with roughly 4 ounces of beer or another liquid , are placed in a bowling-pin formation . Each team takes turns tossing beer pong balls -LRB- similar to table tennis balls -RRB- at their opponent 's cup formation . If a ball goes into a cup , the cup is removed from the game , and its contents are usually imbibed by the opponent . The first team to knock out all of their opponent 's cups wins . White and Hampton learned to play beer pong the same place most people do -- in college . It was n't until recently that the two started playing competitively and realized they were actually pretty good . Their move from casual beer pong players to tournament competitors mimics that of National Beer Pong League co-founder Duncan Carroll 's decision to establish a competitive beer pong league . But he insists he and his business partners were n't the first ones to think of organizing it . `` We 're just the only people to actually carry it out , '' he said , laughing . The world series , in its seventh and largest year , has drawn more than 1,000
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Do n't be confused , Las Vegas . You did not wake up in a fraternity house . You are not still in college . Those celluloid-ball-throwing , beer-chugging patrons invading the Flamingo Hotel and Casino are not trying to scare you . They are probably just members of Seek and Destroy -- Wednesday night 's winners of the annual World Series of Beer Pong . Matt White and Ross Hampton came out on top after 22 games to take home the $ 50,000 prize , money that the recent Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville graduates will certainly be able to use . `` It 'll get me by for now , '' Hampton said after the win . He said the secret to his team 's success in the tournament was `` staying sober to play well consistently . '' Not always an easy task in a game with `` beer '' in it name . Beer pong , or Beirut as it is called on many college campuses , is played with two teams standing at opposite ends of a table . At each end of the table , ten 16-ounce cups , filled