Jelle's Marble Runs

Jelle's Marble Runs is a YouTube channel based in the Netherlands, run by Jelle and Dion Bakker. It is based around marbles, marble runs, and marble races. Content on the channel includes spoofing the Olympic Games, Formula One, and other sporting events. Additionally, they create stand-alone competitions around holidays, with the marble names in the style of the holiday. These videos treat the cast of marbles as though they were athletes.[1][2] Acting as though the inanimate marbles use actual tactics, training, and psychology to compete, fans participate in an elaborate kayfabe to create engaging marble sports.

Jelle's Marble Runs
Personal information
BornJelle Bakker
1983
Wervershoof, Netherlands
NationalityDutch
OccupationYouTuber
Websitehttps://jellesmarbleruns.com/
YouTube information
Years active2013–present
GenreSports
Subscribers1,230,000
(31 July 2020)
Total views92,042,560 views
(31 July 2020)
100,000 subscribers 2019
1,000,000 subscribers 2020

The Marble League (formerly MarbleLympics and previously Marble Olympics), portrayed as the "Games", has a choreographed Opening and Closing Ceremony, often created using stop motion. Many of the sports are designed to resemble Olympic sports.[3] Each year, the channel uploads a new series of the Marble League, with different events and teams each year, which are introduced in the Qualifying round. As of 24 July 2020, the current channel has over 1.2 million subscribers with more than 90.7 million views, a number that has steadily increased, likely as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports.[4][5]

Overview

Jelle's Marble Runs has built a following personifying marbles throughout a variety of competitions. Each video is produced in the form of a sporting event with commentary provided by Greg Woods. The channel features annual series such as the Marble League, the Marble Rally, Marbula One, and the Hubelino Tournament. Additionally, Jelle produces seasonal Halloween and Christmas content, as well as one-off events such as the A-Maze-ing Maze Race. Interspersed between the competition videos, Jelle releases a wide variety of marble runs without commentary exhibiting his marble course constructions (some of which are on display in museums).

History

Jelle Bakker was born in 1983 in Wervershoof, Netherlands. He has stated that he has a form of autism, and said that because he has no occupation, making marble machines was one of his biggest hobbies.[6] He currently lives in Nijmegen.

In 2006, Bakker created the first version of the Jelle's Marble Runs YouTube channel. He received the Guinness World Record for the world's longest marble run on May 21, 2009, a record that he held until 2011.[7] Greg Woods, an early fan of the channel, produced a commentary on his own for one of the marble race videos. Bakker liked the video so much that he ended up partnering with Woods, who became the English-language commentator for the entire series.[8][9]

The channel soon started gaining attention and a fanbase in 2015, and started the MarbleLympics in 2016 as a mock version of the Olympic games.[10] Originally, Bakker planned to end the MarbleLympics series after the 2017 MarbleLympics. "The MarbleLympics will end in early August with an ending ceremony," he said in an interview by The Irish News, "but I will still continue in making great marbles-related videos." However, he continued the series due to popularity.

In late 2018, Bakker accidentally deleted his original channel of 620,000 subscribers while attempting to delete his Google+ account and was subsequently forced to relaunch.[11] By March 2020 the channel had regained all subscribers and surpassed its former peak.[12]

On May 17th, 2020, British-American comedian and late-night show host John Oliver announced on his show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver that the show will be the head sponsor for the 2020 Marble League.[13]


