REPORT Hookah Battle Blindfold 2026 (JC AWARD)

On January 17, the John Calliano Award 2025 stage hosted the first offline Hookah Battle Blind competition, bringing together 12 teams with their own unique approaches to hookah craftsmanship.

Hookah Battle Blindfold is a discipline in which the participant’s skill is tested in the most honest and extreme conditions: the hookah must be completely assembled and smoked blindfolded. In front of the audience, the participant is blindfolded with an opaque mask, and at the signal of the host, the timer starts, and from that moment on, the battle begins not only for seconds, but also for control over every movement.

Initially, Hookah Battle Blindfold existed only in an online format, where participants performed the task remotely, in their own locations, but according to the same rules. A historic achievement of the online version was the record time of 16 seconds set by the BORYA KOSMOS team from Uzbekistan, which set a high bar for speed and accuracy for all subsequent participants.

The transition to an offline format for the John Calliano Award 2025 was an important step for the discipline: now viewers could personally observe the tension, the tactile work, and the reactions of the participants, and the atmosphere of the festival itself intensified the heat of the competition.

The new offline record was 1:08:52 – the time it took the participant to blindfoldedly assemble and light a hookah until it produced a steady, thick smoke, formally opening the record table for the offline era of Hookah Battle Blindfold.

Offline tournament results and TOP teams

Twelve teams participated in the offline tournament, each interpreting the task in their own way, demonstrating skill, reaction speed, and the ability to control processes without visual control.

Based on the results of the competition, the TOP 3 was formed, which included teams that showed the best times and maximum composure under the pressure of the stage:

1st place – ASYA | Anastasia Vasilyeva | Russia +10 points in the Hall of Fame

2nd place – Virginia Group | Enver Pulatov | Russia +8 Hall of Fame points

3rd place – Artyom Team [AT] | Artem Potrekhalichev | Russia +6 Hall of Fame points

What is the Hall of Fame?

The Hookah Battle Hall of Fame is made up of the tournament participants and brands that score the most points in Hookah Battle tournaments. Points are awarded for participation and wins, so only active members of our community are inducted into the Hookah Battle Hall of Fame. Inclusion in the Hookah Battle Hall of Fame is a recognition of true excellence and a welcome event for everyone who has participated in our tournaments.

https://halloffame.hookahbattle.com

Below is a summary list of commands and their results by time:

1 ASYA – 1:08:52

2 Virginia Group – 1:19:04

3 Artyom Team [AT] – 1:28:94

4 Blind Mole – 1:33:37

5 Blind Cat – 1:40:36

6 S.M.E.N.A. Samara – 1:52:25

7 Diskette Lounge – 2:11:39

8 the.umari – 2:15:18

9 Panda Hookah Catering – 2:44:10

10 Heavy Haze – 2:45:84

11 Maks Blind – 3:34:87

12 Тимофей – Hellhookahs – 4:24:54

Where can I participate?

Check our event website for information

https://events.hookahbattle.com/