[robotic voice] robots, activate.
[audience cheering]
welcome to battlebots.
The leading name in both explosive mechanical fights
and complaints from the robot humane society of america.
Hi, everybody, I'm chris rose, joined as always by ufc legend
and robot combat analyst extraordinaire, kenny florian.
[audience cheering]
thanks, chris, we know the action in the box can get pretty intense.
And we're at the point in the season where every match comes with dire stakes.
For most of the teams entering the box tonight, it's do or die.
That's right, the round of 32 is fast approaching
and as we near the end of the qualifying rounds,
these bots wanna make the most of their last chance
to impress the selection committee.
You said it, chris.
This is when these teams need to pull out all the stops.
With just 32 spots up for grabs
in the world championship tournament bracket,
if they want in, it's time to make a statement.
[chris] and here are the 14 squads
that'll be looking to make that statement tonight.
Kenny, what jumps out to you?
[kenny] so many great matchups on this card, chris.
How about minotaur and deep six?
Both checking in at one and one with a tournament berth
likely on the line.
After a year away from robot combat,
phenom driver, daniel freitas, will wear his heart on his sleeve
as he looks to crush the murderous windmill, deep six,
in hopes of making another serious run at the giant nut.
[chris] we'll also see the rookie, blip, try to finish the season
with an undefeated record.
Standing in its way, one of the greatest builders in history.
Donald hutson and lock-jaw.
The winless veteran isn't going to go down quietly.
This will be a huge test for aren hill and blip.
And it's all leading to an incredible main event,
as zach lytle's skorpios tries to plant his stinger
in greg gibson and christian carlberg's yeti.
Two of the field's most relentless drivers
will feel the pressure of a high stakes win and you're in brawl.
Look for that to be an old-fashion dog fight.
But it all starts with our first matchup
and this one's gonna be brutal.
A cataclysmic clash of one to one bots
looking to stake their claim in the round of 32.
It's the elemental nightmare, cobalt,
versus a robot that is abrasive and often taciturn in manner, gruff.
It is a huge night of fights. Kenny, let's not waste any more time.
Faruq, the floor is all yours.
Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready?
It's robot fightin' time!
In the red square,
his parents always said that this bot played too rough,
it killed all the bots at summer camp.
But being away from home is tough.
It played killer kumbaya and ate sacrificial s'mores,
but it was hard to play tetherball when the bots were tethered to the floor.
Grenade ain't camp granada, it's gruff!
[chris] sam mcamis, the man with the curly q, he says how you do, how you do?
Ko'ed, switched back, knocked out by hydra so far in winter back.
[kenny] yeah, it sure is and that toughness going to be crucial here
against an insanely powerful vertical weapon.
We're about to find out if gruff is the bot
that got tossed out of the ring by hydra
or the one that torched switchback in a blaze of glory.
Huge fight here.
[faruq] in the blue square,
this team's from a place called pleasant garden.
Man, that sounds nice.
Let me guess. Low crime rate, good schools, just a wonderful life?
Then again, how pleasant could it actually be?
When its most famous resident is this robotic killing machine.
Give it up for cobalt!
[chris] there's the green menace marching to the box.
And no, I'm not talking about cobalt,
I'm talking about matt maxham pushing the bot out there.
One of the most energetic and intense drivers in the entire sport.
[kenny] no doubt, matt is as much of a machine as the bot he's pushing there.
Struggled out of the gate against fusion but left nobody in doubt
after dismantling ghost raptor.
A win here would almost certainly lock them into a spot
in the world championship tournament.
Cobalt has a deadly combination
of a high powered weapon and a great driver.
We're going with a little bit longer forks, uh,
just to hopefully make sure we have the reach advantage on him.
Um, but other than that, it's pretty much just our standard packet.
I think a win here would guarantee us a spot in round of 32.
Uh, I think a close loss, we might still have a chance of getting in,
uh, but a win would definitely secure, uh, us a spot.
So matt, he's our driver.
His importance to this team has been crucial.
He's getting more and more stick time and you can tell the difference
between the first fight and the second fight
that's he's really coming into this machine.
I think there's gonna be a couple of slamming into each other
and flying everywhere until matt figures out an approach
that he can get up underneath him,
try to get onto his side of him.
In order for us to win,
we've got to get him up to our blade.
And he's an iron box, so even if you hit him,
I don't think you can hurt him.
So it's gonna be a really good fight.
[robotic voice] robots, activate.
[chris] gruff's gonna come at you with plenty of flame and a sturdy gib.
And for more on gruff, we bring in our bot whisperer pete.
Gentlemen, there are many beautiful machined parts
here on these robots, but I'm going to show you one of my all-time favorites
because it relates to fire.
This.
This is a manifold, nozzle and venturi system all in one.
This is the key to giving gruff the power of that fire that they have.
This venturi system's allowing to put so much oxygen
intermixed with that propane and burn, baby, burn.
You didn't put one of those in your car, did you, pete?
No, but I put one in yours.
[chris] ha! That's funny.
[audience] robot, robot, robot, robot!
[robotic voice] red team, ready?
[audience cheering]
[robotic voice] blue team, ready?
[audience] fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin.
[kenny] here comes gruff and taking a serious shot from cobalt.
Uh-oh, uh-oh, he better work your way back over, gruff.
Its forks are stuck in a kill saw slot, but he gets out.
[chris] gruff. Fortunate to survive there.
[all exclaiming]
[kenny] oh!
[chris] wow!
That was a shot that sent gruff 12 feet in the air.
[kenny] cobalt, an absolute destroyer out there.
But it looks like gruff barely felt that thing--
[audience exclaiming]
[chris] get your pride, that's shot two.
[kenny] unbelievable how gruff can take these shots.
Oh, my goodness!
[chris] that mad max of a driver of cobalt shooting gruff
right into the driver side window so he can get a good look at it.
[kenny] yeah, so far, matt maxham looking like he's one with cobalt.
Hanging back now is gruff, looks to be having problems with his drive, chris.
[chris] you know, gruff's durability has been its super power,
but cobalt looks... Oh! Determined to put that to the test tonight.
[kenny] oh, I think he got the propane tank, chris, look out!
[all exclaiming]
wow!
[chris] cobalt just sent gruff straight to hell!
[kenny] that is filet mig-gruff.
A tasty delicacy here in vegas.
I'm not seeing any control, not seeing control.
[chris] does gruff have control?
[kenny] I think that's gonna be it, chris.
-Nine! -[chris] there it is, kenny florian.
