Pool tournament commentators

I feel your pain...

The problem is no one wants to work for peanuts and to commentate on 1 pocket
thats pretty much what they are gonna pay you. Probably the best all around value
for 1 pocket commentary is gonna be accu-stats although PATV is very entertaining
when Jeremy or Larry is commentating.:thumbup:

book collector said:

Wanted.... Someone who actually knows how One Pocket is played, to commentate on professional matches!
There are a few pros who get in the booth on occasion and I will listen to them , other than that, it is mostly drivel.
If you don't know what you are doing .... Just try to keep the score , but, {they can't even do that most of the time}.

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So why not have the spine to just be up front and say who you were listening to and that sucked at commentating?

Instead we get these useless posts, over and over and over again.

I hate it when you get two non-professionals in the booth and they semi-argue about what the correct shot to take is. Not 1-pocket, but I've heard Ken Shuman consistently arguing with his co-commentator about his opinion of what shot the seasoned professional should play. It tickles the sh*t out of me when the shot is taken and it's nothing like Shuman thought it should have been, which happens often enough that he should have learned by now to keep silent on the matter.

To be honest, I'd rather hear the commentators comment AFTER a shot is taken, why it was played the way it was and what the end result was supposed to be (or actually was). We have the two players to play the shots, we do not (imo) need people in the booth playing the game in their own minds and subjecting us to their tactics.

I myself would like to hear more background information and/or short stories about the players themselves from the players beginnings and their stats against their current opponent. They just want to blabber incessantly about how THEY think a shot should be played. Sometimes all we need to hear is the cracking of the balls for several or more shots before ANYTHING is spoken.

Maniac (there....I said Ken Shuman)

Watching the World Pool Master (live right now on Facebook), check it out if you want to hear some EXCELLENT commentators.

What I wrote in 2016 still stands today;
"Now you see that one ball hanging in the corner? Folks he's going to play it right there in the corner."
"He's going to just go one rail back to the middle to play the 2 in the side, since it doesn't go in any other pocket."
"He's tough on the 3, so he's going to load whitey up with reverse intake side-vacuum suck and go 7 rails for position." "Oh, he just stopped it there." "I guess that's why he's still in the tournament."
"He's not playing up to his full speed since he got a terrible spanking from Dennis recently."
"Let's replay that break shot because nothing went and I want to see that again, just like you folks at home do."
"Now, will you get a load of that waitress. I know she has buck teeth and a face that would haunt a house, but aside from that."
"Back to the match...the score....I have no idea what the score is. Junior, go see how many beads are up on each side."
"Ok, it's hill hill and what a thrill. Right now we want to pop on your screen a banner for Fugimar Bowling Center that sponsored part of this tournament, along Al Salmonella's Diner. What a fun place to eat, right down there by the Emergency Room."
"Oh, I can't believe he did that and we have no picture right now. Who bumped the camera?"
"Cough...cough....cough...I need to take a smoke break."
"Look at that right there. He grips that cue like a fat woman on a kielbasa."
"Ok, he's got his jump stick so I guess that means he's going to jump over the 5 ball. BCA rules say he must keep one foot on the floor, or it's a foul. Speaking of foul, have you tried the chicken next door? I ate a bucket of it last night. So good." "The girl at the counter looked like she had been hit in the face with a Predator break stick."

Howdy All;

Common-taters, . OK, if you (the tater), ...

1) are going to continually suck the snot back up into your sinuses and gargle it there get a mute switch installed so we don't have to listen to it.

1a), same for coughing.

2), You ain't Jim Nantz at the 18th hole, sometimes can not hear you even with the ear buds in. speak-up or turn up the mike gain, preferably both.

3), At least try to sound as if you are interested rather then you'd like to be somewhere ... anywhere else.

It's a short list. Fix those things and I'd be happy.

hank

Jeremy Jones is great.
Josh Roberts and Alex are surprisingly good also

If you’re not a great one pocket player, you can still be a good commentator....
...you can wonder what the player will do....like most of the spectators.

ALL commentators should have bios on the players...and know the history of the game...
...and the event they’re doing.

pt109 said:

Jeremy Jones is great.
Josh Roberts and Alex are surprisingly good also

If you’re not a great one pocket player, you can still be a good commentator....
...you can wonder what the player will do....like most of the spectators.

ALL commentators should have bios on the players...and know the history of the game...
...and the event they’re doing.

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I was very impressed with JJ!

A bit off topic, because the first post asked for one pocket commentators, but I really enjoyed listening to Nick Varner and Chris Melling during one of Darren's tournaments.
Alex Lely and Jeremy Jones also are very experienced commentators.

Good commentators make a huge difference for me in watchability. I love Raj Hundal, JJ, Josh Roberts the few times I’ve heard him, a philipino guy who always says “whadda chot”, Jay Helfert..him and Bobby Leblanc are my favorite pair, I like some stories mixed in with the match, Nick Varner, Melling, Daniel B, the railbirds,

A few more I can’t think of. One thing that kills me in 1P is the score being kept up with and said out loud every so often, sometimes on my TV I can’t get the whole picture with the game/ball count. And the good ones switch the names around as the pockets change. Often you can figure out who has which pretty easily but sometimes you can’t if you come in late and you spend frustrating minutes trying to figure it out

Oze147 said:

A bit off topic, because the first post asked for one pocket commentators, but I really enjoyed listening to Nick Varner and Chris Melling during one of Darren's tournaments.

