The reigning Olympic champions Hellvig and Åhman have started the competition, which is at the highest level on the world tour, in Mexican Quintana Roo with two straight 2–0 wins. On Thursday, they defeated Germany's Benedikt and Jonas Sagstetter, and the next day they achieved another victory in two straight sets in the group final against the Italian duo Samuele Cottafava/Gianluca dal Corso.
Thus, the Swedes have advanced to the playoffs.
Now, the Swedish golden boys have to share the blue-yellow space on the world tour.
Jacob Hölting Nilsson, 20, and Elmer Andersson, 18, have also qualified for this week's tournament, which is the first time they have made it to the main round at this level.
However, the untested Swedish pair got zero. Hölting Nilsson/Andersson are out after two straight losses in the group stage, 0–2 against Chile's Esteban Grimalt/Marco Grimalt, followed by the same score against the Cubans Noslen Diaz/Jorge Alayo on Friday.
The significance of having two teams from Sweden in the world top cannot be ignored, says Swedish national team captain Rasmus Jonsson.
"For Swedish beach volleyball, it's obviously fantastic that we have managed to develop what are perhaps the two best young teams in the world, and we naturally hope that beach volleyball as a sport in Sweden takes steps forward in every way", said Jonsson in a press release before this week's tournament.
