It’s no secret all slow smoking eyes are on the defending world champion Hauke Walter from Germany this year. The two-time champion has already more than proved he’s up for the challenge this year, smoking out of competition at the Cigar Smoking World Championship qualifier in Austria for 3 hours 35 minutes and 10 seconds. It’s not just the best performance of the season; it’s also the fourth best time ever and a new personal record for “The Iceman”. The question was whether he’d be able to repeat his feat at the German CSWC qualifier or not.
The competition took place at Cigarworld Lounge in Düsseldorf, and after an exciting competition Hauke Walter finally prevailed, but he didn’t manage to top his own performance in Austria. 3 hours 26 minutes and 30 minutes is still pretty impressive, and the second best time this season. In other words, Walter has undoubtedly cemented his position as the number one slow smoker in the world. At least, so far. There are still a lot of qualifiers to go but he’s definitely set to defend his 2023 title.
Behind, and probably inspired by, Walter, Cigarworld owner Patricia Benden once again made it to the podium. Last year’s runner up finished third this year at 2 hours 25 minutes and 10 seconds, while Oliver Steinhäuser came in second at 2 hours 29 minutes and 26 seconds.
“The interesting thing is that even though Hauke’s opponents know they have a really small chance to win, they’re still really excited about the competition,” CSWC founder Marko Bilic says with a smile. “And we now have a new name among the top smokers in Germany as well, Oliver Steinhäuser. His time proves he’s just getting better and better.”
- Hauke Walter 3:26:30
- Oliver Steinhäuser 2:29:26
- Patrica Benden 2:25:10
