Kentish Express Ashford & District
Warming up for the first World Series…of beer pong
Reporter Vicky Castle headed down to Kennington Cricket Club to try out beer pong. Watch her in action at www.kentonline.co.uk/kmtv.
Usually reserved for parties and pubs, you might recognise beer pong as a fun drinking game played by friends.
But thanks to an Ashford-based company, Breakthrough Funding, Britain will be sending its first official team to the World Series, in Las Vegas, and two residents are hoping to be the ones to win.
Dave Finch and Ian Hughes, make up The Two Old Pros – the qualified Ashford team heading to London for the UK’s first official Brit Pong championship.
On Monday, February 29, the hopeful pair will head to Bounce, in Farringdon, London, to play 64 other teams – including a duo from Downing Street – in a bid to become the inaugural Brit Pong champions.
Top prize includes £5,000, plus a four-night trip to Las Vegas and a chance to win the $50,000 (£34,410) championship money.
Ian, who lives in Kingsnorth with his wife and three children, said: “We’re really excited about the championship and looking forward to a great evening.
“The atmosphere is just fantastic and even the people who came to watch just love it.
“I didn’t even know what beer pong was when we were first told about the championships, I had to google it!
“But it’s great fun to get everyone playing and we’ve got everyone involved – friends, family, neighbours, even the kids – although obviously not with beer.”
Ian and Dave have known each other for more than 30 years and play cricket together at Kennington Cricket Club.
Their tongue-in-cheek team name was chosen by Dave, 56, a photocopier engineer from Kennington, who said they are among the older players in the game.
He said: “Neither of us have done anything like this before and I certainly didn’t see myself doing anything like it. But it’s really good fun that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
“I’d say Ian is the better player out of the two of us, he’s the younger one!”
The Brit Pong championships are sponsored by Breakthrough Funding, whose HQ is in Sevington, a company that dishes out R&D tax credits to innovators.
Sue Nelson, CEO and sponsor of Brit Pong, said beer pong seemed to draw in their client base. She said: “We do a lot of work with the tech community and this is their game – we call it the game of geeks!
“We’ve had an incredible amount of interest and support for Brit Pong across the country. There’s never been a UK championship recognised by the World Series before.
“The first qualifier tournament was held in Ashford and was a huge hit.
“It’s about time we had a British winner!”
Spectator tickets for the championships on Monday, February 29, are free and available until next Thursday.. For more, visit britpong2016. eventbrite.co.uk