Robots, activate.
[ cheers and applause ]
♪♪
welcome back to "battlebots" and what a season so far.
It has been a roller coaster ride
of some serious upsets and exciting new robots.
And we're just getting started.
And there's nobody I'd rather be doing it with than
ufc legend and a robot fighting analyst, kenny florian.
Chris, thank you very much.
So let's kick off another night
of over-the-top robot bashing insanity.
It sounds like a plan, my man.
Let's take a look at the fight card.
We've got an all star lineup of "battlebots" rookies
and veterans alike
looking to get the season started off with a bang.
Tonight, we'll see the return of one of the hardest-hitting
hammer bots in robot fighting history.
John reid is back with beta.
Yeah, chris, it's been four long years
since we've seen this legendary bot.
And tonight he'll get back in the box to face victor soto.
And one of the most dangerous horizontal spinners
on the planet rotator.
We'll also see the screaming goddess
versus the angry toddler as valkyrie
takes on a tantrum.
Now in its third year of competition,
builder leanne cushing feels like she finally has
valkyrie totally dialed in.
And she's hoping it brings her glory
as she faces off against aren hill's tantrum.
It's one of the sturdiest bots in this competition.
This thing can take a punch and deliver one, too.
And all that action is leading up
to tonight's absolutely electric main event.
It's gruff versus hypershock.
This is a battle between a couple of teams
looking to prove that this season
they are two of the top contenders for the giant nut.
Gruff is a fearless firebreather,
still smarting from his razor close match
with tombstone last season, known for his aggressive,
some would say, gruff driving style driver sam mcamis'
plan is to bring the match right to his opponent.
And hypershock is a "battlebots" veteran.
In a main event fight last season,
they nearly took the bite out of bite force.
When he's on his game, hypershock can go
wheel the wheel with some of the best bots in the world.
When he's not, it's gotten robot
guts spilled all over the battle box floor.
We'll see which hypershock shows up tonight, chris.
For more, let's send it back to our eyes and ears in the pits,
jenny taft.
Will bales and hypershock are literally at it again.
They are still building their bot,
and this is a race to the start,
as it always is, for hypershock,
some of their parts were late to come in.
They're still working on the robot behind us.
Yes, they're still working, guys.
But will told me this about gruff.
He said sam is a good driver.
I expect this fight go to the very end.
I mean, look at gruff, this thing is built like a tank.
I had a chance to talk to sam.
He told me that he's excited about his two flame throwers,
a bit concerned about the drive train.
But how about this dynamic in the pit?
These guys are side by side.
There are no secrets here. -Thank you, jenny.
We'll keep an eye on hypershock as the night progresses.
But we start things off right now with copperhead
and gigabyte.
So that we send it on over to faruq.
Ladies and gentlemen, it's robot fighting time!
♪♪
in the blue square,
this is a full-body spinner it's totally true,
with more bite than a tiger in joe exotic's zoo.
Hits you so hard it will make your bot sting,
proclaim itself the new tiger king.
Hey, there, all you cool cats and kits.
It's gigabyte!
[ cheers and applause ]
gigabyte 4-4 all time, it's got three knockouts,
it's been knocked out three times.
Jenny, we know these full-body spinners
can dish out the damage,
but at times they can be their own worst enemy as well.
That's right. This will be john mladenik's
third season with gigabyte.
And he's upgraded the robot with a new and improved shell
and a shock resistant motor.
He's hoping to avoid some of the self-inflicted wounds
that have been its achilles heel.
[ cheers and applause continue ]
in the red square, this bot's one of our best,
but I know what you're thinking,
the best copperheads on the penny,
and his name is abe lincoln.
Well, let's grab a coin and play a game.
You choose a side, flip it up and catch it.
Heads, he wins tails, you die.
It's copperhead!
[ cheers and applause ]
zach goff and copperhead two and three a year ago,
this thing could pack a punch, it can take one as well.
Yeah, and he believes in this first fight
is really going to define whether his bot is legit or not.
Zach told us he doubled the power
of that drum speed out in front,
gets to speed in four seconds instead of the seven or eight
that it took a year ago.
And chris, if he can get this bot to work the way he wants,
he believes he's got a top eight bot.
We did all sit and watch all five fights
that we can find for the last season of.
He has bigger exposed. I like the big expose reels
because if we hit him and he spins
and he gets more hits from the shell,
we can knock wheels off or tweak those wheels.
And once we do that, I think that's over.
So what we've done for this gigabyte match
is welded on a new front wedge piece
that kind of ties the force together.
And it'll make it a lot less likely to break open
one of our side rails like you saw in the kronos
fight from last year. Now, I noticed
they actually increased the height of their teeth,
so they're not going to be hitting low anymore.
Kind of gave us a nice little grab bar
because it's right at the right for us
to catch a tooth and send them through the air.
So I'm kind of wondering why they did that,
but maybe they'll have some more surprises for us.
Robots, activate.
Rose: You can see copperhead has a couple of mini snakes
slithering around down there.
We'll see if those nuisance bots can distract gigabyte.
A few seasons ago, zach goff made it to the quarter finals.
So what does 2020 have in store?
Well, chris, both of these bots have the potential
to move into that elite class of teams this season.
Both have a lot to prove.
Blue team, ready.
[ cheers and applause ]
red team, ready.
[ cheers and applause ]
♪♪
[ audience chanting "fight" ]
♪♪
let the bot battle begin! And oh!
Big-time box rush by copperhead
and the self-righting mechanism on gigabyte is now off
oh. That is amazing!
Without that attachment, gigabyte is now
driving blind, chris.
That was their directional indicator.
The floor is ice.
Both these teams are having trouble
with traction on the battle box floor.
I think it was a big mistake.
Gigabyte stayed over close to the edge of the box there,
chris, but can comprehend take advantage,
gigabyte still spinning,
swatting away those nuisance bots,
but in big trouble
and trying to line them up for another big shot.
[ shouting ]
that was a massive hit!
The shell is off of gigabyte. This fight is over.
This is unbelievable.
The box might be over two.
We've got glass shards all over the box.
We've got gigabyte's head in one area
it's body in another.
Unbelievable! Somebody call the ame!
That happened right in front of us
gigabyte's head is gone. I'm glad we still have our heads.
Whoa. We are going to have to take that
to the battlebots morgue.
Gigabyte is knocked out, winner is copperhead.
An unbelievable performance by copperhead.
[imitating speaking over p.A. System] we're going to need cleanup in aisle six, please,
aisle six. We have glass shards. Thank you.
[ normal voice ] kenny, you said, do you think gigabyte made a mental error?
Yeah, I mean, I thought they were way
too close to the edge of the box.
I thought they should have been positioned
at the center of the box.
They were kind of a sitting duck there.
Copperhead once it got control over their bot,
they went in for the kill.
And here's that kill shot right there,
right into your living room, folks.
Unbelievable. There goes the head.
There goes some lights in the battle box. What a shot.
If you blinked, you missed it.
That's how much energy is inside that battle box.
Copperhead, what a beast.
We talked about the amount of energy
that would be on display inside the battle box you saw it.
[ cheers and applause ]
zach goff.
Zach, what is it like to decapitate another robot?
Feels good, it feels great.
This was the match that we were all scared about.
It kind of sets our trajectory, I think,
for the rest of the fights.
So I'm so stoked that that, god just came right off, didn't it?
Jack, you said that this fight was going to tell you
a lot about your bot and what it could do.
So what's your assessment?
Yeah, I think this is a really great sign for us.
We get to advance. We get that first win,
gets the momentum, took some massive hits and held up.
So it performed, you know, how we were hoping.
So I'm excited for our next match.
I'm feeling really good.
How do you celebrate decapitating another bot?
