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Tensions were high as players lined up their shots, took careful aim, and tried to loft a ball with a perfect arch to drop over the front rim of their target.
No it wasn’t the NBA playoffs: it was the New York Beer Pong Tour’s final stop at Porky’s in Hampton Bays.
Some 32 teams—including “Morning Wood,” “Eighth Street Latinas,” and “My Partner Is a Jerk” gathered at Porky’s Hamptons on Saturday for a shot at the first prize, a trip for two to Las Vegas to compete in the World Series of Beer Pong.
For anyone who still doesn’t know why supermarkets and convenience stores are all long on Ping-Pong balls, it’s all about beer pong, the drinking game that has swept the nation, in frat houses, dorm rooms, and more than a few dive bars from coast to coast.
The rules of the game are simple. Each team of two people lines up a triangle of 10 cups, filled with beer, like bowling pins on opposite ends of a table. Players try to toss Ping-Pong balls into their opponents’ cups. When a ball finds its mark in one of the cups at the opposite end, a team member there drinks the beer in the cup, and clears the cup from the table. A team wins when it has eliminated all of its opponents’ cups—although some would suggest that getting to drink all the beer at your own end of the table can’t really be considered losing.
About two years ago, Sam Pines formed World Pong Tour Enterprises, after having run a beer pong league throughout his college years. Mr. Pines has been campaigning to get beer pong recognized as a sport rather than just another drinking game through the creation of the World Pong Tour and by organizing corporate sponsored tournaments such as the New York Beer Pong Tour.
“I just called up companies and said ‘hey, we have this idea, are you interested in sponsoring us?’” Mr. Pines said. His strategy worked and he was able to secure such sponsors as FYE, Adam’s Balls, and BJ’s Beer Pong (a company that makes tables specifically for beer pong). The company has mounted several campaigns since October 2006, including the current tour, which concluded in Hampton Bays on Saturday.
“We have had stops at the Porky’s in Manhattan,” Mr. Pines said, “but this is the first time we brought the tour to the Hamptons.”
And if beer pong is a sport, then Mike Popielarski, 23, of Massapequa is an MVP. Mr. Popielarski has placed first in nine tournaments in the past two years, with six of those in the World Pong Tour. He has won such prizes as trips to Jamaica, Acapulco, and Las Vegas.
Asked how he got into playing in beer pong tournaments, Mr. Popielarski said, “It’s just easy money. I started playing beer pong at house parties and realized I was good at it. Then I started playing in tournaments.”
Mr. Popielarski attributes his success to his height. “The height is a definite, definite advantage,” said the champ, who is about 6’ 5”.
“I try and knock out the front cups first,” he said of his strategy after easily defeating a first-round opponent.
Mr. Pines and Mr. Popielarski are not the only ones cashing in on beer pong. The game has established its own cult following, with 20-somethings traveling around the state to compete in tourneys.
TJ Lazarus, 23, of Wantagh also has been following tournaments with the World Pong Tour and has won three trips to Las Vegas at Porky’s in Manhattan.
“It’s fun. I like the competitive aspect and it’s something to do on Saturday afternoon,” Mr. Lazarus said. Asked to share the secret to his success, he replied, “My strategy is not to get too drunk.”
On Saturday, when the foam had cleared, it was Mr. Popielarski and his teammate, Steve Ferro, of the “Ron’s still fat” team who were the big winners.
Entry to the tournament was $20 per person, which included beer and a t-shirt.
Consumption of alcohol was not required in order to compete.
on Jun 2, 2008