Improving the WSOP in 3 easy steps Part 2: The Broadcast Booth

I have to admit that the 2011 World Series of Poker coverage has made it near impossible for me to indulge in my cynical side and unlike in years past it took a great deal of thought to find three small faults in the ESPN coverage of the 2011 WSOP. But fear not, I have found faults, and here they are!

• Antonio Esfandiari MUST be a permanent addition

This is something I’ve been in favor of for a very long time; adding a third person to the ESPN broadcast team. While I like the banter between Norman Chad and Lon McEachern, I’ve always felt that the duo was lacking that true “expert” insight into what was taking place at the tables. Little did I know that the perfect addition would arrive in the form of Antonio Esfandiari.

In the lead-up coverage to the final table of the 2011 WSOP Main Event I enjoyed the rotating commentary crews, and felt Antonio Esfandiari and Olivier Busquet did an excellent job in their roles as “experts”. However, after listening to the three-man team of Esfandiari, Lon McEachern, and Norman Chad this is obviously the trio ESPN needs to use for the foreseeable future.

Not only were Antonio’s reads pretty spot on, but he also used his upbeat, playboy, personality as a counterbalance to the more cynical Norman Chad, while Lon McEachern kept the entire telecast moving, and avoided dead-air with well timed stats, history, and questions for his counterparts.

You could see the huge drop-off when Hellmuth sat in for Esfandiari, and you also saw the same when David Tuchman took over for Lon McEachern. Additionally, when Norman Chad was not present in the booth the team of Esfandiari and McEachern were just not as cohesive -the three of them together were absolutely perfect.

Busquet was also very good in the booth during the Day’s 3-7 coverage, but his personality is a bit dry, and he didn’t seem to be able to gel with the other people in the booth. Hellmuth has proven over and over again to not have a clue as to what is going on at the tables, giving great technical opinions like “he could have anything here!”

While I doubt the money is going to be a driving force for Esfandiari, he loves poker, loves being around the game, and in all honesty doing some expert play-by-play for the WSOP final table is at best a 1 week commitment.