[narrator] under the brightest of lights,
on the world's biggest stage...
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight!
[narrator] ...Where winners claim glory and losers' names fade,
a wager is made with each toll of the bell
as red faces blue in the fires of hell.
[man] oh, no! It's in trouble.
[chris] oh! We have liftoff.
Now that's my boy, baby.
[narrator] tonight, the deadliest competition in robot combat returns.
And the action shifts to the fight capital of the world, las vegas,
where 60 teams from around the globe are ready to risk their mechanical marvels
in a battle of speed,
skill, and submission.
[chris] oh!
-Spin to win. -[woman] whoo!
[narrator] will the sport's biggest stars double down on their dominance
or does lady luck have other ideas?
Can a new challenger make a run at the title?
Or will sin city swallow their dreams?
Gotta beat the best to be the best.
[narrator] fortunes will rise.
Yes, yes, yes.
[narrator] legends will fall...
[audience exclaiming]
on the quest to lift the most coveted trophy...
Let's go!
[narrator] ...Of them all.
-Yeah! -Yeah!
[narrator] this is...
Oh!
You want another hit?
[narrator] battlebots.
[robotic voice] robots activate.
[dramatic music playing]
[cheers and applause]
hey!
[kenny] come on!
[woman] whoo!
Hey, we are back. The wait is finally over,
it's time for the world's premier robot combat competition
to begin the newest and most violent season yet.
It is time for battlebots!
[cheers and applause]
I am chris rose, joined by the dean martin to my frank sinatra.
Say hello to ufc legend kenny florian.
[cheers and applause]
thank you. I always thought we were more like siegfried and roy.
But the rat pack is way better. I'll take it.
[chris] season six of battlebots. Here we are.
We're in our new home, las vegas, the fight capital of the world.
And a killer field of robots enter with one goal,
to win the battlebots world championship
and become vegas' newest signature act.
Move over celine dion. This is tombstone's town now.
[rock music playing]
[cheers and applause]
[chris] last season, new zealand's end game
did something that no bot had ever done,
steal the championship away from the united states.
[chris] that is it! That is it!
The american teams enter this season in an unfamiliar position,
trying to reclaim that title
and hoist the most prestigious trophy in the galaxy,
the giant nut!
[cheers and applause]
now, there are a couple of exciting new changes this season,
and none is bigger than the brand new upper deck.
[kenny] that's right, as the sport of robot combat continues to evolve,
the battlebox will now be evolving along with it.
The upper deck completely changes the geometry inside the box
and presents a whole new set of challenges
for these teams to adapt to or die trying.
[cheers and applause]
let's take a look at tonight's fight card.
[chris] we have got a stacked lineup of the world's most deadly combat robots,
all ready to take las vegas by storm.
After a year away from the carnage,
two legends make their explosive returns.
As free shipping squares off with the flaming hammer of blacksmith.
These two pyromaniacs are back to remind the field
what a good old fashioned robot slug-fest is all about.
[chris] blacksmith going for the knockout blow. Oh!
[kenny] if that's not enough firepower for you, take cover
because knockout artist uppercut
and tombstone
are here to bring the pain alongside the two titans
in tonight's main event,
defending champs end game versus last year's number one tournament seed, hydra.
[chris] but to kick things off tonight,
we've got a match up so nasty it'll make sin city blush.
As jamison go and sawblaze,
stare down one of the most intimidating machines
on planet earth, the brazilian bull, minotaur.
[cheers and applause]
season six of battlebots starts right now. Faruq, it's your world.
Ladies and gentleman, are you ready?
It's robot fighting time!
[rock music playing]
[siren wailing]
[cheers and applause]
[faruq] in the red square,
his giant blade can chip opponents down to a smaller height.
And what he's cooking up can give you a buzz like his name was walter white.
We all have fun here on battlebots, win, lose, or draw.
But if you want your opponents to be breaking bad,
you better call "saw."
now, say his name.
[crowd] sawblaze!
It's sawblaze.
[chris] here comes sawblaze,
led by mit madman jamison go.
Made the top eight in last year's tournament.
This team has contender written all over it,
kenny florian.
[kenny] sawblaze is just a bully inside the battlebox, chris.
So dangerous, so well rounded.
Jamison go has spent thousands of hours perfecting this robot.
He's put an emphasis on durability this season,
and he expects to be the one lifting the giant nut
when it's all said and done here in 2021.
[faruq] in the blue square,
this bot from greek mythology kills from mykonos to acropolis.
He's the greatest greek since john stamos.
Like a half bull jesse katsopolis.
You've never seen a bot this strong.
He could bring apollo to his knees,
kill all of mount olympus, making zeus call him, "hercules! Hercules!"
it's the oracle of you die,
minotaur!
[rock music playing]
[cheers and applause]
[chris] after sitting out last season, the 2018, runner up
out of rio de janeiro has returned.
Only they're missing a familiar face at the helm, kenny.
[kenny] yes, long time captain, marco meggiolaro,
has passed the reins on to junior de souza there on the right.
But marco is still watching over the team from back home
and minotaur has its most dangerous weapons back in the mix,
that horizontal drum spinner
and driver daniel freitas. Look out.
[cheers and applause]
[man] fight against sawblaze, we're pretty sure it'll be really tough.
And jamison is a really good driver,
and sawblaze is a really well-made bot.
We know it'll always be a box rushing fight.
They'll always try to keep us on the corners, on the walls,
and we'll try to avoid this.
Minotaur is really strong. We rely on that thing.
We have a really powerful drum. If we're spinning,
sure we're gonna have a lot of advantages against them.
We came here to... To get the giant nut.
[jamison] all the changes we made to sawblaze this year
are focused around durability.
We have a new design for the forks,
which will hopefully take hits better and be easier to repair.
And we also worked on trying to make a stronger arm mechanism
so that we could take our own hits
and basically running the entire match.
Minotaur is known for having a massive weapon that spins incredibly fast.
It stores a lot of energy, and when it delivers it to its opponent,
they just absolutely tear them apart.
I think we're gonna see how this fight will go in the first ten seconds.
[cheers and applause]
[robotic voice] robots activate.
[chris] all right, fight fans, you know, the drill by now.
Each battle will consist of a single three-minute bout.
The goal is to completely destroy or disable your opponent.
If you can't do that, our panel of judges will declare a victor.
And don't forget, the battlebox is alive with screws,
pulverizers, controlled by the other team,
and kill saws that become active in the final minute of the fight.
And here to provide us with the inside scoop on these matchups as we go,
it's battlebots veteran and our bot whisperer, pete abrahamson.
Hello.
[pete] I am so excited to be back, guys.
These two teams have a combined 28 battlebots wins between them.
What a way to start the season.
I am on the edge of my seat.
[chris] kenny, it's so cute when pete gets this excited.
Don't forget to put your seat belt on
before we take off here, bot whisperer.
Okay, hold on. Where-- wait.
There's no seat belt in this car.
[chris laughs]
[robotic voice] red team, ready?
-You guys ready? -Yeah!
[cheers and applause]
slash and burn, baby!
[robotic voice] blue team, ready?
[cheers and applause]
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] we have been waiting all off-season to say this.
Let the bot battle begin.
And here comes sawblaze with a box rush.
Good job by minotaur to dodge it and land a shot to the side of sawblaze.
Whoa!
[kenny] oh, daniel freitas is head hunting here at the start.
[chris] uh-oh. Oh! Another big shot.
Both teams looking to flank the other
so much experience here. As sawblaze scoops up
minotaur with its fork and delivers the brazilians into the corner.
[kenny] that move was ridiculous! Wow.
[chris] minotaur's upside down now
and sawblaze is hovering with the hammer-saw.
Oh, my god!
[kenny] that was a huge strike right there from sawblaze.
[chris] minotaur's on fire.
Sawblaze taking him for a ride now and putting the brazilian
onto the upper deck. Are you kidding me?