That's oh, that's dark. That's real dark.
You got win number one. We'll see you down the line.
Thank you. That's great.
[ cheers and applause ]
so copperhead definitely answered
some questions about itself.
No doubt about it, it's durable, it has a very potent weapon.
It was ssspectacular. Sssensational as well.
Alright, coming up,
we've got a night filled with so much action,
the only thing we're missing is arnold schwarzenegger.
Up next, it's the frozen tundra versus sin city.
We'll see take on newcomer jackpot
as "battlebots: Fight night" continues.
Rose: Welcome back to "battlebots".
We're just getting started here on a night
where we'll see a legend in john reid
make his return to the battle box with beta.
And then possibly some legends in the making in our main event
featuring gruff and hypershock.
But up next, we've got jackpot and subzero.
And let's start with jackpot. Jeff waters jr.
He's a plumber from las vegas. If you need to build a bot
on a budget and on time, he's your guy.
He only sunk four grand into this robot
and he built it in a month's time.
Can't wait to see what it'll do.
Florian: Yeah, this guy is really what "battlebots" is all about.
It's no secret that building one of these things
is an expensive undertaking,
but that doesn't mean it can't do some serious damage, chris.
Look at this thing in the test box,
it's got the other builders buzzing.
Talk about bang for your.
You know, his goal is really to show
that you don't have to spend thousands
and thousands of dollars
in order to have an effective robot here.
He'll be taking on subzero, a familiar bot to many of you.
However, its longtime driver, jerry clarke,
and for years he was like, this is my last go around.
And this off season, he finally called it quits
and officially retired.
He just didn't have the time nor the money that it takes
to maintain a pneumatic weapon bot like subzero.
So this off season, he handed over the reins.
Logan davis is now the guy in charge.
He's the captain. He's super excited.
Now, the thing about subzero, for years,
always an entertaining bot it, get flipped up in the air.
It do some flipping, but it wouldn't win a lot.
How does it change that?
Well, under logan's leadership,
subzero has upgraded its arms, its armor and its drive train.
Inside, it's a whole new bot.
And tonight he can show us what a grizzled veteran
brings to the table against a rookie in jackpot.
That's kind of what this season's been about, right?
We've seen a changing of the guard this year.
But I want to see if a logan davis led subzero
could show us something new. Faruq, the world is yours.
In the blue square from las vegas, nevada.
Place your bets. It's jackpot.
[ cheers and applause ]
jeff waters, jr. Really trying to make an impression
in the robotics community in las vegas,
a winner, too, would do that.
And boy, he's got it decked out to the nines.
He sure does. And his excitement level is at 10.
So excited to be here at "battlebots".
Looks like the crowd is excited to see it in action, too.
In the red square from dallas, texas,
it's the serial chiller, subzero.
[ cheers and applause ]
we mention always one of the most entertaining bots.
And again, while this is his first year as
team captain logan davis
has been driving subzero for the last 15 years.
Yeah, chris, it was subzero under the two hundred
and fifty pound weight limit.
They're using those extra pounds on their
flame-spewing drone spitfire.
A little fire and ice for this team.
Getting subzero, we're going to make sure we have
the ground game against them. We've we've incorporated
a little bit of wedge lift in the front of our bot
I know they're probably gonna employee
some type of box rush against us.
If we get under them, they can't flip us.
If we win this fight, I'd be huge for us
to be first match my battle. That's career.
Subzero, all I have to say to you is watch out.
All bets are off. -Jackpot is probably
one of the meanest vertical vertical spinners we have here.
I've got to be patient. I've got to find my opening.
There is a lot of pressure in becoming a new team captain.
It's making those important decisions that will either win
or lose that fight.
Pressure's never been higher.
Robots, activate.
[ cheers and applause ]
and now let's bring in another member of our team,
our bot whisperer, pete abrahamson.
Pete, kenny showed us jackpot looking like a monster in the test box.
Are these young guns for real?
Yes. There is so much fear over jackpot
in the pits right now.
Nobody really knows what it can do.
And everybody's actually kind of frightened
and think this is the next death row right here.
This is going to rock, guys.
[ cheers and applause ]
♪♪
[ audience chanting "fight" ]
♪♪
let the bot battle begin.
Those diamond cutters on jackpot up to speed,
but oh, no, do we have drive train issues already?
[ clanging ]
caught under subzero.
Wow!
Jackpot eating in the subzero from above,
but gets flipped in the process,
jackpot moving a little better now, chris.
That drone is dropping flames,
but now jackpot looking frozen once again.
And here's subzero scooping him up from behind
and delivering him into the corner of the box.
Oh, [bleep]!
This is not where you want to be, against a flipper, chris.
Oh, he's got jackpot moved to position.
He's trying to take him out of the arena, kenny.
This is exactly what subzero wants.
All they have to do is engage that flipper
and they can end this one
could subzero, deliver the kill shot?
Backing off now
and choosing instead to just head butt jackpot.
Oh, I think subzero may have an issue here, chris.
Jackpot up and moving, but, oh, subzero is not.
Wow. After dominating this fight,
they're going to have to show some sort of movement
or they'll be counted down. Unbelievable.
Referee: Subzero, you've got to show me something.
Oh, my goodness, the struggles continue for subzero.
They were looking so good.
Ten! The countdown has begun.
Can subzero shake itself back to life here
or will jackpot find some late luck?
...Two, one. That's a knockout --
[ buzzer sounds ]
whoa! Jackpot it is.
[ cheers and applause ]
♪♪
well, kenny, that wasn't pretty,
but a win is a win, yeah.
Jackpot started the fight off with some drive train issues
which allowed subzero to land a big blows
and really control the fight early on,
and it looked like they were just one flip away
from launching them out of the battle box, chris.
And then the tables turned.
Yeah, as jackpot was looking into the jaws of defeat,
subzero just stopped working,
and that allowed jackpot to squeak by with the win.
Logan davis was hoping to change subzero's
reliability issues this year. So far, that hasn't happened.
♪♪
so subzero starts the season off on a cold streak
if logan davis and subzero,
you got to be sitting there scratching your head.
They were dominating this fight.
They were dominating the fight.
So I think with some tweaks there,
they can come back and get some wins.
You've got to get that flipper
working at some point in the near future.
But we're just getting started here on "battlebots" tonight.
It all leads up to a match up with a couple of fan favorites.
It's flash versus flames
when gruff takes on hypershock in tonight's main event.
Welcome back to "battlebots." that's all right, kenny.
Let's turn our attention to our next fight.
It's uppercut and gemini. The question for ace shelander,
as it is every year with team gemini,
is it truly twice as nice?
He's got two 125 pound robots.
And we asked him have you ever moved off that
and maybe try to take on a different robot?
And he said, listen, we haven't had the time.
We haven't had the finances. So this is what we've got.
Is it good enough to get a victory?
Well, it's interesting that you say that
because he believes that this season is going to indicate
whether they continue with this two bot format or not.
Again, there's a 250 pound weight limit on "battlebots,"
you can split that weight up into as many parts as you want.
Each of ace's bots weigh roughly 125 pounds, of course,
if they don't do well this season,
they're probably just going to abandon this
and kind of build a whole different bot.
So it really is do or die for them.
They'll be squaring off against uppercut
and the kids from mit.
The team is, of course, led by alex hattori,
who just happens to be the number two
ranked yo-yo competitor in the world.
Last year, an amazing battle bots debut,
they won four matches. They made it to the top 16
before getting ousted by the eventual champion bite force.
This is a team to be reckoned with in 2020.
Yeah, chris uppercut is really unique
and they have a massive new motor powering that fist.
And I think that's going to really help them land
some big blows this year. Take a look.
