The Qualification was big, epic, and all around ridiculous. After a year of theories, rumors, and predictions, we finally have our Marblelympics roster. There is also a friendly round too, which answered the question of who’s going to be at the top of the rankings. The Marblelympics Qualification was everything fans wanted to see. Massive tension and excitement everywhere you see, and we got what may be the most interesting field of candidates in the history of the Marblelympics. Our teams come from every background, from new to experienced. Those who are expected to compete for the championship while others are lucky just to be in the competition. Because of so many factors involved and because of varying predictions, this is an extremely difficult ranking to make, as I am looking at several big factors from momentum to past experiences. Even as I make these rankings, I am still not sure if these are the correct rankings, especially in the middle of the rankings because there are so many factors and unknowns at play. With the game premiering in April, let’s see how these teams will perform in what will certainly be a classic.

1. Oceanics (2017-11th, 2018-3rd, Hosts, PF-1st)-Is there really any other team more worthy of being the number 1 team? I do not think so. I see host teams playing better than normal thanks to home field advantage. With the way the hosts are playing, I see a great chance of this team being the Marblelympics champion. Some say that the Oceanics would’ve won if they hadn’t finished 14th and 15th in two events in 2018, but that has past already. With all of the talent this team has, seeing them become the Marblelympics champions is the most likely scenario. The only thing standing in the way are themselves and 15 other teams that want the title.

2. O’Rangers (2017-1st, 2018-4th, PF-2nd)-Before the friendly, I was going to put this team as most likely to disappoint and finish in the bottom of the standings. After the friendly, I am going to put them in second. This team is a dangerous threat and they have a massive fanbase that is going to intimidate almost everyone. The friendly could be a sign of things to come as the O’Rangers and Oceanics traded golds and had big moments against each other. This looks like a dangerous new rivalry in the making and if that happens, then there will be two potentially toxic fanbases that will spar against each other as well.

3. Savage Speeders (2017-2nd, 2018-2nd, PF-4th)-The Savage Speeders did fail in the friendly, but they failed in last year’s friendly as well. The Savage Speeders do not believe that the friendly means anything and they are saving their energy towards the big event. Because of how dramatic the top 2 are in the friendly, the current consensus for now is that the team will end up in the franchise low of 3rd place. The fact that third place is the team lowest should prove how good the Savage Speeders are in the Marblelympics. As well as how hated this team is by everyone else, even though they haven’t won the big game twice in a row.

4. Hazers (2018-6th, QF-1st)-Managing to triumph against the controversy, the Hazers had scored the most points and win the qualification. With one great qualification, nobody is talking about the hosting bid anymore. Instead, there are people predicting that the Hazers are going to win the Marblelympics. The Hazers are strong contenders for Champions of the Preseason. Now they must prove that their qualification is not empty hype. Expectations will be much higher now that they are no longer rookies. Even higher now that the Hazers scored the most points, meaning that there needs to be something done or they will be massive disappointments.

5. Midnight Wisps (2017-4th, 2018-1st, PF-3rd)-There is going to be one prequalified team who is going to disappoint and place in the bottom of the standings. For 2017, it was Thunderbolts. For 2018, it was Mellow Yellow. This year, I think it’s the Midnight Wisps, but I am scared of ranking this team in the bottom half because of how well they perform once everyone says that this team is done. The Midnight Wisps are still a dangerous and talented team, but they cannot end up in the bottom half of the standings again, as there will be teams hungry to eat them alive and swallow them whole.

6. Crazy Cat’s Eyes (2018-10th, QF-3rd)-The Crazy Cat’s Eyes had a subpar offseason and many believed that the team will not qualify. The qualification performance of this team proves that this is not the case. 3rd place and one of the biggest cases for championship contender. On the other hand, this team did not scream Marblelympics champion in 2018 despite many claims that they were a few seconds away from a potential first place. At least they made it in more calmly instead of being a last team in last year, but regardless of that, there is still low expectations, but I think that their added experience is going to give a stronger championship chance.

7. Jungle Jumpers (2017-15th, 2018-DNQ, QF-5th)-I put the Jungle Jumpers really high for one reason and one reason only. Momentum. Thanks to a new coach and better management, the Jungle Jumpers went from lolcows who failed to participate in the last event to the hottest non-rookie Marblelympics team around. They are not the strongest team in qualification, which knocked them out a few spots but are still the favorites to make big splashes and potentially become a dark horse team or a sleeper. Either way, this team should expect a completely different result or they should be contenders for comeback team of the year.

