We interviewed one of beer pongs best career pong players, Ron Hamilton, to find out:
Ron is a master at distracting opponents
Q: What do you do to train?
A: I don’t do much training now-a-days besides playing in as many tournaments as I can, but back in the day when I first started playing in tournaments I would train hard all day long. I would shoot somewhere around 1000+ shots a day. I would set up a 10 rack with a bucket of balls and just shoot. Then I developed a system where I would set up a 10 rack with only 10 balls to shoot, and for me to take 1 cup away I would have to hit all 10 balls in all 10 cups, with no ball in the same cup.
Q: How do you maintain composure in big games (competeing for $50k)?
A: I think thats something you have to learn throughout your life and apply that to whatever it is your doing, as in my case its beer pong. I learned to keep my composure under pressure as a pitcher for my baseball team in high school and college.
Q: Does athletic ability carry over to beer pong?
A: I think athletic ability has everything to do with beer pong. It takes GREAT hand and eye coordination as well as the ability to perform under pressure. I don’t think any particular sport gives one an edge in beer pong. I was an all-state pitcher in high school, a two time all American in college and led the nation in era for 8 weeks in my sophomore year of all Junior college pitchers until the final week of the season. I injured myself and could not play baseball anymore so I took my athleticism and composure and applied it to beer pong .
Q: How does your fiancé feel about your pong career?
A: My fiance Lori HATESSSSS my beer pong career, she really doesn’t like the bar atmosphere that I’m put in. I mean, I dont blame her; Im not a single guy; Im not that young anymore, and I would really be upset with her if she was going out to bars and flying to vegas all by herself, but I think she understands that it is something that brings me very good money and beer pong is just a business for me. I go to play beer pong and win that money and that is all I’m about.
Q: You win SO often; what gives you an edge over other pong players?
A: Besides my mental toughness and athletic ability, I have the ability of getting into people’s heads while playing. It is something I do because I need people to give me big misses, and the way people shoot now-a-days, anyone or any team can run 10 on you real quick; everyone has become that good. So now I need to gain an even bigger edge so I go crazy and get in people’s heads by just acting nuts; running around, ripping my shirt off, telling them I’m going to sack them, etc. Hey, I don’t mind getting made fun of by my opponent because I think of it this way: If you’re screaming back at me, throwing beer at me, talking shit about me, or worrying about what I’m doing…then your head is not in the game and you are more concerned about me than the game itself; so right there, I know I’m winning that game.
There are already 100 preregistered players, in 3 divisions: Pro-singles, doubles and bikini! Singles and doubles can register for a modest $15 fee, and of course, THE BIKINI DIVISION IS 100% FREE!
We love being a part of these events. We get to see the most focused, talented beer pong players in the world, in action. We are part of an emerging phenomena… beer pong is becoming a professional sport!
