Marble Racing is a sport watched by millions. In fact, these marbles have more fans than a lot of athletes. People buy their merch, and they even have their own team chants! That’s because brothers Jelle and Dion Bakker have created a captivating world, where a bunch of inanimate objects rolling down a plastic track suddenly becomes an exhilarating sport.
After a life-long passion for marbles, Jelle created a KZhead channel, and audiences quickly became obsessed with their high production value and creative races. It was even noticed by John Oliver, who featured it on his TV Show, Last Week Tonight on HBO.
You’ll be the on the edge of your seat chanting for your favorite marble team.
#Marbles #Racing #MarbleRun
00:00 Marbula One
00:29 Glass and Furious
00:42 The brothers behind marble racing
01:34 Meet the Team
02:25 Growing up with marbles
02:57 Building the first marble runs
03:25 Going viral
03:55 Creative approaches to building races
04:55 The die-hard marble fans
5:54 Dion's favourite marble
6:25 Coming up with new ideas
6:50 Jelle's success
Subscribe to Jelle's Marble Runs: / @jellesmarbleruns
Follow on Instagram: @jellesmarbles
Follow on Facebook: @jelleknikkers
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Thank you so much for this beautiful video about my work and passion! It was a pleasure to work with you.
I'm your childhood -sincerely, a fan of your channel from them PH
Jelle thanks for making all of these marble races and Go Green Ducks! When is Marbula One season 5 coming out?
Rip oceanics......i just like the color blue when I was 8 and now I’m depressed
@@JuliansMarbleZone we can’t say exactly when we will start production of Marbula One S5, but we surely produce this before summer 2024.
@@JellesMarbleRuns ok thanks, wishing luck to the green ducks
Can't believe you guys just replayed Momomomo's gruesome injury clip without an advisory warning. Even as a CCE fan, we were all shocked and heartbroken when that happened.
Although I think this is the first time we've had verification that Momomomo was indeed glued back up.
#MomoStrong 🥺
As a fellow CCE fan I completely agree.
As a team momo hater, me: 😂😂😂 Damn team momo overtaking us suddenly. Humpfff.
Great to see other CCE fans here. Still riding high off last season's victory.
Finally get to see the legendary Greg Woods 1:42. Though in my head, he is still a marble wearing headphones.
That person is an imposter. He is a marble
@miwer1000 That is one possibility
I was thinking the same thing
They hired a man to lip sync Greg's audio.
Oh absolutely
Jelle would comment on my marble track videos back in the day, even when my channel was super small. Really cool to see what they've come up with
Over the years KZhead has become such a soulless cesspool of clickbait, it's really heartwarming to see a wholesome, creative, genuine channel like Jelle's do so well! I love to see it!
❤
The imagination behind the design of the various tracks is amazing.
Rightttt! So cool 😎 🏁
I followed Jelle from when he was running his marbles on beach sand. Now he's here. Proud of him!
I remember walking around the area coincidentally and just instantly recognized the hill
Us too 👍
Me too! I got really excited when John Oliver sponsored it during Covid.
Do yu remember when the channel accidentally got deleted?
Jelles Marble Runs has finally made it. The channel has definitely suffered under the changes of the infamous KZhead algorithm, but the feverish fanbase (including myself) has remained loyal through thick and thin. I'm hoping they develop enough social and financial backing so that they don't need to rush through their production schedules to meet the cruel deadlines of social media. P.S. Go O'Rangers, let's redeem ourselves with a championship in the upcoming Marbula One season! #OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Crazy Cats Eyes are the best #EyesOnThePrize
Why has it suffered on the algorithm?
Let's go, O!
You’ll have to get through Royal and Cerulean
I've been a fan for about a year now and this was the first Marble League I watched: I'm so excited to see them recognized here!
Marble Runs isn't just F1. It's also Olympics. These marbles are the best marbles in the world competing for our entertainment
It's not a real sport until there are ultras in the stands.😆😆😆😆
I found Jelles while deployed in 2019. I watched the first video and thought "this is a weird channel" and then 2 videos later, I had the whole office watching with me. Goooooooooo'Rangers!
