alluringbeauties

Day 2 of the Group Stage previews, and just 5 days until the voting begins! Enjoy! Group 17 (17) Genevieve Morton (AUS) - 1/3 Kenza Fourati (TUN) - 9/4 Hina Tama (PYF) - 18000/1 Genevieve may receive a bit of a challenge from Kenza Fourati, but I expect Genevieve to prevail rather easily. Group 18 (18) Vendela Kirsebom (SWE) - 2/5 Niki Taylor (USA) - 2/1 Kay Hughes (USA) - 6400/1 Vendela and Niki are set to clash for first place in this group. Niki has struggled in past tournaments, but she has had tough matches. It’s difficult to consider a supermodel a pushover. My prediction is that Vendela will prevail. Group 19 (19) Christie Brinkley (USA) - 1/3 Cris Urena (DOM) - 5/2 Akure Wall (NGA) - 1000/1 Christie will probably get a run for her money from Cris, but I think Christie is still the favorite. Group 20 (20) Yamila Diaz-Rahi (ARG) - 2/11 Ana Paula Araujo (BRA) - 9/1 Sabrina Barnett (USA) - 65/1 This looks like Yamila’s group. Ana Paula may provide a little resistance, but I don’t think it’ll be much. Group 21 (21) Josie Maran (USA) - 1/4 Kirby Griffin (USA) - 6/1 Georgianna Robertson (JAM) - 70/1 Josie is the definitive favorite, but Kirby is no slouch. Group 22 (22) Emily Ratajkowski (USA) - 2/3 Jessica Perez (CRC) - 5/4 Kadra Ahmed Omar (ETH) - 9000/1 This is another tough one to predict. Emily would seem to be the favorite because of all of her publicity, but Jessica will give her a huge challenge, I think. This should be interesting! Group 23 (23) Julie Henderson (USA) - 2/7 Kylie Bax (NZL) - 3/1 Annette Molen (USA) - 3000/1 Kylie has a 4-3 record in past tournaments, so she may have what it takes to challenge the favored Julie. Group 24 (24) Sara Sampaio (POR) - 1/2 Karen Mulder (NED) - 2/1 Roberta Little (USA) - 230/1 Will new school (Sara) beat old school (Karen)? Probably, but it’ll be interesting to see. Group 25 (25) Rebecca Romijn (USA) - 1/6 Aya Thorgren (SWE) - 18/1 Tanga Moreau (BEL) - 26/1 Pencil in Rebecca to advance easily. Group 26 Lucia Dvorska (SVK) - 1/3 Yvonne Sylvander (SWE) - 5/1 Rosie de la Cruz (USA) - 33/1 Lucia has a 9-3 record in past tournaments and looks like she wouldn’t be stopped by either of her group mates. Group 27 Anne Vyalitsyna (RUS) - 2/7 Marilyn Tindall (USA) - 165/1 Melania Knauss (SLO) - 4/1 Only Mrs. Trump provides any resistance to Anne V. Can Melania ride the Donald hype train to a win? Does anyone even realize that the USA may someday have the only First Lady to have appeared in SI Swimsuit? Group 28 Stephanie Seymour (USA) - 1/3 Apollonia Van Ravenstein (NED) - 38/1 Tyra Banks (USA) - 11/2 Two supermodels duke it out here. In past years, I’d have figured this would be closer, but Tyra’s 2-4 record in past tournaments would suggest otherwise. Group 29 Elsa Benitez (MEX) - 1/2 Mary Sturdevant (USA) - 1000/1 May Andersen (DEN) - 8/5 Elsa could struggle to survive against May, who is a sleeper pick in the group. Group 30 Esti Ginzburg (ISR) - 1/1 Solveig Mork (DEN) - 2/1 Jenny Brunt (ENG) - 16/1 Esti is probably the favorite here, but she’ll face a big challenge from rookie Solveig. I would not at all be surprised to see Solveig win the group. Group 31 Jessica Gomes (AUS) - 1/6 Margaux Hemingway (USA) - 235/1 Manon Von Gerkan (GER) - 7/1 This one looks pretty easy for Jessica. Group 32 Cheryl Tiegs (USA) - 2/5 Barbara Carrera (NIC) - 3/1 Paula Warner (USA) - 76/1 Cheryl is an icon, of course, so she needs to be favored. But, Barbara Carrera has what it takes to give Cheryl a scare.

