Well, we’re still here, so that’s nice.

We return to the Rolldown with the second event of the 2020 Marble League, the halfpipe! In our first event, it was the Minty Maniacs surprising us all by taking gold in their first event all the way back from the depths of the unknown competitions. Although in the Hubelino Tournament they did have a gold in the catwalk, essentially a different version of balancing, so there was potential of pedigree there.

The second event is another event to stay on as long as you can, the halfpipe. The rules: Four marbles from each team enter the halfpipe, more than likely colliding into the wall (and/or each other). From there it’s a matter of positioning and lateral speed as they roll down the hill. A team’s top 3 marbles get scored per run. There will be two runs, with times added between the two runs. Each marble team will roll against another, switching sides between the two runs. The marbles are grouped in two groups of four. Numbering the marbles left to right, with the top-left marble as 1, Team A marbles in positions 1, 3, 6, and 8, and the other team having positions 2, 4, 5, and 7.

The halfpipe can be viewed here to follow along. The record, set by Balls of Chaos (prior to the infamous fight with Team Primary), is 29.49.

Run 1: Team Galactic vs. Mellow Yellow
It’s always important to see who gets the best initial bounce off the wall, the best bounce being the one towards the back wall of the halfpipe. That would be one of the Team Galactic marbles, but it hit the back wall hard enough to ricochet back, having momentum slowed by bumping into a Mellow Yellow marble. After that it’s just a matter of watching marbles roll down a halfpipe, seeing if there’s an interesting grouping, and which marble is last (it was a Mellow Yellow marble).

Team Galactic: 5.22-6.51-8.76-10.53 (25.80)
Mellow Yellow: 6.05-7.84-8.78-11.36 (27.98)

Run 2: Raspberry Racers vs. Minty Maniacs
The top two teams from balancing meet in the halfpipe. One of the things that surprised me is that the teams do not mix up after the first run, as we’ll see. These two teams will roll against each other in the second half.

The Maniacs had a better roll off the halfpipe, with two veering left towards the back wall, further slowing themselves down by colliding. This meant that while the Raspberry Racers had all finished by 10.5 seconds, they had two marbles beyond that, one of those clearing 13 seconds. Just judging by the first two scores that would definitely put them in the lead.

Raspberry Racers: 6.44-7.35-8.95-9.94 (26.24)
Minty Maniacs: 6.38-8.61-11.91-13.23 (33.75, NEW ML RECORD)

Oh, or that, the first record to fall of the year, and that’s over 4 cumulative seconds longer than the old record, over a second, almost a second and a half per marble scored. The Minty Maniacs pick right up where they left off in balancing, and we’re all on notice.

Run 3: Balls of Chaos vs. Green Ducks
Can the previous record holders pick up the gauntlet laid down?

So far it looks like the marbles on the right side (the team with spots 2, 4, 5, and 7) have the advantage (see, the last two runs), because for the third run that right side team had marbles towards the back wall, this time two for the Green Ducks. However, they came in either at too vertical of an angle or something, because both of those marbles passed the Balls of Chaos marble that was shunted up the track. Even though Balls of Chaos had three of the first four marbles to crash out, the three in quick succession for the Green Ducks while the last BoC marble wandered down meant that the run went sour.

Balls of Chaos: 5.70-5.97-6.25-12.93 (25.15)
Green Ducks: 5.16-8.71-9.33-9.60 (27.64)

It’s enough for the Green Ducks to hold serve, but it’s the worst of the three “right-side” teams to go so far.

Run 4: Midnight Wisps vs. Hazers
It’s not that big explosive break we’ve seen from previous runs, but that might work in both teams’ favor as both had marbles roll towards that back wall, with the Hazers having the further one along as expected. The first Hazers marble finished before the first Wisps marble, but those are the non-scoring ones. From there it was alternating Wisps then Hazers.

Midnight Wisps: 5.46-7.77-8.88-11.57 (28.22)
Hazers: 4.07-8.67-10.48-12.20 (31.35)

Not a bad run for either team. The Wisps, in the weaker position, still have the 3rd-best run of the first eight teams to go, with the Hazers in 2nd behind the record setting Minty Maniacs.

