One of the longest running national Cigar Smoking World Championship qualifiers in the world was recently held for the 11th time. As always, the Swiss qualification round, took place under the name Big Alpine Smoke at Don Alejandro’s Cigar Lounge in Chur, an hour outside of Zürich. The place might have been the same, but the people were all new, at least in the top three.
Most notably was the absence of the national champion from 2021, 2022 and 2024, Natasha Nicolazzi. Instead, Swiss got a new, but in the cigar world well seasoned champion. As chief editor of the cigar.ch website, Tobias Hüberli is a long-time friend of the CSWC and one of Switzerland’s most respected cigar voices.
“Tobias is a great champion and a true ambassador of our community,” organizer Gian Carlo Casparis remarked. “It was special to see him win here, in this historic year for CSWC Switzerland.”
“Tobias brings not only deep knowledge but also a profound love for the culture of cigars, and on this night, he demonstrated his mastery of the art of slow smoking,” CSWC founder Marko Bilic adds.
The competition was far from one-sided, though. In an intense and well-fought battle for the podium, Rainer Oberholzer pushed hard, finishing just five minutes behind Hüberli, and 35 seconds behind him Fabian Sutter added even more drama to one of the closest Swiss races in recent memory.
“The quality of the competition and the atmosphere of camaraderie spoke to the deep roots CSWC now enjoys in Switzerland,” Bilic concludes. “It’s a testament to the tireless work of Casparis and his dedicated team, who have helped make this qualifier a cornerstone of the championship calendar.”
- Tobias Hüberli 1:23:24
- Rainer Oberholzer 1:19:00
- Fabian Sutter 1:18:25
