Top 7 Countries after Miss Universe

1. Venezuela - 50 points

2. USA - 20 points
Dominican Republic - 20 points

3. Kosovo - 19 points

4. Australia - 18 points

5. Puerto Rico - 17 points

6. Thailand - 11 points
Brazil - 11 points

7. Czech Republic - 10 points
South Africa - 10 points
Switzerland - 10 points
France - 10 points
Colombia - 10 points
Philippines - 10 points

VENEZUELA

MU Winner - 50 points

USA

MU Top 10 - 10 points
Mister Universe Model Winner - 10 points

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

MU 1st Runner up - 20 points

KOSOVO

MU 2nd Runner up - 19 points

AUSTRALIA

MU 3rd Runner up - 18 points

PUERTO RICO

MU 4th Runner up - 17 points

CZECH REPUBLIC

MU Top 10 - 10 points

FRANCE

MU Top 10 - 10 points

SOUTH AFRICA

MU Top 10 - 10 points

SWITZERLAND

MU Top 10 - 10 points

ALBANIA

MU Top 15 - 5 points

BELGIUM

MU Top 15 - 5 points

CROATIA

MU Top 15 - 5 points

ICELAND

MU Top 15 - 5 points

SWEDEN

MU Top 15 - 5 points

THAILAND

Miss International GBQ Winner - 10 points
MU Miss Photogenic - 1 point

PHILIPPINES

International Beauty and Fashion Festival Winner - 10 points

COLOMBIA

International Queen of Coffee Winner - 10 points

BRAZIL

Top Model of the World Winner - 10 points
MTQI Miss Charm - 1 point

PANAMA

MU Best National Costume - 1 point

CHINA

MU Miss Congeniality - 1 point

GUINEA

MTQI Disco Queen - 1 point

SRI LANKA

MTQI Miss Talent - 1 point

BALI

MTQI Best in Swimsuit - 1 point

Since we are ranking the best-performing countries in beauty pageants each year, here is our new points distribution:

MISS UNIVERSE

Winner: 50 points
1st Runner-up: 20 points
2nd Runner-up: 19 points
3rd Runner-up: 18 points
4th Runner-up: 17 points
Top 6 to 10 placement: 10 points
Top 11 to 15 placement: 5 points
Special Award: 1 point

MISS WORLD

Winner: 50 points
1st Runner-up: 20 points
2nd Runner-up: 19 points
Top 5 placement: 15 points
Top 15 placement: 8 points
Special Award: 1 point

MISS EARTH

Winner: 50 points
1st Runner-up: 20 points
2nd Runner-up: 19 points
3rd Runner-up: 18 points
Top 8 placement: 10 points
Top 16 placement: 5 points
Special Award: 1 point

MISS INTERNATIONAL

Winner: 50 points
1st Runner-up: 20 points
2nd Runner-up: 19 points
3rd Runner-up: 18 points
4th Runner-up: 17 points
Top 12 placement: 10 points
Special Award: 1 point

MISS TOURISM QUEEN INTERNATIONAL

Winner: 40 points
1st Runner-up: 15 points
2nd Runner-up: 14 points
3rd Runner-up: 13 points
4th Runner-up: 12 points
Top 20 placement: 4 points
Special Award: 1 point

OTHER NON-GRAND SLAM PAGENTS

Winner: 10 points
0 point for finalist/semi-finalist

Miss Venezuela, Stefania Fernandez, wins Miss Universe 2009.



This is the second consecutive year that the South American country captured the Miss Universe crown.

Fourth Runner-up:
Miss PUERTO RICO

Third Runner-up:
Miss AUSTRALIA

Second Runner-up:
Miss KOSOVO

1st Runner-up:
Miss DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

WINNER:
Miss VENEZUELA

The crown stayed in South America. Europe, this year's strongest continent in Miss Universe, lost again. Asia was snubbed.

