Brazil`s Elite event is set to kick off on Wednesday, bringing top-tier beach volleyball talent to Rio.
The iconic Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro is once again the stage for elite beach volleyball, hosting the ninth event of the 2025 Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour from Wednesday, September 24, to Sunday, September 28. This marks Rio`s second time hosting a Beach Pro Tour event and Brazil`s fourth of five Elite stops this season. The men`s competition kicks off with eight qualification matches, leading into the main draw`s first round of pool play for 24 teams.
Following its successful debut as a Beach Pro Tour host last November, Rio de Janeiro will welcome back all four teams that reached the Elite16 semifinals in that inaugural event, promising intense competition this week.
Top Contenders in the Main Draw
Headlining the 2025 Rio de Janeiro Elite men`s main draw are Norway`s Anders Mol & Christian Sorum, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champions. Known as the `Beachvolley Vikings,` they are also Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medalists, current European champions, and the top-ranked team in the FIVB World Ranking, making them the most decorated duo on the Beach World Tour. This season, they`ve medaled in five of their seven Elite appearances, securing three gold medals. Despite a fourth-place finish in Rio last year, they aim for a stronger performance, starting their Pool A campaign Wednesday afternoon against a qualified team. Also in Pool A, American Olympians Miles Evans & Chase Budinger will face Germany’s Paul Henning & Lui Wust.
Dutch pair Stefan Boermans & Yorick de Groot enter as the second seed, boasting a strong season with one gold and four bronze medals from six Beach Pro Tour events. Their recent bronze at the Joao Pessoa Elite in Brazil propelled them to third in the World Ranking. In Pool B, after facing a qualified team, they could potentially play against the winners of the match between US Olympians Miles Partain & Andrew Benesh and Switzerland’s Marco Krattiger & Leo Dillier to determine the pool`s top spot.
Argentina’s Nicolas Capogrosso & Tomas Capogrosso, last year’s Rio runners-up and currently ranked fourth globally, will kick off their Pool C journey against Teo Rotar & Arnaud Gauthier-Rat. Joining them in Pool C are Qatar’s Cherif Younousse & Ahmed Tijan, the world`s ninth-ranked team and Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medalists. Seeded third in Rio, they are seeking their third Beach Pro Tour gold of the season, starting against a qualifier.
Latvia’s Martins Plavins & Kristians Fokerots, who secured bronze at the 2024 Rio Elite16 and are currently ranked tenth worldwide, lead Pool D. They will be joined by Australian Olympians Mark Nicolaidis & Izac Carracher, and the formidable Brazilian duo of 2017 world champion Andre Stein and 2022 World Championship silver medalist Renato Lima, who will face each other first.
Pool E, awaiting two additional qualifiers, is spearheaded by the Dutch duo of 2013 world champion Alexander Brouwer and Steven van de Velde, who placed fourth last week in Joao Pessoa. Americans Chaim Schalk & James Shaw are the other confirmed team in this pool.
Evandro Oliveira, 2017 world champion, and Arthur Mariano Lanci, the Brazilian duo currently ranked sixth globally and last week`s Joao Pessoa champions, have an impressive record of four Beach Pro Tour gold medals, all won on home soil. They aim to add to this tally as they lead Pool F as the sixth seed in the main draw. Cuban Olympians Noslen Diaz & Jorge Alayo will also compete in this pool.
Qualifications and Tournament Format
England’s Joaquin Bello & Javier Bello, surprising winners of the 2024 Rio de Janeiro Elite16, are returning, though they must once again navigate Wednesday’s qualification rounds. Their 2024 victory was remarkable, coming from the 14th seed in qualifications to claim their sole Beach Pro Tour gold.
The men’s qualification rounds, starting Wednesday at 08:00 local time (11:00 UTC), are stacked with talent. They include France’s Remi Bassereau & Calvin Aye, silver medalists at last week’s Joao Pessoa event and now joint 11th in the World Ranking, alongside Norway’s Mathias Berntsen & Hendrik Mol, also ranked 11th. Austria’s Timo Hammarberg & Tim Berger (world #20) and Portugal’s Joao Pedrosa & Hugo Campos (world #22), who both made impressive runs from qualifiers to the quarterfinals in Joao Pessoa, are also vying for a main draw berth in Rio.
After the main draw begins Wednesday afternoon, a modified pool play format will determine which three teams from each pool advance to the elimination rounds, culminating in Sunday’s medal matches in Rio de Janeiro.
Oliver Wrenwick