[kenny] drove up to the upper deck like it was nothing
unbelievable control from sawblaze there.
[chris] the fire inside minotaur
continuing to grow, but somehow it's still moving around.
This is unbelievable, kenny.
[kenny] this is ridiculous. Jamison go showing no signs of letting up either.
-Come on! -Lock that!
[chris] kenny, how long can the brazilian survive with their bot on fire like this?
And sawblaze continuing full out attack.
[kenny] well, it doesn't seem to have slowed them down one bit so far,
chris, we still have an active fight on our hands.
[chris] we're almost 90 seconds in
in what has been a mind-blowing match to kick off the season.
And listen to that.
Minotaur's drum is still functioning.
Kenny, listen to the signature buzz.
[kenny] jamison go is doing everything he can to put a nail in minotaur
but he can't do it.
[chris] holy smokes. Oh!
Sawblaze could not kill minotaur.
[kenny] it looks like sawblaze just snapped its weapon chain though, chris,
that may even things up a bit down the stretch.
Could this be an opening for minotaur?
[chris] under a minute to go.
Can minotaur actually make it another 50 seconds?
[kenny] oh, how about those pulverizers getting involved?
Sawblaze just putting it all together right now.
[chris] what a display by sawblaze,
but amazing durability by the brazilian bot.
[kenny] no question about it, and they're trying to fight.
They're trying to do their best, but they're stuck on those front forks
of sawblaze. Oh, jeez.
[chris] look at this, delivering minotaur into the screws
and again on the upper deck for a second time.
[kenny] this is just a masterclass here from jamison go right now.
[chris] both bots seemed to have lost their primary weapons,
but minotaur has been on fire for full two minutes and it's gasping for air
in hopes of pushing this to a judges' decision.
This is unreal.
[kenny] and they are gonna do it, chris.
What a performance by these veteran teams here tonight.
Ladies and gentlemen, you just witnessed an instant classic.
[buzzer blares]
[man] that's how we do it? That's how we do it?
-[man] oh! Hell yeah! -[jamison] come on!
-[chris] how do you like that? -[man] [bleep].
[chris] two warriors giving us three minutes of mayhem
to kick off the season here in las vegas.
Team sawblaze is celebrating. The fans, they're in a frenzy.
We got the replay, we got the decision
and more robot carnage when we return
on battlebots.
[chris] welcome back to battlebots,
where sawblaze and minotaur, just kicked off
- the 2021 season... -[man] good job, guys.
[chris] ...With an unbelievable three-minute brawl.
The decision will now be in the hands of the judges.
Lisa winter,
derek young, and jason bardis.
They'll be scoring on an 11-point scale.
Five points can be awarded for damage,
three apiece for aggression and control.
How are they gonna break this one down, kenny?
[kenny] well, minotaur came out swinging and landed some impressive shots,
racking up points in the aggression and damage categories.
But my goodness,
did sawblaze turn the tables in a hurry?
[chris] and here's where things started
to get ugly for the brazilians.
[kenny] yeah, that hammer saw cut right through to their batteries
and started a fire. Whoo.
That weapon from sawblaze, I don't think we've ever seen it
this devastating.
[chris] I mean, 99% of the bots out there would have been
finished at that point,
but somehow daniel freitas actually kept minotaur going,
even though it was completely on fire.
[kenny] just miraculous stuff here for the brazilians.
And minotaur stuck around long enough to see sawblaze
pop its weapon chain, which may have evened out the scorecards a little bit.
I'm sure jamison go is as shocked as we are.
This fight didn't end in a knockout.
You never want to go to the judges if you can avoid it.
[chris] here's faruq with the decision.
The results from the judges are in.
[cheers and applause]
the winner by unanimous decision is...
-[woman] sawblaze! -[man] sawblaze!
Sawblaze!
[man] let's go.
[crew 1] got it, yeah! High-fives.
[crew member 2] we are back! Whoo!
Jamison go, listen to that.
They are chanting your name after the first fight of the year, how does that feel?
Uh, my name is jamison, they're chanting sawblaze there.
[laughter]
well, you certainly made a name for yourself yet again.
-[crowd chanting] jamison! Jamison! Jamison! -There you go.
-Whoo. -Jamison! Jamison!
Jamison, did you feel like you were teaching a masterclass out there?
Uh, in the beginning, did you see that?
We think we were on the, you know, back foot there a little bit.
We weren't sure that our plan was gonna hold up,
so a little bit nervous.
Team minotaur is one of the most respected teams in the world.
What does this do for your team
getting a big win like that over a very durable bot?
It's a huge confidence boost.
We built a brand new robot for this season.
We worked on durability, and it looks like
after those first two hits, we were a little shaky, a little nervous,
but the robot got right back up and back into the fight.
I think those upgrades paid off.
Jamison, congratulations.
You guys are off to a fast start here in 2021.
[man] slash and burn, baby! Slash and burn!
[cheers and applause]
[chris] all right. The battlebots season is now officially underway.
Great to see team minotaur back in the mix.
Not exactly the start they had in mind,
but the brazilians prove they are durable.
And the driver, daniel freitas, would sooner eat his own controller
than stop attacking inside of the battlebox.
Not all bad news for the brazilian team.
I think there's some positive takeaways from that fight.
[chris] for team sawblaze, it is off to the races with a win in their 2021 debut.
Every team in this year's field will fight
up to three times here in the qualifying rounds,
hoping to build a resume strong enough to earn a spot in the top 32
and the winner take all championship tournament.
May the deadliest bot win!
[cheers and applause]
the opening night action continues right now with another marquee matchup.
It's uppercut versus gigabyte.
And let's start with a bot so powerful it could light up the las vegas strip.
Uppercut.
[kenny] if you took a poll of which team has the scariest weapon,
I guarantee you, you'd get a lot of uppercuts as your answer.
Oh, my goodness!
That vertical spinner was handing kos out like candy last season.
I can't wait to see what it has in store this time around.
[chris] and they're going up against team gigabyte,
led by electrical engineer and battlebots og, john mladenik.
This full-body spinner is coming off its most impressive year yet, kenny.
[kenny] no doubt. Made it to the round of 16 last year.
The robot looked durable. It was able to consistently deliver damage,
and it solidified its reputation
as the most exciting full-body spinner in the sport.
[chris] oh! A master shot!
[kenny] when gigabyte's in the mix, you know, you're in for a show.
[chris] so let's get right to it. The teams are on the driver's deck
and ready for action inside the box.
[robotic voice] red team, ready?
[chris] team uppercut from mit, led by captain alex hattori,
made the top 16 in their first two seasons here at battlebots.
They want to exceed that mark this time, kenny.
[kenny] well, they won't be sneaking up on anyone this year, chris,
but that won't affect their fight strategy.
It goes something like this,
point that vertical spinner at their opponent and smash away.
[robotic voice] blue team, ready?
[chris] you know team gigabyte lost a key member this season,
matt maxim to team cobalt.
But they still feel really good about their chances this season.
[kenny] yeah, matt will be missed but john has a ton of faith in his bot.
He's added a 90 degree lip to that shell of gigabyte,
in hopes of reducing recoil.
And those three new mini bots,
will be looking to high center uppercut and tee it up for a knockout shot.
[cheers and applause]
[chris] uppercut, gigabyte, prepare for weapon on weapon warfare.
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
Let the bot battle begin.
Gigabyte needs to keep the action in the center of the box,
but uppercut's all over him,
delivers a clean shot there.
[kenny] oh!
[chris] and another. Uppercut has him sealed off of that short corner now.
[kenny] this is not what gigabyte wanted.
[chris] whoa! Uppercut with a huge pop, but it's up on its dome.
Gigabyte's got to find a way to get out of this corner, kenny, and now.
[kenny] they sure do, but looks like
they may be trying to box uppercut in now.
Probably should have used the escape hatch while they had it.
[chris] oh, big shot. Gigabyte's on its head but self-rights.
