merit determined many of the winners, so we are not going to make a prediction for HTH. While there are many who will argue that MWO should also convert this to a jury vote, it is worth reminding ourselves that the purpose of a vote here is to engage the public and fans and make them take a deeper look at the contestants - and it is certainly successful at doing so. But these H2H interviews also offer us a window into who is likely to impress the judges in the all important personal interview - which ultimately decides the 12 finalists who will compete for the Miss World crown! Having sat through over 10 hours of insight into the Miss World finalists from 118 countries - we certainly have our favorites, but I can also reveal that there aren't easy consensus choices here. As nerves and fatigue sets in, let's see who continues to rise and fall!

GB´S FINAL HTH RANKING:

1 Nepal 9,383

2 New Zealand 9,264

3 Mexico 9,245

4 Japan 9,219

5 Sierra Leone 9,184

6 India 9,183

7 Thailand 9,142

8 France 9,139

9 Cook Islands 9,127

10 Jamaica 9,118

11 South Africa 9,108

12 Uganda 9,098

13 Belgium 9,096

14 Spain 9,038

15 Chile 9,035

16 Tanzania 9,031

17 Belarus 9,030

18 China 9,021

19 Trinidad & Tobago 9,005

20 Australia 8,987

21 Sri Lanka 8,980

22 Senegal 8,970

23 Myanmar 8,965

24 Philippines 8,897

25 Brazil 8,875

25 Portugal 8,875

27 Austria 8,870

28 Malaysia 8,863

29 Mauritius 8,853

30 Netherlands 8,809

31 Ireland 8,795

31 Panama 8,795

33 Aruba 8,768

34 Indonesia 8,765

35 Korea 8,752

36 Northern Ireland 8,734

37 Vietnam 8,693

38 Denmark 8,692

39 Haiti 8,691

40 Canada 8,676

41 Puerto Rico 8,662

42 United States 8,653

43 Argentina 8,650

44 Guadeloupe 8,623

45 Russia 8,609

46 Malta 8,587

47 Zimbabwe 8,569

48 Slovenia 8,566

49 Zambia 8,559

50 Egypt 8,548

50 Hungary 8,548

52 Armenia 8,532

53 Honduras 8,519

54 Bolivia 8,518

55 Hong Kong 8,516

56 Serbia 8,488

57 South Sudan 8,480

58 Dominican Republic 8,461

59 England 8,457

60 Croatia 8,435

61 Nigeria 8,413

62 Scotland 8,402

63 Angola 8,399

64 Germany 8,392

65 Luxembourg 8,389

66 Guam 8,388

67 Guyana 8,377

68 Kenya 8,375

69 Turkey 8,374

70 Latvia 8,371

71 Finland 8,367

72 Venezuela 8,365

73 Lebanon 8,353

74 Mongolia 8,316

74 Singapore 8,316

76 Kazakhstan 8,313

76 Bulgaria 8,313

78 Montenegro 8,301

79 Peru 8,290

80 Cyprus 8,283

81 Czech Republic 8,263

82 Greece 8,255

83 Lesotho 8,229

84 Italy 8,228

85 Colombia 8,221

86 Poland 8,218

87 Cameroon 8,213

88 Moldova 8,207

89 Bahamas 8,196

90 Rwanda 8,193

90 Ukraine 8,193

92 Equatorial Guinea 8,189

93 Slovakia 8,166

94 Georgia 8,164

95 Ecuador 8,134

96 Martinique 8,127

97 Gibraltar 8,122

98 Guinea-Bissau 8,114

99 Cayman Islands 8,113

100 British Virgin Islands 8,112

101 Curaçao 8,089

102 Ethiopia 8,078

103 Paraguay 8,077

104 Bangladesh 8,058

105 Botswana 8,053

105 Nicaragua 8,053

107 Guatemala 8,049

108 Laos 8,036

109 Norway 8,010

110 Iceland 7,989

111 Wales 7,933

112 Barbados 7,912

113 Bosnia & Herzegovina 7,893

114 Belize 7,881

115 Albania 7,746

116 El Salvador 7,745

117 Madagascar 7,601

118 Ghana 7,518

GB comments: Nepal aced her HTH interview, and we do believe she might be the one to beat! Wouldn´t it be awesome to see a country with no “sash power” winning the Miss World title? HTH also showed us phenomenal groups of candidates from Africa, Oceania and Asia competing in Miss World this year. The Americas has Mexico as its clear front-runner, while Europe has it in France. GB´s final List of Favorites will be up soon, stay tuned!! We must thank all our judges for doing it, and Albin Beart for his amazing reports!! Congrats to MWO and Frankie Cena for a sensational job!! Well done :)