BANGKOK, Thailand — Vanessa Pulgarin of Colombia won the inaugural MGI All Stars title on Saturday at the MGI Hall in Bangkok, defeating 55 other contestants in the competition’s first edition.
Organizers held the final competition after a two-week pageant that brought together former international pageant participants and titleholders. The contest was open to women aged 20 to 40, including married women, mothers and transgender women.
Pulgarin entered the competition after placing in the Top 10 of the Miss Universe 2025 pageant held in Thailand in November.
During the final question-and-answer segment, Pulgarin highlighted self-confidence, discipline and hard work as qualities that contributed to her success.
Faith Maria Porter of Ghana finished as first runner-up. Porter had led the preliminary swimsuit and bare-face competitions based on judges’ scores and previously placed as third runner-up in the 2025 Miss Grand International pageant.
Huong Giang Nguyen of Vietnam placed second runner-up.
The Philippines’ Gazini Ganados advanced to the Top 5 before being eliminated after the question-and-answer round. Ganados won the Binibining Pilipinas 2019 title and later represented the Philippines in Miss Universe 2019, where she finished in the Top 20.
Organizers said public voting accounted for 30 percent of contestants’ scores, while judges’ scores made up the remaining 70 percent.
A technical issue reportedly affected the online voting platform after more than one million users attempted to access the site. As a result, individual score displays were discontinued, and judges instead assigned scores from 1 to 10 for each contestant.
The judging panel included Lupita Jones, Natalie Glebova, Isabella Menin, Abena Akuaba Appiah, Jojo Bragais, Psi Scott, Omar Harfouch and Osmel Sousa.
Hosts for the event included reigning Emma Tiglao, Michelle Dee and Ecuadorian television host Danilo Carrera.