Run 5: O’rangers vs. Savage Speeders
If there’s a Marble League equivalent of Lakers-Celtics in the ’60s, or Yankees-*insert NYC National League team* in the ’40s and ’50s, it would be the Savage Speeders and the O’rangers, the first two Marble League winners (at some point there’ll be a guide to rivalries). So of course they’re paired together. “You wonder what it’s like in that starting gate,” sayeth Greg Woods.

Off the break, as expected the Savage Speeders would have a marble to the back wall. The problem is the Speeders, as is their nature, sped off the break regardless of direction and two were ahead of the O’rangers marble furthest down the track. At best, the marble at the back wall could be a wash. It was worse than a wash because that back wall marble sped through the field like the opposite of what you’re supposed to do. And the Speeders had the track advantage! Well, that’s squandered, as all four maroon marbles finished before the second O’ranger marble. Lost in the Speeders’ mismanagement, including bumping one of the O’ranger marbles…

O’rangers: 7.06-10.80-11.32-12.37 (34.49, NEW ML RECORD)
Savage Speeders: 3.98-5.77-8.11-8.14 (22.02)

Different directions for the two rival squads, as the O’rangers better the Minty Maniacs record and do it from what had seemed to be the disadvantaged position. Meanwhile the Savage Speeders have the worst time so far, from the better track position.

Run 6: Crazy Cat’s Eyes vs. Hornets
There’s a little less tension here. A very nice break off the wall for the Crazy Cat’s Eyes, with three of their four marbles to the left of the halfpipe entrance, compared to two for the Hornets. From there it seemed to be a fairly orderly collective oscellation, no bumping or off-timed marbles.

Crazy Cat’s Eyes: 6.22-10.30-11.68-12.35 (34.33)
Hornets: 4.49-8.70-10.34-11.94 (30.38)

Both teams beat the old Marble League record, but due to the order of runs nobody gets the glory of actually breaking it because it had already been broken (twice). The Crazy Cat’s Eyes move into 2nd, which means they pass the Minty Maniacs, to boot.

Run 7: Team Momo vs. Oceanics
An equal break, but I would say for that somewhat-important last marble Team Momo got the early advantage. Hit off the back wall earlier, and fast enough, and your momentum is used against you as you go down the halfpipe, like the Oceanics marble that did just that. Kiss that back wall and your momentum isn’t as great, so you don’t get as much kickback. As a result, the Oceanics marble that was first off the back wall passed the second Team Momo marble. But it collided with the one behind it, slowing the backmarker up more (so good) but at the cost of barreling back down the track.

Team Momo: 4.51-5.60-9.70-11.25 (26.55)
Oceanics: 6.22-7.86-9.44-9.71 (27.01)

In the end Team Momo’s first two marbles stifled its overall time as both teams are in the lower half.

Run 8: Bumblebees vs. Thunderbolts
A better break for the Bumblebees, with two marbles sent left of the halfpipe entrance. The Thunderbolts marble reached the back wall, but as I said, that momentum kicks you back down if you’re not careful and that Thunderbolts marble passed both Bumblebees as they made their way down.

Bumblebees: 4.49-7.62-10.84-12.36 (30.82)
Thunderbolts: 5.90-6.14-8.42-10.69 (25.25)

Through the first runs for each team, the top 3 runners were the O’rangers, Crazy Cat’s Eyes, and Minty Maniacs. But outside of the podium contenders it’s important to note that teams 7-14 were all within 3 seconds of each other, and those points are still important. Meanwhile the Savage Speeders, in last, sat over 3 seconds below the team in 15th, Balls of Chaos.

Onto the second runs for the teams. Again, the same pairs will be running, which I don’t know if I agree with. I’d think mixing up the pairs, while still keeping so each team got a left and right side heat, would make more sense. Remember as well the two times are added together to give a total score.

Run 9: Mellow Yellow vs. Team Galactic
I appreciate the “diff” graphic showing how far the teams are behind the leaders in this second run. I’m not going to add that because it’s confusing for this and I can’t think of a good place to put it.