What makes Jelle's Marble Runs so great imo really is the world building, every team has a chant, certain marbles actually have personalities (another Team Momo marble has height sickness! XD), you never know what's going to happen each video! I love their channel! #quackattack
#QuackAttack
#QuackAttack Quack Quack Quack for the one and only Green Ducks!!
#QuackAttack MY PEOPLE YEAAHHHHH
#QuackAttack
#QuackAttack, let’s go green ducks, mallard you will always live on as MVM (Most valuable marble) and the pride of the green ducks
We finally got to see Greg Woods! Great job Jelle, Dion, and Pip!
It’s Piet (Pete in English), our father. But thank you! 😊 🙏
@@JellesMarbleRuns sorry. I didn’t hear it right. I was afraid I was going to butcher that one and, well, I did. Still, great job guys!
😂👍@@danilo352
@@danilo352haha no problem at all 👍😅
Greg's commentary is perfect! Is it scripted, or does he do it on the fly?
I never realized how big that set is! Would have loved to hear how the voice of marble racing came to join the project.
Greg has an interview out there on KZhead. The Moonlight Graham Show is the channel.
Oh man, i remember Momo Mo's injury back in the day! That arc from the Marble Leagues was so great. Im pretty sure he was put on a little marble stretcher and everything
A little crutch even.
Not going to lie, I teared up seeing that thumbnail and thinking about someone doing a story on Jelle. Congratulations. And Dion does such a great job with all the tiny details! The worldbuilding and the lore and the tiny trophys and champagne bottles! Also, GO MIDNIGHT WISPS!
The Greg Woods marble having a tiny pair of earphones and a tiny bottle!
My brother and I found Jelle’s Marble Runs during the pandemic, and we watched this almost every night after work alongside football highlights, we stayed up late replicating the routines that we used to do as a kid with toys and video games in our home. Definitely one of the bright spots during the pandemic. Knowing that this is a passion project between brothers with help from a small team is really moving.
I'm so glad that Jelle and his team got this big of a mention on KZhead. Onwards and Upwards
Jelle's Marble Runs is one of the most creative channels on KZhead. The attention to detail is incredible. The fans cheering in the stands makes me laugh every time
So cool to finally put faces on the people making this happen! Thank you and go Orangers!
Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! 🍊🍊🍊🍊🍊🍊🍊🍊🍊
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! 🍊🍊🍊
🍊🍊🍊🍊OOOOOOOOOOOOOO ❤
I found out about JMR through John Oliver and have been a dedicated fan ever since. It’s all the best parts about sports with none of the worst parts about sports! The O’Rangers are the team I support that are often in the top finalists, but the Green Ducks and Turtle Sliders have my heart. And cheers to Jelle and fam for being open about autism! Several in my family have it, so we definitely understand taking a deep interest in something you love. ❤️❤❤❤❤
🤗
O'rangers are my fave too.
OMG A FELLOW O'RANGERS FAN
Finally JMR is getting more attention!
It should be mentioned that Jelle is highly autistic and his family, friends and helpers (like therapy assistants) are key to making this man’s dream a reality. He wanted to make a marble youtube channel, and the people he cares about helped make that a reality.
You are completly right. We gave him that opportunity and he could built his dream. And indeed we thank our helping friends and JMA. Thanx for your loving and understanding comment😊
@@pietbakker2152 He is a very fortunate man!
The most underrated sport. The color commentating is 🔥
As a fan of Team Momo, I'm ashamed to say I had no idea about Momomo's injury and recovery! I absolutely love Jelle's Marble Runs, there is a wonderful joy to their videos that never fails to put a smile on my face.
I think it was the event that made me a Team Momo supporter!
to break the 4th wall, i didnt know that they glued the broken piece back on vs using a whole new marble. its perfect world building
@@andrewberthiaume7323 yeah I didn't know either.
