[electronic sound effects]
robotic voice: Robots, activate.
[theme music]
[cheering]
hi, everybody, and welcome to "battlebots," the show that
lives out your childhood dreams, if your dreams were
watching two robots beat each other
into smoldering heaps of metal.
I'm chris rose.
And speaking of doing a lot of damage, joining me
is former ufc punisher and analyst kenny florian.
Kenny florian: Thanks, chris.
As we move closer to the world championship tournament,
the stakes continue to skyrocket.
Every bout tonight has tournament implications.
Some bots are on the brink of making the bracket,
and tonight's fight is do or die.
Others are almost a lock, so they face a dilemma.
How much risk will they take to get
a better seed, knowing one bad hit could
wreak havoc on their season?
And for the rest, it's playing for pride
and letting it all hang out as a potential spoiler,
and maybe make a loud enough statement to shock
the selection committee.
We have an appetite for destruction,
and the table is set.
Let's see the menu.
Tonight's high-stakes fight card--
it's back to the future as the technological wonder
that is chomp meets the high-impact spinner hijinx.
Kenny florian: And for hijinx captain jen herchenroeder,
not only are her playoff hopes on the line.
She also has a chance to claim a victory over her idol in chomp
captain zoe stephenson.
Chris rose: We may need an exorcism after this one.
Witch doctor, a finalist last season,
couldn't have had a worse start--
two losses, no wins.
Tonight may be the one remaining chance to stay alive.
Kenny florian: Standing in their way and looking to play spoiler
is the undefeated slammow!
Captain craig danby didn't mince words.
He told us, "this will be the biggest match of my career."
chris rose: And in tonight's main event, two killers.
Two wins apiece, both looking to stay perfect.
The deadly snake from the mile high state, copperhead
takes on the battle-tested beast from brazil, black dragon.
But first, we're serving up a good one in our opening bout.
Captain shrederator versus shatter!--
Two bruisers, each with a 1-1 record.
This ought to be a heck of a fight.
Only one way to find out.
Are you ready?
I'm ready.
Faruq, let's get this show started.
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
ladies and gentlemen, it's robot fighting time!
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
in the blue square, it's red, white, and blue,
and it's about to make a scrap heap out of you.
It's the unstoppable spinner here to eat you for dinner,
captain shrederator!
[cheering]
chris rose: Knocked out by lock-jaw
and then a ko of axe backwards.
Brian nave is starting to regain that confidence.
Kenny florian: Definitely.
This is a real crossroads moment for this team.
Captain shrederator has been plagued by reliability issues
for years now, but a win tonight over a tough team like shatter!
Could launch them into the tournament
and do wonders for their reputation.
A loss or breakdown would do exactly the opposite.
As brian would say, this is a spin to win-or-go-home
fight for captain shrederator.
Spin to win!
Faruq tauheed: In the red square, with a bright neon
color scheme, he's incredibly flashy
and the most dangerous vehicle from new york
since they invented the taxi!
It's shatter!
[rock music]
[cheering]
chris rose: Well, check it out--
a very different look for the usually shiny shatter!
What gives, kenny florian?
Kenny florian: Different is right, chris.
After shatter's controversial lost
a malice in its last fight, adam wrigley
is pulling out all the stops.
He's removed that decorative shattering armor
he's become known for, for fear that it
cost him his valuable damage points
in his only loss of the season.
Adam clearly knows what's at stake in this fight,
and he isn't taking any chances.
[cheering]
shatter's one of my favorite robots.
It's a great robot-- it's reliable, it's maneuverable,
it hits hard.
It's gonna be a good fight for us.
It'll test our reliability 'cause it's probably
gonna be the whole distance.
We're feeling better this year.
The robot seems to be holding better.
For some reason, it isn't spinning as hard
and spinning as fast, and I think that's actually
giving us more reliability.
It's reducing our hit power a little bit,
but sometimes you gotta give up power for reliability
if you're gonna make it to the end.
In this fight, we're going to be
taking a more typical approach, a more conservative approach.
We'll try and slow him down before we
hit him with the hammer.
So we've gotta be really careful,
try to keep them from getting up to full speed if we can.
And if they do, then try to slow them down gradually.
There's just so much power in that shell
when it gets up to speed.
[cheering]
robotic voice: Robots, activate.
[cheering]
chris rose: Kenny, it sounds like adam wrigley is gonna play
the waiting game in this one.
Kenny florian: Yeah, he's clearly
willing to absorb some punishment if it
means he can break shrederator and then
safely let the hammer fly.
Let's see if he can pull it off.
Robotic voice: Blue team ready?
Spin to win!
[cheering]
robotic voice: Red team ready?
Spin to lose, buddy.
[laughter]
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
chris rose: Shatter!, shrederator--
a loss here, and it's probably time to pack your bags
and go home.
[cheering]
let the bot battle begin!
Shatter!
Cautiously inching toward shrederator.
[impact]
oh!
Shrederator rips a chunk off shatter!
And lands another jab!
Brian nave draws first blood!
Kenny florian: Shatter!
Absorbed that punishment and is still looking patient, chris.
Chris rose: The bots doing a little tango.
[impact]
oh!
And shrederator dropped another bomb on shatter!
Adam wrigley has gotta be careful he
doesn't spot brian nave too many points here to start, kenny!
Kenny florian: Yeah, clearly adam has
a lot of confidence in shatter!
[impact]
chris rose: Oh!
Another pop by shrederator!
Kenny florian: Team shatter! Is committed
to this strategy, chris.
They want to try and break shrederator
before they drop the hammer.
But you're right, shrederator is racking up points here.
And any one of these shots could rattle shatter's internals
and end this flight.
Chris rose: We're about a minute into the fight.
[impact]
whoa!
Biggest hit of the match!
Kenny florian: And captain shrederator's still spinning.
I don't think they want to be over to the side of that box,
though.
Chris rose: The recoil is always the danger with a full body
spinner in where it ends up and if it's still working
after a major hit, even one in which it dished
out some serious punishment.
Kenny florian: Shrederator a little out of control here.
Chris rose: Ok!
There's the hammer from shatter!
Kenny florian: Uh-oh.
Chris rose: Oh!
And a wild swing!
Kenny florian: This is where captain shrederator
has to attack, though!
Chris rose: Except it's smoking!
It's smoking!
So now, for the first time, captain shrederator's
having trouble moving around.
Oh no!
Kenny florian: Smoke pouring out of their bot!
Chris rose: This is a perfect time
for shatter! To get a hammerhead hit in, and it does!
Kenny florian: Well, the patience
now is paying off for shatter!
They're slowing down, and their strategy is being executed
perfectly at this point.
As predicted, captain shrederator slowing down,
chris.
Chris rose: Adam wrigley called his shot,
and now shatter! Has the opening it was looking for.
Kenny florian: Oh!
Chris rose: Oh.
Oh, another one!
Kenny, the big question here is, can
shatter! Dig itself out of the hole it's in on the scorecards?
Kenny florian: Definitely has some work to do!
Chris rose: And shrederator backed up against the screws
is a bad spot for it.
The hammerhead once, twice, three, four!
Do we have more?
There's definitely little pieces of shrederator
all over the box!
Kenny florian: Shatter!
Is storming back, chris!
Get him, mary!
Chris rose: Oh!
And the pulverizer drops on top, as well.
And again!
Kenny florian: You go!
No, you go!
Chris rose: That was friendly fire!
Look at the hammer head!
Another!
And look at the cracks that are on top
of that captain shrederator!
He's got him pinned!
Kenny florian: This is like a carnival game, chris rose!
[impacts]
chris rose: And shatter! Is actually shattering
to top of shrederator!
That's way too many s's for me at once.
Here we go-- the final few seconds.
Oh!
And on for goodbye still!
Kenny florian: Put an end to this madness!
[cheering]
chris rose: That was a fantastic match!
[cheering]
oh, why does it always do that?
Chris rose: All right, let's go to the bob whisperer.
Pete, what did you see down the stretch?
Pete abrahamson: Well, I saw perfectly executed plan
by shatter! To sort of wait it out,
take the hits in the front of the soft sort of armor
they got to slow down shrederator.
Let shrederator almost be his own enemy,
and then come in once he stops spinning
to actually be able to get the hammer to poke through the top.
Chris rose: So this one goes to the judges,
scoring on an 11-point system.
Up to 5 points can be awarded in the damage
category, 3 for aggression, and 3 for control.
Your judges are all former "battlebots" participants--
derek young, lisa winter, and jason bardis.
[dramatic music]
kenny, the first minute of this fight,
it was pretty much all shrederator.
