Playing together for the first time on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour, Matthew Immers and Leon Luini have guaranteed themselves at least a top-ten finish at this week’s Challenge event in Warmia Mazury by winning their pool on Friday.
The Dutch pair secured one of the eight automatic spots in the Round of 16 at the men’s tournament held at Anders Hotel Beach. Seven other teams also bypassed the Round of 24 by going undefeated in pool play.
Immers, a Paris 2024 Olympian, and Luini, a 2023 European Championship silver medalist, partnered for this event in Poland, entering as the 21st-seeded team in the main draw.
Drawn into Pool E alongside three Austrian duos, the Dutch beat two of them to advance directly to the Round of 16. They defeated Christopher Dressler and Philipp Waller 2-0 (21-16, 21-14) on Thursday, followed by a two-set win (21-13, 21-16) over Tim Berger and Timo Hammarberg on Friday in the pool final.
Round of 16 Matchups and Other Pool Winners
In the Round of 16, Immers and Luini are set to face the home favorites, Michal Bryl and Bartosz Łosiak. The Polish pair advanced by defeating Australian Olympians Thomas Hodges and Zachery Schubert 2-1 (24-26, 21-18, 15-12) in the Round of 24.
Bryl and Łosiak had previously lost their Pool A final to German Olympic medalists Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler in straight sets (23-21, 21-12). Ehlers and Wickler will play Brazilians Vitor Felipe and Gustavo ‘Guto’ Carvalhaes in the Round of 16, who eliminated the Chilean Grimalt cousins Marco and Esteban in a tie-breaker (19-21, 22-20, 15-9).
Olympic Champions Advance
Reigning Olympic champions David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig of Sweden also went straight to the Round of 16 from Pool B, sweeping compatriots Jacob Hölting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson (21-14, 21-18). They will face Berger and Hammaberg, who won their Round of 24 match against Brazilians George Wanderley and Saymon Barbosa in a tie-breaker (18-21, 21-19, 15-10).
Canadians Sam Schachter and Jonathan Pickett topped Pool C with a two-set (22-20, 21-18) victory over Polish duo Piotr Kantor and Filip Lejawa. Schachter and Pickett will next play Germans Paul Henning and Lui Wüst, who eliminated Hölting Nilsson and Andersson in three sets (13-21, 21-17, 16-14) in the Round of 24.
Swiss pair Marco Krattiger and Leo Dillier secured first place in Pool D by defeating Brazilians Pedro Oliveira and Renato Lima 2-1 (21-19, 20-22, 15-12). They are now set to compete against another Brazilian team, Heitor Benitto and Vinicius Freitas, who knocked out Czechs Jakub Sepka and Jiri Sedlak in two sets (22-20, 21-19) in the Round of 24 for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Israelis Eylon Elazar and Kevin Cuzmiciov finished first in Pool F by overcoming the Czech pair in a tie-breaker (21-19, 18-21, 15-10). They will now play Pedro and Renato, who came back to beat Italians Alex Ranghieri and Manuel Alfieri in straight sets (21-17, 21-13) in the Round of 24.
French duo Téo Rotar and Arnaud Gauthier-Rat were the best team in Pool G after their two-set (21-16, 21-14) victory over the Grimalt cousins. Their next opponents in Poland will be Swiss Adrian Heidrich and Jonathan Jordan, who swept (21-19, 21-18) American Olympians Miles Evans and Chase Budinger in the Round of 24.
The final Round of 16 match will feature Ukrainians Sergiy Popov and Eduard Reznik, who won Pool H with a three-set (18-21, 21-16, 15-12) victory over Evans and Budinger, against Kantor and Lejawa, who stayed in the competition after sweeping (21-18, 21-17) Dressler and Waller in the Round of 24.
The Round of 16 and quarterfinal matches are scheduled for Saturday in Warmia Mazury. The semifinals and medal matches will be held on Sunday.
Jasper Thornfield 
Oliver Wrenwick