Pelhrimov, Czech Republic, January 14, 2018.  Fifth-seeded Dutchmen Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen triumphed with the men’s gold at the 2018 CEV Beach Volleyball European Masters in Pelhrimov. For the 2013 world champions, this is the first European Masters title ever. They deserved it in a hard-fought final against top seeds Piotr Kantor and Bartosz Losiak from Poland.

Having lost their very first match in the main draw, Brouwer and Meeuwsen survived through four consecutive tie-breaker matches, including the 2-1 (16-21, 21-12, 15-10) come-from-behind victory over second-seeded Austrians Clemens Doppler and Alexander Horst in the semis, to end up in the big final. In front of the sold-out stands around the indoor centre court at the Beachwell, the Dutchmen pulled off a 24-22 win in the first set after trailing on the scoreboard for the most part. In the second, they were ahead most of the time, but the Poles did not allow them a lot of breathing space. Once again, it went into overtime, and once again, Brouwer and Meeuwsen showed more character in the money time for a 22-20 close and a straight-set victory – the first of the tournament.

“That was not an easy tournament. We played a lot of tie-breaks," Alexander Brouwer said. "But we are excited and happy, because there really were many of the world's top teams here.”

"If every indoor tournament had such an atmosphere as this one, there could be many more of these and Beach Volleyball would really become an all-season sport," Robert Meeuwsen added.

Kantor and Losiak, on the other hand, had not lost a single set in the four matches they played in Pelhrimov before the final. "It is tough when you lose only two sets, both of them in the final and both very closely! But we had a good tournament," Bartosz Losiak said. "The atmosphere at the Beachwell was great. Especially when there was only one court left, it is absolutely superb," Piotr Kantor added.

Having lost to the top-seeded Poles by 0-2 (13-21, 15-21) in Sunday’s first semifinal, Latvia’s Martins Plavins and Edgars Tocs recovered with a 2-0 (21-14, 21-19) victory over Doppler and Horst in the third place match to claim the bronze.

“We played 14 matches in the last ten days and we are very tired,” 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Plavins said. “We could not get out of our beds in the morning. That is why we played so badly in the semifinal. But we warmed up for the last match and we won a medal!”

“It could be better, but we did not perform well in the semifinal. That's Beach Volleyball - it is a game!” commented Tocs. “We are glad to have won a medal.”

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