Swiss duo Krattiger and Breer recount emotional rollercoaster in King of the Court Final

The many fans following the men’s grand finale of the King of the Court European Finals in Luxembourg witnessed something quite unexpected and dramatic on Saturday night. Marco Krattiger and Florian Breer of Switzerland thought their campaign had ended with the second round – but they eventually contested the last stage of the competition following the withdrawal of Czechia’s Ondrej Perusic due to injury. It was a rollercoaster of emotions for the Swiss tandem, as they went from real frustration to the need to re-focus as quickly as possible as the continental crown was at stake. Marco and Florian eventually finished the competition in a highly respectable second place behind Germany’s Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler.

“I was extremely frustrated after failing to score the point that we so badly needed at the end of the second round,” Marco recounts. “Everything did happen quite quickly since we were not aware of Ondrej’s injury, and we were only told that he was unable to continue to play just after the end of the second round and right before the big final was about to start.”

On one hand, the Swiss had one extra, rather unexpected opportunity to stay in the competition. On the other, they would have rather wished to reach the final on their own merits, and not following somebody else’s injury. “We did not want to receive any present, so to speak, and this feeling of frustration did somehow impact us at least in the early stages of the final,” they agree.

With fans cheering them on from the stands, Florian and Marco still did very much help deliver a real show on Saturday night. “We really enjoy the King of the Court format. We have heard from friends and fans that they enjoy it more than ‘traditional’ Beach Volleyball. It is easy to follow and to understand, and a very good way to promote our sport,” they say. “What I especially like is the feeling that we somehow belong all together, the organisers, the teams, and the fans. It does feel like one big family, and this is something you do not get to experience just as much elsewhere,” Marco adds.

Breer and Krattiger enjoyed their first visit to Luxembourg, where an event of this calibre was held for the first time. “It was extremely cool, even though the stadium was maybe smaller than in Utrecht or Hamburg, it was extremely cosy and the fans, especially on Saturday, were able to create a great atmosphere,” Florian comments. “It is a bit crazy to think that such an event had never taken place in Luxembourg before, but people looked pumped and I am sure that they did enjoy themselves,” Marco adds.

This unique combination of competitive sport and show has also to do with the rules specifically introduced for the King of the Court format. Would the silver medal winners from Luxembourg 2023 suggest any changes to the current format? “I think the 15 minutes available for the first round, which involves as many as five teams, are maybe a bit too short, and we could think of extending that slot to 20 minutes. Other than this, the 15-minute slot works just fine for the second and third rounds. Overall, it certainly helps and makes a difference to start any round from the king’s side,” Florian says.

Krattiger and Breer did not only finish second in the final standing, as they did also win the prize for the longest stay on the king’s side, amassing 12 points in a row. “Obviously, it would be nice to achieve such thing in a traditional match, but you cannot make any comparison, since in such a case we spent 12 rallies always playing the role of the receiving team and on top of this, the team standing on the other side of the net did change constantly. It is difficult to transfer any such dynamic from this format to ‘traditional’ Beach Volleyball,” Florian explains, without however diminishing the value and relevance of their impressive achievement.

Right after the event in Luxembourg, Florian and Marco drove back to Switzerland where they are due to contest the much-anticipated event in Gstaad later this week. “We certainly take many positives with us from the experience in Luxembourg and we hope to improve on the fifth place we claimed in Gstaad last year,” they say. Switzerland has been a major force to reckon with in Beach Volleyball for many years, but their men’s teams are still a bit shy of the international elite. “Beach Volleyball as a sport continues to develop at a very fast pace, technically and physically as well. There are many ways to make it to the top and if you observe the best teams in the world, they all have developed their distinctive style,” Florian stresses.

Florian and Marco have now been playing together since the end of 2020. “I think we have shown multiple times that we can compete with the top teams in the world, but we need more consistency at that level in order to bridge the gap with the elite, with less highs and lows in our performances,” Marco adds. The unexpected chance to play for the crown in Luxembourg resulted in a silver medal to enrich their CV – but Marco and Florian are hungry for a lot more success, and we’ll see how far their ambition will take them already in Gstaad later this week when they return to ‘traditional’ Beach Volleyball on home soil…