The highly anticipated rematch of last year`s Paris Olympics gold medal match is set to unfold this Saturday in Düsseldorf. The men`s quarterfinals of the 2025 CEV EuroBeachVolley will feature a clash between Sweden`s David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig and Germany`s Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler.
These Olympic gold and silver medalists are among the eight men`s teams who advanced from the Round of 16 on Friday at the Rochus Club. The quarterfinals are scheduled for Saturday, with the semifinals and medal matches following on Sunday.
Ehlers and Wickler are the only German team still standing.
Playing on home soil, Ehlers and Wickler secured their quarterfinal spot as the last team to qualify, triumphing over Swedish U22 European champions Jacob Hölting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson in a nail-biting tie-breaker (21-13, 18-21, 19-17) during the Round of 16.
Åhman and Hellvig, who clinched gold in Paris last year and are aiming for their third EuroBeachVolley title in four seasons, also required three sets to book their quarterfinal berth. They overcame Dutch duo Matthew Immers and Ruben Penninga 2-1 (25-27, 21-17, 16-14) in their Round of 16 encounter.
2025 CEV EuroBeachVolley – Men: Key Matchups
This Saturday`s match marks the first face-off between the German and Swedish pairs since their Olympic final showdown last year. Historically, Åhman and Hellvig have dominated this rivalry, securing 12 victories out of 13 duels, including an impressive streak of their last 11 encounters.
Mol and Sørum Advance, Defending Champions Out
Four-time EuroBeachVolley champions Anders Mol and Christian Sørum of Norway, bronze medalists in Paris, faced their toughest challenge yet in Düsseldorf but prevailed. They eliminated defending champions Martins Plavins and Kristians Fokerots of Latvia in a three-set battle (22-20, 20-22, 15-6) in the Round of 16.
The `Beach Volley Vikings` will now face young Austrian talents Tim Berger and Timo Hammarberg, who advanced after a tough three-set win (21-17, 17-21, 15-13) against England`s Bello twins, Javier and Joaquin.
Perušič dives to make a dig in the match against the Israelis.
Reigning world champions Ondřej Perušič and David Schweiner from Czechia also secured their quarterfinal spot by defeating Israelis Eylon Elazar and Kevin Cuzmiciov in straight sets (21-18, 21-19). Their next opponents are Dutch Olympians Alexander Brouwer and Steven van de Velde, who swept Swiss Adrian Heidrich and Jonathan Jordan (21-15, 28-26).
The final quarterfinal match in Düsseldorf will feature undefeated Dutch Olympians Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Grook, who eliminated Germans Paul Henning and Lui Wüst with a two-set (21-19, 21-11) victory in the Round of 16, against French pair Téo Rotar and Arnaud Gauthier-Rat, who also won in straight sets against German brothers Jonas and Benedikt Sagstetter (21-15, 21-15).
