Champions Cup sees best beach teams battling it out on sand

For the second year Gran Canaria is the destination of choice for Europe's national beach handball champions, as they bring the season to a close at the EHF Beach Handball Champions Cup.

The event starts on Thursday with the group phase, the knockout stages are played on Saturday and the finals on Sunday. A live stream with matches from Court 1 and Court 2 will be available on the official website. The EHF has furthermore launched a dedicated live ticker site for all beach handball events.

24 teams - 12 in the men's event and another 12 in the women's event - have signed up for the 2015 edition; among them, of course, last year's men's champions, BHC SKKM-EKATERINODAR from Russia, and their women's counterpart, Skrim Kongsberg from Norway.

The full playing schedule is also available for download.

"We have made a few changes compared to the team who won the competition last year, but we still have a very strong team," Kongsberg coach Bent Dahl said ahead of the tournament.

"In fact, we have some of the best beach handball players in the world, and that is also the reason, why beach handball has such a high priority within our club, and why it would mean a lot to us to win the championship once again."

In both events the group phase starts with the teams being divided in two groups of six teams each. The first four teams then qualify for the quarter-finals. The teams ranked 5th and 6th in each group will play placement matches.

Compared to its first edition in 2014, the Champions Cup has already witnessed increasing interest from teams as the number of participating teams has risen from 20 to 24.

For more information head to the official website and make sure you also follow the EHF's beach handball Instagram account.