-[referee] seven, six... -[chris] the countdown has started and cobalt is gonna
-wrap up its qualifying action in style. -[referee] ...Three, two, one.
[buzzer buzzes]
[chris] a fantastic performance by cobalt,
which has been resurrected by brett rieker
and matt maxham.
-[chris] kenny, cobalt's no joke. -[kenny] no, not at all.
-[kenny] this is a very serious robot. -[chris] wow!
[kenny] look at that launch.
I mean, that's one of the highest flips we have seen here at battlebots.
Just ridiculous power.
[chris] and to do it against a bot that is as stout
and as tough and as durable as gruff.
Then you throw in a little pulverizer shot on top of it.
-[chris] perfect ingredients. -[kenny] my goodness.
[kenny] I mean, right now, cobalt is hitting as hard as uppercut and end game.
They're able to get underneath their opponents repeatedly.
They're showing durability. I mean, look at that!
[chris] then gruff wanted more, it got more.
That is sensational.
[cheering]
[chris] hey, matt, can we just cut right to it?
What's it like throwing another robot 15 feet in the air on fire?
It's kinda cool!
It's something I haven't experienced much and so I'm beginning to like it.
Now I see what ray gets out of this.
[laughing]
you guys were both 1-1 heading into this.
This was such an important fight,
not only to win, but to win impressively.
What do you think this does for your team here?
We'll let the committee figure that out.
The team itself, we're happy.
We're feeling the bot. We're comfortable with the bot.
But where they put us, they put us.
It's just gonna be a hard road from here on out.
I mean, it was a hard road to get here.
It's just gonna get harder.
Congrats, guys.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
[cheering]
[chris] well, in case there were any doubters,
let it be known that cobalt is indeed the real deal.
It wraps the qualifiers with a record of 2-1
and will most certainly move on to fight for the giant nut.
As for gruff, at 1-2 they will now be stuck watching and waiting
as the rest of the qualifying action shakes out.
Coming up, don't go chasing oceans.
Please stick to the ponds and the lakes that you're used to.
Will duck! Need a little tlc
as he floats into the dangerous waters of riptide?
That's next on battlebots.
We are back on battlebots
and up next it's one of the cooler rookies out there, riptide,
led by a bunch of college kids.
The captain there is ethan kurtz,
who is so excited just to be a part of battlebots.
Then he won his first fight out of the gate,
knocking out huge in less than a minute.
Lost his last fight, so he checks in at 1-1.
This is of uber importance to him as he takes on hal rucker and duck!.
[kenny] listen, this is a crossroads moment for team riptide here
with just two career fights under their belt,
they need a convincing win to prove they can truly compete with the big dogs.
They struggled in their loss to defender,
so the story of their season is about to be defined here tonight.
[chris] it hasn't gone as planned for hal rucker this year.
He was so excited because he brought duck! Back, and a bigger beak
and it makes like 10 different quack sounds
-whatever the heck "duckese" is. -That was good.
[chris] it hasn't made much noise inside the box. That's been the problem.
[kenny] yeah, they're in a tough spot.
You know, they took a loss to witch doctor.
Can't really hold that against them.
But losing to a rookie in its first fight,
not a good look for a veteran like duck!.
If they can do what they do best
and use duck!'s durability to break riptide's weapon,
they might still have a chance of making the tournament.
Faruq, take it away.
In the red square from palo alto, california,
not even goldberg can save you when you get put on ice by the mighty duck!
[cheering]
[chris] here is the rucker clan
with hal escorting duck! And it's big old schnoz.
Kenny, is it just me or does that nose keep getting bigger?
[kenny laughs] are you talking about mine or duck!'s?
[chris] oh, stop. I would never ever...
-[chris] well, I might say it, but I'm talking about duck! -[kenny] okay.
Well, the beak is the same.
What's different is that new winged plow on the back of duck!,
but hal told us he had to sacrifice one of the bot's drive motors
in order to make weight,
a risky move against a spinner that could take off any number of wheels
and incapacitate duck!.
In the blue square from tarzana, california,
sure, he'll drag you to your doom,
but there's no use fighting it,
so you might as well just go with the flow,
it's riptide!
[cheering]
[chris] well, captain ethan kurtz jokingly called his squad "a bunch of idiots."
I think it's far from it.
It's a bunch of college kids, even a high schooler at the age of 15.
So, kenny, what do you think of this bot so far?
[kenny] well, these guys have to be the smartest idiots I've ever met.
But I'm definitely impressed by what this team has accomplished so far.
But I'm a little surprised they haven't added a self-righter.
That cost them their last match against defender.
Let's see how they fare here if duck! Manages to flip them onto their head.
So, our third match is critical because we haven't done very well so far.
We're gonna have to not just win the match,
but look good doing it because we're gonna have to justify
that a 1-2 team deserves to be in the top 32.
So, we're gonna be aggressive. We're gonna try and ram directly into their weapon,
try and break it.
And if we can do that, then we're gonna try and use our lifter
to lift them and manipulate them.
Here at team riptide,
we're really focused on learning really as fast as we can,
failing as fast as we can, and moving forward as fast as we can.
We've been studying, reading, watching matches,
looking at the way things fail,
so we can catch up to the pros as soon as possible.
Duck! And hal rucker have been fighting robots
longer than I've been on the earth and alive.
I have not been training for battlebots since I was zero years old,
so we definitely have the experience disadvantage.
However, we hit really hard and that's what we're gonna do to them.
-Switch. -I got it.
Okay, cool.
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
Yeah, I got it.
-[chris] let the bot battle begin! -[kenny] oh!
[chris] a couple of shots there from riptide.
All right, duck! Almost got flipped over and it did!
Put in a corner and again!
[kenny] right in the beak!
[chris] I love what the rookie's doing.
Look at this aggression that's... Oh!
Part of the beak is off.
-[kenny] oh! -[chris] oh, and the pulverizer!
[kenny] oh, my goodness!
[chris] don't forget that's a 100-pound hammer dropping on top of duck!.
[kenny] and that weapon is still spinning for riptide, chris.
Very impressive so far.
[chris] whoa, riptide spinning duck! Like pizza dough!
And more shrapnel in the box.
And now duck! Getting chewed up in the screws, too.
[kenny] duck! Lost it's right front tire in that exchange.
Hal rucker under assault here.
Oh! Those corners are getting chewed up by riptide.
[chris] beautiful shot there.
Duck! Still has three of his four wheels,
but I'm not sure he has much pride left in him.
Come on, you got it.
Is duck! Incapacitated?
That's the question.
[kenny] they've still got some movement.
Riptide continuing to engage.
