- BHT Petra Plock became the first Polish side to win the men’s tournament, with a 2:0 win (20:14, 25:22) against Salgótarjáni Strandépítök BHC. They finished the tournament with eight wins, one defeat, and only five dropped sets
- reigning men’s champions Fomento Deporte CBMP Ciudad de Malaga were eliminated in the semi-finals after a crunch game against the tournament winners. They also missed out on a medal, as home side GRD Leça – SPAR clinched the bronze with a 2:1 win
- despite dropping two games, one in the preliminary round and one in the main round, Hungarian side OVB Beach Girls® finished the tournament with a three-game winning streak and took the final against HEI Dame Beach Handball, 2:1, after a shoot-out which they sealed 8:5
- GEA A.M. Team Almeria, women’s bronze medallists, lost a single game from nine, only dropping two sets, in the semi-final against HEI Dame Beach Handball, including a knife-edge 8:6 shoot-out
- the MVP in the men’s tournament was home favourite Tiago Costa, from GRD Leça – SPAR, while the top scorer was Plock’s Bartosz Wojdak who scored 151 points
- GEA A.M. Team Almeria’s Maria Asuncion Batista Portero was both the top scorer and the women’s MVP. She finished the competition with 168 points, and was the driving force behind’s the Spanish side’s bronze medal
Surprise winners crown superb weekend in Porto Santo
Beach handball will always throw up a surprise or two and it held true in the EHF Beach Handball Champions Cup 2022, where two teams won the tournament for the first time.
The biggest shock came in the women’s semi-finals, when GEA A.M. Team Almeria who had Cristina Torneo Munoz, the best goalkeeper, Maria Asuncion Batista Portero, the MVP and tournament top scorer, lost by a penalty shoot-out to HEI Dame Beach Handball.
The Danish side suffered the same fate in the final against OVB Beach Girls®. Despite winning the first set, 25:20, HEI Dame Beach Handball could not keep their focus and lost the other two sets, 18:19 and 5:8, with OVB Beach Girls® becoming the first Hungarian side to win the women’s tournament.
In the men’s tournament, BHT Petra Plock boasted a five-game winning streak to win the trophy. They dropped a single set, in the semi-final against former champions CBMP Malaga.
In the final against Salgótarjáni Strandépítök BHC, top goal scorer Bartosz Wojdak was again in fine form and carried his team to the win, 2:0 (20:14, 25:22)
Men’s tournament awards
Fair-play team: London Beach Handball
Best goalkeeper: Krystian Matusiak – BHT Petra Plock
Best defender: Ivan Juric (Fomento Deporte CBMP Ciudad de Malaga)
Top scorer: Bartosz Wojdak – BHT Petra Plock – 151 points
MVP: Tiago Costa - GRD Leça – SPAR
Women’s tournament awards
Fair-play team: S.V. Voorwarts
Best goalkeeper: Cristina Torneo Munoz – GEA A.M. Team Almeria
Best defender: Gabriella Landi – OVB Beach Girls
Top scorer: Maria Asuncion Batista Portero – GEA A.M. Team Almeria - 168 points
MVP: Maria Asuncion Batista Portero – GEA A.M. Team Almeria
