The 33rd CEV EuroBeachVolley men`s competition kicked off with a major surprise and a landmark achievement on Wednesday. Israeli duo Eylon Elazar and Kevin Cuzmiciov stunned Polish Olympians Michal Bryl and Bartosz Łosiak in their opening pool play match in Düsseldorf.
Cuzmiciov faces Bryl`s block at the net
In a stunning Pool G opener at the Rochus Club, the young Israeli pair, 24-year-old Elazar and 21-year-old Cuzmiciov, overcame the vastly experienced Polish Olympians (who collectively boast five Olympic appearances) with a hard-fought 2-1 victory (23-21, 15-21, 15-12). This win not only secured the Israelis a spot in the knockout stages but also marked a historic milestone: Israel`s very first triumph in the EuroBeachVolley. Previously, Elazar had competed in the 2022 and 2023 EuroBeachVolley events with former partner Netanel Ohana, without securing a match win.
Elsewhere in Pool G, Sweden`s Jacob Hölting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson also emerged victorious in a three-set battle against Germans Sven Winter and Lukas Pfretzschner (21-17, 17-21, 15-8).
2025 CEV EuroBeachVolley – Men: Key Pool Play Results
Pool D
Pool D also witnessed an upset, as Swiss duo Adrian Heidrich and Jonathan Jordan defeated Norwegians Hendrik Mol and Mathias Berntsen in a thrilling tie-breaker (20-22, 21-15, 18-16). Their next challenge will be against the Dutch pair Matthew Immers and Ruben Penninga, who secured a straight-sets win (21-19, 21-19) over Ukraine`s Sergiy Popov and Eduard Reznik.
Jordan and Heidrich celebrate their opening-match victory in Düsseldorf
Pool C
In Pool C, defending champions Martins Plavins and Kristians Fokerots from Latvia started their campaign smoothly, sweeping past Czechs Jakub Sepka and Jiri Sedlak (21-17, 21-15). The other Pool C match saw French pair Téo Rotar and Arnaud Gauthier-Rat claim a two-set victory (22-20, 25-23) over Germans Maximilian Just and Philipp Huster.
Pool A
Four-time EuroBeachVolley champions Anders Mol and Christian Sørum of Norway began their Pool A journey with a 2-0 win (21-12, 21-19) against Latvians Ardis Bedritis and Arturs Rinkevics. German brothers Jonas and Benedikt Sagstetter also had a strong start, defeating Portuguese duo Hugo Campos and João Pedrosa in straight sets (26-24, 21-18).
Pool B
In Pool B, reigning Olympic champions and two-time continental champions David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig of Sweden secured a convincing two-set victory (21-16, 21-13) against Italian Olympians Samuele Cottafava and Alex Ranghieri. They are now scheduled to play Dutch Olympians Alexander Brouwer and Steven van de Velde, who comfortably defeated French pair Rémi Bassereau and Calvin Aye in straight sets (21-13, 21-16).
Pool E
Pool E`s top seeds and reigning world champions, Ondřej Perušič and David Schweiner, had an untroubled start, sweeping German wildcards Momme Lorenz and Tilo Rietschel (21-11, 21-14). Their next match will be against Austrians Christoph Dressler and Philipp Waller, who fought through three sets (21-18, 14-21, 15-7) to defeat Swiss duo Marco Krattiger and Leo Dillier in their opening game.
Perušič passes in the match against the Germans
Pool F
In Pool F, Paris Olympic silver medalists and crowd favorites Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler suffered a two-set defeat (21-19, 21-19) against English brothers Javier and Joaquin Bello. The Bello twins will now face Dutch Olympians Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot, who recorded a dominant straight-sets win (21-12, 21-10) over Swiss pair Yves Haussener and Julian Friedli.
Pool H
Pool H saw Germans Paul Henning and Lui Wüst secure their spot in the elimination rounds after a tie-breaker victory (22-20, 16-21, 21-19) against Spanish duo Adrián Gavira and Alejandro Huerta. Joining them are Austrians Tim Berger and Timo Hammarberg, who defeated Italians Gianluca Dal Corso and Marco Viscovich in straight sets (21-15, 21-10).
Looking Ahead
Pool play will conclude on Thursday, with eight unbeaten pairs directly advancing to the Round of 16. An additional 16 teams will compete in the Round of 24, also held on Thursday. The Round of 16 matches are set for Friday, followed by the quarterfinals on Saturday, and finally, the semifinals and medal matches on Sunday.