[chris] well, duck! Has been turned into a turtle at best.
It is slow.
[kenny] yeah, those back rear wheels trying to get going.
[chris] riptide is spun up.
Oh, what a hit! Wow!
About eight feet up on the glass inside the box.
[kenny] man, does riptide hit hard.
[chris] can duck! Even get out of the corner?
Keep going no matter what.
[chris] duck! Is starting to smoke
and now riptide putting it under the pulverizer.
There's a shot.
-Nathaniel, hit him! -Yeah!
[kenny] the pulverizers might finish the job here, chris.
[chris] duck! Is trying to get out of the corner,
but the rookie's right on top of him.
All right, duck!, I'm gonna have to count you out.
-[referee] ten, nine, eight... -[chris] the countdown is starting
and I don't think anything's gonna save the veteran hal rucker here tonight.
-[referee] three, two, one! -[chris] that will do it.
[referee] that's a knock out!
Let's go! [cheering]
[chris] duck! Will finish with a winless season.
[ethan] let's go!
[chris] kenny, you know when team riptide steps into the arena
they aren't just looking to win.
They want to destroy you.
[kenny] I tell you what. Every fight feels personal
when ethan kurtz is on the sticks.
Riptide came in here and just undressed the veteran duck!.
All offense all the time.
Sent it up into the air, ripped a wheel off,
sprayed shrapnel all over the battlebox.
Just sheer brutality from riptide.
[chris] and how about riptide launching duck! Up into the driver's window
and perhaps giving young hannah rucker nightmares
for the rest of her natural life.
[kenny] absolutely. This fight was most likely won in the pits, right?
I mean, their weapon was spinning very fast.
They were hitting very hard.
They stayed right on top of duck!
-[chris] well, there were shots all over the battlebox. -[kenny] whoa!
[chris] that was the best one. High over the pulverizer.
And there is no question that riptide and ethan kurtz said, "duck! Is served."
whoo!
-Let's go, let's go, let's go. -Go ahead, go ahead.
[chris] ethan!
Hey, congratulations.
Thank you.
Let's go!
Ethan, if I had told you at the beginning of the year
that you would knock out both huge and duck!,
what would your reaction have been?
I'd be like, "what? Wow! That's so cool!"
[kenny] you guys were absolutely reliable.
What did you learn about your robot tonight?
I learned the drive is freakishly reliable,
so I'm quite happy about that.
Our weapon is also really reliable.
It hit duck! Like 20 times before it went down.
We've still got to figure out why it went down, but we'll figure that out.
We hit duck! Like 25 times.
We were expecting it to maybe go on like the first three blows
like it did with the other robots,
but we got our weapon tuned.
It's really coming together.
We are a contender.
I'm ready to go to the top 32 and just pound everyone.
-Let's go! -And I'm just ready.
-[chris] all right, so you're ready. -[ethan] yeah!
But ethan, what is the battlebots dream at this point?
We're gonna with the nut at some point, so that is the dream.
Well, it might become a reality here in 2021.
-Congratulations to you and your team. -Thank you, guys.
Thank you.
Yeah! Let's go!
[chris] so, at 2-1 you have to imagine the rookie riptide
may have just punched its ticket into the round of 32.
Ethan kurtz looking like he's ready to take on the field with his bare hands.
And for hal rucker, it looks like hunting season got the better of him
as he and duck! Close out the year
with a disappointing 0-3 record.
Coming up, the bot with the most polite name here
goes against one that will unapologetically tear you limb from limb.
Sparks and swearwords will fly when pardon my french goes against valkyrie.
That's next here on battlebots.
[chris] we are back on battlebots
and, kenny, up next a fan favorite in valkyrie.
Sitting at 1-1 this season, their tournament hopes hang in the balance here
as they face newcomer from canada, the drum spinner pardon my french.
Well, the teams are out of the tunnel,
they have made their final prep work.
Let's get you right to the fight.
[cheering]
[automated voice] red team, ready?
[chris] valkyrie led by leanne cushing and her driver fred moore.
Took a loss to p1 and even-upped their record
with a win over rookie triple crown. In an unaired fight, kenny.
[kenny] yeah, they haven't had a very difficult strength of schedule this season.
I think they need a knockout here
to have any chance of breaking into the top 32.
Missing the tournament would be a huge disappointment
for last year's most destructive bot.
[automated voice] blue team, ready?
[chris] pardon my french out of quebec, canada
and captained by 22-year-old philippe voyer, there in the jersey.
This is a big, big drum spinner, kenny.
[kenny] 73 pounds to be exact and a max tip speed of 250 miles per hour,
but the bot struggled to function properly
in an unaired loss to claw viper.
This is a huge moment for this rookie squad to prove they belong here
at the highest level of the sport.
A lot of people pulling for them back home in quebec.
[man] whoo!
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin!
Pardon my french and its minibot giving valkyrie a wide berth.
Valkyrie looking to mix it up.
There's a little weapon on weapon.
Oh! Huge shot.
Both bots go flying!
Can the canadian shake it off?
There's no life from that primary weapon, kenny.
[kenny] no, I don't think that drum spinner can handle that kind of energy.
[chris] nope.
[kenny] valkyrie now going to work with the undercutter
targeting those wheels on pardon my french.
[chris] uh-oh.
[kenny] and I think they may have gotten to them right there, chris.
[chris] here comes valkyrie.
Uh-oh, disposes of the minibot.
Pardon my french looks like its soul has left its body.
-And the countdown has started. -Eight, seven, six...
[kenny] a piece of pardon my french flew over here
and just took out a gash right in front of me, chris.
-[chris] are you okay, kenny? -[kenny] I am, thankfully.
[kenny] I karate-chopped it. [buzzing]
[chris] leanne cushing all smiles as she should be
with a second straight ko victory.
[chris] well, kenny, we had two big weapons going at each other in this one,
but it's often reliability that's the deciding factor inside the battlebox.
[kenny] no doubt. You see that giant spinner-on-spinner hit right there.
A massive amount of energy being traded in that collision.
Valkyrie was able to shake it off,
but the rookie just couldn't handle it.
[chris] valkyrie getting sent into the screws and almost upside down,
but they kept it together and went right back to work with that undercutter.
[kenny] and this is exactly what that weapon was designed to do, chris.
Get to the underbelly of the robot, disable its wheels,
and leave it for dead.
Just perfect execution right there from valkyrie.
[cheering]
[chris] leanne.
Hey, how's it going?
[chris] congratulations. You just killed us-canada relations. Thank you.
This is for 1812!
Also, we're already in boston. Montreal and quebec hate us as it is.