Kenny florian: Yeah, that's right.
Captain shrederator got off to a great start.
They were picking their shots, kind of sticking and moving.
They did a good job of staying away
from the battle box for the most part,
staying away from those hazards.
But shatter!
Was patient.
Chris rose: And their patience paid off.
Shrederator's reliability issues reared their head.
The shell stopped spinning, and shatter!
Dropped the hammer.
Kenny florian: Boy, did he ever!
But it was a race against the clock for shatter!
To even the scorecards.
Adam let it fly, though, and started
racking up damage points like he was playing a video game.
Chris rose: Heck, even let the pulverizer in on the fun.
Kenny florian: Yeah, how about that?
They have one hammer on their bot.
They're like, you know what, let's make it two.
Help me out here.
You go. Now I go.
You go.
Now I go.
Excellent teamwork there.
Chris rose: It has gone from captain shrederator
to captain colander.
Here's faruq with the judge's decision.
The results from the judges are in.
The winter by unanimous decision is shatter!
[cheering]
[music playing]
[cheering]
good job, adam.
Good fight.
Good job, man.
Chris rose: Adam wrigley, you told us before this fight it
was essentially a playoff game.
Did it have that type of intensity?
It did.
That was a real intense match.
I mean, you felt it the whole day coming up to it.
We went the full 3 minutes.
That was a tough fight.
You talked about your strategy with us,
and I thought you executed it beautifully.
You said it was all about patience, persistence, pacing.
Was that pretty much the way it went down?
Yeah.
You know, I think we executed our strategy in the last match
perfectly.
The strategy was wrong, so we changed it up.
In this match, it worked.
So it's nice to see it come together
and get the win in the end.
But adam, how challenging is that,
when you see the clock and the seconds ticking away,
and you're like, ok, we're a 1:15 in,
and we really haven't fired our weapon yet the way we want to?
Isn't that difficult?
It's frustrating, you know, 'cause we love smashing stuff.
Right?
We want the boom.
And to hold back is really hard.
But we knew it was the right thing to do,
and it paid off in the end.
If you do indeed crack the top 32,
as you expect, how dangerous is this robot?
I think this robot can go all the way, man.
You saw the armor perform out there.
You saw the hammer perform out there.
I think when we're running right, nobody--
nobody can beat this thing.
I remember asking you earlier in the season
after your first win if it's time to let your hair down.
You said, well, maybe later in the season.
Adam, it's later in the season.
I think it's time.
Should I do it?
It's a tight bun.
Yeah.
She made it real tight.
Yeah.
Well, let's see this.
Oh!
There we go!
Holy smokes!
Now that-- ok!
Nice!
All right, he's gonna open for led zeppelin later.
I think al kindle might be a little jealous.
[laughter]
there's plenty of bot builders that
are a little jealous as well.
Adam, congratulations dude.
Thank you very much.
[cheering]
chris rose: So adam wrigley avenges his controversial loss
to malice with a very convincing victory here tonight
that sends him to a strong 2-1.
And for brian nave, it's not looking great for the veteran.
He joins a cluster of teams sitting at 1-2,
just standing in the school yard,
fingers crossed, hoping to be picked
to play in the big tournament.
Coming up, a "battlebots" legend returns to take the wheel,
as gigabyte spins into the box for a showdown with claw viper.
A spot in the top 32 may hang in the balance.
The action continues next on "battlebots!"
we are back on "battlebots."
and right now, we have yet another installment
of tonight's do-or-die saga, as gigabyte
squares off with claw viper.
Both the iconic full-body spinner and the speedy grappler
enter the final match of the qualifiers
with a record of 1-1.
And both desperately need to impress with a win
here if they want to be considered for the world
championship tournament.
So who's it gonna be?
Let's check 'em out inside the box.
Faruq, do your thing.
[cheering]
faruq tauheed: In the blue square,
from oceanside, california, the spinner with the naughty body,
it's gigabyte!
[cheering]
chris rose: Gigabyte knocked out by copperhead,
and then it ko'd extinguisher.
Oh gigabyte, you never looked so good.
Kenny florian: You know who else is looking good?
That man in the middle, matt maxim.
We haven't seen the legendary driver since 2016
with his bot stinger.
He'll be operating the shell spinner
to try and propel them to a crucial victory here tonight.
Faruq tauheed: In the red square,
from seattle, washington, the seattle
face needle, claw viper!
[cheering]
chris rose: Team claw viper, led by kevin milczewski, a software
engineer from seattle, ko'd hijinx
in its "battlebots" debut, then got beat up by black dragon.
Kenny, this is one of the fastest
bots in the entire field.
Kenny florian: Yeah, this thing is lightning fast
but has been bordering on out of control at times this season.
Claw viper needs to be more deliberate with their driving
and avoid those wild box rushes.
You don't want to expose yourself
against a powerful full-body spinner like gigabyte,
especially with a veteran like matt maxim at the controls.
[dramatic music]
[cheering]
so we're 1-1.
The first fight didn't go well because of driving issues,
and floor slippage, and a stress fracture
that was in our main mast that broke when it got a big hit.
So we fixed all those things, and I
don't think we have a chance to make the final 32
without winning this fight.
So this is really important to us.
So gigabyte is a full-body horizontal spinner.
Our strategy is we have a wedge that we
used previously against hijinx.
We're gonna be on him quick, fast, in a hurry, stay on him,
don't let him get spinning.
If gigabyte gets up to full speed, we might be in trouble.
Horizontal spinners, they tend to pop up and come back
down level, still spinning.
So if we pop him up, we have to make
sure to not drive underneath him, 'cause
then he's gonna land on top of our lifter,
still spinning, and chew it all to pieces.
We're gonna try really hard to avoid that.
[cheering]
robotic voice: Robots, activate.
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
let's go, baby.
You and me. Crowd: Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Chris rose: Let the bot battle begin!
Claw viper with a box rush there and a whiff.
That's gonna give gigabyte the time it needs to spin up.
[impact]
whoa!
Kenny florian: Holy smokes!
Chris rose: Claw viper pops gigabyte into the air,
but it sticks the landing, kenny.
Kenny florian: Yacht, claw viper's gotta be
very careful with those hits.
[impact]
chris rose: Wow!
But claw viper so far able to take a punch, kenny.
Kenny florian: Yeah, but it looks like they're
having drive issues here.
[impact]
chris rose: Whoa!
Kenny florian: A little out of control.
That has been their weakness.
They need to lock in.
Chris rose: And gigabyte, of course,
wants to stay into the center of the box.
Anywhere near those graters or screws, it smells trouble.
Back.
His back side!
[impact]
chris rose: Gigabyte rocks claw viper!
And claw viper looks hurt, kenny!
Kenny florian: Yep.
They exposed their back side, and gigabyte caught 'em!
Chris rose: An open invitation for gigabyte
to maybe finish this off.
In the meantime, the pulverizer doing some damage.
And claw viper may have lost its drive.
Pete, is that what you're seeing over there?
Pete abrahamson: I am seeing a wheel roll-off from claw viper.
I'm seeing smoke coming out of the main chassis.
I think it is done.
Chris rose: It is over.
You can hear the countdown.
3, 2, 1.
Claw viper is knocked out!
Winner, gigabyte!
Chris rose: And gigabyte at 1:13 with the knockout!
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
that thing drove like ass.
[dramatic music]
chris rose: Kudos to matt maxim.
First time operating that spinner of gigabyte, kenny.
Kenny florian: It was pretty much all gigabyte.
Claw viper didn't drive a great fight.
They overshot their attacks, and gigabyte lit 'em up.
Chris rose: Pete, when gigabyte is
flying through the air, that's a 50-50 proposition on it.
Right?
Pete abrahamson: Completely.
I mean, the impact of just hitting the ground
from 4 feet up is still rough.
Look at that!
Chris rose: Well, maybe it has now landed
safely in the round of 32.
John mladenik, so was that textbook gigabyte?
It was.
And we had a new guy doing the spin, matt maxim.
Stinger!
Yes.
Welcome back from stinger fame.
So how did he do, john?
He did perfect.
He is so intense and so focused.
So he's really a big help to the team.
Matt, what's it feel like being back?
Uh, stress.
It's stress.
It's a lot of fun.
The energy.
It's hard learning a new bot 'cause I'm so
used to working on my own bot.
So now, everything I do, I have to make
sure I'm doing it right.
So to be on control of the spin was-- was really nerve-racking,
but it seemed to do good.
Well, you know what?
It sure is nice seeing you on the ground
and not flying through the air on fire like last time, matt.
Welcome back.
And john, congratulations to you and team gigabyte.