It may not come as a surprise for a bot designed
by a bunch of mit students, but uppercut's ability
to land such powerful punches all comes down to science
thanks to its massive size, uppercut's weapon stores
an immense amount of energy, in fact, compared to a weapon
that's just an inch shorter uppercut's arm
is able to produce about 15 percent more kinetic energy.
But in the battle box, it's not necessarily
how much energy you can generate,
it's how much energy you can transfer.
And during a strike, one way to maximize energy transfer
is for more of your weapon to come in contact
with more of your opponent.
It's like a baseball player connecting on a home run
versus a foul ball.
Indirect contact doesn't send the ball very far,
but when the bat connects with more of the ball,
more energy is transferred.
Uppercut's able to do this by getting closer to an opponent
before their weapon makes contact.
Compared to a double sided weapon,
uppercut's single fist is in the strike zone
for a smaller amount of time.
That means they can continue to get closer to an opponent
as their weapon finishes its rotation.
And compared to a bot like end game,
if an opponent approaches at five miles per hour,
uppercut's able to get four times closer
before they make contact,
and that increases the chances that the strike goes
from a foul tip to a home run.
And unlike last season when they landed a strike,
thanks to an entirely new weapon motor,
uppercut is now able to get back to its top speed insanely fast.
In fact, in the test box, we clocked their weapon
reaching its peak rotational velocity
at just 1.76 seconds.
That's about 30 percent faster
than the weapon of a bot like tombstone.
And it's actually so fast that when we wired up their weapon
with an accelerometer, it actually broke our sensor.
So this season, when uppercut's throwing punches,
they're not going to be throwing jabs,
they'll be throwing haymakers.
Wow. We'll see how that matches up against gemini's
two-bot approach.
Faruq, take it away.
In the blue square from cambridge, massachusetts.
It's the fist of robotic theory
uppercut.
♪♪
well, kenny, you broke it down for us a few moments ago,
this uppercut is bigger,
stronger, faster than the one we saw last year.
Think that'll be enough for the mit kids
to avoid a sophomore slump?
Well, I've been impressed with what I've seen so far,
but it's one thing to break an accelerometer
during testing the battle box is a whole different story, chris.
In the red square from joshua tree, california,
the zodiac robot killer -- gemini.
♪♪
give credit to team gemini, they can take a punch,
nine fights in "battlebots" history,
they've never been knocked out.
Yeah, that's right. You know, they are very durable.
And because they have two bots, it's harder to take them out.
But they're looking to do some damage, too.
They're using bar spinners that are
four times heavier than the ones they used last year.
We haven't been able to see the robot
for the last six months,
so it's been a very busy few days getting it running.
We have some weapon motor upgrades
and motor controller upgrades, which should help us spin up
a lot faster in the case of gemini.
We're just going to keep the front faced
towards whoever's closer to us, and then we'll see what happens.
We hope it'll spin up and then hopefully we'll hit something.
For gemini 2020,
we really focused on upgrading our weapon.
We went from a little weapon axle to a big weapon axle.
Tonight, we're definitely going for offense.
Uppercut is a really powerful robot.
Newcomer last year, really showed what it's made out of
and we want to show what we've made it up to and take them out.
Robots, activate.
Now, keep in mind, both of gemini's bots
need to be disabled to score a knockout
and they have some new drivers this year.
It's a father son duo, dominic and 11 year old hunter.
Well, uppercut wants to land that big blow,
but gemini and there, too mini bots have made a living,
avoiding those kinds of shots.
We'll see if that holds true tonight
or if it's double the trouble when we come back.
Rose: Welcome back to "battlebots".
We've got two bots with their engines roaring
and ready to go. It is uppercut versus gemini.
[ audience chanting "fight" ]
let the bot battle begin!
Florian: And the two on one.
Oh! Punted out of the arena!
Holy smokes!
What?
And there goes gemini's second bot.
Well, we're screwed. Thank you.
This might be the first-ever knockout
that gemini has suffered.
One's out of the arena, the other is in pieces.
Kenny, what the hell just happened?
I am speechless!
That wasn't even a fight, he just knocked out two dudes.
Somebody better tell uppercut to settle down.
One! That's a knockout, gemini.
[ cheers and applause ]
wow! That was crazy.
[ cheers and applause ]
well, that was a shocker, kenny.
You want to see a good start?
How about this one? Wham, bam, thank you, can.
Outta here! Look at that shot.
That was just ridiculous. Maybe breaking our sensor
was a sign of things to come for uppercut, chris?
Uppercut, able to get so close to those mini bots
and just throw haymaker after haymaker.
And if you're gemini,
not what you want to see.
Uppercut ending their no knockout streak
in spectacular fashion.
Took out both of his bots in like ten seconds.
It was like patrick swayze in "roadhouse."
look at that. See, ya.
Thanks for playing.
Alex hattori, explain to us what just happened.
The robot spun. [ laughter ]
that's all we could hope for.
We wanted to spin up that blade.
We wanted to just touch the robot somewhere.
And that's what happened.
When you punt your opponent across the arena
and out of the box, what does that feel like?
I'm impressed with the work that we were able to do.
We haven't seen uppercut in the past six months,
so we just started putting it back together three days ago.
And now I guess it works.
Now, you were able to do that against a bot
that weighed 125 pounds.
You took out each of them.
Can you do that to a 250 pound bot you think?
We'll see.
Rose: Alright, alex. Well, congratulations.
That was an amazing performance.
You are the first robot to ever k.O. Gemini
in the history of "battlebots". Well done.
Thank you.
Alright, well, uppercut starts their season
with about as big a bang as we've seen so far.
But, kenny, we're just getting started.
Up next, we have a return to the battle box
for years in the making, its beta versus rotator.
Let's take a look at this big time match-up.
Big hit from beta. Last time we were here,
the force of that hammer is ridiculous.
We had three wins, but then we faced tombstone
tombstone just grinding down beta.
Lost in the end.
I've been working on a replacement
for that robot for quite some time.
We were trying to get the most powerful hammer ever.
That hammer is just so powerful, chris.
The big change this year, we've gone from electric weapon
to a pneumatic weapon.
Electric beta was the most powerful hammer,
at "battlebots".
[ whirring ]
and now we're going three times more powerful,
we really want to show the world what they can do.
Whoa, rotator pulls off the monumental upset.
Last season, we were able to knock out tombstone,
knock out bombshell.
Rotator is now a very reliable robot.
I think we're ready for a whole new level this season.
We treat each match almost like a chess match.
So against beta, we're actually planning on
running the high blade.
So if he comes and strikes down on us.
He's going to have to go through our blade
to really hit our frame.
Victor is a brilliant strategist and rotator
is on a similar level to tombstone.
But if he's running the bar on top,
it would be insanity to fire the hammer into that.
Tombstone just chopped off the base to beta's hammer.
Now, we do have a little surprise for him.
He doesn't know about. But his metal top armor.
The strategy will be to turn him over
and then hit him from the underneath.
Beta's a very defensive robot.
Rose & florian: Oh! They have good armor.
I don't expect to go through that armor.
I'm expecting to go underneath it or over it.
Tauheed: Rotator!
New beta hits with the force of four kilojoules,
which is equivalent of dropping a washing machine on you
from about five meters up.
Tauheed: It's beta!
I'm actually expecting a three minute brawl with them.
I challenge anyone to come up and build
a better hammer than us.
Rose: And we'll see that fight when we come back on battle bots.
We continue on with "battlebots: Fight night."
and up next, we've got a familiar face
to the "battlebots" fan base -- beta.
John reid, gabriel stroud have brought this bot back stateside.
The last time we saw it was in 2016.
It lost a classic match against tombstone.
But you have got this flailing hammer
that just has so much power.
And if you haven't seen it fight before, look out.
