Check out our Sweet 16 from this year’s World Series of Beer Pong XI and see what all the top players took home from the Main Event!
WSOBP XI Sweet Sixteen & Payout Results
Tag: WSOBP XI
WSOBP XI Final Standings
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.
A World Series of Beer Pong Satellite Tournament Weekend Recap
This past weekend showed the prowess of The World Series of Beer Pong™, as more than 20 players qualified themselves for The WSOBP™ Main Event by securing a tournament victory at one of the five World Series of Beer Pong™ Satellite™ Tournaments that took place around the country!
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Northwest Beer Pong:
We’ll start our recap tour in Kirkland, Washington, at Rose Hill Hideout where Northwest Beer Pong was slated to qualify a team for The World Series of Beer Pong™ XI! Participants were randomly matched against opponents for 6 preliminary games that would be used to seed teams into a double-elimination playoff bracket.
Former World Series of Beer Pong Champion, Matt White, teamed up with Brad “Moose” Mosdell and paid tribute to Chris Cash, a close friend of Matt’s that had recently passed away, by playing under the team name: “Cash Money’s Final Hand.” It’s to no surprise that a World Champion’s tournament dedication to a fallen friend would end in victory. White and Mosdell pulled through to claim the 1st place prize of qualified entry into The World Series of Beer Pong™ XI, complete with 4-night accommodations at Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. Thomas Hoistad and Chris Sherwood were beat out on the final table, after fighting their way through nearly 20 teams, but didn’t exactly go home empty handed. Chris and Thomas pocketed a quick $200 for their efforts.
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SoCal’s BidFEST:
Next, we head a bit south and pick up on a ton of action at Johnny V’s in sunny San Diego. Ocean Grown Pong filled up the entire weekend with tournaments and handed out 14 individual bids (bid = qualified entry into The WSOBP™ & Hotel accommodations) via 8 different World Series of Beer Pong™ XI Satellite Tournaments! That’s over $5000 worth of prizes that OGP gave out at The 2nd Annual SoCal WSOBP™ BidFEST!
Friday’s event consisted of a Men’s and Women’s Singles (1v1) tournament, as well as, a 2v2 double-elimination tournament. Former World Series of Beer Pong™ Women’s Singles Champion, Brandi Wrathall of Nevada, took down the ladies tournament, while Nicholas Bland of California cashed in on the Men’s side of the singles tournaments. Former World Series of Beer Pong™ Champion, Byron Findley of California, teamed up with fellow Californian, Zakary Corsi, and claimed the last seat in the winner’s circle on Friday night via a victory in the 2v2 tournament.
Saturday’s schedule had 3 different tournaments on tap that all varied in format. The first was a multi-partner tournament, meaning each player participated with a different partner in two separate brackets with the winners of each bracket meeting in a best 2-out-of-3 final series. Ryan Smith and Scott Muller, both of California, came out on top of the multi-partner tournament. The 2nd of the trio of Saturday tournaments was a Co-ed tournament. Each team had to consist of 1 male and 1 female player. Ryan Smith collected his 2nd victory of the evening, as Charlie De Hoop, also of California, stamped her ticket into The WSOBP™ Main Event. Finishing off a day full of pong was a change of pace for most, as “House Rules” were implemented into a competitive tournament. David Diaz and Justin Herman, both of California, claimed the bid, elbows and all!
Sunday kicked-off the final day of BidFEST with another multi-partner tournament and finished with a tourney where an element of surprise was thrown into the mix as players were NOT allowed to pick their own partner! Each team was paired by randomly drawing names from the participant pool to complete teams. David Diaz finished the weekend and collected multiple wins, as he and Ethan Wald finished atop the field in the multi-partner tournament. Ethan Wald also walked away with multiple wins on the weekend as he doubled-up on Sunday and won the Random Tournament alongside Mark Pimentel.
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Texas Beer Pong Tour:
Continuing to the south on our recap tour, we pull into Old School Bar and Grill in Austin, Texas, where The Texas Beer Pong Tour awarded multiple players with WSOBP™ bids and cold hard cash!
