Five events remain in the quest for marble sports glory. Will a former champion reclaim the throne in the Marble League, whether the O’rangers or Midnight Wisps? Or will a new team emerge and have their time on top of the mountain, such the Minty Maniacs or the Crazy Cat’s Eyes? We’ll know in the next few weeks.

This past week we had two of those five events, the 5-meter relay and the high jump, two longtime Marble League staples. We also had the Marbula E race, the Bratislava Berlin M-Prix. I’m not going to cover Marbula E currently since the season’s half over—I might give a recap of the season before either the New York race (which I hope to one day attend in person) or the London finale, but in short…

Mercedes has been taking ass and kicking names with a 17-point lead through the first 3 races. Prior to their (SPOILERS FOR BERLIN)… 5th place finish at Berlin they hadn’t been off the podium. Their closest competition is now Porsche, buoyed by the victory at Berlin. That is now down to a 12-point margin. On the other side, Envision Virgin Racing, the sponsors, are in 11th, getting their first point after Audi bounced off the track in Jakarta in part to contact with the Envision Virgin marble. But their 9th place in Berlin moved them ahead of Nissan for not-last. Nissan’s marble had 2 points from a 9th place in the opening race at Paris, and nothing since. Some controversy as there’s some debate whether there should have been one more lap, which could have cost us a little more of a battle between Porsche and Mahindra. But what is “4:30+1 lap” anyway? I look for Mr. Ayo, as our resident auto racing expert, to enlighten us.

Also all races are commentated by the actual voice of Formula E, Jack Nicholls, and after the first race Greg Woods (the voice of marble racing) was added into the fray, giving the best 1-2 punch in marble sports commentary out there. Okay, it’s the only 1-2 punch out there but that’s not the point. Anyway, back to the task at hand, the Marble League events:

Event 12: 5m Relay

Essentially the 5-meter sprint, except each (I assume) 1.25 meters is stationed another marble. So I guess it’s the 4×1.25m Relay technically if we’re going by what track and field would call it, but that doesn’t roll off the tongue. Scoring is like all the other track events we’ve done.

Can we note the marbles in the demo run? Sure, King Stardust and his crew are back of course, but Team Rolliver’s is well played. John Rolliver (the marble version of Oliver), Chiijohn, Zebra, and Adam (which I think is an Adam Driver joke). I’m hoping the team alternate is Danger… Carlos Danger.

(We’ve got a Eurotrip joke and a Carlos Danger dance ref in the intros, we’re doing fine!)

Anyway, onto the heats.

Heat 1: Savage Speeders (Swifty, Velocity, Rapidly, Speedy); Crazy Cat’s Eyes (Green Eye, Yellow Eye, Blue Eye, Red Eye); Oceanics (Sea, Shore, Bay, Ocean); Mellow Yellow (Yellup, Yellah, Yelley, Yellow)
Captains on anchor, naturally. And just as naturally it was the Savage Speeders getting the best launch and taking the lead, with a battle for second between the Oceanics and Mellow Yellow through the first leg. Sea’s pass to Shore was phenomenal, giving the Oceanics the lead, while Swifty’s to Velocity was than stellar, meaning it was a battle between the Speeders and Mellow Yellow through the second leg, and then the third. The difference was the anchor, where Rapidly’s pass to Speedy was spot on. Yelley’s to Yellow wasn’t as good as the captain started to veer. Meanwhile just overall a rough heat for the Crazy Cat’s Eyes.
Result: Oceanics, Savage Speeders, Mellow Yellow, Crazy Cat’s Eyes
ML Record: Oceanics, 8.586 seconds
The Oceanics pip the Raspberry Racers’ mark of 8.588 seconds, and Greg Woods thinks it’s the first time the record’s been broken in the first heat of an event.

