The Joao Pessoa Elite16 men’s beach volleyball tournament has reached its dramatic semifinal stage, following a series of high-stakes matches and unexpected upsets in Brazil. This leg of the Beach Pro Tour has delivered intense action with several top-seeded pairs falling sooner than expected.
Semifinal Lineup
Only four pairs remain in contention for the title:
- Evandro Oliveira & Arthur Lanci (Brazil)
- Stefan Boermans & Yorick de Groot (Netherlands)
- Remi Bassereau & Calvin Aye (France)
- Steven van de Velde & Alexander Brouwer (Netherlands)
The highlight of Saturday’s competition came with a major upset: World No. 1 duo Anders Mol and Christian Sorum of Norway were knocked out in straight sets (22-20, 21-16) by the Dutch team of Boermans and De Groot.
Road to the Semifinals
- Evandro Oliveira and Arthur Lanci advanced by defeating Portuguese qualifiers Joao Pedrosa and Hugo Campos, followed by a dominant win over compatriots Vinicius Freitas and Heitor Barbosa.
- Boermans and De Groot, after beating the world’s top team, now prepare to face the in-form Brazilian pair.
- French qualifiers Remi Bassereau and Calvin Aye impressed with a series of victories that began in the qualification rounds and included a win over the Boermans-De Groot team and a dramatic three-set triumph against Austria’s Timo Hammarberg and Tim Berger.
- Van de Velde and Brouwer have been steady, advancing with two consecutive straight-set victories, the latest over Pedrosa and Campos.
What’s Next
The tournament concludes on Sunday with medal matches:
- Bronze medal match: 15:00 local time
- Final: 17:00 local time
This Elite16 event continues to highlight not only the endurance of seasoned professionals but also the emergence of new contenders eager to make a lasting impact on the global beach volleyball stage.
