This article focuses on the six teams in Group A that failed to qualify. For the article that focuses on the six teams in Group B that failed to qualify, click here.
After months of waiting to see which teams would compete in the 2021 Marble League, we finally know the sixteen teams that have qualified, including the four that prequalified at the end of the 2020 Marble League and the twelve that competed in the 2021 Marble League Qualifiers. And now that we know, the 2021 Marble League is just around the corner! All of the teams are already in Felynia, and soon, it will be time to light the torch in the Felynia Coliseum.
In our theorizing, meme-making, and hype intensifying, we’ll rally behind at least one of the sixteen teams that have qualified, if not all of them. From the Gliding Glaciers, who have returned from retirement with a new roster, to six-time veterans such as the Thunderbolts, they all have something unique to bring to the games, and they have brought their all in order to secure their spot.
Regardless, there is a certain tragedy that comes with the passing of the Qualifiers each year. There are sixteen spots in the Marble League each year, meaning that if more than twelve teams are seeking to compete, there will be cuts. This has been the case since 2017 when the first Qualifiers were held, and the Kobalts, Snowballs, Balls of Chaos, and Rojo Rollers failed to qualify. In 2018, twelve teams failed to qualify (four from each group), the most in a single season yet. In 2019, the JMRC established the former system of relegation, and in addition to the Limers and Team Momo missing their first Marble League, the Limers, Turtle Sliders, Kobalts, and Shining Swarm did not advance to the 2020 Qualifiers from the 2019 Showdown. The system of relegation adopted this year saved the bottom four Showdown teams from missing out on Qualifiers, with the 2021 Marble League Qualifiers mandating that the top six teams of twelve within two groups move on to the main tournament.
This year saw a mixture of teams get cut after the four events of Qualifiers. Some were beloved fan favorites. Others were hoping, after years of being unsuccessful, to finally return to the competition. But none of them can be forgotten. Like the sixteen teams that have qualified, these twelve teams all bring something special to the competition. The difference is the effort put in—either it isn’t “their all” or it’s masked by other teams. And so it goes.
Still, as we await the 2021 Marble League, we would like to reflect on the “forbidden six” from Group A. They deserve to be heard, and their legacies deserve to be honored. Any team could be in their position right now.
One Leap Forward, Three Leaps Back
Although the Jungle Jumpers placed second in the 2020 Marble League Showdown, the team experienced an otherwise unsuccessful offseason from the Marble League with one of the worst performances in marble sports history. The Jumpers placed last out of twenty teams in Season 2 of Marbula One, earning only nine points over twelve Grands Prix. Additionally, with only one point earned, Skip placed last out of forty racers, and with eight points, Hop placed thirty-eighth.
“That’s far from the Marbula One debut we wanted,” Hop admitted. “In all honesty, we were hoping that we could focus on qualifiers throughout the offseason…but how can you turn down a Marbula One invitation?”
Skip declined to comment. In their place, Leap spoke up. “I’m grateful I got to take advantage of that time to work on Funnel Endurance. Jump was able to cover for the Sand Rally…but it could have been either Hop or Skip, too.”
“If we get invited to Season 3,” added Jump, “we’ll honestly be surprised. Either way, it’s clear to us what we have to work on. And hopefully next time we get a chance to qualify, the points we earn will be enough no matter what group we’re in.”
I realized I was still wearing my Team Momo hat. I took it off, stuffing it into my bag.
Jump shook. “Nothing against your team. It’s just another way the rules have worked against us…especially with that tie in the Relay. Either way, the Marble League needs to do better.”
Hopefully, the Jungle Jumpers can turn things around in the Showdown. Best of luck to them.
A Wake-Up Call
The Midnight Wisps, champions of the 2018 Winter Marble League and perennial mainstays in Jelle’s Marble Runs, have failed to qualify for the Marble League for the first time in their team’s history.
What happened? Was the absence of Block Pushing in Qualifiers that consequential?
