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Albatross Wanderers (Dolphin)

Team Members: Wander (C), Sky, Beak, Wing, Dive (R), Migrate (Coach), Float (Manager)

A young team, the Albatross Wanderers hail from Bille Island in the far south of the Pacific, some of the only residents of the tiny island. Through the geographical size and population of the island, the 5 athletes were obvious friends with each other, and together a love for marble sports grew. They played individual sports against each other primarily, due to having no competitors on the island, and when they were old enough, they left the island together to train on the African mainland. They attended Zuro university in 2017, which was growing in sporting fame due to the Kobalts’ ML success, and studied sport theory, but their main goal there was to create a reputation for themselves in the university’s sporting leagues. They were a major unknown factor to the other teams, but dominated in most competitions, especially individual events, and became the target of all the other teams to beat. It was also here that they met Migrate and Float, fellow students, who offered to coach and manage the team. Their performances soon got them invited to larger regional tournaments even during their studies, where they would find themselves consistently top 3 no matter how high up the hierarchy the league was, and in 2020 following their graduation, were given an invite to the World Wing Cup, a global tournament for bird teams, featuring competitors such as the Winged Warriors, Parrots and Team Canary (all of whom would go on to compete in other major competitions). The Wanderers found that the competition there was far stronger than any other competition they’d competed in so far, and finished 11th in their rookie season, their worst finish to date by a whole 8 positions. Their 2021 saw an increase in success, with a 7th place finish, 2 golds, and a silver, while in 2022 they sorted out consistency, and placed 3rd with 5 total medals, just 7 points off winners Team Turn.

Glitter Bombs (Mystic)

Team Members: Glitz (C), Glam, Jewel, Sequin, Twinkle (R), Fairy (Coach), Firework (Manager)

The Glitter Bombs come from a small town off the Silver River called Glistenum; about an hour’s roll from Galeem. The athletes all studied fashion at the University of Galeem, even getting to meet the MarBeats, or as many others know them, the Shining Swarm, at a reunion concert on a weekend in their senior year. The team members were avid fans of marble sports and eventually caved to the desire to try it out for themselves. The uniforms they use are the results of a concept kit they created for the Swarm when the ML team first began competing. The Glitter Bombs would compete in a regional tournament known as the River Bash from 2016-2018 with minimal success. However, when they returned in 2019, the team seemed different. They proceeded to dominate the first half of the 10-event competition, winning 3 of the first five events, and placing no lower than 5th. The second half of the season was less ideal, with just one bronze medal and one separate top five, leaving them in second, just 7 points behind the 3-time defending champions, the Aqua Orbs. The Orbs would proceed on to the 2020 Marble World Championships, where they finished 5th, the second-best rookie season in tournament history. Back to the Glitter Bombs though. After their fall off, the team hired a new coach and manager, Fairy and Firework, to help build their stamina and help them spread their influence. In the 2020 River Bash, the Glitter Bombs dominated, winning 6 events with a low finish of 4th. By the end of the final event, the crew had already received an invitation to the 2021 MWC Qualifiers. They gladly accepted the invitation. They failed to qualify by just 3 points but won the B-League by 14. They’ll return to the qualifiers with fire in their bellies, ready to dominate the competition.

Lunar Eclipses (Pesky)

Team Members: Moon (C), Harvest, Crater, Crimson, Supermoon (R), Transit (Coach), Astro (Manager)

The Lunar Eclipses are a team based out of a northern suburb of Polaria, where they competed in a Snow Sports League in 2019. They entered as the Eclipses, but another team also signed up as the Eclipses. Their captain Moon met up with the other Eclipses captain, Luna, and decided that they would name their teams after the 2 different Eclipses. This Eclipses team went by the name Lunar Eclipses. The Lunar Eclipses struggled at the start, getting 13th out of 20 in Speed Skating, and 17th in Halfpipe. Then, they turned it around, getting 8th in Ski Jump, 6th in Ice Dash, 5th in Curling, and Crater got them a bronze in Moguls. Entering the 7th event, they sat 4th in the standings. Who was in first? None other than the Solar Eclipses, the other Eclipses team, who had 4 medals so far, and 87 points. The Lunar Eclipses had 72 pts. The Event was Snow Sprint. Crimson was in the event, and they were in the first heat. In the Final, they were up against the Silver Skiers, The Kobalt Knights, and the Solar Eclipses. During the race, Crimson took a sharp hit into a wall, which caused them to slam into Silver of the Silver Skiers, who then Slammed into Umbra of the Solar Eclipses. Umbra DNF’ed, and had a very severe injury. The Lunar Eclipses got 3rd in the race, and 3rd overall in the League, and the Solar Eclipses finished 2nd. After the tournament, Crimson left the team, feeling responsible for almost ending the career of another athlete, and the team temporarily disbanded. They rejoined in 2021 and re-entered the Snow Sports League, and they won that year’s tournament. Moon came up clutch in the final event to win it for them. After that, they wanted to go big, and they sent out a letter to many major competitions to apply to compete. They got a letter back from the Pesky Marble Championship, saying that they would let them try out for a spot. In the Pesky’s Marble Championship was the Solar Eclipses, who had changed back to the Eclipses. When they arrived at the PMC sports center, Crimson went over to check up on Umbra, who had recovered and was racing again. They apologized, and Umbra thanked them but didn’t blame them. Those two then became friends.

Psychedelics (Vector)

Team Members: Psyche (C), Psychosis, Psychic, Psyched, Psychokinesis (R), Psychologist (Coach), Psychiatrist (Manager)

The team name “Psychedelics” isn’t new in the world of marble sports, it carries with it an incredible heritage. The original Psychedelics were formed in Presllock in the 1930s, at a time when Marble Racing was just beginning to become a worldwide sport. They would go on to dominate the Brace Invitational, a primitive but passionate marble racing competition in the north of the Brace Isles. They eventually began to attract attention outside of the Isles, becoming the first Brace Isles team to compete in an overseas competition when they debuted in and subsequently won the 1939 MFC Championship. They would continue to dominate worldwide, becoming perhaps the first worldwide-known marble team. In 1961, after a lengthy and glittering career winning nearly everything they entered, they finally retired, making the announcement to a packed crowd of fans who showed up to celebrate their favorite team’s legacy. Amongst those fans was a team of four amateur marble racers based in Ballpool, near Presslock, and in 1963 they would acquire the blessing of the original Psychedelics members to compete under their old name. This iteration would sadly be short-lived, as the captain picked up a career-ending injury in 1978 and without them, the team quietly disbanded.

However, it would only be a matter of time before the old captain started searching for a new team and in 1979 their searches brought them to another amateur team, this time-based in Van Gotterdam. The old captain adopted the new name of Psychologist and became the amateur team’s new coach (a generally foreign concept as this was during the days when most teams were four marbles only) and rebranded them as the third version of the beloved Psychedelics. This would become perhaps the most famous iteration and would smash records set even by their predecessors, as for the first 10 years of their existence they would win every single competition they had ever been in, dominating the MFC Championships, the Van Gotterdam Race Network and even winning the only season of the ill-fated Worldwide Marble Contest, a competition that tried (and failed!) to bring together the world’s best marble sports teams to compete in events never done before. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and in 2011, the aging team called it a day. Continuing the tradition of picking a new team to bear the Psychedelics torch, Psychologist as well as the captain from the third iteration (Now a manager under the name Psychiatrist) picked out a bourgeoning Presslock-based team captained by a descendant of the original team captain, a fitting way to honor the Psychedelic legacy. They still compete today in the MFC Championships and they show no signs of retiring any time soon.

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