CSWC BY OLIVA CIGARS IN SPAIN: 'THE SPANISH TIGER' STRIKES AGAIN
- expertcigar
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
CSWC returned to the Barcelona Pipa Club this year with familiar names and new faces competing for their spot in the Grand Final, with astonishing times that challenged this year's trend.
Running the competition internationally for the first time, judge Mariana Cuencas, supported by senior judge David Taylor, flew from the UK again to ensure Spain remained in the tournament. They welcomed 14 fierce competitors, who enjoyed not only the moments of focus and skill that a qualifier demands, but also a relaxed atmosphere of friendship and camaraderie, followed by Spanish wine, empanadas, and a raffle with amazing prizes.
Against the trends seen of experienced competitors getting shorter times with this year's CSWC Oliva Mareva, a number of them got very good results, either beating their 2025 times or getting very close to them. Nolvia Lopez Hernandez, for instance, achieved sixth place with over an hour of smoking, compared to her 00:15:42 mark from last year, and Dirk Lambert, who got the fifth place, jumped from less then thirty minutes to 01:10:06.
After an exciting tournament that saw all types of penalties and challenges for some competitors - including ash falls, burnt bands, tunneling failures, and a cigar being mindlessly placed on the ashtray - the top 3 made it past the 01:30:00 mark, and the country's reigning champion, Thorsten 'The Spanish Tiger' Ebers, was not only again victorious but made it halfway up to the 2026 Top 20 leaderboard with a remarkable 02:17:30 time.
Second place was Marck Castell Roig, competing for the first time, followed by experienced Eduardo Navarro Basabe, who dropped to third place after a 15-minute burnt band penalty when trying to tunnel to challenge Thorsten. Without this penalty, both of them would have got results between 3-5 minutes less than last year, making them competitors to keep an eye on at the Grand Final.
It was great to see Spain's finest slow-smokers in action, and we're looking forward to finding out what they'll achieve in Dubrovnik.