Marble League Showdown

2019 Marble League Showdown logo

The **Marble League Showdown** is a secondary competition to the main tournament of the Marble League, akin to a "B-League." It was introduced to the series in 2019 and features 16 teams (12 teams until 2021) competing in a selection of events featured in the proper Marble League.

## History

Requests for a "B-League" to the Marble League were present since 2017, but became more prominent in early 2019, after the release of Marble League 2019 Qualifiers. Many fans were disappointed that the Limers and Team Momo had failed to qualify for the first time in ML history, while the Rojo Rollers and Kobalts, teams that had only appeared in Marble League 2016, had failed to qualify for the third year in a row.

On 22 February 2019, plans for the "B-League" were revealed, revealing that the competition would have twelve teams competing in four events. These teams would include the eight unqualified teams, the top two teams from Hubelino Tournament 2018, and two fan-made teams that would be elected by the fans in a vote run by the JMRC. The top eight teams at the end of the B-League would participate in the next Marble League's Qualifiers, with the four remaining teams' status yet to be determined.

The "B-League" was officially renamed to **Marble League Showdown** on 26 February to better distinguish it from the Marble Rally B-League.

### Fan Team Contest 2019

The Fan Team Contest, introduced in 2019, allowed fans to submit a team for election to compete in the Marble League Showdown. The rules for submission included:

* You may only submit one team for this contest.
* Your team must consist of at least 5 equally looking marbles (4 regular athletes, 1 reserve). 7 marbles are the maximum (4 regulars, 2 reserve and 1 coach).
* Your team marbles must have a unique look. It must be distinguishable from every other team competing in the Marble League and the B-League including the two Hubelino teams Minty Maniacs and Bumblebees. You can find their designs in our Marble League Wikia.
* Your team marbles must meet the ML size standard of 16mm and they have to be made of glass.
* You must not alter your team marbles in any way. Any unnatural advantage over other teams will result in a permanent disqualification from ALL events on JMR.
* While you don't have to physically possess the marbles to enter the vote, you must ensure that you can either send the marbles in time or that we can order them, should you win the vote. Use common sense here: If you are going to order your marbles from a European store, it doesn't make any sense to send them to the USA first and back to the Netherlands afterward.
* Your team must have a unique name, a logo concept, names for all members and a short history about its origins. Remember, these teams are none of the classics and you have to impress the community to get those sweet votes during the voting period.
* Please note that winning the vote will qualify for the B-League only. No fan team is guaranteed to actually reach the Marble League Main Tournament. While we will certainly not interfere with your team's performance any way, please keep in mind anything could happen.

The contest ran from 26 February to 22 March. After two rounds of voting, the Hornets and Turtle Sliders were selected as the two fan-made teams that would compete in the Marble League Showdown.

### Marble League Qualification

The top teams at the end of each Showdown move on to the next Marble League Qualifiers. The bottom four teams remain in the Showdown for the following year's edition, where they have a chance to compete for one of the top spots again. This process, known as relegation, was suspended during the 2020 and 2021 renditions of the Showdown.

## Teams Overview

*Main article: Marble League Teams*
As of 2023, 28 teams have competed in the Marble League Showdown, of which 26 are still active. The table below displays only the teams who have reached glory in the form of a top three overall finish in at least one Marble League Showdown edition, along with their classification by number of championships won, then overall runner-up and third-place finishes, and finally total top three overall finishes:

## Marble League Showdown 2019

*Main article: Marble League Showdown 2019*

The first Marble League Showdown began in August 2019 and was won by the Snowballs. It featured the bottom eight teams from the Marble League 2019 Qualifiers, the top two teams from Hubelino Tournament 2018 and two fan-made teams. It was also the first tournament to use the "Marble League", replacing the "MarbleLympics" name.

## Marble League Showdown 2020

*Main article: Marble League Showdown 2020*

The second Marble League Showdown began in August 2020 and was won by the Kobalts. It featured the bottom eight teams from the Marble League 2020 Qualifiers and the bottom four teams from the Marble League Showdown 2019. Unlike the previous year, all events were held on the same day.

## Marble League Showdown 2021

*Main article: Marble League Showdown 2021*

The third Marble League Showdown began in August 2021. It featured the bottom twelve teams from the Marble League 2021 Qualifiers. Unlike the previous years, the Showdown was expanded to eight events: the first four events were held on the same day and the other four events were held on a later day.

## Marble League Showdown 2022

*Main article: Marble League Showdown 2022*

The fourth Marble League Showdown began in November 2022. It featured the bottom twelve teams from the Marble League 2022 Qualifiers as well as four expansion teams, bringing the number of competing teams up to 16 for the first time.

## Marble League Showdown 2023

*Main article: Marble League Showdown 2023*

The fifth Marble League Showdown began in December 2023. It featured the bottom twelve teams from the Marble League 2022 Qualifiers as well as the four relegated teams from Marble League Showdown 2022, bringing the number of competing teams up to 16.

## Rules

### Points System

*Main article: List of Marble League points scoring systems*
Below are the scoring systems that were used in the Marble League Showdown. In 2021, the numbers of points received for getting any placement in the top 4 was lowered. With the expansion of the Marble League Showdown to 16 teams in 2022, the main Marble League and the Showdown use the same scoring system.

## Trivia

* Marble League Showdown 2019 saw the Minty Maniacs return to an ML-related competition after previously withdrawing from participation in the Marble League 2019 Qualifiers. They made history as the first team to come out of retirement.

## References

1. ↑ GrandAdmiralMellacus (26th February 2019). PSA: The ML B-League has been renamed to MarbleLympics Showdown. Reddit.
2. ↑ GrandAdmiralMellacus (23rd February 2019). More Details, Rules and a Timeline for the Fan Team Vote!. Reddit.