Heat 2: Minty Maniacs (Minty Drizzel, Minty Fresh, Minty Swirl, Minty Flav); Team Galactic (Pulsar, Astron, Starry, Cosmo); Bumblebees (Bea, Swax, Honey, Bumble); Team Momo (Momo, Mimo, Mo, Momomomo)
Interestingly, the Maniacs are the only team of the four to not have their captain (Minty Swirl) run anchor. Minty Drizzel got the best launch from the four marbles, but the handoff to Minty Fresh left something to be desired as by the end of the second leg it was a battle for not-last with Astron. Team Momo was fairly consistent with passes and had built up a modest lead as the other three teams were duking it out for second. It came down to the passes and anchor legs of Cosmo and Bumble. Cosmo got the better run and even made an attack on the lead, but not enough time for that.
Result: Team Momo, Team Galactic, Bumblebees, Minty Maniacs

Heat 3: Balls of Chaos (Tumult, Snarl, Anarchy, Clutter); Green Ducks (Billy, Ducky, Quacky, Mallard); Hazers (Foggy, Cloudy, Smoggy, Hazy); O’rangers (Clementin, Mandarin, Orangin, Kinnowin)
Foggy got the best launch, followed by Tumult, with Billy and Clementin. But whatever the pass from Clementin to Mandarin was, it was something insane as the O’rangers shot up to the lead and then Orangin put the hammer down. Meanwhile Cloudy and Smoggy were similarly closing the door for second. It would be just window dressing, but Anarchy’s pass to Clutter outdid Quacky’s to Mallard and the Balls of Chaos took third.
Result: O’rangers, Hazers, Balls of Chaos, Green Ducks

ML Record: 7.918 seconds, O’rangers
Actually, all four teams broke the record. That’s insane. Even more insane? Balls of Chaos and Green Ducks will have to settle for what will likely be 9th and 10th. And in the meantime, the debate has intensified on the subreddit (r/jellesmarbleruns) about how the heats should be scored, whether it should remain a strict top-two advance or be changed to the top 8 times, or winners plus top 4 non-winning times—if it were to change I could see it being this one, but I’m not sure, considering so much of it would be based on the launch from the swinging arm. But as you can see, that’s more than two-thirds of a second shaved off from the record, 0.668 seconds to be precise, so yes, slightly more than two-thirds. We’ll see if that gets broken again, but I would be extremely surprised because that’s a massive reduction. Hell, we’ll see if it gets broken again this decade.

Heat 4: Midnight Wisps (Wuspy, Wespy, Wospy, Wispy); Raspberry Racers (Rozzy, Rezzy, Rizzy, Razzy); Hornets (Vespa, Wasp, Hive, Stinger); Thunderbolts (Bolt, Shock, Lightning, Thunder)
Wuspy got a great run off the launch, and throughout it seemed like the Wisps would have smooth sailing as the Racers and Hornets battled for second, with the Thunderbolts looming behind. But that last pass from Wospy to Wispy it all went awry as the Wisps’ captain faltered and the lead slipped away, and so did advancement.
Result: Raspberry Racers, Hornets, Midnight Wisps, Thunderbolts

Non-advancing marbles (9th-16th): Balls of Chaos, Green Ducks, Midnight Wisps, Thunderbolts, Bumblebees, Mellow Yellow, Minty Maniacs, Crazy Cat’s Eyes

Semifinal A: Hazers, Team Momo, Raspberry Racers, Savage Speeders
Same quartets as the heats, and it was a close launch. The first handoff did some stratification as Momo and the Speeders were able to have a cushion, but that evaporated at the second handoff as Rizzy had a great run to take the lead and make the Momo/Savage Speeders battle for 2nd, rather than the semifinal win. Momomomo had the lead but Speedy was able to close the distance to get a photo finish and a thousandth of a second difference one way or the other… and it was for the Speeders!
Result: Raspberry Racers, Savage Speeders, Team Momo, Hazers

Semifinal B: Oceanics, O’rangers, Team Galactic, Hornets
The most recent previous record holders (for two races), and the current record holders looked to join the prior record holders in the final. And it was an even launch between the two plus Pulsar of Team Galactic. Sea did get a better secondary portion and was first to hand off. But just like in the heats, the pass between Clementin and Mandarin boosted the O’rangers to the lead, and even if it wasn’t as spectacular as their heat they could coast to a semifinal victory. The Oceanics kept their cushion for 2nd and advanced to the finals.
Result: O’rangers, Oceanics, Team Galactic, Hornets

Non-advancing marbles (5th-8th): Team Galactic, Team Momo, Hazers, Hornets

Final: Raspberry Racers, Savage Speeders, O’rangers, Oceanics
Three of the four all-time Marble League champions in an all-star final. Also the Oceanics! The marbles were released and it was Rozzy and Clementin neck and neck, with Sea close behind and Swifty lurking behind them. This time there was no ridiculous relay between Clementin and Mandarin, it was fairly average. As a matter of fact it was fairly average throughout until the second half. Rapidly got a better than average relay from Velocity to pull level with Orangin, and then it was on between captains and anchors Speedy and Kinnowin, with the Oceanics’ captain Ocean closing fast. A photo finish triggered to see what order the podium would be.
Result: Savage Speeders, O’rangers, Oceanics, Raspberry Racers

Ah, that old familiar rivalry, a Speeders-O’rangers 1-2.

