Last year Jordan was meant to make its Cigar Smoking World Championship debut, but the situation in the Middle East forced the organizers to cancel. A year later they finally got to enter the global arena of competitive slow smoking, and it definitely didn’t go by unnoticed.
Held in the luxurious surroundings of the Cigar Room Lounge in Amman, the event was a seamless blend of elegance, competition, and cultural pride.
“The event’s emotional heartbeat came later, during a soulful live performance by a renowned Iraqi singer,” CSWC founder Marko Bilic says. “His Sinatra-style crooning brought smooth, romantic flair to a night already glowing with magic.”
Before that however, Jordan managed something no other debuting nation has done before when no less than five participants made it to the top 20 list of the season. As many as the slow smoking powerhouse Norway, albeit, a bit further down the list, but still.
The winner, Abdul-Hadi Hammoudeh, charged straight into eighth place, just below Austrian slow smoking star Daniel Friedenthal, when he smoked for 2 hours 11 minutes and 58 seconds. With that, Jordan now has a contender for the world champion title.
Second place went to Habib Ghawi, who staged a thrilling comeback to secure the silver at 1 hour 51 minutes and 10 seconds, a mere 22 seconds ahead of second runner-up, Raed Nasser.
“It was a race of nerves, filled with last-second reversals, emotional outbursts, and edge-of-your-seat tension,” Bilic says.
It was truly a night for the history books, he continues.
“Jordan entered the world of the CSWC not so quietly, but with a thunderous impact that shook the leader board and set a new bar for debuting nations.”
- Abdul-Hadi Hammoudeh 2:11:58
- Habib Ghawi 1:51:10
- Sharaf Modhar 1:50:48
