Beach Pro Tour 2022 - News

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Mol & Sorum celebrate at the Cape Town Elite16

Beach volleyball fans can look forward to an exciting finale of the inaugural Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour with a stellar line-up of men’s teams set to battle for the title of champions in Doha from January 26 through 29.

· Watch all matches at the Beach Pro Tour Finals in Doha live on Volleyball TV.

Mol/Sorum (Norway)

The entry list for The Finals is headlined by Anders Mol and Christian Sorum, who are the reigning world and Olympic champions and the number one team in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Ranking. In addition to winning the Beach Volleyball World Championships in Rome in June, the Norwegians topped the podium at three Elite16 events – in Ostrava, Paris and Cape Town. At another two Elite16 tournaments, in Rosarito and Uberlandia, they took bronze, an achievement they repeated at the 2022 CEV European Championship in Munich. At the end of the 2021 season, Mol and Sorum won the last edition of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Finals in Cagliari.

Cherif/Ahmed (Qatar)

The home crowd in Qatar will serve as an additional inspiration for the pairing of Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medallists started the season as World Ranking leaders. They won the first Elite16 event on the Beach Pro Tour, in Rosarito in March. Then the Qataris added three more medals to their 2022 collection - a gold at the Maldives Challenge, a silver at the Jurmala Elite16 and a bronze at the Cape Town Elite16. They also won a continental title at the 2022 AVC Asian Championship in Bandar Abbas.

Brouwer/Meeuwsen (Netherlands)

Another pair of Olympic bronze medallists, but from Rio 2016, will compete in Doha. Experienced Dutchmen Alexander Brouwer (33) and Robert Meeuwsen (34) have one thing missing from their 2022 record, which they will try to make up for at the Finals. And that is a gold medal. In their Beach Pro Tour campaign, Brouwer and Meeuwsen collected four Elite16 medals – silvers in Rosarito, Hamburg and Paris and bronze in Ostrava. The Dutch team were number one in the world for a week in May.

Andre/George (Brazil)

Brazil’s Andre Loyola Stein and George Wanderley were on top of the World Ranking from late May until early October. They won two Beach Pro Tour gold medals in 2022, both of them at home, in Brazil. In addition to topping the podium at the Itapema Challenge and the Uberlandia Elite16, Andre and George took a place on the podium at the Jurmala Elite16 with bronze. They also won bronze at the World Championships in Rome.

Bryl/Losiak (Poland)

In their first season together, Polish Olympians Michal Bryl and Bartosz Losiak topped a Beach Pro Tour podium as many as four times. In fact, every time they medalled it was to take gold. They won the inaugural event in Mexico, March’s Challenge tournament in Tlaxcala, and followed up with gold medals at the Doha Challenge, the Espinho Challenge and the Hamburg Elite16.

Nicolai/Cottafava (Italy)

34-year-old Paolo Nicolai, a three-time Olympian and a Rio 2016 silver medallist, teamed up with Samuele Cottafava, a player ten years younger, for the start of the 2022 season. The new Italian duo collected a full set of medals on the Beach Pro Tour - a Jurmala Elite16 gold, a Doha Challenge silver and a Paris Elite16 bronze.

Perusic/Schweiner (Czech Republic)

For Czech Olympians Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner, 2022 was coloured in silver. They reached a final four times during the year, but they always had to settle for second place. Their Beach Pro Tour record includes silver medals from the Itapema Challenge, the Ostrava Elite16 and the Gstaad Elite16. The Czechs also finished second at EuroBeachVolley in Munich.

Marco Grimalt/Esteban Grimalt (Chile)

33-year-old Marco Grimalt and 32-year-old Esteban Grimalt will also compete at the Beach Pro Tour Finals in Doha. In 2022, the Chilean cousins and two-time Olympians won an Elite16 gold in Gstaad. They are a very experienced side, but had not been able to qualify for the Finals of the global circuit in previous seasons.

Renato/Vitor Felipe (Brazil)

There will be a second Brazilian pair competing in Doha. In 2022, Renato Lima and Vitor Felipe won a single medal from a major world-level tournament, but it was at the most prestigious competition, the World Championships in Rome, where they finished second.

Ranghieri/Carambula (Italy)

There will also be a second Italian duo in Doha. 35-year-old Olympian Alex Ranghieri and 34-year-old two-time Olympian Adrian Carambula spent most of the 2022 season with different partners, but after they teamed up in November, they made the podiums at both Beach Pro Tour events they played at together, claiming silver at the Torquay Challenge and bronze at the Torquay Elite16.