And just like that, with a quick turnaround, we’re back. It’s time for the 2020 Marble League Qualifiers, to fill out the full lineup for next week’s championship. 20 teams will compete in four events, with the top 12 advancing to this year’s big stage, Marble League 2020. Let’s do a 25-questions style thing, except 20 questions, one for each team. I promise these will get shorter as the events proceed, because we won’t have any questions to ask.

Minty Maniacs: Out of retirement and barely making it out of the 2019 Showdown as the 8th and final team to qualify, can the Maniacs find a way out of a field that includes three former champions? The Hubelino originated squad last qualified for the Marble League back in 2018.

Bumblebees: Speaking of Hubelino squads, the defending (and final as it’s being replaced by a Gravitrax competition) Hubelino Tournament champions have risen through the ranks, first competing in Marble League events at the 2019 Showdown, where they finished 7th. Will they have a chance to make it to the grandest stage for the first time?

Team Momo: In 2016 they were 4th! It’s all been downhill for Team Momo since then, with Momomomo’s injury in 2017 and combined altitude sickness/concussion of Momomo and Momomomo in 2018 leading to the forming of Team Momary for the remainder of the games, adding Prim and Mary of Team Primary as emergency ringers, and bottoming out it seemed in the 2019 Qualifiers, missing the games altogether. But with a 6th-place finish at the 2019 Showdown and a strong second half in Marbula One, can they build on some mo-momentum and get back?

Jawbreakers: One of the original 16 teams in 2016, the Jawbreakers haven’t made the Marble League since 2017, where they finished 13th. I’d say most aren’t counting on it, but can they upset the cart?

Team Primary: Team Primary hasn’t qualified since 2017? That does surprise me, but then again they were added in 2018 at the necessity of Team Momo. Can there be some sort of redemption for team captain Mary? Her brother Prim was near the top of the drivers’ standings throughout the Marbula One season, as he finished 4th out of the 32 drivers. Meanwhile, Mary did the exact opposite, finishing dead last in three of her four races, only coming next to last at O’raceway due to Wospy’s mishap on the conveyor belt. Namely, he fell off it.

Rojo Rollers: Apart from being selected for the inaugural Marble League in 2016, the Rojo Rollers have never qualified. And considering they won the first gold medal from the first games, you can argue it’s been all downhill from there. Meanwhile their training mate Red Number 3 has gone onto win the last two Marble Rally seasons. Is it the curse of Red Number 3?

Hornets: Which Hornets will we see, the squad that breezed through their debut at the 2019 Showdown, finishing 2nd, or the Marbula One outfit, where Vespa was the only marble other than Mary to get skunked, and Hive didn’t fare much better with 8 points, leaving the Hornets in last of the 16 squads?

Mellow Yellow: One of the teams to have made the Marble League since its inception, after finishing 4th in 2019 Mellow Yellow probably underachieved in Marbula One. So it’s primarily a question of bouncing back. A good qualifier should get that bad Marbula One taste out of their mouths.

Savage Speeders: Their first time ever in the qualifiers, the inaugural winners of both the Marble League (2016) and Marbula One (2020), you have to think they’ll be fine and sail through… right? How weird would it be to have a competition without the Savage Speeders?

O’rangers: Or the O’rangers, for that matter, with the loudest fans in marble sports, and former champs in their own right (2017)? The rivalry between arguably the two most successful teams in the sport got kicked up with the Midnight Bay qualification in the Marbula One finale, where Speedy started his qualification lap before Clementin finished his, possibly throwing the O’ranger contender off. Clementin qualified in 11th en route to a 12th place finish in the race, while Speedy won pole and then won the race en route to his drivers’ championship and the Speeders winning the overall team title.

Jungle Jumpers: The Jungle Jumpers had the most hilarious 2017 games, winning an event, getting bronze in the next, and then oversleeping and missing the bus for the event after, the only time a team has received a DNS, or “did not start.” (Out of kayfabe, Jelle forgot the marbles when he went to film the sand rally event.) After expectations were high in 2018 and they missed out, they responded with qualification and a top-half finish in 2019. Will the always bounding squad keep moving to new heights or crash out?

