If you are a World Series of Poker fan, the name of Lon McEachern certainly rings a bell. Norman Chad’s sidekick (or is it the other way around?), McEachern has been dubbed the voice of poker for his continuous TV coverage and commentary of the WSOP Main Event year after year.

Early Life and Career of Lon McEachern

The 2020 World Series of Poker $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event is set to see wire-to-wire daily live coverage from July 1-14 on ESPN and Poker Central’s direct-to-consumer OTT.

Like the most of us, Lon McEachern didn’t get to where he is today thanks just to good fortune. Born in 1957 in Memphis, Tennessee, he would soon move to the San Francisco Bay Area with his family. Lon’s interest in sports was already apparent during his teen years, as he played baseball during his time at Redwood High.

• On Tuesday night, the 2020 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Online Event #21: $777 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed attracted 849 players who rebought 512 times. The 1,361-entry field generated a $952,700 prize pool and after nearly 11 hours of play it was World Poker Tour commentator Tony Dunst emerging victorious to capture a $168,342.09 first-place prize and his second career bracelet.
• The WSOP commentator, frequently the gag man to the dry wit of Lon McEachern is 62 years old and has been the voice of WSOP coverage with Lon since the pair made their debut as a pair in 2003.
• The series crowned several high-profile winners including WPT commentator Tony “Panoramic” Dunst, who topped a 509-entry field to win Event #12: $100,000 GTD NLH Big $500 for $44,165.21.

After graduating from the high school in 1975, McEachern first enrolled with Santa Barbara City College and then proceeded to graduate from the University of California, acquiring B.A. in communications in 1980.

Like many others fresh-out-of-college communications graduate, Lon started his career at a radio. His first TV job was with KCOY-TV. After that, he moved back to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1990s, where he worked for KGO-TV and KPIX-TV. All the while, McEachern was also involved with ESPN in a freelancer capacity.

Career Defining Moment for Lon McEachern

The TV world can (apparently) be quite cruel. By 2002, McEacher removed himself completely from the industry, not being able to find the right gig. He took up a job as a mortgage banker and it could have been the end of his announcing career.

But, Lady Luck had different plans for McEachern.

Just as he was about to leave the TV world behind him completely, a surprising opportunity appeared almost out of nowhere. A friend of Lon’s approached him with an offer from ESPN to do the commentary for the 2002 WSOP coverage. Although no one could say at the time, the opportunity couldn’t have possibly come at a better time.

Poker Commentators Wsop Championship

WSOP Commentary and the Poker Boom

The ESPN gig was supposed to be a one-time thing. Lon teamed up with legendary Gabe Kaplan, whom most of poker fans know for his commentary of the High Stakes Poker. That year, the Main Event was won by the man who is often referred to as a “forgotten champion,” Robert Varkonyi.

The reason Varkonyi has become “forgotten” is not because he was the least impressive of the Main Event champions, but rather because the next year was the year of Chris Moneymaker, the man who won an online satellite to the WSOP Main Event for less than $100 and then proceeded to win the whole thing. The poker boom happened.

Thanks to the epic victory and all the hype that ESPN and PokerStars created, everyone suddenly started thinking they could be the next champion. There was hardly better time to be a part of the poker industry, and Lon McEachern was right there, on the very source.

Impressive WSOP Longevity Continues for 2020

McEachern has been the featured ESPN commentator since 2002, which receives massive exposure annually as the Main Event final table is shown live on both the main ESPN channel and ESPN2. It would be a shock if he doesn’t return in for what I expect to be an epic 2020 WSOP schedule.

Norman Chad & Lon McEachern Duo

With the interest for poker skyrocketing, McEachern had finally found the right gig. Although he continued working as a mortgage banker for several more years, his contract with ESPN was shaping up into a great opportunity.

Lon teamed up with Norman Chad, another man who is now known to nearly every poker fan on the planet. The two of them managed to create a dynamic that we’ve all gotten used to. Norman usually provides the “expert” part, while Lon is there to keep us entertained with funny comments and remarks (often at Norm’s expense).

