RetRollSpective – Team Phoenix

Hello and welcome to another RetRollSpective, where we reflect on the history of marble sports teams that have competed in the tournaments of Jelle’s Marble Runs. This time, we’re going to focus on Team Phoenix, a team that blends in with the history of the Hubelino Tournament. Read on to find out how this team has burned the competition!

To discover how this team formed and evolved, we head to Spiceno, a town in the Herbotamia region that’s well known for its pepper farms and cuisine based on locally grown spices.

Despite their common home, each member of Team Phoenix came from a different background: Nix worked for the family restaurant; Nixy offered technical assistance services for home computers; Phee was a senior in high school; Phoeny was searching for their first job. On the weekends, a common interest united them: racing.

The four members used to race for fun during frequent gatherings at Hot Spot Park, a public venue that gained a reputation for being a good location for fitness activities. As time passed, their interest in analyzing marble sports set them apart from other amateur athletes, eventually attracting another marble to their discussions. This was Phoenix, who eventually became known for racing in the Marble Rally. “We would stay in the park for hours just talking about how we did and what we could do to improve,” said Nixy.

A subject that became more present in the conversations was the slow rise of team competitions, such as the “turf tournaments”. The five friends were curious about these events, eventually trying them out. The group was excited about this new possibility, except for one of them, as Nix disclosed: “Our friend ‘Big’ Phoenix wasn’t very keen on moving with us into wider marble sports; it didn’t give them the same thrill as pure racing. In the end, their choice worked out pretty well for them.”

The newly formed Team Phoenix believed that variety is the spice of life, and began to search for a competition to join. In early 2011, the opportunity appeared at an open street race. At the race, the friends were approached by Minty Flav of the Minty Maniacs, who listened to them talk about their struggles to complete the switch from racing to other marble sports disciplines.

“Yeah, it was surprising, but we were glad to see somebody offering us a place to play as a squad. Two days later, we heard back from Flav to let us know everybody was fine with having another team, and that all of them would meet us in marble to make it official,” Phee told us.

For their debut in the 2011 edition of the informal tournament, the team didn’t impress, taking last overall. “My partners and I were having fun while trying out new things. We were learning, adapting, but it was a blast!” Phoeny said about their first year, highlighting the good reception they had from the other teams who already competed against each other.

The next year saw a change that raised the level of competition: the establishment of the official Herbotamia Tournament, which would now expand to five teams and be held at the Herbotamia Recreational and Sports Club (HRSC). The growth of the tournament came quickly for a team with low experience. Despite the concerns, Team Phoenix headed into this new phase with a desire to grow as athletes and to also share their sporting experiences with the world, launching a blog that was administered by the tech-savvy Nixy: the Firebird Sports Diary soon gained a small but loyal following.

A few weeks before the start, the four members, alongside the other teams, traveled to Hummilon to meet the Ruby Rollers and officially invite them to fill the expansion slot. “[Minty] Fresh told us a story of how the Rubies sneaked into a friendly match they had while they were on the way to Spiceno to welcome us, and how they kept in contact since then. Once we arrived at their workplace, Rolla approached me with a big smile, I didn’t even need to talk to notice how excited they were to join a properly organized cup. It was clear they were the logical choice.”

The tournament got started. Team Phoenix wouldn’t contend for the title, though the squad obtained their first gold ever by winning the Halfpipe Crash. “It was big! The other teams applauded us; our fans on the internet were hyped. We love to share moments like these, moments that we will carry for the rest of our lives”, Phee remarked. They eventually obtained an overall third-place finish, beating one of the original three members, the Golden Wisps, a result that indicated an improvement for the team of friends, both individually and as a group.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go well in the 2013 season. While nobody could match the domination of the Golden Wisps that year, Team Phoenix slipped and finished in last place. Despite the poor performance, they were happy for the Ruby Rollers, who achieved a bronze in the overall standings, as the teams had established a friendship off the course, through the years of competing against each other.

