The 2018-2019 Beach Volleyball World Tour season was another one dominated by the Beach Volley Vikings in the men’s side. Such as in 2017-2018, Anders Mol and Christian Sørum were the team to beat in international beach volleyball and that was reflected in the end-of-season awards, which saw the Norwegians collect six of the nine available trophies.
The Vikings were voted by coaches and players as the Most Outstanding Team of the season, a fair assessment considering they won as many as seven World Tour gold medals in 2018-2019. They were also the most successful team in the Beach Major Series as they took gold at both the Gstaad and Vienna Majors for a second consecutive season and secured bronze at the Hamburg World Championships.
The 22-year-old Mol was the most decorated player in the sport this season as he took home the Most Outstanding Player, Best Offensive Player and Best Blocker awards for the second time in as many seasons. This time, however, the Norwegian star added the Best Setter trophy to his list of accolades.
His partner, the 24-year-old Sørum, was again recognized by his amazing backcourt skills as he secured the Best Defensive Player award, repeating the outcome of the 2017-2018 season.
Another young team honored was the one of Clemens Wickler, 24, and Julius Thole, 22. The Germans, who made remarkable runs to the gold medal matches of both the World Championship and the World Tour Finals in Rome, were voted as the Most Improved Team of the season.
Another recurrent winner was Brazilian Olympian Evandro Gonçalves, who, for the fifth-straight season, took home the Best Server award. The 29-year-old blocker joined Rio 2016 Olympic champion Bruno Schmidt his season and the team won the four-star event in Warsaw and claimed bronze in Gstaad.
Italian star Adrian Carambula, who missed some time in the World Tour between 2018 and 2019, returned in great fashion as the 31-year-old defender was selected as the Most Entertaining Player. Nicknamed Mr. Skyball, Carambula is one of the most charismatic, crafty and flashy players competing internationally.
2018-2019 World Tour End-of-Season Awards
Most Outstanding Team: Anders Mol & Christian Sørum
Most Outstanding Player: Anders Mol
Best Server: Evandro Gonçalves
Best Offensive Player: Anders Mol
Best Blocker: Anders Mol
Best Defensive Player: Christian Sørum
Best Setter: Anders Mol
Most Entertaining Player: Adrian Carambula
Most Improved Team: Julius Thole & Clemens Wickler
