Nicolai and Lupo, who are chasing a third continental crown, proved too strong for Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen of The Netherlands with a battling 23-25, 21-15, 15-11 success.

The Latvian pairing of Samoilovs and Smedins delighted the home crowd by booking their place in the final as they guaranteed they would end the event with at least a silver medal by ousting Dries Koekelkoren and Tom van Walle of Belgium.

Samoilovs and Smedins, the fourth seeds, also had to come back from a game down as they rallied to clinch a 23-25, 21-15, 15-12 win.

"Everything went as we wanted it to go in the first set,” Samoilovs said.

"But in the second set, they lifted their level and we couldn’t block them. 

"Myself I sat down a little bit after a lot of jumping from the previous set. 

"With such a huge crowd behind us, the hardest part is to concentrate and not be carried away with their wildness and let your hands move the wrong way. 

"If you cannot block the opponent, you need to focus to keep the ball in play, so remaining focused was the toughest part of this game."

German duo Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst's bid for a third straight title in the women's event was ended by compatriots Julia Grossner and Nadja Glenzke at the quarter-final stage.

Grossner and Glenzke progressed to the last four at the expense of the reigning world and Olympic champions as they claimed a dramatic 17-21, 21-14, 19-17 victory.

The ninth seeds were put in an impressive display to beat their team-mates as they recovered from a game down to set up a semi-final meeting with Kinga Kolosinska and Jagoda Gruszczynska of Poland.

The Polish pairing overcame Russia's Ekaterina Birlova and Nadezda Makroguzova 21-10, 24-22 to reach the next round.

Kristyna Kolocova and Michala Kvapilova of the Czech Republic are also through as they beat Finland’s Taru Lahti-Liukkonen and Anniina Parkkinen 21-18, 18-21, 15-12.

They will take on top seeds Julia Sude and Chantal Laboureur in the last four after the German duo dispatched Latvia's Tina Graudina and Anastasija Kravcenoka 21-16, 21-16.

The tournament in Latvia will conclude tomorrow.