8. Green Ducks (ROOKIES, QF-4th)- “This team is too inexperienced and will be exposed as frauds in qualification.” They say that as the Green Ducks dominate the entire competition and qualify after the third event. That was an incredible performance and they are the trendiest team in all of Marblelympics, claiming the most Limers fans that are willing to jump ship and root for a real team. Despite the expectations, they are rookies for better and for worse, and those teams have the highest risks and rewards. The Green Ducks could end up being a good team, but also a bad one. Come back after a few events for my opinion.

9. Indigo Stars (ROOKIES, QF-6th)-After years of mental health issues and failure to participate in past Marblelympics, the Indigo Stars finally made the Marblelympics stage. The biggest story right now is the big rivalry with the Green Ducks, as that team prevented this team from going any farther than this team. For all the stories about mental health and experience and all that, this is their rookie season, and there is the experience risk just like the Green Ducks, preventing them from going any further in these rankings. Both rookie teams are teams to watch in the Marblelympics, and I will explain more about them later.

10. Team Galactic (2017-5th, 2018-11th, QF-2nd)-When Team Galactic has low expectations placed on them, they play really well. 2nd place in qualification and renewed confidence in the team. I am ranking them so low because I am now concerned that people will declare Team Galactic as championship contenders again, and I think that Team Galactic will falter and end up in the bottom half of the standings after failing to meet those high expectations. If they want to have a chance of contending, they need to perform as good, if not better, than their qualification. They were last year’s preseason champions and they could very well repeat.

11. Balls of Chaos (2017-DNQ, 2018-5th, QF-7th)-This team should be better than what I ranked them in, but there are some problems with consistency with the Balls of Chaos. They did have a dominant lead during the first parts of the Marbleltympics, but they couldn’t keep up with it. There was also the qualification, in which they placed in 7th overall. Because of these two factors, I placed this team here by default. This comes with a lot of uncertainty. This team will either be championship contenders or last place basement dwellers. Those two are my predictions and it will be either one or the other. No in betweens with this one.

12. Raspberry Racers (2018-7th, QF-8th)-What a difference one qualification makes. They did qualify, but they were not shoo ins like everyone predicted. There was even concerns that this team will not qualify, and that has become a problem. The jury is out with what the team is going to be honestly. The best thing I can say about them is that we will no longer talk about a rivalry with the Limers, something that was one sided. Whether qualification is a fluke or a sign of things to come is going to be a big mystery. Because of everyone’s predictions, I am officially crowning this team as the champions of the offseason.

13. Chocolatiers (2017-8th, 2018-DNQ, QF-12th)-The Chocolatiers are the last team in, and that is because of incredible luck, something that I predicted in the last power rankings. Despite getting in by three points, I do not predict them being in last place. The Chocolatiers got in because of incredible luck and I think that they will continue to be a bit lucky in other events, something that I do not find in the bottom two teams on this list. The Chocolatiers also has an increase in fans, which could give them a lovable underdog angle if need be. There is a lot of improvement to be seen with this team, alongside chances of being worse.

14. Thunderbolts (2017-12th, 2018-9th, QF-9th)-Inconsistency, thy name is Thunderbolt. Another team that qualified in despite dubious performances of Marblelympics Past. At this point, we are going to the teams that I am confident will have no shot of winning the Marblelympics. The Thunderbolts are clearly past their prime and they are still too inconsistent for their own good. I predict this team to be inconsistent once again and no one will be surprised by this. If the Thunderbolts stop being inconsistent, then it would be a really interesting development and an honest surprise from the team.

15. Pinkies (2017-6th, 2018-16th, QF-10th)-I am concerned of this team. I should be angry that this team qualified, but I am not. I am not expecting great things about the pinkies. They are expected to finish dead last once again with no medals in their name for the second year in a row. The good news is that I am not placing them dead last in my Power Rankings because they were better in qualification and had a somewhat better, if incredibly quiet, offseason over the drama laden Mellow Yellow Team that is now looking for another coach. They also have a cool logo and went back to their classic pink color scheme. Take that and run.

16. Mellow Yellow (2017-3rd, 2018-14th, QF-11th)-Mellow Yellow has qualified, and we are getting new insight as to what their future will look like, and it is not good. They barely qualified and now they are looking for a new coach. Rumors of the team’s decline are heating up fast. What was once written off as a fluke is starting to become a serious topic of discussion. There is still time for Mellow Yellow to go back to their 2017 form and prove that there is still some fight left in them, but there is a better chance of them adjusting to the new reality of them being a bad Marblelympics team with a good performance inflating their status.