EuroBeachVolley 2025 Previews – Men’s Pools E-H

The annual celebration of European beach volleyball is coming up shortly, as next week, between Wednesday and Sunday, the best teams on the continent will be reunited in Düsseldorf, Germany, to compete in the 33rd edition of the CEV EuroBeachVolley.

Returning to Germany for the fourth time in history and getting to a fourth different city in the most successful country in the tournament to date, the event will be held at the popular Rochus Club and should be the most competitive in recent years, with every top team on the continent having confirmed participation.

The 32 men’s teams were split into eight pools of four and will each play twice in the modified pool play system. The eight pool winners will advance directly to the Round of 16, with the 16 teams ranked second and third having to go through the Round of 24 first.

Pool play for the men will take place between Wednesday and Thursday, when the Round of 24 matches will also be held. The Round of 16 will follow on Friday and the quarterfinals on Saturday, with the semifinals and medal matches happening on Sunday.

It should be an exciting week of elite-level beach volleyball in Düsseldorf and, as the first serve nears, let’s continue to take a look at the eight pools in each gender, this time examining Pools E, F, G and H for the men’s tournament.

Pool E

Teams: Ondřej Perušič/David Schweiner (Czechia), Christoph Dressler/Philipp Waller (Austria), Marco Krattiger/Leo Dillier (Switzerland) and Momme Lorenz/Tilo Rietschel (Germany)

World champions Perušič and Schweiner stand out as the obvious favorites to win the pool and advance directly to the Round of 16 here. The Czechs have been playing really well this summer and won three medals in five Beach Pro Tour events, showing that they continue among the top teams in the world.

A new team in 2025, Krattiger and Dillier have also been playing very well in their first months as partners and get to Düsseldorf with four medals won at the Challenge and the Futures levels of the Beach Pro Tour. Dressler and Waller, who also joined forces this season, haven’t had the same type of results as the Swiss, but have been competing at this level for a long time and could deliver strong performances this week in Germany. The 21-year-olds Lorenz and Rietschel have been competitive at the Futures level on the Beach Pro Tour, and will have the opportunity next week to test themselves against stronger opponents.

If no surprises happen, the Czechs will progress in first place, with the Swiss and the Austrians taking the other two spots in the elimination rounds. But never rule out a young home team that plays with no pressure.

Pool F

Teams: Javier Bello/Joaquin Bello (England), Stefan Boermans/Yorick de Groot (the Netherlands), Yves Haussener/Julian Friedli (Switzerland) and Clemens Wickler/Nils Ehlers (Germany)

If every tournament has a Pool of Death, in Düsseldorf that’s arguably Pool F, as at least three of the four teams in it are serious candidates to win medals on Sunday. The Bello twins haven’t played a lot in 2025, but had a tremendous 2024 season, winning gold on a Beach Pro Tour Elite event in Brazil, and could return to that level at any moment.

Boermans and de Groot took silver in the EuroBeachVolley in 2021 (and de Groot did it again in 2023) and have been among the top teams on the continent for years. The same goes for Ehlers and Wickler, who had the best season of their careers in 2024, when they took silver at both the Paris Olympics and the EuroBeachVolley, and will have full support from the home crowd this week. Haussener and Friedli have accumulated good results at the international level in their two years as partners, but will need to punch above their weight to have a chance of progressing.

The Swiss will be the dark horses in a pool where anything can happen between the English, Dutch and Germans. The first-round duel between Bello/Bello and Ehlers/Wickler could have a major impact on how things shake out in the pool.

Pool G

Teams: Michal Bryl/Bartosz Łosiak (Poland), Jacob Hölting Nilsson/Elmer Andersson (Sweden), Lukas Pfretzschner/Sven Winter (Germany) and Eylon Elazar/Kevin Cuzmiciov (Israel)

By far the most experienced team in the pool, Bryl and Łosiak are the most likely to end up in first place. The Polish are yet to win gold in 2025, but have been very consistent at the international level and have all the tools to remain in control in pool play.

Swedish and Germans could both be tough opponents for them, though. The reigning U22 European champions, Hölting Nilsson and Andersson are a team on the rise in the international scene and started delivering results this year, taking silver in the Elite event in Gstaad. Pfretzschner and Winter were excellent in 2024 and had a little bit of a drop in form this season, but they can compete with anyone, especially in their home sand. Elazar and Cuzmiciov have helped Israeli beach volleyball step up at the international level, winning multiple medals in Beach Pro Tour Futures events over the last two years, but are probably still a tier below their pool opponents.

It will be a surprise if Bryl and Łosiak don’t advance in first place, but both Hölting Nilsson/Andersson and Pfretzschner/Winter have what it takes to take them down if they’re on a good day. Elazar and Cumiciov have very limited chances of advancing, but will be ready to cause an upset if they have a chance.

Pool H

Teams: Paul Henning/Lui Wüst (Germany), Timo Hammarberg/Tim Berger (Austria), Gianluca Dal Corso/Marco Viscovich (Italy) and Adrián Gavira/Alejandro Huerta (Spain)

Pool H is probably the most unpredictable in the entire tournament, as all teams could rank anywhere from first to fourth with no surprise. The top-seeded Henning and Wüst will have the home fans behind them and have delivered the best results on the Beach Pro Tour, slightly standing out as the favorites to finish first.

The 2022 U20 European champions, young Austrians Hammarberg and Berger have displayed consistent progress at the international level over the last two seasons. Dal Corso and Viscovich will be back together after enjoying some success as partners at the Futures level in 2023 and 2024 and will fight hard for a spot in the next round. The vast experience of Gavira could be a factor for the Spanish, but they will need to overcome his long inactivity in their first tournament as partners to make a splash.

The Spanish start a little bit behind the other teams because of their very limited time together on the court, but that could all change with a victory in their opening match. Germans seem to be better positioned to lead the pool, but young and audacious Austrians and Italians will also aim for the top.