CSWC BY OLIVA UZBEKISTAN - FIRST WIN FOR THE LEGENDARY NAME
- expertcigar
- Jun 11
- 2 min read
The Uzbekistan Open CSWC by Oliva qualifier brought together slow smokers from across the globe, including well-known traditional slow smokers from Poland with legendary reputations, and witnessed one of them achieve his first national victory.
Tashkent hosted the second-ever Uzbekistan Slow Smoking Championship under CSWC rules. The “Estate” (Pomestye) restaurant, located in the very heart of Tashkent, welcomed not only local participants but also cigar athletes from Azerbaijan, Germany, Spain, Cuba, and Poland.
Before the Championship began, the guests—who had arrived in the sweltering city a week prior—set off on a tour of the country with their hosts. Cigars were smoked in the ancient cities of Samarkand and Bukhara, at the Institute of the Sun, and at the Amirsoy mountain resort in the foothills of the Tien Shan mountains. The guests also visited the recently opened Center for Islamic Civilization; though smoking was not permitted there, the "immersion in history" more than made up for this "shortcoming."
Returning to the Championship itself, eight participants broke the one-hour barrier and four exceeded two hours. Unfortunately, Uzbekistan’s inaugural champion, Azer Mirtagavi, finished in eighth place despite smoking for over an hour.
The battle for third place lasted over 25 minutes. After passing the two-hour mark, two participants, Sattar Kazimov and Osvaldo Diaz, simultaneously raised their hands to signal the end of their sessions at exactly 02:00:58. After checking the timers, the judge confirmed their times were identical and awarded third place to both.
The battle for first place was, as they say in football, "on the verge of a foul." And a foul was indeed called. At 2:27:01, Elena Tronina stopped, effectively handing the championship to Darek Jacek. Darek continued smoking but suddenly pointed out to the judge that the band on his cigar was too hot. The judge recorded his time at 2:37:47 and inspected the band. While it hadn’t burned through, it had changed color. As a result, Darek received a 10-minute penalty, ultimately finishing just 46 seconds ahead of Elena.
The event concluded with a wonderful gala dinner featuring national Uzbek cuisine, accompanied by "Kraken" rum from tournament partner "Legion" and a superb "Oliva" cigar provided by UzTobacco, the company’s distributor in Uzbekistan.
Yevgeniy Zhidkov (CSWC International Judge): "I am delighted to see growing interest in the tournament within the country. I am equally delighted by the immense interest European aficionados are showing in this region. This partnership creates an opportunity for some to discover a new world and make new friends, and for others to learn from the professionals—which, judging by the results, is exactly what they are doing."