All right, leanne.
The last two fights have been knockouts,
each under a minute.
Are you happy or did you want the fights to last a little longer,
so you could see how the robot was working?
I mean, well, like, it's working.
I got scared for a second when we stopped spinning
'cause, like, we still are, you know,
making sure all the new changes are good to go.
Where would you rank valkyrie?
[sighs] lesser than last year, but still pretty good.
I don't know. Like, we're all nerds,
so, like, if we're not doing a+ then, like, we're not doing good enough.
And I'd say we're around a b right now and so, improvement needed.
Can you improve enough to go win that giant nut?
[sighs]
all depends on who we see and how hard we hit and how hard they hit.
Well, we know you hit pretty hard.
You can ask your neighbor over there, pardon my french.
Congratulations, leanne.
Thank you.
[chris] okay, so valkyrie handles business tonight with a convincing ko,
and they move to 2-1.
However, with wins over lower tier rookies,
it'll certainly be interesting to see
where 2020's most destructive bot lands in the tournament mix.
Coming up, here's a phrase you don't hear very much,
donald hutson is in trouble.
He needs a win to avoid an 0-3 season
and he's gonna be going up against a very impressive rookie in blip.
That fight coming your way next on battlebots.
[chris] we continue here on battlebots and up next it is another pair of teens
with one final opportunity to capture a win here in the qualifiers
as the rookie blip faces the vaunted lock-jaw.
Raise your hand at home if you thought through two regular season fights
that lock-jaw would be 0-2.
Yeah. Didn't think there's a soul out there.
It is incredible what has happened to donald hutson's robot
here in 2021. What do you make of it?
[kenny] well, sometimes he does get off to a slow start.
We see him come back and he gets stronger as it goes.
But this year, he's clearly wrestling with this bot
even though his two losses came at the hands of very solid teams
in copperhead and hypershock.
[chris] this is still a huge fight.
Donald has strength of schedule on his side,
not to mention he's a legend in this sport.
Can that status help him in the eyes of the selection committee?
[kenny] absolutely.
You look at blip. He's 2-0.
I mean, that would be a huge win.
So, yes, taking on blip, which is a rookie bot,
but not a rookie bot builder.
Of course, that's aren hill who took tantrum
all the way to the semifinals a season ago.
He made a quick work of the junkyard bot rusty in his first fight
and got his second win against overhaul.
Safe to say this is the first real test
for this new high tech flipper, kenny.
[kenny] absolutely.
Record aside, lock-jaw is still one of the most experienced teams
in this competition,
so aren and his crew are going to have to bring their a game here.
I think there's more at stake here
than just a trip to the tournament.
This fight is about making a statement and showing the battlebots community
that blip is the real deal.
Lots on the line.
Let's take you inside the box.
But first, faruq.
In the red square, facing off with this bot, you might end up in a coma
because he packs one hell of punch.
Call him locky balboa.
But you won't need a corner, man,
to yell "cut me, mick,"
because this bot has a vertical spinner
that will totally do the trick.
Tonight will be a heavyweight fight
and all these fans bought a ticket to watch him score a knockout
and scream, "yo, adrian, I did it!" [crowd laughing]
give it up for lock-jaw!
[cheering]
[chris] donald hutson and lock-jaw cornered like a rabid raccoon at 0-2.
How's the legend going to claw his way out of this one, kenny?
[kenny] listen, you can never count out donald hutson
and he's once again showing us why.
For the first time in 25 years of competing,
donald is bringing a minibot into the fray.
We see his teammate wally maksimow showing it off in all of its glory.
It has two counter-rotating screws
to drive itself underneath blip
and high-center it for a big hit.
In the blue square, he'll flip you from cali over to the east coast,
from alaska down to texas,
from frozen to toast.
He will run you cross-country with no tourist tips.
He owns the whole map.
Now, he's tossed out your trip.
It's blip!
[cheering]
[chris] aren hill and rookie sensation blip.
Kenny, what do they have to do to shut down lock-jaw's season?
[kenny] well, aren is putting an emphasis on the ground game for this match.
Under that front safety block is a series of piano key wedgelets
that are meant to prevent lock-jaw from getting underneath blip.
Aren told us his plan is to target some small flips
to get lock-jaw off balance,
then try and score the big one.
We have a new minibot called screw job.
In all my 25 years, I've never used a second robot.
We haven't even practiced it.
We're hoping to get that in the match
to kind of throw him off on his driving game a little bit.
Give him a little bit of something else to worry about
besides the weapon.
Aren's a fast driver.
He's very good. He's very nimble.
I have to be prepared to fly through the air a lot.
Even if I'm doing well,
it's more than likely he's gonna get a couple flips on me.
Tonight we're fighting one of the legends of this sport,
donald hutson with lock-jaw.
We also got a new frontend armor set up
to try getting cleanly underneath him
and hopefully avoid any hits from that big, angry vertical spinner.
We're feeling pretty confident in making the top 32.
Blip's in at 2-0 as a completely new rookie robot.
Really want to make that a 3-0.
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin!
And uh-oh. Donald hutson gets caught up on the floor out of the gate.
We've seen that before.
Blip going right after lock-jaw.
Trying to get under the veteran.
And he does!
Nice little flip there.
[kenny] and this is what he's gonna start off with.
Just little flips to get him off balance then get underneath.
-[kenny] uh-oh! -[chris] donald hutson's on fire!
-[kenny] oh, boy. -[chris] donald hutson's on fire.
We have seen him drive like this before
but you have to wonder what is that going to do to the main weapon.
[kenny] he may have to shut it down
and blip's gonna take advantage of that if that's the case.
[chris] so, aren hill draws first blood.
The veteran lock-jaw trying to shake it off and reset.
Come back here, donald.
[chris] and donald hutson now knows he has to use the battlebox as his weapon
don't bet against it.
[kenny] excellent driving by aren hill and his team.
Doing a great job of keeping lock-jaw off balance.
[chris] uh-oh, he's got donald hutson against the screws of the upper deck.
Trying to maybe flip him up on the upper deck.
-[chris] yes, he does! -[kenny] whoa!
[chris] and hutson has to find his way off, which he does.
Blip continuing to dominate the battle for low ground here.
[kenny] blip is so compact, so low to the ground, just like tantrum.
They are pushing lock-jaw around right now.
Oh, lock-jaw's turn!
[chris] lock-jaw proving it's still mobile and willing to engage.
Ninety seconds to go.
The veteran dealing with a fire inside the robot.
The weapon still inactive.
Basically, screw job doing no job.
