After 3 days of intense competition, between ~600 beer pong players from across the globe, one team reigned supreme. Congratulations to 3-time World Beer Pong champion, Michael Popielarski, and his rookie partner, Brandon Clarke, of team “History in the Making.” Nicely done, gentlemen!
To all the competitors, Westgate staff, BPONG staff, and vendors/sponsors at this year’s World Series of Beer Pong XI, thank you for making this another great event.
Many still think “binge drinking party game” when they hear “beer pong.” However, over the past decade we’ve developed an extension to that root, establishing a much greater value to the game. The World Series of Beer Pong has paid out over $500,000 in prizes through its Main Event. The WSOBP side events and affiliated organization’s competitive beer pong tournaments add a significant chunk of change on top of that $500K to total a substantial sum of cash that has been awarded to “professional” beer pong players all around the world.
Continue reading Take your beer pong game to the next level!
Preparing for your first World Series of Beer Pong tournament can be difficult; especially, if you haven’t had the pleasure of attending one of our affiliate organization’s fantastic pong events beforehand. We are going to give you all who don’t quite know what to expect a little insight on how to better strap yourself in to make the best of your experience at The World Series of Beer Pong!
Let’s get the obvious out of the way. It is very hard to describe the adrenaline that will rush through your veins when you walk into a Las Vegas Ballroom filled with hundreds of beer pong tables, see thousands of beer pong players and realize you are about to play beer pong for $50,000; even having already experienced it. Therefore, trying to imagine what it will be like having never been before is nearly impossible. The environment is one like you’ve never experienced.
In any case, the first thing to always remember is that you are there to have fun! There will be teams that go 12-0 during preliminary play; there will be teams that go 0-12. Nobody thinks they are going to lose every single game walking into the tournament but if it happens to you, take it with a grain of salt and you’ll still have an amazing time.
There will be unicorns and aliens walking around Westgate Resort & Casino that you won’t be able to recognize because they will look just like everybody else in the ballroom. Though, if you feel like you may have been matched up against a pair of monsters during prelims, don’t get discouraged. You could be playing a former World Series Champion or a player who has banked 10’s of thousands of dollars playing this sport over the last decade. Focus up, play to the best of your abilities and take notes.
Don’t let these guys get in your head either! The best defense is a strong mental game and a witty mouth. If you’ve let someone trash talk their way under your skin, you’ve lost the game and more importantly, you won’t be having any fun. Appreciate their intent (trying to win the game), laugh if they say something funny, don’t take it to heart, realize that it’s all a part of the game and don’t let it affect yours!
If you are there for more than just the party and beer you should shoot for a 7-5 record during prelims and hold your breathe. 7-5 has been good enough to make the cut for the Day 3 Playoff Bracket in most years. On more rare occasions 6-6 records have made the cut, however, there have also been years when you’ve needed to have a polished 8-4 record to get in.
If you make it to Day 3:
Relax! Come ready to play, but relax. The environment is incredible and different from the first two days. Everyone wants to bring their A game, but it happens all to often that players who’ve never been there before become overwhelmed, play anxious and get upset with themselves when they don’t shoot up to their abilities.
If you advance, keep your head on your shoulders and don’t let the satisfaction of potentially surpassing your expectations dilute your focus. You never know whose day it is and it may just be yours!
Though eventually, everybody falls but 1 team. When it’s your turn to get erased from the bracket, stick around and pick someone to root for. Supporting your friends (or maybe your new friends from another country) is almost as fun as playing yourself!
If you do NOT make it to Day 3:
It’s not the end of the world. It was your first crack at it and the competition is tough! Take advantage of the many side events, sponsor activities and the one thing that none of us have yet to experience at The World Series of Beer Pong, the summertime, Vegas sun!
If you’ve enjoyed your time, get to know some people and find a place to play close to home. Elevate your game, come back next year and do it all again!
Ah, beer pong. The ubiquitous party game turned competitive sport. Complete with big-time payouts to its biggest stars! (Like $50,000 big!) Just like poker, baseball, or any other American institution, it has its own national event, The World Series of Beer Pong (The WSOBP). Whether you’ve seen it on The Jay Leno Show, ESPN or read about it in Maxim, The WSOBP is getting bigger, badder, and more exciting each year. This year, The World Series of Beer Pong has ditched the New Year’s party for some fun in the sun and will be held in the summer (July 6th-10th, 2016) for the first time ever! With July fast approaching, we’re counting down the top ten reasons to head to Vegas this July and get your balls wet at this can’t miss event!
10. Vegas
Sin City needs no introduction. With its limitless menu of strippers, call girls, all-night clubs, celebrity sightings, and general lack of standards; Vegas is not just a city, it’s an alternate reality in which the laws of the everyday world seemingly do not apply. It’s the reason why it’s completely plausible that “The Hangover” was based on a true story. It couldn’t be truer that you’ve never really partied until you’ve partied in Vegas – and things really heat up in the Summer time. What better way to party in Vegas than to party in Vegas at The World Series of Beer Pong!
