Walter Won CSWC Germany Again

The question wasn’t if he was going to win, it was how. By how much would the reigning and three time slow smoking world champion Hauke Walter beat his opponents? The German has been one of the most reliable three-hour smokers in the world and he’s definitely the most merited by now, but as you probably know, times have changed. Some of the more seasoned Cigar Smoking World Championship competitors have struggled with the new Oliva competition cigar, others have superseded their expectations. At a pre-qualifier in Kazakhstan recently, for instance, last year’s runner-up Anastasia Arsenova beat her personal record from the Rocky Patel days, when she registered the fourth best time ever. 3 hours 42 minutes and 6 seconds is actually seven minutes better than Walter’s personal best, and just eleven minutes short of Klaudia Ide’s world record.

At the 8^th edition of the German national championships at the well renowned Cigarworld in Düsseldorf, Walter actually joined the struggling side. Not that he didn’t win, he did, by almost an hour. He just didn’t do as well as he’s used to.

“My time wasn’t good by my standards,” he says. “The cigar didn’t have a nice, even burn and it wasn’t smoking as I liked it to. It kept wanting to drag itself forward, and I had to counteract it.”

“As the race intensified, it was clear that the familiar rhythms had shifted,” CSWC founder Marko Bilic says. “While in control, Walter finished with a time of 2 hours 40 minutes and 30 seconds — impressive, yet below his usual benchmark

In pure numbers, this is definitely not a very good performance by the “The Iceman”. We’re used to more, and above all, he is used to more, but he’s not alone. Rolf Broch and Tormod Skaaras from Norway performances were equivalent to his, to name just two of his closest rivals.

“The new Oliva CSWC Mareva competition cigar has introduced a fresh dynamic,” Bilic says. “Unlike previous years, its unique combustion behavior tested even the best. This cigar requires a new level of adaptability.”

At the same time, with some of his fellow competitors maintaining their level or even improving it, the run for the world champion title seems tighter than ever.

Behind Walter’s fourth consecutive win, Oliver Steinhäuser, came in second at 1 hour 49 minutes and 13 seconds. About ten minutes after him, Christoph Herb claimed third place.

1. Hauke Walter 2:40:30
2. Oliver Steinhäuser 1:49:13
3. Christoph Herb 1:39:30