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i was just gonna write that. i think it was the first of those tournaments, excellent commentary. educational as well. nick varner is superb but he has to be poked a little, needs a co-commentator

my all time favourites are probably grady making acerbic comments with buddy chuckling alongside him

pt109 said:

Jeremy Jones is great.
Josh Roberts and Alex are surprisingly good also

If you’re not a great one pocket player, you can still be a good commentator....
...you can wonder what the player will do....like most of the spectators.

ALL commentators should have bios on the players...and know the history of the game...
...and the event they’re doing.

Click to expand...

I agree. Commentators like Josh Roberts are great. What I appreciate about Josh is that he provides not only reason and/or method for current shot but also offers forecasts and/or explains the long game strategy as well.

Sometimes commentators are as annoying as listening to basketball shoes squeaking during a basketball game...”wow, good shot, wow, good shot, wow, good shot”...(mute) I’d rather hear nothing than hear someone point out the obvious repeatedly.

I’ve learned and improved my one pocket from good commentators.

One Pocket is not the easiest game to commentate on since there are so many options for a player on each shot. You can discuss the various options but it all depends on the individual player and how he or she feels at that moment in time. I think Dennis O. is a terrific player but I've seen him shoot some strange (and poorly thought out) shots and said so, and got roundly criticized for doing so. I guess it comes with the territory.

Personally I really enjoy JJ's commentary and like Josh Roberts as well. They both have a thorough understanding of the game and are articulate in talking about it. A good vocabulary and an equally good voice go a long way in the commentary world.

Maniac said:

I hate it when you get two non-professionals in the booth and they semi-argue about what the correct shot to take is. Not 1-pocket, but I've heard Ken Shuman consistently arguing with his co-commentator about his opinion of what shot the seasoned professional should play. It tickles the sh*t out of me when the shot is taken and it's nothing like Shuman thought it should have been, which happens often enough that he should have learned by now to keep silent on the matter.

To be honest, I'd rather hear the commentators comment AFTER a shot is taken, why it was played the way it was and what the end result was supposed to be (or actually was). We have the two players to play the shots, we do not (imo) need people in the booth playing the game in their own minds and subjecting us to their tactics.

I myself would like to hear more background information and/or short stories about the players themselves from the players beginnings and their stats against their current opponent. They just want to blabber incessantly about how THEY think a shot should be played. Sometimes all we need to hear is the cracking of the balls for several or more shots before ANYTHING is spoken.

Maniac (there....I said Ken Shuman)

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jay helfert said:

One Pocket is not the easiest game to commentate on since there are so many options for a player on each shot. You can discuss the various options but it all depends on the individual player and how he or she feels at that moment in time. I think Dennis O. is a terrific player but I've seen him shoot some strange (and poorly thought out) shots and said so, and got roundly criticized for doing so. I guess it comes with the territory.

Personally I really enjoy JJ's commentary and like Josh Roberts as well. They both have a thorough understanding of the game and are articulate in talking about it. A good vocabulary and an equally good voice go a long way in the commentary world.

Click to expand...

I like it when the commentators discuss the various options before the shot is taken. This gives you time, albeit not much, to view the table and learn then when the shot is complete you can determine if it was the right shot or not.

Wow, I’m surprised Billy Incardona’s name hasn’t been mentioned yet. He’s one of my favorites. Lots of knowledge with a great personality. I wish they would bring him back sometime.

FeelDaShot said:

Wow, I’m surprised Billy Incardona’s name hasn’t been mentioned yet. He’s one of my favorites. Lots of knowledge with a great personality. I wish they would bring him back sometime.

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Billy Incardona is as good as it gets for commentating one-pocket.

Maniac

Chili Palmer said:

I like it when the commentators discuss the various options before the shot is taken. This gives you time, albeit not much, to view the table and learn then when the shot is complete you can determine if it was the right shot or not.

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Personal preference, but as an intermediate pool player that I am, I prefer to guess at what route the player will opt for before the shot is taken so I can see how well my game knowledge has increased over the years. I'd rather not have any influence by the commentators. It is very pleasing to me that I correctly guess the route/pattern often as well as the commentators, especially the one's that are not professional-level players.

To me, the biggest turn-off is when the two commentators get into a mild argument of whose route will be taken by the player, especially when one of them is adamant of his/her option. The highlight for me is one is adamant and the player takes a different route, one that neither commentator offered, and all you hear is crickets chirping, especially from the one that was the most adamant. IMO, Ken Shuman is the best example of this type of commentating. He's wrong about as many times as he's right and with that track record, you'd think they'd just quit trying to outguess the shooter.

Maniac

Maniac said:

Personal preference, but as an intermediate pool player that I am, I prefer to guess at what route the player will opt for before the shot is taken so I can see how well my game knowledge has increased over the years. I'd rather not have any influence by the commentators. It is very pleasing to me that I correctly guess the route/pattern often as well as the commentators, especially the one's that are not professional-level players.

To me, the biggest turn-off is when the two commentators get into a mild argument of whose route will be taken by the player, especially when one of them is adamant of his/her option. The highlight for me is one is adamant and the player takes a different route, one that neither commentator offered, and all you hear is crickets chirping, especially from the one that was the most adamant. IMO, Ken Shuman is the best example of this type of commentating. He's wrong about as many times as he's right and with that track record, you'd think they'd just quit trying to outguess the shooter.

Maniac

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I understand where you're coming from as well. I too, sometimes, like it when I get to figure out what they're going to do.

LOL, I definitely agree with part about two commentators arguing. I'm not sure who it is, sounds like Ken Shuman though, I'll have to do some research, but there is one commentator that I simply cannot stand to listen to. He's an older gentleman and is quick to call out the other commentator on any comments they make. Very annoying and I simply won't watch a match with him commentating.