9. The Costumes
From barely-dressed women and cross-dressing men to bearded banditos and full-body-spandex, in ten years The WSOBP has seen its share of costumes (as well as improvisation and performance art). Nothing says, “miss this shot” quite like something obscene lingering in your field of vision, and in the game of beer pong, this fact is well known, and indeed celebrated. Each year, the bar is raised (lowered?), and the legend continues.
8. The Sponsors
Nothing says “take out your wallet” quite like a scantily-clad, cup-hungry damsel and the businesses that sponsor The WSOBP are well aware of that fact. Suit ‘em up & send ‘em out! Or don’t suit em up, whatever works. Each year, the sponsor babes crank it up a notch and give us some eye candy we’ll never forget. We love you, ladies. Don’t dismiss all the other awesome sponsors that don’t involve boobs and always make sure to take care of all the players! From free hangover pills and party supplies to innovative new games and products that just hit the market, The World Series of Beer Pong has it all!
7. The Side Events
Even if you get eliminated from the Main Event, it doesn’t mean you have to pack your bags and go home. You can play in one of the many side events taking place alongside the Main Event and you’ll be right back in the game. Don’t have the cash to pony up for Main Event entry? No worries, there will be thousands in prize money up for grabs, and the damage to your wallet for registration is miniscule. Rumor has it that the Singles tournament is upping the stakes this year…
6. The Playing Field (A REAL World Series of Beer Pong!)
Ever seen Beerfest? Yeah, it’s kinda like that. Oh, except it’s in real life, so unless you fly intercontinental on a regular basis, you’re probably never going to play a Japanese team, an Irish team, or an Austrian team. However, at The WSOBP it’s par for the course. The World Series of Beer Pong is VERY LITERALLY A REAL WORLD SERIES! With tournaments like the European, Swiss, Australian and various other “Series of Beer Pong” tournaments sprouting up around the globe (that all have a Grand Prize of qualified entry into The WSOBP Main Event), there’s no telling where your next opponents may hail from, but there’s no doubt that the competition will be tough!
Even better than the number of people you’ll meet from places you might not have even known existed, is the friendships & relationships that are formed and last a lifetime! There’s no better feeling than spinning a globe and having a high likelihood that you’ll have a friend that is more than willing to let you crash on their couch, no matter where your finger lands. As the years pass, you’ll find yourself giddy for The WSOBP just to see all your friends from distant places! Some of our veteran players may argue that this could easily be number 1 on this list!
5. The Pros
Like the best of the best in any sport, many of beer pong’s greats need no introduction and are known by only one moniker – Ron, Pop, Kessler, Marx…
A wise man once said truth is stranger than fiction, and this has never been truer than in the world of professional beer pong. Case in point: Ron Hamilton. A combination of Barry Bonds, Dennis Rodman, and a charging rhinoceros all rolled into one, Ron’s nerve-rattling antics, insane hair, and legendary appetite for Cinnamon Life cereal are second only to his unquenchable thirst for cups and unsettling tendency to spam every last person on his Facebook friend list (we’re serious—don’t friend him). But with Smashing Time having unprecedented back-to-back WSOBP victories, he and his partner Mike Popielarski stand-alone in the world of beer pong.
However, the line of true characters you’ll see at The World Series of Beer Pong from the planets most accomplished pongers is not one lacking in numbers. Unlike all other professional sports; player trash talking and personalities are not only celebrated within our sport but are strategic components of the game’s top players to secure victories over other elite opponents. If you watch and listen closely, you’ll develop an appreciation for each stars unique craft.
4. The Experience
An estimated five hundred teams will be at The WSOBP this year. We’ll say that again: 500 TEAMS! They will come from almost every US State, and many will fly in from other continents. You may be the best at your local bar or fraternity, but until you’ve been to Vegas, you’re just playing in the sandlot. The WSOBP is the only place to come see where you really stand in the land of competitive beer pong. The way you look at the game will never be the same!
3. The Money
There’s not much to sell here. We pay you money to be good at beer pong. Not just a couple bucks either. The 1st place prize at The World Series of Beer Pong Main Event is $50,000!! We’ve paid out over $500,000 to our Main Event players, even more if you count our side events and millions if you count all our affiliate & satellite tournaments throughout the years! So next time someone gives you grief for playing and asks you where beer pong is going to get you in life, make sure you check them hard on the spot!