Marble Athletes

Teams
Team Athletes Events
Balls of Chaos Anarchy (C) Marble League
Marbula One
Tumult
Clutter
Snarl
Disarray (R)
Bumblebees Bumble (C) Marble League
Bea
Swax
Honey
Bomble (R)
Chocolatiers Choc (C) Marble League
Cocoa
Mocha
Bonbon
Fudge (R)
Crazy Cat's Eyes Red Eye (C) Marble League
Blue Eye
Yellow Eye
Green Eye
Cyan Eye (R)
Green Ducks Mallard (C) Marble League
Marbula One
Billy
Quacky
Ducky
Goose (R)
Hazers Hazy (C) Marble League
Marbula One
Smoggy
Foggy
Misty
Cloudy (R)
Hornets Stinger (C) Marble League
Marbula One
Wasp
Vespa
Hive
Yellowjacket (R)
Indigo Stars Indie (C) Marble League
Gogo
Diego
Bingo
Montoya (R)
Jawbreakers Candy (C) Marble League
Taffy
Sugar
Sweet
Tidbit (R)
Jungle Jumpers Jump (C) Marble League
Hop
Leap
Skip
Bounce (R)
Kobalts Azure (C) Marble League
Meepo
Gnome
Cerulean
Royal (R)
Limers Sublime (C) Marble League
Marbula One
Lemonlime
Goolime
Slimelime
Limelime (R)
Mellow Yellow Yellow (C) Marble League
Marbula One
Yelley
Yellah
Yellup
Yellim (R)
Midnight Wisps Wispy (C) Marble League
Marbula One
Wespy
Wospy
Wuspy
Waspy (R)
Minty Maniacs Minty Flav (C) Marble League
Minty Drizzel
Minty Fresh
Minty Swirl
Minty Mint (R)
O'rangers Kinnowin (C) Marble League
Marbula One
Clementin
Mandarin
Tangerin
Orangin (R)
Oceanics Ocean (C) Marble League
Aqua
Sea
Shore
Bay (R)
Pinkies Pinky Rosa (C) Marble League
Pinky Winky
Pinkydink
Pinky Toe
Pinky Panther (R)
Raspberry Racers Razzy (C) Marble League
Marbula One
Rezzy
Rizzy
Rozzy
Ruzzy (R)
Rojo Rollers Rojo Uno (C) Marble League
Marbula One
Rojo Dos
Rojo Tres
Rojo Cuatro
Rojo Cinco (R)
Savage Speeders Speedy (C) Marble League
Marbula One
Rapidly
Swifty
Velocity
Whizzy (R)
Shining Swarm Sparkle (C) Marble League
Shiny
Shimmer
Sterling
Glimmer (R)
Snowballs Snowflake (C) Marble League
Marbula One
Snow
Snowy
Snowstorm
Snowblast (R)
Team Galactic Cosmo (C) Marble League
Marbula One
Starry
Astron
Pulsar
Quasar (R)
Team Momo Momomomo (C) Marble League
Marbula One
Mo
Momo
Momomo
Mimo (R)
Team Primary Imar (C) Marble League
Marbula One
Prim
Rima
Mary
Aryp (R)
Thunderbolts Thunder (C) Marble League
Marbula One
Lightning
Bolt
Shock
Zap (R)
Turtle Sliders Crush (C) Marble League
Squirt
Shelly
Dash
Frank (R)

Marble League

The Marble League (formerly the MarbleLympics) is an annual series featuring marbles competing in Olympic-inspired events. At its inception in 2016, 16 teams were invited to compete in 12 events which included the 10 meter sprint, hurdles, and the long jump among others. Each team consisted of four marbles of matching colors and patterns. The champion of the Marble League is crowned based on the aggregate points in all events. Starting in 2017, the qualifiers were held in advance of each Marble League season with the top four teams from the previous year automatically qualifying for the subsequent season. Beginning in 2018, the Marble League featured a host team that took one of the four automatic qualification spots alongside the top three teams from the last year.

The 2018 Marble League was the first and only winter edition featuring events such as speed skating, ice hockey, and snowboard cross. Other changes included the addition of a fifth team member. In 2019, the MarbleLympics changed its name to Marble League due to trademark issues, increased the number of events to 16, and added a coach marble for each team. The 2020 Marble League had faced cancellation due to lack of funding, but a fully paid sponsorship from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver was announced on May 17, 2020 for all 16 events, with $5,000 going to food bank charities in the winning team’s name and $20,000 donated to the National Rescue Committee by the overall winner, allowed for the 2020 league to continue as scheduled.[14][15][16]

Year Originally broadcast Events Host Location Champion Runner-Up Third place
2016 5 August 2016 9 September 2016 12 n/a Bakker Bowl Savage Speeders Mellow Yellow Thunderbolts
2017 1 July 2017 19 August 2017 O'rangers Savage Speeders Mellow Yellow
2018 9 February 2018 28 April 2018 Snowballs Arctic Circle Midnight Wisps Savage Speeders Oceanics
2019 19 April 2019 11 June 2019 16 Oceanics Seven Seas Stadium Raspberry Racers Green Ducks Hazers
2020 21 June 2020 16 August 2020 Team Galactic Andromedome Savage Speeders O'rangers Minty Maniacs
2021 2021 2021 Crazy Cat's Eyes TBD TBD TBD TBD

The 2021 Marble League will be hosted by the Crazy Cats Eyes.

Marble League 2020

The 2020 Marble League, sponsored by Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, was hosted by Team Galactic and began on 21 June 2020.

