NEWS
GRAND FINAL OVERVIEW WITH FINAL STANDINGS OF THE CSWC SEASON 2021
Let's see numbers and statistics from Grand Final and Final Standings of TOP 20 for season 2021
Photos by Jadran Babic
Rayan Janus from USA justified the winning USA finale - he positioned USA on the 5th place with breaking US record.
The Grand Final CSWC 2021 wasn't like any other - WHY? - because only National Champions and the rest of the participants who managed to place and retain their names in the TOP 20 list of the best smokers of the season were permitted to compete. It was the first time such a selection had occurred, and it was warmly embraced by the whole CSWC community.
This was a true Grand Final - with only national champions and competitors from the TOP 20 list, we faced a fight of the greatest in the world, and as a result, winning the National Championship or being on the TOP 20 list reflected true worth of that achievement. - Natasa Kresevic, Deputy Head Judge
Felix Matei reached historical success for Romanian cigar community
Etan Patel from UK in action
In such spirit, all of the participants were already champions, because season 2021 provided extremely difficult selection. Because of all of this, the tensions in the Grand Final are much higher, and each national Champion feels a greater sense of responsibility with such a position. She/he symbolizes their nation, the country's cigar community, and themselves individually. The Grand Final is mostly a mental battle in which being focused and cool is extremely beneficial, regardless of the scenario, whether you are losing or leading since CSWc is a struggle until the last puff.
Photo by Nikola Brboleza
Borys Sykodyiak under Judge surveillance
Walter was out to early this year
Anastasia under control of the Judge
So, on Saturday, September 18th, 2021, at 5:30PM, after a few replacements of the competition smokes, the GRAND FINAL began. All of the participants got off to a good start. As predicted, Hauke Walter is in first place, followed by Ansatasia Arsenova. Mikael Zander got off to a good start, but construction issues caused him to struggle and waste valuable time trying to repair problems. Guy Pardillos is the first player to leave after 3 minutes. Qatar Champion Aram is second out. The rest of the rivals are keeping their fire, with the majority of them playing it safe. When Hauke Walter comes into contact with a burning line of cigar, he receives a Yellow card - his first warning. That happened to Slovakian Champion as well. It is obvious that Hauke is losing focus and he get's nervous. Anastasia is also losing her leading position, with Henrik taking over. Borys for Poland is also going now slower and he is getting up position by position.
Rolf from Norway reached great 10th place
Mikael from Sweden reached 9th place.
Biggest surprise - Klaudia Ide - 3rd place
The last third of the game becomes heated - All the top 10 smokers who are in the game from the Rolf Broch to the leading Henrik are in the game after solid 1h and 40 minutes of smoking. Now things were getting tight. American Champion is laser-focused, and he has impeccable smoke. Felix, the Romanian Champion, almost gets warned by judge Sarah Saunders for touching the burning line. Mikael Zander is out after having major issues with the cigar's construction. Etan from the United Kingdom is still in the game, and he is breaking the UK record. The same can be said about Rayan, a US smoker who is breaking US records and putting the US in fifth position. Than SHOCK - The two toppers of the TOP 20 list, Hauke and Anastasia, have been blasted and out of the game. Huge space for creating the historical moment for the rest of the participants and they are from USA, Romania, Poland and Sweden.
Interactive atmosphere in the Grand Final hall
Danish Champion in action.
Beautiful sport moment - handshake of the Champion and 2nd positioned
Now that the United States and Romania have exited the game, we are down to the wire. Full attention, such tight smoking for all three finalists - each of them has a chance to win. The pair from Poland, Klaudia Ide and Borys, are the biggest surprise. A massive battle is taking place, and the tension and adrenaline are already apparent. Full concentration is required; every action now matters, and seconds and millimetres will determine the champion. Borys and Henrik are in a photo finish fight now that Klaudia has left. Henrik has a lot of expertise and experience smoking beneath the ring, which gives him a tremendous edge and a secret card in his pocket. But he doesn't need it because Bory is out and 17 SECONDS AFTER HENDRIK RISES HIS HAND, HIS SMOKING TIMES STOP. HENRIK KRISSTENSON IS THE NEW WORLD CHAMPION.
Judges of the Grand Final with founder of the CSWC Marko Bilic