“It’s not even like our offseason was going poorly,” Wospy, the race winner at the Palette Park GP, said. “Yeah, we didn’t do well in the Winter Special. We didn’t impress during the Practice Race. But we finally proved ourselves in Marbula One…at least to the point of placing in the top half.”
Wispy stared daggers at Wospy from across the room. “It would have gone better if we had auto-qualified,” they said quietly.
A minute of dead silence followed. It was broken by clock chimes, knelling some distance away from the athletes’ hotel.
“What do I keep saying? We can’t keep focusing on that,” Coach Wyspy interjected. “We’re a championship team, and there’s no better time than right now to focus on owning up to that legacy. We did everything we could—you saw how close the Relay was.”
With the Wisps’ literal tie with Team Momo in the Relay, I did not doubt that, and I have little doubt that the Midnight Wisps won’t do well in the Showdown. Best of luck to them.
Unrimarkable
When I interviewed Team Primary after the past two Marble League Qualifiers, they were accompanied by Team Momo—even when they had qualified over Team Primary. This year, though, I found Team Primary alone at the Iris Oasis, a small park across from the towering Felynia Coliseum. It was bright and early in the morning, yet I was surprised to find the team hard at work on sculpting a statue.
“As thanks for hosting us this year, we thought we would work on a gift for both the Crazy Cat’s Eyes and the community of Felynia,” Imar said, gesturing to the statue behind them. “That’ll be Red Eye, Yellow Eye, and White Eye with the Marbula One Season 2 trophy. Title to be determined.”
“We were thinking of something simple like ‘Eyes on the Prize,’” Aryp added.
Prim sighed. “Aryp, that was under our NDA…actually, never mind. It’ll probably be up by the time this is published.”
“Not if they launch Project Marblearth on 30 June,” warned Imar. “That’s the day before the dedication ceremony!”
Author’s Note: Stynth did release Project Marblearth on 30 June.
“You know, it’s weird that we’re working together so well on this, but we just can’t get it together in the Relay. Or any team event,” remarked Rima. “But I am proud of Mary. They did a great job in the funnels.”
Mary smiled warmly. With any luck, that’s a sign of hope for Team Primary to do better in the Showdown.
Permafrosted
The Snowballs have participated in two Marble Leagues and four Qualifiers, which even from the outset isn’t the best attendance record. It’s even more disappointing because the Snowballs debuted as one of the original sixteen teams, and their only other main tournament appearance was because they hosted the 2018 Winter Marble League.
Yes, the Snowballs have the sad distinction of being one of four active teams that have yet to qualify, and one of two that have yet to qualify since being invited to the 2016 Marble League. With the Rojo Rollers qualifying this year for the first time, there is potential for the Snowballs to break out of the rut that they’re currently in—but at the same time, that potential may be hard to envision past the low morale that the team is currently experiencing.
“Things haven’t been the same since Season 1 of Marbula One,” noted Snowy. “It’s like we were flying so high, and we crashed so low. We haven’t been able to get it together ever since.”
The team was a favorite to qualify in 2020, finishing close to the cutoff but throwing it all away in the 5 Meter Sprint. When I visited the Snowballs before the Showdown, they seemed optimistic, but in that tournament, they placed in the bottom four, which would have eliminated them for this year’s Qualifiers under the old group system. Sometime before Season 2 of Marbula One, Snowflake relinquished their role as captain to Snowy. The team did not make the podium throughout both that tournament and the Marble League Winter Special, placing twelfth and dead last overall, respectively.
“I had some hope after the Practice Race,” said Snowstorm, who finished sixth there. “But we didn’t have it. Maybe we just won’t ever again.”
“Or maybe we have things we need to work on,” Snowflake encouraged. “We can’t lose hope yet.”
Snowflake is right. All the best to the Snowballs in the 2021 Showdown.
Chaos As Usual
“Hahahahaha. Honestly, we’re surprised it took this long for this to happen to us again,” Snarl jested, to the ire of their other teammates.
The Balls of Chaos specifically requested that I meet them on the mini sports fields outside of the Coliseum, and I found them there with nine ball bearings and the Crazy Cat’s Eyes, playing a sport I was unfamiliar with.