The Official Top 15 are:

PUERTO RICO
ICELAND
ALBANIA
CZECH REPUBLIC
BELGIUM
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
SWEDEN
KOSOVO
AUSTRALIA
FRANCE
SWITZERLAND
SOUTH AFRICA
USA
CROATIA
VENEZUELA

Minus Turks and Caicos who withdrew from the competition the day before because of dehydration.

In the past 10 years, the Miss Universe pageant is being dominated by delegates from the Latin American countries. This year could be an exception because Europe and Asia/Oceana performed very well in the preliminaries. But of course, it all depends on the taste of the panel of judges and how the ladies will perform come coronation night this Sunday.

Based on the preliminary videos for the swimsuit and evening gown competitions, including the interview videos, we came up with our own picks as possible shoo-in for the Top 15.

We're guessing the crown is being contested by four countries: Australia, the Netherlands, Dominican Republic and France. USA, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Mexico may pull a surprise because of sash factor (these four countries have strong ties with the Miss Universe organization). Or it could be the year of the Black Horse which includes Czech Republic, Spain, South Africa and our very own Bianca Manalo.

In 3 days, we will see if our fearless forecast is right on. Check out our first and last TOP 15 FAVORITES in the Miss Universe 2009 pageant:

1. Australia, Rachael Finch



2. Dominican Republic, Ada de la Cruz



3. Netherlands, Avalon-Chanel Weyzig




4. France, Chloé Mortaud



5. USA, Kristen Dalton



6. Mexico, Karla Carrillo



7. Venezuela, Stefanía Fernández



8. South Africa, Tatum Keshwar



9. Philippines, Pamela Bianca Manalo



10. Czech Republic, Iveta Lutovská



11. Russia, Sofia Rudieva



12. Puerto Rico, Mayra Matos



13. Belgium, Zeynep Sever



14. Guatemala, Figueroa



15. Spain, Estíbaliz Pereira



Strong Alternates: Ghana, China, Kosovo, Guatemala and Indonesia

The 84 delegates of the Miss Universe 2009 pageant competed in the evening gown segment of the prelims. Check out our Top 15 picks!

1. France



2. Netherlands



3. Guatemala



4. Venezuela




5. Australia



6. Dominican Republic



7. India



8. Czech Republic



9. Mexico



10. China




11. USA



12. Puerto Rico



13. Italy



14. Colombia



15. Great Britain



And here is our very own Bianca Manalo:

The Miss Universe 2009 preliminary competition was held last August 15 in Bahamas. Check out our Top 15 picks in the swimsuit competition.

Miss Australia proved that she's not just a pretty face with a well-toned body as she nailed the catwalk in the swimsuit competition. Australia is no. 1 in our list with regards to the swimsuit segment.

Our no. 2 is the captivating Miss Netherlands followed by powerhouses Mexico and Dominican Republic, in 3rd and 4th place respectively.

Our very own Bianca Manalo catapulted herself as the no. 1 Asian delegate this year for her mesmerizing stage presence and excellent catwalk skills. She delivered and she surprised everyone. That's why she's no. 5 in our list.

The list will not be complete without USA (6th) and Venezuela (7th). It's a no-brainer to include the two not just for sash factor, but the two countries consistently deliver year after year.

Two black beauties occupied our 8th and 9th slots and they are Miss France and Miss South Africa. They both bring the possibility that a black delegate could win this year.

Two more Asians made it in our list: Indonesia (10th) , for her charisma and Thailand (14th) for her stunning body.

Europe is the strongest continent this year. With Netherlands as a shoo-in for the crown and France as the strongest black delegate, these countries performed well also: Spain, Belgium and Iceland.

1. Australia



2. Netherlands



3. Mexico



4. Dominican Republic



5. Philippines



6. USA



7. Venezuela



8. France



9. South Africa



10. Indonesia



11. Belgium



12. Iceland



13. Spain



14. Thailand



15. Russia



I thought Brazil, Puerto Rico, Hungary, Japan and Czech Republic are also front-runners this year, but they did not make it in our Hot 15 for swimsuit. Let's see if they delivered in the evening gown competition (coming right up).