Led by Americans Chaim Schalk and James Shaw, who eliminated reigning Olympic champions David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig of Sweden in just their sixth tournament as partners, teams from four different countries advanced to the men’s semifinals of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Elite event held in Quintana Roo, Mexico, on Saturday.

Sunday, the last day of action of the first Elite tournament of the 2025 season, will start at the Playa del Carmen with the semifinals, which will have the Americans facing the Argentinean Capogrosso brothers Nicolas and Tomas at 11:00 local time (16:00 GMT) and Cubans Noslen Diaz and Jorge Alayo meeting the new Dutch team of Alexander Brouwer and Steven van de Velde one hour later. The gold medal match is scheduled for 16:00 local time (21:00 GMT), with the dispute for bronze starting one hour earlier.

• Watch the Beach Pro Tour Quintana Roo Elite live on VBTV

Schalk, 38, and Shaw, 31, produced arguably the most shocking result of the still young Beach Pro Tour season so far in the quarterfinals, when the Americans, who started the tournament in the qualifier, took down Åhman and Hellvig in the tie-breaker (21-19, 13-21, 15-8) to secure their first semifinal appearances as partners. With the upset, the Swedes will miss the podium for just the second time in their last 13 Beach Pro Tour events.

The Americans will now face the Capogrossos for a second-straight day after falling to the South Americans in straight sets (21-17, 22-20) in the Round of 12 earlier on Saturday – Schalk and Shaw still advanced despite the defeat as one of the two best losing sides.

The Argentineans, who ended their 2024 season with a silver medal at the Rio de Janeiro Elite, in November, will go for a second-straight podium appearance on the Beach Pro Tour on Sunday after they overcame German qualifiers Paul Henning and Lui Wüst in their two-set (21-15, 21-15) quarterfinal.

VW Beach Pro Tour Quintana Roo Elite: Match Schedule and Results

Cubans eliminate world champions

The American victory wasn’t, however, the only upset in the quarterfinal round in Quintana Roo. One hour earlier, Cuban Olympians Diaz and Alayo had stunned reigning world champions Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner of Czechia, knocking them out with a 2-1 (16-21, 21-14, 15-11) victory in Mexico.

Earlier, in the Round of 12, the Caribbean had gotten the better of Norwegians Hendrik Mol and Mathias Berntsen, winning in two sets (21-18, 21-17).

Like the Americans, the Scandinavians also advanced to the quarterfinals despite their defeat. They fought for a spot in the semifinals with Brouwer and Van de Velde, who triumphed in a close three-set (19-21, 21-16, 15-11) match. In the Round of 12, the Dutch overcame Polish Olympians Michal Bryl and Bartosz Łosiak 2-0 (21-16, 21-14) to make it the semifinals in their first tournament as partners.

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