The Northern Ireland Champions Have Been Crowned!

After an electric weekend at the Portrush East Strand in Northern Ireland, our champions for the 2026 Northern Ireland Open have been crowned!

The podium matches displayed incredible athleticism in both the men’s and women’s finals, with players hailing from across the UK and beyond, fighting it out in one last match. In the women’s gold medal match Mel Coutts and Tya Keys fought valiantly to take the first set, but in the end it was Abigail Russell and Anna Rantala that took the game in 3 sets to become the first champions of the weekend. Mel Coutts’s experience and Tya Keys’s athleticism were an extraordinary display throughout the match but just fell short of what was needed to overcome Anna and Abigail’s power in the second and third sets.

In the men’s gold medal match Patrick Buckel and Endi Ymeraj powered through to defeat Ivo Dobra and Derek Yeung in two straight sets . Despite having a cleaner scoreboard, the game was fiery with back chat between the teams making for a heated match. It was Derek Yeung’s first appearance in a major tournament in a while after taking a year off to focus on his own volleyball company, and it’s safe to say he’s back with a statement. Patrick Buckel, fresh from the west coast of California, is looking to go back to back at the Cardiff Open with Ivo Dobra. Endi will be competing at Cardiff with Dylan Cohan, so make sure to stay posted to see how they compete, and find out if any of these ex partners meet each other in a feisty knockout! 

In the bronze medal matches, the women’s 3rd place play off saw a decisive 2-0 win from Anastasiia Konovalova and Merve Akin against Anne Kamanzi and Macy Poon. Anne and Macy had fought their way through the losers bracket after losing their quarter final against Anna and Abigail in the morning, but with one life left they fought their way back to the podium matches. But those extra matches might have been a deciding factor when playing against Anastasiia and Merve, who had remained in the winners bracket for the tournament until they reached the semi final. In a double elimination format, the extra games that teams in the losers bracket have to play can take a heavy toll on a team’s stamina.

In the men’s bronze medal match Northern Ireland’s very own Jonathan Workman and Jeff Scott took home the win (21-17 18-21 15-11), taking out 1st seed Sam Dunbavin and Danny Mulford in a 3 set victory. Workman and Scott had also taken down seed 2 Ruari Souter and Lewis Fenech earlier in the tournament, showing consistent grit as they went through the winners bracket. It’s the first time a Northern Irish team have had the home court advantage at a UKBT open, showing everyone how deadly they can be on home turf. Jonathan and Jeff came 5th at the Weymouth Grand Slam last year, so it could be a great start to a fantastic season for the pair.

All the teams that competed have earned valuable UKBT points, as well as points towards their Fireball Elite Series ranking. There is a separate prize pot available for the top ranked player over the course of the series – we will issue an update on Elite Series rankings after the next event.

Thank you to everyone who came out this weekend to compete and to support! We hope to see you all soon at the next Fireball Elite series in Cardiff on the 30th and 31st of May. You can see the entry list for that event here. Don’t forget to sign up for the final two Elite Series in Croyde https://fireballbeachvolleyball.com/events/croyde-open-2026/ and our Elite Series final in Porthcawl  https://fireballbeachvolleyball.com/events/porthcawl-open-2026/ 

Written by George Ruddick