Eight teams from eight different countries successfully secure their spots in the main draw after a day of stunning upsets.
Wednesday`s men`s qualification rounds for the Rio de Janeiro Elite on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour saw intense competition and several surprising results. Teams from Austria, Brazil, Chile, Czechia, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, and Norway battled their way into the 24-team main draw, demonstrating that the path to the top will be anything but straightforward.
Czech Wild Cards Stun French Favorites
The most notable upset came from Czech wild cards **Tadeas Trousil & Jiri Sedlak**. Ranked 16th in the qualification bracket, they faced the top-seeded French pair, **Remi Bassereau & Calvin Aye**, who had just claimed silver at the Joao Pessoa Elite three days prior. Trousil and Sedlak delivered a dominant performance, sweeping the match 2-0 (21-15, 21-16). Sedlak was a key player, contributing an impressive 24 points, including seven kill blocks and three aces, sealing a remarkable victory.
Another pair that shone in Joao Pessoa last week, **Joao Pedrosa & Hugo Campos** of Portugal, also found themselves on the losing end. After famously upsetting the formidable Norwegians Anders Mol & Christian Sorum previously, the sixth-seeded Portuguese duo were defeated in a thrilling 2-1 (19-21, 22-20, 19-17) battle by the 11th-seeded Dutch team, **Ruben Penninga & Matthew Immers**. Penninga was instrumental for the Netherlands, scoring 31 points and recording five kill blocks.
Last year`s Rio de Janeiro Elite16 champions, English brothers **Joaquin Bello & Javier Bello**, experienced an early exit from the qualifiers. In a tightly contested tie-breaker, Brazil`s **George Wanderley & Saymon Barbosa** overcame them with a 2-1 (21-18, 19-21, 16-14) victory. Match highlights for George/Saymon vs. Bello, Ja./Bello, Jo. were captured from the event.
Other Dramatic Encounters and Key Victories
Chile`s 13th-seeded **Vicente Droguett & Fernando Quintero** pulled off a significant upset, defeating Germany`s fourth-seeded **Lukas Pfretzschner & Sven Winter** in a hard-fought 2-1 (21-23, 21-17, 15-11) match.
The qualification round also featured another three-set thriller where second-seeded Austrians **Timo Hammarberg & Tim Berger** advanced to the main draw. They had to recover from a set down to defeat 15th-seeded Brazilian wild cards **Adelmo Folha & Mateus Dultra** 2-1 (19-21, 21-12, 15-6). Highlights from Adelmo/Mateus vs. Hammarberg/Berger T. were among the day`s recordings.
In other straight-set victories, the 10th-seeded German duo **Jonas Sagstetter & Benedikt Sagstetter** secured a 2-0 (21-15, 21-19) win against Brazil`s seventh-seeded **Vinicius Freitas & Heitor Barbosa**. Meanwhile, ninth-seeded Israelis **Eylon Elazar & Kevin Cuzmiciov** also advanced with a 2-0 (21-15, 21-19) triumph over eighth-seeded **Adrian Heidrich & Jonathan Jordan** of Switzerland.
A high-profile clash saw third-seeded Norwegians **Mathias Berntsen & Hendrik Mol** narrowly defeat three-time Olympians **Marco Grimalt & Esteban Grimalt** of Chile, winning 2-0 (21-19, 21-19).
The men’s main draw action in Rio is scheduled to commence later today, Wednesday, with the opening games set for 15:00 local time (18:00 UTC).
Jasper Thornfield 
Oliver Wrenwick