Impress your friends with your beach volleyball knowledge

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Players gather for a selfie at Tuesday's press conference

Want to get the inside knowledge on the tournament and the players and impress those fans sitting around you inside the Rothenbaum? Well you’re in the right place!

The Swatch Beach Volleyball FIVB World Tour Finals presented by Vodafone starts today as 24 of the world’s best teams compete for the final prize of yet another breathtaking season on the sand.

There is plenty to get excited about here in Hamburg. Firstly, matches will be played under floodlights inside the iconic Rothenbaum stadium – remember the magical atmosphere at the Fort Lauderdale Major and Poreč Major? Well, be prepared for an even extra-special, spine-tingling feeling here. What’s more there will be a first in the history of the World Tour Finals: the Rothenbaum’s roof will be closed at certain times so that matches will take place ‘indoors’.

Of the 24 teams taking part, 12 teams from nine nations compete for the men’s prize, while 12 women’s teams representing six nations will hunt top spot.

There are five teams who are competing in the World Tour Finals for the third time – Saxton/Schalk, Lucena/Dalhausser, Larissa/Talita, Ludwig/Walkenhorst and Laboureur/Sude – plus Agatha, who is competing alongside debutant Duda.

Talking of Duda, the 19-year-old has amassed three gold medals, nine podiums placements and 10 final four finishes in her first 23 World Tour events…not bad for a teenager.

At the other end of the scale, the most experienced men’s team are Spaniards Herrera/Gavira, who have played the most international tournaments – 91.

Of all the women’s players on show in Hamburg, Brazilian Larissa ranks first in all-time gold medals, having won 62 in her international career. She has stood on the podium a total of 104 times and finished in the final four an incredible 111 times. She has won 795 matches across 150 events.

Finally, the Czech Republic are appearing at the World Tour Finals for the first time – and they have two women’s teams competing – Kvapilova/Kolocova and Hermannová/Sluková.

We’ll have more stats and facts to give you as the tournament progresses, but in the meantime, the action is about to start so sign-up to BeachStream to watch the World Tour Finals live!