Who rules the courts at the season finale 2024?

After the top international teams spent the entire season collecting points, the ultimate elite teams competed one last time for 2024 at the Queen & King of the Court Crown Series Finals from December 12 to 14 in Doha. With teams such as Ehlers/Wickler, silver medalists from Paris 2024; the Bello brothers, winners of the Elite16 in Rio; and Müller/Tillmann, the 2024 European Champions among the women, beach volleyball fans once again got their money's worth!

Additional excitement was guaranteed by the well-known Queen & King of the Court format, where each match consists of three rounds of 15 minutes. Five teams play simultaneously on the Challenger side and the Queen/King side, with points only being scored on the latter. After each round, the team with the fewest points is eliminated, while the remaining teams have the chance to advance.

After Wickler/Ehlers excelled in two out of three rounds in Group A with the highest score, they secured a direct ticket to the grand finale. At the same time, Austria's newly formed team, Dressler/Waller, and the provisional team, Samoilovs/Winter, celebrated their solid performances as second and third in the final round, earning a spot in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, Group B was thrilling until the very end. After a surprising early exit in Round 1 for the Bello brothers, who managed just one point, and a tight race between second, third, and fourth place, European champion Plavins and his interim partner Tocs emerged victorious in the third round with the most points, advancing directly to the final. Aye/Bassereau and Van de Velde/De Groot secured second and third place, moving on to the semifinals.

In the play-off, the last-placed teams from Rounds 1 and 2 of Groups A and B faced off one last time for a chance to claim a semifinal spot. The Bellos managed to build on their impressive performance from recent tournaments, advancing decisively to the semifinals with 19 points.

In the semifinals, the teams with the most points in each round qualified for the grand final. In the first round of the final, Van de Velde/De Groot, Aye/Bassereau, Bello/Bello, Wickler/Ehlers, and Plavins/Tocs faced off one last time. Van de Velde/De Groot stood out, leading the table across all three rounds and crowning themselves the final Kings of the Court 2024. After a shaky start in the final, Wickler/Ehlers recovered and finished just two points behind the winners, securing second place. Lastly, Aye/Bassereau earned a well-deserved bronze medal.

The women’s tournament was similarly thrilling and served as a final showdown for the season. In Group A, Tillmann/Müller, Samoilova/Wachowicz, and Kotnik/Van Driel alternated in the top three spots across three rounds, automatically qualifying for the final or semifinals. 
In Group B, Stam/Bekhuis dominated and advanced directly to the final with a five-point lead. Placette/Ittlinger and Quiggle/Loreen secured second and third place, earning spots in the semifinals.

In the play-off, Olimstad/Tunby-Lunde overcame a difficult start in the group stage and delivered their best performance, advancing to the semifinals as first place finishers.

Once there, alongside the group stage winners, Placette/Ittlinger, Samoilova/Wachowicz, and Quiggle/Loreen advanced to the grand final with consistently strong performances across all rounds.

In the final, the interim duo Placette/Ittlinger held second place for two rounds before shining in the third, crowning themselves the Queens of the Court 2024 with a five-point lead. For Tillmann/Müller, who had achieved their best result yet with third place in Luxembourg, second place in Doha marked a triumphant conclusion to their season. Stam/Berkhuis completed the podium in third place and also proved to be the team with by far the longest stay on the Queen side.