ONE CIGAR, ONE STANDARD: THE JUDGES’ MISSION FOR A PERFECT GRAND FINAL

The stage is set: the official cigar for the 2025 CSWC Grand Final — the Oliva CSWC cigar will be under strict control

The Oliva Mareva, crafted exclusively for CSWC, is more than a cigar. It is the great equalizer — the same leaf, the same blend, the same challenge placed in the hands of every competitor. But cigars, like champions, are living things. They respond to their environment. A single percentage point of humidity can change the pace, the draw, the burn — and in a championship measured in seconds and millimeters of ash, that difference matters.

This is where the Judges Association in partnership with Boveda and Hulecos steps in. Their mission: to make sure that every cigar handed to every competitor on August 30 in Split is as identical as humanly possible. No excuses. No advantages. Only pure skill decides.

In the days leading up to the Grand Final, the official stock of Oliva Mareva cigars will undergo meticulous inspection. Using advanced Hulecos precision devices, humidity preservation Boveda systems , the Judges will measure and monitor each cigar’s humidity to ensure it falls within the official range set by the Judges Board.

This is not a casual check. It is a process carried out with the precision of a Formula 1 engineer preparing a car before a world championship race. For the competitors, it means absolute equality. For the Judges, it is a highest duty: to guarantee that the Grand Final unfolds under conditions of perfection.

“The competitors dedicate their lives to mastering patience, control, and precision,” says Sarah Saunders CSWC Grand Final Head Judge “It is our responsibility to give them the stage where only their skill counts. Nothing else.”

This is why the CSWC Judges Association has become one of the most respected bodies in the cigar world. Their rulings decide victories and defeats. Their standards protect the integrity of the sport. And their dedication ensures that every Grand Final is not only a competition, but a statement of trust.

When the world’s best sit down in Split, each with an Oliva Mareva in hand, they will know: the cigar is perfect, equal, identical. The burn, the draw, the humidity — all balanced, all controlled, all fair.

From there, it is only about them. Their rhythm. Their focus. Their courage to go further than ever before.

And when the ash finally falls and the clock stops, the new World Champion will not only carry a title. They will carry the knowledge that they conquered the same cigar, under the same conditions, against the best in the world.

This year, the world will witness more than a race.

It will witness perfection engineered by the Judges in partnership with Boveda and Hulecos - equality also guaranteed by Oliva Cigars, and destiny written in smoke.

One cigar. One standard. One true champion.