[kenny] yeah, chris. I mean, the only thing that's keeping lock-jaw alive is
the driving of donald hutson.
[chris] lock-jaw inverted now.
And the pulverizer takes a little swing at it.
-[kenny] oh! -[chris] holy smokes!
[kenny] these flips are getting bigger, chris.
[chris] now the little guy is trying to be a nuisance.
Let's see if that affects blip at all.
[kenny] and that weapon is back on for lock-jaw.
[chris] under a minute to go, lock-jaw takes another flip, but sticks the landing.
Can donald hutson find a way to even the scorecards?
Lock-jaw winning the low ground on blip now.
Those front forks getting underneath the flipper bot.
[kenny] oh, look at that.
[chris] lock-jaw takes blip into the screws.
That's a great display of control right there.
[kenny] donald hutson looking to make a move here
in the final chapter of this fight.
[chris] and here comes the minibot screw job getting underneath blip,
and lock-jaw carried blip coast to coast.
What an impressive move!
[kenny] and screw job has blip high-centered now, chris.
How about the late-game heroics from this little guy?
[chris] oh, and it looks like blip is starting to smoke.
They're firing that flipper to try to free itself.
Lock-jaw keeping the pressure on.
This match is gonna go the distance!
Both bots staying impressive to the very, very end.
[buzzer]
whoo!
[chris] all right, three hard-fought minutes
and now we turn to the scorecards.
So, is donald hutson's season over?
Will the rookie blip go undefeated in the qualifiers?
The replay, the decision, next on battlebots.
[chris] welcome back to battlebots
where we just witnessed lock-jaw and blip take it all the way down to the wire.
The judges' decision is incoming,
but first, let's revisit the action.
[chris] kenny, early on, blip really had it working.
[kenny] yeah, they got off to a great start
getting underneath lock-jaw repeatedly
and did exactly what they said they wanted to do.
Got those little flips early, got him off balance.
Lock-jaw lost control. Its weapon collided with the battlebox floor
and the bot went up in flames.
[chris] but somehow, donald hutson, the legend that he is,
was able to continue running his bot.
Did get in trouble here on the upper deck as blip with the great flip.
Hutson got back into the action
and never stopped fighting.
[kenny] no doubt. Lock-jaw took a trip to the moon
on this flip right here,
but donald stayed aggressive and even got the minibot involved late.
[chris] yes, screw job able to get underneath blip
as lock-jaw took it for a ride into the next zip code.
Blip may have had this match by the reins for the first half,
but lock-jaw left the judges with something to think about
as aren hill's bot started smoking at the closing bell.
Was it enough?
Here's faruq.
The results from the judges are in.
[cheering]
the winner by unanimous decision is...
Blip!
[cheering]
-[chris] aren. -Hi, guys.
Aren, if I had told you at the beginning of the season
that your rookie robot would be 3-0 after three fights,
you would have said...
Well, I'm pretty confident generally, so, "sure! Yeah!"
[laughter]
well, why aren't you surprised?
We put a ton of work in and I've got a fantastic team keeping that thing alive.
[chris] so what does it mean for you to upend a legend like donald hutson?
Donald's one of the most creative, innovative people in the sport,
and I'm happy to share the box with him.
And, in this case, very happy to take the victory.
Well, aren, congratulations on a remarkable regular season.
3-0 this year.
[cheering] thank you.
Thank you, guys. Thank you.
Donald, you've been around this sport an awfully long time.
You know anything can happen at any time,
but, big picture, how shocked are you
that you were unable to get a win during the regular season?
Uh, you know, it is a little disappointing, of course.
As a matter of fact, I think it's the first time in my history
I haven't actually made it very well,
at least had one win in the regular season.
So, yeah, it's disappointing,
but at the same time, I support this sport
to help foster, you know, great engineers.
He's a talented engineer and it's a pleasure to be destroyed by him.
[chris] always classy, donald hutson.
Thank you very much. We appreciate it.
Yeah.
Kenny, I don't like to make too much of it all the time,
but are we seeing a changing of the guard
right in front of our very eyes here?
[kenny] I mean, again, aren's one of those very talented and creative young builders.
Donald hutson's been in the game for a very long time.
You know, we stand on the shoulders of giants,
and I think aren hill has learned so much from the previous engineers
that have come before him.
One of those people is donald hutson.
[chris] you know, aren hill's other robot, tantrum,
secured the 18th seat going into last year's tournament.
Kenny, you gotta think that blip will be ranked even higher.
[kenny] I agree. I mean, 3-0. What else can you say?
He's gotta be top 10.
No question. And he does have that playoff experience,
taking tantrum all the way to the semis a season ago.
Okay, coming up.
The bulldozer from brazil, minotaur will collide
with the bombastic blade of deep six.
Two 1-1 teams desperately needing a win to keep their seasons alive.
And later, it's a battle of two of the sport's most dangerous tacticians
as skorpios faces off against yeti.
Let's take a closer look at tonight's main event.
Here we come!
[zach] last fight was a close match.
We went three minutes with the second seed from last year.
-[chris] this one is going the distance! -[buzzer]
and he didn't knock me out. He didn't throw me out of the arena.
He didn't get me up on the deck.
How about a taste of your own medicine?
We brawled for three minutes and that looks great to the selection committee.
[chris] and that's what makes zach lytle one of the best drivers in this sport.
I got a lot of important data back.
I know what works and what doesn't work.
And I now have a much better idea of how to tackle some of the bigger names here.
[chris] oh! Yeti is back and better than ever!
I'm feeling really good about the driving this year.
One of the changes is a variable speed drum.
In the past with yeti, the drum only goes one speed. It's either on or off.
It makes it to where I almost have no control over it.
[chris] poor yeti, it gets so amped up that it's all over the place.
Now we can control it.
So we can dial it up when we want to do that kill shot
or keep it low to keep his maneuverability high.
Now I'm actually able to drive for the first time in years.
-[kenny] yeti is hungry tonight, chris. Wow! -[chris] whoa!
Skorpios, one of it's biggest strengths is the driving.
[chris] zach lytle is getting nasty over here.
[greg] we need to worry about the saw, but I think more than anything,
we need to worry about the aggression and control categories.
We can probably get ahead on damage
but if they spend the whole time pushing us around.
We're not going to be able to do anything about that.
[chris] skorpios refusing to let up, kenny!
Greg and I are both feeling pressure.
We're both 1-1. We need a win tonight if we want to be in the 32.
I know he's known as a tank, he's known as a bruiser.
[chris] he's a force to be reckoned with.
That's a knockout!