3v3 was the name of the game in Texas! During 3v3 play, each team has 3 players per side and sets up an extra 5 cups. (15 cups in total.) 3 balls are shot per-side! Roland Ortiz, Adrian Damasco, and Mando Roman filled out the roster that took home the WSOBP™ XI Bids.
Texas also got a little tricky and mixed in a Random draw tournament of their own, which rewarded Robert Williamson with his qualified entry into The WSOBP™ Main Event. His partner Rob Dix cashed in on a $300 cash prize for his share of the random draw prize, as his ticket to the big show in Vegas was written long ago. Dix also picked up an additional win with his partner James Alanis while playing for qualified entry into The Spring Classic!
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Chicago’s HOME Satellite:
Just a “few” miles to the northeast, The Chicago House of Music & Entertainment was rocking with nearly 100 players from 11 different states, who partook in a Quad-Bracket World Series of Beer Pong™ XI Satellite Tournament.
Each player was allowed 1 entry into 4 individual single elimination brackets. Each player had to play with a different partner in each of those 4 brackets. The winners of each individual bracket met in a best 2-out-of-3 semi-finals series. The winners of the semi-finals squared off in a best 2-out-of-3 final series.
Brendan Dyelle of Rochester, Michigan, picked a couple of doozy partners from St. Louis and came roaring out of 2 different brackets, placing him in both semi-final series. The first semi-finals saw Dyelle and former World Series of Beer Pong™ Champion, Ross Hampton, take down Scott Frew and Andy DeCaluwe of Illinois to advance to the finals.
Dyelle prevailed again in the second semi-final bracket with Brent Saale beating out Johnny Fourdyce of Illinois and his partner Michael “Sunshine” Kloiber of Kentucky, to advance both of his teams to the final series. Wait what? (This means, Brendan Dyelle had already won the entire tournament without even having to play in the final series.) Dyelle kicked back and watched his two partners play 1v1 to decide who’d share his first place prize with him and who’d take a share of 2nd. Ross Hampton trumped Brent Saale 2-0 in the final series to claim his share of 1st place.
Dyelle took home a bid to The WSOBP™ and $375 cash. Hampton banked his 2nd bid of the season and $250 in cash. Saale walked away with $125 for his efforts.
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Michigan Satellite:
Last but not least, we make one more stop and travel even further north to Bay Lanes Bowling and Banquet Center in Bay City, Michigan, where Boozin’ Bob decided 3 days before the big weekend that he wanted to be apart of all the fun!
It’s risky business putting so much up for grabs with such little time for players to secure partners and make plans to play but Boozin’ Bob made it happen! He saw an opportunity with some of the best players in the state making the trip down to Chicago to open up the field for non-bid winners to finally scratch their names into the reservation book at The WSOBP™ for the first time, and he capitalized on that opportunity.
The format varied from all the others over the weekend. It was a double-bracket tournament; however, players were only allowed to pick their partners for one of them. The other side of the bracket was random draw. Brandon Juracek, better known as “Homeless” and his partner Clarence Johnson chalked up the Satellite Tournament win.
Being Johnson’s first bid win, he provided us with a quote where he unknowingly described a feeling he’ll now get around the same time every year, for the rest of his life…
“I’m hyped about Vegas! Not even gonna lie!”
Me too, Clarence. Me too.
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On behalf of BPONG™ and The World Series of Beer Pong™, we’d like to thank all the organizers who put so much time and effort into making these awesome tournaments happen! We’d also like to thank all the players who came out to play this past weekend!
If you’d like more information about The World Series of Beer Pong™, how YOU could potentially run a Satellite™ Tournament or anything BPONG™ related, please feel free to reach out to [email protected].
The Top Ten Reasons The World Series of Beer Pong XI is Your Can’t-Miss Event This Year
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??
OGP’s WSOBP XI Satellite Tournament Recap & Upcoming Action
This past Saturday, Ocean Grown Pong played host to the 11th WSOBP XI Satellite Tournament thus far, which qualifies players to participate in the annual World Series of Beer Pong tournament, presented by BPONG.COM. There are currently 12 more Satellite Tournaments scheduled across the globe that have yet to be dictated; October being hot, as 9 of those 12 events will be played during this month.
