With this year’s addition of Mauritius, neighboring island Réunion is no longer the most remote qualifier of the Cigar Smoking World Championship, but it’s still pretty far away from everything. 800 kilometers east of Madagascar, under the tropical skies of Saint-Denis, slow smokers gathered for a second time to crown the champion of this small island in the Indian Ocean.

Just like last year, the competition was organized by Jérôme and Sabrina Fontaine-Monetti from Corita Cigars at the atmospheric Rhumerie de La Réunion. After a hearty lunch, the race was on.

“From the very first puffs, it was clear that the local aficionados had taken their game to another level since last year,” CSWC founder Marko Bilic says. “The room buzzed with concentration and strategy, and the battle for the crown was fierce.”

In 2024, Damien Meullemiestre, took home the title when he smoked for 1 hour 24 minutes and 30 seconds, but this year Sabrina Fontaine-Monetti herself took it a step further.

“She rose above them all, as she defeated Meullemiestre and broke the national record, completely penalty-free.”

The new record is 1 hour 36 minutes and 52 seconds. In second place Meullemiestre almost copied his performance from last year, coming in at 1 hour 26 minutes and 30 seconds. Dimitri Nalem snatched third place at 1 hour 22 minutes and 1 second.

The times are all a step up from the 2024 qualifier and the question is what Fontaine-Monetti can achieve in Split.

“One of the smallest nations in the CSWC family proved that size has nothing to do with passion,” Bilic concludes.

1.     Sabrina Fontaine-Monetti 1:36:52
2.     Damien Meullemiestre 1:26:30
3.     Dimitri Nalem 1:22:01