Teams Go Balls Out in World Series of Beer Pong

Beer pong isn't just a silly drinking game for college co-eds, it's a serious sport. Or at least that's the case at an annual event called the World Series of Beer Pong.

While many of us are nursing a hangover on New Year's Day, others will be getting ready to drink a few more rounds in Las Vegas at the sixth annual World Series of Beer Pong, the largest, longest-running organized beer pong tournament in the world.

From Saturday to Wednesday, hundreds of beer pong enthusiasts from across the globe will descend on the Flamingo Hotel & Casino for the epic ball-and-beer showdown hosted by BPONG.com, a website created by beer pong lovers, for beer pong lovers.

The bracket tournament won't just be some little dorm room game of beer pong.

In fact, the best team of the bunch will win a $50,000 cash prize -- all for tossing some little balls into plastic beer cups with the utmost accuracy.

According to Billy Gaines, co-founder of BPONG.com, participating teams tend to take the tournament very seriously given the high stakes.

He told AOL News that this year will be no different, with teams going balls out for a chance to be crowned beer pong world champions.

Gaines said that when he last checked, more than 500 teams were participating in the World Series of Beer Pong, or WSOBP, with at least "46 states and nine different countries represented" on that roster.

"It's two players per team, with no sub-ins. And they must follow the official WSOBP regulations while playing, so everyone is on the same page," explained Gaines.

Official rules, according to BPONG.com, include using regulation BPONG equipment such as specific types of tables, balls and cups. Each team starts with a 10-cup triangle formation, with some cups filled with beer and some filled with water.

"For each round, we distribute one pitcher of beer per table. That comes out to about one beer total per player, per team. We monitor the players' consumption so they don't play poorly, although a lot of people would argue that they play better with a few drinks. It eases the tension, and they feel more relaxed, but too much beer and people get messy," Gaines said.

"We're trying to get people to see beer pong as more than just a drinking game. It's evolved so much more beyond that. People now play for fun, not just to overdrink," he continued.

Gaines said teams with the real advantage at the WSOBP are those who practice all year long and incorporate "some level of skill," strategies and sanctioned distractions into their game play.

"The best strategy, I think, is to aim for the cup you want to get the ball into, not just for the cups in general. That's how the veterans do it. Girls also have an advantage in this game. They've been known to use their cleavage and shake their butts to distract opposing teams," he said.

Gaines said formidable contenders from past WSOBP tournaments have included a male-female duo who showed up to the beer pong tables wearing weird, and obviously alarming, S&M fetish gear.

"The woman wore this crazy dominatrix outfit and came in dragging her male partner on a leash. He was wearing tighty whities, a choker chain and a ball-gag, and he even had fake welts on his body, supposedly from her whipping him. Costumes are a very good way to distract other teams."

Gaines said a popular all-male team known as "Smashing Time" is also a force to be reckoned with in the competitive beer pong circuit.

"Those guys sometimes show up in Spandex or with crazy hairdos. One time they stuck a raw hot dog to the outside of their pants and they kept playing with it to distract the other teams. They're really good -- they've won the WSOBP the last two years, so they're the returning champions."

Gaines said Smashing Time is especially good at psyching out the competition. Each year, the members make up rumors that they've "split up" just to mess with their opponents.

Another quirky pair to watch out for this year is a team from Florida called "Justin Cider Gloria Stits."

The team is made up of Robert and Amy Awrey, a husband and wife duo who met at the WSOBP two years ago and got engaged the night before the tournament last year.

The Awreys told AOL News that their shared passion for beer pong brought them together, and the hobby continues to be a huge part of their daily lives as newlyweds.

"We have a regulation beer pong table in the middle of our living room at home, and it'll be there for a while," Amy said with a laugh. "We practice together almost every day after work and on weekends with friends, although we put water in the cups during the weekdays."

Robert said they're constantly working to improve their shots and accuracy, although come game time, they'll be relying on a couple distraction methods of their own.

"Bob likes to dance around a lot, so that should distract our competition," said Amy.

"Our best strategy is to have Amy wear a low-cut shirt. Cleavage. That's what will ultimately separate us from the rest of the pack," joked Robert.

In all seriousness, the newlyweds really are shooting high.

This will mark their second year playing together as a team, but their first time as a married couple, so they're out to prove themselves.

Robert said having a male-female team "works out well" because opposing all-male teams tend to underestimate women like Amy at the tournament.

"They relax a little bit when they see her, but they don't realize that she can hang. She comes in, dominates, gets the winning shot and they're totally blown away. It's really funny to watch," he explained.

"In college, my nickname was the 'Beer Pong Queen,' " added Amy.

The lovebirds agreed that it also pays to know each other so well as husband and wife because they'll be able to keep each other calm and level-headed throughout the tournament.

They'll also be able to keep an eye on each other, should they start getting sloppy and drinking a little too much at the tables.

Although the Awreys insisted they're playing in the WSOBP mostly for fun, they're aiming to place as high as possible in the brackets.

"Last year, we were the second best guy and girl team there, but we just missed the playoffs. This year, our goal is to be the best. I feel ready. We've put in a lot of practice," said Robert.

"I'm not nervous at all," Amy said confidently. "I'm just going to have fun and drink beer."

Well, they'll be up against teams like "Lost in the Sauce," "Fill 'Em Up Again," "Strange Brew" and "Natty All-Stars," so they had better bring their A-game -- and probably leave the beer goggles at home.


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