THE CROWNING OF the first-ever Mister Supranational (2016) happens later today, December 3, in Poland (3am in the Philippines), just a day after the female edition of the competition was held last night.

On December 2, India’s Srinidhi Shetty was crowned Miss Supranational 2016, and by the end of tonight’s male competition, one gorgeous hunk from among 37 contestants will claim the first-ever Mister Supranational 2016 title.

The Philippines’ AR Dela Serna faces slim odds against a field packed with handsome contenders from around the world, but we’re still rooting for him. Should Dela Serna pull it off, it’ll be a win earned in sweat and blood. For now, we’re praying for a miracle.

Yes, dear friends, this first part is written before the competition. Updates follow below.

We went through all the contestants and tried to set aside our biases to land on objective picks for who might take the crown. There are plenty of strong contenders, but narrowing it to five, our final picks are India, Poland, Mexico, Thailand, and Venezuela.

If we had to name a winner right now, it’d be Mexico’s Diego Garcy (this post’s featured photo), with Poland’s Rafal Jonkisz a close second. The gap between the two is thin enough to flip at any moment, though delicadeza might just push the host country to favor Mexico over their own. If that happens, today would be another heartbreak for Rafal, who only managed a Top 10 finish at Mister World 2016 earlier this year. Always a favorite, never a winner?

But if Diego doesn’t deliver tonight, our alternate pick would be 19-year-old Venezuelan hunk Gustavo Acevedo, depending on how he performs in person.

With nothing decided yet, things could still fall into place for Indian hunk Jitesh Naresh Thakur, who’s clearly aiming to match Srinidhi’s success from last night. Rounding out our Top 5 is Thailand’s Phanupong Wanthamat, or Rome, gorgeous, tall, and carrying a beautiful Asian face.

There’s still a deep bench of handsome men to choose from, and depending on how they perform tonight, we’re also keeping an eye on Brazil, Czech Republic, Spain, and Puerto Rico.

Let’s see how it plays out.

Actual Results/Live Updates:

Just like the Miss Supranational contest the night before, the production for the male pageant’s final night is fantastic. The swimwear segment is nothing short of hot, full of great physiques and abs. Picking favorites out of 37 hunks isn’t easy, but our early picks, Mexico and Poland, both shine throughout, with Poland getting a home-court boost. And who could miss Mister Czech Republic?

The contestants went through several segments before the final night that tested endurance and stamina (sports), and one sponsor even tested their cooking skills. Poland led through most of these until Misters Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom scored highest in cooking, earning their way into the Top 20.

Surprisingly, AR (Philippines) clinched a Top 20 spot over several early favorites. We were a bit sad, though, not to see Mister Thailand make the cut — we’d have traded him for any of the ten weaker candidates chosen instead.

The other 17 in the Top 20 represent Belgium, Brazil, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, India, Japan, Malta, Mexico, Panama, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and Venezuela.

The semi-finalists competed once more in Fashion Show (formal wear) to determine the Top 10. As one of the strongest contenders, Mister Poland secured his Top 10 spot outright by winning the Mister Internet award for the most netizen votes, with Mister Philippines finishing a close second but falling just short of a spot.

The other nine finalists were Misters India, Belarus, Brazil, Denmark, Panama, Mexico, Japan, Venezuela, and Romania. Each answered a simple question about what gift they wanted for Christmas — some casual, some very pageant-polished. Mexico seemed to win the moment when he said he’d throw a party with the other contestants, while his closest rival, Mister India, said he wanted to win the pageant for his family.

Sure enough, after a marathon of out-of-this-world segments, Mister Mexico Diego Garcy emerged victorious, winning the historic first-ever Mister Supranational 2016 title. First runner-up went to Belarus’ Sergei Bindalov, second runner-up to India’s Jitesh Naresh Thakur. Third runner-up was Mister Brazil, Eduardo Lisboa, and fourth runner-up was Romania’s Catalin Brinza.

Just as we predicted, the judges chose Diego, and it’s hard to argue with that call.

Beyond that, the results confirmed we have a decent eye for these things: Mister India and Mister Brazil both finished as runners-up, and both had been on our radar from the start.

Belarus‘ Sergei Bindalov wasn’t exactly a surprise pick either, though he never quite stood out until the final night — a beauty we nearly overlooked. Given his performance, we’ll happily admit we should’ve noticed him sooner. Hot, regal, and easy to love.

We also didn’t see Romania’s Catalin Brinza making the winners’ circle coming. That’s no knock on him, though — he’s gorgeous, in great shape, and clearly has plenty of potential.

We’re genuinely sad Misters Poland, Venezuela, and Thailand didn’t make the winners’ circle. After the Q&A, Poland felt like he deserved at least a Top 5 finish — that Mister Internet award from a sponsor didn’t do him justice, and he arguably earned second runner-up at minimum. As for Mister Venezuela, he’d probably do well modeling back home or trying his luck at another pageant, though he could use a bit more polish first.

Overall, this pageant delivers for a first-year run. A genuine success, if we’re being honest. And from where we’re sitting, Mister Supranational looks like it’s here to stay and take its place among the world’s male beauty pageants.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Are you happy with the results, folks? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.