Podium
Gold: Savage Speeders
Silver: O’rangers
Bronze: Oceanics

The $5,000 donation in the Savage Speeders’ name was to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana.

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

Standings (after Event 12 of 16)
1. O’rangers-160 pts (2G 2S 2B)
2. Savage Speeders- 150 pts (2G 3B)
3. Minty Maniacs-140 pts (3G 2B)
4. Midnight Wisps-139 pts (1G 2S 1B)
5. Crazy Cat’s Eyes-131 pts (1G 1S 1B)
6. Raspberry Racers-120 pts (1G 1S 1B)
7. Team Galactic-114 pts (1S)
8. Hazers-113 pts (1G 1S)
9. Team Momo-106 pts (2S)
10. Oceanics-103 pts (1G 1S 1B)
11. Balls of Chaos-69 pts (1S)
12. Green Ducks-68 pts (hold best place tiebreaker over TBO)
13. Thunderbolts-68 pts
14. Bumblebees-64 pts
15. Hornets-63 pts
16. e-Mellow Yellow-51 pts (1B)

e-Denotes eliminated from ML2020 championship contention.

Biggest rise: Savage Speeders (+3)
Biggest drop: Thunderbolts (-2)

Speaking of the rivalry, the O’rangers’ closest competition is now the Savage Speeders, bolstered by two wins. This could get even more interesting. Meanwhile, our Balls’s balls-related team has a nice number of points. They probably won’t stay that way though.

Event 13: High Jump

Marbles will jump off a ramp over a bar placed at half-centimeter increments. They will get up to two attempts to clear each height, starting at 35.5 cm. Highest bar cleared wins.

The first round of jumps will be each marble starting at the 35.0 cm mark and jumping until they have cleared the 37 cm mark (or failed out).

Quasar, Team Galactic: 35.5 cm-PASS; 36.0 cm-PASS; 36.5 cm-PASS; 37.0 cm-FAIL/PASS. Advances to next round
Ruzzy, Raspberry Racers: 35.5 cm-PASS; 36.0 cm-FAIL/PASS; 36.5 cm-FAIL/FAIL. Best cleared-36.0 cm, 3 faults
Ducky, Green Ducks: 35.5 cm-PASS; 36.0 cm-PASS; 36.5 cm-PASS; 37.0 cm-PASS. Advances to next round
Misty, Hazers: 35.5 cm-PASS; 36.0 cm-FAIL/PASS; 36.5 cm-FAIL/PASS; 37.0-PASS. Advances to next round
Whizzy, Savage Speeders: 35.5 cm-FAIL/PASS; 36.0 cm-FAIL/FAIL. Best cleared-35.5 cm, 3 faults
Red Eye, Crazy Cat’s Eyes: 35.5 cm-FAIL/PASS; 36.0 cm-PASS; 36.5 cm-PASS; 37.0 cm-FAIL/PASS. Advances to next round
Aqua, Oceanics: 35.5 cm-PASS; 36.0 cm-PASS; 36.5 cm-PASS; 37.0 cm-FAIL/FAIL. Best cleared-36.5 cm, 2 faults
Thunder, Thunderbolts: 35.5 cm-PASS; 36.0 cm-PASS; 36.5 cm-PASS; 37.0 cm-FAIL/PASS. Advances to next round
Yellah, Mellow Yellow: 35.5 cm-PASS; 36.0 cm-PASS; 36.5 cm-PASS; 37.0 cm-PASS. Advances to next round
Minty Swirl, Minty Maniacs: 35.5 cm-PASS; 36.0 cm-PASS; 36.5 cm-PASS; 37.0 cm-PASS. Advances to next round
Snarl, Balls of Chaos: 35.5 cm-PASS; 36.0 cm-FAIL/PASS; 36.5 cm-PASS; 37.0 cm-PASS. Advances to next round
Wuspy, Midnight Wisps: 35.5 cm-PASS; 36.0 cm-PASS; 36.5 cm-PASS; 37.0 cm-PASS. Advances to next round
Mandarin, O’rangers: 35.5 cm-PASS; 36.0 cm-PASS; 36.5 cm-PASS; 37.0 cm-PASS. Advances to next round
Stinger, Hornets: 35.5 cm-PASS; 36.0 cm-PASS; 36.5 cm-FAIL/PASS; 37.0 cm-PASS. Advances to next round
Momomomo, Team Momo: 35.5 cm-FAIL/PASS; 36.0 cm-PASS; 36.5 cm-PASS; 37.0 cm-PASS. Advances to next round
Honey, Bumblebees; 35.5 cm-PASS; 36.0 cm-PASS; 36.5 cm-PASS; 37.0 cm-PASS. Advances to next round

