The withdrawals of Croatia‘s Laura Reksa and Greece‘s Maria Gerolymatou still left the European team well-represented, while Rwanda‘s Uwase Emelique missed a shot at heralding her country’s return. Here’s an assessment of the final group, as well as the Supra-Chat non-participants.

GROUP 10. South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, US Virgin Islands

SOUTH AFRICA – Lebohang Raputsoe. Fans have former Miss South Africa Bokang Montjane to thank for saving this country from its licensing limbo. So, now, we have this Miss Cosmo alumna waving the Rainbow Nation’s flag with pride and likely to continue the momentum started in 2021. She could even rule the continent for a consecutive year.  

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO – Shenelle Ramkhelawan. The islands missed the cut in the last two editions, but now has a shot at redemption via this Supra Model of the Caribbean winner. 

UKRAINE – Kateryna Bilyk. In the midst of its struggles in 2022, the country sadly had to settle with a special production tribute. Now here comes its best shot since Russia’s invasion. This entrepreneur topped her SupraChat group and looks poised to earn a slot. 

US VIRGIN ISLANDS – Aminisha Bailey. Her profession as both dancer and model accounts for her excellent projection skills, but it seems 2013’s 4th Runner-Up, Esonica Vieira, really was a rare gem. 

UNGROUPED. Finland, Hong Kong, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Portugal, Thailand, Togo, United States

FINLAND – Venla Laios. After scoring a landmark “Finnish” last year, the country seems bound to be shut out again. This high school graduate is cute, but overlooked.  

HONG KONG – Wanding Liu. This content creator is the stronger of the two Chinese SAR girls competing this year, though it’s unclear how far that can take her.  

KOREA – Hyeon-Jeong Yu. The 2017 champ returns from one-year hiatus with not much buzz, though this student’s striking enough to turn heads. 

KYRGYZSTAN – Ekaterina Zabolotnova. It’s nice to see the country back after its 2022 debut, but this half-Korean is barely mentioned.

PORTUGAL – Daryna Levytska. Just like Costa Rica, this Ukrainian-born, logically, should out-perform her 2017 Top 10-placing predecessor, but the amplified competition leaves no guarantees. Best she can aim for is a repeat placement, which her Influencer Opportunity nod more or less hints upon. 

THAILAND – Michelle Behrmann. As Amanda Obdam’s first protege, this Thai-German delivers the goods. Although, this year’s showdown is too amped up to ascertain a lofty finish. At best, she can continue the placement streak. 

TOGO – Marie Assumption Kolani. Five sporadic appearances later and this West African country’s yet to catch a break, though this half-Senegalese teacher has strong presence. 

UNITED STATES – Marvelous Sanyaolu. After scoring its second 1st Runner-Up finish last year, the Land of the Free is once again poised to go far with this Nigerian-born physical therapy student. Even without her Supra Model of the Americas citation, she’s a virtual shoo-in.