Pool Announcers; What do you want?

[couldnthinkof01]

I don't need to hear what the commentary personnel would do.
I don't need them to tell me what the options are.
I don't need yelling.
I don't need Danny Ds that don't go, when it does.

What I do need is insightful comments on what the player has been up to. Won/ place, new cues, new training they are trying, goals, etc.
The implications of the match at hand.
The dynamics of the players relationship to each other.
The situation after the break and what the table offers.
When someone is running out or the next play is pretty straightforward, silence is golden!

 

[Nostroke]

Easy question, they are not the show. People tuned in to watch the pool. And don't say then turn off the sound, that's not the point. Commentator's do add to the show, but they have to not try to be the show.

It's impossible to watch pool without hearing the balls clicking and that great sound when a ball hits the back of the pocket.

 

[boogieman]

Commentators who feast on cliches and platitudes, and offer uninformed statements about the participants are hard to listen to and such comments add almost no value at all. The worst of these is Phil Yates, but most of the commentators fall into this trap, offering heaping helpings of the obvious far too often.

Great post.

While some of his comments are pretty pedestrian, I'm actually enjoying Yates, if for no other reason he brings some "hype" to the match. I think for pool to continue to gain a wider audience you have to have some sort of hype man, just as long as they don't get too annoying.

 

[Mousa]

What I want from a commentator is pool analysis! Period. I don't want old stories from the 70's 80's 90's, I don't want puns and punchlines on every single sentence! Which is what Phil Yates did in like 90% of the time! The absolute "technical side" was Alex Lely, and I found him pleasant enough to watch! And Karl Boyes was in the middle, and still really enjoyable to watch! But Phil Yates? "Stop that cue ball before it goes all the way to Spain!!!" nah ah, my friend! No!

 

[evergruven]

Supplementary Information About the Players
Have the contestants met in other tournaments? Who has had the edge? Have they ever met in a very big spot? Are they rivals? When did they last draw each other in a tournament and who prevailed? When did each contestant win their last title? Which of them is having a good year in tournament play? Questions like these are rarely, if ever, answered. Commentators rarely furnish the kind of supplementary information that is standard in other sports, and I attribute most of it to poor preparation by such commentators.

to me, this is actually what (negatively) separates pool/commentary from so many other sports-
within the pool of pool commentators, there is plenty of experience, knowledge, and commentary talent
anecdotes are plenty- what is missing, are stats/research on the individual players and on the game as a whole.

at least, I'd like to see player bios with tournament histories, focusing on recent form, and head to head stats in individual matches
there, you would have some commentary bedrock- facts that could literally act as a foundation for the rest of the chatter
in many well-produced broadcasts/telecasts, you have a play-by-play person, and somebody to add "color," experience, stories, etc.

don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for a lot of the commentary I see on platforms like csi, matchroom, railbirds, and my fave production folks, accu-stats
it's my love for pool that desires more. stats would help professionalize the game, and give it more dimension, more to appreciate
and it would undoubtedly make it easier for fans to follow and interact with the game- on enough levels, I could write another paragraph about it
but I've rambled enough. it seems like such a silly, simple thing, but I really feel like it's the biggest thing missing from pool
I would love to see matchroom hire somebody like AtLarge to record and break down stats, and present them in an organized, aesthetically-pleasing way
I think something like that would go a long way.

 

[PoolBoy1]

I want the likes of Danny DeBartolo to do the color work.

 

[hotelyorba]

I like Freddie Agnir as a commentator. Nice calm voice, colorful use of words, knowledgeable insights, does not feel the need to keep talking when there is not much to say.

 

[The_JV]

I want the likes of Danny DeBartolo to do the color work.

I'd rather they clone Yates a few times and let them talk over the random flash bang....lol

The two things that stop me from watching AccuStats videos is Danny D, and the other individual that's constantly smacking his lips.

 

[Black-Balled]

Nick Varner is a very underrated commentator. Quite knowledgeable and also very funny.

I also enjoy the commentary of Appleton. He knows the tendencies of the current players.

My buddy moved south and told me it took him years to acknowledge that not everyone with southern accent was an idiot.

Not a fan of Nick on the mic. As a player and a Man and a citizen of our world....he's beyond good, but shhhh.