DateNo.EventDurationWinnerRunner-UpThird place
June 21, 20201Balancing + Opening Ceremony10:43Minty ManiacsRaspberry RacersMidnight Wisps
June 28, 20202Halfpipe11:08O'rangersCrazy Cats EyesMinty Maniacs
July 3, 20203Funnel Endurance9:55Minty ManiacsO'rangersSavage Speeders
July 9, 20204Newton's Cradle9:53O'rangersTeam GalacticRaspberry Racers
July 12, 20205Long Jump7:23Crazy Cats EyesBalls of ChaosMellow Yellow
July 16, 202065 Meter Hurdles6:40Raspberry RacersMidnight WispsSavage Speeders
July 19, 20207Block Pushing9:34Midnight WispsTeam MomoO'rangers
July 23, 20208Triathlon8:46HazersTeam MomoO'rangers
July 26, 20209Sand Mogul Race6:24OceanicsHazersMinty Maniacs
July 31, 2020105 Meter Sprint6:22Minty ManiacsOceanicsSavage Speeders
August 2, 202011Black Hole Funnel9:58Savage SpeedersMidnight WispsCrazy Cats Eyes
August 6, 202012Relay Race6:54Savage SpeedersO'rangersOceanics
August 9, 202013High Jump20:21O'rangersBumblebeesMellow Yellow
August 11, 202014Team Aquathlon12:39Midnight WispsSavage SpeedersHazers
August 13, 202015Collision22:47Savage SpeedersThunderboltsMinty Maniacs
August 16, 202016Marble Marathon20:28Minty ManiacsMellow YellowCrazy Cat's Eyes

Marble League Showdown

The Marble League Showdown was introduced in 2019 as the lower division series of games for teams who did not qualify for the year's Marble League championship games. The Showdown effectively serves as the preliminary round for the next year's Marble League championship games. Each year, top-ranked teams in the Showdown will be given a chance to compete in the next year's championship qualifiers.

Year Originally broadcast Events Champion Runner-Up Third place
2019 16 August 2019 13 September 2019 4 Snowballs Hornets Rojo Rollers
2020 15 August 2020 Kobalts Jungle Jumpers Chocolatiers

Marble Rally

The Marble Rally (formerly the Sand Marble Rally) is a series of offroad marble races, where individual marbles race against each other down a sand or dirt course that has been constructed. The courses feature a variety of obstacles that will impede competing marbles on their way to the finish line. It is worth noting that marbles used for the Marble Rally are larger than marbles used for the Marble League, with a diameter of 25mm compared to the Marble League's 16mm marbles. The Marble Rally Showdown was introduced in 2018 as a series of races for marbles who did not qualify for the championship, giving those marbles a chance to qualify for the next year's championship. Red Number 3 is the most succcessful marble in the Marble Rally, finishing runner-up in the 2017 edition and winning the next two tournaments.

Year Originally broadcast Events Champion Runner-Up Third place
2016 18 June 2016 12 November 2016 12 Ghost Plasma Big Pearl Dragon's Egg
2017 1 April 2017 8 December 2017 12 Dragon's Egg Red Number 3 Slimer
2018 18 August 2018 2 December 2018 8 Red Number 3 Phoenix Superball
2019 20 September 2019 28 December 2019 8 Red Number 3 Ghost Plasma Superball

Marbula One

The first season of Marbula One premiered in early 2020. Marbles race multiple laps around a track with a conveyor belt returning them back to the top. As its name suggests, this series is directly inspired by the Formula One racing series. Sixteen teams from the Marble League were invited to compete in the first two seasons.

Team Championships
Season Year Started Finished Races Champion Runner-Up Third place
1 2020 17 February 2020 5 April 2020 8 Savage Speeders Hazers O'rangers

Individual Championships
Season Year Started Finished Races Champion Runner-Up Third place
1 2020 17 February 2020 5 April 2020 8 Speedy
(Savage Speeders)		 Snowy
(Snowballs)		 Smoggy
(Hazers)

Marbula E

Marbula E is inspired by the Formula E racing championship and is sponsored by Envision Virgin Racing. It features marble teams named after real FE teams (unlike previous series where fictional teams competed) and racetracks closely based on real-life Grands Prix.[17][18][19] The first episode premiered on 18 April 2020, consisting of a race in a recreation of the Paris Street Circuit, and is narrated by British professional Formula E commentator Jack Nicholls. After some negative feedback from marble racing fans, mainly over popular announcer Greg Woods’ absence, Woods joined Nicholls on commentary for the second race in a circuit based on the Seoul ePrix.

