Wow, where do I start? What an absolutely incredible way to end the summer!
A couple of years ago, I visited Croatia and knew I’d come back one day. I even mentioned it in my last blog post. Well, this time I had a pretty good reason to return — I was heading back to Dubrovnik for the Cigar Smoking World Championship Grand Final, now in its 17th year.
What I didn’t expect was to witness something historic: the first-ever UK winner of the Cigar Smoking World Championship. 🇬🇧🏆 Honestly, I still can’t quite believe I was there to see it happen.
So, here’s the full story of my trip. And if you’ve been following me on social media, you’ve probably already seen quite a bit of it!
What is the CSWC?
For those who don’t know, the Cigar Smoking World Championship (CSWC) is basically the world’s slowest race. Competitors from countries all over the world take part in national qualifying events, with the best smokers making their way to the Grand Final. Everyone is given the same cigar and the aim is simple: keep it lit for as long as possible.
Sounds easy, right?
Well, not quite. There’s no relighting, you can’t drop any ash for the first 40 minutes, there are more strict rules to follow and penalties can be given for various infringements. The competitor who manages to keep their cigar smoking for the longest time wins.
The CSWC is the brainchild of Marko Bilić, a Croatian cigar enthusiast and entrepreneur who is, without doubt, one of the craziest guys I know! He’s got a huge personality, loads of energy and, underneath all the madness, an absolutely massive heart.
Marko created the competition back in 2010. The original idea came from wanting to find other cigar smokers to enjoy cigars with, so he started organising events and building a community of like-minded people. That community eventually grew into what is now the CSWC, attracting competitors from more than 50 countries.
If cigars ever made it into the Olympics, this would definitely be the event!
Heading back to Dubrovnik
The CSWC is also much more than just the competition itself. It’s essentially a three-day festival, bringing together cigar smokers from around the world for tastings, presentations, parties and plenty of opportunities to socialise.
Tickets went on general sale in July and cost around €580, which worked out at roughly £500. You could also spread the cost with instalments, which was handy because Dubrovnik certainly isn’t the cheapest place to visit at the end of August!
I flew from London Gatwick with easyJet into Dubrovnik. Accommodation was seriously expensive, so I eventually found a little apartment through Expedia. It was actually a room in someone’s house and, if I’m honest, quite pricey for what it was. But it had one major advantage — it was only about a seven-minute walk from the Rixos Premium Dubrovnik, which was basically the hub of the entire weekend.
A lot of the events were held there, including on the Libertas Terrace, Turquoise Terrace and inside the Rixos Ballroom Mistral AB.
The weather was brilliant too. We’d already had some seriously hot weather back in the UK this summer, and luckily the sunshine followed us to Croatia. In fact, it was almost too hot at times! Us Brits always complain haha. By the end of the weekend, particularly when we were all dressed up in suits and black tie, I was sweating buckets. Still, I certainly wasn’t complaining about the sunshine!
Thursday Night: The Unofficial Meet-Up
I arrived in Dubrovnik on Thursday evening and, within what felt like seconds of getting off the plane, I was in an Uber heading into town.
After checking in, I headed straight to Fratellos, an Italian-style restaurant which had become an unofficial meeting point for people arriving early. It was the perfect way to start the weekend. Everyone was gathered outside, enjoying the warm evening, having a few drinks and, naturally, smoking cigars.
It was also a great opportunity to catch up with members of The Pride (of Lions) — the nickname given to our Team UK WhatsApp group. Among those there were Sarah Saunders, our head judge, reigning UK champion Etan Patel and Paresh Patel, along with plenty of other familiar faces.
There were also lots of new people to meet, including Grigori Khachatryan and his wife, who were there representing Vanakat, one of this year’s sponsors. I’d recently written a blog post about their cigar accessories made from volcanic obsidian – a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed from rapidly cooled lava 🤯!
That’s one of the things I really love about events like this. You can arrive knowing only a handful of people and, within a few hours, you’ve made a whole load of new friends. And this weekend was going to be no different.
Friday: Sun, Sea and Cigars
Friday was a much more relaxed affair. We had a designated meeting point on the Rixos sundeck where CSWC guests could hang out before the official programme began, and what a place to spend the day!
There were sunbeds, a swimming pool, jacuzzi and direct access to the Adriatic. Basically, everything you need for a hard day of doing absolutely nothing. We spent the day lounging around, smoking cigars, chatting, swimming and enjoying the sunshine.
Swimming in the Adriatic was a real highlight for me. The water was beautiful, and there was something slightly surreal about sitting in the Croatian sunshine with a cigar before jumping into the sea to cool down.
At one point, I was smoking one of my favourite cigars, the Quai D’Orsay No. 54, which seemed pretty appropriate for the surroundings.
Eventually, though, I headed back to my apartment for a much-needed power nap before getting ready for the evening.
The official programme kicked off with welcome drinks on the terrace at the Rixos. With Oliva cigars in hand, cocktails flowing and people arriving from all over the world, it was a great introduction to the weekend.
This is one of the things that makes the CSWC so special. For a few days, you have people from completely different countries and backgrounds brought together by one shared passion — cigars.