Balls of Chaos: With the exception of a disastrous 2017, they’ve been a midpack team, only leaving that comfort of “around 8th or 9th” in their rebound 2018 where they finished 5th. The middle’d be fine for qualifiers since more than half make it, but we’re all waiting for that next step.

Midnight Wisps: The first non-inaugural team to win the championship (debuted in 2017, 2018 champions), they’d like to bounce back after a tough Marbula One campaign. Wospy did get the team’s lone M1 medal in his first race back from the O’raceway incident, getting 3rd at Hivedrive, but I’m sure the Wisps would like better than 12th. Their home track Midnight Bay was, however, the coolest track of the season, and a fitting finale.

Crazy Cat’s Eyes: The Crazy Cat’s Eyes had 4 podiums in 2019, a nice jump from their 2 in their 2018 debut. So I think it’s all going to be about consistency from them, because they only had one other event in the top half. Maybe things roll a bit nicer?

Chocolatiers: One of the teams that normally stay under the radar, hopefully the Chocolatiers can make some noise this year. They have had some podiums, tallying a pair in 2019, but I’d say the Chocolatiers have to get some spice going.

Thunderbolts: One of the teams to have competed in every Marble League (even if with two entirely different rosters after a shakeup after 2018), both Shock and Bolt got podiums during Marbula One, including Shock avoiding the dreaded host’s curse with a silver at their track, Short Circuit, en route to a mid-table team finish overall. So, can they keep the current?

Indigo Stars: Senor’s pick for best single marble name with reserve marble Montoya, had rookie growing pains in 2019 en route to the 14th place finish. Simply put, can they get a sophomore bump?

Pinkies: One of seven teams to have competed in every Marble League championship (along with the Savage Speeders, O’rangers, Thunderbolts, Mellow Yellow, Oceanics, and Team Galactic), yet out of the group, the one that most are predicting to not make it, due to three out of the four years finishing in the bottom two. So I guess the question is whether they can prove everyone wrong?

Oceanics: The last team on the list is the other squad people would predict not to make it out of qualifiers out of the six iron marbles (obviously Team Galactic is in). If you don’t know why, watch the 2019 Marble League, hosted by the Oceanics. They did fine in the friendly round, finishing 1st. But they did the exact opposite once the bright lights were on. The only team without a podium in any events, they finished dead last, with the worst points per event average in the compeition’s history, and firing the coach mid-games. 2020 is a story of redemption for the Oceanics.

So that’s the teams competing, onto the events! The link to watch is here.

Event 1: Balancing

This marble sports staple is a cumulative event. Four team marbles simultaneously run on a track 120 cm long, trying to stay on the entire way. Points are scored with where each marble falls off the track (1 cm=1 point), with 10 bonus points scored for each marble that makes it into the green cup at the end of the track. The record is 438 points.

Chocolatiers: The first team to run always has it tough. They had no finishers, and one marble going off at 36 hurts. Total of 295 points.

Oceanics: Two stayed on well into the 110s, and one successful finisher. 350 points

Jawbreakers: Three early to middle of the course losses (all under 65 cm), with one going the length of the track but not staying on course enough to land in the bonus. 278 points.

Thunderbolts: Two fell off in the early half, but the first team with two finishers means it’s a total of 351 points.

Snowballs: Three went later into the track, with one finisher. 344 points.

Indigo Stars: No finishers, as they all fell off at different times. 270 points.

Midnight Wisps: Two early falls (17 and 44 cm), but there was one finisher plus one that went the full length but missed the bonus zone. Put it together for a middling for now 311 points.

Mellow Yellow: Two very steady finishers, even if the other two out before the 60 cm mark. 353 points.

Team Momo: Nobody made it past 90 cm. A disappointing start, with only 240 points.

Hornets: Two strong finishers means a very solid 350 points, good for a T-3 after the first half of teams run.

