George & Saymon Upset Olympic Champs at Joao Pessoa Elite

Qualifiers Pedrosa & Campos also impress, securing a direct pass to the second knockout round.

George attacking against the block of Hellvig.

Brazilian beach volleyball duo George Wanderley and Saymon Barbosa delivered a thrilling performance at the Joao Pessoa Elite tournament, delighting their home crowd with a major upset. They successfully defeated the reigning Olympic champions, David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig, in a captivating three-set match on Thursday. This impressive victory earned the Brazilian pair a direct qualification to the second elimination round, scheduled for Saturday. Concurrently, Portuguese qualifiers João Pedrosa and Hugo Campos continued their remarkable run, overcoming another strong opponent, American Olympians Miles Evans and Chase Budinger, to also secure a direct entry into the round of 12.

George & Saymon`s Road to Victory

Seeded 16th in the men’s main draw, Saymon and Barbosa showcased their resilience against the fourth-seeded Swedish pair, Åhman and Hellvig, in their decisive Pool D match. The Brazilian team fought back from a set down to achieve a 2-1 victory, with set scores of 16-21, 21-18, and 15-13. Saymon Barbosa was a standout player, contributing a team-high 21 points, including six crucial kill blocks and an ace. George Wanderley added another 20 points. Despite their loss, Åhman was the match`s top scorer with 24 points. The Swedish jump-setters finished second in their pool, advancing to Friday’s first elimination round (the round of 18). Also from Pool D, France’s Rémi Bassereau and Calvin Aye secured third place by defeating USA’s Chaim Schalk and James Shaw in a dramatic 2-1 contest (21-17, 20-22, 16-14).

Pedrosa & Campos` Continued Dominance

After an initial upset against top-seeded Norwegians Anders Mol and Christian Sørum, Pedrosa and Campos, seeded 24th, maintained their exceptional form. They clinched Pool A with a decisive 2-0 (21-17, 21-12) sweep over the 12th-seeded Americans Evans and Budinger. Pedrosa was a pivotal figure, tallying 19 points, which included three aces and four kill blocks. The Portuguese qualifiers are now awaiting their opponents for the second knockout round. Meanwhile, Mol and Sørum, the world’s top-ranked team, rebounded by securing third place in the pool with a 2-0 (21-10, 21-14) shutout against Switzerland’s Marco Krattiger and Leo Dillier, ensuring their continuation in the tournament.

Other Key Matches and Pool Winners

• Austria’s Timo Hammarberg and Tim Berger, who also started as qualifiers, emerged victorious in Pool F. They mounted a comeback from a set down to defeat German qualifiers Lukas Pfretzschner and Sven Winter in a tight 2-1 match (19-21, 21-17, 16-14). Brazil’s Evandro Oliveira and Arthur Mariano Lanci secured third place in the pool, eliminating Latvia’s Mārtiņš Pļaviņš and Kristians Fokerots in straight sets.
• In Pool B, second-seeded Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot from the Netherlands topped their group with a narrow 2-0 (21-19, 23-21) win against Norway’s Mathias Berntsen and Hendrik Mol. France’s Téo Rotar and Arnaud Gauthier-Rat finished third after successfully eliminating Brazilian qualifiers Adelmo Folha and Mateus Dultra.
• Third-seeded Swedish youngsters Jacob Hölting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson demonstrated their tenacity by winning a second tie-breaker in Pool C, earning their place among the final 12. On Thursday, they fought to a 2-1 (21-18, 24-26, 15-12) victory over Argentina’s Nicolás Capogrosso and Tomás Capogrosso. Brazilian qualifiers Vinicius Freitas and Heitor Barbosa took third place in the pool after a hard-fought three-setter against Australian Olympians Mark Nicolaidis and Izac Carracher.
• Pool E saw the Netherlands` Steven van de Velde and Alexander Brouwer finish first. Their match against Poland’s Michał Bryl and Bartosz Łosiak was cut short when Łosiak sustained an injury in the second set, forcing the Polish pair to withdraw. The Dutch team thus advanced directly to the round of 12. In the contest for third place, Brazilian qualifiers Andre Stein and Renato Lima defeated German qualifiers Jonas Sagstetter and Benedikt Sagstetter in straight sets.

Looking Ahead

The men’s main draw action at Joao Pessoa will resume on Friday with the first elimination round, scheduled to commence at 15:00 local time (18:00 UTC).