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Local beer pong league gaining popularity

SNAFU Sports beer pong tournaments are highly competitive and run by World Series of Beer Pong rules.

Yes, there's a World Series of Beer Pong.

"There's a lot of guys that showed up, and they have their little basement, garage, fraternity rules," said Kyle Magneson, 29, owner of SNAFU Sports. "A lot of people don't like the rules right off the bat."

Magneson and his friend, Joel Heimbach, both graduates of Port Huron High School, played in the latest World Series of Beer Pong, which takes place near New Year's Eve in Las Vegas. The grand prize is $50,000.

That spawned the two weekly tournaments -- Tuesdays at Dooley's Tavern in Sterling Heights and Sundays at The Outpost in Port Huron -- which have gained quite a following thanks to Facebook and word of mouth.

Enough of a following, in fact, they've been awarded a satellite tournament for the upcoming World Series of Beer Pong. The winner of the May 1 tournament at Dooley's receives a free trip to Las Vegas for the tournament, which includes four nights stay and entry fee.

"(Magneson) just initially started it for a league -- a local league -- to see what the interest would be," said Heimbach, 31. "Within a month, he's talking to the guy that runs the World Series."
Said Magneson: "We have probably anywhere from 30 to 40 people (at the Port Huron tournaments). We definitely have our regulars. A lot of people come into the bar to watch and hang out. It's kind of surprising how many people (from the tournaments) hang out outside of the bar, too. I've got half of those guys' phone numbers now."

Beer pong has been massively popular, especially on college campuses at parties and tailgates, for years. Wherever you go, the rules can vary.

At the SNAFU tournaments, the cups, balls and tables all are up to World Series standards. The cups -- which are filled with water -- have reinforced rims, which makes things a bit more difficult. The tables are skinnier than pingpong tables -- which casual games often are played on -- and have 10 cups on either side. The balls also are a little bigger than pingpong balls, Magneson said.

Players do not have to drink at all while playing. In fact, Magneson said the group is not promoting drinking, just the game.

"It's kind of deceiving," he said of the game's name. "It's more like water pong."

For more information on SNAFU Sports, visit www.snafusports.com.

This article was cited from The Times Herald. To read the full article click here.

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