Marble League 2021

The logo for Marble League 2021

**Marble League 2021** was the sixth edition of the Marble League. This edition saw the return of the Gliding Glaciers, who returned with a new roster after the team's original retirement in 2018. This season also saw Marble League mainstays Midnight Wisps, Oceanics, and Team Galactic missing out on the Marble League for the first time since their respective debuts. The edition also saw the Rojo Rollers qualifying for the Marble League for the first time since their debut in 2016.

The Savage Speeders were the defending champions, having won their second title back in 2020. This season proved out to be one of the closest Marble Leagues with eleven teams eligible for the championship before the final event. At the end of the season, Mellow Yellow were victorious, with the Raspberry Racers and the Gliding Glaciers in 2nd and 3rd respectively.

## Hosting

The host for 2021 was announced as the Crazy Cat's Eyes, shortly after the end of Marble League 2020, having beaten out the O'rangers to become hosts. The teams considered are as follows:

* **Crazy Cat's Eyes (Host)**
* O'rangers
* Minty Maniacs
* Hazers
* Bumblebees
* Mellow Yellow
* Balls of Chaos

## Off-season Competitions

### Marble League Winter Special

*Main article: Marble League Winter Special*
The **Winter Special** was a small 5-event invitational tournament held in early 2021. It featured the debut of a new uniform for the Pinkies, which ultimately ended up being exclusive to this tournament. The tournament was won by the Oceanics, with the O'rangers and Hazers rounding out the podium.

### Practice Race

*Main article: Marble League 2021 Practice Race*

Before the qualifiers, a practice sand race including all 28 teams was held. The Jawbreakers and Hornets were present instead of Gliding Glaciers and Solar Flares, as it also served as a farewell race for the two retiring teams. The race was won by the Indigo Stars ahead of the Rojo Rollers and Team Momo.

## Qualifiers

*Main article: Marble League 2021 Qualifiers*
The Marble League 2021 Qualifiers were released on 18 June 2021.

These events were included in the qualifier:

* Swing Wave
* Funnel Endurance
* 5 Meter Relay
* Sand Rally

### Qualifier Results

#### Group B

█ The team won.
█ The team finished second.
█ The team finished third.
█ The team did not qualify for the Marble League 2021.
Ties are broken by highest event points.

### Friendly Round

*Main article: Marble League 2021 Friendly Round*
On 25 June 2021, a friendly between the host and the pre-qualified teams was held.

## Pot Assignments

At the end of the Marble League 2021 Qualifiers, it was announced that there will be pot assignments for the upcoming Marble League. The 16 teams are divided into four pots with four teams based on their score in the Qualifiers or the Friendly Round. For events that have heats, the teams from each pot will be evenly placed in each heat. The pots are shown below:

POT 1: (Auto-Qualified teams for Marble League 2021)

* Savage Speeders
* O'rangers
* Minty Maniacs
* Crazy Cat's Eyes

POT 2: (top 2 teams from Group A & B)

* Thunderbolts
* Mellow Yellow
* Raspberry Racers
* Indigo Stars

POT 3: (3rd and 4th teams from Group A & B)

* Hazers
* Rojo Rollers
* Shining Swarm
* Limers

POT 4: (5th and 6th teams from Group A & B)

* Gliding Glaciers
* Team Momo
* Green Ducks
* Chocolatiers

## Main Tournament

### Event 10: Steeplechase

Event 10 results:

\*After the Steeplechase, an error was noted on the Savage Speeders run that would've put their total ahead of the Gliding Glaciers. The JMA would later take a point away from the Gliding Glaciers and give a point to the Savage Speeders, but not until the closing ceremony. The standings have been retroactively updated to have that point given out in Event 10.

## Showdown

*Main article: Marble League Showdown 2021*
The twelve teams that failed to qualify for Marble League 2021 were entered into Marble League Showdown 2021.

## Trivia

* Marble League 2021 saw the largest number of changes to the competing teams' roster, tied with Marble League 2018 at 6.
* It marked first time that the Rojo Rollers and the Gliding Glaciers qualified for the Marble League through the qualifiers.
* The Thunderbolts, Mellow Yellow, O'rangers and Savage Speeders are now the only four teams to not miss a single Marble League since 2016.
* The Savage Speeders, O'rangers, Minty Maniacs, Crazy Cat's Eyes, Thunderbolts, Mellow Yellow, Hazers, Raspberry Racers, Green Ducks and Hornets are the only ten teams that have never failed to qualify for a Marble League since debut.
* This was the fifth time that Kobalts failed to qualify. They became the only team in the original roster of Marble League 2016 that has yet to appear in another Marble League edition following the Rojo Rollers' qualification.
* This is the first time that the Midnight Wisps, Oceanics and Team Galactic all failed to qualify, and this is also the second time that the Balls of Chaos failed to qualify for the Marble League.
	+ By extension, this is the first time the fourth place team the year prior (the Midnight Wisps) failed to qualify for the Marble League.
* This is the first time that a few podium finishers in a previous edition (the Midnight Wisps and Oceanics) failed to qualify for a Marble League.
* All previous Marble League hosts failed to qualify (Snowballs, Oceanics and Team Galactic).
* With Rojo Cero of the Rojo Rollers being sacked after Event 14, this was the second Marble League seeing a team coach fired during the tournament, the first being Tide of the Oceanics during Marble League 2019.
* A record number of eleven teams still had a chance to win the Marble League before the last event.
* This was the first Marble League since 2016 where all participating teams won at least one medal.
	+ Additionally, all teams that participated in the Marble League Showdown 2021 also won at least one medal.
	+ This marks the first time that all participating teams, both from the main league and the Showdown, have won at least one medal.
* This is first edition of Marble League to feature a "Most Valuable Marble" Award.
* This is the first time that the winner of the overall championship didn't finish in the top eight in the previous year's Marble League.
* This is the first Marble League where the Savage Speeders finished in the bottom half.

## References

1. ↑ Orbitball (14th June 2021). “Felynia Coliseum I believe”
2. ↑ Stynth (17th August 2020). Podium Moments – ML2020 Event 16. Marble Sports.
3. ↑ Nordique Whaler (30th June 2021). [https://projectmarblearth.wordpress.com/2021/06/30/marbula-one-season-2-pre-marble-league-2021-offse
ason-moments-part-4/ Offseason Moments - M1S2 - Pre-ML21 Part 4]. Project Marblearth.
4. ↑ Stynth (30th October 2020). Offseason Moments - ML2020 Part 2. Marble Sports.
5. ↑ Novawolf (19th August 2021). Addressing the error found in the results of Event 10. Reddit.