The highly anticipated annual European beach volleyball championship, the CEV EuroBeachVolley, is set to commence shortly. From Wednesday to Sunday next week, Düsseldorf, Germany, will host the 33rd edition of this prestigious tournament, bringing together the continent`s top teams.
Germany welcomes the EuroBeachVolley for the fourth time, with Düsseldorf becoming the fourth German city to host the event in the tournament`s most successful nation. The renowned Rochus Club will be the venue for what promises to be one of the most competitive editions yet, as all leading European teams have confirmed their attendance.
The men`s tournament features 32 teams divided into eight pools of four. Each team will compete twice in a revised pool play format. The eight pool winners will secure direct progression to the Round of 16. Teams finishing second or third in their pools will enter the Round of 24.
Men`s pool play is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, alongside the Round of 24 matches. The Round of 16 will take place on Friday, followed by the quarterfinals on Saturday. The semifinals and medal matches are slated for Sunday.
With the opening serve just around the corner, this promises to be a thrilling week of top-tier beach volleyball. Let`s delve into the men`s Pools A, B, C, and D.
Pool A
Teams: Anders Mol/Christian Sørum (Norway), Hugo Campos/João Pedrosa (Portugal), Benedikt Sagstetter/Jonas Sagstetter (Germany), and Ardis Bedritis/Arturs Rinkevics (Latvia)
As one of the tournament`s biggest draws, the Olympic, World, and four-time EuroBeachVolley champions Mol and Sørum are widely expected to dominate Pool A, securing a direct spot in the Round of 16. However, their three formidable opponents each pose unique challenges to the “Beach Volley Vikings” in their own way.
Campos and Pedrosa have established themselves as Portugal`s leading international team, highlighted by their victory at the 2023 Beach Pro Tour Edmonton Challenge, though their consistency has varied since. The Sagstetter brothers, making their EuroBeachVolley debut on home soil, demonstrated their potential with a fifth-place finish at this year`s Ostrava Elite event and could be dangerous. Bedritis and Rinkevics, partners since 2021 and also first-time EuroBeachVolley participants, have nothing to lose in this competitive pool and might deliver their best performance to challenge their rivals.
While Mol and Sørum are heavily favored to win Pool A, the remaining three spots are open for contention. The opening-day match between the Portuguese and German teams could be pivotal in shaping the pool`s outcome.
Pool B
Teams: David Åhman/Jonatan Hellvig (Sweden), Rémi Bassereau/Calvin Aye (France), Alexander Brouwer/Steven van de Velde (Netherlands), and Samuele Cottafava/Enrico Rossi (Italy)
The draw did no favors to the reigning Olympic champions Åhman and Hellvig. They begin their quest to reclaim the EuroBeachVolley title (after their 2022 and 2023 victories) in a pool packed with five other Olympians and highly experienced international players.
Bássereau and Aye, who formed their partnership at last year’s EuroBeachVolley (finishing 17th), have consistently reached the top ten in Challenge events this season. Brouwer and van de Velde, despite only pairing up this season, have both achieved podium finishes at past EuroBeachVolley events with different partners, possessing the experience and skill to contend for medals in Düsseldorf. Cottafava and Rossi will compete together for the first time in Germany. While they may lack the immediate chemistry of their opponents, they certainly have the capability to defeat any team on a strong day.
All four matches in this pool promise excitement. Although Åhman and Hellvig are favorites to top the standings, an upset by any of their three opponents is not out of the question, making this pool exceptionally hard to predict.
Pool C
Teams: Martins Plavins/Kristians Fokerots (Latvia), Téo Rotar/Arnaud Gauthier-Rat (France), Philipp Huster/Maximilian Just (Germany), and Jakub Sepka/Jiri Sedlak (Czechia)
Plavins and Fokerots were the breakout stars of last year’s EuroBeachVolley, stunning favorites to become only the second Latvian team to claim gold in the event. While they haven`t replicated that success since, Plavins’ experience combined with Fokerots’ continuous improvement suggests they could be poised for another strong performance in Düsseldorf.
Rotar and Gauthier-Rat were instrumental in France`s CEV Beach Nations Cup victory last year and have since formed a partnership, achieving solid results on the Beach Pro Tour. Huster and Just, who also joined forces during the 2024 season, had a promising start with a fourth-place finish in their second tournament, the Haikou Challenge, but have yet to consistently reproduce that form. Sepka and Sedlak have achieved limited success beyond the Futures level on the Beach Pro Tour, yet they were a sensation at the last EuroBeachVolley, securing a fifth-place finish, and could be set for another impressive run next week.
The Latvian and French teams are arguably the strongest contenders in this pool and are expected to advance to the next round without much difficulty, though determining who takes first place remains uncertain. While the German and Czech teams could potentially cause upsets and alter the pool`s dynamics, they are more likely to compete for the third spot in the elimination rounds.
Pool D
Teams: Hendrik Mol/Mathias Berntsen (Norway), Matthew Immers/Ruben Penninga (Netherlands), Sergiy Popov/Eduard Reznik (Ukraine), and Adrian Heidrich/Jonathan Jordan (Switzerland)
Mol and Berntsen have demonstrated consistent international progression over recent years and are fresh off helping Norway secure gold at the CEV Beach Nations Cup. However, they will need to deliver a strong performance to secure the anticipated first-place finish in their pool.
Matthew Immers, a Paris Olympian and EuroBeachVolley medalist, is recognized as one of Europe`s premier defenders, and the initial months with his new partner Penninga have been promising. Popov and Reznik earned Ukraine its first EuroBeachVolley medal in 2023 with a bronze, and while they haven`t consistently matched that level since, their effective combination of a tall, powerful blocker and a skillful, strategic defender makes them exceptionally challenging to score against. Adrian Heidrich, a Tokyo Olympian, has successfully revitalized his career this season with Jordan, and this tournament presents an excellent opportunity for them to build on their Futures-level success and pursue greater achievements.
The Norwegian pair has the capabilities to defeat the Swiss and advance to the next stage. However, the outcome of the other crucial match, between the Dutch and Ukrainian teams, is far less predictable and could significantly influence the final standings of the entire pool.
Finley Blackwood 
Jasper Thornfield