That does it for the first round of jumps.

Non-advancing marbles (14th-16th): Oceanics, Raspberry Racers, Savage Speeders

Onto round 2! For what it’s worth, the ML record is clearing 38.0 cm, set by Yellah in 2017. All marbles in this round of jumps will get a chance to break that record, and if they can do so, advance to round 3. Number of failed jumps is the tiebreaker, should marbles falter at the same place. And admittedly it’s hard to commentate each jump without video, so watch and listen to Greg Woods, because the firsthand experience is superior.

Quasar, Team Galactic: 37.5 cm-PASS; 38.0 cm-PASS; 38.5 cm-FAIL/PASS. Advances to next round
Ducky, Green Ducks: 37.5 cm-PASS; 38.0 cm-PASS; 38.5 cm-FAIL/PASS. Advances to next round
Misty, Hazers: 37.5 cm-FAIL/FAIL. Best cleared-37.0 cm, 4 faults
Red Eye, Crazy Cat’s Eyes: 37.5 cm-FAIL/PASS; 38.0 cm-FAIL/FAIL. Best cleared-37.5 cm, 5 faults
Thunder, Thunderbolts: 37.5 cm-PASS; 38.0 cm-FAIL/FAIL. Best cleared-37.5 cm, 3 faults
Yellah, Mellow Yellow: 37.5 cm-PASS; 38.0 cm-FAIL/PASS, 38.5 cm-PASS. Advances to next round
Minty Swirl, Minty Maniacs: 37.5 cm-PASS; 38.0 cm-FAIL/PASS; 38.5 cm-FAIL/FAIL. Best cleared-38.0 cm, 3 faults
Snarl, Balls of Chaos: 37.5 cm-FAIL/PASS; 38.0 cm-FAIL/PASS; 38.5 cm-PASS. Advances to next round
Wuspy, Midnight Wisps: 37.5 cm-FAIL/FAIL. Best cleared-37.0 cm, 2 faults
Mandarin, O’rangers: 37.5 cm-PASS; 38.0 cm-FAIL/PASS; 38.5 cm-PASS. Advances to next round
Stinger, Hornets: 37.5 cm-PASS; 38.0 cm-FAIL/PASS; 38.5 cm-PASS. Advances to next round
Momomomo, Team Momo: 37.5 cm-FAIL/PASS; 38.0 cm-PASS; 38.5 cm-PASS. Advances to next round
Honey, Bumblebees: 37.5 cm-FAIL/PASS; 38.0 cm-PASS. Advances to next round

And that does it for the second round.

Non-advancing marbles (9th-13th): Minty Maniacs, Thunderbolts, Crazy Cat’s Eyes, Midnight Wisps, Hazers

Eight marbles remain for the third one, which is bee-styled. Everyone goes for a go-around, then repeat until one remains.

39.0 cm
Quasar, Team Galactic: FAIL/PASS
Ducky, Green Ducks: FAIL/FAIL. Best cleared-38.5 cm, 3 faults
Yellah, Mellow Yellow: PASS
Snarl, Balls of Chaos: FAIL/FAIL. Best cleared-38.5 cm, 5 faults
Mandarin, O’rangers: PASS
Stinger, Hornets: FAIL/FAIL. Best cleared-38.5 cm, 4 faults
Momomomo, Team Momo: FAIL/FAIL. Best cleared-38.5 cm, 4 faults
Honey, Bumblebees: PASS

39.5 cm
Quasar: FAIL/FAIL. Best cleared-39.0 cm, 5 faults
Yellah: FAIL/FAIL. Best cleared-39.0 cm, 3 faults
Mandarin: PASS
Honey: FAIL/PASS

40.0 cm
Mandarin: PASS
Honey: FAIL/FAIL. Best cleared, 39.5 cm

It looked (and sounded) at first like Honey hit the plastic retaining bit instead of the sand on her second jump.  Hopefully she’s okay. Even as the only marble standing, Mandarin continues to try and push the record.

