Marble League 2023

The logo for Marble League 2023

**Marble League 2023** was the eighth edition of the Marble League, hosted by the Bumblebees. This season saw the Green Ducks missing out on the Marble League for the first time while the Snowballs made their return and Team Plasma made their debut.

The Pinkies were the defending champions. The Crazy Cat's Eyes won the season, with the Bumblebees in second and the Savage Speeders in third.

## Hosting

The host for 2023 was announced as the Bumblebees, shortly after the end of Marble League 2022. Some teams that were considered are as follows:

* **Bumblebees (Host)**
* Gliding Glaciers
* O'rangers
* Team Primary

## Off-season Competitions

### Xmas Marble Race

*Main article: Xmas Marble Race 2022*
The Xmas Marble Race was a small tournament held on 24 December 2022, featuring all of the active Marble League teams. The event was won by the Raspberry Racers, ahead of the Minty Maniacs and Kobalts.

### G-Force Endurance

*Main article: G-FORCE Endurance (Tournament)*
The G-Force Endurance tournament was a test tournament for a potential new Marble League event. It featured eight of the teams that did not appear in the preceding season of Marbula One. The event was won by the Limers, ahead of the Minty Maniacs and Rojo Rollers.

The event concept from this tournament was accepted for the 2023 Marble League, where it would be held as Event 14.

## Qualifiers

*Main article: Marble League 2023 Qualifiers*
The Marble League 2023 Qualifiers were released on 13 October 2023.

The following events were included in the Qualifiers:

* Honeycomb Team Pursuit
* 5 Meter Sprint
* Legion March Wave
* Funnel Endurance

### Friendly Round

*Main article: Marble League 2023 Friendly Round*
On 13 October 2023, a friendly between the hosts and the auto-qualified teams was held.

## Main Tournament

### Event 1: Honeycomb Team Pursuit

Event 1 Results:

ⅠThe Crazy Cat's Eyes were given a penalty second in Heat 4 and Semifinal A for having a single marble leave the track.
ⅡThe Snowballs were disqualified in Heat 3 for having two marbles leave the track.

## Showdown

*Main article: Marble League Showdown 2023*
The 12 teams that failed to qualify for Marble League 2023 will enter the Marble League Showdown 2023, where they will compete with the 4 relegated Showdown teams.

## Trivia

* With the Savage Speeders, O'rangers and Mellow Yellow all qualifying, they remain the only three teams to have participated in every Marble League so far.
	+ These three, along with the Crazy Cat's Eyes, Raspberry Racers and Hornets, are now the only teams to have never missed a single Marble League since their respective debuts.
* This is the first time the Green Ducks and Minty Maniacs failed to qualify for the Marble League.
	+ By extension, the Green Ducks became the fourth Marble League hosts to not qualify for a Marble League tournament, and the third to do so one year after hosting.
* This is the first time Team Plasma qualified for the Marble League.
	+ This makes them the only team making their Marble League debut in 2023. The last team to make their Marble League debut was the Gliding Glaciers in 2021.
	+ This also marks the first time the overall winners of a Marble League Showdown tournament qualified for the next year's Marble League.
		- With this feat, the curse known as the 'Showdown Winner's Curse' had finally been broken.
* This is the first time the Snowballs qualified for the Marble League through qualifiers.
	+ This is also the second time the Rojo Rollers qualified for the Marble League through qualifiers.
	+ By extension, this is also the first time previous winners of the Marble League Showdown qualified for the Marble League.
		- Team Plasma and the Snowballs, who both won their first Marble League Showdown tournaments, also finished first in their respective qualifying groups.
	+ The Kobalts are now the only team from the inaugural Marble League, and the only past Marble League Showdown overall winners, yet to qualify for a Marble League through qualifiers.
* Every team that competed in Marble League 2023 has finished in the top 3 of any JMR tournament at least once.
* Marble League 2023 marks the third instance where all participating teams won at least one medal, the other two being Marble League 2016 and Marble League 2021.
	+ With all teams having won at least one medal by Event 10, Marble League 2023 was the earliest to reach this mark.
* Marble League 2023 marks the second instance where no teams were unable to win after the fourth to last event, following Marble League 2018.
* Marble League 2023 marks the first instance where all participating teams finished with a triple-digit score.
* This is the first odd numbered year where a Fruit Circuit team did not win the series, defying the "Fruit Circuit Prophecy".
* The Bumblebees are the first Marble League hosts to finish on the overall podium during the year they hosted.
* This marks the first year since the debut of the Crazy Cat's Eyes in which they did not set a new Marble League Record.
* This marks the first year in which the Most Valuable Marble was part of the winning team in a Marble League.
* With the Savage Speeders autoqualifying for Marble League 2024, they become the first team to participate in 9 Marble League seasons.
* This marks the first year in which a previous host has won the Marble League (Crazy Cat's Eyes, who were hosts in 2021)
* This was the first time the Rojo Rollers finished in the top 5 in any Marble League or Marbula One.

## References

1. ↑ Orbitball (24th December 2022). “O’rangers, Glaciers and Primary were contenders too”