2023 #EuroBeachVolley Previews: Men’s Pools E-H

The A1 CEV EuroBeachVolley is back in Vienna this summer, reuniting the top beach volleyball players in the continent for five days of intense and exciting play at the iconic Danube Island, in the Austrian capital, from August 2-6.

The tournament will begin with eight pools of four teams each and, after the completion of the modified pool play system, three duos in each group will move forward – the pool winners advance directly to the Round of 16 while the second and third-placed tandems move to the Round of 24.

The pools were determined in the drawing of lots held not long ago and we can now try to predict what to expect from each of them. It’s time we take a look at Pools E, F, G and H in the men’s tournament.

Pool E

Teams: Adrian Carambula/Alex Ranghieri (Italy), Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen (the Netherlands), Jakub Sepka/Tomas Semerad (Czechia) and Julien Lyneel/Rémi Bassereau (France)

There’s some clear separation between the top and the bottom teams in this pool. While Italians and Dutch are expected to fight for first place, Czechs and French will likely battle to remain alive into the elimination rounds.

Carambula and Ranghieri have been extremely solid since they reunited, last November, and have won multiple medals on the Beach Pro Tour since then. Brouwer and Meeuwsen are one of the most accomplished teams at the international level, having won a world title and an Olympic medal, but are yet to top the podium at the EuroBeachVolley, having only a bronze medal to show for in 12 appearances.

Sepka/Semerad and Lyneel/Bassereau are at a similar level, but at different moments in their careers. While the Czechs are young and are still giving their first steps at the international level, the French are more experienced, but moved to the sand less than a year ago after having solid volleyball careers and still have a lot of room for improvement.

Fun Fact: A member of the French volleyball national team that won the 2015 EuroVolley, Lyneel could become just the third man to win continental titles on the hardwood and the sand. The first were Dutch Reinder Nummerdor and Richard Schuil, who won the EuroVolley in 1997 and the EuroBeachVolley in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Pool F

Teams: Nils Ehlers/Clemens Wickler (Germany), Stefan Boermans/Yorick De Groot (the Netherlands), Patrikas Stankevicius/Audrius Knasas (Lithuania) and Timo Hammarberg/Tim Berger (Austria)

Here, too, there’s a clear battle for first place between Germans and Dutch, although the Lithuanians have been in great form lately, winning multiple medals on the Beach Pro Tour in the last year, and could cause an upset.

The recently-crowned European Kings of the Court, Wickler and Ehlers are the top German team and enter any tournament they play at as legitimate medal contenders. Boermans and De Groot, on the other hand, took silver in their first EuroBeachVolley appearance, in 2021, and have gradually been getting back to their usual level after not playing together for most of the 2022 season due to an injury.

Hammarberg, 19, and Berger, 18, are the reigning U20 European champions and should play with no pressure, taking full advantage of the opportunity of competing against such strong opponents. Who knows what they could do with the support of the local fans, though? 

Fun Fact: The 18-year-old Tim is the son of a EuroBeachVolley champion as his father Nikolas Berger won the 2003 edition of the tournament in Alanya, Türkiye, with Austrian legend Clemens Doppler.

Pool G

Teams: Michal Bryl/Bartosz Łosiak (Poland), Steven van de Velde/Matthew Immers (the Netherlands), Piotr Kantor/Jakub Zdybek (Poland) and Robin Seidl/Moritz Pristauz (Austria)

This is probably the most unpredictable pool in the men’s event. Bryl and Łosiak are title contenders at any level and are certainly the favorites to finish first, but it would be no surprise if they’re beaten by Dutch, fellow Polish, or Austrians.

Van de Velde/Immers and Kantor/Zdybek have similar profiles as teams formed during the 2023 season that have tons of potential and that opponents still don’t know very well how to play against. The Dutch have had a better start to their partnership, but Kantor is the most accomplished player among all four and knows how to win at this level.

Seidl and Pristauz have had ups and downs since they became partners in March, but they certainly have the EuroBeachVolley circled in red in their calendars and will give everything they have to get a good result for their home fans.

Fun Fact: The bronze medalists of the 2021 EuroBeachVolley in Vienna, Kantor and Łosiak were partners in eight editions of the tournament and could play each other for the first time since they split, in 2022, at this year’s tournament.

Pool H

Teams: Alexander Horst/Julian Hörl (Austria), Pablo Herrera/Adrián Gavira (Spain), Javier Bello/Joaquin Bello (England) and Laurenz Leitner/Paul Pascariuc (Austria)

Austrian legend Horst will be back in Vienna, the stage of the last match of his historic partnership with Clemens Doppler two years ago, with a new partner and Hörl and him have shown they can compete at the highest level internationally.

It will be a fiery battle with Herrera and Gavira for the top spot in the pool as the Spanish are also extremely competitive and have plenty of experience, as well as impressive chemistry after incredible 15 seasons as partners.

The Bello twins and Leitner/Pascariuc are two up-and-coming European teams, which will need to play at their absolute best to make it out of the pool – they will likely play each other for a spot in the elimination round. While the English have a more technical playing style, the Austrians are taller and more physical.

Fun Fact: Herrera, 41, and Horst, 40, are not only the oldest players in the 2023 EuroBeachVolley, but also the most experienced ones in the event – the Spanish competed in the tournament for the first time in 2004 and the Austrian did the same in 2007.