Rojo Rollers: As Greg Woods asks if we can finally get the Rollers to qualify this time, no marble goes more than 70 cm. 208 points. Not a good start for a team who hasn’t made it since the inaugural 2016 games.

Balls of Chaos: Two falling off early, but two finishers balance that out. 324 points.

O’rangers: They had one finisher, but the other three marbles didn’t get too far, with none of them making it to 50 cm. Total of 244 points.

Team Primary: Three marbles made it most of the way, but only one finisher.  308 points.

Minty Maniacs: Out of retirement, after withdrawing from the 2019 qualifiers but coming back for the Showdown. Two marbles fell off in the 40s, but two finishers means a good start with a total of 347 points.

Savage Speeders: Two marbles fell, as it’s hard to get three finishers without getting close to the record. But it’s where they fall, and for the Speeders it was at 56 cm for both. A total of 372 points and a provisional lead.

Pinkies: The Pinkies got one marble to the end after the other three fell off at almost the exact same spot. The total point spread was 42-43-43-130, or a total of 258 points.

Jungle Jumpers: Two fell off early. A third falling at 80 cm means it’s not the worst score to add to the finisher, but altogether a total of 272 points.

Crazy Cat’s Eyes: The Crazy Cat’s Eyes only had one finisher. Normally that’s not great. But all four marbles made it past 85 cm, so for their consistency they get 407 points, and the lead with only one team left to run the course.

Bumblebees: Three marbles made it to 95 cm or farther, and two finished. For the Bumblebees it’s 406 points, a near-miss in the event being down one point to the Crazy Cat’s Eyes, but more importantly, some good points.

Gold, Crazy Cat’s Eyes (407)
Silver: Bumblebees (406)
Bronze: Savage Speeders (372)
Rest: Mellow Yellow, Thunderbolts, Hornets, Oceanics, Minty Maniacs, Snowballs, Balls of Chaos, Midnight Wisps, Team Primary, Chocolatiers, Jawbreakers, Jungle Jumpers, Indigo Stars, Pinkies, O’rangers, Team Momo, Rojo Rollers

Points in the standings are, from 1st to 20th, 25-21-18-16-15-14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-0. I won’t go through the full standings after one event, because that’s a lot of lists.

Event 2: Funnel Endurance

Another staple (as they all are naturally), the name of the game is steadiness. Marbles go down the track and try to avoid falling into the funnels below. There is a series of funnels, and some of the strategy and drama is when a marble drops multiple funnels in one go, staying so long in one that their orbit is almost a straight line and their trajectory leads them to fall into the next one. One of the new looks is a series of green funnels, replacing the last tier of those orange funnels.

There are two heats with 10 marbles apiece, and places will be based on time in the contraption throughout both heats.

Heat 1: Stinger (Hornets); Minty Fresh (Minty Maniacs); Snow (Snowballs); Shock (Thunderbolts); Diego (Indigo Stars); Kinnowin (O’rangers); Wespy (Midnight Wisps); Mo (Team Momo); Mary (Team Primary); Rojo Uno (Rojo Rollers)

The first 15 seconds had several marbles falling quickly through multiple funnels, with Rojo Uno, Minty Fresh, and Shock, followed by Snow at the tail. It was Minty Fresh, first to enter the greens (that is bad), followed by Shock, as the rest shortly followed. Meanwhile it looked like Mo had the right angles, as he was up top.

There was a correction in the annotations, as the marbles traveled down the green funnels it was Mary of Team Primary (not Anarchy of Balls of Chaos in the next heat) finishing last, being the first to fall through. Oh, Mary, slow as a cube in Marbula One, but the fastest one in the endurance even.

There was no drama up top though. Mo wins Heat 1, with Kinnowin coming 2nd. A solid margin of victory over 18 seconds meant that if comparing the two heats, Mo might have the upper hand. But maybe this was a quick heat the rest of the way.

