The results of the Drawing of Lots

The biggest beach party of the year is getting closer and closer — the Drawing of Lots (DOL) is a clear sign for it. The DOL, that is, the group draw for the A1 CEV EuroBeachVolley Vienna 2023, took place on June 21. You can (re)watch the entire DOL in the recording of our Facebook livestream. All 32 teams per gender were divided into eight groups of four, in which the group matches will be played in modified pool play. The top-seeded team will play the lowest-seeded team in the group, while the second-seeded and third-seeded teams will also meet in the first round.

Naturally, there will be many duos from the top 10 in the world rankings present — read more about the world rankings here.

Naturally, the event features many of the world’s highest ranked players. In Pool C of the women’s competition, Menegatti/Gottardi, currently ranked 10th, will compete against Gonzalez/Guidarelli. In Pool A, Swiss beach stars Hüberli/Brunner, currently ranked 8th in the world, will be up against Ukrainian twins Makhno/Makhno. In Pool G, Reigning European champions and Tokyo Olympic semifinalists Graudina/Samoilova, ranked 7th in the world, will return to the championships to face Ukranians Davidova/Baieva in their first match. Stam/Schoon, former leaders of the world ranking and currently placed 6th, will face Austrians Freiberger/Holzer in Pool B.

Other Austrian fan-favorites that will come (back) to the event include the Klingers, who will compete against the Swiss Duo Bentele/Lutz in Pool H and the new team Schützenhöfer/Friedl in Pool D, up against German beach stars Müller/Tillmann.

In the men’s competition, Pool A is led by Olympians and reigning world champions Mol/Sørum, up against Israel’s Elazar/Ohana. Reigning European champions and the world’s second-highest ranked, Åhman/Hellvig return to Vienna to defend their title, competing against the Dutch duo Varenhorst/Luini first in Pool C. Olympians and currently the world’s number three, Bryl/Losiak will face off against Austrian beach stars Seidl/Pristauz in Pool G. 

Other Austrian beach stars at the event will include Hörl/Horst and Leitner/Pascariuc, who will already face off in the pool matches in Pool H. In Pool D, Waller/Ermacora will play their first match against the French Krou/Gauthier-Rat, and Hammarberg/Berger will face Germans Ehlers/Wickler in Pool F.

Rio 2016 Olympic medallists and number four in the world, Brouwer/Meeuwsen will face Czechia’s Sepka/Semerad in Pool E. Tokyo Olympians Perusic/Schweiner, ranked fifth in the world, will face the Huertas in Pool B. In the same pool, three-time European champions and ranked ninth in the world, Nicolai/Cottafava will face fellow Italians Lupo, Nicolai’s former partner, and Rossi.

We can’t wait to see these and many other beach stars come (back) to Danube Island from August 2-6 — and we hope to see you there too!