PUERTO RICO’s Stephanie Del Valle was crowned Miss World 2016 just moments ago tonight, December 18, at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, in the US (Monday morning, December 19, in the Philippines). It’s the country’s second Miss World crown.

Miss Philippines Catriona Gray was among the five finalists but fell short of bringing home the country’s second crown. The two runners-up are Yaritza Reyes of the Dominican Republic and Natasha Mannuela of Indonesia. Miss Kenya Evelyn Njambi rounds out the Top 5.

If you ask me, Miss World 2016 goes down as one of the biggest pageant upsets in history. At least that’s how I see it.

Given the contestants’ answers and Catriona’s strong placements throughout the night, she looked like the clear winner right up until Julia Morley announced Puerto Rico.

Answering the final question from Miss World 2015 Mireia Lalaguna of Spain — “Which qualities do you think would it take to wear my crown?” — the Filipina beauty queen said, “I think, first of all, it takes bravery. To be a Miss World is to carry a burning torch. It is like action carried out by one to illuminate the lights of many. And I would dedicate my whole self, my love for the arts, and my voice to try to uplift, empower, and educate people. And it would be my greatest honor and duty to hold this torch high enough so all the world could feel and see its light. Thank you!”

That answer was the winning answer. Period.

The Pageant Highlights

The 66th edition of Miss World actually kicked off three hours earlier (at 5am Philippine time) than its local broadcast on GMA-7, which aired at 8am. It streamed live worldwide through E! and online. While most of the country slept, millions around the world had their eyes locked on the finals.

Here in the Philippines, Filipinos woke up earlier than usual, and some didn’t sleep at all. Everyone was cheering for our beauty queen, who’d already locked in a Top 20 spot by winning the Multi-Media Award earlier in the competition. It helped, too, that the first Filipina Miss World, Megan Young, who won back in 2013, co-hosted the final event.

Beyond Catriona, the other guaranteed quarter-finalists were fast track winners China PR (Top Model), Cook Islands (Sports), Mongolia (Talent), and Indonesia (Beauty with a Purpose). The remaining 15 spots in the Top 20 were chosen by the judges, going to representatives from France, Kenya, USA, India, Slovakia, Belgium, Puerto Rico, Australia, Thailand, Brazil, Ghana, Japan, Dominican Republic, Hungary, and Korea.

The quarter-final results proved once again how unpredictable Miss World can be, even with the Top 20 built around fast track performances designed to help the audience guess the eventual winners. It stayed unpredictable anyway. Ironic, isn’t it? And tonight’s results were genuinely shocking.

The show itself was solid, if lighter on glamour than some of the other glitzy pageants, choosing instead to lean into the soul of the competition: Beauty with a Purpose.

Of the 20 quarter-finalists, only 11 advanced to the semi-finals: the five finalists named above, plus the candidates from Belgium, Brazil, USA, Korea, China PR, and Mongolia, the last of whom won the People’s Choice award.

That sums up tonight, heartbreak included, for pageant lovers everywhere. Till our broken hearts heal.