FIRST CSWC by OLIVA ROUND OF THE SEASON 2026 TOOK PLACE IN ITALY, COLLEGNO

This year, Italy took the lead with the first prequalifier of the 2026 season, officially kicking off the CSWC by Oliva.

The first 2026 qualifier for the new season of the Cigar Smoking World Championship was held at the Colafrancesco Cigar Lounge in Collegno.

Competitors get together, four of whom were new to the competition, and had no experience at all. One of these four competitors was smoking his first cigar ever: a sparkling and exciting start to the world of slow smoking!

The competition went smoothly, with only one small penalty for falling ash: all competitors completed the competition by following the rules and in a cheerful and convivial atmosphere.

Aurelio Tufano, an Italian judge, is the man behind the new CSWC judging software, which promises to be a breakthrough for the CSWC and the judges association.

The evening was also an opportunity to field test version 1.0 of the Cigar Smoking World Championship Judges Companion (CSWC Judges Companion); a new software that will assist judges during competitions and is currently being developed and tested. The test was flawless.

Winner of the first CSWC round of the 2026 season alongside the owners of the beautiful Colafrancesco cigar lounge.

There are some discrepancies in the times attached in the Excel file and in the PDF file, which I wanted to leave: the differences are simply due to the fact that the tablet was always stationary at the counter while I was walking around the tables, and therefore the recording of a shutdown always occurred a few seconds later, giving precedence to the old method, which for now is the only one with official validity.

Test version of the new CSWC program – CSWC Judges Companion – launched by Aurelio Tufano during its first real operational test in competition.

After the first round of the CSWC 2026 season by Oliva Cigars, the results were solid, showing that this season has strong warm-up times, with newcomers achieving outstanding results in their very first slow smoking race.

Here are the top three times from the CSWC official prequalifier in Collegno:

1. Ernesto Carrero - 1h 20min 00sec

2. Barbara Pepe - 1h 17min 27sec

3. Favio Gola - 1h 09min 20sec

The top 20 for the 2026 season will be revealed after the second qualifier event of the season is completed.