Running under the slogan "Beach in the City Centre", the Ljubljana Beach Volley Challenge tournament saw the pair beat Slovenian rivals Nejc Zemljak and Jan Pokeršnik 2:1 in three sets (21:16, 18:21, 15:11).

The reigning Slovenian champions made it to the finals by beating the Dutch pair of Yorick de Groot and Mees Blom, while Zemljak and Pokeršnik, the most successful Slovenian pair at recent international tournaments, defeated Austria's Florian Ertl and Johannes Kratz in the other semi-final.

"The win in the finals was far from expected. There was also a little bit of luck involved, but we also put in a fight. It was the first time that Slovenians competed in the finals and the luck was on our side," Boženk said after the win.

Jakopin, who was named the best player of the tournament, added that "today we were the ones who could play without any pressure" and that they had taken advantages of the opportunities while playing relaxed.

In the women's finals, the Ukrainian twin sisters Inna Makhno and Iryna Makhno defeated the Norwegian pairing of Victoria Faye Kjolberg and Ane Guro Tveit Hjortland in three sets.

"We are very happy with the result, especially because we ended last year's tournament in second place. This time we made it all the way. Ljubljana is a beautiful city and we really like to return here," said Inna Makhno after the win.

The tournament, which was first organised in 2014, was made part of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour last year, bringing to Ljubljana top-quality pairs from Europe and the world, with points counting for Olympics appearances.