Stavanger, Norway, July 2, 2009 - The results from the opening pool rounds at the 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Championships presented by ConocoPhillips presented some exciting matchups here Thursday on the dockside courts on Vaagen Harbour where former world champions from Brazil posted victories in the opening elimination round of the men's competition.

With the top two-seeded teams winning as expected in the US$1-million event, Thursday's men's schedule was highlighted by four of the top 10-seeded teams in the seventh edition of the world championships challenging each other as the 48-team field was narrowed to 32 Beach Volleyball pairs after six days of pool play.

Marques of Brazil scored a 21-18 and 21-14 win in 40 minutes over 43rd-seeded Clemens Doppler and Matthias Mellitzer of Austria.

Second-seeded Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers of the United States opened elimination play with a 21-9 AND 21-17 victory in 38 minutes over 35th-seeded Jackson Henriquez and Farid Mussa of Venezuela.

Tenth-seeded Marcio Araujo and Fabio Magalhaes posted a 21-16 and 21-14 win in 45 minutes over ninth-seeded Dmitri Barsouk and Igor Kolodinsky of Russia, the silver medal winners at the 2007 SWATCH FIVB World Championships in Gstaad, Switzerland.

Fifth-seeded Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos of Brazil eliminated eighth-seeded Reinder Nummerdor and Richard Schuil of The Netherlands with a 21-18 and 21-15 win in 41 minutes.

Christian Redmann and Richard VanHuizen continue their "surprising" effort in the 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Championships by capturing their fourth-straight Vaagen Harbour match Thursday with a 21-17 and 21-19 victory in 43 minutes over 32nd-seeded Paolo Nicolai and Matteo Varnier of Italy.

The Canadians also posted pool upsets over higher-seeded pairs from Brazil, Norway and The Netherlands.

New Zealand's Kirk Pitman and Jason Lochhead upset 18th-seeded Sebastian Dollinger and Mischa Urbatzka of Germany 21-17 and 23-21 in 42 minutes.