[crowd exclaiming]
[kenny] my goodness!
[chris] both bots seeing stars, and here comes uppercut.
That weapon is devastating.
Gigabyte back on its head.
John mladenik is not sure what hit him,
but the answer is young alex hattori's
- vertical spinner, and here comes the countdown. -[referee] ten, nine, eight,
-[referee] seven, six... -[kenny] wow. Both of these
bots are gonna need some smelling salts
after this one, chris.
[referee] two, one. Knockout!
[knockout buzzer]
[chris] what an impressive 2021 debut for team uppercut.
All right, kenny, break it all down for us.
[kenny] well, for the second time in as many fights, chris,
we saw the upper deck come into play here.
John mladenik needed to keep gigabyte in the center of the box
and give himself the space to spin up.
But uppercut was able to back gigabyte down
into that new 16x8 foot short corner.
And that is a dangerous place to be if you're a full-body spinner.
[chris] yeah, you thought maybe there was one opportunity
and he could have pulled back to the center
and for some reason he didn't, and that was a fatal mistake.
[kenny] yeah, once uppercut boxed gigabyte into that corner
for the second time,
they just went nuclear with that vertical spinner.
Gigabyte lost its self-righter with that shot right there,
landed on its head and it was lights out.
[chris] uppercut, one scary robot.
[cheers and applause]
alex hattori, I imagine that's the way you drew it up back in the pits, huh?
-No way, that was... ...That was very intense. -No?
That was... Those were bigger hits than we expected. That was...
It's a relief that it's over.
Why do you continue to surprise yourself with the power of that weapon?
You know, we don't get to test uppercut except for when we're here, so
this is the first time we've been able to spin up
and hit anything with this new version of uppercut, so.
What are you saying, that you don't
just roll down the street where you live and
just test uppercut wherever on the sidewalk?
Sadly, no. Our neighbors wouldn't really like that.
Can you win the giant nut this year, alex?
We certainly hope so, we'll do our best.
Alex, can you win the giant nut?
I think those hits speak for themselves, so I don't have to.
Exactly. That is the answer we're looking for.
-Alex hattori, team uppercut. Congratulations. -Thank you.
Kenny, I imagine the entire pitch back there,
you have been warned. Uppercut was nasty in 2020.
They are scarier in 2021.
[chris] okay, when we return, a newcomer jumps into the mix
as switchback makes its debut against the infamous flame thrower of gruff.
That's next on battlebots.
We are back on battlebots, where sparks fly and robots die.
One of the great joys of a new season
is introducing the rookies in our field.
Could a future battlebots champion be lurking among them?
You never know.
Let's meet the newcomer in our next matchup,
switchback.
[greg] my name is greg needel, and I'm team captain of team switchback.
It's our first year on battlebots.
We're happy to be here,
and we're from dallas, texas.
Switchback is a
brand new robot, a variable drum spinner
on a 180 degree articulating arm.
[greg] we always wanna do something different.
It was a lot of give and take at the very beginning,
but the idea was, could we
take the heaviest drum, the fastest it can go
and move that thing around,
but it's got that same killer force
as some of the other biggest drum spinners in the field
and switchback was born.
Switchback can run a full 80-pound drum
up to the maximum limit of battlebots
at 250 miles an hour tip speed,
that's our maximum configuration.
We've still got some little stuff we have to take care of,
but we feel pretty good.
Feels really amazing to come in as a new team,
and then here in the pit to see like,
so many of these veteran teams,
especially when you're like,
yeah, like I... I... I kind of wanna smash that robot.
We went into battlebots knowing that
success for us was kind of defined by the journey.
A group of friends, we got together,
we built this cool machine, we wanted to come to battlebots.
I mean, this is a dream.
[chris] you know, making the leap
to the big leagues here at battlebots
is no easy task, but greg needel
seems up for the challenge.
Kenny, we spoke with him,
I've never seen a rookie team more prepared.
Absolutely. And it seems like he has
the preparation of a veteran
but the humility of a rookie, you know, I've been really impressed with
what he's been saying.
He's doing a bunch of studying,
a videotape, so he is very well-prepared.
That's right. He has watched each and every fight
of his opponent tonight, gruff.
Faruq, it's your world.
In the red square, from dallas, texas,
don't mess with texas or he'll eat you for breakfast.
Give it up for switchback.
[cheers and applause]
[chris] here's our first live look
at the rookie switchback.
Kenny, this thing is coming in with a one-of-a-kind weapon.
[kenny] that's right. Greg needel calls it a sandwich drum spinner.
It features a varying configuration
of 6.5 pounds of ar 500 discs,
all on a 180-degree articulating arm
that allows it to attack from above or head on.
[faruq] in the blue square,
from palm harbor, florida,
it breathes fire and has giant forks.
Now it's time for a barbecue.
Give it up for gruff!
[cheers and applause]
[chris] and here comes the fire spitting veterans from
team gruff.
Third year here at battlebots.
This robot might just be the toughest one in the entire field.
[kenny] gruff is armored like a tank, chris.
Plus, it features the hottest burning flamethrower
in the competition.
They've shifted some weight from the lifter
into a redesigned drive train this season,
so look out for some improved mobility from them here tonight.
[cheers and applause]
we're taking every single fight one at a time, right?
With a brand new concept and a brand new robot,
we'd love to go far in the tournament, but we've gotta
focus on the match ahead of us right now.
We're preparing for gruff.
We're putting an armor package on together
and a weapon package that we think will be
good against them.
We're up to the challenge for anything that anybody throws at us.
Last year, we struggled with our drivetrain self-destructing.
This year,
uh, we've got these gearboxes,
that are designed to
basically bring back our old reliability.
So going up against switchback, we're a little bit nervous 'cause
we've got tons of armor all around the sides,
uh, but our top and bottom armor is pretty limited.
And so if they can bring that
blade down on top of us, we're a little bit worried about that.
We run into them until something breaks. Hopefully it's them.
[robotic voice] robots activate.
[cheers and applause]
[chris] uh-oh, there is that flame from gruff.
And for more on grump's opponent,
we welcome in our bot whisperer, pete, who has props.
I do, guys.
Check this out. This is one of the discs from switchback.
They plan on staggering these at a certain distance
so that gruff's forks
do not get hung up in between each one of these things,
that they can easily slide off of the forks.
But it's like you said, it's a brand new bot.
It's a completely different design that we've never seen before,
and I'm super excited to watch it happen.
[cheers and applause]
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] I'm sure greg needel has been thinking about this moment
for an awfully long time, folks.
Let's see what switchback has to offer.
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin. And gruff
quick on the draw,
gets behind the rookie switchback.
Oh, nice shot on the reversal from greg needel.
Oh! Switchback's weapon up to full speed
but there's mr. Durability gruff backing it down.
Uh-oh, gruff under the rookie, up against the rails.
Ohhh! Nice pop.
[kenny] a bit of inexperience from the rookies there, chris.
Not throttling that weapon down when gruff had them pinned.
As you see switchback get caught in the kill saw there.
They're staying aggressive. But they need to be smart and pick their spots.
[chris] no question, switchback's weapon,
very functional, very impressive.
The question is, can it get the angle on gruff it wants? Oh!
A one-two shot from switchback.
[kenny] switchback keeps going nose to nose with gruff.
And that is not what you want to do, especially against those forks.
[chris] a masterful job by gruff of delivering
switchbacks into a pulverizer.
Incredible control there, kenny.
[kenny] absolutely, that should play very well with the judges.
[chris] and now he's literally got switchback cornered.
[kenny] this is where gruff shines.
This is where he makes his money right here,
just staying on his opponent.
[chris] oh, another bit of incredible control there by gruff,
landing another shot with the pulverizer.
[kenny] look out, switchback's weapon up to full speed again, chris.
-[kenny] oh! -[chris] oh!
[chris] huge impact there, and now switchback is on its head.