“This? Oh, we call it bocce,” Cyan Eye said. “You know…since the two of us teams designed it. We have to hit the little bocce,” they explained, pointing to the small ball bearing across the field, “with the big bocce. It’s like outdoor bowling.”
“And it’s a lot of fun. It’s helping me not think about how much I bounced off the wall during the Sand Rally,” insisted Tumult.
Truth be told, the Balls of Chaos have had a string of disappointing results since finishing second-to-last in the 2020 Marble League. Although they earned two medals in Season 2 of Marbula One, they failed to qualify four times and did not finish the Misty Mountain GP, getting stuck in the safety marble lane and being released in a moment of true disarray. They placed fourteenth in the Winter Special, a disappointing sight after their fifth-place in 2018, and fourteenth in the Practice Race.
“Everywhere that we’ve been strong in the past, we’ve been facing difficulty,” admitted Coach Harmony. “Our string of inconsistent results is true to our team name and identity, but it’s also preventing us from getting strong results—and maintaining them. We can do better.”
“Or we can just be as chaotic as we’ve always been,” joked Clutter. If the Balls of Chaos score alternating golds and last-place finishes in the Showdown, I’ll be wishing them all the best as they live up to their persona.
Tide’s Remorse
The Oceanics denied me an interview, a decision much to my surprise but one I can sympathize with. I can only imagine what they’re going through as a team, one that has been in the Marble League since the beginning and most recently won one of its tournaments: the Marble League Winter Special invitational. Medaling three times in five events, the Oceanics experienced redemption from their narrow loss in 2018, where they finished third in a similarly nail-biting finale. The rest of their off-season from the Marble League wasn’t as celebratory, with Ocean and Sea earning only one bronze medal during Season 2 of Marbula One, and Ocean placing tenth in the Practice Race. Still, the Oceanics entered Qualifiers this year looking better than most teams and exited looking worse than every other team.
As I was riding down my hotel elevator a few nights ago, a familiar face rolled on, to my greater surprise: Tide. I couldn’t help but ask them to lunch.
“You know…it was really difficult to come back to the industry after the team let me go. And I’m not getting into the negotiations of all of it,” Tide insisted. “You already wrote about that.”
I nervously sipped my water. Of course, it went down the wrong way.
“You good? Okay. Don’t want you choking on water like…you know. Regardless, I realized in my heart that I still care so much about my team—well, the Oceanics—and I want them to succeed. Even if I have no role in how that happens anymore.
It’s disappointing how they didn’t qualify, but I know they’ll be riding the wave back soon enough. And I’m excited to be here to watch that happen.”
I covered Tide’s tab and we parted ways following our meal, with optimism for the Oceanics’ return to glory. With luck, they’ll achieve that in the Showdown.
Conclusion: Looking Ahead
The hype that surrounds the Marble League each year often obscures the hardships behind the scenes: the difficulty in training to qualify, the struggle in maintaining strong performances, and the challenge of demonstrating excellence, among others. If it was easy, any group of marbles would team up and casually roll past the competition—but it’s not. It takes determination to be involved in any aspect of the Marble League, let alone participate in the main tournament, and it’s admittedly not for everyone.
Nevertheless, the result has been proven to be worth it; it has been rewarding beyond any marble’s wildest dreams. If these six teams work hard during the offseason and do well in the Showdown—pushing their capabilities beyond what they have thought possible—they will rediscover those rewards, as they have in Marble Leagues past.
Jungle Jumpers, Midnight Wisps, Team Primary, Snowballs, Balls of Chaos, Oceanics: we implore you not to give up, but to move forward. Learn from this, grow stronger, and be excellent. We’re looking forward to seeing you compete again.
Let’s roll.
Credits
- Writer: Stynth
- Editor: Ramen Powder
- Graphic Designers: Pim Leurs, Spex
- Photographers: Jelle’s Marble Runs, Vector
- Reference: Marble League 2021 Qualifiers | Jelle’s Marble Runs
- Release: 30/06/2021
Project Marblearth 
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