Thank you.
[cheering]
chris rose: So gigabyte spins its way to 2-1
and sets the table for a 2020 tournament run.
Always great to have a full-body spinner in the mix.
When we come back, zoe stephenson and jen
herchenroeder shift into survival mode,
as chomp faces hijinx.
Both teams are 1-1 with their seasons on the line.
That's coming up next on "battlebots!"
[dramatic music]
we are back on "battlebots."
and up next, kenny, jen herchenroeder
will bring hijinx into the battle box
to face one of the most cutting-edge combat robots
in history, chomp, captained by zoe stephenson.
Let's start with the 500-pound walking marvel that is chomp.
This thing is utterly massive, kenny.
Kenny florian: Yeah, it's basically
two robots in one, chris.
The bottom half controls the legs,
and the top half controls the flamethrower and the hammer.
It's an incredible machine.
But the jury's still out on performance.
Chris rose: You know, after an impressive victory over gamma 9
in its debut fight, there was actually some contender
talk swirling around chomp.
But after a disappointing breakdown
in an untelevised loss to ghost raptor,
zoe stephenson now sits at 1-1 and desperately
needs a win here in her final match
to have a shot at the top 32.
And tonight, she's squaring off against hijinx,
led by jen herchenroeder.
And for jen, there's a lot on the line, not only for her team
but for her personally.
Because she said, listen, if you participate in "battlebots,"
you're gonna end up fighting your friends.
If you hang around long enough, you're gonna
end up fighting your heroes.
And for her, zoe stephenson is truly a hero.
Kenny florian: And she's gonna have
to take down her hero tonight if she
wants her season to continue.
With the loss to claw viper and a knockout of tracer
and an untelevised fight on its resume, hijinx sits at 1-1.
And it needs to impress by knocking
out the 500-pound chomp.
She has a ton of respect for zoe,
but she wants to beat her 'cause she wants
to make it to the round of 32.
Yes.
Let's see who will.
Faruq--
[cheering]
in the blue square, from burbank, california, all rise
for the queen supreme, chomp!
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
chris rose: There it is-- a marvel of engineering, chomp!
And without any new technology, it's all about baby steps.
They've had to work out some reliability issues on the fly.
So the big question-- how does chomp
take care of an undercutter like hijinx, kenny?
Kenny florian: Well chomp's game plan is simple.
They want to occupy the center of the battle box
and wait for hijinx to come to them
so they can catch them with the flamethrower
or drop the hammer.
Their last line of defense is that yellow skirt, positioned
to protect chomp's legs.
In the red square, from oakland, california, the golden
hate warrior, hijinx!
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
chris rose: Kenny, jen told us, I'd be lying if I didn't
say that I wasn't nervous.
Maybe she's trying to hide it behind the cool shades.
Kenny florian: I think she's actually
pretty confident in her bot, chris,
and she likes the match-up.
An undercutter presents a unique challenge for a walker,
so jen has a path to victory against chomp.
She's gonna to go cobra kai and sweep the leg--
or legs in this case.
[cheering]
we only have about 3 minutes of walking in our legs.
So if I got too excited on the drive
and I tried to really skitter around all over the place,
we'd run out of air.
And then we'd be counted out not because of damage
but just because our air tank is empty.
So a thing I keep in mind when I'm driving is, how much of you
have?
Do you really need to make that movement or not?
I think if we can hit them hard before they hit us,
we'll do really well.
It's just coordination, staying calm, and getting
that hammer hit off first.
Chomp and zoe stephenson, that's a legend.
Chomp is the bite force killer.
And what we have now is the bite force killer on steroids.
It is twice as heavy.
It's pretty slow, but it does walk.
I think one of the biggest things we're worried about
is being able to get either under or over the skirt
that's protecting the legs.
If we can get our wedge under that skirt and make an opening,
swing the weapon into it, I'm pretty confident we
can take out some feet.
[dramatic music]
robotic voice: Robots, activate.
[cheering]
chris rose: In a very clever move from jen,
she has padded all hijinx' armor with an extra layer
of vibration-dampening polymer.
We'll see if it's enough to keep the weapon
motor safe from chomp's hammer.
[dramatic music]
[impact]
[dramatic music]
crowd: Fight! Fight!
Fight!
Chris rose: Let the bot battle begin!
Hijinx firing up.
Kenny florian: This is gonna come
down to the height of that blade versus the skirt of chomp.
Chris rose: Bot bots staring each other down.
There's that little flame.
Kenny florian: Chomp using that flame almost like a deterrent,
saying, don't come near me, hijinx!
And hijinx trying to tempt that blade into firing.
[impact]
chris rose: Oh!
Hijinx probing, but chomp staying patient for now.
[cheering]
get around!
Get around!
Chris rose: I feel like I'm watching a nature documentary
and something bad's about to happen here.
Kenny florian: Uh-oh!
[impact]
chris rose: Whoa!
Big shot! - Yes!
Good hit!
Kenny florian: Might be time for chomp to drop the hammer.
Chris rose: Well, it looks like the front
is tilted down a bit, kenny.
Kenny florian: Yeah, it looks like they bent that.
[impact]
oh!
Chris rose: Oh, hijinx slides underneath chomp,
and now attacking those legs!
Kenny florian: Well, this is an excellent strategy here
from hijinx--
that stick and move strategy.
They're waiting for that hammer to fire--
[impact] chris rose: Wow!
Kenny florian: --And land a shot themselves.
Walkers are hit.
Kenny florian: And it looks like hijinx may have
bent chomp's hammer, chris.
Chris rose: Oh, that is gonna be a major, major problem.
Hijinx lining up.
[impact]
oh!
Continues to attack the defenseless chomp's legs.
Kenny florian: And that skirt on chomp
looks like it's been pushed in.
The legs are struggling to move.
And I don't think chomp is mobile at this point.
Whoo!
Referee: 10--
chris rose: The countdown has started!
Referee: 8--
chris rose: Chomp, nowhere to run,
nowhere to hide, except back to the pits with a second loss.
Chomp is knocked out!
Winner, hijinx!
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
chris rose: Kenny, so frequently you talk about patience.
That's what orion beach, the driver of hijinx,
had all night long.
Kenny florian: He's a very skilled driver.
And I think the way that they matched up against chomp,
this is a very tough match-up for that hammer bot.
That horizontal spinner was able to get to the legs.
They got to the armor first.
They compromised that armor.
Then they were taking out that leg.
So they were very methodical in their approach.
Chris rose: Pete, what did you see?
Pete abrahamson: So hijinx waiting for that perfect moment
of the hammer strike to just get underneath it
and kick the legs out.
Kenny florian: And I think that the armor
that they put on the top of their bot
really paid off as well, chris.
That was a very smart adjustment from team hijinx.
Chris rose: And then once chomp kind of
lost its ability to utilize its hammerhead,
it was over as well.
[cheering]
jen herchenroeder--
wow.
Jen, you look like you're in shock.
Are you?
I'm-- I'm elated.
You never know how a match is gonna go.
There's just no way to tell how it's gonna turn out.
We spent a lot of time getting ready for this fight,
knowing that chomp was uniquely capable of doing
serious damage to electronics that we have
stored very near the top armor.
So we took a lot of time to prepare for this.
And I'm just so happy it all worked out!
How amazing has this run been?
This has been everything I could have wanted.
We came with a functioning robot that looks great.
I have a solid team.
We've done incredible work.
I could not be more proud of what
we've accomplished already.
And we want to go all the way.
Jen, congratulations.
Go celebrate with your team.
Thank you very much.
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
chris rose: So team hijinx delivers
a clutch performance to end the qualifiers and improve to 2-1.
Will it be enough to break into the top 32?
For zoe stephenson and chomp, at 1-2, they may be
left on the outside looking in.
However, you cannot say enough about this team.
Every season, they push the boundaries
of this sport with their design and engineering brilliance.
They are true pioneers.
We can't wait to see what next year brings.
All right, coming up, the surprise
storyline of the season.
2019 runner-up witch doctor find themselves in an 0-2 ditch,
desperately needing a victory to keep their tournament
hopes alive.
Slammow!
Stands in their way.
That's next on "battlebots!"
[dramatic music]
we are back on "battlebots."
we've witness three do-or-die fights so far tonight.
And next up, a team trying to come back from the dead.
Witch doctor steps into the box with a surging slammow!
Jenny taft caught up with andrea and mike gellatly
of team witch doctor to see how they plan
on snapping their cold streak.
[dramatic music]
well andrea, mike, I know that there were high expectations
coming into this season.
You start off with a couple losses.