Can it self-right? Here comes gruff!
Oh! Switchback lining up a knockout blow
and it knocked itself out.
And now greg needel's robot is getting flambéed inside the box.
[referee] you guys, it's not moving, guys. We're gonna have to count down.
[chris] the ref is issuing a warning.
-[referee] ten, night eight... -[chris] switchback, can't it get itself right side up.
- And it's gonna be on the wrong side of the ledger... -Seven, six, five...
- Here in its battlebots debut. -[referee] four, three, two...
One! That's a knockout. Winner, gruff!
[dramatic music playing]
[cheers and applause]
[chris] and that's what you call baptism by fire.
Kenny, I gotta tell you
the rookie looked impressive right out of the gate.
[kenny] listen, switchback showed some promise in this fight.
That drum spinner is legit.
The question is whether or not that articulating arm
is fast enough
to be effective in attacking from above.
Something to look out for in their coming matches.
[chris] and what a display of control from gruff.
[kenny] gruff had it all working in this fight.
They were durable enough to take some punishment,
and they used that improved drive train
to push switchback around the box
and deliver it into the hazards.
[chris] and how about a little flamage from gruff
to seal the deal.
So with that, sam mcamis and team gruff
start their season off with a victory.
And for rookie greg needel and switchback, an excellent first showing.
They came in prepared,
but nothing can simulate
the ferocious flame of gruff
or the pressure of the battlebox.
Coming up next,
the grim reaper himself, mr. Ray billings,
marches tombstone into the arena to face captain shrederator.
And make sure your tray tables
are in their upright and locked position
because later tonight,
the defending champs,
end game, will dance with the baddest flipper on the planet,
last year's number one tournament seed hydra.
Don't go anywhere.
[chris] welcome back to battlebots, the world's premier
robot fighting competition.
We're only three matches
into the 2021 season,
and that's longer than we're used to, waiting for the most
recognizable face in all of robot combat,
the king of kinetic energy,
former champ ray billings and tombstone.
Kenny, just how much fear does ray still strike into his opponents?
[kenny] I mean, I get chills hearing you say that name,
so imagine what it feels like
going up against him.
Ray told us he was frustrated with his up and down performance
in last year's qualifiers.
He let that anger fuel him,
and he's redesigned tombstone
to be the most powerful version of the bot
the field has ever seen. Truly terrifying.
[chris] well, he'll be going up against a bot we know
oh-so well.
Mr. Red, white, and blue himself.
Brian nave and captain shrederator.
Kenny, there's never a dull moment
when this full-body spinner is in the mix.
[kenny] absolutely. Brian knows how to put on a show.
And coming into tonight's matchup,
he's not only armed with an improved captain shrederator,
but the drive to take it to one of his oldest friends in the sport
in ray billings.
I know in my career I always had an extra gear
for the fights against competitors
I had a relationship with,
and I can guarantee it's no different for brian
taking on ray here tonight.
It's gonna be fun. Faruq, take it away
[faruq] in the red square,
this bot is a captain like james t. Kirk,
and he's setting his phasers from stun
to murder.
When he takes the helm and comes for you,
you'll want to hide and cower.
Wanna fight him?
That's illogical.
You don't have the power.
Boldly going into the battlebox,
it's captain shrederator.
[dramatic music playing]
[cheers and applause]
[chris] one of the most recognizable robots in the field,
representing the us of a.
Captain shrederator, in all its full-body spinning glory.
What's new with the shred this year, kenny?
Tell us about it.
[kenny] well, shrederator's struggles with
weapon durability are well documented, so brian and his team
have added a second weapon motor
for redundancy this season.
They're gonna get a shock test right out of the gate here
against tombstone,
and they'll need to make sure shred keep spinning
if they want any shot at taking down the legend.
[faruq] in the blue square,
prepare to die hard.
And if you're asking who's the illest,
know this bot is unbreakable
like its name was bruce willis.
Remember the sixth sense?
Well, that ending applies
'cause after you lose this fight,
you'll realize, "I was dead the whole time."
spoiler alert!
Give it up
for tombstone!
[cheers and applause]
[dramatic music playing]
[chris] yeah, just listen to that crowd, as team tombstone
makes its way to the box for their highly anticipated debut.
Ray's son justin billings on the left,
and longtime team technician, rick russ, on the right.
You're looking at one of the most
feared teams in battlebots history.
[kenny] yeah, and the most impressive part is
how they managed to bring a contender to the box
year after year.
Ray and his team told us that
not only have they installed a brand new
weldless unibody frame that absorbs impacts better than ever,
they've also turbocharged their punching power
with brand new weapon motors
that are sure to send even the bravest of bots running for cover.
This year, tombstone's been upgraded a lot.
We made some changes to the... The...
The weapon motor itself, and to the power system,
we have a lot more power than we did before.
The only part that's scary is we made a
whole bunch of changes all at once,
so we gotta make sure that it's all working when we get in the arena.
I like our chances.
I think it's a, it's a match we're... We're going to win.
It's gonna be a good one.
There... There's a lot of energy being unleashed in that arena this time.
You know, being back here,
the excitement is just in the air
and just walking into the building
just like, boom, makes you excited.
And now, we get to fight a legend.
I've been asking for a tombstone fight for years.
You know, if he wins, everybody is gonna go,
"oh, yeah, of course, he'll win."
he loses, everybody is gonna go,
"you lost to captain shrederator? Come on!"
the fights are, uh, rock, paper, scissors, right?
Well, we're the rock to his scissors.
[robotic voice] robots activate.
[chris] tombstone.
Shrederator.
Judges, put those pencils back in your trapper keeper
'cause this one's got ko written all over it.
[laughs]
[chris] listen to that laugh?
The sparks are about to fly,
next on battlebots.
[chris] welcome back to opening night
of the battlebots, 2021 season,
where the pallbearer of punishment,
tombstone
is ready to throw down with captain shrederator.
[robotic voice] red team, ready?
-Spin to win. -Spin to win, baby!
[cheers and applause]
[robotic voice] blue team, ready?
Spin to win.
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin.
Both bots looking to spin up.
Shrederator gets under tombstone,
tombstone at full speed now.
[crowd exclaiming]
what the heck was that, kenny?
[kenny] I think a tooth just flew off of shrederator.
-Wow. -[chris] a huge impact,
and don't look now, but tombstone is wobbling.
Oh, it's leaking out of the top of the robot as well.
Oh! What a shot.
Shrederator going weapon to weapon with tombstone.
-Can you believe it? -[kenny] whoa, he's on fire.
[chris] oh!
A huge hit.
[kenny] oh, my goodness!
[chris] and tombstone's weapon is no longer spinning, kenny.
[kenny] yeah, that blade may be out of commission,
and ray billings is dealing with a serious fire inside tombstone.
[chris] and now captain shrederator is no longer spinning as well,
but, kenny, how long can the former champ last on fire like this?
[kenny] well, remember, we just saw minotaur
make it the full three minutes on fire.
But, chris, no two robots are designed the same.
This is gonna come down to the way the electronics are laid out
inside of tombstone,
but a fire like this could kill critical components at any moment.
[chris] this is unbelievable,
the complete backside of tombstone totally engulfed in flames.
But let's remember, captain shrederator has had its own
durability issues in the past.
Its weapon is down for the count so this thing ain't over yet.
Can the former champ find a way to survive?
Or do we have a monumental upset in the making
here on the opening night of the season?
Uh-oh.
[chris] just under 90 seconds to go and tombstone is not moving, kenny.
[kenny] team shrederator thinks they have it.
[chris] here comes the countdown.
The king tombstone is gonna fall to a team
- with only three wins in its last 13 matches. -[referee] ...Two, one.
That's a knockout!
[chris] and ray billings' season just go up in smoke.
Wow, kenny, when two kinetic weapons, collide inside the box,
anything can happen.
