Herkules B15s historic win last year went viral

Brazil is the fifth biggest nation at Partille Cup for the first time.

Since the Herkules B15 team made history last year by becoming the first team from Brazil to win the Partille Cup, Brazilian interest in the Partille Cup has reached record levels. "Our victory went viral in Brazil last year, so now everyone back home knows who we are," says Herkules coach Marcos Alexandre.

Many of the players from last year's heroic team represent this year's Brazilian national team in the European Open Championship. On Tuesday, the Brazilian national team will face Romania and Croatia after suffering two initial losses to France and the Czech Republic on Monday. We met with the Herkules B15 team shortly after they landed at Landvetter after an 18-hour journey via Frankfurt. "We are tired, but the energy for the week is high, and we want to have a good tournament," Alexandre begins.

Herkules B15 is one of 31 Brazilian teams in this year's edition of the Partille Cup, making Brazil the fifth-largest participating nation for the first time in the tournament's history. "In Brazil, the teams don't reach the same level as at the Partille Cup, so it is very valuable to come here and face strong opponents," he says.

Alexandre's expectations for this year's team in the B15 class are higher than they were last year. "It feels fantastic to be back, and since we won last year, we want to win even more this time. We also have more teams from Herkules with us this year, so the expectations on us are sky-high," Alexandre concludes.