Catriona Gray of the Philippines won the country’s fourth Miss Universe crown after a commanding run from the preliminaries through the final round — a result pageant watchers had largely expected by finals night.

Her preliminary performance, in both swimsuit and evening gown, was defined by her now-famous “lava walk,” a reference to the lava flowing from Mayon Volcano in Albay, where Gray’s family is from. The moment made her a subject of entertainment coverage worldwide in the days before the finals, and pageant analysts had already picked her as the frontrunner going in.

Held at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, Catriona competed against 93 other contestants for the Miss Universe 2018 crown. This blogger attended the pre-pageant party at Maxims Hotel, Resorts World Manila.

Her closest rival, Tamaryn Green of South Africa, placed first runner-up, while Venezuela’s Sthefany Gutierrez took second runner-up.

Kiara Ortega of Puerto Rico and Miss Vietnam H’Hen Nie rounded out the Top 5.

We covered several of the competition’s top contenders before the finals in our earlier preliminaries roundup — worth revisiting to see how the predictions held up.

Catriona Gray during the Evening Gown competition.

How the Top 20 Broke Down:

The Top 20 semi-finalists were named from three regions, plus five more from the wildcard category.

AFRICA, ASIA AND THE PACIFIC:
Miss South Africa Tamaryn Green
Miss Philippines Catriona Gray
Miss Nepal Manita Devkota
Miss Vietnam H’Hen Nie
Miss Thailand Sophida Kanchanarin

EUROPE:
Miss Poland Magdalena Swat
Miss Belgium Zoe Brunet
Miss Great Britain Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers
Miss Ireland Grainne Gallanagh
Miss Hungary Enico Kecskes

THE AMERICAS:
Miss Canada Marta Magdalena Stepien
Miss Curacao Akisha Albert
Miss Costa Rica Natalia Carvajal
Miss Puerto Rico Kiara Ortega
Miss Jamaica Emily Sara-Claire Maddison

WILDCARD CONTESTANTS:
Miss USA Sarah Rose Summers
Miss Venezuela Sthefany Gutierrez
Miss Indonesia Sonia Fergina Citra
Miss Brazil Mayra Diaz
Miss Australia Francheska Hung

Five more delegates advanced to the Top 10 after the opening statement segment:

Miss Costa Rica Natalia Carvajal
Miss Curacao Akisha Albert
Miss Nepal Manita Devkota
Miss Canada Marta Magdalena Stepien
Miss Thailand Sophida Kanchanarin

The swimsuit round narrowed the field further, with Canada, South Africa, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Nepal emerging as the strongest contenders heading into the final Q&A. Gray’s answer was widely regarded as the most complete of the night.

Miss Universe Philippines 2018 Catriona Gray during the preliminary competition’s long gown category.

Catriona Gray in swimsuit during the preliminary competition.