Qualification Rounds

Six sides — Puerto Rico, China, Japan, Portugal, Korea and Tunisia — competed in the World League Qualification Tournament in 2010 and they were dwindled down to just two who are now set to compete in the 2011 edition.

Puerto Rico first came through their two matches with Portugal on August 6 and 7 before seeing off China on August 28 and 29 to seal their place in the premier annual men's contest.

Meanwhile Korea beat Japan twice to maintain their spot in the tournament. However, Japan followed shortly after following the withdrawal of the Netherlands.

The late withdrawal of Egypt following political unrest however, saw Portugal invited back into the tournament in their place for the first time since 2006.

For detailed competition results, click on Qualifications in the menu bar

Intercontinental Round

The Intercontinental round takes place from May 27 to July 2, 2011. Each team plays two matches against the same team on separate days over the same weekend (usually from Friday to Sunday).

With three rounds at home and three away, there are a total of 12 matches for each team and an overall total of 96 matches in the intercontinental round. Cuba and Japan will be playing all of their matches away from home. Cuba, who are renovating their national stadium, will play their matches away from home this year, as will Japan following the nuclear disaster that struck the country in March.

Pool's Seeding

Pool A	Pool B	Pool C	Pool D
Brazil	Russia	Serbia	Cuba
Poland	Bulgaria	Argentina	Italy
USA	Germany	Finland	France
Puerto Rico	Japan	Portugal	Korea

Pool's Ranking System

Match won 3-0 or 3-1:  3 points for the winner, 0 point for the loser.
Match won 3-2:  2 points for the winner, 1 point for the loser.

In case of tie, the teams will be classified according to the following criteria: number of matches won, sets ratio and points ratio.
 

Final Round qualification (8 teams)

- 4 Winners of pools and 4 second placed sides, A, B, C, D.

- 1 Host Country of the Final Round (Poland)*

*If Poland is ranked below the top two at the intercontinental stage, they still qualify for the Final Round and the three best second teams join them.

Final Round
July 6-10, 2011, Gdansk - Sopot, POLAND
TEAMS QUALIFIED: Poland, plus seven teams to be defined

The Final Round will be played over five days.

The teams are divided in two Pools "E" and "F" of four teams each and will play round-robin during the first three days. Ranking will be established as per the WL Specific Competition Regulation described above.

The two top teams of each pool will advance to crossed semifinals (1st of pool E v 2nd of pool F and 1st of pool F v 2nd of pool E) and final matches. Teams ranked third of each pool are eliminated and will be ranked tied for the fifth place.