Quicksilver

Quicksilver
Quicksilver on the podium
Color	Transparent with white center
Active years	2016 - Present
Marble Rally
Seasons	3 (first in 2016)
Races	40
Best Result	4th (2017)
Wins	2
Podiums	9
Career Points	301 points

Quicksilver is a transparent marble with a white center that competes in the Marble Rally. They have competed in the 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 seasons. They are originally from Quixote in South America.

Quicksilver has had some very strong comebacks through the field. They can also make very fast and strong starts. Quicksilver's best performances are on sprint courses, where they can utilize their great speed. Their recent performances, though, have been declining, having their second worst season in 2019 by finishing 11th overall.

History

2016

In the first five races of Sand Marble Rally 2016 Quicksilver always finished in the top 20 and scored points, but they never finished in the top 10. Quicksilver was in the 18th before the elimination, but a DNF in the elimination race saw them drop back out of the top 20 to 24th with 27 points, which meant they were eliminated.

2017

Finishers of qualifier 4, with Quicksilver as runner-up.

Quicksilver qualified for Sand Marble Rally 2017 by finishing second in their group, just behind Red Number 3. Quicksilver had a decent start to the season with a 12th and 7th place finish. These occurred in in Race 1 and 2 respectively, putting Quicksilver in 10th with 13 points after the opening 2 rounds.

Quicksilver achieved their first ever victory in Race 3 where they started on the front row. This win got Quicksilver into second place in the championship standings, one point behind Dragon's Egg. The next race saw Quicksilver start on the back row and they made their way through the field to finish 12th. Quicksilver dropped to fifth in the standings.

Quicksilver narrowly staying ahead of Nemo at the finish in race 5.

For Race 5 Quicksilver started on the middle row and would win the race after a chaotic final where they jumped from fifth to first to take the win, only 0.01 seconds ahead of Nemo in second. After the race Quicksilver jumped into the top spot of the standings. Race 6 had the same lay-out as Race 5 and Quicksilver started on the front row this time. After a mediocre start Quicksilver finished in a strong third position, behind Pollo Loco and Red Number 3, both of whom led from the start. This extended their championship lead going into the break for Marble League 2017.

Quicksilver, like Ghost Plasma, attempted to expand by creating a Marble League team, the Quicksilvers. Unfortunately the team came last in Marble League 2017 and were disbanded the following year.

Race 7 was a mediocre race for Quicksilver, as they finished 12th. Quicksilver lost the championship lead to Dragon's Egg, who was three points clear. Quicksilver put in a very strong performance in the next race to finish second despite starting on the back row. Championship rival Red Number 3 won the race from the front row. Quicksilver retook the championship lead, two points ahead of Red Number 3.

Quicksilver, Red Number 3 and Dragon's Egg. The top 3 from races 8 to 11.

Quicksilver got a slow start in Race 9, but they put in another good performance and they finished third, their fifth podium finish of the season. Quicksilver extended their lead over rival Red Number 3 who suffered a DNF. After 2 very strong performances, Quicksilver suffered a bad tenth race. They started dead last on the back row and finished only seventeenth, which earned them zero points. Quicksilver escaped without too much damage as championship rival Red Number 3 got stuck while leading.

In Race 11 Quicksilver finished second. They narrowly lost out on the win to Slimer after losing the lead on the final boulevard of the race. Quicksilver's sixth podium finish brought Quicksilver 25 points ahead of rival Red Number 3. The penultimate race of the season was a mediocre race for Quicksilver; they finished only fourteenth, while Red Number 3 finished third. Going into the final race, which would have double points on offer Quicksilver led, with Red Number 3 13 points back in second, Slimer in third and Dragon's Egg in fourth.

Quicksilver entered the final race of 2017, still at the top of the standings with 125 points. With double points on offer, their 13 point lead on Red Number 3 wasn't very big. After a mediocre start, Quicksilver saw their title hopes fall when they got stuck somewhere at the beginning of the final race along with Summer Sky. Dragon's Egg finished second and won the championship with 135 points. Due to the double points, Quicksilver fell to fourth in the standings following their DNF, despite having the most podium finishes in the season. Without double points, Quicksilver would have won the championship by two points.

2018

Quicksilver's only time on the podium in 2018 (Race 2).

After finishing fourth in 2017, Quicksilver automatically qualified for Sand Marble Rally 2018. They finished seventh in the season opener after starting on the back row. A second place finish followed in the next race behind reigning champion Dragon's Egg. Quicksilver was in second place in the standings after two races with 27 points.