Heat 2: Leap (Jungle Jumpers); Anarchy (Balls of Chaos); Shore (Oceanics); Yellow (Mellow Yellow); Cyan Eye (Crazy Cat’s Eyes); Cocoa (Chocolatiers); Pinky Rosa (Pinkies); Whizzy (Savage Speeders); Bramble (Bumblebees); Candy (Jawbreakers)

In the first 15 seconds, Bramble was already at the last orange funnel. Meanwhile it was Pinky Rosa up top followed by a large silver sphere. But that is a ball bearing, in case a marble gets stuck on the track.

Bramble was the first to the greens, but there was a big pack of marbles bunched together at the first green funnel, slowing each other down by the looks of it, as Candy and Bramble fought for not-last as they fell through. Not falling through was Leap of the Jungle Jumpers, who true to the team jumped off the track. This is a DNF though Leap was okay. The race continued with Cyan Eye in the lead, the last dropping to the 2nd green funnel.

It was Bramble first to the last funnel (again, that’s bad), followed closely by Pinky Rosa who had struggled after the early lead, and it was the Pinkies marble taking last. The drama was in this heat, as there were a bunch of marbles at the last funnel, with the last one to fall being Anarchy, taking the heat. However, it is a timed event, and Anarchy’s 2:21 wasn’t as long as Mo’s very impressive 2:34.5, a 13 1/2 second difference.

Gold, Mo, Team Momo (2:34.51)
Silver, Anarchy, Balls of Chaos (2:21.01)
Bronze, Kinnowin, O’rangers (2:16.40)
Rest: Jawbreakers, Oceanics, Savage Speeders, Chocolatiers, Thunderbolts, Crazy Cat’s Eyes, Minty Maniacs, Hornets, Snowballs, Rojo Rollers, Indigo Stars, Bumblebees, Midnight Wisps, Mellow Yellow, Team Primary, Pinkies, Jungle Jumpers (DNF*)

*Leap (Jungle Jumpers) received 2 consolation points due to “track defect” forcing him to fall and get the DNF

Current standings: Crazy Cat’s Eyes (36); Savage Speeders (32); Balls of Chaos (31)

The Cut Line (top 12 advance)
T-9. Jawbreakers & Minty Maniacs (22)
T-11. O’rangers & Chocolatiers (20)
T-13. Mellow Yellow & Snowballs (19)
15. Midnight Wisps (13)

Obviously there were more further down, but just to give an idea of that line.

Event 3: Block Pushing: Two teams on separate tracks simultaneously push a block down it. Score is based on distance, so there’s no bonus for beating the team across other than that you’ll have a better score than them, similar to long-track speed skating. The record in this event is 82.6 cm.

This event was a bit controversial in Last Marble Standing (a one-off event with unrelated teams to the Marble League squads concluding Saturday afternoon), where The Freshers got multiple attempts after a marble jumped the track, much to the chagrin of most, including the Milky Madness faithful, self included. Milky Madness just straight-up bombed it. Hopefully there will be less drama in the Marble League.

Mellow Yellow vs. Midnight Wisps: The Wisps went farther, 69.8-61.5, a good last effort to get another cm or two and set the standard for the squads.

Balls of Chaos vs. Hornets: The Hornets got the better launch, but BoC had better push, just barely, due to a second effort. 55.4-54.9, way down on the first two squads.

Rojo Rollers vs. O’rangers: A clear winner, the O’rangers got more speed and more push. 65.9-60.3

Savage Speeders vs. Pinkies: A big burst of speed by the Speeders, to the point the sled jumped up, though it stayed on track. 69.3-58.2 to them.

Snowballs vs. Thunderbolts: A very even launch, a very even push. The Snowballs go just the tad farther, 62.9-62.3.

Team Momo vs. Team Primary: The two teams that made the brief Team Momary had a gate malfunction! Team Momo wasn’t released when the gate went up. Even weirder, the way Team Primary hit their block it went off their track and onto the Team Momo track, so it’s for the best that Team Momo wasn’t released. It’s called a false start, do it again.

