A new competitive sport is unexpectedly taking the world by storm. A competitive marble racing league, the creation of two Dutch brothers from Nijmegen, has surged in popularity as people desperately scroll through YouTube in their quest to keep entertained while stuck at home.
Two brothers from Nijmegen in the Netherlands, Jelle and Dion Bakker, have instituted a competitive sport, which is currently taking the world by storm. Jelle’s Marbles Runs is a competitive marble racing league that the brothers broadcast on YouTube. According to them, Jelle, who has autism, has been fascinated by marbles since he was four years old. To this day, creating marble runs is one of his greatest passions.
The brothers told reporters that they decided to post their marble races on YouTube in 2006 and from there it grew into a marble racing league with different teams racing against each other. The brother’s popularity online grew and caught the attention of the comedian John Oliver, who described the marble racing league as “absolutely fantastic” and “a beautiful competitive event.”
Oliver has announced that his show would be sponsoring Jelle’s Marble Run, the highlights of which are now being shown on ESPN. Oliver also announced that, for each race, his show would donate five thousand dollars to a food bank in the name of the winning team as well as twenty thousand dollars to an international aid organisation in the name of the league winner.
You can watch John Oliver promoting the league on his show below, you can find it around the 17-minute mark. We have also attached a video of a race from the brothers' YouTube channel, so you can check out the unexpectedly captivating spectacle for yourselves.