Young Swedes Continue Dream Debut with Pool Victory

Jacob Hölting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson, in their inaugural CEV EuroBeachVolley appearance, are making a significant impact. The young Swedish duo concluded Thursday`s play as one of the eight teams to secure a direct spot in the men`s tournament Round of 16, held in Düsseldorf.

As reigning U22 European champions, Hölting Nilsson and Andersson maintained an undefeated record throughout their pool play at the Rochus Club, earning their direct advancement to the Round of 16 alongside the other seven pool leaders.

The EuroBeachVolley schedule in Germany will feature the Round of 16 matches on Friday, followed by the quarterfinals on Saturday, and the semifinals and medal matches concluding the event on Sunday.

Hölting Nilsson, 20, and Andersson, 19, demonstrated resilience to secure their Round of 16 berth, triumphing in three-setters in both of their initial EuroBeachVolley encounters. After defeating Germans Sven Winter and Lukas Pfretzschner on Wednesday, the Swedish pair overcame Israelis Eylon Elazar and Kevin Cuzmiciov on Thursday with a score of 2-1 (23-21, 22-24, 15-12), clinching first place in Pool G.

With a guaranteed top-20 finish, the Swedish team now aims to progress further in the tournament. They face Paris Olympic silver medalists Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler in their Round of 16 match. The German pair recently defeated Austrians Christoph Dressler and Philipp Waller in straight sets (21-17, 21-17) during the Round of 24.

Other Key Results and Advancements

Olympic Champions Advance

Swedish Olympic champions and two-time EuroBeachVolley titleholders David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig also secured a top spot in their pool. They dominated Dutch Olympians Alexander Brouwer and Steven van de Velde with a 2-0 victory (21-14, 21-14) to win Pool B. Their next challenge will be another Dutch team, Matthew Immers and Ruben Penninga, who advanced by beating Czechs Jiri Sedlak and Jakub Sepka in straight sets (21-19, 21-18) in the Round of 24.

World Champions Undefeated

Czechia`s World champions Ondřej Perušič and David Schweiner also completed their pool play undefeated, leading Pool E after a decisive 2-0 win (21-13, 21-16) against Dressler and Waller. They are set to compete against Elazar and Cuzmiciov, who earned their spot by defeating Italians Gianluca Dal Corso and Marco Viscovich 2-0 (21-19, 21-17) in the Round of 24.

Norwegian Stars Progress

Four-time EuroBeachVolley champions Anders Mol and Christian Sørum of Norway smoothly secured their Round of 16 spot. They defeated German brothers Jonas and Benedikt Sagstetter 2-0 (21-17, 21-10) to top Pool A. The “Beach Volley Vikings” will now face defending champions Martins Plavins and Kristians Fokerots of Latvia, who secured their progression by winning a tie-breaker (20-22, 21-19, 15-9) against their compatriots Hendrik Mol and Mathias Berntsen in the Round of 24.

French and Dutch Teams Secure Spots

French duo Téo Rotar and Arnaud Gauthier-Rat caused an upset, defeating Plavins and Fokerots 2-1 (21-19, 20-22, 15-10) to claim first place in Pool C. They will meet the Sagstetter brothers in the Round of 16, who previously eliminated another French team, Rémi Bassereau and Calvin Aye, with a 2-0 victory (21-14, 26-24) in the Round of 24.

Dutch pair Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot also advanced directly to the Round of 16 after sweeping English Bello twins Javier and Joaquin 2-0 (21-15, 21-14) to win Pool F. The Paris Olympians will continue their campaign in Düsseldorf against local favorites Paul Henning and Lui Wüst, who surprised Polish Olympians Michal Bryl and Bartosz Łosiak in a thrilling tie-breaker (21-17, 15-21, 15-9) in the Round of 24.

Swiss and Austrian Teams Complete Pool Winners

Swiss Adrian Heidrich and Jonathan Jordan remained undefeated, topping Pool D by defeating Immers and Penninga in straight sets (21-16, 21-16). In the Round of 16, the Swiss will face Brouwer and van de Velde, who secured their spot after a hard-fought tie-breaker victory (17-21, 21-15, 19-17) against Portuguese João Pedrosa and Hugo Campos in the Round of 24.

Completing the list of pool winners in Düsseldorf are young Austrians Tim Berger and Timo Hammarberg. They secured first place in Pool H with a challenging 2-0 victory (28-26, 21-19) over Henning and Wüst. Their next opponents will be the Bello twins, who advanced after a three-set battle (21-17, 18-21, 15-12) against Swiss Marco Krattiger and Leo Dillier.