The 33rd edition of the CEV EuroBeachVolley commenced with a significant upset and a groundbreaking achievement in the men`s competition. Israeli duo Eylon Elazar (24) and Kevin Cuzmiciov (21) astonished spectators by overcoming experienced Polish Olympians Michal Bryl and Bartosz Łosiak in their inaugural Pool G match held in Düsseldorf.
In a thrilling contest at the Rochus Club, Elazar and Cuzmiciov emerged victorious with a 2-1 scoreline (23-21, 15-21, 15-12). This remarkable triumph not only secured the Israelis a direct path to the tournament`s elimination rounds but also marked their nation`s very first win at the EuroBeachVolley. Elazar had previously participated in the 2022 and 2023 editions with former partner Netanel Ohana, but without securing a match victory.
In the other Pool G encounter, Swedish pair Jacob Hölting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson prevailed over Germans Sven Winter and Lukas Pfretzschner in another hard-fought three-setter (21-17, 17-21, 15-8).
Tournament Highlights: Further Upsets and Key Matches
Pool D also witnessed an unexpected result as Swiss duo Adrian Heidrich and Jonathan Jordan defeated Norwegians Hendrik Mol and Mathias Berntsen in a tense tie-breaker (20-22, 21-15, 18-16). They are now scheduled to compete against Dutch team Matthew Immers and Ruben Penninga, who secured their advancement by sweeping Ukrainians Sergiy Popov and Eduard Reznik in straight sets (21-19, 21-19).
Among the top contenders, defending champions Martins Plavins and Kristians Fokerots of Latvia had a seamless debut in Pool C, easily defeating Czechs Jakub Sepka and Jiri Sedlak 2-0 (21-17, 21-15). The other match in this pool saw French pair Téo Rotar and Arnaud Gauthier-Rat narrowly best Germans Maximilian Just and Philipp Huster in two sets (22-20, 25-23).
Four-time EuroBeachVolley champions Anders Mol and Christian Sørum of Norway commenced their campaign in Pool A with a decisive 2-0 victory (21-12, 21-19) over Latvians Ardis Bedritis and Arturs Rinkevics. German brothers Jonas and Benedikt Sagstetter also started strongly, securing a straight-sets win (26-24, 21-18) against Portuguese Hugo Campos and João Pedrosa.
Olympic champions and two-time continental titleholders David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig of Sweden demonstrated their prowess with a solid 2-0 win (21-16, 21-13) against Italian Olympians Samuele Cottafava and Alex Ranghieri in their Pool B debut. Their next opponents will be Dutch Olympians Alexander Brouwer and Steven van de Velde, who swept French duo Rémi Bassereau and Calvin Aye (21-13, 21-16).
In Pool E, top-seeded and reigning world champions Ondřej Perušič and David Schweiner of Czech Republic comfortably dominated German wildcards Momme Lorenz and Tilo Rietschel, winning 2-0 (21-11, 21-14). Their upcoming challenge is Austrians Christoph Dressler and Philipp Waller, who needed three sets (21-18, 14-21, 15-7) to triumph over Swiss Marco Krattiger and Leo Dillier in their opening match.
Paris Olympic silver medalists Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler, a fan-favorite duo, faced an unexpected defeat in Pool F, falling to English brothers Javier and Joaquin Bello in two sets (21-19, 21-19). The Bello twins will now face Dutch Olympians Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot, who swept Swiss Yves Haussener and Julian Friedli (21-12, 21-10).
In Pool H, the first teams to secure their places in the elimination rounds are Germans Paul Henning and Lui Wüst, who narrowly defeated Spanish Adrián Gavira and Alejandro Huerta in a thrilling tie-breaker (22-20, 16-21, 21-19). They are joined by Austrians Tim Berger and Timo Hammarberg, who downed Italians Gianluca Dal Corso and Marco Viscovich in straight sets (21-15, 21-10).
What`s Next: Tournament Progression
Pool play is set to conclude on Thursday. Eight undefeated duos will automatically advance to the Round of 16, while an additional 16 teams will compete in the Round of 24, also scheduled for the same day. The Round of 16 will follow on Friday, with the quarterfinals slated for Saturday. The semifinals and medal matches, which will determine the champions, are scheduled for Sunday.