In 2014, another disappointing finish made them reevaluate their training methods. Nix explains: “We were in a bad slump, we had to figure out another way to prepare ourselves. We realized that we just needed to have fun together, like good friends.” On their free weekends, the group of friends, including ‘Big’ Phoenix, pushed each other to their limits, discussed moves and tactics, and participated in some amateur events. By remembering the early days, they were ready to rise again.

The team’s first challenge of 2015 happened before the season even started, as the HRSC announced to the athletes that the club could no longer fund the Herbotamia Tournament. Nixy opened up about this tough moment: “We were shocked in the first hours, unsure if we could continue to compete. After the initial despair, an ember of hope appeared—in the next few weeks, Spirit from the Golden Wisps told everybody they were holding a raffle in hopes of making the season happen and they trusted me to promote it on our blog. That’s what we did, and the response was very good, as many of our fans asked us how to participate and the raffle tickets sold out quickly!”

After this hurdle was cleared, they kept training with seriousness while also having fun. Team Phoenix finally looked to become champions and was en route to their best campaign in history. They ended up achieving their highest finish so far but settled for a second-place as they were edged out by the Ruby Rollers for the overall title. According to Phee, there was no reason to be sad as both teams had built a good relationship over the years: “We were happy for each other, and we also participated in the Rollers’ title celebration party. That fan rally was unmatched in tournament history, we never saw anything like that again.”

However, after the season was over, the future was uncertain. The Minty Maniacs disbanded, leading the rest of the participant teams to suspend their activities. During their sabbatical, the four friends returned to the “turf tournaments” alongside their regular lives, while ‘Big’ Phoenix became a founding member of the group which established the first professional rally series in the region. 

But in October 2016, they received a signal of hope to rebuild. Minty Flav of the Minty Maniacs relayed the proposal of a potential new promoter to all Herbotamia Tournament athletes. Nix shared the team’s view of the moment: “Everybody was stoked when we learned that Jelle Bakker, responsible for the fastest-growing marble sports series in the world, was interested in our league. My mind went back to when our big friend raced at their first broadcasted sand rally, and since that experience was positive, the support we gave them on that occasion returned to us. They encouraged us to go for it, giving us the confidence to accept the proposal.” Phoenix’s opinion was short but relevant, as they had just won the inaugural Herbotamia Rally season in their hometown of Spiceno.

Jelle and the teams reached an agreement, and the championship was reformulated as the Hubelino Tournament. The friends were excited to prove themselves in the eight events of the 2016 season against the other squads they knew and three new challengers: the Valiant Violets, Green Gang, and Bluefastics. In the weeks before the first event, Team Phoenix continued to push each other and even had a friendly match against the Ruby Rollers with no stakes involved. The teams shared tips and tricks during their time together and imagined a rematch of the previous year’s title battle.

The season began with an event that would eventually become a staple of marble sports: Funnel Spinning. Phee had a fast start, which in funnel racing doesn’t mean a good result. Phee finished in seventh, only ahead of the Ruby Rollers, both performing below expectations for both teams. While their friends in red shot up the standings, Team Phoenix constantly failed to deliver and couldn’t get past sixth in an event.

The squad needed a resurgence as soon as possible, and it came with a win in the fifth event, the Quartet Jump. The team delivered the much-needed result in the last run, right after seeing the Golden Wisps take the lead. Phee was one of two competitors who landed in the maximum ten-points zone. Alongside Nixy’s eight points and no towers knocked down, they scored a total of 24 points and stepped up to the top of the podium for the first time that season. This gold also brought another surprise: the team’s blog, which usually had a maximum of only 200 regular visitors in the previous four seasons, gained thousands of views and new followers who were curious about the recent success they saw in the video.

Unfortunately, this was the only top-half result for Team Phoenix, who eventually finished seventh by the end of the series as initially scheduled.

“We are very analytical marbles. We knew something was wrong, but we couldn’t understand why. We thought a lot about our failures, and this possibly held us back, not only because we demanded a lot from ourselves, but we also didn’t have the time to spend pondering these questions with such a tight schedule”, Phoeny said about their poor showing. “As soon as we learned about the calendar extension, we changed our mindset to just have fun while competing.”