 

[lfigueroa]

I'm watching Table Two of the Matchroom World Pool Championships, streaming on YouTube, and generally enjoying it. I appreciate that they stream some content for free and the quality of play is obviously amazing. But I find that I do miss having announcers.

At the same time, I often find that I don't love what I get from pool announcers, that there is too much time spent predicting every single shot and then telling us what the player should have done, what the announcer would have done, why another route was better, and then the occasional comment about how great a shot actually was. (I can't stand being told that "the folks at home don't know how hard that was" when most of us know EXACTLY how hard something was).

Announcers often seem torn between teaching the game, like the viewers are beginners (Gasp! "He has to go THREE rails for position; here, here, and here, to get on this ball, here...") and over using the telestrator to show us every route, or assuming that the viewers know all of this and using technical terms that beginners wouldn't get ("He just has to stun this ball and he'll fall onto the carom for his next shot.").

So, the question: What is it that you want from your pool announcers? How is the job done properly in your opinions?

Should they speak to the veteran players or should they teach the game to the newbies, like instructional videos?

The issue with MR is that they have made the decision to have their commentators address the lowest common denominator. IOWs, they want announcers who can explain to the little old white-haired lady watching what she is seeing on the telly.

I know this because I was once told by someone with MR commenting experience what was wrong with my commentary during a TAR stream. I told him that he was wrong because TAR streams aren't being watched by little old white haired ladies (OK, not a lot of them anyway) and that streams like TAR's were being watched by a far more sophisticated audience and that the commentary should reflect that.

Lou Figueroa

 

[chefjeff]

THE ANNOUNCER NEEDS TO TELL STORIES ABOUT THE PLAYERS so the viewers have something to hang their hats on.

It's about the story, not so much this game or this match. It's the story that viewers like and can get into. Once there, the game suddenly becomes meaningful.


Jeff Livingston

 

[straightline]

just mute the sound.

If only you could mute just the commentary.

 

[chefjeff]

An announcer has to do his work BEFORE the match: interviews of the players, their buds, etc. and some research about the players.

On Billiards TV, that "announcer" starts babbling, with a mouth full of food, that he knows nothing about either player.

That doesn't cut it.


Jeff livingston

 

[JC]

THE ANNOUNCER NEEDS TO TELL STORIES ABOUT THE PLAYERS so the viewers have something to hang their hats on.

It's about the story, not so much this game or this match. It's the story that viewers like and can get into. Once there, the game suddenly becomes meaningful.


Jeff Livingston

On the same token they do not need to tell stories about themselves unless it involves the players in the match.

 

[chefjeff]

When Zach Johnson won THE Open, his story wasn't the one promoted during the tournament so it seemed almost a disappointment when Zach won. It was weird.

But the point is, they had another story going and that is what the viewers can cling to.


Jeff Livingston

 

[TheBasics]

Howdy All;

The game needs a Vin Scully. The man was able to keep up a steady patter of information
both as play-by-play and color commentary. He worked solo, had his own notes and was
up to date with all of his info. In other words he did his homework.

Now the jerk wads that feel they have to scream into the microphone I have zero use for
it's not a soccer (football), match. They don't need to feel as if they have to whip a stadium
into an absolute frenzy. They wouldn't do it for one of their snooker matches.

hank

 

[Texas Carom Club]

So, the question: What is it that you want from your pool announcers? How is the job done properly in your opinions?

billy incardona, grady mathews, buddy hall, mark wilson, double j in that order are my favorite
style personality and knowledge , hard to find i know but i know what i like and want.

 

[cjr3559]

Two pool expert analysts is too much, all you need is one. If you’re going to have two announcers you need a play by play announcer to counter the player analysis otherwise it’s overbearing.

Silence is golden too, every second of airtime need not be filled with talking. Take a breather for a few seconds. Think like a golf broadcaster, not hockey or soccer.

 

[JC]

Howdy All;

The game needs a Vin Scully. The man was able to keep up a steady patter of information
both as play-by-play and color commentary. He worked solo, had his own notes and was
up to date with all of his info. In other words he did his homework.

Now the jerk wads that feel they have to scream into the microphone I have zero use for
it's not a soccer (football), match. They don't need to feel as if they have to whip a stadium
into an absolute frenzy. They wouldn't do it for one of their snooker matches.

hank

Good luck with that

 

[Kobachi]

If you hate your liver, play the Danny D “he sold out” drinking game.

I am partial to our local Larry Schwartz.