Olimstad and Lunde, Smith and Webber crowned winners at the Queen & King of the Court London Showcase

Norway’s Emilie Olimstad and Ingrid Lunde and the USA’s Hagen Smith and Logan Webber were crowned as beach volleyball Queens and Kings of England as they secured victory at the inaugural Queen and King of the Court London Showcase. 

Held in the iconic surroundings of Canada Square Park in Canary Wharf, the two-day event was the first time a major international event in the sport had been held in the capital since the London 2012 Olympics. 

And it did not disappoint, with the crowds who turned out in the autumn sunshine – mostly! – playing witnesses to some enthralling action from some of the world’s best players contested in the unique QKOTC format. 

From an initial 10 pairs in each of the women’s and men’s categories, the teams were whittled down to five over the course of Friday evening and Saturday morning and daytime across pools, play-offs and semi-finals. 

The finals then followed on Saturday evening, where the leading teams battled it out for their respective titles.  

The women’s final five showdown came first and saw Lithuanians Ieva Dumbauskaite and Gerda Grudzinskaite bow out in the first round. 

New Zealanders Alice Zeimann and Olivia MacDonald – who have spent chunks of the summer playing in England – were the next to exit, claiming a well-deserved fourth place. 

That left England’s Anaya Evans – who substituted for Czechia’s Marie-Sara Stochlova – and Norway’s Sunniva Helland Hansen, Slovenia’s Tjasa Kotnik and Switzerland Leona Kernen and Olimstad and Lunde to battle for the crown. 

And it was the latter’s superb all-court excellence in both attack and defence that eventualy saw them pull away come the 10-second countdown. 

Kotnik and Kernen finished as runners-up, while Evans and Helland-Hansen claimed third spot for their efforts. 

“It’s amazing to play here and it’s amazing to win,” said Ingrid. “It’s been so much fun this weekend. It was hard work during the match and we’re exhausted now. 

Emilie added: “We didn’t expect so many people to come out and watch. It was packed right from first playing at 10am in the morning and it’s super fun to see that so many people are so enthusiastic about beach volleyball here and we hope to play here many more times.” 

The men’s section was just as fiercely contested, with a stacked final that was always going to be difficult to predict a winner. 

Two British pairs had fought their way through to the final five – Eng;ish number 1 pairing Javier and Joaquin Bello and recent maiden Beach Pro Tour winners Freddie Bialokoz and Issa Batrane. 

They were joined by Americans Smith and Webber, Dutchman Mees Sengers and another from the US in Tim Brewster and Austrians Felix Friedl and Alexander Huber. 

It was the Bellos who found form first to power to victory in their opening round as fellow Brits Bialokoz and Batrane bowed out in fifth. 

Next to depart the competition in fourth place were Sengers and Brewster, leaving the final three to battle it out for the title. 

Having just sneaked through some of the earlier rounds, Smith and Webber were able to lift their game at the right time and a sensational run of points – on the back of some powerful attacking – put them in an impregnable position in the race to 15 points to win. 

The Bellos, determined to triumph in front of their home crowd, briefly rallied but were only delaying what was to follow, as they finished on three points and Friedl and Huber one point. 

“We have been blessed with our time in London and playing at this unbelievable venue,” said Hagen. “The weather has been pretty good... the only shame was that I wasn’t able to watch some of the games in the stands when I was playing! 

Logan added: “It’s so cool to feel that we are part of the start of something, and this is the start of something. The crowd were amazing all weekend and absolutely packed the stands. Hopefully this will be an annual event as we look to grow beach volleyball around the world.” 

The winning women’s and men’s pairs received Maurice Lacroix watches, courtesy of QKOTC’s official timekeeper, and celebrated with Champagne alongside the other players who secured a place on the podium. 

Wilco Nijland, CEO of Sportworx, whihc runs the Queen & King of the Court franchise, said: "For us, it was such a pleasure and big compliment that one of the biggest cities in the world hosted our Queen & King of the Court format.

"Together with our partners in England we are very happy with the result of the event and all lights are on green to proceed and take the next steps for more international beach volleyball in England in the next years... we are very much looking forward to it."

Volleyball England's Chief Executive, Charlie Ford, added: "Beach Volleyball in the heart of one of the worlds biggest business districts, and crowning Kings and Queens in a city steeped in heraldic ancestry... it doesn’t get much better. 

"It was an absolute pleasure to work alongside SideOut, Action for Kids and SportWorx in staging what we believe is a seminal moment in the sport's development and progression in England. 

"London is and should be a key location for international volleyball competitions and this now provides a solid base that we can build upon."

And Lyn Prodger, Corporate Partnerships Manager for Action for Kids, the event's charity partner, said: "Disabled and neurodiverse children and young people and their families face massive daily barriers to good health and financial security. Action For Kids is a relatively small charity providing life changing mobility equipment and employment support. 

"Back in 2008 AFK wanted to deliver a bespoke fundraising event that would be unique and would attract corporate and community funders and sponsors. The big bold idea was to hold a beach volleyball tournament in the heart of London.

"We were fortunate enough to connect with this wonderful volleyball community and the inaugural Action For Kids Charity Beach Volleyball Championship was held in 2009.

"Since then we have raised thousands for our work, engaged hundreds of new supporters and enabled young people on our programmes to enter paid roles in the sports and events sectors.

"Collaborating with SideOut, Volleyball England, Canary Wharf and Sportworx to bring QKOTC to London has been hugely exciting and it has been a real privilege to invite top international athletes on to AFK Beach, to raise vital funds for our work and to increase awareness for the charity and the sport."

Mark Kontopoulos, co-founder of SideOut said: "The Queen & King of the Court London Showcase was a landmark moment for beach volleyball in the UK.

"The atmosphere over the two days was electric, with incredible attendance and energy from the crowd. To see world-class talent - from Olympians to rising stars - competing in the heart of Canary Wharf was truly special.

This event felt like 'year zero' for us, laying the foundation for something much bigger. I’m immensely proud of what we’ve achieved and, from here, the only way is up.

"We’re excited to build on this momentum for future events."

You can watch full interviews with the winning teams on Volleyball England’s Instagram and Facebook channels. 

Images by Rene Rudzinski, Jonathan Tang, volleyballphotos.co.uk, Xu Da and Jon Cornish.