I'm switching to what I used during the orby match:
Big blade, big power.
And I'm going to try to see if I can lay yeti out.
[chris] skorpios is inflicting all sorts of damage here.
[greg] zach is as aggressive as I am,
so he's not going to just sit back and let me dictate the fight.
Get back here and stop running away!
He's got the big armor. I need to try to get around to his side or his back.
He doesn't really need to do that to me.
He's happy to be coming straight on.
[chris] and skorpios right back on the attack!
[zach] I know he's gonna bring everything he's got.
We're gonna target the weapon belts.
We're gonna target the tires.
[greg] they're very hard to knock out.
We're very hard to knock out.
I want a knockout. I don't want any more judges' decisions.
I can't rely on the judges.
I really expect this to be a 3-minute fight.
-Ahhh! -Let the carnage begin!
[chris] welcome back to battlebots,
coming to you from the desert of destruction
here in las vegas where we are four matches into tonight's high stakes fight card.
There you see aren hill and team blip watching us live from the pits,
fresh off their win over the legend donald hutson.
Can't wait to see where they land in the round of 32.
But right now, we turn our attention to another pair of 1-1 teams
in dire need of a victory.
It's the pride of brazil, minotaur taking on deep six.
Now, deep six is easily one of the most intimidating weapons
in the entire competition, but to this point,
it's been looked at as somewhat of a novelty, kenny.
[kenny] I mean, I know I'm terrified of that blade every time it fires up
and I can assure you its opponents feel the same.
But a giant weapon is only as dangerous as the bot it's attached to,
and deep six hasn't exactly made waves
in the effectiveness department.
If this team wants to be taken seriously,
holding its own against minotaur would be a great start.
[chris] the beast from brazil, minotaur checks into this match
with a quality loss to sawblaze
in what became an instant classic,
and a dominant win over rookie dragon slayer.
But at 1-1, do we really have a good idea of who minotaur is this season?
[kenny] I mean, it's a fair question for sure.
A good loss and an easy victory
essentially takes them back to square one.
In order to really make a statement to the selection committee,
minotaur and their ferociously passionate and effective driver daniel freitas
need to prove that they're back to being the minotaur of old
with a big win here tonight.
Let's check it out. Faruq?
[cheering]
in the red square, a minotaur has the head of a bull
and the body of man,
which means you can get the horns,
and you can catch these hands,
so step right up.
I'm calling all matadors to shout ole and get gored through the battlebox floor.
It's minotaur!
[cheering]
[chris] minotaur and their spiritual leader
daniel freitas leading them out.
He has dedicated this season to his mother and his grandmother,
both of whom passed away shortly before the competition,
so he is fighting with a heavy heart.
As for this fight, which weapon are they going with, kenny?
[kenny] they brought in a bunch of new drums this season,
but they decided to go with a drum from 2019.
It's a heavier drum.
That will equal more inertia on those hits.
It's a 3-tooth drum.
In the blue square, this next bot is deep like a classical poem.
Opponents "shakesfear" him, the second they know him.
When he's "e.E. Cumming" to the box,
your butt's getting a kicking, son.
He'll punch you right in the emily dickinson.
He's the bot that goes hard.
It's deep six!
[chris] deep six captained by navy seal dustin esswein.
Arguably the biggest fight of his career here.
Now, this team took out a similarly sized bot
in pain train in their first fight,
but can they make waves here against minotaur?
That's the question.
[kenny] yeah. I mean, they're gonna have to drive well here
against minotaur.
They're a big bot.
They could be a little awkward.
Hard to stay stable on the battlebox floor,
but they can have some serious hits
if they go weapon to weapon with minotaur.
They could disable their weapon.
[chris] about 6 feet tall, has trouble moving around, a little awkward.
Sounds like you're describing me.
[kenny laughs]
we are very confident about the next fight.
We always go for the win, you know.
Minotaur against deep six, you guys are probably going to see a lot of sparks.
Like, we're gonna go grind them and hit them as hard as we can.
They are strong.
They can easily, like, get a big chunk off minotaur
and put us in a bad situation.
Whenever they close the arena doors,
everything can happen.
It will be a fun fight to watch for sure.
This is gonna be the biggest match we've ever had, you know.
Minotaur is a legend.
If we could pull out a win, that would be incredible.
We have to drive perfectly the entire fight
'cause they are one of the best, if not the best,
drivers in the competition.
Our goal is to keep going at him the whole time
and, you know, try and fend them off.
I am not getting into the round of 32 unless I win this.
[automated voice] robots, activate.
[crowd cheering]
[automated voice] red team, ready?
[chris] daniel freitas locked, loaded and ready to bull rush his way to the tournament.
[automated voice] blue team, ready?
Rock and roll.
[chris] oh, gosh, that means
they're turning this thing on again.
We need a medic on standby!
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin!
Minotaur's drum already up to full speed.
Oh! Taking a run... Oh, god!
Oh, gosh!
[kenny] oh! [laughs] what a hit to start this fight.
-My goodness. -[chris] well, minotaur's captain told us
he wanted to make a statement. They have. And deep six is on his feet.
Oh, and it's smoking.
Right in front of one of the judges,
lisa winter who gets a great look at it.
Hit me! Hit me!
[chris] the weapon, stuck behind the rails.
[kenny] minotaur just staring him down.
"you want more of this, bro? Come on!"
[chris] oh, let's see.
Let's see if deep six can get loose from the rails.
Oh? Oh?
And junior said, "hey, let's see.
There might be more. I'm ready to pounce."
oh, deep six is now smoking.
Hit me! Hit me!
[chris] the countdown has started.
And dustin esswein still begging for more.
[kenny] he's chewed away his leg.
[chris] that's unbelievable.
Oh, what a shot.
He's just finishing him off.
-[buzzer sounds] -[chris] that'll do it.
Oh, the brazilians celebrating what's most likely
their return to the world championship tournament.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] kenny, that weapon on deep six is so powerful
that it can destroy it's opponents,
or it can destroy itself.
[kenny] yeah, check this out.
Minotaur doing what it does best
threating with that drum spinner.
Backing deep six down and then deep six actually
catches its blade on the top of the rail
and sends itself flying, crazy!
[chris] you know, people forget, that is a 250 pound robot
that just got flung up in the air.
Minotaur finishing the job by chopping off one of deep six's legs.
And the brazilians they improved to 2-1
and look to be tournament bound.
Yeah!
[crowd cheering]
[crowd chanting] minotaur! Minotaur! Minotaur! Minotaur!
[chris] junior.
Junior, I know you guys missed last season.