Kraken!
Yeah!
Just talk me through what you've done to the bot,
and the changes and adjustments you've made.
Mike gellatly: This year, one change
that we made is that we made the weapon a little bit harder.
So I mean, our biggest issue the last two fights,
has been our disks failing each time.
We're scrambling for ideas on how to resolve the issue.
And you know, a lot of people are using ar400, ar500 armor.
So the disks our first two matches,
they've basically exploded.
So what changes were made, and how did you do it in time?
The ideal situation was to make new weapon disks
out of a different material.
We had to find the material, which is very difficult to do.
Mike gellatly: So we just messaged everybody.
We actually-- we reached out to al kindle from blacksmith,
who we-- who we fought last year in the top 16.
And he was able to source material for us.
And he was able to get us a dropped piece of ar400
that we were able to pick up yesterday.
Remind me what you were using before.
Andrea gellatly: Before, we were using s7 tool steel.
We're using a material that's a little bit softer.
So we'll be sharpening that between every match.
And in order to get the material the same day,
we couldn't buy just what we needed.
We had to buy a 600-pound piece of material.
Jenny taft: What?
Andrea gellatly: We're driving a minivan.
You can't really put a 600-pound piece of steel in a minivan.
So we had to actually borrow a truck from sporkinok.
And by the time we do all this in la traffic,
it's after 5 o'clock.
So there's no waterjet place that's gonna take us that late.
Jenny taft: Yeah.
Andrea gellatly: But luckily, we're pitted next to chomp, who
has a waterjet at their shop.
And they were competing here late,
but they were so nice to actually take it
back to their shop and babysit the cutting of disks
until 5 o'clock in the morning.
So I understand the, "thanks chomp."
this is a really appropriate gesture.
If you guys go in and do well, this is not
just a win for witch doctor.
There's a lot of people involved in getting this win.
Andrea gellatly: But we're leaving it all on the table
for this match.
I'm not used to seeing witch doctor
kind of scrambling a bit.
This is different for you guys.
I appreciate the time.
Good luck.
Thank you.
Thanks.
Chris rose: Thanks, jenny.
A fascinating look at witch doctor's plagued season.
And speak of the devil--
it's time to see how that new disk will hold.
And remember, if they don't get a win--
and this is what andrea and mike told us.
They said, how could we get put in the round of 32?
We just don't see it happening.
So they have got to upend slammow!
And craig danby.
They're 2-0 with wins over pain train and war?
Ez!, the latter of which was not televised.
And kenny, this may be the biggest fight
of craig danby's entire career.
Kenny florian: I think it is, chris.
After years of struggling, craig has finally
put together a couple of wins.
And while slammow! Has had a relatively weak strength
of schedule, if it can impress here
against a legend like witch doctor,
I think the committee will be hard pressed to leave
them out of the top 32.
A lot riding on this fight.
Faruq.
[dramatic music]
faruq tauheed: In the blue square, more chilling
than a haunted house, more deadly than a scorpion,
it's the most lethal physician since dr. Kevorkian.
Throughout many seasons, it's showed crazy endurance.
And that's not scary enough, this doctor
doesn't take your insurance.
It's witch doctor!
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
chris rose: Losses this season to hydra and kraken.
This team knows it is do-or-die.
Kenny florian: That's never a good position
to be in because you're gonna feel the pressure.
You might be a little more tense.
You might not drive as well.
I'm sure that the team members at witch doctor
would say this would be a complete failure if they
weren't able to make the top 32.
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
[cheering]
faruq tauheed: In the red square,
this bot slams so hard you'd think he was hulk hogan.
And the way he grapples, his matches
should be called by joe rogan.
But whether it's "battlebots," mma, or wwe,
this bot is about to take down his opponent live on your tv.
It's slammow!
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
chris rose: And here's slammow!
Captain craig danby walking with a little swagger.
Do we think the lifter can grapple a win here, kenny?
Kenny florian: Absolutely.
We've seen how effective slammow! Can
be in getting a hold of opposing and dropping
the suplex on them.
Look for them to test witch doctor's new weapon
early on in the fight.
And if they can find a way to break it, slammow!
Can go to town with those grappling arms
and pull off the upset.
This is a huge opportunity for craig danby here.
[cheering]
we're gonna be a little bit more conservative than usual
with our weapon disks.
These disks we just got made overnight.
It's the kind of steel that you see on bulldozers, the really
heavy construction equipment.
It should be more that up to the task for this.
But nothing is really made for "battlebots."
so until we try it in that arena,
we won't know what's gonna happen.
We have to show the selection committee
that they're gonna see an improved witch
doctor for the tournament.
Our weapon cannot stop working.
These disks cannot break this match.
So not only do we have to win, we can't take it to the judges.
We have to make it decisive and short.
So this time around, we're using our triple point grabber.
So we've got a long tongue on the bottom and two hooked claws
on the top.
The idea is that we're gonna try to go straight down the middle,
as close to as possible, and try and get those belts.
So if we can do that, we should be able to grip
on the chassis and the drum and get her up in the air,
and then either just suplex her out of the arena
or just put her onto the screws, or under a hammer.
We'll just keep plodding, and keep
hoping and praying that the robot gods shine on us one more
time.
And we'll see.
We go this.
We got this.
Robotic voice: Robots, activate.
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
[cheering]
chris rose: Will witch doctor's new and improved spinner
be enough to save their season?
Or will slammow!
Play spoiler and launch themselves into the tournament?
Find out next on "battlebots--
fight night."
[cheering]
welcome back to "battlebots."
we've got witch doctor fighting for their lives and slammow!
Looking to play the role of spoiler.
Let's get it on.
[dramatic music]
[cheering]
crowd: Fight! Fight!
Fight!
Chris rose: Let the bot battle begin!
[impact]
kenny florian: Whoa!
Chris rose: And witch doctor goes right into the claws there
of slammow!
Kenny florian: Pretty good start there
for slammow! As it tries to attack
the flank of witch doctor.
Chris rose: And starts pushing witch doctor around.
Kenny florian: Yeah, that front wedge of slammow!
Is working out pretty well for 'em right now.
Chris rose: Will that new ar400 disk hold up for witch doctor?
[impact]
oh yeah!
Doing some serious damage, creating sparks.
But look at slammow! Quickly back him into the corner!
Kenny florian: Oh!
Chris rose: Oh!
Witch doctor rips a chunk off of one of slammow's arms!
And so far so good for that new weapon!
But check out slammow!
Holding witch doctor like a boxer now, trying
to dictate the pace here!
Mike gellatly, one of the best drivers in the biz,
backs up, tries to get a little bit of a run
and then spins around delivering a backside shot.
But look at slammow!
On the reversal.
[impact]
kenny florian: Whoa!
Chris rose: Both teams super aggressive to start
this do-or-die match.
Kenny florian: Might have been a mistake by slammow!
Dropping its grappling arms into witch doctor's weapon.
I think they were trying to test that new disk,
see if they could break it, chris.
But it's held up, and slammow's arms no longer look functional.
[impact]
chris rose: Whoa!
Yeah, that's a big shot!
Big shot again!
Kenny florian: They're taking apart
that side armor, exposing the right side
of the wheels of slammow!
Right now, chris.
Chris rose: Yeah.
And mike gellatly knows that it--
kenny florian: Oh!
There goes some more!
Chris rose: There it is!
Yes!
Chris rose: Now it starts to come
apart like a tuna can a bit.
Kenny florian: Witch doctor fighting like their season
depends on it, and it does.
Chris rose: Yeah, craig danby and slammow's only hope
here is to try and break witch doctor's weapon.
Can they do it?
[impact] kenny florian: Oh!
Chris rose: Nice shot there.
[impact]
kenny florian: Uh-oh!
Chris rose: Now, one thing that witch doctor
has gotta be careful about is sometimes
this robot does overheat.
Does it use too much energy at times?
Kenny florian: Slammow!
Is struggling, chris!
Witch doctor lining up the kill shot!
Chris rose: Oh!
Straight into the rails!
I know that was stupid.
Kenny florian: Not the battle box!
Take it easy.
Chris rose: And with under a minute to go, slammow!
And craig danby only rotating in a circle.
Have to show some sort of controlled movement
for the fight to continue, or he's facing a countdown.
Come on!
Referee: 10--
chris rose: Here comes the countdown.
8--
chris rose: Witch doctor is going
to chalk up that first victory of the season
and keep its dreams for the round of 32 alive.
Referee: --1.
Slammow! Is knocked out!
Winner, witch doctor!
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
[cheering]
chris rose: You heard it from andrea.
This is the witch doctor they've been waiting for.
