When you are looking at “making a business” of beer pong the first thought is invariably to hold a tournament or start a league. But let me pose the question, does being a tournament/league organizer pay? The answer is yes and no.

It really depends on the terms of your agreement with the bar or place you hold the tournaments/leagues and the turnouts. For tournaments, the number of teams that pay admission is the key. It is important to set the prize money high enough to attract enough people while not making the amount too high. The next part is the entrance fee- go too high (no matter what the prize value is) and you will not get anyone. Go too low and you won’t get enough money to cover the prize you advertised.

The kiss of death is to have to go back on your original promises (like not giving certain extras promised for winners or cutting the amount of prize money itself).

Besides picking the right prize money and right entry fee, the next key is to plan things out. Think through scenarios for your break-even. I have been guys put in HOURS upon HOURS into a tournament and all they ended with was about $300 (and that was a for huge $5k tournament with 50+ teams).

Getting sponsors is always a good idea. Get someone to sponsor the venue, get a beer company/distributor to donate beer (or at least give you a better price).

Then when it comes to the day of, make sure to be on top of everything. Don’t sample the beer too much. Keep track of all the beer pong tables (they have a tendency to “disappear” at larger events), and make sure that things run smoothly. Keep these things in mind and odds are you will make more money on the tournaments/leagues that you do put on.

Until next time. Peace.