Yeah, but we heard gabriel stroud
say they're really going to pick their spots
on when to fire the hammer.
They're adding more armor to their body.
They do not want to see their brand-new hammer
get shredded in its first fight.
So I'm curious to see what kind of approach
they take coming out of the box.
And tonight, it is taking on rotator
another bot which is making its season debut.
And speaking of tombstone, victor soto told us
he gave tombstone the worst beating it has ever suffered.
That happened in 2019.
With all that being said, rotator only went 2-3.
Missed out on the postseason party.
He said, yeah, it was kind of a successful season.
But this year he's gearing up for at least the top eight.
Yep, tombstone's, a big time legend.
You know, there's not many bots on that level.
But I would say that john reid and beta and his whole team,
I would give them legendary status as well,
perhaps the best hammer bot we've ever seen.
Somebody's got to win!
Faruq, take it away.
Ladies and gentlemen, it's robot fighting type.
[ cheers and applause ]
in the blue square,
the hammer bought from the land of camelot.
It's so dashing. Even the brits think,
[british accent] "well, isn't it smashing?"
[ normal voice ] the heavy-hitting britain, beta!
♪♪
one of the most popular robots in the world,
one of the most powerful robots as well,
but, kenny, that is a different hammerhead
than we've seen them use in testing.
Well, that's part of their defensive strategy.
I was talking about, chris, that's a lighter weight pill.
The weight they save there
is being put into their front armor.
They're expecting to take some shots from rotator.
In the red square,
he fills prescriptions for pain like he was a pharmacist,
and last year he set tombstone ablaze like he was an arsonist.
He really turned heads and he did it with ease.
And it's only right the fire was 360 degrees.
Because he's rotator!
[ cheers and applause ]
rotator remember in 2018,
it went all the way to the quarter finals
before bowing out against bite force.
Kenny, it has eight different weapon configurations.
And tonight, what are they doing with?
Victor is running that top blade tonight, chris.
Just daring beta to fire into it.
This is a pure strategy play here.
Rotator a really well known for their armor as well, chris.
That wedge is brutal.
♪♪
well, beta has gone from an electric to a pneumatic hammer,
but their upgrades didn't stop there.
Pete, what else is new with the robot?
Can I geek out for a brief moment here?
Because this robot has really brought
some new stuff to the table.
One of the things they've got is the wheels will retract up
inside the robot sucking with magnetic force,
the plate of the bottom right to the floor of the battle box,
allowing them to really strike hard with the hammer
and not leap up into the air. I can not wait for this.
Chris, I think that all means
the hammer could hit even harder.
Okay, guys. Good luck.
-Let's do this, now. -Okay.
Robots, activate.
[ cheers and applause ]
♪♪
I'm being told that singular blade is up
from 40 to 50 pounds.
I mean, that sounds good and all,
but what can it do against a bot like beta
who's got so much armor, kenny?
Victor soto really wants to climb up that wedge
and disable beta's hammer,
just like tombstone did back in 2016.
It's a tough strategy, but we'll see
if he can pull it off.
Blue team, ready.
[ cheers and applause ]
red team, ready.
[ cheers and applause ]
♪♪
[ audience chanting "fight" ]
♪♪
let the bot battle begin!
Rotator's weapon ramping up the speed.
Beta tried a little box rush,
wanting to dictate the pace early,
try to line up that hammer shot.
Oh!
And beta rams rotator with that giant front wedge
now delivers him into the perimeter box.
Sparks flying as rotator's blade makes contact
with the battle box floor.
Both: Oh!
On again, on again.
Florian: Rotator has to be careful to not let
beta rush them around to violently here,
chris, we've seen horizontal spinners
catch a blade on the floor and blow themselves up before.
45 seconds into this fight,
when's beta gonna fire that hammer?
It is so explosive.
Yeah, beta it definitely choosing to bide
their time with that hammer.
They've got the wedge working right now, chris.
Uh-oh! Oh!
And beta uses rotator's disc against itself.
Exactly what I was talking about, chris,
things could get very dicey for rotator
if they allow themselves to get bullied like that.
And here it is again.
John reid slams rotator into the side of the box,
rotator retreat's with that plate still spinning
and now going for a ride.
Oh! My goodness! Rotator can take some serious punishment!
Beta with an amazing driving skill,
john reid on fire right now. Oh!
Kenny, it's amazing 90 seconds into this fight
has yet to fire that hammer! He's trying to slow down rotator
and then he's going to pour on the heat
with that hammer, chris.
Yeah but when? We are closing in on one minute to go.
Up, up, up, up, up.
He's waiting for that primary weapon
to rotate or to slow down.
I mean, beta is trying to pin rotator
in the corner against the rails,
it's really working all that great, though.
He's got to be careful because if he does fire that weapon,
that weapon could be vulnerable
to that horizontal spinner on rotator.
But, yeah, I mean, he's got to start planning some damage.
[ clang! ]
[ shouting ] gone!
That's exactly what I was talking about,
I think that's what he was worried about.
So without firing the hammer,
at one time, john reid's weapon is gone!
Can beta win this fight without an active weapon?
This is going to be fascinating, chris.
Beta has been in control, but rotator.
May have just pulled ahead with one swing of that blade.
Yeah!
Btu look at the driving by beta.
Able to keep rotator off balance.
Incredible that rotator's weapon
is still working after all this contact.
That thing is indestructible. Never stops.
We're in the final few seconds.
And beta continues to push, rotator around,
will it be enough to secure the victory?
[ buzzer sounds ] whoo!
Victor soto's team super excited.
But this one is in the hands of the judges,
so remember, there are three different categories,
five points for damage, three for aggression,
three for control.
Kenny, did you ever think you'd see a fight with beta
where he wouldn't fire his hammer?
I mean, yeah, I was really confused by that at first.
But then when you saw that horizontal blade spitting,
I don't think he wanted to take that risk.
And we saw as soon as it made contact with the weapon armor
with the tip of that hammer, we saw it just fly straight off.
But I thought that by far beta won
the control aspect of that fight.
I thought rotator was going for a ride
repeatedly throughout that fight.
I thought the wedge of beta was doing a great job.
So as far as control aggression,
I kind of give that aspect to beta.
But certainly losing your primary weapon
did not look good. That's a lot of damage.
It was done by the primary weapon of rotator.
This is a really close fight.
So let's go to faruq to announce the winner.
The results from the judges are in.
We have a split decision.
[ team members "ooh-ing" ]
judge derek scored the battle for beta.
[ cheers and applause ]
judge jason scored the battle for rotator.
[ cheers and applause ]
judge lisa scored the battle for your winner.
Beta!
[ cheers and applause ]
♪♪
john reed, gabriel stroud, how are you doing?
Wow.
Probably not as well as you guys are.
Are you shocked by the decision, john?
I'm shocked. I'm not shocked.
We dominated that room all the time.
We only lost this bit.
[ laughter ]
bit of glue it'll go straight back on.
It's alright. Just a flesh wound.
[ laughs ] now, were you guys not firing your primary weapon?
You weren't firing that a hammer because you were afraid
that it would get chopped off, is that why?
Okay. Exactly.
Yes. We were trying to pin him,
but he's so slippery and he keeps moving.
Just can't pin him down. We got him flipped over.
Then we would have given him some goodness.
But it was all about getting him into the sights.
Do you guys think that because of the aggression
that you showed and the control that you showed,
that you ended up being victorious?
So we use the arena to our advantage
and just had him against the wall
all over him all the time.
So he was really just there for us to mess about with.
Alright, guys, congratulations on your
first victory of the season. That was fun.
Thanks. Thanks a lot. Take care.
[ cheers and applause ]
victor soto, the look on your face says it all.