Anywho, a good break for Team Galactic, with three to the left, as opposed to three to the right and out by the first 8 seconds for Mellow Yellow. The good news for Mellow Yellow was that their remaining marble was the last one to finish behind the three Galactic marbles, gaining a little bit of time for them.

Mellow Yellow: 5.79-6.42-7.72-12.58 (26.72) (54.70 total)
Team Galactic: 5.24-9.61-10.65-11.48 (31.74) (57.54 total)

Obviously, those totals are the marks to beat.

Run 10: Minty Maniacs vs. Raspberry Racers
Last time out the Minty Maniacs set a record. That ended up only being good enough for 3rd in the first leg. Meanwhile, the Raspberry Racers want to keep podiums in their quest to repeat, but need a big number here to do that, probably in the 30s.

Here the difference actually means something, and thanks to that first run you can see that the Minty Maniacs would take a tentative lead should they run a 23.79 or better. 23.79 would be worse than everyone’s first runs, except for the Savage Speeders.

A hard break, and one of the Minty Maniacs marbles was at the finish in about 4 seconds. It looked like the Raspberry Racers would get some time back as they had the only slow marble that was sent to the left at the break. The Racers and Maniacs each had one other marble, but they were speeding their way down the pipe. The Racers had the last two marbles to finish, so that 30 would seem attainable.

Minty Maniacs: 3.70-6.56-9.54-9.58 (25.68) (59.43 total; provisional 1st)
Raspberry Racers: 6.95-7.85-10.37-11.86 (30.08) (56.32 total; provisional 3rd)

Run 11: Green Ducks vs. Balls of Chaos
Looking at the differences, if a team is currently behind by 34 seconds a gold is unlikely. So probably not the best chances for Balls of Chaos. They do have the better positioning though to make a run.

It was another big break with four marbles left of the entrance. If you pause a run after the break, or about 2.4 seconds in you’ll get an idea of what the order will be. The only question would be that Balls of Chaos marble that looked like it hit the back wall hard; would it be able to keep it together? It passed a Duck and a teammate, so the answer would be no. However, the marbles that kicked to the right made a difference.

Green Ducks: 4.61-5.27-8.61-12.48 (26.36) (54.00 total; P-5th)
Balls of Chaos: 4.92-8.12-8.69-11.31 (28.12) (53.27 total; P-6th)

Neither team’ll be particularly happy pending what the remaining 10 teams do.

Run 12: Hazers vs. Midnight Wisps
Both teams had decent first runs and look to build and take a shot at the lead as things stand.

The break favored the Wisps, as I said about the team on the right having the advantage. But the Hazers had one slow marble on top too, so each squad could make a decent run at the field. The last three marbles, two Wisps and a Hazer, finished fairly closely, but all around 11 seconds, so I’m not sure how big the scores would be.

Hazers: 4.85-5.34-8.55-11.10 (24.99) (56.34 total; P-4th)
Midnight Wisps: 6.84-8.92-10.87-11.33 (31.12) (59.34 total; P-2nd)

The Wisps pull the second-best time of round 2 so far, which pulls them into a podium slot with eight teams left, only .09 behind the Minty Maniacs for the current lead.

Run 13: Savage Speeders vs. O’rangers
The Speeders sat 3 seconds behind Balls of Chaos after the first round. They basically need a ML record just to podium. The O’rangers, meanwhile need a 24.94 or better for the current lead. That would be the second-worst time from the right side, behind the Savage Speeders.

Definitely a better break for the Savage Speeders, getting two to the left and without slamming the back wall. The O’rangers didn’t have a terrible break either, as they still had the important trail marble. The Speeders also had the all-not good first marble to score, finishing in the 7s. It wasn’t going to be a record, but the O’rangers were probably in a good spot.

Savage Speeders: 5.86-7.16-11.05-11.27 (29.48) (51.50 total; P-10th)
O’rangers: 4.17-8.57-10.58-12.36 (31.51) (66.00 total; P-1st)

The O’rangers with the first team to have both times over 30, and to break 60. It’s going to need a record to top them. For the Savage Speeders they sit almost 2 seconds behind Balls of Chaos in last, unfamiliar territory for the most successful Marble League team.