2. The Environment
Let’s face it, you likely won’t get a chance to hit a home run at Wrigley Field or make a game winning basket at Madison Square Garden, but you stand a good chance of sinking a clutch shot at The World Series of Beer Pong! Feeling the adrenaline rush of a professional athlete during performance is so much greater than any buzz a beer could possibly give you. It’s impossible to ignore the endorphins rushing through your veins from the second you step foot in the ballroom. You feel the bass from the music flutter your heartbeat. You hear the chatter of a huge crowd. You see thousands of people and hundreds of tables set up. There is anxiousness, tension and excitement lingering in the air. YOU are in the SAME FIELD as the BEST players in the WORLD and the fact of the matter is that everyone starts square. Even. 0-0. Equal opportunity. YOU are just 12 prelim games away from being considered one of those players. YOU are 3 days away from walking away with $50,000 and a legitimate World Championship to call your own!
1. Potential Immortality
“If you win The World Series of Beer Pong, they can never take that away from you.”
We’re not sure exactly what shadowy, underground cabal The Iceman was referring to when he spoke of “they,” but you get the idea. After three full days of game play and 499+ defeated teams, there can be only one champion. These men’s names and stories will be written on the walls of history that will eventually become tailed legends. Through skill, perseverance, and dedication, the team that is destined to take it all will forever be immortalized as a true World Champion. Will you be the next to make history??
The first two weekends out west in August had two $5K pong tournaments on the schedule. The first was hosted by SLC Pong and was played at Sandy Station in Sandy, Utah. The second was hosted the following weekend by NWBP at Aston Manor in Seattle, Washington.
Rewind to a few days prior when OGP came out with their player ballot rankings.
(https://bpong.com/2015/07/ocean-grown-pong-wants-to-know-your-top-15-players/)
The most recent results of the polls did not sit too well with Arizona ponger and founder of Pongstars (Pongstars.net), Brandon Marx.
St. Louis ponger, Ross Hampton, was slated atop the list and was seemingly settling into a comfortable lead for that top spot. It’s hard to argue against someone whose resume is as accomplished as his with multiple major/mid-major victories and countless bid wins to his name.
However, Marx set out to these tournaments with the intentions of turning that potential argument into a difficult one.
His first stop was Sandy Station at the SLC $5k in Utah where he dominated the competition. Marx finished 1st and 3rd in the Kickoff tournament on Friday night, winning it with Utah ponger, Cody Castle, against a pair of Las Vegas players, Justin Spurrier and James Tripp. California ponger Mark Pimentel picked up the 3rd place nod with Marx.
This wouldn’t be the last check “Marky Marx” cashed that weekend as the duo took down the Main Event in the following days. Marx and Pimentel went head to head with Minnesota (Wisconsin) ponger Kyle Eller and another California ponger Josh Schwent to pick up the victory.
All familiar names would round out the top 3 spots of the singles tournament on Saturday night, as Justin Spurrier came out on top with Kyle Eller and Mark Pimentel hot on his heels.
Coming off multiple wins in Utah and seeing another $5k tournament in Seattle as an opportunity to carry on towards his mission of proving he’s the best in the game right now, Marx boarded a plane to Washington.
Since his decision to play was last minute, Marx needed a World Series of Beer Pong XI Satellite Tournament partner when he arrived and picked up a rookie Seattle ponger, Michael Williams.
A Satellite Bid win here would seemingly be a difficult one as Ross Hampton had paired up with Marx’s Main Event partner for the Satellite tournament, former WSOBP singles champion, Brad Mosdell.
The two teams met in the finals and had already seen each other early on in the bracket. Hampton/Mosdell needed to win 2 games against Marx/Williams to take home the bids. Both teams shot lights out through multiple OT’s but Marx/Williams prevailed, qualifying themselves for next summer’s World Series of Beer Pong XI Main Event in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Westgate Resort & Casino.
The singles tournament was next on the schedule and it told more of the same story. Ross and Marx were squaring off in the finals for the 2nd time. The series was nothing short of expectations as both players shot phenomenally. However, Marx once again came out on top.
The Main Event of the weekend had reunited a pair of players who once hoisted the WSOBP $50,000 Grand Prize check together. (Something Marx has yet to have the pleasure of doing.) Former St. Louis native Matt White had recently relocated to Seattle, leaving little opportunity for him and his former battery mate Ross Hampton to Seek n’ Destroy as many tournaments as they use to. The two took the top-seed in preliminary play.
The duo made a run through the playoff bracket and got to the finals to once again create a Hampton/Marx championship. Marx, now teamed up with Canadian ponger Brad Mosdell, was looking to sweep the entire event with a victory. Having only missed a handful of shots in 2 games as a team, North meets South (Marx/Mosdell) secured the Seattle $5k Main Event.
Seemingly, Marx’s mission was complete. He was overtaken in the player voting polls by who is widely considered the best player on the planet (Ross Hampton) and set out to prove he is the better player. He couldn’t have asked for any more opportunities to prove it, as they met on the final table of every tournament over the weekend and he capitalized – winning all of them!
Congratulations to all the pongers who shot well enough in either of these events to take home some cash!