Are you shocked it didn't go your way?
I'm pretty shocked. Yeah. Yeah.
Why?
Although beta was doing a good job pushing us around,
I think we had some good control points out there
at certain points of the match.
And damage is supposed to be the biggest factor.
And we did a lot of damage.
They did no damage to us. They're there
holding the weapon. They never fired in their hands.
And we have maybe some scratches.
[ cheers and applause ]
sorry, judges, I think you got it wrong.
Alright, well, it's a long season, my friend,
just the beginning here.
Victor soto, it's good to have you back on "battlebots."
we'll see you down the road. Thank you.
Alright, man. Yeah, man.
I don't know it couldn't have been better than that.
Well, kenny, this is proof that two people
might sit next to each other
and watch the same event and see it very differently.
This is what happens in combat.
I mean, again, depending on how you're seeing the fight,
what you deem is aggressive or control.
And, you know, it was a very close fight.
And at the end of the day, you can't let it go that way.
You got to do whatever you can to learn
as much damage as possible.
And the best thing to do is not let it go to the judges,
right? Very good point there.
But either way, beta's comeback ends in a win.
And for victor soto and rotator,
it just puts that much more pressure on them
to perform in their next fight.
But our night of heavy hitters just keeps on coming.
Up next, we've got valkyrie versus tantrum on "battlebots."
we are back on "battlebots: Fight night."
up next, we have a marquee match up as valkyrie
takes on tantrum.
But first, let's bring in jenny taft,
who has got much more on that controversial decision
that favored beta, went down to the wire,
went to the judges' score card, and there were a lot of ooh's
and ah's when beta ended up winning,
even though it didn't use its main weapon back there.
What was everybody's response?
Oh, guys, it is a tense moment back here in the pits.
And some of the builders have started to gather,
express their frustration about that controversial decision.
And the question is, to win a fight do you
have to fire your primary weapon?
The rules say,
you have to have an active weapon going into the fight,
but you -- nothing about using it.
Why have one if you're not going to use it?
No offense to john, he did an amazing job driving,
but from the judges' perspective,
if the robot never uses its weapon,
it's essentially a sumo bot. But this isn't sumo wars.
This is "battlebots."
I don't care what the rule set is as long as it's consistent.
Because I don't feel it is.
This is not backyard fun time robots.
This is this, is "battlebots."
this is supposed to be the a+ ultra of events
where you have to have a weapon to get in here.
There's a requirement. There's an application process.
There are a whole bunch of robots that didn't make it here
because they were deemed to not have
a sufficiently effective weapon.
So how the hell can you go into there and not use one?
But that's what it's all about.
You don't have to do that anymore.
There are a lot of opinions. There's a lot to discuss.
And frankly, I'm going to let everyone
cool off right now, guys.
Rose: Wow. Things are getting pretty serious down there.
Thanks, jenny.
Victor soto told us at the beginning of the season,
he said, I am going to be ticked off
if I don't make it to the top eight.
He is 0-1 after his first fight of the season.
And tough to move on from a controversial fight like that.
But, you know, our next two teams
will be looking to avoid a judge's decision.
Right now, we've got a match up between valkyrie and tantrum.
Let's start with valkyrie and leanne cushing.
We met with her before the fights
and we said, hey, listen, leanne,
you didn't make the round of 16 two years ago.
She said, "thanks for reminding me."
we didn't make the round of 16 a year ago.
She said, "thanks for reminding me."
how do they take that next step?
Because they're a really well driven bot.
They've got a ton of weapons that they can play with as well.
You know how to push buttons, don't you?
I do.
You know, you could see, when you were talking to her
that she was upset about that.
But she has spent a lot of time improving her bot.
And not only that, she spent a lot of time studying strategies
and looking at what other bots
bring to the table on fight night.
Taking on aren hill and tantrum.
And this bot has been with us the last few years.
And the indelible image of it is what it fought tombstone
to and had its fist cut off.
And it ended up in that post right behind our heads.
Oh! Holy!
[ laughter ]
smile. [ camera shutter clicks ]
so, how does tantrum go from that's it
to us complimenting what it actually does in the battle box?
You know, this is a new technology.
It is a vertical disk spinner,
but it's one that kind of shoots out,
and kind of gets into a proper range
in order to be effective.
So, it can retract, and then extend.
He's been having some problems with it.
He wants for that to not just be this gimmick.
We're gonna find out if he actually do that.
Let's see if aaron hill and tantrum
are ready to fight it out.
Faruq.
In the blue square,
from somerville, massachusetts, it's valkyrie.
So, valkyrie has sonic, sweet caroline, sour caroline,
diet doctor teeth.
Oh, yeah, a new triangular disc called "glory."
what's it got out there?
Yeah, valkyrie gives every one of their different blades
a unique name.
And this one tonight is known as "sweet caroline."
it's a huge 65-pound weapon, and it's no joke, chris.
In the red square,
from mountain view, california, it's tantrum.
Kenny, tantrum looks the same,
but the weapon, apparently, has improved considerably.
That's right. That primary weapon now has a longer reach.
And also, the spin-up time
is now down to 3 to 5 seconds.
Well, once again, it has the fists on top of the robot.
And apparently, those things can now be used
to self-right, kenny?
And they're also gonna be spitting some flames,
so watch for that, as well.
The strategy tonight against valkyrie is pretty common
against horizontal spinning robots --
get them tilted up, get them into the arena wall,
have them larger objects, get them flying.
I hear valkyries like to fly.
Got to get a win straight off the bat,
especially when they give us a robot as good as valkyrie.
I spent this morning laying in bed,
watching all of aaron's fights.
I think we have a pretty good chance
just because of our reach versus his.
Aaron still isn't completely familiar
with the depth of the box,
and so, we're really hoping
that we're gonna be able to get up to speed
before he comes at us
and at the point, good luck, man.
Robots activate.
Alright, peter, so, aaron hill
just said he's gonna try
and use valkyrie's big blade against itself.
Did leanne make the right weapon choice, here?
Peter: I totally agree with leanne.
I think sweet caroline is definitely
the right choice in this.
They've got the reach to keep tantrum at bay.
Now, aaron believes he can keep valkyrie in the middle, there,
and believes that it's just an intelligent arena hazard.
But we know fred and leanne.
They're here to get the 15-second knockout.
This should be a good one.
A pair of ascending bots.
Blue team, ready
ooh. Easy, there.
The valkyrie brass knuckles,
red team, ready.
[ cheers and applause ]
[ crowd chanting "fight!" ]
let the bot battle begin.
And here comes tantrum.
Right out of the box, big hit.
Went all the way across the box.
Tantrum is targeting valkyrie's weapon, chris.
No fear.
Now, valkyrie looking for some payback.
Runs that big disk over the top of tantrum.
Oh!
But tantrum punches right back,
throwing valkyrie into the screws.
Whoa! Man, oh man!
And uh-oh, valkyrie's weapon has stop moving momentarily.
This is exactly what beta was trying to do, to rotate.
This is right in front of us.
Tantrum doing a great job
utilizing the battle box to its advantage.
Yeah, with that weapon down,
tantrum is free to go to work, now, chris.
And there you see it,
as tantrum gives valkyrie a ride across the battle box.
It has been all tantrum, here, to open this match.
Yeah, frederick moore, the veteran driver,
got to do something to get valkyrie
back to the center of the box.
Instead, it is caught under the pulverizer,
and really not moving well at all.
Yeah, look for tantrum to get their vertical disk going, here.
They did take some damage to the top of the bot.
Hopefully, that weapon is still functional.
There it is, kenny.
You hear that spinner firing up
as these two go for a waltz.
And now, look who's raising the fist -- tantrum,
trying to take valkyrie for a ride.