Team Phoenix had nothing to lose, as they were far from title contention even with the four additional events. The more relaxed approach paid off, with Team Phoenix winning two consecutive silvers. The first came in the Halfpipe Dash, in an attempt to “bump draft” the Green Gang and steal the win in a close final that allowed them to overtake the Golden Wisps down the last section. The second came in the Relay Course, where Nix mastered the looping section of the track in every heat, but the team was edged out by the Valiant Violets in a photo finish for the gold.

Despite their better performances, it still wasn’t enough to move them up the standings before the pause for Marble League 2017.

All Hubelino Tournament teams were invited to watch the action at the Bakker Bowl. Everybody on the roster felt that this experience would help them to get motivated to continue the good work for the final two events.

“Watching Marble League 2017 was an exciting moment, for sure. Having the opportunity to witness the best and even interact with them inspired us to keep moving forward as much as we inspired some fans we met there”, Nix said.

Team Phoenix returned to Herbotamia with their sights set on the final two events. They obtained another silver in the Block Push, once again beaten out by a small margin versus the Golden Wisps; and a bronze in the Ball Battle that saw them go through two tiebreakers: a semifinal loss against the eventual champions, the Green Gang, and a win over the Bluefastics in the third-place match.

In a blog post, Nixy congratulated the tournament’s success and commented on the final event:

“It’s been great to go out there, prove ourselves and be part of these great moments. We won matches and moved on through the phases by small margins, including in the bronze match in which all four of us stayed on the board in the tiebreaker. We just had a tough break in the semi, the red ball was in an optimal position to be pushed onto our side, next to the Gang’s gate exit. Anyway, congratulations to them, they deserved this championship after a spectacular campaign with eight medals in twelve events.”

Firebird Sports Blog, 2017

The turnaround was complete. The four consecutive medals not just vaulted them up to fourth with 68 points, but also were a record in any JMR series. This was a true rebirth for these four friends, who were proud of themselves and were encouraged to make bold choices.

“While we were overjoyed after such a strong year, we had to think of our future,” revealed Nixy.

All Hubelino teams were invited to join the Marble League 2018 Qualifiers, and less than one month before the major series kickoff, Team Phoenix had to come to a decision. “Honestly, we wanted to worry less about what we were capable of in competition. We eventually decided to step down to help our long-time friend fulfill their dreams.” continued Nixy.

Observing what their Hubelino rivals did with their invitations, Team Phoenix decided to take a completely different approach. Going forward, the Phoenix name would live on in the Marble Rally. How did this happen? Nixy continued: “Back in Knikkegen, we met Fantasy, a regular racer of the sandhills. During that conversation, I mentioned our friendship with a fellow racer and regional rally champion, ‘Big’ Phoenix. After this meeting, we kept in regular contact. Later that year, Fantasy revealed to me before anybody else that they were tired of being too average and wanted to retire from the Sand Marble Rally and give their spot to somebody who could become a serious championship contender. They felt ‘Big’ Phoenix could be that marble.” The four agreed, especially after being present to watch Phoenix’s performance in the Herbotamia Rally 2017 final, held in Chlorotopia. Although Phoenix failed to clinch a second championship, the members of Team Phoenix envisioned their future in that athlete. “We felt they were more competitive than any of us could be, and that’s what is needed to win titles. So when we contacted Jelle to respond about Marble League, we withdrew our spot and proposed that Phoenix be entered in the next Marble Rally season in place of Fantasy.”

With their decision made, Team Phoenix left the competitive stage as athletes to become the staff for their big friend, coaching them in preparation for Marble Rally 2018. The group built a gym in Spiceno in order to offer a better structure for a world-class professional racer. However, they also used nature and the streets, pushing each other during race simulation workouts, recapturing some of the joy that brought them together in the first place.

Several months of training would be put to the test on 19 May 2018 at the Sand Marble Rally 2018 Qualifiers. A top-four finish in their group was needed to advance to the main series. All of Phoenix’s training and effort was rewarded with a victory in Group 4, even beating the already qualified Slimer. On the Firebird Sports Diary, now repurposed to share news about the campaign, Phee posted: “This performance overcame any expectations. It was awesome to boost the confidence in our work, we’re heading in the right direction. Thank you for your support.”

