Russian Dmitriy Muserskiy is a major force of Suntory Sunbirds to be reckoned with in the 1st AVC Men’s Champions League in Japan this May
Bangkok, Thailand, April 3, 2025 – Suntory Sunbirds Osaka, the first Japanese club to capture their unprecedented Asian Club Championship title in 2023, are set for an electrifying clash against Australia’s Super League champions Queensland Pirates on the opening day of the inaugural AVC Men’s Champions League in Japan.
Suntory Sunbirds celebrate for the Japan’s first-ever Asian Men’s Club title in 2023
AVC, in partnership with Volleyball World, has recently released the match schedule for the highly-anticipated AVC Men’s Champions League, a bold rebrand of the annual Asian Club Championship. Top 12 teams across the continent including two teams from hosts Japan will battle it out for top honour and the shared USD50,000 prize money in the eight-day competition, due to be held in Osaka and Kyoto from May 11 to 18, 2025. Top two teams from this top-tier event will make the cut for the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship.
Panasonic Areana Osaka
Teams were drawn into four pools of three teams apiece. Pool play will unfold from May 11 to 13 at the Panasonic Arena in Hirakata City Osaka. Only top two teams from each pool will progress to the knockout quarterfinals, with the third-placed finishers in each pool eliminated.
After a rest day on May 14, the competition reaches crunch time with teams slugging it out in the elimination rounds, which will all take place at Shimadzu Arena Kyoto in Kyoto City. Two quarterfinal duels will be held on May 15 and another two on May 16, with teams from Pool A taking on Pool D sides (A1 against D2, A2 against D1) and teams from Pool B facing Pool C squads (B1 against C2, B2 against C1). After that, the medal rounds begin, with the two semifinals taking place on May 17 and the bronze and gold medal matches ending the tournament on May 18.
Shimadzu Arena Kyoto
The pools for the 1st AVC Men’s Champions League were drawn during the Press Conference and Drawing of Lots at The Grand Fourwings Convention Hotel Bangkok on March 12, meaning passionate fans can now whet their appetites and get set for the highly-anticipated contest on May 11-18.
In Pool A, Japan A’s 2023-24 SV.League champions Suntory Sunbirds Osaka (SUN), led by Japan national team’s outside hitter Ran Takahashi and strengthened by three imports – Poland’s Aleksander Sliwka, Cuban Alain Dearmas and Russian Dmitriy Muserskiy, will face Australia’s Queensland Pirates (QLD) and 2024-25 Kazakhstan Cup winners Aqtobe (AQT).
Japan B’s Osaka Bluteon (OBT), champions at the 2024-25 Japan Volleyball Panasonic Energy Cup and silver medallists at the SV.League the previous season and powered by three Japan national team players – hard-hitting Yuji Nishida, Akihiro Yamauchi and Kunihiro Shimizu, are in Pool B with two-time Chinese Super League champions Shanghai Bright Men’s Volleyball Club (SVB) and Cignal HD Spikers (CHD).
Actually, Cignal HD Spikers, champions at the 2022 and 2024 PNVF Champions League and the 2024 Premier Volleyball League, will be represented by the Philippines national team this time as part of their preparation for the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship which the Philippines will be hosting in coming September.
Pool C consists of Iran Volleyball Club (IRI), the 2015 Asian Men’s Club champions Taichung Bank (TCB) from Chinese Taipei and Nakhon Ratchasima QminC VC (NRM), the 10-time Thailand Volleyball League winners which had competed in Asian Men’s Club Championship for four times including the 2022 edition where they finished their best-ever sixth place.
In Pool D, Qatar’s Al-Rayyan Sports Club (RSC), which had already captured 12 titles in the Qatar Volleyball Association Championship, 16 titles in Emir Cup and two (2023, 2024) titles in the West Asian Men’s Club Championship apart from finishing second place in the 2013 and 2014 Asian Club Championships, will take on Sport Training Center3 (STC), the Vietnam national team which replaced Bien Phong, the 2024 Volleyball Vietnam League champions, and Bahrain Volleyball Club (BHR).
According to the match schedule, Nakhon Ratchasima QminC VC, which last month captured the Thailand Volleyball League for consecutive three times with remarkable unbeaten record, will kick off their Pool C campaign against Iran Volleyball Club in the very first match of the tournament on May 11 at 10.05 local time (UTC+1.05), followed by the second encounter in Pool D between Al-Rayyan Sports Club and Bahrain Volleyball Club at 12.35pm (UTC+3.35).
Pulse-pounding thrills await passionate home fans as they stand a chance to cheer loudly for their teams in the next two matches, with Japan’s Osaka Bluteon playing their first Pool B match against Philippines’ Cignal HD Spikers at 15.35 (UTC+6.35).
The last match is a much-anticipated clash between powerhouses Suntory Sunbirds and Queensland Pirates in Pool A at 19.05 local time (UTC+10.05). As the Sunbirds emerged as the first Japanese side to win a medal at the Club World Championship following their well-earned third-place finish at the 2023 Bangalore-hosted FIVB Men’s Club World Championship in India, the Australia’s Super League champions Queensland Pirates will also have something to prove in their first match against the host side.
With 37 days until the very first serve of the opening match in Osaka, brace yourself for heart-pounding battles filled with powerful spikes, solid blocks, great serves and electrifying atmosphere, as top 12 teams across the continent will rise to the challenge and fight for glory in the 1st AVC Men’s Champions League in Japan between May 11 and 18, 2025.
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