Six days left until the start! For each of the next five days, I'll preview every group in the Group Stage. Here are odds to win the group and advance to the Knockout Stage, along with my commentary interspersed. Note: These odds are provided for entertainment only, of course. It's my attempt to handicap the field... basically to generate discussion and give me something to refer back to later. So, you won't find anyone willing to bet you. These first 16 groups are almost all easy to predict, because of the way I constructed the groups. The top 25 models are assured of having a bottom 25 model in their group, so that naturally leads to an easier group. But, not every one is a lock: look at Group 14, for example. Group 1 (1) Bar Refaeli (ISR) - 1/12 Tori Praver (USA) - 11/1 Jane Gill (USA) - 10000/1 Tori Praver was dealt a terrible draw again. She's at 11/1 because she's a lock if she can pull off an upset against our defending champion, but it's highly unlikely. Group 2 (2) Marisa Miller (USA) - 1/36 Pixie Peterson (USA) - 80/1 Irina Pantaeva (RUS) - 200/1 This should be a walkover for Marisa. Group 3 (3) Elle Macpherson (AUS) - 1/30 Renee Simonsen (DEN) - 28/1 Kathy Loghry (USA) - 4800/1 The Body's only remote threat is Renee Simonsen, but Elle should easily advance. Group 4 (4) Nina Agdal (DEN) - 1/90 Sheila Roscoe (USA) - 185/1 Carmen Luisa Vela (USA) - 580/1 Nina for the win. Group 5 (5) Brooklyn Decker (USA) - 1/17 Oluchi Onweagba (NGA) - 23/1 Bernadette Swann (USA) - 560/1 The only way Brooklyn doesn't come out of this group is if voters love Oluchi's amazing boobs. Unfortunately for Oluchi, Brooklyn also owns the same assets. Arguably, I was too generous with Oluchi's chances. Group 6 (6) Petra Nemcova (CZE) - 1/4 Jessica Hart (AUS) - 13/2 Sarah Nursey (AUS) - 70/1 I'd be shocked if Petra doesn't advance, but Jessica Hart isn't a complete pushover. Group 7 (7) Kathy Ireland (USA) - 1/16 Erin Gray (USA) - 19/1 Anna Getaneh (ETH) - 720/1 This should be a pretty easy path for Kathy. Group 8 (8) Veronica Varekova (CZE) - 1/30 Britta Dubbels (GER) - 37/1 Micheline Lee (PYF) - 800/1 Same for Veronica: easy path to the Knockout Stage. Group 9 (9) Heidi Klum (GER) - 2/7 Libby Otis (USA) - 13/1 Barbara Minty (USA) - 12/1 Heidi's certainly the favorite, but both Libby and Barbara at least have the ability to make their matches with Heidi somewhat close. Group 10 (10) Irina Shayk (RUS) - 1/10 Dayle Haddon (CAN) - 14/1 Louise Vyent (NED) - 250/1 This should be Irina's group, easily. I probably overestimated Dayle Haddon's chances. Group 11 (11) Paulina Porizkova (CZE) - 1/9 Maria Joao (BRA) - 10/1 Gail O'Neill (USA) - 425/1 Maria Joao is the only real threat to Paulina Porizkova, but not much of one. Group 12 (12) Daniela Pestova (CZE) - 1/5 Amy Wesson (USA) - 4/1 Elvira Ulla (GER) - 9000/1 This might seem to be obviously Daniela's to lose, and it is. But, don't discount Amy Wesson... she has a few pretty hot SI photos. Group 13 (13) Hannah Davis (VIR) - 1/4 Patricia Velasquez (VEN) - 15/2 Carla Maria (USA) - 50/1 The 2015 cover girl is the odds on favorite to win this group. Patricia Velasquez provides a little bit of an obstacle, but I fully expect Hannah to roll on. Group 14 (14) Hannah Ferguson (USA) - 2/3 Chanel Iman (USA) - 3/2 Navia Ngyuen (VIE) - 160/1 This group is the best of the bunch being previewed today. Hannah Ferguson is the seeded favorite, but Chanel Iman presents an interesting challenger for Hannah. Group 15 (15) Kate Upton (USA) - 1/70 Carol Latimer (USA) - 150/1 Charissa Craig (USA) - 450/1 Kate might not lose a vote in either of her Group Stage matches! Group 16 (16) Cintia Dicker (BRA) - 1/55 Coco Mitchell (USA) - 160/1 Cynthia Korman (USA) - 200/1 Likewise, Cintia won't lose many votes in the Group Stage, either. This should be a cakewalk for her.