Run 14: Hornets vs. Crazy Cat’s Eyes
The Cat’s Eyes got the better break, with two marbles to the left of the entrance from the break. The Hornets marble made things clearer by bumping Cyan Eye, slowing the trail Cat’s Eye down while speeding up its own angle.

Hornets: 6.28-7.04-8.44-10.15 (25.63) (56.01 total; P-6th)
Crazy Cat’s Eyes: 4.41-7.74-9.88-12.54 (30.16) (64.49; P-2nd)

The Crazy Cat’s Eyes join the O’rangers with a pair of 30s and a time in the 60s. It’s still a second and a half down on the 2017 champs.

Run 15: Oceanics vs. Team Momo
A pair of teams who were in the middle after round 1, looking at the difference numbers will not in all likelihood threaten for gold, both about 39 seconds off the pace.

Team Momo got the better break, two marbles to one, but they both looked quick going towards the wall. One kicked back hard but bumped into the Oceanics marble that also got the good break, and together they slowly rolled down the pipe. Until they bumped again and the Oceanics marble got sent almost straight down. That troublemaking Momo marble actually ended up as the last to finish due to its adventures. All fair play in the halfpipe, there will be contact, it’s unavoidable.

Oceanics: 5.55-5.75-7.02-9.43 (22.20) (49.21 total; P-14th)
Team Momo: 4.46-8.93-10.74-10.99 (30.66) (57.21 total; P-6th)

Those unlucky collisions up top definitely cost the Oceanics; there was probably another second to be gained. But three marbles 7.0 or less is going to hurt any run; it’s the second-worst of the event and drops them to last, the only team under 50.

Run 16: Thunderbolts vs. Bumblebees
Again, neither team is a likely gold candidate, so barring a miraculous third record breaker the O’rangers will take the gold. But positions are to be decided, every event vital.

It was two for the Bumblebees and one for the Thunderbolts off the break. A second Thunderbolt got a neutral break, staying around entrance level. A collision at the top changed things, as that one Thunderbolt marble hit one Bumblebee, which hit off the other, sending the second down the course with the first following it. The Thunderbolt marble almost came to a stop before making a slow roll down.

Thunderbolts: 6.14-7.24-8.07-12.59 (27.90) (53.13 total; P-14th)
Bumblebees: 5.96-6.54-8.38-10.36 (25.28) (56.10 total; P-10th)

Team Galactic gets the win in round 2, helping assuage the hometown crowd’s fears in the Host’s Curse. It helps propel them to 5th place in the event. Your podium, as we listen to the sound of “OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO” through the Andromedome.

Gold: O’rangers (66.00)
Silver: Crazy Cat’s Eyes (64.49)
Bronze: Minty Maniacs (59.43)

A donation in the O’rangers’ name was made to Banco de Alimentos de Puerto Rico.

The rest of the event standings:
Midnight Wisps; Team Galactic; Team Momo; Hornets; Hazers; Raspberry Racers; Bumblebees; Mellow Yellow; Green Ducks; Balls of Chaos; Thunderbolts; Savage Speeders; Oceanics

Since we’re through 2 events we can give full competition standings for the first time! Tiebreaker will be based on medal count.

1. Minty Maniacs (40 pts; 1 G 1 B)
2. O’rangers (31 pts; 1 G)
3. Crazy Cat’s Eyes (31 pts; 1 S)
4. Raspberry Racers (27 pts; 1 S)
5. Midnight Wisps (27 pts; 1 B)
6. Team Momo (20 pts)
7. Hazers (17 pts)
8. Balls of Chaos (15 pts)
9. Bumblebees (14 pts)
10. Hornets (13 pts)
11. Team Galactic (12 pts)
12. Green Ducks (11 pts)
13. Oceanics (6 pts)
14. Mellow Yellow (5 pts)
15. Thunderbolts (5 pts)
16. Savage Speeders (3 pts)

If you told me the bottom five would be teams with Marble League podiums to their names, I wouldn’t believe you. And if you said the Savage Speeders were in last I’d super not believe you. Also if you told me the Minty Maniacs would be the only team with medals in both events, wouldn’t believe you. But that’s how the marbles roll.

The next event is Friday, July 3rd, the Funnel Endurance.