It’s time again for one of the biggest qualifiers of the Cigar Smoking World Championships, the one in the US. In 2022 there were a total of 17 pre-qualifiers around the country before then newcomer Drew Emch smoked for 3 hours 19 minutes and 24 seconds at the national final in Indianapolis, surprising everyone. Not only did he beat the runner-up Dalton Cole by more than an hour, he also had the best time of the season until that year’s World Champion, Borys Szkodzik from Poland, beat his time by 39 seconds in the grand final.
In 2023 the performances were significantly less impressive at first. The total of pre-qualifiers were down from 17 to 4 before the final in Indianapolis, and none of the winners made it past 1 hour and 40 minutes, not even Emch or Mose Ramieh who had the 16th best time ever at the time.
In Indianapolis, things were a bit different, though. Whether the participants tried to hide their true form or not, we don’t know, but suddenly the performances were world class again. Ramieh smoked for 2 hours and 42 minutes, yet it was only enough for a third place. About three minutes later Barrett Johnson came in second, and a minute after that Emch let his cigar burn out, fully living up to his nickname, “The Silent Hunter”.
“He said that he stopped on purpose, not to reveal what he’s got in store for the grand final,” CSWC founder Marko Bilic said afterwards.
This year the pre-qualifiers were ditched altogether and it all comes down to one slow smoking race. One night, one chance. So the question is, will the favorites live up to their name? Will “The Silent Hunter” let his cigar burn out and claim his third straight title or will he have to smoke until the end? On July 29 at the Leaf and Bean in Pittsburgh we’ll know who gets to represent the US in the grand final in Dubrovnik on the last weekend of August. Who knows, there might even be another world class debutant now that Emch pretty much is a seasoned veteran. Or why not a returning old stager?
