Water polo at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament

The men's tournament of water polo at the 2008 Summer Olympics at Beijing, People's Republic of China, began on 10 August and lasted until 24 August 2008. All games were held at the Ying Tung Natatorium.

Teams from twelve nations competed, seeded into two groups for the preliminary round. 44 games were played, 30 of them in the preliminary round (each team played the other teams in the group). Seven classification games and seven games in the medal round were also played.

Format
The format of water polo at the 2008 Summer Olympics:
 * Twelve teams are divided into two preliminary groups, composed of six teams each, and play a single round robin in each group.
 * The first placed team of each group will have a bye. The second and third placed teams will play against each other in a cross-group format. Losers go on to play a series of classification games.
 * The fifth and sixth placed teams from each group in the preliminary round play against each other in a cross-group format to determine who will play for places 9–12. These games make up part of the quarterfinal round. The fourth placed teams from each group have a bye in this round. The losers of the classification games in the quarterfinal round will play for places 11–12. The winners of the classification games in the quarterfinal round will play the fourth placed teams from each group to determine who will play for places 7–10. These games are part of the semifinal round. The losers of the classification 7–10 games will play each other for places 9–10. The winners will play for places 7–8.
 * Winners from the quarterfinal will progress to the semifinals and play against the first placed teams in each group of the preliminary round. Losers go on to play classification games.
 * Winners of the semifinals will contest the gold medal game and the losers the bronze medal game.

Group A
 All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8).   

  

 <section begin=A8 /><section end=A8 /> <section begin=A9 /><section end=A9 />

<section begin=A10 /><section end=A10 /> <section begin=A11 /><section end=A11 /> <section begin=A12 /><section end=A12 />

<section begin=A13 /><section end=A13 /> <section begin=A14 /><section end=A14 /> <section begin=A15 /><section end=A15 />

Group B
<section begin=B /><section end=B /> <section begin=B1 /><section end=B1 /> <section begin=B2 /><section end=B2 /> <section begin=B3 /><section end=B3 />

<section begin=B4 /><section end=B4 /> <section begin=B5 /><section end=B5 /> <section begin=B6 /><section end=B6 />

<section begin=B7 /><section end=B7 /> <section begin=B8 /><section end=B8 /> <section begin=B9 /><section end=B9 />

<section begin=B10 /><section end=B10 /> <section begin=B11 /><section end=B11 /> <section begin=B12 /><section end=B12 />

<section begin=B13 /><section end=B13 /> <section begin=B14 /><section end=B14 /> <section begin=B15 /><section end=B15 />

Classification round

 * Bracket

Classification 7th–12th
<section begin=C1 /><section end=C1 /> <section begin=C2 /><section end=C2 />

Classification 11th–12th
<section begin=D /><section end=D />

Classification 7th–10th
<section begin=E1 /><section end=E1 /> <section begin=E2 /><section end=E2 />

Classification 9th–10th
<section begin=F1 /><section end=F1 />

Classification 7th–8th
<section begin=F2 /><section end=F2 />

Medal round

 * Bracket

Quarterfinals
<section begin=G1 /><section end=G1 /> <section begin=G2 /><section end=G2 />

Classification 5th–6th
<section begin=H /><section end=H />

Semifinals
<section begin=I1 /><section end=I1 /> <section begin=I2 /><section end=I2 />

Bronze medal game
<section begin=J1 /><section end=J1 />

Gold medal game
<section begin=J2 /><section end=J2 />

Multi-time Olympians
Five-time Olympian(s): 1 player
 * : Tibor Benedek

Four-time Olympian(s): 10 players
 * : Igor Hinić
 * : Georgios Afroudakis
 * : Tamás Kásás
 * : Alberto Angelini, Fabio Bencivenga, Alessandro Calcaterra
 * : Aleksandar Šapić, Dejan Savić, Vladimir Vujasinović
 * : Ángel Andreo (GK)

Multiple medalists
Three-time Olympic medalist(s): 10 players
 * : Tibor Benedek, Péter Biros, Tamás Kásás, Gergely Kiss, Tamás Molnár, Zoltán Szécsi (GK)
 * : Aleksandar Ćirić, Aleksandar Šapić, Dejan Savić, Vladimir Vujasinović

Leading goalscorers
Source: Official Results Book (page 179)

Leading goalkeepers
Source: Official Results Book (page 175)

Leading sprinters
Source: Official Results Book (page 178)

Awards

 * Media All-Star Team
 * Goalkeeper
 * 🇺🇸 Merrill Moses (70 saves)
 * Field players
 * 🇺🇸 Tony Azevedo (17 goals, 2 sprints won)
 * 🇭🇺 Péter Biros (13 goals, 3 sprints won)
 * 🇮🇹 Alessandro Calcaterra (centre forward, 27 goals)
 * 🇲🇪 Mlađan Janović (13 goals, 5 sprints won)
 * 🇪🇸 Felipe Perrone (16 goals)
 * 🇭🇺 Dániel Varga (8 goals)