Yeah. I just assumed they replaced the Marble. I love that they didn't! Adds a bit of character
Thank you for recognizing this dynamic duo. Jelle & Dion are the coolest innovative brothers since the Wrights!
There is another pair of brothers in Hamburg, Germany rebuilding the World in Miniature.
These dudes are fantastic, love them
This made me tear up with pride! I became a fan in n 2018, hooked my friends on the channel in 2020, and just last week I saw a family with their favorite team shirts on at work. It’s such a wholesome sporting experience from a fantastically gifted mind.
Learned about JMR from John Oliver and they helped get me through the pandemic
Jelle has such cool track builds! I have autism and I loved lining up all my hot wheels and doing a selection sort to pair them and race them. I kept meticulous records of placement and victory for many years.
Do you also film your races?
@@JellesMarbleRuns I didn’t have a camera back then but I definitely would have. I also used to crash them together and the one who landed upright would advance.
Oh man, same here. For me, it was monster trucks, lol. I’m sure if I looked I could dig up some old papers from like 10 years ago of meticulous scores and times for each event with my Monster Jam toys 😂
Now I’m wondering if I’ve autism…
@@aaroniemcwonley"he's not on the spectrum. He is the spectrum.."
I immediately knew this was Jelle's Marble Runs just by the thumbnail. 😄 Thank you for granting us a glimpse behind the veil! I've always been so impressed and inspired by the efforts and talent that go into their content.
Congratulations to Jelle for making his passion a reality!
I loved their Marbula E series. It had real teams from Formula E racing!
Jelles Marble Runs are legends of their own right.
Team limers fan here. Yes this racing is real and will end up in Vegas one day. Love it.
Please, NO WAGERING.
#GOLIME #LIMETIME We'll qualify next year
So glad to see Jelles getting their shine. They saved my pandemic.
Mine too.
I remember watching that episode of Last Week Tonight, I was beyond stoked that John Oliver wanted to sponsor the event
The sets and backgrounds are fascinating, but what brings the network to like is Greg Woods' commentary.By giving a piece of glass a unique personality. we can cheer or boo out favorites and villains. The pandemic is what gave these guys their chance, and all their fans are glad hey did...
I remember watching this channel. The biggest memory for me was watching a documentary on “red number 3” arguing that it should be disqualified for it being a cue ball. 😂😂😂
As a massive O'Rangers fan, it's so nice to see behind the scenes and meet the people who have brought me so much joy and entertainment over the years. Thank you for this!
It's very heartening to know that Jelle's favourites are Team Momo. And I can respect that he doesn't give them an unfair advantage but... throw them a bone now and then, dang it!
oh man i really like jelle's marble version compared to others
The amount of joy I get from watching these events is incredible. The attention to detail and the amount of work it must take to set up each video is mind blowing. I find myself cheering just as as hard or getting frustrated when my team is competing as real life sports. Greg Woods’ commentary certainly is the cherry on top of the videos. Viva Jelle’s Marble Runs & thank you for all the great content.
Greg Woods is a LEGEND!
@@dianebusby7047 Amazing commentator.
Haven't missed an event since 2020 and still looking forward to each new one. Green Ducks will once again soar to the top of the standings! Thank you for all your work and passion Jelle and Dion. And also to one of the best commentators in the business, Greg Woods!
7:36 Royals win is so magnificient for me, at least as Kobalts fan, I'm so glad he lead the team
i’d never thought that jmr would be on great big story but here we are
Man, this channel is super nostalgic to me, I remember bingeing this channel and many other marble race channels for days on end. Super glad that this video brought back some great memories, and now I can start cheering for my favorite marble teams again. Let's go Limers! (I also got a big soft spot for the Cat's Eyes as well)
A fellow cat's eyes fan and limers sufferer 🤝
I'm with you. I'm an O'rangers fan and sufferer, and I also have a MASSIVE soft spot for CCE. I root for them whenever the O'rangers are struggling.
