There was plenty of drama as EHF Beach Handball returned to the sand with the ebt Finals on Thursday as reigning men’s champions Pinturas Andalucía BM Playa Sevilla were eliminated after suffering two defeats in the preliminary round.

The Spanish side, who have won the last two ebt Finals in 2018 and 2019, went down 2:0 to Portuguese side V. Gaw in their opening match before losing in a shootout to Danish outfit HEI Beachhandball.

There was no such drama for eight-time ebt Finals champions Detono Zagreb as they won both of their matches on day one of the competition to seal their place in the main round.

With 42 points, Rastko Anicic ended the first day of play as the top scorer on the men’s side. The 2002 Taureg Algerciras man helped his side to two victories out of two in group B.

In the women’s competition, former champions Multichem Szentendrei of Hungary, who have finished second, first and second in their last three visits to the ebt Finals lost both of their matches on the first day to put their hopes of another podium finish in jeopardy.

The team of the day were CAT A M Team Almeria – the reigning champions with a new name – who started the competition with three wins out of three to all but secure their place in Saturday’s quarter-finals.

Top scorer of the day was Anja Vida Luksic, who scored 35 times for BHC Dubrava 22000 Milja, including an incredible 26 in one match.

The preliminary round matches throw off on Friday 10:00 CEST with matches live from court 1 exclusively live on the Home of Handball Twitch channel.

Click here for the men’s results and schedule.

Click here for the women’s results and schedule.

All photos © Uros Hocevar / kolektiff / kolektiff