Their spinner is active,
but I'm not sure they can deliver it into valkyrie.
Almost midway through this fight.
It has been all tantrum so far.
Just keep driving. Keep driving. Keep driving.
Rose: You can hear leanne cushing imploring her driver, fred,
"keep going. Keep pushing."
uh-oh.
Tantrum has dominated, chris, but like beat beta,
it hasn't used its primary weapon,
and I know we just had a controversial decision,
but let's remember, in the damage category,
it's heavily weighted to what you do with your active weapon.
And so far, that vertical disk spinner
hasn't done the substantial damage to valkyrie.
Instead, it's really been the battle box.
Under a minute to go.
Both bots circling the drain, here,
in the center of the box.
It would seem, at the moment, at least,
that tantrum is done enough to secure the victory.
But look at this!
Tantrum is suddenly lifeless.
I'm not sure their motor's working.
Kenny, this is a huge problem,
because tantrum has stopped moving.
Uh-oh.
The referee imploring team tantrum,
"show us some kind of movement, or the countdown's gonna start."
and it has.
Tantrum trying to come back to life,
but I don't think it's gonna happen, chris.
The fists are waving, but they're waving bye-bye,
as in "I'm done."
tantrum is knocked out.
Yeah!
What a heartbreak.
A tremendous job by frederick moore,.
Leean cushing, a team valkyrie, to just stave off elimination,
keep its wheels turning, and take the w by ko.
What an unbelievable bout.
Right out of the gate,
tantrum had a game plan, and stuck to it, kenny.
Got the pop early on.
And went valkyrie hit the screws,
you knew that they were going the wrong direction.
Yeah, that's right.
You know, both teams really got some great hits
to start up the fight, but it was tantrum
who started to take over,
and looked like he was gonna come back
with an unbelievable win.
But right here is where the tide starts to turn.
Tantrum doing a great job of bullying valkyrie
around the battle box.
But all of a sudden, it just stopped moving.
All that energy, all those hits,
all that power, came to a complete halt.
And this is why it is so critical
to have a veteran driver that will not panic.
Even when you think you're down, you are never out.
Leanne cushing, you're laughing behind that mask. Why?
I was really worried, there.
I thought we were gonna go the third year
not winning our first fight.
And I was like "please. I can't have this happen again."
so, I'm so glad it didn't.
Leanne, you said you wanted to make valkyrie more durable,
and you certainly proved that it is.
Yeah, for the most part. But our weapons still suck.
So, guess what we're gonna go obsess over?
Valkyrie, congratulations on getting that elusive
first win of the season.
A job well done. We'll see you down the road.
Cushing: Thank you.
Rose: Coming up, we've got our first-ever team from india --
and they just happen to be under the tutelage
of none other than ray billings.
Up next, it's atom #94 taking on big dill.
And then, it's the fight of the night.
Will bales and hypershock square off against
sam mcamis and his flame-throwing machine, gruff.
All that when we return, on "battlebots."
rose: We are back on "battlebots: Fight night."
it has been an action-packed fight card so far,
and we are just one match away from the main event,
where gruff and their dual flame throwers
will take on will bales and the lightning quick hypershock.
Kenny, we talked about it, but these two teams
really could take it to the next level this season.
Florian: Oh, 100%, chris.
Gruff nearly beat tombstone last year,
and they're as confident as ever coming into this season.
And hypershock was so close to making the top 16 last year.
Will spent a year thinking about getting back into "battlebots."
I'm excited for this matchup.
And we'll see them after this next fight
between a couple of newbies.
Let's kick it off with atom #94, built by yash deshmukh.
And he is our first builder from india,
so everybody's really excited.
He's super excited. He's been interested in robotics
ever since he was a little kid.
Then, a few years ago, he took the big leap.
He wrote direct messages on facebook
to a bunch of big-name builders.
Only one returned it -- ray billings of tombstone.
That's a pretty good mentor to have.
Yeah, absolutely. He chose the right guy.
Has a ton of experience.
And for ray, he said he asked the right questions.
He said he did enough work to where he felt that,
"you know what? I'm gonna give this guy some information."
taking on another new bot called the big dill.
Emmanual carrillo used to be a driver
for team mad-catter.
And emmanual. He told us,
"hey, listen, the first thing you're gonna notice about me,
I was born without a right hand.
I accept the responsibility of being somebody out there
that little kids can look up to, and say,
'hey, listen, if I've got that challenge, it's okay.
I can do whatever I want. I could be an athlete.
I can be an artist. I can be a musician.
I can be a bot-builder.'"
I'm anxious to see what he brings inside the box.
Well, I tell you what, you know, he's here to inspire,
but he's also here to win, as well.
He believes he has the most powerful
true lifter in "battlebots."
and kenny, taking a look at these numbers,
who do you like in this fight?
Well, chris, it's an interesting matchup,
lifter versus vertical spinner.
Big dill has the obvious reach advantage, here.
But for the lift to really be effective,
they're going to have to attack at different angles.
And I think an experienced driver
like emmanuel carrillo can't do that.
But the giant x-factor here is atom #94's
ray billings tombstone connection.
That's like being trained by mike tyson
for your first boxing match.
But with a couple of rookie teams,
who knows what we're gonna get.
And I love the name "the big dill,"
because the jokes write themselves, right?
"he's caught in a pickle."
"he's a really big dill," all that sort of stuff.
So, I have started the cliche jar
that we are going to donate to
every time we use one of those stupid cliches, okay?
I love it.
We're gonna fill this thing up
definitely by the end of the season.
There's no question about it.
Faruq, shake it, man.
It's all yours.
Faruq: In the blue square,
from india, by way of canada,
it's the bomb -- atom #94.
Well, they're named after plutonium s atomic number,
and I love it.
Yash his entire team just soaking in the moment,
how special this is.
He told us, "yeah, I want to be a role model
for all those kids back in india
that want to be the bot-builders of tomorrow."
that looks like a very cool bot.
Very low to the ground,
and it looks like a deadly dual disk spinner.
In the red square,
from seattle, washington, fork out for big dill.
Big dill led by 31-year-old industrial designer
emmanuel carrillo.
He said, "hey, if we can ruin some days, that'd be solid."
he really wants to upset some big teams.
So, he does have realistic expectations,
being a first time captain here at "battlebots."
but I think a lot of people believe it can go pretty far.
♪♪
carrillo: Tonight, we're fighting atom #94.
They're a new team.
They're a two-wheel drive vertical spinner.
We have these super long reach forks.
They're a little drum -- little drumette.
They don't have much reach.
We're gonna fight this fight 2 feet in front of us,
and they're gonna have no chance.
Yesh: The primary weapon which we are using today,
it's, like, the fastest speed which we can go to,
and just in the air to the [indistinct].
The hits are gonna be insane.
I hope that I'm gonna see the big dill flying in the sky
in the arena today.
This is my dream come true moment, right now.
Robots activate.
Alright, so we've got a couple of unknowns.
That's why we bring in peter, our bot-whisper.
Pete, what do you got?
Well, big dill is planning on being able
to use spicy meatball --
which is the mini bot -- to get under atom #94,
allowing big dill to come by,
and get those extra-long pickle forks on the end
right underneath atom #94, and get the good scoop.
Alright. Hold the spicy meatball.
I've got a foot-long turkey with swiss coming.
Thank you, pete.
Blue team, ready.
♪♪
red team, ready.
♪♪
[ cheers and applause ]
let the bot battle begin.
Atom #94 having some drive issues
right out of the gate.
Spinning in circles, here,
this is an opportunity for big dill,
who wants to win the ground battle with those forks.
And how about spicy meatball, the little guy, helping out?
He's like, "hey, let me in. I want to have some fun."
trying to set up the big dill for the big move.
