Bulakenya queen Chelsea Manalo has succeeded the throne, as the newly-crowned Miss Universe Philippines titleholder bested 52 other candidates during an excitingly colorful coronation night on Wednesday. Even more impressive is the fact that she was never a clear favorite, nor was she a winner of multiple preliminary awards – all that making her ascension to the throne even more special.

PAGEANT EXPERTS’ TAKES

If the predictions made by seasoned pageant predictors and analysts were the basis of who would claim the MUPH crown, Chelsea Manalo’s fighting chance would’ve been slim to none. 

Days ahead of the coronation night, many esteemed pageant websites, analysis hubs, and lifestyle magazines chimed in and provided their respective takes to forecast who would be crowned the next Miss Universe Philippines.

Here’s how experts from four pageant authorities and social media pages placed Chelsea Manalo in their predictions, and whom they put their bets on in their fearless forecasts.

Leading pageant magazine Missossology (missossology.org), who has been in the business of covering and analyzing beauty pageant events here and abroad for decades, ranked Chelsea as their tenth best bet. They had Quezon Province’s Ahtisa Manalo as the predicted winner of the MUPH 2024 pageant. Rounding out their May 21-released top five list were Taguig’s Christi McGarry, Bacoor’s Victoria Vincent, Iloilo’s Alexie Brooks, and Baguio’s Tarah Valencia.

Entertainment page Pageanthology 101, who covers and produces vast content related to beauty pageantry, had Bulacan as their tenth pick as well. Similar to Missossology’s forecast, Ahtisa of Quezon topped the list, with Taguig, Bacoor, and Ilolo placing second, third, and fourth respectively. They put Zambales bet Anita Rose Gomez in fifth place. 

Miss Universe Predictions, a Miss U-dedicated Facebook page with over 800,000 followers, also released their best five bets moments before the coronation night. It was top-ranked by Quezon Province, Taguig, and Iloilo, and yes, they did not include Chelsea Manalo in their list.

Online pageant magazine Sash Factor’s version of MUPH Top 20 was slightly different from the four others mentioned, in that they ranked Chelsea as the fourth-best candidate. Still, it was Ahtisa of Quezon, Christi of Taguig, and Victoria of Bacoor who went first, second, and third, respectively. 

SPECIAL AWARDS AND SOCIAL MEDIA BUZZ

Other relevant factors when making sense of predictions are special prizes, titles won in the past, and popularity on social media platforms. Though these are not clearcut determiners of who emerges victorious on the coronation night, these are important factors that somehow contribute to how audiences perceive pageant favorites and underdogs.

Of the 21 special awards handed by the MUPH Organization based on the Preliminaries Gala Night on May 19, Chelsea Manalo won one: Miss Jojo Bragais. Quezon’s Ahtisa Manalo dominated the special prizes with eight, while Iloilo pride Alexie Brooks had four.

The challenge winners were also headlined by Brooks who won the Up Close and Personal Challenge. She also claimed the Best in National Costime award alongside Tacloban’s Tamara Ocier and Southern California’s Janet Hammond. 

Finally, a quick browse on social media platforms like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram and one would see so much buzz and predictions in favor of Quezon Province’s Manalo, Iloilo’s Brooks, and Taguig’s McGarry. 

These names were already making rounds online and trending heavily on social media platforms even weeks before the coronation night. It could be that the regions they represent simply have strong fanbases, or that them winning special awards solidified their respective cases of taking home the crown. 

A host of different factors contribute to candidates being fan favorites and ranking high on prediction lists to win the crown – and make no mistake, these placements are all warranted and based meritocratically on previous and present performances.

And so is Chelsea Manalo’s emergence to the top on the grandest night of the fifth Miss Universe Philippines pageant. Her elegance, poise, and total la bulaqueña beauty captivated the hearts of the esteemed committee of adjudicators, and won the votes of Filipino fans who tuned in.

Well done, Chelsea! All hail the newly-crowned Queen!