Kenny florian: Yeah, absolutely.
And they took out a very tough and durable bot in slammow!
In the process.
Landed some great hits.
Slammow!
Had some great moments early in the fight.
They did a great job of attacking around the sides.
And I think their biggest mistake was going weapon
to weapon with witch doctor.
I think they were hoping maybe that they
had the same kind of weapon, and that it might break.
That was not the case.
They did a great adjustment in finding this ar400 steel.
Chris rose: Eventually taking off so much of slammow!
That it couldn't do anything but roll around in circles.
And that's not good enough to prevent a ko.
Kenny florian: And right here is the final hit
from witch doctor.
Kind of teasing slammow!
Boom!
Attack from the side, picking apart those wheels,
taking off the side armor first, and, bit by bit,
winning this fight.
[cheering]
chris rose: Andrea, there you go!
Yes.
Did I just hear that you told your husband, we're back?
Yeah.
The witch is back.
That's the witch doctor we're used to seeing,
not what we've seen in the first two fights.
Is this more of a relief than anything else?
Absolutely.
I mean, coming off a finals run last year,
you know, we thought we might not
make the tournament this year.
I mean, we still might not make the tournament,
but at least we have a chance, I think, with the show
we put on with hydra and taking kraken in the distance.
I mean, it's out of our hands now,
but we feel we do what we could.
And those disks did not break, which
is all we were hoping for.
You know, when you're trying out a weapon for the first time
and you're 0-2 at this point in the season, you
start to second guess yourself.
What were you guys feeling before this fight?
I definitely feel a lot of pressure in this fight,
because, like andrea said, you know, if we didn't win this,
there's no way we're getting into the tournament.
And andrea, if you guys are fortunate enough
to make it into the round of 32, should other bots be scared?
I think if everybody's been watching,
they know exactly how scared to be.
Got it.
Go celebrate with the rest of your team.
Good job.
Congratulations. - Thank you guys.
Thank you.
[cheering]
chris rose: So andrea gellatly and a very relieved team witch
doctor put out a show for the committee
just in the nick of time.
And congrats to craig danby on the best season of his career.
Slammow!
Put up a respectable showing in this fight.
And at 2-1, do not count them out of this tournament
just yet.
Coming up, sound the alarm!
Extinguisher is determined to snuff
out the fire-breathing gruff's chances of making the top 32.
That's on "battlebots--
fight night," and it's next.
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
[cheering]
welcome back to "battlebots," where
the fight to make the world championship tournament
continues.
Up next, it's gruff versus extinguisher.
Kenny, with a knockout win over hypershock and a loss
in a judge's decision to whiplash,
gruff enters its final match of the qualifiers
with a record of 1-1 but a solid strength of schedule.
Kenny florian: That's right.
Sam mcamis told us he's feeling confident in that 1-1 record.
But in my opinion, this is a big one for gruff.
With so many teams in the mix this year,
the margins for making the tournament will be razor thin.
Luckily, they're the favorite in this fight.
I expect them to handle their business tonight and punch
their ticket to the tournament.
Chris rose: They will be facing 0-2 extinguisher, who
got knocked out by 11-year-old tyler nguyen and perfect
phoenix in its first fight, then suffered
the same fate against gigabyte.
Kenny florian: Yeah, it's been a tough season for them so far.
But you know, extinguisher has the chance
to play spoiler here against a high-profile bot in gruff.
It's a tall order, but even going the distance with gruff,
would do wonders for this team's reputation.
Faruq, do what you do.
In the blue square, from tampa, florida,
you're gonna get hosed.
Here comes extinguisher!
[cheering]
chris rose: Extinguisher captained
my 18-year-old college freshman john flaacke.
His parents owned a company that recycled electronics
when he was a kid.
One day, dad brought home an old robot.
John took it apart.
And guess what?
He was hooked.
Kenny florian: That's right.
John built his first heavyweight robot at the age of 12.
He's going with extinguisher's vertical disk configuration
tonight since it's capable of inflicting the most damage.
Makes sense, as he's facing one of the most well-armored bots
in the field, gruff.
In the red square, from palm harbor, florida,
it's into the rough stuff.
It's gruff!
[cheering]
chris rose: Gruff trying to bounce back after it lost
a decision against whiplash.
1-1-- this is a huge, huge fight for them.
Kenny florian: These guys are just so durable.
Their flame throwers are extremely potent.
They need this win right here.
Chris rose: And here's a nifty little "battlebots"
fun fact for you.
Sam mcamis is actually a teacher in john flaacke's florida
school district, and has even tutored some members
of team extinguisher.
Kenny florian: Think he'll assign more homework
if they beat him tonight?
[cheering]
to prepare for tonight's match-up with gruff,
we're coating our electronics with some kevlar
so that's the flames can't get into the electronics
and melt them as much.
We want to prove that we're able to actually last
3 full minutes in a fight with a robot
that's not a giant spinner.
We're running the vertical spinner with a few wedgelets
to help us get under them.
And then we're gonna try to be a lot
more aggressive driving-wise, instead of defensive.
So we're fighting extinguisher tonight.
Our biggest concern going into this fight
is just being able to get our drivetrain problem solved.
We've got a solution for it.
I feel like we need to win this fight
to guarantee a shot in the 32.
I feel like, if we win it, we'll be a pretty good position.
If we lose it, it's--
it's gonna be tough.
We might barely squeak in, but it's
hard, with a record of 1-2, to make it into the top 32.
[cheering]
it looks like an anime puppy.
I know.
It looks cool.
That's why I spun the thing so it was down.
Robotic voice: Robots, activate.
[cheering]
chris rose: Ah, it looks like extinguisher
did a little paint job to its bar in the center, kenny.
Kenny florian: Yeah, a little dalmatian--
the dalmatian colors.
Very creative.
But you know what I don't like about that bot is the fact
that it looks very high.
I think gruff's gonna be able to get underneath that repeatedly,
chris.
Chris rose: And as far as gruff goes, if there's ever
a bot that truly lives up to its name,
it's this creation by sam mcamis.
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
robotic voice: Blue team ready?
[cheering]
red team ready?
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
crowd: Fight! Fight!
Fight!
Chris rose: Let the bot battle begin!
Extinguisher quick on the draw.
Kenny florian: Oh!
Chris rose: Nice block from extinguisher,
and continues to walk gruff down!
[cheering]
oh, but here comes gruff on the counter,
giving the youngster a taste of that flame
up close and personal.
Kenny florian: Gruff got the low ground there.
Chris rose: And here they are again,
flipping extinguisher on its head
and driving them into the screws!
That was nice!
That is a bad spot for them!
This is the worse one!
Kenny florian: Uh-oh!
Chris rose: Oh, looking to suplex!
Kenny florian: Oh!
Could he pull it off?
Chris rose: Come on!
Kenny florian: Oh, can't quite lift him up, though, chris.
Chris rose: No, can't.
Kenny florian: Oh, he's trying to get some momentum
to try to get that lift going.
Chris rose: And--
kenny florian: So close!
Extinguisher isn't having it!
Chris rose: Nope!
Kenny florian: Oh!
Chris rose: Wow!
Ok, I'll just toast you instead!
Oh yeah!
Kenny florian: Wow!
Chris rose: That's some strength right there!
Can gruff complete the suplex?
Oh, there he goes!
Yes!
That is one of my favorite moves inside the battle box!
Whoa!
Nice!
Kenny florian: Gruff is dominating this fight, chris!
Chris rose: Just delivering the beating all around the box!
Kenny florian: That is just sheer brutality
there from gruff.
Sam mcamis determined to keep the pressure on extinguisher
here.
Chris rose: Under 90 ticks to go.
Gruff well ahead on points at this stage,
but not content to sit back and burn clock.
Looking to keep that lifter active, kenny.
Kenny florian: Yeah, and that vertical spinner
on extinguisher looks to be out of commission.
Oh!
And here's gruff with another blast of flame
to the face of extinguisher.
[cheering]
john flaacke has to be careful here.
He's done an admirable job with extinguisher in this fight.
The bot is moving better than we've seen it before, chris.
Chris rose: No question about it.
Gruff goes for the lift, but-- oh, but look at this, kenny!
- Oh, he's smoking! - Go!
Go!
Kenny florian: Oh my goodness!
Gruff is smoking, and I mean really smoking!
This is bad news for sam mcamis!
He may have burned out his motors, chris!
Chris rose: You have got to be kidding me!
After dominating this fight, gruff now struggling to move!
Kenny florian: Sam mcamis just can't believe
what he's seeing right now.
What an upset this would be.
