Ivam Žižić Defended his CSWC Title in Croatia

So the last report is in, and it’s none other than the home of slow smoking, Croatia. Now, only the final remains on Saturday and the Croatian representative is a well-known one. His name was mentioned among the favorites on beforehand last year, when he took home the Croatian title with a smoking time just three minutes shy of the three-hour mark. Ivan Žižić had lost the qualifier the year before by just 29 seconds, but in 2023 his performance resulted in a 6^th place on the Top 20-list. Unfortunately he didn’t do as well in the grand finale in Split, ending up just outside of the top ten, but now it seems he’s going for the win again.

A total of 10 competitors participated in the Cigar Smoking World Championship qualifier in Croatia this year. It was held at the Mandrach Restaurant in Split, the same venue used for the first day of the CSWC grand finale in 2023. Among the competitors was Toni Stoilov, the inaugural world champion of the CSWC in 2010, but this year he found himself outside the top three.

Žižić’s main rivals this time were last year’s runner-up, Dino Tomic, and Nenad Medak.

“Throughout the competition, the top three competitors were closely matched in both time and cigar length, with Medak initially holding a slight advantage,” the CSWC organization reports. “Unfortunately, early in the race, Medak’s cigar began to tunnel, and by the midpoint, it was burning unevenly on the wrapper side.”

This setback caused him to fall behind, leaving Tomic and Žižić alone in the fight for the crown. “Despite struggling with an uneven burn throughout the race, Žižić managed to stay in competion. In the final moments, Tomic’s cigar began to burn faster and in the wrong place, leading to it burning the ring and costing him the win. Žižić seized the opportunity, extending his smoking time by another two minutes before calling time and securing first place.”

So the final time of 2 hours 25 minutes and 29 seconds might not be one of the absolute best, but it gave him an 18^th place on the Top 20, and there’s obviously more where that came from. Tomic’s time wasn’t too bad either, especially considering the 15-minute penalty, but he won’t compete in the grand finale anyway, since he’s part of the organizing team.

1. Ivan Žižić 2:25:29
2. Dino Tomic 2:09:16
3. Nenad Medak 1:58:04