Dutch men`s teams showcased their strength on the second day of the main draw at this week’s Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Gstaad Elite event, with three pairs successfully winning their pools on Thursday in the Swiss Alps. Stefan Boermans/Yorick de Groot, Alexander Brouwer/Steven van de Velde, and Matthew Immers/Leon Luini were among the six teams that topped their respective pools, earning direct qualification for the tournament’s Round of 12. The other pool winners came from Switzerland, Norway, and Qatar.
Olympic medalist Alexander Brouwer and partner Steven van de Velde topped Pool D.
Boermans and de Groot, who previously won an FIVB World Tour event in Gstaad in 2021 and are set to compete in the Paris Olympics, finished first in Pool B. After defeating France`s Rémi Bassereau and Calvin Aye on Wednesday, they overcame the reigning European champions, Martins Plavins and Kristians Fokerots of Latvia, in a close second pool match with a 2-0 victory (21-19, 22-20).
Olympic medalist Brouwer and his new partner for the 2025 season, Van de Velde, secured the top spot in Pool D. Playing together as a new team, they defeated the Swiss home duo, Adrian Heidrich and Jonathan Jordan, in a tie-breaker (19-21, 21-15, 15-10) to advance directly to the event’s Round of 12.
In a notable performance, Immers (Van de Velde’s former partner) and his new teammate Luini emerged as surprising winners in Pool F. Competing in only their second tournament as a pair, the Dutch duo, who started the event in Wednesday`s qualifier, secured their third win in Gstaad on Thursday. They defeated Cuban Olympians Jorge Alayo and Noslen Diaz with a 2-1 score (21-23, 21-19, 16-14) to finish as the top team in their pool.
Mol and Sørum Maintain Perfect Record
The world number one team, Anders Mol and Christian Sørum of Norway, had the most dominant run in pool play, completing their Pool A campaign with two wins and no sets dropped. The Tokyo Olympic champions, who swept Sweden`s Jacob Hölting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson on Wednesday, did the same against Australian Olympians Thomas Hodges and Zachery Schubert on Thursday, winning 2-0 (21-15, 21-13) as they push for their third gold medal in Gstaad.
Fellow Tokyo Olympic medalists Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan from Qatar proved to be the strongest team in Pool C. The Qatari pair prevented Norway from having two pool winners by defeating Hendrik Mol and Mathias Berntsen 2-0 (21-19, 21-17) in their pool final on Thursday.
Swiss qualifiers Marco Krattiger and Leo Dillier continued their impressive run in Gstaad, claiming their third victory in two days to finish first in Pool E. The Swiss team faced a tough challenge against Brazilians Evandro Gonçalves and Arthur Lanci but ultimately prevailed 2-1 (21-19, 15-21, 15-13) to keep progressing in the tournament.
The six pool winners advanced directly to the Round of 12. The six teams that lost the pool finals will play in the Round of 18, as will the winners of the last matches in each pool (still to take place on Thursday). The pairings for the Round of 18 are:
- Evandro Gonçalves/Arthur Lanci (Brazil) vs. Andy Benesh/Miles Partain (USA)
- Martins Plavins/Kristians Fokerots (Latvia) vs. Jacob Hölting Nilsson/Elmer Andersson (Sweden)
- Jorge Alayo/Noslen Diaz (Cuba) vs. Christoph Dressler/Philipp Waller (Austria)
- Thomas Hodges/Zachery Schubert (Australia) vs. André Loyola/George Wanderley (Brazil)
- Adrian Heidrich/Jonathan Jordan (Switzerland) vs. Ondřej Perušič/David Schweiner (Czechia)
- Hendrik Mol/Mathias Berntsen (Norway) vs. Nils Ehlers/Clemens Wickler (Germany)
Both elimination rounds are scheduled for Friday in Gstaad. Saturday`s schedule for the men features the quarterfinals and the semifinals, with the medal matches concluding the event on Sunday.
Jasper Thornfield 
Oliver Wrenwick