Chris rose: Oh, the ref is hovering.
I need to see controlled movement!
Kenny florian: If they can just make it
to the closing bell, chris, they are still way ahead on points!
Extinguisher is already celebrating!
Referee: 10--
chris rose: Oh, but here comes the countdown!
And with 15 seconds left, if gruff can't stop it,
they're gonna get counted out!
Referee: 4, 3--
chris rose: Oh, what a hopeless feeling for sam mcamis!
Referee: Knockout!
[cheering]
chris rose: Unreal!
[cheering]
kenny florian: Wow!
Wow!
[dramatic music]
chris rose: You know, kenny, things we're working
really well for gruff early on.
He seemed to have this match in control.
Kenny florian: Definitely.
You know, he's gotta be super disappointed right now.
He had some amazing moments, both with his fire,
with his grappler bot.
Hit a beautiful suplex, was carrying the extinguisher bot
all over the battle box.
But I think he maybe put a little too much effort into it
and burnt out his motors.
Chris rose: And that is such the key.
This is a 3-minute fight.
And how many builders have told us
that 3 minutes feels like 10 minutes when
you're outside the battle box?
Because you just don't know, so much can
go wrong at any given second.
Kenny florian: Being able to pace yourself
and also manage your aggression.
I think he was out there to really
try to impress the selection committee with this win.
And he burnt out his drivetrain in the process.
[music playing]
chris rose: John flaacke, how surprised
are you that you were able to reverse
the fortune of your robot midway through that fight?
It was pretty good.
We haven't had a lot of luck this season,
and some of the stuff that we've been doing during our downtime
is kind of paying off.
Were you a lot more satisfied with how
extinguisher was driving?
Yeah.
It really liked driving with the spinner
on it instead of the hammer.
I think the weight was making it a little bit
easier to control with the differences
in where the weight was.
John, congratulations.
Is that the most frightening firefighter
you've ever seen over your left shoulder, by the way?
No, that's just my dad.
He's like our mascot.
Yeah, he is kind of the team mascot.
Well, go celebrate with the team mascot.
You got your first win of the season.
Good job.
Thank you.
[cheering]
chris rose: So extinguisher ends it's
2020 campaign on a high note with by far and away the best
performance of its career.
And for team gruff, an absolutely disastrous end
to the qualifying rounds, losing to a winless bot
and perhaps jeopardizing their hopes of making
it into the tournament.
Coming up, two students, one master.
Perfect phoenix and atom#94 square
off in the battle of ray billings
disciples on "battlebots--
fight night," and it's next.
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
welcome back to "battlebots."
we are just one fight away from tonight's main event.
But up next, a battle from a galaxy far, far away--
or in this case, los angeles.
We've got two disciples of the sith lord himself,
ray billings, battling for supremacy, as perfect
phoenix clashes with atom#94.
Let's start with the youngling.
Perfect phoenix is captained by 11-year-old tyler nguyen.
His mom, julie johnson, is dating ray billings.
So ray acts as a mentor to tyler.
Is he really 11?
I want to check his license.
He's uber smart.
Kenny florian: Yeah.
Tyler could read by the age of two.
He's been tinkering with robots since the age of six.
And in his debut season here on "battlebots,"
the kid isn't just happy to be here.
He wants to make the top 32.
Chris rose: Well, standing in his way is
yash deshmukh and atom#94, who also counts
ray billings as a mentor.
Ray helped guide yash through the early stages
of building his bot.
Kenny florian: Yeah, atom#94 is a dual vertical disk spinner
capable of reaching 5,600 rpm.
It's dangerous, but yash has struggled
with reliability issues in his rookie season.
He has one more chance to impress his mentor, ray, who
will be in attendance tonight.
Let's see if he can get it done.
Faruq, do your thing.
[cheering]
in the blue square, from herndon, virginia, put 'em up,
here comes killy the kid.
It's perfect phoenix.
[cheering]
chris rose: And here come the little dudes.
Tyler nguyen, perfect phoenix--
they sit at 1-1 with a ko of extinguisher,
also a loss to skorpios.
And make no mistake about it, kenny, they are fighting
for their tournament lives.
Kenny florian: No doubt.
But hey, with extinguisher just having beaten gruff,
tyler's strength of schedule is suddenly on the rise.
But perfect phoenix has very little
room for error in this match.
They need a knockout of atom#94 here
to make a case for the top 32.
In the red square, from india by way of canada,
it puts the bomb in bombay.
It's atom#94!
Chris rose: There is yash deshmukh from calgary, alberta.
Atom#94 is 0-2 with losses to big dill and tantrum.
It has not been the best of debuts for this squad, kenny.
Kenny florian: It hasn't.
But yash has a real opportunity in this match
to right the ship, impress his mentor,
and play spoiler to perfect phoenix all at the same time.
And top 32 or not, getting your first "battlebots" win
is a huge motivation for any builder.
This is the major leagues, folks.
All of these teams want to continue to prove
they deserve to be here.
[cheering]
so tonight, I'm fighting against atom#94.
And I'm feeling pretty--
I'm feeling pretty good about it.
My bot has the speed advantage.
So I think I might get into a good position around atom#94.
We're fighting quite a-- a pretty big spinner here.
So the red bar is made of s7 steel, which
runs the risk of snapping every time you hit the other bot,
especially a spinner like atom.
So I chose the blue bar for better, like, absorption.
And it'll dish out comparable power to the red bar.
The first floor strategy from my side
is to remove his spinner because I have that heavy weight
moving in front of my bot.
And that could probably help me a lot in breaking the blade
or most probably taking the blade off.
So that would be my first point.
And apart from there, like, maneuvering my bot
into the arena so, like, I won't be exposed to any damage
from the back side of my bot and my wheels.
So that would be my strategy for this match.
And taking it to be at a ray billings-built bot,
that makes a lot importance for me to win this match.
So this match is, like, just win, just win, just win.
There's nothing like lose and [inaudible]..
[cheering]
robotic voice: Robots, activate.
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
[cheering]
chris rose: Yash deshmukh, tyler nguyen--
the battle of ray billings disciples.
There can only be one winner.
Crowd: Fight! Fight!
Fight!
Chris rose: Let the bot battle begin!
Both teams going with the black and blue color scheme here.
Perfect phoenix up to full speed.
And now--
kenny florian: Oh!
Chris rose: Oh, what a collision!
Kenny florian: Uh-oh, there's a bot part.
I think it came off-- [impact]
chris rose: Whoa!
Collision!
Whoa!
Get away from me, please!
Kenny, you should have caught it like a foul ball.
Kenny florian: Look at the vertical
disk spinner for atom#94.
That is completely compromised.
Chris rose: It is not working at all.
And perfect phoenix's blade is still working.
And look at the little guy!
He's still on the attack!
Kenny florian: Little fireworks display right in front of us.
[impact]
chris rose: Oh!
Atom#94 just sticks its grill right
in the face of perfect phoenix and takes a shot at the schnoz!
Kenny florian: And without its primary weapon,
atom#94 is in a tough spot now.
They're gonna have to stay aggressive and try
and break perfect phoenix's weapon, see if they
can even the score here.
[impact]
chris rose: Oh!
But perfect phoenix showing no signs of letting up, kenny.
You think tyler should throttle down here and maybe
run a little bit of a clock?
Kenny florian: He's an 11-year-old looking
to make a statement, chris!
Chris rose: Oh jeez!
This is what we're talking about!
Perfect phoenix is now starting to smoke.
The weapon is not working at all.
Atom#94 is ecstatic.
But here's perfect phoenix right back on the attack.
Kenny florian: Yep, he transitioned
right into a wedge bot.
Didn't really take any time to go right
back on the offensive, chris.
Chris rose: Now the question is, how long can either these bots
make it?
Can they make it another 90 seconds?
There you go.
Kenny florian: Well, we are a little bit more than halfway
there.
And you can see all the damage to that
primary weapon of atom#94.
That's not gonna look good to the judges.
Chris rose: And remember, in that all-important damage
category, things are heavily weighted toward damage
done by an active weapon.
We saw plenty from perfect phoenix,
very little to none by atom#94.
Kenny florian: Tyler staying nice and calm,
trying to continue attacking the sides.
Atom#94 having some control issues here.
But yash deshmukh has done a good job
of staying square to tyler.
Chris rose: And now the bots locking horns in the center
of the battle box.
Kenny florian: Both these guys need
to be careful with this shoving match, this pushing match.
They don't want to burn out their motors.
45 seconds more!
Chris rose: That maybe atom#94's best hope, to try and stop
perfect phoenix's drivetrain.
