CSWC BY OLIVA LATVIA CROWNS A VERY WELL KNOW NAME OF SLOW SMOKING
- expertcigar
- Jul 8
- 2 min read
Anastasia Arsenova took the title this year at the Open Championship of Latvia
Anastasia Arsenova, the women's world champion in 2025, chose the Latvian qualifier as the location for her slow smoking race. This was possible because the Latvian organizers opted to have an open CSWC qualifier. Even though Latvia has some good slow smokers, Anastasia is always a big challenger as one of the best competitors in the world.
But before the competition, the Riga Cigar Club made sure that all participants and guests had a great cigar day with some additional activities and exceptional products like whiskey and rum tasting. Of course, the leadership of the Riga Cigar Club prepared a great buffet for a full experience.
The location, as in the previous year, was exclusive—a beautiful old villa which was the perfect place for an all-day cigar celebration, from the beautiful terrace to the old-style interior rooms and halls. Live music contributed to great day full of experience and enjoyment.
The competition itself was very exciting, and as one of the favorites, Anastasia was the one everyone expected to win. In the end, she did achieve victory, but it was far from easy. The Latvian competitors from last year were ready and keen to prove that even a favorite like Anastasia couldn't just show up and take the win without a tight fight.
The reigning Latvian champion was the first to prove this; he secured second place and the title of Vice Champion of Latvia, finishing just 30 seconds behind Anastasia. Third place also delivered an incredible performance, finishing with a solid time of one hour and 30 minutes.
The atmosphere at the end of the competition was truly electric. The 30-second margin kept everyone on the edge of their seats; such close calls are constant reminders that "slow smoking" is anything but easy to master.
Latvia has proven once again that it possesses strong competitors who are ready and able to challenge the world's best—and Anastasia is certainly among them. As an open competition, the CSWC Latvia event provided the perfect stage for Anastasia to claim this hard-fought victory.