Year Originally broadcast Location Champion Runner-Up Third place
2020 18 April 2020 Paris Mercedes-Benz EQ ROKiT Venturi Racing BMW i Andretti Motorsport
2 May 2020 Seoul Panasonic Jaguar Racing TAG Heuer Porsche Mercedes-Benz EQ
6 June 2020 Jakarta BMW i Andretti Motorsport Mercedes-Benz EQ DS Techeetah
7 August 2020 Berlin TAG Heuer Porsche Mahindra Racing NIO 333
TBD New York City TBD TBD TBD
TBD London TBD TBD TBD
Overall TBD TBD TBD

Last Marble Standing

Last Marble Standing was announced on 21 May 2020 to celebrate the channel's 1,111,111 subscribers milestone. This tournament, sponsored by Arla UK's Cravendale, featured six brand new, dairy-themed teams, and included six endurance-based events.[20][21]

Year Started Ended Events Champion Runner-up Third place
2020 1 June 2020 20 June 2020 6 Graze of Glory Team Purity Semi-Skimmers

Hubelino Tournament

The Hubelino Tournament was a series contested on a course constructed with Hubelino marble tracks and using 20mm marbles. The tournament series is confirmed to be discontinued as of 2020.

Year Originally broadcast Events Champion Runner-Up Third place
2016 24 November 2016 11 November 2017 12 Green Gang Ruby Rollers Golden Wisps
2018 5 October 2018 2 November 2018 8 Bumblebees Minty Maniacs Black Jacks
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gollark: Just use all the memory as a stack, silly.
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References
  1. BondeNews Editors. "Youtube channel promotes marbles 'olympiad', BondeNews, Netherlands, 24 July 2017. Retrieved on 4 April 2019.
  2. Bishop, Rollin. "This MarbleLympics Event Pits Marbles Against Fidget Spinners", Vice, Canada, 9 July 2017. Retrieved on 4 February 2019.
  3. Spiegel.de Editors. "Web phenomenon Marbles Olympiad", Spiegel.de, Germany, 17 December 2017. Retrieved on 9 February 2019.
  4. "Jelle's Marble Runs". YouTube. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  5. Independent.ie Editors. "This marble version of the Winter Olympics is the best alternative to the real thing", Independent.ie, Ireland, 4 February 2019. Retrieved on 4 February 2019.
  6. Themadmuseum.co.uk Editors. "Jelle Bakker", The Mad Museum, United Kingdom. Retrieved on 5 February 2019.
  7. Bakker, Jelle. "JELLE’S PASSION" Archived April 23, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, Knikkerbaan.nl, Netherlands. Retrieved on 27 March 2019.
  8. Capelle, Romain. "The balls also have their Olympic games", Télérama, France. 9 September 2016. Retrieved on 4 April 2019.
  9. Meany, Marty (May 21, 2020). "Jelle's Marble Runs: MarbleLympics 2020 Gets John Oliver Sponsorship". goosed.ie. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  10. Matsakis, Louise. "Inside the Hypnotic World of YouTube Marble Racers", Vice, Canada, 5 May 2016. Retrieved on 27 March 2019.
  11. Li, Grace. "Miss the Olympics? Try Marble Racing.", The Harvard Crimson, United States, 27 March 2018. Retrieved on 27 March 2019.
  12. "Jelle's Marble Runs". YouTube. March 2020.
  13. Oliver, John. "Coronavirus VII: Sports: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)". YouTube. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  14. Coronavirus VII: Sports: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO), retrieved June 29, 2020
  15. Roskopp, Jack (May 21, 2020). "Longing for the Summer Olympics? This virtual Marble League might be the next best thing". KSAT. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  16. Dicker, Ron (May 18, 2020). "John Oliver Offers Well-Rounded Solution To Coronavirus Sports Void". HuffPost. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  17. "ENVISION VIRGIN RACING GET THE BALL ROLLING WITH LAUNCH OF WORLD'S FIRST 'MARBULA-E' SERIES". Envision Virgin Racing. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  18. Mogg, Trevor (April 20, 2020). "Formula E team rolls with marble racing during pandemic postponement". Digital Trends. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  19. "Formula E team fills the sports void with online marble races". Engadget. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  20. "Last Marble Standing". www.arlafoods.co.uk. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  21. McGuire, Pauly (June 21, 2020). "Last Marble Standing: Graze of Glory Dominates Cravendale Cup". OnlineGambling.com. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
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