He did it! Most things pointed towards Hauke Walter from Germany defending his world slow smoking champion title at the Cigar Smoking World Championship grand finale in Dubrovnik this weekend, and he met the expectations.
“The Iceman” was the clear favorite. He had the two best times of the year, unless you count Oleg Pedan’s winning time in Belarus without the 15-minute penalty he received, and he’s been very confident in his slow smoking. Pedan’s comeback and the equally impressive return of Igor Kovacic from Sweden, as well as many excellent performances from Anastasya Arsenova, were probably the only factors shaking the foundation of Walter’s dominance, but when push came to shove, the German was as stable as a rock.
When the cigar of Dejan Pažin from Slovenia burned out after 2 hours and 41 minutes there were only three, well-known, names left, and it was an intense atmosphere surrounding Walter, Arsenova and the 2022 world champion Borys Szkodzik from Poland.
“The situation around the final three competitors has never been as crowded as this year,” Dino Tomic, head of marketing at the CSWC, says. “Almost all the 220 people present surrounded them and cheered them on.”
After 2 hours 49 minutes and 17 seconds, Szkodzik was out, and a minute and a half later last year’s second runner-up, Arsenova, burned her ring causing a 15-minute penalty. A minute later Walter let his cigar burn out, making him the first one ever to raise the trophy three times.
- Hauke Walter 2:51:43
- Borys Szkodziak 2:49:17
- Dejan Pažin 2:41:19
- Marcin Sekowski 2:37:21
- Anastasia Arsenova 2:35:48