On the restart, Momo couldn’t get a good push. Primary got a very good one though, 68.5-54.8, putting them in medal contention for the event.

Minty Maniacs vs. Bumblebees: A close contest, but a late push by the back line gives the Minty Maniacs the farther push, 59.6-57.0.

Crazy Cat’s Eyes vs. Jungle Jumpers: The two had even launches down the ramp but the Cat’s Eyes didn’t get a great push through the block. The Jumpers got the better one, 61.2-56.6.

Oceanics vs. Indigo Stars: Two blue marble teams with similar pushes runs and similar pushes. The Indigo Stars eked farther, 60.0-59.4. (Remember, these are all in cm, so the difference was 6 mm.)

Chocolatiers vs. Jawbreakers: The Chocolatiers got a bit of a leap at their front marble, like another gate issue. That right track is the riskier one for that reason, and I hope that that will be rectified in the games, possibly with two different runs. All that and they still go farther, 57.7-56.2. But with the hop could that run have been compromised, a 14th place finish in the event possibly higher if only? It was another 5 mm to the Pinkies, in case you’re wondering.

Gold, Midnight Wisps (69.8)
Silver, Savage Speeders (69.3)
Bronze, Team Primary (68.5)
Rest: O’rangers, Snowballs, Thunderbolts, Mellow Yellow, Jungle Jumpers, Rojo Rollers, Indigo Stars, Minty Maniacs, Oceanics, Pinkies, Chocolatiers, Bumblebees, Crazy Cat’s Eyes, Jawbreakers, Balls of Chaos, Hornets, Team Momo

Current standings/probably safe: Savage Speeders (53); Thunderbolts (41); Crazy Cat’s Eyes (40); Midnight Wisps (38); O’rangers/Oceanics (36)

The Cut Line (top 12 advance)
7. Snowballs (34)
8. Balls of Chaos (33)
9. Mellow Yellow (32)
T-10. Bumblebees/Minty Maniacs (31)
12. Team Primary (28)
T-13. Team Momo/Chocolatiers (26)
15. Jawbreakers (24)
16. Hornets (23)
17. Indigo Stars (20)
18. Jungle Jumpers (19)
19. Rojo Rollers (18)
20. Pinkies (11)

Event 4: 5m Sprint

The final event, and the last chance for teams on the bubble. It’s a simple event to explain. The marbles race down a 5 meter track, four marbles at a time, and standings are based on their time in the single run.

Heat 1: Imar (Team Primary); Pinkydink (Pinkies); Bolt (Thunderbolts); Bonbon (Chocolatiers)

Bolt bolted out of the gate first with a big lead on the ramped track over Bonbon at the currently unlit cauldron, which acts as a good marker. Bolt wins, Bonbon just holds off Imar for 2nd by two thousandths of a second, Imar 3rd, Pinkydink 4th. If it wasn’t already, it’s safe to say the Pinkies, prior to the event in last and likely needing gold to have a sniff of a chance, will not keep their streak alive.

Heat 2: Wasp (Hornets); Momomo (Team Momo); Indie (Indigo Stars); Red Eye (Crazy Cat’s Eyes)

Indie had the initial launch, but Red Eye caught up by the cauldron. Wasp and Momomo were neck and neck for 3rd and 4th. Across the line it’s Red Eye 1st, then Wasp, Indie, and Momomo. For a team on the wrong side of the bubble, that may do it for Senor’s Team Momo.

Heat 3: Swifty (Savage Speeders); Sea (Oceanics); Minty Fresh (Minty Maniacs); Skip (Jungle Jumpers)

It was a slow launch, but Swifty had the lead by the cauldron. Close bunching throughout, but Swifty ended up with a two-length victory, followed by Sea, Skip, and Minty Fresh. (Two lengths still being 32 thousandths of a second.) And everyone can exhale, the Savage Speeders will qualify for the League.

