In 2006, Jelle Bakker and his brother co-founded the Jelle's Marble Runs (JMR) channel, which specializes in uploading videos of marble race tracks and marble races.
During the pandemic, when various sports events were suspended, these exciting and fun marble races quickly became popular, and were reported by multiple media outlets including Time magazine and CNN. The American sports channel ESPN even broadcast their marble races during prime time.
More remarkably, the Bakker brothers' channel even partnered with a betting company to live stream marble races, allowing viewers to bet on the results in real time.
The marble racing series created by the Bakker brothers includes the Marble League, Marble Rally, Marble F1, Marble FE, and special annual races, all modeled after professional human sports events.
The Marble League (ML) is the largest and most formal marble sports event in the world, held annually, though the exact timing varies:
The Marble League features a variety of unique events inspired by the Olympics and the characteristics of marbles, which also sound very interesting.
For example, there are funnel races, sand races, and block pushing events, among others.
At the event, there is live commentary, dynamic rankings of the competitors, and timing accurate to 0.01 seconds.
To better capture the dynamics of the marbles, the official setup includes high-speed cameras, and every decision is replayed in slow motion for the audience to see clearly.
If you are unfamiliar with marble races, just watching a few events can immerse you in the world of marble competition.
To netizens, these ordinary glass spheres seem to have a vivid life of their own.