[kenny] there's no question. It was actually a piece of
tombstone's blade, we felt ricochet
into the glass early in this fight,
you can really see it flying around right there.
And that shot was really the beginning of the end
for ray billings' bot in this one.
[chris] that impact eventually led
to a four-alarm fire inside of tombstone.
Sure, it was able to hang on for another minute or so,
but while we saw minotaur surviving
similar inferno earlier tonight,
this one ended up taking down the former champ.
Captain shrederator with a shocking upset, here on night one.
[cheers and applause]
[chris] brian nave,
that is a way to kick off a season,
-look how happy you are. -Yeah!
Long time coming, baby! Yeah!
When you saw the flames engulf tombstone, what were you thinking?
Well, I know he can drive for a long time on fire,
so I was just kind of saying,
well, should we keep hitting him? Should we wait?
You know, but we... You know, we wanted to try to get him to the hammers
my team was telling me, "stop it,
don't push him to the hammers." but I wanted to hammer him.
Brian, before this fight, you broke it down beautifully.
You pretty much executed what you wanted to do.
Can you take us through the fight a little bit?
Well, you know, he hits so hard, you know,
once he hits you, it's like all the plans are out the window and just
try to survive and try to get in there and,
you know, he's got a new robot, so he's gonna have to work out
some bugs, so, you know, he'll be back and he'll be fine.
But you know what? We're gonna take the nut this year, so look out.
Do you really feel that way, brian?
Well, I think we got a better... We got a better chance.
The crowd thinks so, that's for sure. Yeah!
[crowd chanting] usa! Usa! Usa! Usa! Usa!
There you go, see.
Spin to win, baby. They love it.
Brian nave,
congratulations, off to a 1-0 start.
Thanks.
[chris] so we have our first giant upset of the 2021 season
as tombstone falls to captain shrederator.
That was unreal.
Coming up,
the firestorm has only just begun
as fan favorites,
free shipping and blacksmith
blaze their way back into the box.
That's next on battlebots.
[chris] welcome back to battlebots.
Coming your way from our new home here in las vegas.
Tonight, we're kicking off the qualifying rounds
of our 2021 season,
and the bots have already made their mark here in sin city.
Sawblaze got the party started by ripping through minotaur
in a three minute instant classic matchup.
And to the victor go the spoils.
There you see sawblaze captain jamieson go,
holding a signed piece of minotaur's armor.
It's a tradition here at battlebots
for teams to exchange shrapnel after their fights.
So let's just hope he has a big enough trophy shelf.
[jamison] I'd say we hang this up, but it'd probably take the whole shelf down.
[woman] yeah, yeah, yeah.
[man] you're going to need a better shelf.
[chris] all right. Let's keep this train rolling along.
Up next, we're calling this matchup
the highly anticipated return of
two of the most beloved teams in the sport,
and oh, my god, there's fire everywhere.
I don't know if it's gonna fit on a vegas marquee or not,
but work with me here.
[chris] we say hello once again to al kindle and blacksmith,
one of the hardest working guys in combat robotics.
And after sitting out last season,
he admitted it was tough watching his fellow builders from the couch,
so he strapped his tool belt back on
and the fans, they couldn't be any happier.
And when we asked him, "hey, are you glad to be back?" he said, "absolutely."
until I started working on the bot and realized how much work this was.
Al, he is always a breath of fresh air.
It is. I... I mean, it's so much work,
and this guy gives a 100% in
everything he does, whether he's driving the bot
or building the bot.
He is excited to be back. Can't wait to see him out there.
[chris] and also staging his triumphant return
is the man,
the myth,
the legend himself,
gary gin, the fire starter with free shipping.
We asked gary how important is winning to you, and he said,
"it's not that important. I just love putting on a great show for everybody."
that's what we love to hear.
[kenny] absolutely. Listen, both of these guys really are cut from the same cloth.
So I expect a very exciting fight.
He said it's gonna be three minutes of absolute insanity, so
let's get to it.
What do you say to two old guys?
-Ogs, let's call 'em ogs. -Ogs.
-Yeah. -Cheers to you.
[chris] faruq, take it away.
[faruq] in the red square,
his special delivery is always on time,
and it's a big box of punishment.
Call him slamazon prime.
When he knocks on your door,
you know you don't stand a chance.
He's the ups of making you pee your pants.
Here comes free shipping!
[dramatic music playing]
[cheers and applause]
[chris] and there he is, the man with his mug on our mug. Gary gin,
a cult hero at battle bots, and I'd say it's well-deserved, kenny.
[kenny] yeah, I mean, this guy isn't just a great personality in the sport,
but he's also one of the most respected drivers of all time.
Free shipping is a control bot through and through,
and gary plays this thing like a violin.
[faruq] in the blue square,
a bot who's from jersey,
like kevin smith and jay,
who makes him enemies think,
"I'm not even supposed to be here today."
when his hammer comes down,
the sound is quite violent
and the crowd gets so pumped, not even bob can stay silent.
Snooze to the noose,
it's blacksmith. [cheers and applause]
[chris] kenny, how lucky are we?
It's the return of one of the most entertaining bots of all time
in blacksmith.
And if you don't believe me,
just check out the 24 million views
their 2016 fight against minotaur
actually has online.
[kenny] and how many of those views were you, chris?
[chris] I'd say about half of them. I really missed these guys.
Yeah, we've gotta fight blacksmith tonight.
He's a little different this season.
Now he has a... What do you... I guess he's calling a power hammer?
But it kind of looks just like a vertical disc to me.
Hopefully, he doesn't cut through the top.
Hopefully, we can just push him around, slam him around.
He's probably gonna try to come right at us,
but, uh, we're just gonna try to outmaneuver him,
stay underneath him, push him around,
um, and try to stay in control.
We've made a rather radical revision change
with this, uh, version this season.
We're calling it a power hammer.
It's a spinner type weapon.
We did retain the fire,
so it still has the fire hammer effect.
One of the reasons we went with this revision
is 'cause in the past it became clear that
we were having difficulty with judges' decisions
because of our inability to do
visible damage.
So we felt this change was the way we had to go
to, uh, go to the next level.
We're hoping it all comes together.
We're back.
[cheers and applause]
[robotic voice] robots activate.
[chris] we are ready to fight fire with fire.
Blacksmith's showing off already. So too is free shipping.
Believe it or not, these two veterans are meeting
inside the battlebox for the very first time.
[cheers and applause]
[robotic voice] red team, ready?
Yes.
[chris] yeah, gary gin is back.
[robotic voice] blue team, ready.
[chris] al kindle, pumped up too.
[cheers and applause]
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin.
Oh, free shipping... Oh, yes. We got big time flames already.
I missed you, boys.
[kenny] oh, gary gin.
[chris] oh, yes! Into the upper deck.
Oh, free shipping with some evasive maneuvers there
and right on top of blacksmith, kenny.
[kenny] big hit coming from al kindle
[chris] he said, "we have knockout power now."
[kenny] great control by free shipping.
Hitting blacksmith with their pulverizer.
[chris] oh. And then a side shot from blacksmith.
[kenny] blacksmith has been super aggressive so far.
-[kenny] oh. -[chris] another swing of hammer by blacksmith.
And look at the flame.
[kenny] oh. A beautiful reversal from free shipping,
followed by some friendly fire from the pulverizer.
Now, gary gin... Gary got lifted...
[chris] oh, he does a nice job flipping blacksmith over, and it rights itself nicely.
[kenny] that was a beautiful self-right there by team blacksmith.
[chris] a little weapon on weapon.
[kenny] now kindle said this will be a battle for the ground game.
And so far, it looks like free shipping, able to get underneath him here.
[chris] free shipping dodges another strike there.
But blacksmith back on the attack.
And here's gary gin flipping blacksmith on its backside
for the second time tonight.
[kenny] this has been a very close fight so far, chris.
[chris] yeah, free shipping has had the control.
Blacksmith with the aggression.
So who's gonna score those all-important damage points?
[kenny] oh.
[chris] and gary gin taking blacksmith into the ram.
[al] yeah, we're there.
[kenny] blacksmith landing shots at a very high rate in this fight, though, chris.
That is going to play well with the judges.
[chris] yeah, that new power hammer has been doing
work here in this fight.
But free shipping continuing to take it on the chin.
That big ar 500 wedge out front.
-[kenny] uh-oh. -[chris] another big shot.
[kenny] and you see the back of free shipping,
a chain is broken on the back side there.
[chris] could that be the first big damage points
scored by either team in this one?
Oh, man, free shipping trying to get
blacksmith up on the upper deck.
Can it happen?
[kenny] looks like free shipping may have lost
function in their lifter.
[gary] our front chains are broken.
[chris] you hear gary gin confirming it there.
His weapon chains are toast.
But free shipping's front wedge still very much intact
and continuing to push blacksmith around the box.
30 seconds to go.
[kenny] looks like blacksmith may be dealing
with some fire in their internals now, chris.
Free shipping needs to make a push here.
Al kindle continuing to engage them.
[chris] 15 seconds to go.
Blacksmith trying to throw that hammer
even without the weapon spinning at full strength.
And al kindle lands another shot with the pulverizer,
a nice final impression for the judges there.
What a show these two veterans have put on
for the fans here on opening night.
Oh!
[chris] this one is going to the scorecards,
and it is going to be close.
Okay, kenny, three minutes of madness to sort through here.
How are the judges gonna break this one down?
[kenny] these two teams definitely
played the hits for the fans with free shipping
putting on a control clinic with that big front wedge
and blacksmith bringing its signature aggression and intensity.
[chris] and we got to see that new power hammer of blacksmith
get in on the action and dole out some serious damage.
[kenny] no doubt. But while most of the strikes
found the top of free shipping's ar 500 armor,
blacksmith landed them in bunches.
And that's gonna play very well with the judges.
[chris] gary gin showing his skill by continuing
to push blacksmith around the box and into the hazards.
But free shipping popped its weapon chain
and couldn't use the lifter down the stretch,
[kenny] and that's where things get interesting.
Blacksmith eventually lost the ability to spin its weapon,
but it did keep swinging that hammer arm
and it was dealing with a fire.
So, this may just come down to which bot
made it to the closing bell in better shape
and who the judges feel was the more aggressive team.
Tough call.
[chris] let's go to faruq, with the decision.
The results from the judges are in.
[faruq] and the winner by unanimous decision is...
...Blacksmith.
[man] smash and burn.
[chris] al kindle, welcome back.
Thanks, it's great to be back.
-Yeah, how nice is a w? -Awesome.
Just a one-word answer.
Al, how about, "I'm so excited to be back.
I can't believe it! I'm gonna go win the giant nut!"?
You want me to do the interview with myself here, al.
Hey, man, you can come down and be the captain. You did a good job.
No, no, no. Were you a little surprised
by the decision because you were on fire
for the last 45 seconds or so?
Um, honestly, not really.
We did... I think we lost the weapon, uh, the spinner's speed controller.
This is an entirely new weapon system.
We had a lot of concerns about it.
But other than that little bit of fire at the end,
it worked awesomely, we did a lot of damage
and that was our goal this season
to actually do some visible damage and be able to win decisions.
[kenny] it seems like the difference was
you getting those hits in with your primary weapon.
Do you think that's why the judges, uh, went with team blacksmith?
Absolutely. I think that's... Again,
that's why we made these changes.
We had to be able to do some damage.
We have the durability, we have the drive train,
and now we have damage.
Al kindle, was this fun?
This was great. Gary's awesome.
That bot is a lot of fun.
He's a great driver. I knew this was gonna be
three minutes of madness, and that's what it was.
Al, smile for everybody around the...
There you go, al kindle and blacksmith with a win.
I knew it could happen.
Congratulations.
[cheers and applause]
[chris] so, kenny, you heard al kindle.
He said he wasn't surprised by the decision. Were you?
You know, it seems like it was the control aspect
of free shipping versus those hits
from al kindle and team blacksmith.
The judges are gonna weigh those strikes
more heavily than, say, the control.
I think that was the difference.
It was an awesome fight between two ogs,
east coast versus west coast.
East coast got it done.
-It's like biggie and tupac, right? -Exactly, exactly.
Uh, cheers once again to gary gin. I... I just love these things.
I'm gonna use this the rest of my life.
All right. Coming up...
After dropping 20 lbs off its blade,
will deep six still feel like 777s here in vegas?
Or will pain train and its new ar 500 firewall
be enough to run 'em out of town on a rail?
Find out when we continue on battlebots.
[chris] welcome back to battlebots,
where the fans are ready for more robot on robot crime.
And what a ride it's been so far.
2021's opening night fight card
has been a smorgasbord of destruction,
and we've yet to serve up the evening's main course.
That's gonna be an epic matchup between hydra and end game.
[cheer and applause]
and there is a live look at the defending champions, end game,
making some last minute adjustments
to their vertical spinner back in the pits.
And there you see the man who says his goal
is to flip a bot into the ceiling lights this year,
jake ewert and hydra.
What a showdown this is gonna be.
The main event is just around the corner,
but first, we have a fascinating clash of designs for you
as pain train takes on deep six.
And let's start with pain train,
captained by new york city's very own evan arias.
His debut 2020 season didn't go exactly as planned.
But you know what?
Evan is still as enthusiastic as ever.
He's like, "dude, I cannot wait to get back. I learned so much."
hopefully, one thing he learned is not to have
his robot fall apart inside the battlebox
'cause it happened a few times a season ago.
That's right. He did say he learned a lot.
He believes that he's still the king of new york,
so he's coming in very confident.
You know, some guys coming in their second year,
they say, "you know, I just wanna win a couple fights.
I want to be exciting."
not evan. He says, "I want to win the giant nut."
so, he's got lofty goals there.
Tonight, he is taking on deep six,
which certainly left an indelible mark, uh,
two seasons ago, when we last saw them.
Indelible as in they shattered a light
and took a huge chunk out of our floor with that
one hundred pound weapon.
By the way, dustin esswein, the team captain,
you have yet to pay for that.
So, you know, the interest on that thing
is just growing and growing by the day.
As far as the weapon, a little less weight on it.
I can't wait to see what that means.
That's right. And that should help them
fight physics a little bit more.
They were off balance. They were completely out of control.
And of course, that's why they took a chunk out of the floor.
Hopefully, they don't do that this season.
[chris] all right. It should be very interesting.
Let's see if either of these bots improved. Faruq.
[cheers and applause]
in the red square from new york city, new york.
All aboard, next stop, montauk!
But the stop after that... Pure agony.
It's pain train.
[cheers and applause]
[dramatic music playing]
[chris] and check out this crew,
captained by evan arias, there on the right
kenny, pain train has a whole lot to prove this season,
don't you think?
[kenny] no doubt about it. Raised in the mean streets of new york city,
evan had to kick and scrap to make his way
into the robotics community.
His three-pound bot shreddit bro
is a hall of fame machine on the beetle weight circuit,
but he struggled badly here at battlebots in his rookie season.
Evan is determined to right the ship this time around.
In the blue square from norfolk, virginia,
the six in its name stands for six feet under.
Watch out for its spinner. It will tear you asunder.
It's deep six!
[chris] welcome back deep six.
Captained by the us navy diver dustin esswein
pushing deep six in, this is a totally new look team, kenny.
[kenny] that's right. After seeing the uphill battle
he faced with deep six, dustin decided
to swap out his old navy pals
for some more robotics familiar engineers this season.
And he says, "you'll be able to see the results
once this oversized vertical spinner fires up."
[chris] swapping out brawns for brains.
We'll see if it pays off for dustin and this unpredictable robot.
So this year, I have a point to prove.
We're back. We're better. More pain, more train.
I'm looking to claim the most aggressive title in combat robotics,
and I'm gonna take everyone face to face.
Everything's at stake going into this first fight.
It's really gonna set the tone for this season,
for the team and for the robot.
And I can't wait to put deep six six feet deep.
The last time we were here, we had a lot of reliability issues.
Uh, and basically the main focus of this build was
to solve all those. So I mean, it's designed
to hit as hard as possible, and it'll do that.
The challenge is surviving our own hits.
Pain train's strategy is definitely gonna be
to try to get around the sides,
uh, get to the front.
He's a great driver and he knows what he's doing,
so we're just gonna have to keep up with all that.
[robotic voice] robots activate.
[cheers and applause]
[chris] it's the tower of power
versus the little engine that should. Deep six.
Pain train.
When battlebox continues.
[chris] welcome back to battlebots.
We are right back into the action.
Here's a clash of designs, comes to a crescendo.
It's deep six versus pain train.
And it's right now.
[robotic voice] red team, ready?
Go.
[robotic voice] blue team, ready?
[man] yeah.
Deep six is going six deep.
[chris] look at that thing, kenny.
Certainly hope you got your will notarized.
[chris] let the bot battle begin.
Pain train with a box rush but a bit out of control
as it ends up in the corner.
In the meantime, deep six trying to get out of its own square.
Oh, boy. Can't wait for the first shot.
Will it be weapon on weapon?
[kenny] oh, deep six just made itself vulnerable there on the flank.
Let's see if pain train able to take advantage of it.
[chris] both teams having an issue trying to get in the right position.
Oh, look at that.
-[chris] that 80-pound weapon... -[kenny] oh.
[chris] ...Of deep six ends up taking a chunk out of the floor again.
[kenny] big impact there, but pain train
took some damage to that right wheel, chris,
and with their two-wheel configuration,
that's gonna be a problem.
[chris] well, it can get around still.
The question is, can it figure out which direction to go?
Uh-oh, we got some more rubber on the floor.
Oh, this is a real problem now, kenny.
[kenny] yeah, and it's lost contact with the floor on that right side.
-[kenny] that's not good. -[chris] oh, no.
-[kenny] oh! -[chris] oh!
[chris] wow! Oh, my god.
[dustin] yeah! Oh, yeah! Whoo!
[kenny] pain train in some serious pain.
Look at that fire.
[chris] they say there's nothing like an open flame, kenny.
Just makes the bot taste so crispy and delicious.
[referee] three, two, one. That's a knockout.
[cheers and applause]
deep six! Deep six! Deep six!
[chris] kenny, we wondered which bot was gonna land
the first big time blow, and it was indeed deep six.
[kenny] yeah, absolutely. It looked like they were
gonna be in trouble there, when their own weapon
rammed into the floor again,
but they were able to recover
and they showed their reliability,
and they also showed their power.
My goodness, that thing packs a wallop.
[chris] and it also shows you what having tires exposed
can do to you in the case of pain train.
[kenny] yeah, that's right. They took away
one of those wheels. It was no longer
making contact with the floor.
It could not move, it was a sitting duck right there.
Deep six took full advantage of it,
and then the batteries went on fire. That was amazing.
[chris] yeah, and we might have to recharge
those things in time for the next fight,
or just buy some new ones.
[cheers and applause]
hey, dustin, it... It only took
two years, but that's the way
deep six was supposed to work, right?
Man, that was wild, huh?
Yeah, this was the idea from the get-go.
You know what? We're somewhat reliable now.
We can take big hits
and we can give big hits, you know?
This is everything we've always wanted.
Take us through the fight.
Yeah, I mean so, our plan is simple,
we just have to stay spun-up and stay facing them.
If they run into our weapon, that's great.
Yeah, it seemed like you were kinda
waiting for them a little bit.
Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean,
we have no armor at all, it's just the bar.
So, well, we're not gonna come to you.
You're gonna come to us.
Hey, dustin, a couple of years ago,
you took a big old chunk out of the floor
and you still haven't repaid us for it.
Do we have to have kenny over there
and help you find your wallet?
Yeah, I'll... I'll get you next time around.
All right, sounds good. We'll see you in your next fight.
-Congratulations. -Thank you.
[cheers and applause]
[chris] so it's all pain, no gain,
for the team from the nyc,
as deep six impresses
with that incredibly powerful weapon.
You gonna help 'em find their wallet or not?
Because I'm telling you that bill
is due for that floor from 2019.
You know, I got some down trees in my backyard,
so I think they may chop some firewood for me,
we'll call it even.
All right, up next, the moment we've all been waiting for,
the defending champs are ready to face
the most fearsome flipper ever to hit the box.
Let's take a closer look at tonight's main event.
[chris] oh! Oh, my god! That is it.
End game is taking the giant nut back overseas.
[nick] last year was only our third year,
and we won the whole thing.
We won the giant nut.
People definitely pay a lot more attention to us now.
[faruq] end game!
[chris] that's gotta be the most brutal,
vertical spinner in the sport.
That's a knockout.
[jack] more confident than last year,
but there is definitely a little bit of pressure.
People are expecting us to do well,
and there's a target on our back.
We gotta be prepared for that.
And we've come prepared for that.
-[chris] whoa! -[kenny] what a flip by hydra.
If you weren't scared last year,
you better be this year
because it's gonna be better than ever.
[chris] oh! Hydra with another flip.
Everybody's gonna get sent up.
Last year...
[chris] jake ewert and hydra have looked
unstoppable here in the tournament.
[jake] every other match was super dominant.
Whiplash barely beat us.
[chris] oh! Oh! Oh!
Hydra is suffering technical difficulty.
It's such a fluke, right?
Whiplash!
We did it.
We know how it should have ended.
Nah, no way, shouldn't have been in the final.
Whiplash beat 'em fair and square.
Beating end game, this is the statement right here.
[chris] world champion.
[jake] if I beat the last year's champion,
what's the rest of the competition gonna think?
[nick] hydra is a scary bot.
[chris] hydra is coiled and ready to strike.
Especially for us, who in the past
have lost a lot, upside down.
[chris] oh! A huge hit.
[nick] we don't like to be flipped upside down
and hydra is so good at that.
[chris] oh! Unbelievable hydra again.
They know that they better be scared.
I'm definitely looking for him to gyro left around,
and that's gonna give me my in to get underneath him.
-[chris] oh! -[nick] I think we're coming here
every year to win the giant nut.
If we want to start off this season
the same way as we finished last season,
we've gotta beat hydra.
[faruq] hydra!
They won the giant nut,
so they should be confident that their bot works.
But they've also seen my matches.
-[chris] whoa! -[kenny] oh, my goodness.
[faruq] it's tombstone!
[chris] he hits you once and it could be all over.
[faruq] it's hydra.
[chris] oh, there's no mercy from hydra.
-You ready for this? -[chris] jake ewert talking some trash.
[jake] here it is. Here's end game right there, buddy.
[woman] do you like being the villain of battlebots?
I mean, at this point, I know I am.
So I might as well keep playing it, right?
-I need you for a minute. -Okay.
Throughout the first couple of seasons,
-I was the bad guy, I was the villain of the show. -Yeah.
And that sort of morphed last season,
you were the villain of the show.
So I want to commemorate this passing of the torch.
And I made you a trophy.
Oh, my god. Look at that, guys.
When the day comes that you think this course is passed on,
you make them a trophy.
-Gotcha. I can do that. -Fair enough?
-All right. -Thank you, sir.
[laughter]
[chris] we are back on battlebots
for our main event of the evening
and the "champ is here."
that's right. End game, led by jack barker and nick mabey,
and we asked 'em, "hey, have your lives changed
since you claimed the giant nut?"
and they said, "not really."
[kenny] it seemed like they were very stressed last season.
They put a lot of pressure on themself
to go out there and get the win,
and they were able to get it done,
which was just amazing.
So you think, well, now the weight is off their shoulders, right?