Kenny florian: Uh-oh.
Nice attack there from perfect phoenix!
Chris rose: Nice work taking him into to the rails.
Kenny florian: Perfect phoenix with great control there!
Chris rose: 11-year-old tyler nguyen--
you gotta think maybe he's 25 seconds from a second victory
this season, maybe a berth in the round of 32.
An unbelievable story-- the youngest
captain this season in "battlebots."
meanwhile, can atom#94 make a final push here and give
the judges something to think about as we
approach the closing bell?
Kenny florian: Oh!
And there's perfect phoenix starting to smoke, chris!
Chris rose: How about that?
The horn sounds just in time for young tyler nguyen!
Unbelievable!
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
I don't know who they'll give this to.
[dramatic music]
chris rose: Kenny, both students of ray billings.
These teams came out looking for action, just like their mentor.
Kenny florian: Yeah, they weren't
afraid to go weapon to weapon.
Here's atom#94 with a monster shot
towards the start of the fight.
Look out, chris!
I have no idea how perfect phoenix
landed right side up there.
Chris rose: But atom#94 destroyed its
primary weapon in that exchange, and perfect
phoenix didn't let up.
Kenny florian: That's right.
And may have let atom#94 back in this fight
by failing to pace themselves and breaking
their weapon in the process.
From there on out, we had a pushing match on our hands.
Chris rose: So how do you think the judges
are gonna break this down?
Kenny florian: Well, both bots were aggressive.
Perfect phoenix had some great control moments.
Check them out throwing atom#94 into the side of the box.
I think tyler did more damage.
But a very interesting moment here
at the closing bell, as perfect phoenix started smoking.
You never want to leave that type of image
with the judges as the last impression.
Chris rose: Let's go to faruq with the decision.
[cheering]
the results from the judges are in.
[dramatic music]
the winner by unanimous decision is perfect phoenix!
[cheering]
yes!
Yes!
[cheering]
[music playing]
great job, guys!
Tyler nguyen, what's that little celebratory
dance you're doing, man?
Well, it was 'cause a 2-1 record is
a really good record for the-- that might
get me into the round of 32.
So tyler, let's look overall at your résumé.
You're 2-1.
Your one loss is to skorpios.
Your overall record is better than tombstone's.
Isn't that good?
That's definitely really good.
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
Let's go.
Yeah, that's really good because our record
will be higher than ray's record going into the round of 32.
Are you gonna let him know about it?
Well, it looks like he already kind
of knows about it right now.
Yeah.
Listen, you've done an amazing job so far.
Hopefully, we'll see you in the round of 32.
Why don't you and sawyer leave us
once again with that celebratory dance on the way out, ok?
Let's-- yeah, yeah.
Yeah, that's good, bro.
All right, rock it!
Good job, tyler nguyen.
Everybody's proud of you.
Yeah.
[cheering]
so tyler nguyen continues to impress,
and quite possibly punches his ticket to the tournament.
Nobody's gonna want to face that kid.
All right, kenny, the 2020 season
has been one of the most action-packed
in the history of "battlebots."
in the end, 59 teams made it into the arena
to compete under the bright lights.
And as always, we didn't have time to show you everything.
So here are some highlights from a match
with tournament implications that
didn't make it to your screen.
[dramatic music]
after an epic win over huge in a fight
that immediately flipped itself into a classic--
wow!
Kenny florian: Whoa!
Chris rose: --Ricky willems and mammoth ran into some adversity
against hypershock.
[impact]
kenny florian: Oh, he's dead!
Chris rose: But in an untelevised match-up
versus the struggling rookie deadlift,
mammoth was expected to right the ship.
Let the bot battle begin!
And they came out swinging!
Kenny florian: There's a little punt from mammoth.
Get out of here, deadlift!
Chris rose: But after losing their primary weapon
halfway through the match--
kenny florian: Uh-oh, there goes that chain.
Chris rose: --They were forced to improvise
in order to save their season.
Kenny florian: It's now gonna be a pushing fight.
Chris rose: Yeah, and that is not
what mammoth is built to be.
Kenny florian: Mammoth doing a good job pushing him around.
Chris rose: And after a shoving match
that lasted until the closing bell--
[buzzer sounds]
whoo!
Best we could do!
Chris rose: --Mammoth's fate was left
in the hands of the judges.
The winner, mammoth!
Chris rose: And although they finished the season at 2-1,
mammoth is still left wondering whether their chances
of making the tournament have gone extinct.
[dramatic music]
thank you to all of the builders who made the trip during a year
where just getting here was an achievement itself.
This has truly been a season like no other.
We cannot wait to see what next year brings.
[dramatic music]
coming up, it's the big one, our main event--
copperhead versus black dragon.
Two undefeated teams on the hunt for a perfect season and
a high seed in the tournament.
That is next on "battlebots--
fight night."
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
welcome back to "battlebots."
after a night chock full of high stakes action,
it is time for the main event of the evening,
copperhead versus black dragon.
Two undefeated bots targeting a high seed
in this year's tournament.
These teams have some history.
They're looking to make history this year
with a run at the giant nut.
Take a look.
[dramatic music]
kenny florian: Oh!
In the fight against claw viper,
we managed to hit them again and again and again.
Chris rose: Claw viper's got some serious problems.
Kenny florian: Oh, ho, ho!
And eventually, we knocked out.
Chris rose: Congratulations, as you improve to 2-0.
By brazil!
We've had two knockouts.
Kenny florian: Whoa!
Chris rose: That was a massive hit!
The shell is off of gigabyte!
Just completely tore apart gigabyte.
[cheering]
p1--
chris rose: Whoa!
Kenny florian: Oh!
--Shattered every single bolt on their wedge.
Kenny florian: Is there another bot out
there that you'd like to face?
You know what?
Black dragon.
[cheering]
we go way back.
So you're calling him out?
You would like the schedule makers
to put that one on the docket?
Yeah, let's-- let's put black dragon in.
We have met multiple times in the past at smaller events,
and it's always a really close fight.
[dramatic music]
in this fight against copperhead,
we want to use our speed.
[dramatic music]
we think that we are faster than copperhead,
so we can go around and try to knock him in the right spots.
Chris rose: Oh!
Nice shot by black dragon!
I know their strategy.
They like to get really fancy with the driving,
get around to the side.
So I'm not gonna give 'em that opportunity.
I'm just gonna stay trained on him, pointed, get the drum
spun up, and make a big impact.
[dramatic music]
chris rose: Whoa!
Yes!
Faruq tauheed: Black dragon!
In this fight against copperhead,
we are using the egg beater because it's the strongest
weapon that we have.
Egg beater is good against huge weapons.
We don't want our weapon to break.
We don't want to lose our weapons.
Faruq tauheed: Copperhead!
Zach groff: It's gonna be a slugfest.
Someone's probably gonna have to be doing a lot of repairs
after it.
And if we end up pulling off a great match, I mean,
people are gonna be throwing some mad respect at copperhead.
I think we'll be a pretty high seeded in the tournament.
If we win this fight, no one should take us for granted.
Robotic voice: Robots, activate.
I want to dig in deep and get a big
old juicy bite of the other robot
and toss 'em through the air.
Black dragon wants the giant nut this year.
We want to go to the title.
Chris rose: Copperhead and black dragon
hunting that oh-so-important high seed, something that
is vital to any team looking to make a run at the "battlebots"
world championship title.
Let's check it out.
Faruq.
[cheering]
ladies and gentlemen--
[cheering]
--it's robot fighting time!
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
in the blue square, get ready to cobra die.
It's the killer snake from the rockies, yo.
It'll karate chop you like early ralph macchio.
Hi-ya!
You're dead.
It's copperhead!
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
chris rose: Knockout wins over gigabyte and p1.
And that drum spinner is flat out nasty.
Kenny florian: Yeah, it really sounds like a jet engine
when it fires up.
And I love the boldness in his call out of black dragon.
Chris rose: Is black dragon a good opponent for copperhead?
Kenny florian: You know what?
It's tricky.
I think that black dragon has faced minotaur many times.
They know that bot inside and out.
And copperhead is a very similar bot to minotaur.
[dramatic music]
[cheering]
faruq tauheed: In the red square, I am bragging,
I know my dragons from martin to tolkien and bilbo baggins.
From dragon to mushu, you can come ask me.
I got a phd in dragonology.
Now adding another to the dragon hall of fame,
it's the robot black dragon.
Remember his name.
It's black dragon!
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
chris rose: Won a judge's decision over kraken.
Also knocked out claw viper to get here.
And for the first time this season,
kenny, the egg beater has made an appearance.
