By the cover, I always thought Echo might be the winner, but I was confused when she lost her fight against Namor.
By the way, if you ask me, I would say Captain America is the best candidate to become the Phoenix. His will is really strong, and the whole thing about a flaming bird will be comparable with the american eagle. And when Cap throws his shield, it could turn into a flaming bird and hit enemies with bigger power.
But you know? There's something weird about this tournament. Back during the Avengers vs X-Men arc, Spider-Man was almost killed by the powered Colossus and Magik. So, in a very smart move, Spidey trick them to fight each other and take their power from the Phoenix, which ended into a double KO. Spider-Man was capable of defeating the Phoenix, by literally fighting and hurting itself. So, shouldn't this tournament have a similar effect? I mean, they are all about Phoenix's hosts fighting each other, which should hurt itself.