After hosting a pair of Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Challenge events in Itapema and Saquarema, Brazil is now set to welcome the top beach volleyball players on the planet with an Elite16 tournament set to take place in Uberlândia from April 26-30.

The tournament held at Praia Clube, a club that for years has had one of the top women’s volleyball teams in the country, will feature 28 men’s teams during the five days of action, with the 12 best-ranked duos starting directly in the main draw while the remaining 16 tandems will need to fight for the final four spots in the main phase of the event on Wednesday’s qualifier.

• Watch the Beach Pro Tour Uberlândia Elite16 live or on demand on VBTV.

As many as 16 different countries will be represented by at least one team in the Uberlândia Elite16 and the men’s field in Brazil will include nine duos that stepped on the podium at least once in the 2023 Beach Pro Tour season.

Beach Pro Tour Uberlândia Elite16 - Men's Entry List

Here are four four teams that already had some success this season and will compete in Uberlândia:

Mol/Sørum (Norway)

The reigning Olympic and world champions, Anders Mol and Christian Sørum won the first Elite16 event of the season, held in Doha, Qatar, in February. The Beach Volley Vikings have only another appearance in the 2023 season so far, in the Tepic Elite16, in Mexico, where they took silver. The Norwegians were third in last year’s Uberlândia Elite16 and will look to continue their podium streak on the Beach Pro Tour in the Brazilian event.

Åhman/Hellvig (Sweden)

Swedish wonderkids David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig also appeared in the finals of both Elite16 tournaments held in 2023, falling to Mol and Sørum in Doha and beating the Norwegians several weeks later in Tepic. The entertaining 21-year-olds have also played in the La Paz Challenge, in Mexico, where they finished ninth.

Herrera/Gavira (Spain)

Spanish veterans Pablo Herrera, 40, and Adrián Gavira, 35, returned to the top of the podium at the international level after almost five years with their victory at the La Paz Challenge, in March. The seasoned Europeans also played in the Doha Elite16, in February, and the Itapema Challenge, in April, finishing fifth in both events.

Andre/George (Brazil)

Last year’s FIVB World Championship bronze medallists Andre Loyola and George Wanderley became the first Brazilian team to win a medal on the Beach Pro Tour in 2023 with their recent victory in Itapema, which was their third-straight in international events held in the city. The winners of last year’s Uberlândia Elite16 tournament, the two were ninth in the Doha Elite16 and didn’t make out of the qualifier in Tepic, finishing 17^th.

Quick links:
Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour 2023
VBTV
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube