One of the rather more interesting (and if I could say, better covered) national pageants this year is drawing its end, and I thought I will share what my notes of this pageant contains. The 4th edition of Miss Universe Thailand under its new management will be concluding its very fun-filled pre-pageant activities with its selection of the girl who will enter the developing bloodbath that is the 71st Miss Universe, where ever that would take place!
When the wonderful and absolutely amazing Thai ambassador, my dear Bukita has opened the coverage, its very to see that Thailand has been firing on all its cylinders to finally bring back the Power of Unity Mouwad crown and the Miss Universe title back to its shores. At least ten (10!!!) girls were easily crown contenders. With the the first cut of 30 girls, there are easily seven girls who emerged as the "IT GIRLS" that, not only has potential to win not just the national search, but end the 34-year drought for a crown Thailand has been experiencing.
Yesterday, MUT held its preliminary competition rounds that will determine the first cut of the girls. I have a more extensive review of the girls who caught my eye in both good and bad way, and that can be seen in the coverage. What made this prelim a little more interesting is the participation of the reportedly withdrawn favorite, Peppy Smith. TBH, I find her withdrawal very unfortunate, because looking at the trends of previous winners, she has a bigger chance of winning the whole thing (and eventually snatching a podium finish, if not THE Miss Universe crown) than the reported tramoya of the season. Later on this thread, I will give a prediction of some sort, but then again, that would be a personal list - a marriage of my favorite list and what I think would be the likely outcome of this pageant. Moving on, I will be reviewing my top girls who I think can win it all and reclaim Thailand's rightful place in the finals night of Miss Universe.
MUT 16 - Nicolene Limsnukan
Nicolene is one of the crowd (and rumored to be the org's) favorite from last night. Not a stranger in the stage, she first tried her luck in MUT last 2018 where she landed a well deserved spot in the top 10, and has won the RU position in Miss World 2018. These feats are not done easily, meaning that she had the guts, the pageant skills and the pageant IQ in competing in the pageant big wigs. She has a sizeable following in social media and she has bagged several corporate sponsorship awards. As I said in the coverage, Nicolene has done her homework, her presence and projection has improved leaps and bounds in comparison to her maiden pageant, but saying that she is the best girl to attempt to bring the Miss Universe crown to Thailand will be a blatant lie and gross disrespect to the level of the competition MUT has brewed this year. Her fans and supporters have nothing but praises towards her communication skills - which is there, and will be an instrumental to her success - but personally, I think this is her peak and she wont be offering anything else to the table if she was indeed the chosen one. IMO if she bags the MUT crown the farthest she'll stop is the first cut.
MUT 31 - Patraporn "First" Wang
When she first joined in 2019, she is already armed with a Miss Intercontinental crown under her belt. Maybe its fate, maybe its not her time, but placing in top 5 and being an internet meme has made First a quite unforgettable icon for a MUT. When she unfortunately missed the first cut this year, there was a gross outrage from the international fans, as everyone knows that she has turned it up, brought the house down and simply did nothing but slayage in every single time that she is on the stage. Proving her mettle, there IS NO COMPETITION ROUND she breezed through, as if performing in stage is something she does intrinsically like breathing. Her naysayers are nitpicking on her facial quality, but there I times I saw Honey Lee in her, and that is something I think she absolutely can replicate again with the impeccable styling she has been bringing. If she wins the national search, I think she is shoo in the top 10.
MUT 09 - Thitaree "Nook" Kasorn
She was my favorite and I think the rightful winner of MUT 2018, but alas, the gods must have a different plan for her. One of the most silent, most overlooked and definitely most consistent girls in the competition, Thitaree's experience and improvement was very evident during the pre-pageant activities and the preliminaries yesterday. One of the most physically ready girls, her quiet, collected and queenly demeanor when she hits the catwalk will surely not going to be missed if she will be waving the Thai flag internationally. Her styling is tres chic, her stage chops is tres bien. While her oratory and public speaking skills can be improved, I think she will breeze through the competition if she will be given a good translator. Should she win, I think she can reach the 2nd cut, and a podium finish is not unlikely too.
MUT 23 - "Opal" Suchata
Beautiful face? Check! Excellent English and communication skills? Check! So Opal ticks 2 of the most important boxes a Miss Universe should have. But these are not the only things this lass offers. She also boasts of an excellent bio, a very proportionate frame and a good camera projection skills. People in the coverage think she is too raw, but I think she is just not packaged to be one of the divas of the competition. As the usual philosophy in beauty pageants go, the face you can fix with makeup, the body you can exercise out, the walk you can train for, but quick wits and the gift of the gab is something you dont fix overnight - even over a year! Methinks if given the chance the proper training (that MUT org is unfortunately havent perfected yet), Opal is sure in the top 5 of Miss Universe, depending on how her competition play their cards. NB: she is only 18. I hope she doesnt win it all because she MUST go back after 4 years.
MUT 19 - "Anna" Sueangam-iam
What if Kris Tiffany Janson, Steffi Aberasturi and Honey Lee had a love child together? Here is your answer. Anna is one of the earliest knock out beauties that sustained and even further amped her momentum from the screening to the prelims. BEAUTIFUL FACE, lovely, elongated frame, porcelain skin and a very wonderful backstory should be her arsenal of weapons to conquer her MUT sisters and eventually win the crown. I will be honest though, I find her styling last night a tad too underwhelming, because I know how glammed up she can be. If she takes it all, like Opal, I think she can easily breeze through top 5 with relative ease, again, depending on she plays here cards. PS: She also had the lion share of corporate sponsor awards with Nicolene.
MUT 18 - Kanyalak "Eye" Nookaew
Ay, EYE, EYE, where do I begin? I mean I dont want to talk anymore regarding Eye because... WHAT ELSE CAN WE SAY? We all know that she is lovely morena goddess who just ANNIHILATED everyone last night with that UNIVERSE SHATTERING performance, BEAUTY, presence and... you know what, I am going to stop here and just let this gif speak for itself.
Know that the tentative host of Miss Universe is Costa Rica. THEY WILL WANT A PERFORMER TO WIN - LIKE HOW ANDREA MEZA WON. THAILAND I AM TELLING YOU THIS IS JUST COMMON SENSE. Crown her and expect not just an END of the DROUGHT BUT EXPECT THE FLOODGATES WILL OPEN FOR YOU. Thailand gets its 3rd crown, almost guaranteed already, on a silver platter. You don't think so? Then ask not just the Thai fans, ask the very nitpicky Latin and European crowd. There you go. Bye.
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Anyway, I am speaking only in hypotheticals here, because to be honest, LUCK is that missing piece sometimes the girl has for her to win. That being said, the winner's glow was between 2 girls last night: Anna and Opal. Hence my final prediction would be:
MUT - Opal Suchata
1st RU - Anna Sueangam-iam
2nd RU - Nicolene Limsnukan
3rd RU - Eye Kanyalak (why? Because prelims aren't EVERYTHING sweeties - I feel that she might even miss the top 5 cut. Miss Supranational is waving though.)
4th RU - First Wang
Completing the top 15 in this order are:
Thitaree Kasorn
Renita Pagano - No clones please. Maybe try for Miss International Thailand though.
Cait Beutelspacher - she was lost last night, but she was interesting in the pre-pageant competition.
Nita Aksornwan - Her golden ticket was well justified.
Carina Muller
Beeday Dechapon
Angie Swita
Fern Warangkhana
Jaa Sirikorn
Fuse Sirinnaphas
Thats about it! Your thoughts? Reactions? Feel free to comment here!
England and maybe even Bahamas has no business in top 15 last year. #FactsOnly. 
(ticks all the boxes) 