In their first international championship race, Phoenix raced close to the podium in a fierce battle with Grasshopper, ending with a fourth-place finish, a great result for a rookie. The team behind Phoenix was happy for a strong start but also felt that better results were in reach. 

The five friends established themselves in Knikkegen during the season, and could often be seen visiting the sandhills to tune their skills. This choice eventually proved to give them an edge, especially during the hiatuses between rounds. Phoenix had a very consistent season, finishing all races, with six top-ten finishes in eight races, and a win in the season finale that allowed them to overtake Superball and Black Knight and finish in second overall.

When they returned to Spiceno, the local fans partied in the streets to celebrate the podium finish, including a stop at Hot Spot Park, where everything started. Meanwhile, the training routine was praised by fellow competitors and the press, leading to an interview with a magazine. Here’s an excerpt of said feature, by Nix: “At the time, a few marbles told me I was crazy to step down and put my effort behind someone else. Those who knew about our connection always supported us, but for those who doubted, today I can say that the bet paid off and our biggest achievement involved being out of the spotlight.”

However, their world was soon turned upside down. Dark clouds formed above the party atmosphere as Phoenix was caught up in the “not a marble” controversy involving Red Number 3. “We were home, enjoying our vacation when I saw my friend’s ‘cheating accusation’ all over the internet. I was shocked, I couldn’t believe it. None of us gave any interview for TV regarding any of Big’s competitors, we don’t know where these claims came from”, said Nixy. Unable to travel, the team contacted the marble who helped kickstart Phoenix’s career: Meteor, the talent scout who offered them the opportunity to take part in the first-ever broadcast rally race. Meteor happened to be in Bifornya when the news broke and gladly accepted the request to reach out to Red on behalf of Phoenix and their staff. The team also released an official statement on the Firebird Sports Diary, supporting their friend and denying the declarations released to the media.

After that event, public appearances became rare in the months before Marble Rally 2019. An exception was the Practice Race for the already qualified marbles where Phee gave their thoughts after enduring this difficult moment: “We’ve stayed by Phoenix’s side all the way; it was a delicate situation that required our full support. We’re also thankful for the fans who never gave up on us. We hope to turn it around this season.”

Unfortunately, Phoenix’s third-place finish didn’t translate to good performances in the main tournament, ending with a 19th place finish out of 20 in the overall standings and relegation to the Showdown. The team released the following statement after the last round: “What went wrong? Phoenix was under pressure from public opinion, influenced by past events. Despite our best efforts to put that behind us, they couldn’t concentrate during the entirety of this Sand Marble Rally season. We don’t know exactly what goes on in the mind of a top-level athlete, so we decided to take a rest and be in a stronger position before planning for the future.”

The pause turned out to be beneficial for everybody, and by the end of the winter, work began at the Team Phoenix gym, barely a week before the Herbotamia Rally 2020 opener. About the new year’s training, Phoeny said: “Phoenix told us they had recovered their confidence and wanted to race as soon as possible. We agreed to do part of the local league schedule. We have reinvented ourselves so many times in our lives, and this was just another fun challenge.”

Phoenix got off to a slow start, and their friends followed every race to analyze and build strategies for the upcoming races. Eventually, they heated up, scoring a podium in the last race before traveling to take part in the group practice in August. The team was established at a training site near Knikkegen when a setback occurred. “‘Big’ called me to let us know that the JMRC announced in the athlete briefing that the Showdown and Qualifiers had been canceled and they had decided to make the next Marble Rally season invite-only and Phoenix had not been chosen. It’s massively disappointing, especially as Phoenix had regained their mojo and they made this change so close to the start of the competition. There wasn’t much we could do, besides telling our fans that we were out and packing our stuff to return home”, disclosed Nixy. After taking the detour, Phoenix blazed down the paths of the remaining rounds of the Herbotamia Rally.

The team already planned to stop by home – though not in the way they expected. The team was invited to the Herbotamia Reunion, a closed exhibition match featuring Team Plasma, the Grape Nuts, the Yarble Yellers, and every Hubelino Tournament competitor. While exact details of what happened at the competition are kept secret due to an NDA signed by all in attendance, one thing is for sure: “This event gave me flashbacks to what motivated us to form a team, it reignited that feeling”, said Phee.