Though many more Satellite Tournaments will sprout up between now and July of 2016, we can officially consider ourselves coming into the heart of Satellite Season.
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For those of you new to the scene, here is a quick rundown of just exactly what a Satellite Tournament is:
Typical WSOBP XI Satellite Tournament entry fees per player usually hover between $20 and $30 per bracket. Most tournaments run with a BPONG affiliation have converted over to a “double-bracket” format. Double-bracket tournaments consist of what are essentially two entirely different tournaments that typically require 2 losses before elimination. Once each bracket is played through in its entirety, the winners of each bracket meet in a Championship Series that dictates who takes home the prizes!
(A “Bid” = World Series of Beer Pong XI qualified entry and a 4-night complimentary stay at the host venue, The Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino.)
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The Hideaway Café in Riverside, CA, had a FULL house on September 26th, 2016 that saw a couple familiar faces take home their first bid win of the season.
Coming out of the first WSOBP XI Satellite Tournament bracket was Mark Pimentel, who you may recognize from some of our recent blog articles. Mark has been an absolute monster recently (as if he hasn’t always been) and has taken home some big time wins. His partner in the first bracket was none other than Ocean Grown Pong’s very own, Ryan De Hoop. Many may not realize just how difficult it is to run an event and keep your hand hot enough to shoot your way to a win.
The second bracket was of “random” variety, meaning that partners were selected completely randomly. The reason for implementing a “random” format into one of the brackets is to keep the best players in the game from consistently forming teams together. The “random” factor generally helps spread out the talent and introduce new players to the veterans of the game. However, the random format is not flawless and sometimes great players end up with an even better random draw.
Mark Pimentel found himself with an early victory as he and his random partner, Zak Corsi fought their way through the second bracket.
Tricky situation, I know. Here’s how it works.
Mark won both brackets with two different partners, which means, Mark already won the tournament and gets to sit out while he watches his two partners play a best-of-3 singles series to see who gets the other bid.
Corsi took game 1 of the best-of-3 series and put De Hoop against the wall right out of the gate. However, De Hoop battled back to take the next two straight games and secure his World Series of Beer Pong XI Satellite Tournament Championship!
Mark Pimentel and Ryan De Hoop will both receive a qualified entry into The WSOBP XI Main Event and a 4-night complimentary stay at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino from July 6th – 10th, 2016.
Mark also finished 1st and 2nd in the two side events that were hosted at Hideaway; One being a singles event, of which he finished second behind Lake Forest, CA, Ponger, Ryan Smith; The other side event being a Co-ed tournament, where Mark and his first lady, San Diego Ponger, Jessi Links, brought home the win.
You can catch Ocean Grown Pong and yet another WSOBP XI Satellite Tournament at the very same spot, The Hideaway Café in Riverside, CA, on October 24th, 2015. Whether you just missed the win on the 26th or just want to stop by to check out the action for the first time, it’s sure to be a great tournament!
Can’t make October 24th? No problem, OGP has you covered as they have a Satellite Tournament scheduled for November 5th, 2015 at Johnny V’s in San Diego, California. This particular Satellite event will precede the West Coast’s biggest event of the year, The 5th Annual West Coast Championships (WCC)!
The WCC event is co-hosted by Ocean Grown Pong, as well as, our friends over at Nor Cal Beer Pong and Pongstars.net!
You can find all the registration information for the West Coast Classic on the Official WCC event page here:
(https://www.facebook.com/events/1401263893346654/)
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For all other information on The World Series of Beer Pong XI Satellite Tournaments taking place around the globe, you can visit bpong.com to find out where all the action is going down, as more events are continuously added!
Whether you are near Michigan, Texas, California, Minnesota or even Switzerland, we got you covered for your opportunity to win your way in and compete in the end all, be all, of beer pong tournaments, THE WORLD SERIES OF BEER PONG!
Check out all the Satellite Tournament listings and dates here: https://bpong.com/wsobp-xi-satellite-tournaments/
Didn’t find what you are looking for? Drop us a line at [email protected] about anything beer pong related!
Marx on a Mission. (A Recap of the Domination at the Utah $5k and Seattle $5k)
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!