SWATCH FIVB Mazury Orlen 2010 - Men’s Qualification Tournament, the top-seeded pairs claim victory
After the Qualification Tournament, the successful teams at the 7th annual SWATCH FIVB Mazury Orlen Grand Slam Tournament entered the main draw phase in the men’s section. This is the first time in history of the tournament at Stare Jablonki that top eight-seeded beach volleyball teams progressed from the Qualification Tournament to the main draw on the third-day of the festival. Women are already one step ahead in the tournament, since women’s competitions started on Monday, 2nd August 2010. They smartly played the “money” rounds, while the men were busy in the Qualification Tournament.
A total of 32 teams, which were divided into eight pools, entered the men’s main draw. As per schedule, the top three teams from each group advanced to next stage of 24-team elimination bracket.
The “final four” matches of the Mazuy Orlen Grand Slam 2010 on the last day of tournament will conclude the top three spots for this event’s winners. The tournament will be concluded on Sunday 8th August 2010. Men’s semi-finals and medal matches are to be featured in Hotel Anders. The top-seeded Brazilian pair, Harley Marques and Pedro Salgado took a lead in the Qualification Tournament matches and smashed a brilliant triumph over their competitors. Harley Marques and Pedro Salgado had previously captured the SWATCH FIVB World Tour gold medal in China. The pair has made good progress over the past years and it is the duo’s 10th international title in China. The gold medal in the previous SWATCH FIVB events helped them grab number 8 rank on the all-time list of beach volleyball players.
The defending champion of Mazury Orlen Grand Slam title, Pedro Salgado, was paired with Benjamin Insfran, last year. The partnership was great, as it enabled and empowered them to win the 2009 Orlen title together. In fact, Brazil’s performance is exceptionally well in the tournament. Their players have won five gold medals in the previous events at Stare Jablonki. Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos captured four Mazury gold medals in 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008, respectively. With Pedro Salgado and Benjamin Insfran pulling off victory in the SWATCH FIVB 2009; they added one more gold medal to the Brazilian collection.
Emanuel Rego got injured last year and skipped the Stare Jablonki event, which offered a great chance to Pedro’s team to catch the highest spot in the absence of defending champions. This season, Emanuel is back in action but he is playing with a different partner. Currently he is paired with Alison Cerutti and they are second ranked team on SWATCH FIVB World Tour. The highest spot is absorbed by American Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers.
Other than Brazil, teams from United States, Switzerland, France, Spain, Estonia, Latvia, and Austria succeeded in the Qualification matches and qualified for the main draw matches. These matches led them one step forward for the “money” round matches.
The extreme fury will be seen if the defending champion of Mazury title, the Brazilian pair and the winners of last SWATCH FIVB A-1 Grand Slam in Klagenfurt, Dalhausser and Rogers of U.S.A clash in the final match. The final day of the tournament is approaching and anxiety is building high. The seventh SWATCH FIVB event will announce the victorious pairs on Sunday, 8th August 2010.
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