Challenge - Warmia Mazury, POL - 2025

Immers and Luini continue their successful debut in Poland

In their first tournament together, the Dutch made it to the Round of 16 as one of the pool winners

Published 03:09, 27 Jun 2025

BPT Challenge - Stare Jablonki #48492268

Luini and Immers won their first two matches in Warmia Mazury without dropping sets

Playing together for the first time on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour, Matthew Immers and Leon Luini are guaranteed at least a top-ten finish at this week’s Challenge event held in Warmia Mazury after they topped their pool on Friday.

The Dutch secured one of the eight spots in the Round of 16 of the men’s tournament held at Anders Hotel Beach and will start their journey in the elimination rounds of the event on Saturday – seven other duos also got to skip the Round of 24 after going undefeated in pool play.

Watch the Beach Pro Tour Warmia Mazury Challenge live on VBTV

Immers, a Paris 2024 Olympian, and Luini, a 2023 European Championship silver medalist, started the season with other partners, but joined forces for this week’s event in Poland, which they entered as the 21^st-seeded team in the main draw.

The Dutch were drawn into Pool E alongside three Austrian duos and had to beat two of them to make it to the Round of 16, topping Christopher Dressler and Philipp Waller 2-0 (21-16, 21-14) on Thursday and Tim Berger and Timo Hammarberg also in two sets (21-13, 21-16) on Friday in the pool final.

Hammarberg/Berger T. vs. Luini/Immers - Match Highlights, 06/27/2025

In the Round of 16, the Dutch will face the home team of Michal Bryl and Bartosz Łosiak, who defeated Australian Olympians Thomas Hodges and Zachery Schubert 2-1 (24-26, 21-18, 15-12) in the Round of 24.

The Polish Olympians played in the Pool A final, but fell to German Olympic medalists Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler in straight sets (23-21, 21-12). In the Round of 16, Ehlers and Wickler will face Brazilians Vitor Felipe and Gustavo ‘Guto’ Carvalhaes, who eliminated the Chilean Grimalt cousins Marco and Esteban in the tie-breaker (19-21, 22-20, 15-9).

Olympic champions face Austrians

Reigning Olympic champions David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig of Sweden also advanced directly to the Round of 16 in Warmia Mazury after they swept (21-14, 21-18) compatriots Jacob Hölting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson in Pool B. The two will now play Berger and Hammaberg, who prevailed over Brazilians George Wanderley and Saymon Barbosa in the tie-breaker (18-21, 21-19, 15-10).

Canadians Sam Schachter and Jonathan Pickett emerged as the top team in Pool C after their two-set (22-20, 21-18) victory over Polish Piotr Kantor and Filip Lejawa. Their next opponents will be Germans Paul Henning and Lui Wüst, who eliminated Hölting Nilsson and Andersson with a three-set (13-21, 21-17, 16-14) victory in the Round of 24.

Swiss Marco Krattiger and Leo Dillier made it to the Round of 16 from Pool D, where they defeated Brazilians Pedro Oliveira and Renato Lima 2-1 (21-19, 20-22, 15-12) for first place. The Europeans will now fight another Brazilian team, the one of Heitor Benitto and Vinicius Freitas, which knocked Czechs Jakub Sepka and Jiri Sedlak out in two sets (22-20, 21-19) in the Round of 24, for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Pedro /Renato vs. Krattiger/Dillier - Match Highlights, 06/27/2025

Israelis Eylon Elazar and Kevin Cuzmiciov overcame the Czechs in the tie-breaker (21-19, 18-21, 15-10) to finish first in Pool F and will now play against Pedro and Renato, who came back to beat Italians Alex Ranghieri and Manuel Alfieri in straight sets (21-17, 21-13) in the Round of 24.

French Téo Rotar and Arnaud Gauthier-Rat advanced to the Round of 16 as the best team in Pool G following their two-set (21-16, 21-14) victory over the Grimalt cousins. Their next opponents in Poland will be Swiss Adrian Heidrich and Jonathan Jordan, who swept (21-19, 21-18) American Olympians Miles Evans and Chase Budinger in the Round of 24.

The eighth and last Round of 16 duel will have Ukrainians Sergiy Popov and Eduard Reznik, who won Pool H with a three-set (18-21, 21-16, 15-12) victory over Evans and Budinger, and Kantor and Lejawa, who continued alive after they swept (21-18, 21-17) Dressler and Waller in the Round of 24.