finalist:
(plural: ‘finalists‘; pronunciation; the letters ‘fi’ rhyme with the letters ‘fi’ in “five”)
one of a few persons (contestants in a sport, competition, etc.) who has reached the final or last stage of a series of matches (contests), after defeating most of the other contestants in previous matches,
Miss World finalists (2011)
When Sue got the news that she was one of the five finalists in the beauty contest, she thrilled and cried for joy.
Though becoming a finalist in a competition or contest is a creditable achievement, there is a huge gap between a winner and a finalist, anything can happen in between.
There have been some reports of unfortunate news items in which, we read, one of the finalists trying to bribe the judges or jury, or much worse, attempting to harm a more favoured finalist.
