Another excellent interview with an outstanding personality. I think Marc was a little modest about the improvements to the World Championships. It is far more organized and professionally run than ever, in part thanks to bringing on Arda and a great staff to keep things moving. Adding really fine, expensive boards was a huge plus to the event...we used to play on very cheap, light plastic boards that were simply not in keeping with the importance of the event. Gee, I hope this doesn't sound like I am being critical of Patty....she did a wonderful job but she didn't spend the kind of money Marc and Sander have for staff and equipment and streaming. The Galaxy staff, which supports the event, is top drawer. You know the saying, you get what you pay for, and they simply have spent more money to make the event look better and run better in virtually all ways. I think going to a single match final is one of the finest changes as well. I have done commentary on the world championship finals many times, and often it is anti-climatic as the finals turned out not to be a final after all, and when you have a second match, I think everyone is a little or a lot spent, including the players. He also didn't mention the wonderful commentators....not just myself and Nick Blasier and Bill Riles, but we often have fantastic co-commentators (including Marc himself), and in the past there were often commentators who simply were not very good at it for various reasons, and Marc has been quite selective in who sits behind the mic. Now, I will add one more comment. I believe one of the main things that makes a great tournament director and/or promoter is his/her demeanor. Some look constantly agitated and worried and super busy and some even look angry at times. Marc always has a smile on his face; he has time to talk with people and answer questions politely; and he brings a calm to the event that makes everyone feel like everything is under control. I think Marc was being quite modest about the improvements in Monte Carlo and I wanted to take this chance to point that out.

@AlexEshaghianBackgammon

10 ай бұрын

Thank you Phil. I hope to have you as a guest at your convenience.

Great interview, I could easily listen to you guys a couple hours more! Thanks!

@AlexEshaghianBackgammon

10 ай бұрын

My pleasure. Happy you enjoyed it.

Marc is backgammon royalty

@AlexEshaghianBackgammon

10 ай бұрын

Indeed he is

Nice

@AlexEshaghianBackgammon

10 ай бұрын

Thank you!

The backgammon strategy group link doesn't open anything for me. 😢

@AlexEshaghianBackgammon

9 күн бұрын

You can try searching "Backgammon Strategy" on Facebook.

@statsplease

7 күн бұрын

@AlexEshaghianBackgammon No results. Maybe the group restricts new accounts? Deleted Facebook like a decade ago and made a new account couple weeks ago specifically for bg groups

Sorry dude this video is too long. Took me 2 days to watch. You could've done this much faster. Backgammon is a great game and I play both live and on this platform but it's not the most important game in the world. Chess is still on top which I also play plus poker.

@AlexEshaghianBackgammon

10 ай бұрын

Yes usually interviews are shorter. But there was a lot to discuss with Marc and due to scheduling issues we were unable to make it two parts. Happy to hear that you were able to go through all of it. Thank you for your feedback.