And Dion's campaign to rewrite Jelle's Marble Runs as Dion's Marble Runs marches on...
NO WAY!!!! 😱😱😱😭😭😭 Jelle's Marble Runs is on Great Big Story?? I AM SO STOKED!!
I can't believe it either. I thought Great Big Story was a dead channel but I'm shocked they're up and running again. And THIS thumbnail almost made me lose it. I can't believe JMR was featured on Great Big Story either! 😭😍😱
That is what the world needs - marble entertainment....
I've left work early to watch the first race of the season this last year. Love Jelle's ❤
Jelles Marble Racing will always be Iconic. Glad they are getting some recognition!
The marble races are really thrilling, which basically glues you to your screen.
Two parts of childhood, Great Big Story and Jelle's Marble Runs, combine into one fantastic video. It's so good to see Jelle's story being told.
Jelles is fantastic. So glad this video was made to boost them and show more people the world of marble racing.
No way! Jelle's got his own video here! I'm so impressed
I have been through a rough time trying to make my own Marble Racing championship but I think I’m going to do exactly what Jelle did and push through to finish what I started.
I haven't watched for a while but I'm still a loyal Razz fan!
The Marble League is one of my favorite things on the internet
I'm one of the many that got in during the pandemic. Nice to see the people who brought glimpses of joy during that time.
As a huge fan of Jelles Marble Runs, GO CRAZY CATS EYES, thank you for this amazing video.
I’m a regular JMR viewer and I NEVER KNEW any of this!! Thanks for the BTS!!
Started watching them during Covid 😊 can easily fill your day
I love the brotherly care for one another
What a great look inside this phenomenal channel! I'm sure I speak for many in saying that Jelle's marble runs was a legitimate life saver during the pandemic. Being isolated and depressed... it was dark so having something to tune in to and cheer on despite the grim reality of the time was so needed. Thank you for covering this story. #SpeedIsKey
Terrific to see JMR get the attention they deserve. What an amazing amount of work this must take to provide us the videos we love. Go O'Rangers!!
Glad to see this is correctly attributed to the JMR team. I know others like it exist, and I even enjoyed a few of them, but the Marbelympics/Marble League and Marbula One of the JMR team really put this kind of entertainment into the mainstream.
Stoked to see this! I definitely got hooked in during Covid and I can recall my gf giving me a weird look when I told her I was watching more marble races than actual live sports. Now, we watch together and proudly support Team Rojo! 👍🏽
I genuinely hate watching most sports, but Marble League has helped me understand the appeal! The latest Marble League was thrilling and I had so many gasp-out-loud moments!
same. never understood the appeal but then i start screaming at my screen for the thunderbolts to do something good for once
Knowing more about Jelle and his family just makes that channel even more incredible.
Watching the marble olympics grow over the years it’s incredible how much thought is put into everything
As one of those dedicated fans (team Cats Eyes forever), this is such a cool look at the people who make it all happen. For me, I love the whimsy of it all, how wholesome the community is, and the sheer silliness and joy of watching these little marbles. It's just a good time. But what blows my mind time and again is the production value. The amount of work and effort these guys put into creating the events, the story lines, the stop motion animation, the sound effects, the way they really treat it like a sport and have all these little add ins for the fans, the team chants, the "audience" full of marbles, the "streakers" and "security" taking the streaking marbles away. Greg's commentary, that brings things to a while other level. It's all just so well done. The passion and love that goes into every single video is so obvious. And that makes it so easy to get genuinely invested in these little marbles, the teams, the league, everything. Jelle is amazing, the whole team is. And I'm so glad that these guys have been able to turn their passion into a living.
Thanx for this beautiful compliment. ❤ We hope to keep on for many years🤗
@@pietbakker2152 i hope you get to do this the rest of your lives!
My best friend showed me one video and ever since then I’ve been a dedicated fan.
