Get ready for the inaugural BetCity Royal Championships

The wait is over! The BetCity Royal Championships Queen & King of the Court Rotterdam 2023 start on Tuesday. With the greatest teams from around the globe aiming for that ultimate prize: the World Crowns. Qualification is played on Tuesday, in which ten teams per gender are battling for three spots in the Main Draw starting on Wednesday. The action is broadcast live around the globe and also brought to you on kotc.tv.

The BetCity Royal Championships Queen & King of the Court are unique. Matches will be played on four different locations throughout the port city of Rotterdam. The main stadium is on the Henegouwerplein and seats over 1,500 people in a grandstand and in over sixty luxury skyboxes. On the first three days of competition matches will also be played at urban venues across the city that can be visited for free. On Tuesday women’s qualification is played at the Krajicek playground at Schuttersveld, on Wednesday Beach Club Rotterdam is hosting three group-stage matches. The Cruyff Court Salomon Kalou at Afrikaanderplein hosts matches on Thursday.

The organization has chosen this set-up to include people from all over the city. Matches at the side-courts are free of admission and will spark enthusiasm throughout the population.

Men
The best players have come to Rotterdam to chase the first-ever global crown. The Netherlands have brought in the big guns, Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen are chasing yet another grand title. And don’t forget Leon Luini and Yorick de Groot who made the Hamburg final and played the final of the European championships last month as well. The two-defender team is one to be reckoned with.

There’s no shortness of former Kings in Rotterdam as well. Mart Tiisaar is the King of Miami Beach, he’s teaming up with France’s Arnaud Gauthier-Rat. The jump-setting Swedes David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig, who are two-time Kings (Utrecht 2021, Doha 2022), are a dominant force in today’s beach volleyball. The 2020 King of Utrecht, Florian Breer, plays with Yves Haussener. The Swiss pair are aiming to become royalty.

From the other side of the pond come the USA teams of Kyle Friend/Timothy Brewster and King of the Court favorites Hagan Smith and Troy Field. They’re known for their legendary plays and inexhaustible stamina. Two of the all-time heroes in beach volleyball are on their farewell tournament; Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins are retiring and they desperately want to finish on a high with a crown on their heads.

Check out all of the men’s pools here and find out when and where all teams are playing.

Women
Talk about royal presence. Thirteen former Queens have come to Rotterdam to battle for the biggest title in Queen of the Court. Most notable are the newly crowned Queens of the European Finals; Anastasija Samoilova and Tina Graudina from Latvia, they ascended the throne in Luxembourg this year. But don’t forget about Sandra Ittlinger and Karla Borger, both former Queens as well. Same goes for Emi van Driel and Brecht Piersma from the Netherlands. World number 6 Katja Stam and Raisa Schoon are outsiders for the title as well.

Next to these amazing women we have Queen of the Court regulars in the Polish pair of Gruzczynska and Wachowicz, Sunniva Helland-Hansen and Emilie Olimstad from Norway, Slovenians Kotnik and Lovšin, Canada’s twin sisters Megan and Nicole McNamara and Switzerland’s high-rollers Anouk Vergé-Dépré and Joanna Mäder and Esmee Böbner and Zoe Vergé-Dépré.

The women’s roster is off the charts, we have to mention Hamburg’s 2023 Queen Emily Stockman, who’s teaming up with Megan Rice. Corinne Quiggle and Sarah Murphy are well-versed at this game, they are favorites. And last, but certainly not least, Taiana and Hegeile are the 2022 Rio Queens who are coming to be crowned once more.

Check out the women’s schedule here.

Livestream

All matches will be broadcast live and on demand at kotc.tv. For just € 4,99 everyone has exclusive access.