The return seemed to be just a one-off when an unexpected opportunity appeared, and (part of) Team Phoenix would compete again. They were aware of the struggles of the Banana Splits, who were missing three members due to scheduling conflicts, to enter the inaugural Midnight Melee in the region of Harva. They reached out to the Banana Splits and offered to support them. The teams temporarily merged to form the Burning Bananas. Nix stayed behind while the rest of the team arrived in the Clock Coliseum to compete under new names: Nixy became Ash; Phoeny became Pyro, and Phee became Sear.

During the opening ceremony, Pyro looked at the CMM camera and shouted: “Time to bring the fire!” They were chosen to debut in the Funnel Endurance and used their knowledge to finish fourth, a hot start for the squad. Later that night, the fans watched Sear powering through the Hurdles, winning the heat, but getting knocked out in the semi-finals for seventh place. After night 1, the Bananas were in fifth overall, ahead of the hosts and Marble League 2018 champions, the Midnight Wisps.

On the second night, the competition went outdoors. Two team events were held at Midnight Hollow, an environment that somewhat resembled the “turf tournament” experience. Coach Peel sent Ash and Sear to join Banana and Split. They rolled down the balancing beam and looked promising, with one finisher in Ash, but a miscoordination pushed them down to ninth. Block Pushing came right after, and while the Wisps showed their true potential winning by a wide margin, the Bananas recovered to achieve a double fifth, in the event and in the overall standings. At this point, they were the best team without a podium.

Another night meant two more events. During Ghost Plasma’s demonstration down the trail of the Nature Run, the teammates were observed giving tips to Split. This proved to be valuable in the race as Split won a bronze medal in a very tight finish, just behind the Candycorns and the Dragon Roses. The Midnight Tower came next, a long and complex course with five different sections. Ash executed a nice start and led down the Hubelino track that wrapped around the Helarve Clock Tower, but lost pace entering the Midnight Bay circuit, eventually being knocked out in their heat after a fifth-place finish. They did, however, have the best time among those who didn’t move on to the final.

On the penultimate night of the tournament, Ice Hockey was the only slated event. The Burning Bananas once again had a first-round elimination leading to a ninth-place finish. The Bananas were fourth overall, still within reach of the silver medal spot but out of title contention as the Wisps were confirming their favoritism to win.

They hoped to close out in style at the Midnight Bay Grand Prix. Positioned in thirteenth, the captain, Banana, didn’t impress and moved up only one spot in twelve laps. The Burning Bananas fell down to seventh in the final standings, just five points from second, a satisfactory result for the squad that was built last-minute.

After the closing ceremony, Ash attended the press conference. When questioned about their participation as a late entry, they responded: “We didn’t come with the mindset to win, we wanted to have fun. I’m happy with how we did, but most importantly, happy to help fellow athletes to be here, happy to play with so many great teams, and happy to be part of the history of a new series. I can relate this to my Herbotamia Tournament times. Who knows, maybe we can still compete with the best? Thank you to the Banana Splits for giving us this opportunity to play, and also to the Midnight Wisps and the marbles of Helarve, they put up an excellent show.”

The three marbles returned to Herbotamia and their current jobs as Phoenix’s staff. To fight back the uncertainty regarding their friend’s international racing career, the Team Phoenix gym expanded to take care of two more professional athletes: Arecibo, a former Telescopics member, and Sarge, an experienced off-road racer, who both had recently joined the Herbotamia Rally series. Thanks to the growing demand, a fifth member joined them. Known as Fawkes, they were recruited due to their previous experience moderating the team’s blog. The squad also often takes part in friendly matches in the region. They sent us a final message: “A good friendship can take you to places you didn’t even imagine.” From the Marble Rally racer’s words, “Team Phoenix is still Team Phoenix, just in a different position.”

In RetRollSpective, Team Phoenix is a team that may not have found major success in competition but has been “reborn” to continue its commitment to marble sports. Best of luck to Team Phoenix in the near future, keep on rolling!

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