No, they actually stepped up their game yet again.
They said, they have a much stronger
bot this time out.
Even as champions, they learned a lot
and they did take some risks
to try to bring some new technology
in here this time around.
So I'm really excited to see what kind of bot they have here.
Well, tonight they're taking on
jake ewert and team hydra. And we asked jake,
"hey, do you see end game in a different light
now that they're the champs?"
and jake said, "nah, they're the same old chumps
they were a season ago."
[kenny] absolutely. He still has that giant chip on his shoulder.
I think he has another tremendous bot,
he says that this is the best bot
that the ewert clan has ever created.
Really curious to see, who many people believe
are the two favorites here,
going at it this early in the season.
Let's remember that hydra didn't lose
last regular season,
was the number one overall seed
heading into the round of 32.
Right now, they're taking on the team
that finished the season, number one.
Faruq.
[faruq] ladies and gentlemen, are you ready?
It's time for the main event.
In the red square, last year, he had a buzz.
He wondered would-he hit the ceiling.
He goes ham and he wrecks bots,
and that's how he's feeling.
Those were toy story references, in case you didn't get their bar.
And now this bot will launch you
into infinity and beyond.
It's hydra!
[cheers and applause]
[dramatic music playing]
[chris] team hydra, nice little paint job.
Jake was telling us, he's getting
flipped up to almost 20 feet.
[kenny] yeah, just ridiculous.
This was already the most powerful flipper
to ever get into the game. It's even more powerful.
Every year these guys step it up.
They want this giant nut.
If they don't get the giant nut,
it's not successful in their eyes.
In the blue square, he comes from the land
that kept peter jackson inspired.
New zealand's still there,
but this bot burned down the shire.
There's no fellowship, no towers, no frodo, no ring,
we're fighting for a nut
and it's the return of the king.
It's end game!
[cheers and applause]
[dramatic music playing]
[chris] the first ever international champion
in battlebots history.
Whoa! Some serious forkage.
[kenny] easily the longest forks
we've ever seen from them, chris.
Against a bot like hydra,
it all comes down to the ground war.
And end game is hoping those forks
can keep the flipper out of striking range.
But should end game get flipped,
the only appendage that really matters
is the upgraded self-righting arm
on the back of the robot.
[chris] if you're not making adjustments,
you're gonna get stuck in neutral.
For more on the champ, let's send it over
to the bot whisperer.
Pete, what do you have on end game?
[pete] one of the things that happened with them,
they changed almost everything inside that bot,
all new electronics, hardened everything.
One of the other things is they're rolling deep.
They have eight discs, one for every fight
to be able to make it to the championship.
Also, across the way,
hydra's done some massive changes inside,
they've added some oil filtration
so that the hydraulic system will not jam up
and have problems with its valves,
and get sticking when they're trying to flip.
[chris] and of course, that's the issue hydra ran into
in last year's tournament.
Our bot whisperer, always bringing the goods.
[cheers and applause]
[robotic voice] robots activate.
[cheers and applause]
[robotic voice] red team, ready?
[cheers and applause]
[robotic voice] blue team, ready?
[cheers and applause]
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[speaks indinstinctly]
[chris] let the bot battle begin.
Those bots inching carefully out of their squares.
End game's front forks and hydra's wedge,
so low to the ground.
Hydra gets hung up.
Now looking to engage, gets underneath end game.
Whoa! Whoa!
Look at that. Hydra airlines is back in business, baby.
[kenny] end game, fortunate to land right side up
after that flip, chris.
[chris] absolutely, but hydra may actually be smokin'.
[kenny] look at that, that flipper
might be stuck in the up position.
[chris] ow, that could be tragic for hydra,
which got one great flip in.
Oh! End game, bullying hydra in the corner now.
[kenny] jake ewert has to gather himself here.
Even if that flipper is stuck,
hydra is still the lower bot
and it can use that advantage to stay in this match, chris.
[chris] that beak doing a pretty good job
of holding end game at bay.
And there goes one of the front forks of the end game.
-[man] try to escape. -I'm trying.
[kenny] without that flipper,
hydra is gonna have to find a way
to use its wedge to upend end game.
Use that vertical spinner's energy against itself.
[chris] but here come the champs.
[kenny] oh, what a shot!
-[chris] whoo! -Everything's smoking.
[chris] was that a knockout shot?
Jake ewert's bot's stunned and leaking smoke.
End game is celebrating.
[referee] ten...
-[chris] and here comes the countdown. -Nine,...
-Eight, seven, six... -[chris] and the opening night test for the defending champ
-five, four, three, two, one. -[chris] is gonna end with a victory over hydra.
[referee] that's it. Winner, end game.
[cheers and applause]
[chris] wow!
[chris] kenny, get a good look at the flip
because it's the only one that hydra was able to get.
[kenny] whoo! Well, it was a beautiful one and hydra
looked to be the lower bot out of the game,
which would have spelled big trouble for end game,
if jake ewert's bot hadn't lost function in its flipper.
[chris] once that happened, the defending champs
knew they could take their time,
they backed hydra down
with that powerful drive train
and delivered the death blow.
End game gets in the win column.
[man] whoo!
[chris] all right, champs, was that a perfect first fight for you guys?
Actually, like, he seemed to have problems at the...
At the beginning, it would have been really nice to face 'em,
uh, you know, properly fully working.
He gave that one big flip.
We got... Got some good air.
Yeah, that was a good flip.
But it was clearly, it was clearly an issue from the beginning
that we didn't cause. And I don't like that.
You guys came out with eight forks,
we've never seen that from team end game.
Was that just for this match against hydra?
-Yeah. -Or is this something you're gonna do going forward?
So I mean, hydra is all about the ground game as well.
He has been, you know, phenomenal in the past
about getting under opponents.
So, like we had to pull out all the stops.
I... I like the new outfits, guys.
Everyone has a suit here.
Is this all business for end game?
Is this what this is about?
I mean, you've gotta look the part.
All right, guys, you're off to a nice 1-0 start,
I'm sure that is a relief. Congratulations.
[man] it is.
[cheers and applause]
all right, jake, pretty simple question here,
I don't know if it's a simple answer,
but what happened to the robot?
Oh, the pump burned out
right after that first flip.
That's what the smoke was,
so the arm stays up and then it's just
a driving battle after that, and I can't win that.
He's eventually gonna hit me, so...
It's nice to lose, at least to the champion.
So the loss does not matter as bad as,
you know, somebody else.
So, I'm okay with it.
And it looks like my frame is still intact,
so it's... It's all good right now.
So this is something in your mind that you feel
that can be fixed, this isn't a major concern
-for you at this point? -It's the first failure we ever had like this,
so we'll have to go back and look what actually broke.
But, I mean, we were coming in pretty confident.
And maybe this keeled me back just a little bit,
you know, it took that chip off my shoulder.
But, uh, I mean, the next guy better be ready for me.
Jake, did it really take the chip off your shoulder?
No. Never will, never will.
All right, jake, I'm sure you'll fix up hydra
and we will see you in your next match. Thank you.
[chris] well, you heard it from jack barker and nick mabey
that they wanted to see hydra
all the way at 100%.
But rest assured, in a competition this grueling,
they will take that win
and run to an all important 1-0 start.
Big picture here tonight, sawblaze off to a nice start
winning a unanimous decision.
But I got to tell you, minotaur is back
and despite a loss, looks absolutely determined.
Fan favorites free shipping and blacksmith
made their triumphant, not to mention
fiery, return to the box after a year away.
What a show they put on for the crowd.
And a shocker seeing ray billings kick off
his season with an upset loss
at the hands of captain shrederator.
Good luck to whichever team
draws an angry tombstone in the next matchup.
Great first night. We are off and running
in the 2021 season.
So for faruq and our bot whisperer pete,
and my man, kenny florian, I am chris rose.
We'll see you next time, on battlebots.
[dramatic music playing]