[cheering]
kenny florian: That's right.
They've broken out their trademark egg beater drum
for this one, the same weapon that
was vital in their huge upset over minotaur last season.
Copperhead's weapon is, by comparison,
very similar to minotaur's.
It's a proven strategy that's worked well for them already.
[cheering]
chris rose: Let's bring in our bot whisperer.
Pete, is there any drawback to running a high velocity
weapon like copperhead has?
We'll, watch in this fight.
When you're gonna see that weapon fully spun up
and copperhead goes to make a turn,
you're gonna see a lot of gyroscopic forces
that are gonna pick copperhead up on one wheel-- on an edge.
And they could use it as a move to attack downward, like you'll
see with daniel and minotaur.
But black dragon could also take advantage of that moment
while they're up to get to the underside.
[cheering]
robotic voice: Robots, activate.
[cheering]
chris rose: It is two undefeated beasts trying to move
to the top of the food chain.
Copperhead, black dragon-- who will
complete the perfect season?
[dramatic music]
find out next on "battlebots."
[dramatic music]
whoa!
Biggest hit in the match by shatter!
Adam wrigley: Everything worked pretty much exactly
as it's supposed to work.
This right here is the ablative armor,
the black uhmw polyethylene piece behind all the triangles.
So this fight, we ran without 'em so there's no confusion
about what's happening.
I don't want people saying there's damage happening
that's just decorative.
You can see there's a lot of gouges in this.
That's what's supposed to happen.
So when the shrederator hits other robots,
like axe backwards, he sends them flying across the arena
and breaks pieces off.
When he hits this plastic, we still go a little bit flying,
but instead he's tearing and slicing it.
This drastically reduces the g forces
that we see in our robot.
Chris rose: Shrederator-- he's got him pinned!
Kenny florian: Shot after shot for shatter!
Adam wrigley: I think we're starting
to prove to other people that we're a top team to beat.
I think we're in a great spot.
I don't know who's gonna take us out.
In every fight, our strategy has worked to plan.
We've just gotta make sure we have the right strategy going
into the fight.
[dramatic music]
[robotic sound effects]
[dramatic music]
chris rose: Welcome back to "battlebots," where
the final main event of this year's qualifying rounds
is about to begin.
It is copperhead versus black dragon.
Two undefeated teams, only one can stay that way.
Robotic voice: Blue team ready?
[cheering]
red team ready?
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
[cheering]
let's do it.
Crowd: Fight! Fight!
Fight!
Chris rose: Let the bot battle begin!
Kenny florian: Uh-oh!
Chris rose: Copperhead's either stuck or playing coy
and takes a shot right in the kisser.
And the mini copperhead just got its snake head decapitated!
But it looks like copperhead go the wake
up call it needed, going to work on the sides of black dragon!
[impact]
whoa!
Kenny florian: Oh!
Big shots by copperhead!
Chris rose: Take that, black dragon!
Threw it right into the driver's window.
Kenny florian: Whoa!
Chris rose: Holy smokes!
Black dragon inverted it in that exchange.
They're driving upside down now, and they're gonna have to find
a way to get back over here.
[impact]
oh!
Kenny florian: I saw a belt come off!
I believe that's off of black dragon, chris!
That's not good!
You see the primary weapon starting to slow down?
Not the case for copperhead!
He's just getting started!
Chris rose: That is a game-changer, folks!
That egg beater weapon is toast, and the brazilians
are behind the eight ball.
[impact]
oh!
Kenny florian: Oh man, copperhead
just destroying black dragon--
chris rose: Wow!
Kenny florian: --From the bottom up.
Chris rose: But there is no quick from the brazilian squad!
They are right back into it!
And--
kenny florian: Oh!
Chris rose: Sending him into the screws!
Bring it!
Whoo!
Chris rose: Black dragon is chopped!
Kenny florian: Oh!
Chris rose: Oh!
Copperhead flips black dragon again!
But here they come, and they are hungry for more!
[impact]
kenny florian: Whew!
Black dragon just throwing themselves
face first into copperhead's weapon, chris!
Feels like they're determined to try and break it
and get back into this fight!
Chris rose: We are 90 seconds into this match,
and it looks like black dragon's aggression
may be starting to pay off.
Copperhead having some drive issues now.
[impact]
kenny florian: Whoa!
Chris rose: A shower of sparks inside the battle
box, as black dragon's starting to smell a comeback now!
Smothering copperhead in the back half of this main event!
Wow!
Kenny florian: Copperhead looks hurt here, chris!
Not sure if they've lost that drum spinner
or if they powered it down.
The bot is still moving, though.
Chris rose: Yeah, but it's not moving well, kenny.
Kenny florian: No, it isn't.
Chris rose: The drum is back firing,
but it is having major drive issues.
Can the brazilians complete the comeback
and stop copperhead for good?
45 seconds left.
Oh!
The kill saws get to the underbelly of copperhead!
Kenny florian: What a move by gabriel
teles, pushing copperhead into the kill saws like that!
Are you kidding me?
Chris rose: Both bots seem to be moving ok, kenny.
But they both look exhausted.
Kenny florian: This has been an absolute war.
It's a shame someone has to lose this fight.
Chris rose: Unbelievable as this fight
between copperhead and black dragon goes the distance!
Oh so impressive!
[buzzer sounds]
[cheering]
kenny florian: Wow!
What a fight!
[dramatic music]
that was tough!
[cheering]
chris rose: Kenny, early on, copperhead seemed
to do whatever it wanted.
Kenny florian: Yeah, it was doing
a great job of continually getting
underneath black dragon.
Copperhead landing some beautiful shots.
And there it is.
There are the belts coming off that primary weapon
of black dragon.
Chris rose: There's been less that has killed other bots,
though.
The fact that black dragon was still working,
kenny, nothing short of remarkable.
Kenny florian: Yeah, couldn't agree more.
Black dragon is as tough as they come.
Chris rose: Wow!
Kenny florian: The egg beater was disabled,
but it kept going nose to nose with copperhead repeatedly.
They made a big time comeback in this fight.
Slowed copperhead down and almost took out their weapon.
If they had done that, they would have given the judges
some serious food for thought.
Chris rose: So what do you think, the decision
goes to copperhead?
Kenny florian: I just don't see how black dragon overcomes
the loss of their weapon.
But as we've seen, anything could happen.
Chris rose: Off to faruq, who's got the decision.
[cheering]
the results from the judges are in.
[tense music]
the winter by unanimous decision is--
copperhead!
[cheering]
[music playing]
chris rose: Zach goff.
Hey zach, over here, man.
Thank you.
How does 3-0 taste?
Oh, it's so delicious.
It just fills me with joy.
How pleased are you with copperhead and
how it's working?
Oh, it's working outstanding.
I think we're getting a little hot in the box
there at the tail end of the match.
That was such a slugfest.
Zach, you had a slow start.
Was that by design, or was there an issue with--
with the drive?
That was the strategy.
So I've gone against these guys so many times in the past.
We've kind of got a dance that we
do, so following the choreography
that we've kind of established.
It worked out for copperhead.
You know, you guys were obviously very durable.
But did you expect that from black dragon?
I mean, you guys had some epic hits out there.
Jeez, I know!
They were-- I mean, that's an amazing robot.
It never stopped working.
If we didn't see cinch those belts off,
they might have taken it.
But they lost their weapon, and I think
that was the key to the battle.
And yeah, I mean, it's an amazingly durable robot.
So mad props to them for building a great machine.
Zach, great job out there.
Congratulations on a 3-0 regular season.
Job well done. - Appreciate it.
Thank you very much.
[cheering]
chris rose: So black dragon finishes
its qualifying campaign on a disappointing note,
but I think we all know it's not a team you want
to draw in the round of 32.
Look out.
Meanwhile, the still-undefeated copperhead
looks primed to make some real noise
in this year's tournament.
And it is certainly in position to score a top five seed.
As for the 12 other bots at tonight's fight card,
they are officially playing the waiting game.
Witch doctor finally got the monkey off its back,
reminding the "battlebots" universe
just how destructive it can be.
In contrast, sam mcamis and gruff
might have doused their chances of making
the top 32 with that loss to the struggling extinguisher.
But all we have is conjecture as our field of 59
eagerly awaits word from the selection committee.
So tune in next time as the world championship bracket
is cemented, and we find out which
32 robots will have a shot at hoisting the giant nut.
We shall see.
So that'll do it for tonight.
For jenny taft, and faruq, and our bot
whisperer, pete, and my man kenny florian, I'm chris rose.
We'll see you next time on "battlebots."
[cheering]
[music playing]