Interestingly enough, McEachern admits that he wasn’t particulary interested in poker at all before the ESPN opportunity came.

However, since that time, he’s come to love the game and now enjoys playing whenever he has time. His favorite game, somewhat surprisingly, isn’t Hold’em but Omaha Hi/Lo.

Poker Commentators Wsop Odds

Masters of Improvisation

According to interviews McEachern gave to different media, the WSOP commentary is, for the most part, done “on the fly.” He says that neither Norman nor he have prepared scripts going into an episode or live broadcast (naturally). They come up with most of their commentary as the action unfolds and that gives the show an original feel.

Thanks to the fact the two of them have been working together for so long, they’ve managed to develop a really good dynamics and complement each other without almost any need for outside interventions.

Like any other public persona, Lon receives both praises and critiques from fans. While some love this improvised approach others feel like there should be more precise poker content commentary thrown in the mix. These critiques, of course, are at expense of both McEachern and Chad, but whatever you do you can’t make everyone happy.

The fact of the matter is, Lon McEachern and Norman Chad have, by this point, become an integral part of the WSOP Main Event coverage and it just wouldn’t be the same without them.

Lon McEachern’s Personal Life and Other Gigs

Poker Commentators Wsop Results

McEachern got married in 1981 to Carol Czyzewski, an alumna from the University of Santa Barbara. They have raised two children together. Norman Chad has been married… Well, we should leave that part to Lon, as no one explains it better.

Non-Poker Commentary

Apart from his engagement with the WSOP Main Event coverage, McEachern has also taken up other commentary gigs for various sporting events and shows. He hosted 2009 TV MMA series “Strikeforce on NBC,” and had an opportunity to call at variety of sporting events, including skating, different martial arts, and even Tour de France.

In 2012-2013, he took his first gig as the PBA commentator, working side by side with a PBA legend and Hall of Fame member Randy Pedersen.

While all eyes were on the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $10,000 Main Event on WSOP.com this past weekend, the site also concluded its Super Circuit Series, which guaranteed over $1 million in 18 ring events over 18 days (November 27-December 14).

Poker Commentators Wsop Game

All told, the series catered to 10,051 entrants and awarded $3,587,153 in prize money over its 18 gold ring events.

The series crowned several high-profile winners including WPT commentator Tony “Panoramic” Dunst, who topped a 509-entry field to win Event #12: $100,000 GTD NLH Big $500 for $44,165.21 and his first gold ring. The piece of jewelry compliments the online bracelet Dunst won over the summer when he took down WSOP.com Event #21: $777 NLH 6-Handed for $168,342. It marked the second bracelet of his career.

Speaking of two-time bracelet winners, Ryan 'GoFeltaFish' Eriquezzo, who has won the Global Casino Championship twice, also captured a ring during the series. His victory came after he navigated a 262-entry field to win the $1,000 buy-in Event #5: $100,000 High Roller for $50,992.79 and the fifth gold ring of his career.

Alex 'rip_neiko' Rocha was another winner after besting a 415-player field to win Event #11: $50,000 NLHE Freezeout for $23,690.27 and his third gold ring, and first since 2016.

The series culminated with the $525 buy-in, $200K GTD Main Event, a tournament that drew 578 players who rebought 353 times. The 931-entry field more than doubled the guarantee by creating a $465,500 prize pool, and coming out on top was Tyler 'muchultra' Cornell, who won it for $70,243.95 and his first ring.

While the WSOP Main Event was busy establishing its final table of nine, the Circuit wrapped with the $1,000 buy-in Event #18: $100,000 NLH Grand Finale High Roller, which drew 378 runners and offered up a $360,990 prize pool. Eli 'Sketchem' Mirlis prevailed to win the tournament for $69,310.08 and his first gold ring.

WSOP Circuit Super Series Winners

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