How nice is it to hear an entire stadium
full of people chanting minotaur's name?
There are some things that... You can just look here, so.
We are so happy to be back.
And, it was really tough for us not being here last year.
And we are coming for the nut, for sure.
Well, go wave to your fans.
They love and adore you. Congratulations on the win.
Thank you, guys. Thank you!
Kenny, I certainly understand why the crowd loves the robot, minotaur.
I mean, it may be small, but that thing has the heart of a lion.
[kenny] you know, listen, they're the giant slayer.
That little compact brazilian bot
went out there against the monster,
took him out real quick, amazing.
You know, there's some teams that say, hey, we're coming for the giant nut.
And you're like, yep, I'm sure, we'll see ya there.
And then there's teams like that, that are saying,
yeah the giant nuts gonna be ours. We're like, yep.
-You know? I'm good. -We believe you. We believe you, man.
Very impressive showing and now a 2-1 record.
Coming up, the whirling wonder hijinx,
will look to notch a vital second win,
when it takes on the frigid flipper of subzero.
That's next, on battlebots.
We are back on battlebots.
And the world of robot combat has evolved dramatically
since the early days of the sport.
The bots, they hit harder.
They take hits that were previously unimaginable.
And are exponentially more impressive.
As a result, competing here at battlebots
is a more formidable challenge than ever before.
[donald] I've been fighting robots close to 25 years.
But the reality is, over the years
things have gotten quite a bit better.
[marc] when I started this work there were maybe 24 robots.
And everybody was doing it for the first time
and they didn't have their machines really well dialed in.
You had one crate with all your tools
and all the robot stuff in it, and that was good.
I have 10 people here.
Everybody that we know, that we know can turn a wrench,
they're here to help us.
And it's what you need to be competitive.
It's getting a little ridiculous how much stuff
you actually gotta bring to a competition.
Thirteen wheels, we've got seven bars, we got two full frames.
Engineering drawings, diagrams, schematics.
Spare parts, and extra motors, and extra gearboxes, there's even more electronics
and more computing power, and all that stuff being built into these robots.
[donald] and so now the robots are lighter, faster,
but definitely the main thing that's changed is they're more destructive.
-[chris] oh! -[kenny] oh!
It used to be only one or two real big heavy hitters.
And now there's dozens that I would say
have the power to knock you out in one hit.
The overall level of competition is much higher this time around.
[chris] oh, my goodness! Wow!
[jamison] every season is an evolution.
Every year the robots are getting that much better.
[kenny] whoa! That was a huge strike from sawblaze.
[nick] all the robots are hitting way harder,
they're staying in fights longer,
which means they take more damage.
[chris] oh! Another huge hit!
We've already gone through more spare parts than we usually do
half way through the tournament.
And we haven't even started the tournament. This field is insane.
[hal] you can see it in the damage. You can see it in the arena.
You can see it in the way people are acting in the pits.
It's a higher level of competition than we've seen before.
[chris] oh! Oh, my god!
What will the action here at battlebots look like in the years to come?
It's gonna be awfully fun to watch it all shake out.
But, let's get back to the present.
Where hijinx is prepared to clash
with the frozen flipper, subzero.
And, let's start with hijinx.
They sit at 1-1 and this team led by jen herchenroeder knows
they need a win tonight to impress the selection committee.
Or, they're probably gonna be on the outside looking in.
[kenny] absolutely, after a knockout loss to mammoth.
They were able to squeak out a decision over kraken to get them back to even.
Now, here tonight against a veteran bot like subzero,
hijinx has to notch a win.
Maybe they need to go even further and impress with a knockout win,
so, there's definitely some pressure on their side.
Taking on a very tough bot in subzero.
I get it, they're 0-2, but still,
nobody wants to face logan davis's bot with so much on the line.
[kenny] for sure. Subzero may not be having the season they hoped for.
But I think they may be able to turn it around here.
If you look back to last season,
they were able to defeat a very similar opponent in valkyrie.
So they know how to contend with the horizontal spinner.
And not to mention, these guys are from texas.
There's a lot of pride on that team.
They're not just gonna go out without swinging, come on.
-Or at least without flipping. -Yeah. That's true.
Faruq, take it away.
[faruq] in the red square,
from dallas, texas, the lone launching great from the lone star state.
It's subzero!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] I told you they're winless.
But those l's are against shatter! And bloodsport, no joke there.
Logan davis with his toolkit and his beard, still smiling.
[kenny] oh, he loves this.
But he has certainly had a very serious schedule.
And he doesn't want to leave battlebots without a win.
He wants a big win here over hijinx.
[faruq] in the blue square,
from oakland, california,
it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt.
Then, it's really fun!
It's hijinx!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] jen herchenroeder getting ready to fight
to keep her tournament hopes alive here.
So, what's the key for hijinx, kenny?
[kenny] well, the key has to be driving here.
Orion beach bringing up the rear there.
Put an absolute driving clinic in their win over kraken.
Against subzero, he'll need to time his hits perfectly.
All without getting tossed on his head.
Going into this match against hijinx I am very concerned.
I do not have the kind of armor I need to really win this fight.
The only thing I can do is try to capitalize on their slow spin up.
They have a massive bar, it's probably taller than I am.
So I have just this small chance to get over there
and put them upside down.
In the last fight hijinx spent a little bit of time on the upper deck.
I think if we can put her up there she's not going anywhere.
She'll get counted out and we'll take the w.
I think that subzero is a veteran robot.
I think logan davis is doing a fantastic job leading that team right now.
I think it's gotten better over time and that's evident.
Uh, also, subzero took on valkyrie twice last year,
and was a decisive victor in the second encounter.
So, we know that they know how to handle a heavy horizontal spinner.
We're gonna take that very seriously.
[automated voice] robots, activate.
[chris] if you thought you were excited for this one, just look at subzero.
Hey, save it for the fight, ya show off.
Don't forget about subzero's drone, spitfire,
which is operated by logan davis's dad, brady.
[automated voice] red team, ready?
[automated voice] blue team, ready?
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin.
Subzero on a charge, gets under hijinx.
And trying to get at him from the side, and the behind, and everywhere in between.
-Whoa! -[kenny] flip there by subzero.
[chris] very fortunate for hijinx there, landing upright.
[kenny] oh, hijinx has to be careful near those screws.
See if it can get some space and fire up that weapon.
[chris] uh-oh, subzero, I don't know if that lifter
can go all the way down, kenny.
[kenny] nope. It is a mouth breather at the moment.
[chris] it is agape at this point.
Yep, that's gonna render the flipper pretty useless.
