It’s a battle throughout the standings as we’ve crossed the midpoint. After this article, there will be 5 events left at Marble League 2020. Combine that with the return of Marbula E (Mercedes was running away after the first 3 races; sponsors Envision Virgin Racing were stuck in neutral) and it looks like it’ll be a busy August in marble sports. Anyway, this past week hosted Events 10 and 11 from the Andromedome. Let’s just get to it.

Event 10: 5 m Sprint

Exactly what you think it is, a 5-meter sprint following the previous events’ track and field scoring. So simple that King Stardust doesn’t even need to run it, which works because he was in a photo op (and Greg’s up in the commentary box so he can’t), so let’s just get to it!

Heat 1: Velocity (Savage Speeders), Clutter (Balls of Chaos), Razzy (Raspberry Racers), Wasp (Hornets)
Well, the expected ones had this heat/the teams with racing in their name. Velocity and Razzy took the lead from the launch, and though Clutter closed the gap late it was far too little too late. Also hey, Razzy’s back after his hurdles mishap!
Result: Velocity, Razzy, Clutter, Wasp

Heat 2: Bomble (Bumblebees), Astron (Team Galactic), Sea (Oceanics), Yellow (Mellow Yellow)
A great start for Bomble, while Yellow had the opposite. There’s always a question about how the marble closest to the fulcrum launches, and so far no good for Lane 4. Meanwhile up top Bomble was losing his lead and it was a matter of whether he could hold on. Astron passed by, but it was close between Bomble and Sea. Sea got it by more than expected, 9 thousandths.
Result: Astron, Sea, Bomble, Yellow

Heat 3: Smoggy (Hazers), Momomo (Team Momo), Minty Fresh (Minty Maniacs), Red Eye (Crazy Cat’s Eyes)
The odd-numbered lanes had a good launch, as Smoggy and Minty Fresh were neck and neck at first. But Smoggy built up the lead and zipped through the heat.
ML Record: Smoggy, 5.976 seconds
Smoggy breaks a 2015 record (pre-Marble League) by the Yarble Yellers. Who are the Yarble Yellers? Well, they competed in the Fruit Circuit. What’s the Fruit Circuit? Uhhh, I’ve said too much about the lore. If you want to go down that rabbit hole, go ahead, similar to a Wikipedia or TV Tropes rabbit hole.
Result: Smoggy, Minty Fresh, Red Eye, Momomo

Heat 4: Wispy (Midnight Wisps), Bolt (Thunderbolts), Orangin (O’rangers), Billy (Green Ducks)
Billy got the best launch through the first meter or so, followed by Bolt, Wispy, and Orangin. Bolt was able to pass by and take first, but faltered a bit. Wispy was behind but it was three marbles for two spots and in the end the photo finish was for 1st and 2nd, rather than 2nd and 3rd, as Orangin couldn’t close.
Result: Bolt, Billy, Orangin, Wispy

Non-advancing marbles (9th-16th): Bomble, Orangin, Wispy, Red Eye, Clutter, Momomo, Yellow, Wasp

Semifinal A: Sea (Oceanics), Billy (Green Ducks), Velocity (Savage Speeders), Smoggy (Hazers)
Smoggy finishes first overall and gets Lane 4? I can hear the complaints. Especially because even though he got a decent launch, that secondary phase wasn’t there. It was there for Sea though, who sped into the lead. It wasn’t there for Velocity who was in a battle with Billy and Smoggy for 2nd, where the replay would have to solve it.
ML Record: Sea, 5.920 seconds
Meanwhile that, Sea lowers Smoggy’s mark by over five hundredths.
Result: Sea, Velocity, Smoggy, Billy
The margin between Velocity and Smoggy? 1 one-thousandth of a second.