Mandarin: 40.5 cm-FAIL/PASS; 41.0 cm-FAIL/FAIL. Best cleared-40.5 cm (ML Record)

Final round results (1st-8th): O’rangers, Bumblebees, Mellow Yellow, Team Galactic, Green Ducks, Hornets, Team Momo, Balls of Chaos
(The second tiebreaker is first failed jump. Momomomo had the earlier first one at 35.5 as opposed to Stinger’s 36.5.)

Your podium!

Podium
Gold: Mandarin, O’rangers
Silver: Honey, Bumblebees
Bronze: Yellah, Mellow Yellow

The $5,000 donation in the O’rangers’ name was to the St. Louis Area Food Bank.

Rest of results
Team Galactic, Green Ducks, Hornets, Team Momo, Balls of Chaos, Minty Maniacs, Thunderbolts, Crazy Cat’s Eyes, Midnight Wisps, Hazers, Oceanics, Raspberry Racers, Savage Speeders

For the Bumblebees, it’s their first-ever Marble League medal! For Team Galactic, it’s another top-5 finish or better that doesn’t result in a medal; they only have one. That’s one more than the Green Ducks have this year, as they narrowly miss out on their first medal of the campaign.

For the O’rangers meanwhile, it’s their league-leading seventh medal and third gold, tying the Minty Maniacs for most in that department. And with their top four opponents all finishing in the bottom half of the standings (and a goose-egg for the Savage Speeders) it’s a big step towards becoming the first team in history to win multiple Marble League championships.

Standings (after Event 13 of 16, 3 events remaining)
1. O’rangers-185 pts (3G 2S 2B)
2. Savage Speeders-150 pts (2G 3B)
3. Minty Maniacs-147 pts (3G 2B)
4. Midnight Wisps-143 pts (1G 2S 1B)
5. Crazy Cat’s Eyes-136 pts (1G 1S 1B)
6. Team Galactic-126 pts (1S)
7. Raspberry Racers-121 pts (1G 1S 1B)
8. Hazers-116 pts (1G 1S)
9. Team Momo-115 pts (2S)
10. e-Oceanics-105 pts (1G 1S 1B)
11. e-Bumblebees-84 pts (1S)
12. e-Green Ducks-79 pts
13. e-Balls of Chaos-77 pts (1S)
14. e-Thunderbolts-74 pts
15. e-Hornets-73 pts
16. d-Mellow Yellow-66 pts (2B)

e-Denotes eliminated from ML2020 championship contention
d-Denotes eliminated from ML2020 podium contention and automatic qualification to ML2021

Biggest rise: Bumblebees (+3)
Biggest drop: Balls of Chaos (-2)

So now, heading into the aquathlon, which nobody has any idea what it entails but sucks to be the Oceanics in that one, we have a potential first. The O’rangers have a 35-point lead, and could potentially manage to do something no previous champion has done, and that’s clinch early. All four Marble League championships were mathematically up in the air going into the last event, but with the following things the O’rangers could clinch not one, but two events early.

The O’rangers clinch the Marble League championship after Event 14 if:
-The O’rangers win the event.
-The Savage Speeders finish 6th or lower (SAV and ORA could tie on points/golds but the O’rangers would own the silver medal tiebreaker)
-The Minty Maniacs finish 4th or lower
-The Midnight Wisps finish 3rd or lower

There are other scenarios as well, but this is the simplest one, involving the fewest number of “Team A finishes X or lower” teams.

Next week’s schedule is a busy one and I’m actually going to see how the schedule shakes out. As of normal post time (1 PM DFODT), the aquathlon is actually in an hour, with Event 15, the collision event, on Thursday. On Saturday is the Marble League Showdown, where the teams that didn’t qualify for the Marble League compete in a B-league with a trip to the 2021 Marble League Qualifiers as the goal. And then on Sunday is the final event (the marathon) and the Closing Ceremonies. We’ll have it all, even if we don’t know when, because there’s also AFC East previews, and once again I have my Jets. I have no idea what to talk about, even though there’s so much to talk about.

Anyway, we’ll see you next week. At some point. At least twice. Maybe even thrice! Thrice is nice. Okay, I’m gonna shut up now, see you next week.