Uh-oh. Look at this.
And here's big dill, able to invert atom #94.
And it self-rights.
[ man speaks indistinctly ]
atom #94 is smoking a bit,
but it is driving on its head.
Big dill very much in control so far, chris.
Oh, and big dill with full control, now,
lifting a flailing atom #94 above the battle box.
Atom #94 has got to flip itself back over.
You're seeing some smoke
start to come from the inside of atom #94.
There it is. And that fork is tied up
in the belts of atom #94 right now.
How about the strength of the big dill?
He is a really big dill.
There.
I'm donating.
Those long, serrated forks of big dill
have been very effective so far, kenny.
Yeah. Atom #94's drive issues have allowed big dill the space
to just sort of skewer them at will, here.
They've made it way too easy for big dill.
And now, more smoke pouring from atom #94.
Will there be a nuclear meltdown before the bell?
The big dill having its way with the other rookie.
Right in front of us.
That's gonna hurt.
He's really got atom #94 locked in those horns,
you could say he's in a pickle, chris.
Donate. Thank you. Thank you very much.
Alright, under a minute to go.
What's gonna happen, here?
Because the big dill has to try and release atom #94,
but it really looks like they're tied up, here.
Yeah, he's pretty stuck in there.
Let's see if he can back out of it.
I believe they're gonna...
I can't -- I can't move.
Both teams now signaling they're stuck.
Time out. Time out.
And our ref is gonna stop the match.
Kenny, if they can't unstick these two,
this one's gonna go to the judges.
And atom #94 cannot not afford to let that happen at all.
Yeah. Atom #94 needs this fight to resume
to have any chance of winning.
And here comes the crew bots, to try and separate these two.
If they're successful, it's still anyone's game.
We're gonna take a quick break.
But the fate of these teams will be decided
when we come back, on "battlebots."
rose: Welcome back to "battlebots,"
where atom #94 and big dill
are in a bit of a pickle.
After a collision, these bots got stuck,
and the match had to be stopped.
Time out. They're stuck.
Rose: And you're not gonna believe this,
but we cannot get these two unstuck, kenny.
You ever seen anything like this in the octagon?
Fabian: Well, I've been put in a pretzel
about a million different ways, chris,
but I've never seen anything like this.
Rose: As stated in the "battlebots" bylaws,
section 7.5 10-a,
if two bots cannot be separated after becoming entangled,
this thing has to go to the judges.
Judges seeing a lot of action tonight.
So, we say "hello" again to former "battlebots" participants
jason bardis, lisa winter, and derek young.
Kenny he's called "the big dill,"
but for emmanuel carrillo, most of that fight was kosher.
Yeah, chris, big dill was able to do pretty much
whatever they wanted to to atom #94.
Those forks worked exactly like they wanted them to.
With a good driver, a weapon that has
a reach advantage like this cannot be underestimated.
Atom #94 spent much of its time on its head,
and really couldn't get that main weapon rolling at all.
Had little smoke break, as well.
And then, here it is.
Yeah, that's some serious power, there, for big dill.
And how about that?
Right in front of us.
Outside of getting stuck, really a dominant performance
out of big dill.
So, kenny, the judges coming into play, here,
seems like a bit of a formality.
But after the beta decision we saw earlier,
let's see what happens.
Faruq is standing by with the decision.
The results from the judges are in.
The winner, by a unanimous decision, is...
...Big dill!
[ cheering ]
♪♪
emmanuel, was had a little victory dance
we just saw you do?
Oh, yeah. It's big relief to, you know,
get a win in and get in there,
and just perform well enough to get a win.
It was an impressive performance, man.
You know, as a grappling bot,
that's exactly what you need to do,
is show that kind of control.
Did you did you expect it to go that way?
No. I was expecting spicy meatball
to do a little bit more, and really kind of high-center him.
So we could really just come in, and get the perfect grab.
We ended up grabbing him in some really, really weird way,
and, you know, almost had him out of the arena.
We ended up getting stuck.
I was, you know, so close to just ringing him out.
That's the ultimate goal, is to get a bot
somewhere stuck on the arena, and, you know,
make sure he doesn't have to go to the judges all the time.
Is it safe to say that you
and the other team members from big dill
are going to relish this win?
Oh, for sure. For sure.
Yeah, we jammed them up pretty good,
and they just had to dill with it.
Very good. Emmanuel, congratulations.
You actually have to make a contribution
to our cliche jar, now, after that terrible joke.
There'll be more of them.
Very, very good. Well done.
And kenny florian, you better fill this thing
with about 20 or 30 bucks, after that one.
"relish." nice work.
Rose: Well, certainly one of the stranger fights we've seen.
But ladies and gentlemen, up next, we've got a matchup
between a couple of squads looking to prove that,
this season, they are top contenders for the giant nut.
It's gruff vs. Hypershock in our main event.
Wow, gruff taking it to tombstone.
Last year, we had an epic 3-minute bout with tombstone.
Wow.
That was one of the best driving performances I've ever seen.
It showed we can go 3 minutes against anybody.
Both: Oh!
Nice shot by hypershock!
You just gave bite force its toughest fight, in my opinion.
You know, we got some kinks to figure out,
but I'm feeling confident.
This year's hypershock is new.
It's nothing surprising. We build a new one every year.
Just like we did last year, and the year before that,
and the year before that.
It's new hypershocks all the way down.
Gruff is kind of a combination of a lifter and a grappler.
I am really impressed with the toughness of gruff.
And we definitely have the strongest torch in the field.
A lot of teams have, like, orange fireballs.
Ours us blue. It's hot.
That's a flame that comes out at 3,600 degrees fahrenheit.
Man: This year's hypershock is just better armored all around,
we should be more powerful.
We've upped the voltage on everything.
You still have a single-disk weapon and a double-disk weapon.
I, personally, like the double-disk.
It allows me to be a little bit
more cavalier with the driving.
Will bales and his best friend, chaos,
have entered the battle box.
So, especially against gruff,
who is just gonna get under you no matter what...
We're just gonna run straight at you,
and have a nice, wide-open channel to hit you
with whatever we got to do.
That was a perfect box-rush, chris!
Faruq: It's gruff.
I really think this is a good matchup for us.
The idea is to either, like,
lift and [indistinct] hypershock...
He's gonna try to throw him out of the arena, kenny.
...Or to grab on to him, and torch him really good.
In this fight, it's gonna get really nice and hot.
We'll see that fight when we return,
on "battlebots."
rose: This one is in the hands of the judges.
We are the people who decide who wins
if the match goes the full 3 minutes.
Faruq: We have a split decision.
Young: Judges will all see the same fight,
and make the same decision.
But occasionally, when it's close,
we will have a split decision,
where two judges think one robot won,
and one judge thinks the other robot one.
We have three categories where we assign points --
damage, aggression, and control.
It's battle. Damage is the most important.
They are five points to assign for damage,
three for aggression, three for control.
There's a rule that you have to get let into the arena
with an active weapon,
but nothing stating that you actually have to use it.
Kenny, it's amazing.
Beta has yet to fire that hammer.
Maybe that should be changed.
I'm not sure.
But if you let it go to the judges,
anything can happen. It will be tight.
Faruq: Your winner...
Beta.
Sorry, judges. I think you got it wrong.
We are back on "battlebots."
kenny florian, it is time right now
for a very special main event.
It's in all-florida affair --
the clean-cut crew from miami, hypershock,
is ready to pit their vertical spinner
against the battle-tested boys from tampa, team gruff.
Kenny, hypershock is always
one of the prettiest machines in this competition.
And when will bales' bots have been problem-free,
they've been absolutely electric.
Problem is, they aren't always problem-free.
