The four-star event in Ostrava saw four new Brazilian tandems debut – let’s check how each of them did!

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Evandro and Vitor Felipe were the most successful Brazilian team in Czech Republic, finishing fifth (Photocredit: FIVB)

European teams topped the podiums in both genders in the four-star World Tour tournament in Ostrava last week, but some Brazilian duos also drew massive attention from those following the event in the Czech Republic.

That’s because it was the first time the new formations of the country’s men’s teams were put to test after the huge shuffle that affected them one month ago and beach volleyball fans around the globe were anxious to see what each of them could do.

If you were living under a rock, Alison Cerutti and Bruno Schmidt have split, with the first joining world champion Andre Loyola and the second resuming his previous partnership with Pedro Solberg. Evandro Goncalves and George Wanderley, who were Andre’s and Pedro’s partners, picked Vitor Felipe and Thiago Barbosa, respectively. And don’t forget that Guto Cavalhaes and the legendary Ricardo Santos joined forces as well, but they will only debut together this week in Warsaw.

Now that you are updated, let’s check how each of these teams did in Ostrava:

Evandro & Vitor Felipe – 5th

The 2017 world champion and the 2015 Pan-American Games silver medalists shared the same side of the court for the first time since 2014 and they had a solid start, with straight-sets victories over Czech Republic’s Dumek and Bercik, Canada’s Pedlow and Schachter and the Netherlands’ Varenhorst and Bouter. Their run ended in the quarterfinals by the hands of one of the hottest teams of the tournament, Czech Republic’s Perusic/Schweiner, who fed from the energy of the fans to grab the semifinal spot.

“It was really cool playing with Vitor again,” Evandro told beachmajorseries.com. “We think our result was positive and the good part is that we still have so much to improve. That’s what we are working for every day on practice. We are both a lot more experienced than we were when we first played together and our ceiling is so much higher now.”

PARTIU, POLÔNIA!!!! Encerramos nossa participação na etapa de Ostrava (Rep. Tcheca) na quinta colocação, com 4 jogos e 3 vitórias. O trabalho é diário!! Vamos evoluindo a cada treino, a cada jogo!! Agora é seguir viagem para Varsóvia!! A etapa começa nesta quinta-feira!! Vamos juntos!!! Obrigado a todos pela torcida!! 🏐🏐 #EquipeEvandroeVitor #volei #voleibol #voleidepraia #beachvolley #beachvolleyball #worldtour #circuitomundial #varsovia #polônia #4star #fivb #cbv #ctleblon #rumoatoquio #toquio2020 #olimpíada #umsóobjetivo #vamosjuntos #torcidabrasil #cimed #cimedesportes #cimedsemlimites #voxxsuplementos #congeladosdasonia #caprres #bolsaatleta #marinhadobrasil #exercitobrasileiro #prefeituradorio

270 Likes, 7 Comments - Evandro e Vitor Felipe (@evandroevitor_oficial) on Instagram: "PARTIU, POLÔNIA!!!! Encerramos nossa participação na etapa de Ostrava (Rep. Tcheca) na quinta..."

Pedro Solberg & Bruno Schmidt – 9th

The Rio 2016 Olympians were another team reunited again after some time as they had first played together between 2012 and 2013, when they won the Brazilian Tour and a pair of World Tour events. Their first match in the tournament was not a good one, though, as they were surprised by fellow Brazilians George and Thiago, who claimed the two-set victory.

Having to win to avoid elimination, the team displayed the “annoying” spirit Bruno told us about and grinded for three-set triumphs over the Chilean Grimalt cousins and Canadians Pedlow and Schachter. The chemistry of Poland’s Bartosz Losiak and Piotr Kantor, who have played together since 2009, was too much for the veterans, though, and they settled for a ninth-place finish in Ostrava.

The run of Pedro and Bruno in Ostrava was ended by Brouwer and Meeuwsen in the Round of 16 (Photocredit: FIVB)

Alison & Andre – 17th

The Olympic and the world champion’s union started with a comfortable victory over Czech Republic’s Lenc and Habr. In their next match, however, they failed to claim first place in their group as they fell in three sets to Poland’s Fijalek and Bryl. As a result, the elimination draw was merciless for them, pairing them against Dutchmen Brouwer and Meeuwsen, one of the most successful teams in the season. The 2-0 setback ended Alison and Andre's journey in the event in the 17th place.

“I am very happy and excited to play with Alison. He is the best blocker in the world and I am a defender. It is easy to play with him,” Andre said during the tournament. “But we need to play more in order to play better."

After a win in their debut, Alison and Andre struggled with back-to-back setbacks (Photocredit: FIVB)

George & Thiago – 17th

If a new teams needs to play to improve, George and Thiago, who first were partners between 2016 and 2017, should be en route for notorious progress as they played as many as five matches in Ostrava. The first two games came in the qualification tournament, where they cruised past Turkey’s Urlu and Mermer and pulled a three-set win over Russia’s Yarzutkin and Sivolap.

Their main draw campaign started on the right foot with a 2-0 victory over fellow Brazilians Pedro Solberg and Bruno Schmidt. They had no chance against another Russian team, the one of Stoyanovskiy and Velichko, and faced their first setback in the event. A defeat against Latvia’s Plavins and Tocs ended their hopes with a 17th-place finish.

Perdemos nosso jogo ontem pela repescagem e estamos fora do torneio. Buscar evoluir e ajeitar o que fizemos de errado. Vamos nessa! @ctcangacovoleidepraia @multilaser_br @atacadaodoseletros @exercitobrasileirooficial @cde.brasil #claro #embratel #todentro

493 Likes, 5 Comments - George Wanderley (@georgesmw) on Instagram: "Perdemos nosso jogo ontem pela repescagem e estamos fora do torneio. Buscar evoluir e ajeitar o que..."