2022 Beer Olympics Summary

The crisp late-winter air felt right again this year as, in tradition, the Tucson Beer Olympics made its triumphant return to its rightful place on the first weekend of March. While much was still to be decided heading into the final event, in the end, it was Azerbaijan that emerged victorious by a solid margin. Tevik is now the reigning social MVP and Olympic gold medalist as Steffes adds a second top-prize to his trophy case. Back on the podium for the first time since their gold in 2018 is the United States, who took the overall silver. And LePage gets back to his winning ways with first time medalist Wolf capturing the overall bronze.

Here is how the weekend looked like from the perspective of each team:

Azerbaijan (Steffes/Tevik) – GOLD – 19 points (4G, 3S, 1B)

What Went Right

It’s hard to overstate how dominant these guys were in the bracketed events. 12-0 in pool play, earning a bye 6 times. Won every semi-final match and three finals, set an Olympic Record in the obstacle course, and snagged a point in quarters. Truly an incredible whirlwind.

What Went Wrong

Amazingly, they could still look and say they left at least two points on the board. Teams they had already beaten in pool play came back around to best them in bounce run (Ukraine) and beer run (USA).

United States (Elrey/Jones) – SILVER – 14 points (4G, 1S)

What Went Right

It’s great to see these former champions get their groove back. Yes, we know the chugs are what they are famous for but they also got five points in snappa and beer run, two of their best career events.

What Went Wrong

The Americans had a sneakily terrible Friday night, losing in the quarterfinals of all three bracketed events and going 1-8 overall. For a team that eventually won beer run, it is astounding that they could not manage a single victory in either flip cup or beer pong.

Ukraine (LePage/Wolf) – BRONZE – 12 points (2G, 3S)

What Went Right

The Ukrainians battled through Saturday, nabbing gold and two silvers in quarters, straw chug, and the obstacle course after coming from the two-seed to steal the bounce run gold to cap Friday night.

What Went Wrong

Pool play results were mediocre, exactly 6-6, leading them to quarterfinal matchups time and again. It’s a tough road to haul from there and these guys did well Friday night to get some points. The magic just ran out when it came to bracket play on Saturday.

Scotland (Miller/Smith) – 4th – 8 points (2S, 4B)

What Went Right

Points in all three individual events was impressive and, as for the other events, the Scots clawed their way through, remaining in contention to medal until the final game in every game except the first, flip cup, and the last, the obstacle course.

What Went Wrong

Staying in contention in every event has its pitfalls though in the form of more and more drinking. Even more painful is coming away with little to show for it, as they appeared in the bronze medal match in the final four bracketed events, garnering only two points.

Mexico (Perez/Tillman) – 5th – 5 points (5B)

What Went Right

The most consistently good (but not great) team in the field by a tremendous margin. The Mexicans finished no worse than fourth in every single event.

What Went Wrong

If it was bad for Scotland to be in the bronze medal match four times, it was really bad for Mexico to appear there in all six bracketed events. Five third-place and five fourth-place finishes across the decathlon make this the most average performance ever, resulting in 3.5 more beers than the next highest team.

Bhutan (Eckert/Schauer) – 6th – 2 points (1S)

What Went Right

A strong statement in the pitcher chug put the rest of the field on notice and a couple early victories had the Bhutanese looking like they might be a little frisky.

What Went Wrong

In the Olympics, when you get close, you have to score. Two fourth-place finishes Friday night might have teased Bhutan, who then ran dry on Saturday without a single win in pool or bracket play. They managed to advance in the obstacle course, but sadly ended the competition with yet another zero-point, fourth-place finish.

2022 Beer Olympics Event Results

  • GOLD - Azerbaijan
  • SILVER - United State of America
  • BRONZE - Mexico

Participating Countries

  • Azerbaijan - Steffes, Tevik
  • Bhutan - Eckert, Schauer
  • Mexico - Perez, Tillman
  • Scotland - Miller, Smith
  • Ukraine - LePage, Wolf
  • United State of America - Elrey, Jones

Events

Flip Cup

  • GOLD - Azerbaijan
  • SILVER - Ukraine
  • BRONZE - Mexico

Pitcher Chug

  • GOLD - United States of America - 15.79
  • SILVER - Bhutan - 20.41
  • BRONZE - Scotland - 41.98

Beer Pong

  • GOLD - Azerbaijan
  • SILVER - Scotland
  • BRONZE - Mexico

Bounce Run

  • GOLD - Ukraine
  • SILVER - Azerbaijan
  • BRONZE - Scotland

Snappa

  • GOLD - United States of America
  • SILVER - Azerbaijan
  • BRONZE - Mexico

Quarters

  • GOLD - Ukraine - 11
  • SILVER - Scotland - 10
  • BRONZE - Azerbaijan - 4.1

Beer Ball

  • GOLD - Azerbaijan
  • SILVER - United States of America
  • BRONZE - Scotland

Straw Chug

  • GOLD - United States of America - 31.76
  • SILVER - Ukraine - 34.52
  • BRONZE - Scotland - 37.56

Beer Run

  • GOLD - United States of America
  • SILVER - Azerbaijan
  • BRONZE - Mexico

Obstacle Course

  • GOLD - Azerbaijan
  • SILVER - Ukraine
  • BRONZE - Mexico