Hi, everyone. Ten days left until the start of the tournament, so I thought I’d get the anticipation started by sharing the top 50 ranked models in this year’s tournament. The rankings are based on appearances and covers, then adjusted based on past tournament performances. Those past performances carry the most weight, so that’s why you see some relatively inexperienced SI models in the rankings. The top 25 models were assured of easier Group Stage draws because they were each placed in a group with one of the 25 lowest ranked models. After the top 25, group placement was randomized but weighted so higher ranked models were more likely to be slotted into favorable groups. Without further adieu, the Top 50 entering the 2015 tournament: #1 - Bar Refaeli, Israel #2 - Marisa Miller, United States of America #3 - Elle Macpherson, Australia #4 - Nina Agdal, Denmark #5 - Brooklyn Decker, United States of America #6 - Petra Nemcova, Czech Republic #7 - Kathy Ireland, United States of America #8 - Veronica Varekova, Czech Republic #9 - Heidi Klum, Germany #10 - Irina Shayk, Russia #11 - Paulina Porizkova, Czech Republic #12 - Daniela Pestova, Czech Republic #13 - Hannah Davis, U.S. Virgin Islands #14 - Hannah Ferguson, United States of America #15 - Kate Upton, United States of America #16 - Cintia Dicker, Brazil #17 - Genevieve Morton, South Africa #18 - Vendela Kirsebom, Sweden #19 - Christie Brinkley, United States of America #20 - Yamila Diaz-Rahi, Argentina #21 - Josie Maran, United States of America #22 - Emily Ratajkowski, United States of America #23 - Julie Henderson, United States of America #24 - Sara Sampaio, Portugal #25 - Rebecca Romijn, United States of America #26 - Anne Vyalitsyna, Russia #27 - Daniella Sarahyba, Brazil #28 - Laetitia Casta, France #29 - Cheryl Tiegs, United States of America #30 - Kim Cloutier, Canada #31 - Stephanie Seymour, United States of America #32 - Elsa Benitez, Mexico #33 - Ashley Richardson, United States of America #34 - Chandra North, United States of America #35 - Judit Masco, Spain #36 - Stacey Williams, United States of America #37 - Cindy Crawford, United States of America #38 - Carolyn Murphy, United States of America #39 - Lucia Dvorska, Slovakia #40 - Jessica Gomes, Australia #41 - Alyssa Miller, United States of America #42 - Ana Beatriz Barros, Brazil #43 - Rachel Hunter, New Zealand #44 - Natasha Barnard, South Africa #45 - Esti Ginzburg, Israel #46 - Kristy Hinze, Australia #47 - Angie Everhart, United States of America #48 - Hilary Rhoda, United States of America #49 - Kim Alexis, United States of America #50 - Bregje Heinen, Netherlands

Hi, everyone! I'm happy to announce Sunday, September 20 as the start date for the 2015 SI Swimsuit Model Tournament! This will be year #3 of the tournament. In the tournament's inaugural year, 2013, Marisa Miller claimed the title with a victory over Elle Macpherson in the championship match. In 2014, Bar Refaeli staked her claim to #1 with a win over Nina Agdal in the championship match. Who will it be this year? Again, you’ll decide! You may recall that last year I had a Group Stage with round-robin play, followed by a Knockout Stage. It worked out well, but the tournament ran long and was way too much work for little ol' me. For this year, there are just 3 models in each group, which means round-robin Group play consists of only 2 matches per model (and 3 total in the group, compared to 6 last year.) It also means that there is no margin for error: only the first place model in each group will advance to the Knockout Stage. There are no wild cards like last year. So, the Group Stage is critical! In the days before the tournament starts, I'll share my thoughts on some of the most interesting groups in the group stage. Many of the groups have 2-3 models that are difficult to separate, so the Group Stage should be immediately interesting. Current links to: Tournament Home Page Tournament Format Group Stage Standings/Tables (you can see all groups here) Knockout Stage Bracket Tournament FAQ I hope you enjoy the 3rd annual tournament, and I encourage you to participate every day! I'm looking forward to hosting it for you!

Thanks for all of the scanning, Pheno & Pretty! As for the issue, it exceeded my expectations. Keep in mind that my expectations were of horribly Photoshopped models for 100 pages. Instead, we got halfway decent photos. They've still got too much Photoshop happening, and some absolutely awful ones like Hailey and the intro page for Hannah Davis' location. Don't get me started on the cover, again, too. So, there is certainly room for improvement. But, the photos were good, with excellent use of the locations, in my opinion. Nina, Hannah, and Solveig were the stars of the show, in my opinion. Also, what's the big deal about the "plus size" Robyn Lawley? Ashley Richardson was bigger than Robyn, so this "first plus size model" talk is off-base. Perhaps it's just because of some strict definition of "plus size", but whatever. Anyone can see with their own eyes. Ashley was great back then, by the way.

I'm waiting to see some scans...

True. My bad. They skip one week after each new year and one week in summer.

