An Inside Look at the Gstaad Major

Gstaad Five Star – Beach Major Series

• Gstaad, Switzerland
• July 9-15, 2018
• Schedule/Results
• Live Streaming

Some of the biggest beach volleyball names in the world will make their way to Gstaad, Switzerland for the second of three 2018 FIVB Beach Major tournaments. The field is such an elite group that 12 Olympians must play their way through the qualifiers.

Here we break down the tournament, its past winners and the 2018 field.

The Details

• The Gstaad Major is called the Major in the Mountains as Gstaad, Switzerland sits 3,444 feet (1,050 meters) above sea level
• This is the fourth straight year the FIVB has played an event in Gstaad
• The winning team receives a golden cowbell

The Lineup

• Three Brazilian men’s teams and three women’s pairs from the United States had to play in country quota matches to determine the final members of the qualification field.
• 31 men’s teams and 27 women’s teams will play in single elimination qualifying tournaments with the top eight per gender moving on to the Main Draw
• 32 teams per gender participate in the main draw pool play followed by a single elimination tournament
• Four teams each from Brazil and the United States highlight the men’s main draw field.
• Five American women’s pairs are among the 32 main draw teams.
• Notably missing from the field are Brazilians Fernanda Alves/Barbara Seixas, who won the Fort Lauderdale Major gold in March. The pair withdrew earlier this week and were replaced by Carol Horta/Taiana Lima.

Standout Performers

• 12 Olympic veterans are among the qualifying field
  • 8 Men: Ben Saxton (Canada), Marco Grimalt/Esteban Grimalt (Chile), Juan Virgen/Lombardo Ontiveros (Mexico), Mariusz Prudel (Poland), Cherif Younousse (Qatar), and Raul Mesa (Spain)
  • 4 Women: Ana Gallay (Argentina), Kinga Kolosinska (Poland) and Liliana Fernandez/Elsa Baquerizo (Spain)
• American Kerri Walsh Jennings will be making her 14th appearance in Gstaad, this time as a wildcard entry. Walsh Jennings has won six previous titles (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2012), all with Misty May-Treanor. A gold at the 2018 Gstaad Major would tie Walsh Jennings with Brazilian Emanuel Rego for the most gold medals by an individual at a single event.
• Brazil’s Vitor Felipe/Evandro Goncalves Oliveira are the top seed in the men’s main draw.
• Canadians Melissa Humana-Paredes/Sarah Pavan and Heather Bansley/Brandie Wilkerson are the top two seeds in the women’s main draw.
• 2017 champions Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena and Chantal Laboureur/Julia Sude are among the tournament field.

2018 Beach Major Series

• The first stop on the 2018 Beach Major Series was in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from Feb. 26 to March 4.
• Americans Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena won the men’s gold, besting Italy’s Paolo Nicolai/Daniele Lupo.
• Brazil’s Barbara/Fernanda topped countrywomen Taiana Lima/Carol Horta for the women’s gold.
• Next up on the Beach Major Series is the Vienna Major, set for July 31 to August 5.

A Look Back at Gstaad History

• 2017
  • Men:
    • Gold: Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena (USA)
    • Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak (Poland)
    • Saymon/Alvaro (Brazil)
  • Women:
    • Gold: Chantal Laboureur/Julia Sude (Germany)
    • Silver: Larissa/Talita (Brazil)
    • Bronze: Melissa Humana-Paredes/Sarah Pavan (Canada)
• 2016
  • Men:
    • Gold: Pedro Solberg/Evandro (Brazil)
    • Silver: Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena (USA)
    • Bronze: Janis Smedins/Aleksandrs Samoilovs (Latvia)
  • Women:
    • Gold: Larissa/Talita (Brazil)
    • Silver: Kerri Walsh Jennings/April Ross (USA)
    • Bronze: Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst (Germany)
• 2015
  • Men:
    • Gold: Alison/Bruno Schmidt (Brazil)
    • Silver: Smedins/Samoilovs (Latvia)
    • Bronze: Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen (Netherlands)
  • Women:
    • Gold: Larissa/Talita (Brazil)
    • Silver: Taina Lima/Fernanda Alves (Brazil)
    • Bronze: Sarah Pavan/Heather Bansley (Canada)