2018弹珠联赛

The **2018 Winter Marble League** was the third edition of the Marble League. It was the first winter edition and also the first Marble League to feature a host. It contained all new events, including Bobsleigh, Curling, Ski Jump, Ice Hockey (based on Collision) and other winter-based disciplines. The final tournament contained 12 events where 16 teams competed to win medals and points. The scoring system remained the same as in the Marble League 2017.

The O'rangers were the defending champions.

## Hosting

This was also the very first Marble League to feature a fixed "host". This trend continues to be featured in successive Marble League editions. The Snowballs were the host team for the 2018 Winter Marble League. Located in The Arctic Circle, their arena was run by the IMC, but was home to the Snowballs and the Snowballs' Royal Family.

## Qualifiers

The 2018 Marble League Qualifiers were held in mid-to-late-December of 2017. The Snowballs (as the event's hosts), O'rangers (winners of the ML2017), Savage Speeders (runners-up in ML2017) and Mellow Yellow (3rd place in ML2017) qualified automatically. 24 teams entered the qualification in 3 groups of 8 teams each, where the best 4 teams from each group qualified after 4 events.

 1-B
 1-C
 2
 3
 4

Notes:

* The curling event was split into three separate parts. Each group had its own video. These were combined into one video in the 2019 reupload.
* The Snow Race was originally scheduled for 19 December, but was postponed to 20 December due to technical issues.
* The 5m Ice Dash was originally scheduled for 21 December, but it was uploaded 22 December due to editing failures.

### Qualifier Results

█ The team came first.
█ The team came second.
█ The team came third.
█ The team did not qualify for Marble League 2018.
\*After Team Momo merged with Team Primary to form Team Momary during the main tournament, Team Primary technically qualified.

## Friendly Round

On 20th January 2018, a friendly between the host and the pre-qualified teams was held.

 2nd
 3rd
 4th

* The Snow Race was cancelled due to bad weather during the event.

## Teams

* Out of the 16 teams that qualified for the final tournament, four teams (Hazers, Minty Maniacs, Crazy Cat's Eyes and Raspberry Racers) made their debut in the Marble League.
* 2 teams, those being the Snowballs (hosts) and Balls of Chaos had participated in Marble League 2016, but failed to qualify for Marble League 2017, making this their 2nd time participating.
* The Midnight Wisps were the only team that made their debut in Marble League 2017 and qualified for Marble League 2018.

\*Team Momo and Team Primary temporarily merged due to injuries sustained by Momomo and Momomomo. Their name was Team Momary.

## ML 2018 Consolation Race

主条目：Sand Marble Rally 2018 - Qualifiers § Marble League 2018 Consolation Race

The twelve teams that did not qualify for Marble League 2018 (except Team Primary) participated in this race.

## Main Tournament:

### Event 1: 5 Meter Ice Dash

Event 1 of Marble League 2018 began with the opening ceremony, which featured a beautiful new track created by GrandAdmiralMellacus. The ceremony introduced each of the 16 teams as well as the Ice King and Queen, rulers of the Arctic Circle, along with IMC (International MarbleLympic Committee). The anthem of the Snowballs was played after the torch was lit. The event itself was identical to the 5 Meter Ice Dash featured in the qualifiers.

Event One Results:

### Event 2: Ski Jump

Ski Jump is very similar to Long Jump, but takes place in the snow. The marbles roll down a track and soar into the air, trying to jump as far as possible. The record entering the event is 120.7 cm. The Balls of Chaos won gold by breaking that record with the Hazers coming close.

Event Two Results:

### Event 3: Halfpipe

Event 3 was originally Curling, but the video was cancelled due to disapproval by the IMC. The event was replaced by Halfpipe. A new version of curling was scheduled as a future event barring any production delays. The Halfpipe was structured with two heats but only the slower of the two times was counted.

Event Three Results:

### Event 4: Bobsled

The team uses a 3D printed bobsled to slide down a course made of snow and ice as fast as possible. If a marble leaves the bobsled for any reason, then the judges will add a certain number of penalty points. During this event, Team Momo's sled stopped after they started, so there was a retry. The team also received several injuries.

Event Four Results

### Event 5: Speed Skating

This is the first event in which Team Momary competed in. This event was delayed twice. It was originally scheduled for 21 February then 22 February until it was finally released on 23 February. The Savage Speeders tied the previous record, and then that record was broken by the Hazers.