Yeah, chris, as a driver, will can go toe to toe with anyone.
And we've seen hypershock nearly take down bots
like bite force in the past.
So, we know what they're capable of.
But the question is,
which hypershock are we going to get today?
And on the other end of the spectrum, we have gruff.
It's built like a tank,
and looks like it could survive a hit from one, too.
Yeah, sam mcamis has one of the sturdiest machines
we've seen at "battlebots."
last year, gruff went the full three minutes with tombstone,
proving that they can hang with the best of the best.
Alright, kenny, when you look at the numbers, here,
who do you think has the advantage?
Well, looking at the drive train,
hypershock should be able to drive circles around gruff,
but we'll see how much damage their vertical spinner
could do against gruff's exterior.
It's made from a special blend of steel
called "magnum triple alloy,"
which was able to survive multiple
direct hits from tombstone.
And while I like the reach of gruff's lifter,
their dual-cannon flamethrower is the weapon to watch
in this fight.
They have one of the only torches in this competition
that can truly change the course of a match.
It's gonna be a ton of fun.
Let's check it out. It's called the main event.
Here is faruq.
Ladies and gentlemen, it's robot-fighting time.
[ cheering ]
♪♪
in the blue square -- after his bout with tombstone last year,
fans started to talk, and he became the people's champ,
just like the rock.
This year, the giant nut is the only place he's looking,
if you smeeeeeeeell what gruff is cooking.
♪♪
gruff 2-3 a year ago.
Three of its fights went the distance,
including that classic one against tombstone, kenny.
Yeah, I got to say, this is one of
the toughest bots to knock out.
That thing is a brick.
In addition to being a flat-out brick,
this thing's got fire. Fire.
Yeah, his strategy is gonna be the same -- grab and torch.
He's made some really good upgrades all around the bot,
to the drive train, the lifter, and the motor.
In the red square --
it'll charge you like a bill of sales.
And when you're broke, wondering why,
all I got to say is, "will bales."
when it rolls, you get rocked.
It's hypershock.
♪♪
it's amazing, but will bales and hypershock,
one of the most entertaining teams around, kenny,
has never made it to the top 16.
Well, he's always had problems, you know, fixing his bot.
It's always like it comes down to the wire with these guys.
But will told us this was the most legit
hypershock has ever been.
And you could see that double-plate spinner
they're using tonight.
It's maybe just a little bit less powerful
than the single blade, but it means
wilt doesn't have to be quite as accurate with this strike.
[ cheering ]
so, pete will bales told us,
"this is the most confident and calm I've ever been."
but he was still racing to the finish,
to try and get this bot ready to fight tonight.
What do we expect to see out of hypershock?
Pete: This bot is so much better than his other robots.
I mean, he's done so much work to make it serviceable,
modular parts of electronics that come right out the bottom,
so it's really easy for him to work on
all the complicated elements.
What I'm looking forward to, though,
is gruff's flamethrower.
Those new nozzles are exquisite.
Robots activate.
Whoa. Oh, yeah.
Sam, that looks really good.
That double-flamethrower.
Show-off.
Blue team, ready.
♪♪
red team, ready.
♪♪
[ cheering ]
feeling good?
Yeah.
Alright.
♪♪
mcamis: Make sure you hook him down before we make contact.
Yeah, I'm a little nervous they're sitting too low,
but it's okay.
Rose: Let the bot battle begin.
Bots meet in the center.
Both: Oh!
Gruff takes a shot, and has already shown off
the double-flamethrower.
And it's will bales showing off with the driving.
Oh, going head-on.
Doesn't want to do that for too long.
Oh, that could definitely burn up the insides.
No question.
Hypershock is --
oh!
Gruff able to self-right.
Seem to be caught on the rails momentarily,
but works himself free.
Hypershock's weapon is up to speed.
Oh. Gruff kind of backed himself in.
And look at the flamethrowers on that.
Wow. What sort of damage can that do to the interior
of the other bot?
Oh!
Another big pop.
His weapon's not spinning.
I got nothing.
You heard will bales right there.
Hypershock has lost its primary weapon, kenny.
They are gonna have to seriously scramble
to find a way to score points, now.
Wow.
Once again, it's what does your primary weapon do.
A great job.
Gruff has put hypershock up on the screws.
Just like rotator, gruff takes out his opponent's weapon.
Now, he's going to work.
And now, hypershock is actually smoking a bit.
Can will bales get his bot to move before a count-out?
Or has the flame of gruff claimed its first victim
of the 2020 season?
Referee: 10...
There it is. The countdown has begun.
Hypershock is gonna end up losing to one gruff bot.
♪♪
those look so beautiful.
-Dang. -Oh, my god.
I want to take a nap so bad.
♪♪
kenny, gruff is becoming the type of bot you just don't
want to see on your schedule if you're an opposing team.
Yeah, this is one tough robot, chris.
That magnum triple alloy steel seems indestructible.
You add that flamethrower to the mix,
and gruff is just a beast.
Hypershock did a good job of attacking the flanks,
even managed to flip gruff.
But in the end, sam mcamis' strategy prevailed.
Absolutely. Gruff wanted to break hypershock's weapon.
It was tough enough to do that.
And it was durable enough to outlast hypershock.
Sometimes, robot combat is just that simple.
[ cheers and applause ]
sam mcamis of team gruff, what's cooking?
Hypershock.
Is that what's on the menu tonight?
Yeah.
We finally got him pretty good.
So, do you think the flame is what did him in?
That's what ended his night?
It's hard to say. We didn't really get a good,
like, grab and torch.
So, I'm not -- like, I didn't dump
as much heat into him as I would have liked.
But at the end, he was smoking, so...We got it.
Sam, what was the game plan, here, against hypershock?
The goal is just, basically,
try to keep the forks pointed toward them.
We knew that we could get under him if we --
as long as we didn't let him get around to our sides.
But that happened a couple of times.
We got some pretty gnarly damage up in the front.
So, do you think this is quite a first impression
for the selection committee,
as you try to crack the top 32?
Yeah. I think -- I think it was awesome.
It's hard for us -- like, for a lifter
or a torch to get a ko.
And it was nice to get a ko.
No question about it.
Sam mcamis, congratulations to you and team gruff.
Thank you.
Oh, buddy.
Alright, will bales.
You're smiling, but what happened to that bot?
Did it get overdone?
For the most part, I think we did a pretty good job.
There was a good portion of that match
where I only had one side to drive.
So, I was doing what I could to avoid the front.
Still, for the most part, I think we got some okay hits in.
In I'd like to see better.
Now, it's still your first fight, will,
so how much weight do you put into
this performance, right now?
If we can get the electronics up and running,
with a little bit more time,
now that the mechanical side is, for the most part, figured out,
I think we can get some solid fights in.
The beginning of the match was okay,
with drivetrain and the weapon.
But I see a light.
It's a very dim light, but it's up there.
Alright, will bales,
thanks for having some fun with us.
Head back to the pits, and go work on that baby.
Yes, dear.
Kenny, we know how tough a bot gruff was a season ago,
a difficult loss against tombstone.
Here, I think they made a point tonight.
They definitely made a point.
They took out a pretty strong team in hypershock.
And for me, these guys are true underdogs,
and could go very far in the tournament, for sure.
Alright. What another spectacular night
here inside the battle box.
We saw a few rookies get their first career wins,
some returning bots start their seasons off
with a couple of huge kos,
and we witnessed one of the most controversial decisions
we've ever seen here on "battlebots."
we'll see how the action tonight affects teams as they continue
to try to impress the selection committee
for those coveted playoff spots.
For faruq, our bot-whisper peter,
jenny taft back in the pits,
and my man, kenny florian.
I am chris rose.
We'll see you next time on "battlebots."