The Beach Pro Tour Final in Doha, held from December 4 to 7, was the last major highlight of the tour. The world's best teams battled for the coveted medals one last time this season - in the end, the Norwegian Vikings, Anders Mol and Christian Sørum, and the top American duo Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth celebrated their impressive victories.
The Norwegians Mol/Sørum once again proved why they are among the best in the world. In the final, they faced the Swedish Olympic champions Åhman/Hellvig and delivered a match that was hard to beat in terms of excitement. With a 2:0 victory (21:18, 22:20), the Vikings crowned themselves winners and at the same time took revenge for their defeat at the same venue the previous year. Their path to the title was anything but easy: Two defeats in the group phase - against Brazilians Evandro/Arthur and the Swedes - almost meant their elimination. But the Norwegian duo showed why they have a reputation for shining under pressure. In the final, they fought their way to triumph in two tight sets, supported by Mol's dominant blocks and Sørum's impressive attacking power. In addition to winning the tournament, the Vikings also shone individually: Anders was honoured as the tournament's best blocker with 43 points, while Christian was the second-best attacker.
The small final for bronze also provided a highly exciting duel: the home duo Cherif/Ahmed defeated the Dutch duo Boermans/De Groot in an emotional 2:1 (18:21, 21:15, 17:15) and won the bronze medal with loud support from the crowd. Despite the narrow defeat, De Groot scored the most points in the match with 24.
Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth were the measure of all things in the women's competition. The top American duo confidently defended their Beach Pro Tour title and once again triumphed over their compatriots Cannon and Kraft in the final. With a strong 2:0 victory (21:19, 21:17), they crowned an extraordinary season: twelve medals - including gold at the Elite16 tournaments in Espinho and Gstaad and silver in Brazil.
In the match for third place, Latvia's Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova won 2:0 (24:22, 21:16) against the Chinese duo Xue Chen/Xia Xinyi. The first set in particular was hard-fought, but the Latvians held their nerve in the decisive moments and deservedly secured the bronze medal. This bronze medal is the third they have won this year at an Elite16 tournament in Ostrava and Gstaad.
A turbulent season, including the 2024 Olympics, has come to an end and the beach volleyball world is already looking forward to next season, in which new challenges and even more exciting matches await.