Semifinal B: Bolt (Thunderbolts), Minty Fresh (Minty Maniacs), Astron (Team Galactic), Razzy (Raspberry Racers)
Minty Fresh got the best launch, albeit it being somewhat even. Bolt fell behind and it would be between Astron and Razzy for 2nd and the final transfer spot. Razzy pulled it in the last meter.
Result: Minty Fresh, Razzy, Astron, Bolt

Non-advancing marbles (5th-8th): Smoggy, Billy, Astron, Bolt

Once again, the Hazers get unlucky. Smoggy’s 6.031 was better than Billy’s time in the other semifinal, but in the wrong one so he finished 3rd and out.

Final: Sea (Oceanics), Razzy (Raspberry Racers), Minty Fresh (Minty Maniacs), Velocity (Savage Speeders)
Velocity got the best launch and had the lead through the first half of the course, but it was neck and neck between all four marbles. Minty Fresh got a late kick, as did Sea, and it went to a photo finish.
Result: Minty Fresh, Sea, Velocity, Razzy
It was two-thousandths of a second, but enough for the third gold of the games for the Minty Maniacs, who should retake the lead as well.

Podium
Gold: Minty Fresh, Minty Maniacs
Silver: Sea, Oceanics
Bronze: Velocity, Savage Speeders

The donation in the Minty Maniacs’ name was made to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.

Rest of results:
Raspberry Racers, Hazers, Green Ducks, Team Galactic, Thunderbolts, Bumblebees, O’rangers, Midnight Wisps, Crazy Cat’s Eyes, Balls of Chaos, Team Momo, Mellow Yellow, Hornets

Standings (after Event 10)
1. Minty Maniacs-139 pts (3G 2B)
2. O’rangers-130 pts (2G 1S 2B)
3. Crazy Cat’s Eyes-116 pts (1G 1S)
4. Midnight Wisps-114 pts (1G 1S 1B)
5. Raspberry Racers-107 pts (1G 1S 1B)
6. Hazers-101 pts (1G 1S)
7. Savage Speeders-100 pts (3B)
8. Team Galactic-92 pts (1S)
9. Team Momo-89 pts (2S)
10. Oceanics-82 pts (1G 1S)
11. Balls of Chaos-60 pts (1S)
12. Bumblebees-57 pts
13. Thunderbolts-55 pts
14. Green Ducks-50 pts (hold best place tiebreaker over HOR)
15. Hornets-50 pts
16. Mellow Yellow-41 pts (1B)

Biggest rise: Green Ducks (+2)
Biggest drop: Hornets (-3)

Event 11: Black Hole Funnel

Another duo event, four teams of two marbles compete at a time trying to remain in the large funnel as long as possible. This is a cumulative timed event—the two teammates’ times are added together through two runs, and the best overall time wins.

Run 1: Clutter & Anarchy (Balls of Chaos), Swax & Bea (Bumblebees), Foggy & Cloudy (Hazers), Tangerin & Clementin (O’rangers)
It’s a little bit different from the standard funnel endurance because it’s just one large funnel and it’s about keeping the right path. We’ve all done this with coins, so it’s the same idea. What it ultimately comes to, I think, is how long you can remain in the event horizon, as Greg Woods put it, without being in too much traffic. But I’m only human. Regardless, in terms of who “won” the run that would be Tangerin.
Results: O’rangers: 17.42+20.53 (37.95); Balls of Chaos: 13.97+18.90 (32.87); Hazers: 13.23+16.32 (29.55); Bumblebees: 12.38+14.96 (27.34)

Run 2: Red Eye & Blue Eye (Crazy Cat’s Eyes), Quacky & Billy (Green Ducks), Vespa & Hive (Hornets), Momomomo & Mo (Team Momo)
Shoutout to Momomomo’s name and mark as captain being so long that Mo’s name had to be moved to the side for the extra space.
With that, it looked the best approach was a middle orbit rather than a wide one, as the latter ran out of steam and crashed inward sharply, as it looked like one of the Momo marbles did. It’s a brand spanking new event, so that’s the best I can put it. It did look like the Crazy Cat’s Eyes were going to have the best approach, as a red blur looked the highest up through the event horizon, which would obviously be Red Eye, breaking 30 seconds.
Results: Crazy Cat’s Eyes: 22.57+33.15 (55.72); Green Ducks: 24.02+26.14 (50.16); Team Momo: 14.31+19.40 (33.71); Hornets: 15.63+17.05 (32.68)
Definitely some huge disparities between runs 1 and 2.