The Welcome Dinner
After the welcome drinks, we headed to dinner. And this is where things got interesting.
We arrived via a red-carpet, paparazzi-style entrance before being shown to our assigned tables. Then, after an introduction from Marko, the evening kicked off with a bang. Quite literally.
I think it was the Croatian guard who launched a couple of cannons, and it was completely barmy. I absolutely loved it. Marko certainly doesn’t do things by halves!
Somehow, I’d also managed to sit down in a seat without realising it belonged to one of the managers from S.T. Dupont. 🙈 I’d been sitting there for quite some time before he eventually arrived. Luckily, I didn’t get thrown out!
As it turned out, I was also sitting opposite Eric Piras, his wife Agnes and cigar maestro Antoine, which led to one of the most interesting conversations of the evening. Eric has more than 25 years of experience in the premium cigar industry and has worked extensively across Asia.
We ended up talking about the cigar scene in Hong Kong and China, which is a part of the world I’ve always found fascinating. We also talked about Eric’s Confidenciaal cigar brand, made using tobacco from Honduras. Unfortunately, it’s not available in the UK just yet!
The dinner itself was three courses and the food was excellent, but if I’m honest, the conversation was so interesting that I completely lost track of time.
I even missed some of the entertainment, including the Greek plate smashing!
Thankfully, Zoran, who I also follow on social media, had captured some footage, so I was able to see what I’d missed afterwards and mash it up with some footage I captured from the day.
It had been a brilliant Friday, but Saturday was the big one. Competition day.
Saturday: Competition Day!
Saturday started with workshops, presentations and tastings. I have a confession: I missed them all 🤦♂️.
By this point, I was absolutely exhausted, and the heat had completely taken it out of me. I thought to myself, if I don’t have a power nap now, I’m not going to survive tonight. So unfortunately, the workshops lost out to sleep.
After my little nap, I went over to the Rixos for a fantastic lunch buffet. I went for the Beef Wellington, which was absolutely ace. The chefs did a great job before it was time to head back to the apartment and get ready. Because that evening was the reason everyone had travelled to Dubrovnik.
The 2026 Cigar Smoking World Championship Grand Final
It was finally time to find out who would be crowned the world’s slowest cigar smoker.
The dress code was black tie, tuxedos and dark suits, so everyone had made a real effort. As I walked towards the ballroom at the Rixos, the atmosphere felt completely different. This wasn’t another social event. This was the Grand Final.
The ballroom had been transformed for the competition. The judges taking their positions, spectators gathering around the room and competitors preparing themselves for what was ahead.
I was sitting with Char, whose husband George was competing for the UK, and none of us had any idea how the next couple of hours were going to play out. I also bumped into Philipp Kugler from Cigar Kings.
Marko was ready to begin and right at the centre of it all – he needs his own reality TV show! 😁
The competition was also being livestreamed on YouTube and, I have to say, the production looked better than ever this year. There were lots of close-up shots of the competitors, which really helped capture the tension as the cigars slowly burned down.
Then Marko started introducing the competitors one by one. The cigars were handed out, everyone took their seats, and then it was time to light up.
The cigar chosen for the competition was the Oliva Mareva, a Nicaraguan-made cigar specially developed for the CSWC.
It’s a great smoke in its own right, but on competition night it becomes the piece of equipment every competitor has to master.
The World Championship was underway.
Come on Team GB! 🇬🇧
There was some seriously strong competitors representing the UK. Unfortunately, things didn’t quite go to plan for Etan Patel and Paresh Patel, who both exited surprisingly early. Paresh had finished fourth the previous year, so we were absolutely gutted to see him go.
But we still had George.
And George was smoking brilliantly.
I was watching the competition like everyone else, keeping an eye on the leaderboard and trying to work out where the UK stood. Then, completely unexpectedly, I got called up to speak on camera.
Now, anyone who knows me knows I normally brick it when it comes to public speaking! But I’m definitely getting a bit more comfortable with it the more I do it. On this occasion, I was genuinely proud to be there supporting the UK. You can even hear me egging on “Team GB!” on the livestream.
I eventually made my way back to my seat and continued watching. By now, George was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
He was absolutely smashing it.
The atmosphere in the room was getting more intense by the minute. Everyone was watching their own competitors, checking the leaderboard and trying to work out who was going to make it to the end.
George just kept going.
And by now, I was completely invested.
With around 20 minutes of the competition remaining, I randomly decided to start my own livestream. I don’t normally livestream from events like this, but I thought it would be fun to capture some of the final moments and share what was happening with people back home.
At that point, George was sitting around third place. I had absolutely no idea what I was about to capture.
As the competition moved towards its conclusion, my completely random livestream suddenly became a front-row recording of one of the biggest moments in UK cigar history 🤩.
The leaderboard was changing, the tension was building and George was still there.
Eventually, it looked like George had finished third. Third in the world. I remember thinking that was an incredible result in itself. But we weren’t finished yet. Not even close.
The final standings changed after the competitors from Italy and Japan, who had appeared to finish ahead of George, lost points following issues involving the burning of their cigar bands. Suddenly, the leaderboard changed. And that’s when it started to sink in. George hadn’t finished third. He hadn’t finished second. George had won!