Event Five Results:

### Event 6: Team Pursuit

The teams need to roll down 20 meters. The fastest 3 marbles to cross the line (on the blue block) wins. If a team has two false starts or the distance between marbles is too far, then they are disqualified. The Oceanics broke the record in this event in the Heat Qualifiers (29.94). This event has a bracket format.

Event Six Results:

### Event 7: Snow Rally

Based on the Sand Marble Rally. All sixteen marbles race down a hill of snow and get snow points based on their position. There are two races and the winner is the marble with the most snow points. Tiebreakers are decided by the fastest average time.

Event Seven Results:

### Event 8: Snowboard Cross

In this event, 8 marbles race down a track with obstacles. The top 4 from each heat go on to the finals.

Event Eight Results:

### Event 9: Curling

Event 9 Results:

\* Closest to the button.

Rankings for 5th-8th based on result in the quarter-final.
Rankings for 9th-16th based on result in the first round.

### Event 10: Biathlon

This event is a relay race. The final marble rolls onto a colored grid. The number of points removed depends on what color the marble lands.

Event 10 Results:

### Event 11: Ice Hockey

This event is based on Collision from the 2016 and 2017 Marble League. Two teams of marbles ride down a track and collide with each other on the rink, as well as with a set of ball-bearing "pucks". Each team must try to push the pucks into the goal of the opponent but they must also prevent own goals by bouncing away oncoming pucks. Seven pucks (ball bearings) were used to add more action in less time. If a marble crosses the goal line, it won't be counted as a goal. This is the only event in which all five marbles from a team participate.

Event 11 Results:

*See main page for more detailed results*

Rankings for 5th-16th based on results in group stage.

### Event 12: Sand Mogul Race

This event involves marbles racing down a track made of sand. The two fastest marbles move on to the next round.

Event 12 Results:

\*\*During commentary of the event, Greg Woods claimed that Midnight Wisps set the ML Record in the final race with a 5.92. But, unbeknownst to many people, Yellow from Mellow Yellow actually set a quicker time in their semi-final race with a 5.87 which is the actual ML Record.

## Standings

### Overall Standings

The first, second, and third place teams from this Marble League (Midnight Wisps, Savage Speeders and Oceanics) prequalified for Marble League 2019. Since the Oceanics were selected as hosts for the Marble League 2019, the O'rangers filled their vacancy as the fourth team to prequalify.

## Trivia

* This was the first Marble League season to feature a host team, and fittingly, the host team was the Snowballs.
* This was the first Marble League to be organized by the International Marble Sport Committee.
* Some of the snow and ice events were held in Bad Kieinkirchheim, Austria, which is also a real-life ski resort.
* Both Team Plasma and the Crazy Cat's Eyes have roots in the Sand Marble Rally, with Team Plasma being based on SMR2016 champion Ghost Plasma, and the Crazy Cat's Eyes being based on Crazy Cat's Eye.
* Additionally, the Minty Maniacs, the Golden Orbs, and the Black Jacks are teams that crossed over from the Hubelino Tournament, although the Golden Orbs had a slight name change from their original name, the Golden Wisps, most likely to avoid confusion with the Midnight Wisps.
* The Gliding Glaciers, the Hazers, and the Raspberry Racers are the only 3 newcomers not based on an already existing series on Jelle's channel. However, commentator Greg Woods has stated that the Raspberry Racers have a historical rivalry with the Limers.
* Going back to the Raspberry Racers, Jelle has claimed that they are a merger team between the Bluefastics and the Valiant Violets, both from the Hubelino Tournament.
* The Gliding Glaciers ironically failed to qualify or even reach 7th place in their qualifying group.
* This marks the second season in a row that the original top 5 teams (the Savage Speeders, Mellow Yellow, the Thunderbolts, Team Momo, and the O'rangers from Marble League 2016) have all qualified for the main tournament.
* There was a major controversy when M&H Racing did a similar looking event with the same name, resulting in confusion and accusations. This resulted in an agreement in which M&H Racing changed the name to the Marble Winter Games. Jelle has since asked his fans to be respectful to both parties.
* This is the first Marble League where two different teams merged into one team, with Team Momo teaming up with Team Primary due to injuries from Momomo and Momomomo, albeit temporary.
* This was also the first to use hashtags.
* This Marble League also has a "Search Challenge" in each event where the viewer must spot a certain marble which can be hidden in the stands or somewhere around the track. The difficulty is based on the visibility of the marble and the length of the video.
* The Midnight Wisps are the first winners not to compete in the Marble League 2016.

## References

1. ↑ @Jelles\_com. Twitter (10th January 2018). “The ML18s are the first events to be managed and organized by the committee!”

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