Run 3: Yelley & Yellah (Mellow Yellow), Wispy & Wespy (Midnight Wisps), Bay & Shore (Oceanics), Rozzy & Rezzy (Raspberry Racers)
Again, those wide lines look good at first, but then they go so far inward that they end up midway between the group as they orbit, at best. Mellow Yellow and the Racers alternated their two marbles, meaning the two blue teams were in business, and especially the Wisps as the two Oceanics marbles were next. A Wisps 1-2 led by Wispy meant at the least they’d be competitive, even if neither of them approached Red Eye’s 33. And for what it’s worth one of the Wisps was on that wide line, so again, what do I know?
Results: Midnight Wisps: 22.26+25.27 (47.53); Oceanics: 18.06+19.60 (37.66); Raspberry Racers: 14.79+16.87 (31.66); Mellow Yellow: 13.72+16.43 (30.15)
Wisps go 1-2 and it’s only good enough for 3rd thus far.

Run 4: Minty Drizzel & Minty Mint (Minty Maniacs), Speedy & Rapidly (Savage Speeders), Cosmo & Pulsar (Team Galactic), Thunder & Lightning (Thunderbolts)
Three captains in this one—Speedy, Cosmo, and Thunder. Does that mean anything? Who knows. Again, several marbles taking that wide orbit, but I’m not sure what it does, as it was seemingly one from each team and I can’t really tell which one is which from this angle. In terms of noteworthy things, the two Minty Maniacs marbles were the first two to drop down. Given that the O’rangers, their main rivals, had a pretty decent time they’d have a lot of work to do in the second set of runs. On the other hand, the Savage Speeders, false to their name, were not speedy in this one, but the pair that won Marbula One meant business, as Speedy and Rapidly were the last two marbles in the funnel, with Speedy cracking that 30 second barrier.
Results: Savage Speeders: 27.26+31.06 (58.32); Team Galactic: 19.34+23.81 (43.15); Thunderbolts: 18.66+22.02 (40.68); Minty Maniacs: 11.34+16.79 (28.13)
Speedy alone had a greater time than both Minty Maniacs marbles.

After 4 of 8 Runs:
Savage Speeders, Crazy Cat’s Eyes, Green Ducks, Midnight Wisps, Team Galactic, Thunderbolts, O’rangers, Oceanics, Team Momo, Balls of Chaos, Hornets, Raspberry Racers, Mellow Yellow, Hazers, Minty Maniacs, Bumblebees

Run 5: (Same marbles as Run 1)
Everyone’s mixed up but rolling all the same. Three marbles swung super-wide (one of each but the O’rangers), and as they approached the left-most part of the funnel is where they each dropped off. The Bumblebees were able to get a better run as they all dropped through, as Bea was the last marble to drop through.
Results: Orangers: 21.04+22.99(+37.95)=81.98; Balls of Chaos: 14.94+18.06(+32.87)=65.87; Hazers: 17.38+19.86(+29.55)=66.79; Bumblebees: 15.70+24.83(+27.34)=67.87
Bea nearly equals the Bumblebees’ first run by herself, at least putting them competitive, ahead of Balls of Chaos and the Hazers.

Run 6: (Same marbles as Run 2)
Showing the difference between the leading O’rangers you should imagine the Crazy Cat’s Eyes, and possibly the Green Ducks, should pass without too much trouble, especially considering the first finisher (Momomomo) wasn’t until after 14.5 seconds. It wasn’t as lengthy as a run as the first time this octet ran, as Quacky’s winning time was 25.27, well short of Red Eye’s 33.15 in the first runs.
Results: Crazy Cat’s Eyes: 18.10+21.30(+55.72)=95.12; Green Ducks: 15.04+25.27(+50.16)=90.47; Team Momo: 14.53+22.32(+33.71)=70.56; Hornets: 16.65+19.18(+32.68)=68.51
The Green Ducks made it a smaller margin, but nowhere near enough to threaten the Crazy Cat’s Eyes, who take the lead.