Heat 4: Snowflake (Snowballs); Clementin (O’rangers); Waspy (Midnight Wisps); Yellup (Mellow Yellow)

Decent starts except for Waspy, but Yellup quickly pulled a lead on the field. In Lane 1 Snowflake was running a slight serpentine pattern, bouncing off the lane walls which had to have scrubbed some speed and definitely cost him. Across the line it was Yellup, Clementin, Waspy, and Snowflake. Similarly, I think we can all exhale regarding Mellow Yellow and the O’rangers.

Heat 5: Clutter (Balls of Chaos); Bromble (Bumblebees); Rojo Cuatro (Rojo Rollers); Sweet (Jawbreakers)

Rojo Cuatro had a strong launch, but Clutter caught up by the cauldron. It was close throughout, but across the line they went Clutter, Rojo Cuatro, Bromble, Sweet.

Gold, Swifty, Savage Speeders (5.203)
Silver, Red Eye, Crazy Cat’s Eyes (+0.018)
Bronze, Sea, Oceanics (+0.032)
Rest: Jungle Jumpers, Minty Maniacs, Mellow Yellow, Thunderbolts, Hornets, Indigo Stars, Balls of Chaos, Team Momo, Chocolatiers, Team Primary, Rojo Rollers, O’rangers, Bumblebees, Jawbreakers, Midnight Wisps, Pinkies, Snowballs

Final Standings (Tiebreaker is best single event through qualifiers)
(Italics denote relegated to 2020 Marble League Showdown, will not compete in 2020 Marble League)
1. Savage Speeders (78 pts)
2. Crazy Cat’s Eyes (61 pts)
3. Oceanics (54 pts) (Best event: Q4, 18 pts-bronze)
4. Thunderbolts (54 pts) (Best event: Q1, 15 pts)
5. Mellow Yellow (46 pts) (Best event: Q1, 16 pts)
6. Minty Maniacs (46 pts) (Best event: Q4, 15 pts)
7. Balls of Chaos (43 pts)
8. O’rangers (41 pts)
9. Midnight Wisps (40 pts)
10. Hornets (36 pts)
11. Team Momo (35 pts) (Best event: Q2, 25 pts-gold)
12. Bumblebees (35 pts) (Best event: Q1, 21 pts-silver)
13. Team Primary (35 pts) (Best event: Q3, 18 pts-bronze)
14. Jungle Jumpers (35 pts) (Best event: Q4, 16 pts)
15. Snowballs (34 pts) (Best event: Q3, 15 pts)
16. Chocolatiers (34 pts) (Best event: Q2, 13 pts)
17. Indigo Stars (31 pts)
18. Jawbreakers (28 pts)
19. Rojo Rollers (24 pts)
20. Pinkies (12 pts)

That is a heartbreaker for Team Primary and the Jungle Jumpers, tied on points with Team Momo and the Bumblebees, but losing out on the tiebreaker. Also hurts for Snowflake, the captain of the Snowballs, as that serpentine led to a last-round goose-egg when just two points would have gotten them in. For the Pinkies, they finish in the back yet again, but this time it’s the qualifiers, meaning they won’t make the Marble League for the first time. On the other hand, it has to be a relief for the Savage Speeders to not drop in their first qualifier, and the Oceanics, looking to put the disasters of 2019 behind. And for the Bumblebees and Hornets, it’s their first time, so it’s a cause for celebration.

With the roster set, it’s onto the Friendly Round, a round for the four auto-qualifiers as their warmup—the defending champions, the Raspberry Racers; last year’s rookie sensation runners-up, the Green Ducks; bronze medalists the Hazers; and the hosts, Team Galactic. Again, questions for each:

Raspberry Racers: Obviously the question becomes whether the Raspberry Racers can be the first team ever to successfully defend the title and go back to back. Hell, become the first team to win two Marble Leagues, period.

Green Ducks: The rookie sensations from last season, the Green Ducks had a decent start and end to the first Marbula One campaign including the only 26-point effort at the O’raceway, but the middle wasn’t as stellar. Will the Ducks come back to earth in their sophomore season?

