[11] Eventually, a version without paddles was invented and the names Beer Pong and Beirut were adopted in some areas of the United States sometime in the 1980s.

In general, this will be a plywood board cut to proper size, sometimes painted with sports, school, or fraternity symbols and given a liquid-proof coating.

[citation needed] An inexpensive pale lager or light beer of 3.2–5% ABV is sometimes preferred because of the large quantities consumed during the course of several games.

[26] In the World Series of Beer Pong rules, only a single-ball 'rollback' occurs resulting in a three cup maximum that can be made per turn.

[23] Some players throw "fastball" style which uses more of a hard chopping motion to send the ball in a more direct line toward the intended target cup.

[27][28] During the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of young people in Denmark were thought to have contracted the virus as a result of playing a version of the game where they held the table tennis balls in their mouths and spat them into the cups.

[32] Some municipalities and states have attempted to ban beer pong from bars or in general because of the belief that it encourages binge drinking (see Health effects above).

In the fall of 2007, Georgetown University officially banned all beer pong paraphernalia such as custom-built tables and the possession of many ping-pong balls.

[36] Time magazine ran an article on July 31, 2008, "The War Against Beer Pong", which noted legal restrictions and bans on the game in colleges and elsewhere.

[37] In many states, players have taken to placing water in cups to hold organized beer pong tournaments legally in bars.

[citation needed] Beer pong tournaments are held in the United States at the local, regional, and national levels.

WSOBP IV, held in January 2009 at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, had a $50,000 grand prize and over 800 participants from the US and Canada.

Held annually since 2014 at the Beats n' Bots festival in Lichtervelde, this event is widely regarded as Belgium’s national tournament, with official rules and significant media coverage each year.

In the beer-loving culture of Belgium, the national championship has established itself as a sporting event, drawing top teams from across the country and a growing, diverse audience.

[43] The Wall Street Journal, Time and other media outlets have reported on the increase in businesses selling beer pong paraphernalia, such as tables, mats, cups, or clothes.

[2][44] Last Cup: Road to the World Series of Beer Pong[45] is a documentary which follows some competitive players as they prepare for the WSOBP II and ultimately compete against one another for the $20,000 grand prize.

Rick Reilly wrote an entire column about The World Series of Beer Pong IV for ESPN The Magazine.

Francine I. Katz, vice president for communications and consumer affairs, was reported in The New York Times as saying that bud pong was not intended for underage drinkers because promotions were held in bars, not on campuses.

[54] The New York Times quoted a bartender at a club near Clemson University as saying she had worked at several bud pong events and had "never seen anyone playing with water.

It's preposterous,"[54] while advertising news site Adjab opined that "someone playing bud pong with water is about as likely as a teenage kid using the rolling paper he bought at the convenience store to smoke tobacco.

"[55] However, the practice of playing with water has become increasingly common on college campuses, due to hygienic concerns of sharing cups with previous players.

[57] The next year, Bay Tek released a family entertainment variant called Sink It, where it shares the same purpose, but awards tickets after the game session.