When Kyle St. John and Eric White play beer pong together, St. John always shoots first.
"Kyle is always the first shooter because I like the pressure that is on me to make that second shot," White says.
Beer pong has been popular on college campuses for years but has recently gone mainstream. There are regional and national tournaments, including the World Series of Beer Pong, which recently held its fourth event in Las Vegas. There is also a Nintendo Wii beer-pong video game, which was recently renamed "Pong Toss" after people complained that it promoted underage drinking.
Beer pong is played with cups of beer arranged in a triangle on two ends of a long, rectangular table. Team members alternate trying to toss a pingpong ball into the cups. Make a shot and the opposing team picks up the cup, removes the ball and drinks the beer inside. Sink all the cups and you win.
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St. John and White have played beer pong together for five years. They met through a mutual friend, Richard Henderson, and the three became roommates.
They built their first beer-pong table out of plywood and played games in the backyard.
"We'd play with whatever the cheapest beer we could buy was," says St. John. "Every once in a while we'd splurge and get Bud Light."
White, 25, graduated from the University of Arizona in May with a bachelor's in architecture. St. John, 24, is still at the UA, studying sociology. Henderson, 24, is a manager at Office Max.
Recently, the three friends decided to take their beer-pong talents public. They started holding tournaments at a local bar, the Wooden Nickel, and promoted them on their Web site, www.sweetiwin.com
Because state law requires bars to serve individuals and not pour beer indiscriminately, when the game is played in bars the cups are filled with water — though many players choose to play with a beer in hand.
White says he, St. John and Henderson take turns acting as designated driver.
"The designated driver is also the person running the tournament," he says.
At a recent tournament, St. John and White finished second to a team from Phoenix, Hawks Nest, that went on to play in the World Series of Beer Pong IV.
"That's one team . . . that I have a great respect for," White says.
St. John says he and White would love to play in the World Series some day.
"We've always wanted to go because we thought it was a good time," he says.
The next beer-pong tournament at the Wooden Nickel is Saturday, Jan. 24. Registration begins at 1 p.m. and game play will begin at 3 p.m. The entry fee is $30 per team; the money will be awarded to the teams that finish in the top three.
Beer Pong at O'Malley's
The Arizona Beer Pong League hosts monthly tournaments at O'Malley's on Fourth, 247 N. Fourth Ave. The next tournament is Jan. 27. The cost is $5 per person. Registration starts at 7 p.m. Games start at 8 p.m. For more information, go to www.azbpl.com
