Honsch Won CSWC Slovakia by 21 seconds

In the last few years Slovakia has had two separate qualifiers; one in Bratislava and one in Košice. The national champion has been the winner with the best time, and this year it was all about the event in Bratislava, where two well-known names battled it out for the title.

In the end, Peter Novysedlák was 21 seconds away from a hat trick. The 2023 and 2024 Slovakian Cigar Smoking World champion was going for three in a row and a total of at least four national titles, but in the way stood last year’s runner-up, Július Honsch.

 “After the first hour, the competition started to gain adrenaline,” organizer and CSWC judge, Roberto Resmer says. “We had nine competitors left, with a balanced position, but then experience began to show and in the end just Novysedlák and Honsch remained. Both competitors already have experience from the world championships and their rivalry is a clear proof of their qualities.”

Thus, it became a rematch of last year’s final two.

“Their shared experience was evident and the tension in the room was palpable,” CSWC founder Marko Bilic says. “Every draw, every pause, every glance told a story of years spent perfecting the art of controlled combustion. It was definitely one of the most compelling duels of the season.”

In the end, Honsch came out on top. Last year he was unmistakably beaten by Novysedlák by 37 minutes, but this year he won by almost the smallest margin possible.

“In a final sequence that held the room in silence, Honsch edged out Novysedlák by a margin of just 21 seconds, thereby reclaiming the national title and earning the honor of representing Slovakia at the 2025 CSWC Grand Final,” Bilic concludes.

And maybe the new Oliva competition cigar suits him, because unlike most others so far, his final time was better than last year’s, albeit with a mere two minutes, but still. The winning time was 2 hours 2 minutes and 4 seconds. Peter Kaša came in third, about 15 minutes after Honsch.

1. Július Honsch 2:02:04
2. Peter Novysedlák 2:01:43
3. Peter Kaša 1:47:25