I've watched so many of the marble races. The sets and antics of the audience marbles are fantastic! Incredible job to the whole team, and so excited they're featured on Great Big Story!
I thank these people for making my childhood
Jelles Marble videos helped me stay sane during the pandemic. O'rangers for life!
Woah! First time I see Greg Woods! I can go to sleep satisfied that this day has been a good day. A Balls of Chaos and Team Plasma fan.
I looked at the thumbnail and immediately thought of Jelle's, I've watched them for like 6+ years. I still remember the old days admiring the beach sand races and would love to make mine once if I had a chance. Like I'm 20 years old now but I love having my imaginations high bringing me back to the old passions of marbles as a kid.
It warms my heart seeing this small world and community I’ve come to call myself a member of be shown the spotlight. As a long time Orangers and Turtle Sliders fan. THANK YOU
GOOOOOOOOOOOOORANGERS! :D
🐢 ❤
🍊🍊🍊🍊🍊🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡
Been a fan for years, despite all the heart break that comes with being a Midnight Wisps fan. I am always excited to see the next crazy event!
I love these mable races. Now that I know that back story, I LOVE it even more...
I’ve been watching Jelle’s Marble Runs since 2018. I’m so glad they’re finally getting recognition for the hard work, great content, and overall amazing quality they put out. #SpeedIsKey
OH SO GREG IS THE announcer. Was wondering if Jelle was doing it. Also this opened my eyes...Brothers? A TEAM??? I thought it was all Jelle...damn...
No, it was. But to keep up and enforcing Jelle it’s necessary to make it a team effort.
@@JellesMarbleRuns That's the only reason that the ML, M1, SMR, etc. are possible: teamwork. And all of the fans are eternally thankful for this teamwork.
Love to watch their channel whenever I get pangs every few months. Especially the races in the dirts.
I’ve watched Jelle for a long time now and I will always root for crazy cat eyes.
What a marbelous story.
I have been watching since 2019 and most of the time it was more exciting and entertaining than all the other sports I watched
As a Crazy Cats Eyes I’m super happy to see the recognition that this channel deserves
What a great story. I've been a follower and fan of @JellesMarbleRuns since the early days. Learning the origins and more about the folks behind it was lovely. Thank you!
I've been watching Jelles channel with my kids for years now. Most of the events are interesting and exciting, and Greg Woods really brings the events to life with his commentary. We cheer out loud for our favorite teams watching the events! And it just gets better and better every year as they keep adding even more layers of polish! Thank you so much for giving us all a look behind the scenes with these guys! I can't wait to share this video with my kids!
I am a Raspberry Racers fan. I also love to cheer for the O'Rangers too!!!!
Everybody ooooooooooooooo's
oooooooooo
I'm an O'rangers fan but I also like cheering for CCE!
It is just so much fun to cheer for whoever in the moment. Marbles don't hold grudges, and thankfully, neither do marble racing fans.@@WillMellquist
500 races in 8 years turns out to be a little over 1 race a week! For 8 years straight! That's some really dedication
The production and visuals aspect is gold. Congrats, Jelle team, and thanks for the entertainment And, even playing the “B series” this year… the pulse still quacks! Go, Green Ducks!
Marble Runs has been a guilty pleasure of mine ever since the pandemic. Happy to see the faces behind a beloved channel!
A well deserved recognition!
I can vividly remember me actually watching the marble races in 2017.. it is now such a valuable memory to me :)
You will never have a veteran discount if you don't know about marble racing.
John Oliver introduced me to this, nice that we got to know the people behind all this + a bit of their story
I love this!! I am an English teacher for young children in Taiwan, and they LOVE when I play these for them during break time. I even enjoy it myself.
😊
I have watch a couple of their videos years back and wow I never expected them to be in Great Big Story! Congratulation JellesMarbleRuns, keep doing what you like and make people around the world happy to see this masterpiece
I always enjoy the marble runs - such great work. Greg Woods’ commentary really make the videos come together.