With a lot of history abroad, the beer pong games, a fun activity for the weekends, is finally coming to namma ooru. Having its origin in the U.S., beer pong is usually played with two teams of two to four players in each side. Each team begins the game by standing at either end of a table behind their rack of cups.
The players attempt to throw ping-pong balls across a table into an opponent’s cups filled with beer. The opponent team has to drink the glass with beer. The first player/team to hit all their opponent’s cups wins. The losing team/player is required to drink whatever beer is left on the table.
The organiser of the event Ankit Prasad shares, “I was studying in Canada and was part of beer pong games that happens almost every weekend. When I moved back to India, I missed playing it a lot. I knew many other students missed the game just like me and that was the sole objective of starting the tournaments in India. When the culture became popular we started doing more of it. We’ve organised 11 tournaments so far in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon and other Indian cities. The 12th edition is set to happen here.”
“You don’t win or lose in this game. You win the game and cash or lose and get more drinks. It is fun either ways!” adds Ankit. With 64 teams competing overall, there are a lot of youngsters, expats and NRIs who have registered for the edition. “Women are participating equally. We have many women too. The response in Chennai has been the best so far,” he says.
With a cash prize of Rs 1,00,000 and an extra Rs 25,000 from the organisers Civiva Entertainment, the tournament is pretty serious and has strict club rules as well. Stating that it is a fun activity to meet and bond with strangers, Ankit shares an interesting anecdote — “I’ve known people who have met through beer pong become friends and getting married eventually! It is such a bonding place where you pretty much engage with new people and know about them.”
With a DJ and jamming session and more engaging activities, people who haven’t registered can also watch the tournaments and participate in other activities. Targeting the crowd of 21-35, the night is for all beer lovers who can have proper hand and eye co-ordination even after many drinks down.
Stating that safety is of primary importance, Ankit concludes by saying, “All participants are given Morning Fresh — a detox drink to ensure everyone wakes up without a hangover. Also all participants are personally called to remind them to bring a driver along or book a cab to avoid drinking and driving.”
(At Pitch Sports Lounge, Metroplace Chennai, Taramani, September 23, 6pm onwards)
