Tribune News Network
Doha
There was a first in Queen & King of the Court history in Doha as three Kings were crowned during the Queen and King of the court Beach Volleyball Finals 2024 at the Aspire Zone on Saturday night.
Stefan Boermans had to drop out of the final after two rounds to be replaced by countryman Steven van de Velde. He and Yorick de Groot won, in a unique result in the sport.
Boermans was well on his way to his first-ever crown. He and Yorick de Groot had gathered the most points in the first two rounds, but just before the second round came to a stop Boermans injured his groin.
He was unable to continue, leaving the organization with a spot to fill. It’s within Queen & King of the Court regulation to introduce a different player. Steven van de Velde, who was outside the stadium playing a game for fun, came to his aid.
Van de Velde was surprisingly sharp, he and De Groot ran to ten points quite early.
The comeback of Clemens Wickler and Nils Ehlers (Kings of 2023 in Doha) was stopped in time and thus came about the unprecedented situation of crowning three Kings. Wickler and Ehlers won the silver, the bronze medal went the way of France’s Calvin Aye and Remi Bassereau.
On the women’s side, Lezana Placette and Sandra Ittlinger claimed the crown after a tight final in which they beat their German and Dutch opponents.
Placette and Ittlinger normally feature on opposite sides of the net.
But this time they teamed up for Doha and made it count. In the final round they ousted two teams that made the final directly from the Group Stage: Germany’s Cinja Tillmann and Svenja Muller and Dutchies Katja Stam and Wies Bekhuis.
This is the second crown for Ittlinger, who won the 2021 Finals with Isabel Schneider. Placette is on the top step of the podium for the first time, after having won silver and bronze earlier.
It was the fourth time the Queen & King of the Court Finals were held in the Aspire Zone, Doha.
Final Stadings
Men: 1.Stefan Boermans / Yorick de Groot / Steven van de Velde (NED); 2. Clemens Wickler / Nils Ehlers (GER); 3. Calvin Aye / Rémi Bassereau (FRA)
Women: 1. Lezana Placette (FRA) / Sandra Ittlinger (GER); 2. Cinja Tillmann / Svenja Müller (GER); 3. Katja Stam / Wies Bekhuis (NED).