THE UK HAD WON! 🇬🇧🏆
The UK had bloody won the Cigar Smoking World Championship!
I honestly couldn’t believe it. After years of British competitors taking part, the UK had finally done it.
George Stansfield was the first-ever UK winner in the history of the competition.
And the strangest part? I had randomly decided to start filming about 20 minutes before the end, when George was still sitting around third place. I had no idea I was about to capture something historic.
Later, I heard that people back in the UK had been watching the competition from cigar lounges. How brilliant is that? But honestly, watching it on a screen wouldn’t have compared with being there. Inside that ballroom, when it became clear that George had won, the atmosphere was electric.
After all the build-up, the nerves, the disappointment of seeing other British competitors knocked out and the tension of those final moments, Team GB had finally done it. And I’d been there to see it happen.
Here is George’s immediate reaction to winning the championship:
The Press Conference and Gala Dinner
After the competition came the press conference, where George spoke about his victory, followed by the prize giving ceremony.
How would he get all these prizes back into the UK was the big question? It’s not everyday you have to take a cigar humidor home from DeArt on the plane 😁.
Once that was finished, we had a little bit of time to get some photos…
… before heading back into the ballroom for the gala dinner.
We had a fantastic dinner more cigars from Oliva, drinks and plenty of entertainment.
And this was where the evening became even more entertaining. Musician Ana Rucner was involved in the presentation of George’s trophy, and the whole thing was done in the most hilariously over-the-top way. It was totally off-the-wall barmy — think Habanos Festival meets the Eurovision Song Contest 😂 😂
Eventually, everyone ended up on the dance floor and it turned into a brilliant night.
George was on high spirits and we were all so proud of him for taking the trophy 🚀
I must admit, by around 1am I was absolutely exhausted. Apparently, some people stayed out until two or three in the morning. Not me!I was completely finished. In fact, I got a taxi back to my apartment despite it only being about a seven-minute walk. Yes. Im a lazy b*rst*d 😬. But I was absolutely flagging! 🤪
Sunday: Cigars on the Tirena
The final day of the official programme came around far too quickly. We met up and made our way to the port, where we boarded the Tirena for a panoramic cruise.
I have to admit, seeing a large group of cigar smokers getting onto an old sailing ship did make me briefly wonder whether this was a good idea. You can imagine us somehow setting the whole thing on fire! Thankfully, we didn’t.
Instead, we had a fantastic day. The weather was beautiful, and sailing around Dubrovnik was a brilliant experience. The views were spectacular, and it was another one of those moments where I had to stop and think how lucky I was to be there.
A beautiful Croatian city, a boat, the sea, great people and, of course, cigars. Not bad for a Sunday morning!
The Final Party at the Rixos
After the cruise, we headed back to the Rixos for the final party. And this was EPIC.
There was food, drinks, cigars, sparkling wine, cocktails and a DJ. By this point, everyone was really letting themselves go nuts. The whole weekend was coming to an end, and there was a genuine feeling of emotion because it had all gone so quickly.
Champagne bottles were being popped, the music was playing and everyone was celebrating. There was this huge group of people from all around the world partying away at the Rixos and, honestly, the atmosphere was brilliant.
I think some of the other hotel guests were probably looking around wondering what on earth was going on!
At one point, Marko announced that this was the final finale of this year’s championship weekend, and it genuinely felt quite emotional. The weekend was coming to an end, and nobody wanted it to.
What an incredible weekend
All in all, this was a brilliant trip. I still can’t quite believe the UK won, let alone that I was there to witness it.
When I visited Dubrovnik a couple of years ago, I knew I’d come back one day. I’m so glad I did, because this trip turned out to be far more memorable than I could ever have expected. Even a week later, I’ve still got a serious case of FOMO.
The Cigar Smoking World Championship really is a unique event. It brings together people from all over the world — America, Australia, Japan, China, the UK and pretty much everywhere in Europe. The only place they don’t seem to have anyone from yet is Antarctica. So, if you’re reading this from Antarctica… come on! Get in touch! 😂
Netflix need to make a documentary about Marko!
I said this on social media, but somebody seriously needs to make a documentary about Marko and the Cigar Smoking World Championship. Netflix, are you listening?
Marko is such a unique character. He has this huge personality and incredible energy, but what’s most endearing is seeing how much joy he gets from bringing all these people together. That’s why, for me, he’s the heart and soul of the event.
Yes, people come for the competition and the cigars, but what makes the CSWC special is everything that happens around them. It’s the friendships, the travelling, the stories and the people you meet from countries and cultures you might otherwise never cross paths with. For a few days, everyone puts the outside world to one side and comes together over a shared love of cigars.
That’s what keeps folk coming back, and the CSWC has definitely become one of the highlights of the cigar calendar.
And finally, a huge congratulations to George Stansfield on becoming the 2026 Cigar Smoking World Champion. The first-ever UK winner. What a moment. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end the summer — and I’m bloody glad I was there to see it.
For more news on CSWC visit cswcnews.comhttp://cswcnews.com or to take part in the UK competition next year follow instagram.com/CSWC_UK/
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