They have all said that since at least 2010. If you read the fine print, SI counts this as two issues in their subscription package, along with 1-2 other "double issues" each year. So, that one year subscription is actually a little less than one year.

If the skin looks like plastic, it's clear you've gone too far with the air-brushing. You'd think they could apply that simple little rule. Agreed 100%. Just cut it back. Retouched is one thing; Reimagined is another. The cover makes it look like Hannah has fake boobs, polished porcelain skin, and a "Brazilian wax". Check out the comments from the general public on the news stories right now. 75% of them say the same thing (while 25% of them are just those angry people saying SI is destroying society with a swimsuit edition) In reality, Hannah is gorgeous. Real boobs, beautiful skin/hair, etc. Show that. I seriously hope the ridiculousness ended at the cover, at least. I need some candidate photos for my next SI Swimsuit Model Tournament, after all. I can't consider any from 2008-2011 because they are so over-the-top bad.

Upon further reflection, I still love Hannah on the cover, still love the pic, but yeah the Photoshop is over the top. THESE ARE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MODELS IN THE WORLD, SI, THEY DON'T NEED TO BE MADE SOMEHOW MORE BEAUTIFUL! Ugh. Anywho... great cover otherwise.

Great choice, imo. Congrats, Hannah!

Caroline Wozniacki, tennis player :dance: Ronda Rousey, MMA fighter

Walter Iooss shot the athletes in Florida. Am I allowed to say who they are?

Tried already! I'm at a loss except for Caroline Wozniacki. Genie doesn't appear to be in.

Thank you. Nina will always be in the conversation to win the championship. She's just too beautiful not to be!

That is a terrible photo of an overdone fashion show. Kelly's "other pic" looks pretty nice, imo. Clauds, Pretty, agree?

No problem. Thank you so much for participating!

Thanks. There are a lot of factors that seem to go into peoples' votes each match: model, photo, stats, mood, twitching when clicking, etc. I would not be surprised at all to see different winners each year, just because the tournament format creates different matches at different times. Bar narrowly lost to Brooklyn Decker last year, for example, but this year, she didn't have to face Brooklyn. If she had, there's no guarantee the result would have been the same. There have been six different repeat matches during these last two years, and each of the six has been won by the same model who won the first. So, Bar's draw in the tournament bracket was good for her, because maybe beating Brooklyn would have been too much for her.

Today’s results are in! Knockout Stage - Championship Match (14) Bar Refaeli (54.7%) defeated (21) Nina Agdal (45.3%) Bar Refaeli is the 2014 SI Swimsuit Model Tournament Champion! My spin: Many people thought Nina Agdal would reach the top, me included, but the Bar has been set higher! (I couldn’t resist.) Congratulations to our very worthy champion, Bar Refaeli! Bar finishes up the tournament with a perfect record of 10 wins without a loss. Bar certainly earned this victory. In her last five matches, she had to beat Hannah Davis, 2013 champion Marisa Miller, Heidi Klum, Petra Nemcova, and finally Nina Agdal. Very impressive! As for Nina, she has to settle for runner-up. She followed up her top 4 showing in 2013 with a top 2 showing in 2014. So, she’ll certainly be looking to take that next leap in the 2015 version! Final Knockout Stage bracket Thanks for participating in this year’s tournament… I hope you’ve enjoyed it!

Chrissy, Chrissy, and Chrissy.

Good points, Clauds!

It's okay, Begonia. Just so you're not too upset, I'll link you to an amazing few minutes of video from 2014. NSFW, by the way... Cris Urena is topless in it.

Several things: 1) I don't think the TV thing absolutely confirms the cover will be from Hawaii. It depends on how you read it. It's the first of five episodes anyway. 2) Re: Slowen's post... I won't be putting anything on reddit... or anywhere. I won't be the source of leaks... I don't need the hassle. 3) EmRata is in. Trust me. 4) All of that said, my cover prediction is Gigi. She happens to have shot in Hawaii, apparently. So, #1 could be true, anyway.

She's definitely in. The stuff I've seen is amazing, by the way. All of the photos have been awesome, so I can't wait for Feb 9! Not that this would come as a surprise to any of her haters, but Chrissy's was the only one that is pretty terrible. That's not a knock on her, since I sort of like her.

Chrissy Teigen is in, much to the chagrin of many on this board! I have proof of this and others in the list above. The question is, should I keep the Christmas morning surprise intact, or should I update the list accordingly? And, no, I won't be posting anything anywhere. I like BZ and won't get them in trouble. And, frankly, I'm not seeking attention... I just stumbled upon stuff that is publicly (surely unintentionally) available, and I thought I'd share some of what I know.