THE SPARK OF HISTORICAL CSWC BY OLIVA CIGARS CHILE BRING ALL EXCITEMENT OF SLOW SMOKING RACE
- expertcigar
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
For the first time, the championship was held in Chile on July 25th, organized by Michel Texier, who also participated, in Viña del Mar, on the Chilean coast, south of Santiago.
34 spectators and 11 participants registered for the first and historical CSWC event. The event was held at the Conclave cocktail bar/restaurant, which had a terrace well-protected from wind and rain. With temperatures around 15 degrees Celsius (currently winter in Chile), the event began at 5:00 PM, and the competition started around 6:30 PM.
I (Thorsten Ebers) introduced myself and temporarily stood in for Danays Leon Sanchez, a referee from the Dominican Republic, who unfortunately couldn't judge the participants due to scheduling conflicts. Afterward, the rules were read aloud. The participants were asked again to use the restroom and order drinks.
The one-minute time limit for cutting the cigar began. None of the participants exchanged their cigars, so the countdown started and things got serious. The first cigar went out after 15 minutes and 19 seconds. The first ash drop occurred after 24 minutes. In total, there were three ash drops within the 40-minute time limit.
After 37 minutes, five participants had already been eliminated. After approximately 45 minutes, Aldo Manquez Gonzalez was in the lead, closely followed by Anabel Prado Castro and Francisco Diaz Manrigeuz. Michel Texier was also doing well, having made the best start of all. However, he was struggling with an uneven burn and tried to correct it.
Unfortunately, this caused him to waste too much tobacco, which widened the gap as the competition progressed. Consequently, he smoked much more cautiously and gently in an attempt to close the gap with the leading group. Unfortunately, he ran out of cigar and was eliminated in sixth place with a time of 1:08:24 h. Five minutes later, the seventh competitor dropped out, leaving only four in the race. Three minutes later, to everyone's surprise, Aldo, who had been in the lead at that point with a time of 1:16:38 h, was eliminated.
Of the last three participants, Francisco and Anabel were tied, and Jaime was already very close to the end of his cigar. Twenty seconds later, Jaime gave up with a time of 1:16:58 h, securing third place. Now, an exciting duel ensued between Anabel and Francisco, with Anabel holding a slight lead over Francisco when Jaime was eliminated. In the following minutes, to my surprise, Anabel didn't take more frequent puffs on her cigar, but her puffs were stronger, as evidenced by the embers. Francisco, on the other hand, didn't change his rhythm but took lighter puffs, and no embers were visible.
This change in Anabel's tactic allowed Francisco to overtake her. Around 1:28 h, Anabel was very close to the cigar band and was undecided whether to secure second place or continue to challenge Francisco, who was similarly close to the band, for the win. She took another strong puff and waited, but ultimately realized she couldn't beat Francisco. After some further deliberation, she decided to quit and finished her cigar in 1:28:10 h. Francisco then took a few more gentle puffs and finished the race in 1:29:20 h, becoming the first Chilean champion.
Upon inspection of Anabel's cigar band, it was discovered that it was slightly burnt, resulting in a 15-minute time penalty and dropping her to fourth place with a total time of 1:13:10 h. Aldo finished third and Jaime second. The competition once again demonstrated how quickly things can change. Favorites suddenly dropped out of the running, the final round was always exciting and full of surprises. There was a short break, followed by the awards ceremony and the distribution of prizes. Photos were taken, food and more drinks were ordered, and we all enjoyed another cigar. Spectators and competitors alike agreed that it was a successful and exciting competition, as well as a great experience. We're already looking forward to next year, 2027.