When you were first learning how to drive, your parents probably told you, “No collisions!” Well, the Marble League’s planetoid pugilists are here to prove that your parents were cowards. This week’s event is basically a 5-on-5 sumo competition, if the wrestlers were allowed to get a running start. It’s dangerous, it’s brutal, and it’s awesome.
A slight change has been made to the rules this time: teams now get points for staying on the arena rather than knocking marbles off. On paper, that encourages teams to let their opponents be hoist by their own petard and play more defensively. However, no seatbelt can hold these spherical sportsmen back: they’re as bold and tenacious as ever, and they don’t hesitate in setting off ball-bearing traps to sabotage their foes.
After a round robin and an elimination tournament, the Rojo Rollers come out on top, with newcomers the Hornets getting silver and veterans Shining Swarm getting bronze.
Stray thoughts:
- I’m of the opinion that tightness of formation matters more than shape of formation overall, but shape does determine late-game strategy, such as caroming off a domino to knock off a straggling opponent.
- Not a single 5 or 0. Most of the time the point differential was just 1. This is basically the Famitsu of events.
- My beloved Limers couldn’t make it out of the round robin. At least my new fave the Turtle Sliders made it to the elimination rounds.
That’s all for this edition of the Marble League Showdown. Tune in this weekend for Funnels!
Complete stats for the Marble League Showdown can be found at the Marble League Wiki.