Run 7: (Same marbles as Run 3)
The Mellow Yellow marble taking the wide line had the longest time on that orbit, so credit to them for making a complete circle, and it look like it did them well. I’m guessing it was Yelley, who finished with a 22.94, the better of the two runs. Wispy took this heat as well though, with a 26.92. These second runs might not have been as long, but the Wisps’ consistency might come into play.
Results: Midnight Wisps: 21.11+26.92(+47.53)=95.56; Oceanics: 15.29+17.07(+37.66)=70.02; Raspberry Racers: 14.67+17.64(+31.66)=63.97; Mellow Yellow: 18.70+22.94(+30.15)=71.79
And with that, the Midnight Wisps take the lead, a little over four-tenths ahead of the Crazy Cat’s Eyes. Similarly, a great showing by Mellow Yellow, moving into 5th for a team that desperately needs points.

Run 8: (Same marbles as Run 4)
The final run. In order to top the Wisps, Speedy & Rapidly would need to combine for a time greater than 37.24 seconds, or a little under 19 seconds per marble.
This time it seemed to be the opposite as most marbles were on the wide line, though by 6 seconds in everyone was in the same area. By that 19-second mark I mentioned, both Minty Maniacs and Thunderbolts marbles had dropped, and as that was it it would be the Savage Speeders finally getting a gold. Meanwhile, some happiness for the home crowd as Pulsar would take the heat.
Results: Savage Speeders: 20.41+23.51(+58.32)=102.24; Team Galactic: 21.16+25.30(+43.15)=89.61; Thunderbolts: 14.93+16.80(+40.68)=72.41; Minty Maniacs: 15.49+18.29(+28.13)=61.91

Podium
Gold: Speedy & Rapidly, Savage Speeders
Silver: Wispy & Wespy, Midnight Wisps
Bronze: Red Eye & Blue Eye, Crazy Cat’s Eyes

The $5,000 donation in the Speeders’ name was made to the San Antonio Food Bank.

Rest of results:
Green Ducks, Team Galactic, O’rangers, Thunderbolts, Mellow Yellow, Team Momo, Oceanics, Hornets, Bumblebees, Hazers, Balls of Chaos, Raspberry Racers, Minty Maniacs

Standings (after Event 11 of 16)
1. O’rangers-140 pts (2G 1S 2B)
2. Minty Maniacs-139 pts (3G 2B)
3. Midnight Wisps-134 pts (1G 2S 1B)
4. Crazy Cat’s Eyes-131 pts (1G 1S 1B)
5. Savage Speeders-125 pts (1G 3B)
6. Raspberry Racers-108 pts (1G 1S 1B)
7. Hazers-104 pts (1G 1S)
8. Team Galactic-103 pts (1S)
9. Team Momo-96 pts (2S)
10. Oceanics-88 pts (1G 1S)
11. Thunderbolts-64 pts
12. Balls of Chaos-62 pts (1S) (hold silver tiebreaker over GDK)
13. Green Ducks-62 pts
14. Bumblebees-61 pts
15. Hornets-55 pts
16. Mellow Yellow-49 pts (1B)

Biggest rise: Savage Speeders & Thunderbolts (+2)
Biggest drop: Bumblebees (-2)

As I said, it’s a busy week coming up. The next two events, 12 and 13, will be the 5-meter relay and the high jump, on Thursday and Sunday. On Friday will be the next Marbula E race at the marble version of the track… in Berlin!

I can’t talk about Berlin without thinking of that scene. And then they end up in Bratislava. Anywho, I won’t cover the Marbula E-Prix from Berlin, but I reserve to cover the one in New York because I swear one of these days I’m gonna bring my ass to Red Hook and watch the Formula E race. But until then, we’ll see you next week.