Race 3 was not as good of a race for Quicksilver. They started on the back row and finished thirteenth. Despite finishing only thirteenth, they took the lead of the championship; they were one point ahead of previous leader Summer Sky, who DNFd that race. The following race Quicksilver started on the front row, but they finished poorly for the second time in a row, this time placing fourteenth. This saw them drop to seventh in the standings with 32 points, 18 points behind new leader Superball.

In Races 5 and 6, Quicksilver had results similar to the previous two races. They would again finish at the back of the field, this time in fifteenth and eleventh respectively. Quicksilver dropped to eleventh in the standings overall after scoring a mere 10 points from Races 3 to 6. Quicksilver at this point was 36 points behind leader Red Number 3.

In Race 7, which was the penultimate race of the Sand Marble Rally 2018, Quicksilver had a good result. They started on the back row and finished fifth which earned them 11 points, more points than they had scored from Races 3 to 6, elevating them into seventh overall. In the final race of 2018, Quicksilver had a strong start leading the way from the front row, but they slowly fell back through the field to finish in seventh place. This elevated Quicksilver up to sixth in the championship standings, one point behind Summer Sky in fifth and 3 points ahead of Dragon's Egg in seventh. This sixth place in the championship ensured them a spot in the main tournament for 2019.

2019

Quicksilver stranded on the course in the practice race

After placing in the top 8 in 2018, Quicksilver was already prequalified for the Marble Rally 2019. They participated in the practice race together with the other prequalified marbles. After running towards the front for most of the race, Quicksilver got stuck on the course and became the only DNF in the whole preseason rounds.

Quicksilver started their 2019 campaign with a podium finish. Ninth and sixth place finishes followed in the next 2 races. In Race 4, Quicksilver got stuck. A second DNF followed in Race 5, where they were running in the top 5 in the final stages before they came to a stop by a block from Ghost Plasma.

Quicksilver scored two lower point finishes in the next two races. They ended the season with a fourth place finishing in 11th overall with 50 points.

2020

Despite their rivalry with Red Number 3, the two marbles get along, even training together for Marble Rally 2020. They also felt the "not a marble" controversy was unfair and was concerned that Red Number 3's surgery was unnecessary and may hinder their potential.

After the cancellation of the Qualifiers, Quicksilver was invited to compete in Marble Rally 2020.

Racing analysis and profile

Quicksilver, like their rival Red Number 3, is known for their signature surges through the field, alongside great speed on the sprints. Unlike RN3 pre-surgery, they are made of glass, which enables them to also retain control on tight corners such as cones, unrimmed curves and slaloms. During their peak season in 2017, their showcase of both pure speed and track control gained the admiration of plenty, becoming an incredible racer to watch when having their best day. However, they were inconsistent, which lead to their demise in 2017's final round where they lost it all due to both a DNF and the double points rule. Since then, their form has declined, not achieving a win in two years. They were mainly plagued by a lack of endurance and bad luck in 2019, running in the top ten in nearly every race but only really capitalizing on it in the first and last races of that season. Mid-season, they were also hurt by Ghost Plasma's blocking games in the final moments of two consecutive races while running in very good positions.

Marble Rally results

Season	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Pos	Points
2016	R1 19	R2 15	R3 19	R4 14	R5 11	R6 DNF	R7	R8	R9	R10	R11	R12		24th	27
2017	R1 12	R2 7	R3 1	R4 12	R5 1	R6 3	R7 12	R8 2	R9 3	R10 17	R11 2	R12 14	F‡ DNF	4th	125
2018	R1 7	R2 2	R3 13	R4 14	R5 15	R6 11	R7 5	R8 7						6th	58
2019	R1 3	R2 9	R3 6	R4 DNF	R5 DNF	R6 14	R7 11	R8 4						11th	50
2020	R1 7	R2 14	R3 2	R4 6	R5 13	R6 13								6th*	44*

^‡ - Double points

Trivia

• Quicksilver and Red Number 3 have a major rivalry. This started during Sand Marble Rally 2017.
• Quicksilver holds the record of most medals achieved in one Sand Marble Rally season with 6 medals (2017).
• Both of Quicksilver's wins were won with a winning margin smaller than 0.10 seconds.
• One of those victories had a winning margin of only 0.01 seconds. This is a Marble Rally record.