CSWC BY OLIVA CIGARS - GERMANY OUTCAME- SURPRISE OR NO SURPRISE?!
- expertcigar
- 7 minutes ago
- 2 min read
The CSWC took place in Germany, and after more than 10 years, it came for the first time to the Oliva Lounge Whisky and Cigar Salon in Gronau.
It was one of the most anticipated competitions of the year because one of the best smokers of all time, three-time world champion Hauke Walter, was competing again for the title of German champion. Of course, as everybody expected, he performed at the top level and took another title, which will probably be his sixth title as the German champion.
But this year, something was different. For the first time in a long time, he finished with a time of "just" 2 hours and 13 minutes, which is far below his average time. This event also brought out one of the most loyal friends and supporters of the CSWC, Sead Frostshell (aka Don Peppone), who performed incredibly well. For the first time, he secured the title of vice-champion of Germany with a big time of 2 hours—just 13 minutes behind the great Hauke Walter. Third place went to someone completely new, Mark Schmidt, who also smoked a very good time of 1 hour and 34 minutes in a fantastic performance.
This event was also epic because it gathered top international judges. Christopher Trockel represented Germany, and Thomas Gonissen came from Belgium to judge. When you have such big calibers of competitors like Hauke Walter, you need to have the most experienced judges. Christopher was a competitor until this year, but from this year on, he took the responsibility and role of a judge. He was a great judge because he knows the competition from a competitor's perspective, and it was also very important that Thomas was there as one of the most experienced judges.
The beautiful Oliva Lounge Whisky and Cigar Salon had an amazing setup which was organized by Malte Stamm. Everyone who was visiting the lounge for the first time was surprised by how beautiful it is. The atmosphere was absolutely amazing, and the owners were very happy to host the event and look forward to hosting it again next year.
CSWC Germany 2026 proved that while some legends are always at the top, many things can still depend on the time, and we will certainly face a very interesting grand final.
