AVP Takes Beach Volleyball To Long Beach For Virtual Tournament

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — If you want to watch professional beach volleyball, tomorrow may be your shot when the first tournament of the 2020 Association of Volleyball Professionals Champions Cup Series kicks off with the Monster Hydro Cup in Long Beach with a $200K prize purse.

The Monster Hydro Cup, which will not have a live audience, will be made up of 8 Main Draw teams (per gender) — 6 auto entries based on AVP points and 2 teams from Friday’s Qualifiers. Friday’s Qualifiers will be capped at 12 teams (per gender) based on AVP points and ranking. Teams throughout the Qualifiers will be paid out.

While this tournament will crown its own champion and award them with the Monster Hydro Cup, every match and every point matters because it will affect the team’s run in the race to the Champions Cup and the additional $50K bonus purse per gender.

Tune in live on Saturday, July 18 from at 12:30 p.m. on NBC or Amazon Prime for a Men’s Main Draw match. On Sunday, July 19 at 1:30 p.m. tune in on NBC for the Women’s Final. NBC will be the only place to watch the inaugural Women’s Final.

Watch the rest of the AVP action throughout the weekend on Amazon Prime Video, where every match will be livestreamed along with every court with on-court interviews, commentary and analysis from Kevin Barnett, Camryn Irwin and Dain Blanton, and exclusive athlete segments.
More information regarding the Champions Cup Series can be found online on the FAQ page.

The AVP canceled what had been an eight-tournament season and replaced it with the Champions Cup — the three events this weekend in Long Beach, with qualifying matches starting Friday. Teams will play for $700,000 in purses, including a $100,000 bonus pool for the pairs that do the best over the series.

The top two teams in the world are entered: two-time Olympic medalist April Ross and her partner Alix Klineman, and Canadians Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes. Olympic champion Phil Dalhausser (2008) and his partner, Nick Lucena, are the top seed on the men’s side, with three-time Olympian Jake Gibb and Taylor Crabb, Trevor’s brother, as the second seed.

AVP spokeswoman Megan Hanson said all of the athletes have passed the pre-tournament protocol, which included weekly testing since July 6. A confirmed positive test would take a player out of the tournament.

Although the competitors and staff will not be sealed inside a bubble-like environment, players will remain separated as teams in “pods” in a holding tent until it is time for their match. Their only contact with the opponent will be play at the net; balls will be sanitized after each point.
Sack lunches will replace the usual buffet-style catering.