Hazers: For the Hazers it’s about finishing, getting to that next and last step. Last year’s Marble League, they were third. This spring’s Marbula One, they were second, edged out by Speedy’s dream run at Midnight Bay. One more barrier to break.

Team Galactic: Don’t be the Oceanics last year. Get a podium, finish not-last overall. Ideally do what the Snowballs did in 2018 (the first host team) and finish in the top half, which would be at worst level from last season where they were 8th.

Event 1: Block Pushing

Team Galactic vs. Raspberry Racers: Fair pushes for both, with the hosts moving farther, 60.8-58.6

Hazers vs. Green Ducks: Another gate malfunction, this time stopping the Hazers from progressing. The second go-around had the Green Ducks get the better push, 57.9-46.1.

Results: Team Galactic, Raspberry Racers, Green Ducks, Hazers

Greg Woods makes a reference that yes, the hosts won an event, alluding to last year. But the Oceanics won the Friendly too, with two event victories, so as John Sterling would say, “You can’t predict marbles, Suzyn.”

Okay, now I want him to say that.

Event 2: Funnel Endurance

The captains square off: Hazy (Hazers), Mallard (Green Ducks), Razzy (Raspberry Racers), and Cosmo (Team Galactic)

Through the first 10 seconds the Green Ducks and Hazers dropped first, and Hazy and Mallard bumped leading to Mallard in the second-to-last orange funnel within 15 seconds. Hazy followed, however, dropping to the fifth and final orange funnel first. Mallard had a good run in those last couple orange funnels, holding on to second from Cosmo as Razzy enjoyed a full funnel lead.

The green funnels, funnily, weren’t as kind to the Green Ducks captain as she dropped through the first two fairly quickly and was a non-factor, finishing last. The other three however, had some drama at the last funnel, with just a little bit of bumping and rubbing. All fair play in marbles. In the end, just a weird roll off the lip might have saved Razzy, and your results:

Results: Razzy (Raspberry Racers), Cosmo (Team Galactic), Hazy (Hazers), Mallard (Green Ducks)

Standings Raspberry Racers/Team Galactic (11 pts); Hazers/Green Ducks (3 pts)

Event 3: Balancing

Team Galactic: Well, the finisher was as straight as can be. The other three veered around the middle, for a total of 296 points.

Raspberry Racers: They didn’t have the same collective drop as Galactic, as it was more gradual, meaning two marbles over 100 cm, and one of them finishing the course. 340 points.

Green Ducks: Two finished the course, but one bumped the other out of the bonus zone, so it was only a 120 and 130—actually scored 119 cm, not the full 120 cm. The other two marbles were in the 35-55 range. 339 points, just one point behind the Racers. So that 119 looms large.

Hazers: It seemed like a combination of the Raspberry Racers and Green Ducks course, a gradual loss of marbles, the farthest non-finisher falling off in the 110+ range, and one finisher. It ends up being 359 points for the win.

Results: Hazers, Raspberry Racers, Green Ducks, Team Galactic

Standings: Raspberry Racers (15 pts); Team Galactic (12 pts); Hazers (10 pts); Green Ducks (5 pts)

Event 4: 5 m Sprint

Just the one heat, since it’s four marbles. Left to right it’s Smoggy (Hazers), Rozzy (Raspberry Racers), Pulsar (Team Galactic), and Quacky (Green Ducks)

It was a very even start for the four marbles, with Rozzy having the slightest of edges as they got to the cauldron, and it looked like he was able to hold on across the line. And he was, as it was Rozzy, Quacky, Pulsar, and Smoggy.

Results: Rozzy (Raspberry Racers), Quacky (Green Ducks), Pulsar (Team Galactic), Smoggy (Hazers)

Final Standings: Raspberry Racers (22 pts); Team Galactic (14 pts); Hazers (11 pts); Green Ducks (9 pts)

So the defending champs hold serve through the friendlies. And with that, we’ll see you for the opening ceremonies, I believe tomorrow afternoonish, at the Andromedome, IN SPAAAAAAACE.