And we haven't seen that primary weapon fire up again for hijinx.
This is real... There it goes now.
Question is, can orion beach the driver get away from subzero.
[kenny] look out, hijinx is spun up now.
-Wow -[chris] whoa! That was more than cosmetics.
Yes! Good hit!
[kenny] yeah, there goes that front wedge,
the other one's about to go as well, chris.
If hijinx can get that weapon up to full speed again.
There it goes.
-[chris] oh, almost. -[kenny] oh!
-[chris] more and more pieces of-- -[kenny] whoa!
[chris] subzero just ending up around the box.
Hijinx ripped the back bumper off of logan davis's bot with that last shot.
[kenny] I'm not sure the spin up time on hijinx is where jen wants it to be.
But it is definitely hitting hard.
Subzero looks like it's been in a bar fight, chris,
and it's barely hanging on.
-[chris] here comes that spinner. -[kenny] there we go.
[chris] let's see if it can do more damage to subzero
which is starting to smoke a little bit as well.
On top of everything else.
Now choking, gagging, just gasping for air.
[referee] you gotta show me you got some kind of control here.
[kenny] looks like subzero's battling a severe case of emphysema.
-Ten, nine-- -[chris] there it is!
The ref has seen enough.
The countdown has started and hijinx is gonna move to 2-1.
Two, one, knockout!
-[alarm buzzing] -[crowd cheering]
[chris] kenny, subzero looked flipping great to start this matchup.
[kenny] yeah, well, I figured they'd be able to get underneath
with that ground clearance on hijinx.
They were able to get underneath
and had some good flips there.
That was one of them.
[chris] hijinx very lucky to land right-side up after that exchange.
Subzero's flipper got stuck in that open position.
And the horizontal spinner then went to work.
[kenny] yeah, absolutely, and hijinx just stayed on subzero,
they were aggressive.
And once they sensed that weakness they went for the kill.
And that's exactly what they did.
[chris] and here finishing it up
you can see the plume of smoke coming out of subzero.
One more shot and that will do it.
-[chris] jen. -Yes, hi.
Did you get that deep calming breath in?
Yes, thank you.
-Did you need it? -Yes, thank you.
Were you a little panicky the first 20 seconds of this one?
Because it looked like it took a while
for your weapon to really get going.
We have had an amount of electrical gremlins in no short supply.
Partially due to us being in a desert now.
And the air being much dryer, we're getting static as a problem.
We've done everything we can to mitigate that.
But it has increased our concern about getting ready,
very carefully.
So, I think the first few seconds of every fight
are probably gonna be a little hard on my heart from here out.
What was the strategy here against subzero?
Uh, the usual.
Yeah, try to get under them with our tail wedge, show them the tailfeather.
And then just do as much damage as we can.
I think it worked out.
-[chris] yeah. -[crowd cheering]
-thanks, jen. -Thank you.
[chris] so, hijinx breaks the tape on the qualifiers with an impressive 2-1 record.
And you have to think, we'll be seeing them in the round of 32, kenny.
[kenny] I'd say so, this team's only been trending upwards
since they debuted in 2020.
And with the win tonight to go along with
their very impressive performance against kraken.
Things are looking good for hijinx.
[chris] yeah, and a tough role this reason for subzero,
which made so many great strides in 2020.
-I think they're better than that. -Yep.
I think there were a lot of gremlins in that robot
that was causing a lot of problems.
So that is unfortunate for that team.
[chris] all right, coming up, two heavyweight brawlers
will square off with their seasons and reputations on the line.
It's skorpios, it's yeti.
The main event is next.
[chris] we are back on battlebots,
it is time right now for our main event.
And it is a tasty one, a pair of 1-1 bots.
Skorpios taking on yeti, you talk to both these sets of captains,
they both feel the same way.
Winner, guaranteed a spot in the round of 32, the other one,
enjoy watching the playoffs on tv.
Now, as far as yeti, they're still trying to find their groove
after a season off.
Took a loss to a top-tier bot in madcatter.
And then dominated pain train.
I would say greg gibson and christian carlberg
are trending in the right direction.
[kenny] we're us to seeing greg go into matchups guns blazing.
But he brought a much more composed mindset into his last fight
and came away with a victory.
He'll need to harness that technical approach here
against a very calculated skorpios.
[chris] team skorpios coming off a split decision loss to whiplash.
And you have to think zach lytle feels a little
backed into a corner in this one.
[kenny] yeah, he understands the gravity of this matchup.
Came into this season with high expectations,
after a very successful 2020. And told us,
"you guys called me a legend last year,
and I need to live up to that."
who do you give the edge to in this one, kenny?
Jeez, you know, with yeti
he's pretty new coming in here,
it's a completely different bot.
Uh, skorpios had some issues in its last fight.
They said they're gonna go back to basics,
to what they brought in their win over blade.
So, I don't know. We've seen a lot from both these bots.
Translation, rose, don't put me on the spot.
-Let's just watch the fight. -Watch the fight.
Let's go for it. Faruq?
[faruq] ladies and gentlemen, are you ready?
It's time for the main event!
[faruq] in the red square...
This big wheel keeps on turning.
Like tina turner once said. And when that big arm lowers,
the wheel goes right through your head.
Protect your armor because this giant saw will ruin it,
and you'll be all cut up screaming, "what's blood got to do with it?"
give it up for skorpios!
[all cheering]
-[zach] ladies and gentlemen, are you ready? -[diana] skorpios!
-Skorpios! Skorpios! -[chris] oh, zach lytle
and his wife, diana tarlson, clearly hyped up for this one.
They're bringing out a skorpios we know and love here tonight, kenny.
[kenny] yeah, they removed the front forks that hindered their driving
in their loss to whiplash,
and are going back to that trademark scoop configuration
that's been so successful in the past.
Zach wants to use it to break yeti's drum
and attack with their new, powerful hammer saw.
[team cheering]
[faruq] in the blue square...
Four gores and seven fears ago, he put other bots in distress.
Now, he's back with a new proclamation.
Call it "the yeti-sburg address."
he makes other bots weep, like they were abe's wife, mary todd.
When he fires up his engine and emancipates their souls from their bod.
It's yeti!
[cheering]
[chris] team yeti, locked and loaded
for the biggest fight of their season.
And greg gibson said he's never had this much control over yeti,
and it's all thanks to christian carlberg on the right, there.
[kenny] yeah, one of christian's biggest contributions to the bot
this year was installing a variable weapon motor into yeti's drum.
It allows christian to throttle down the speed of the weapon
when greg needs more control.
And dial it up to 11, when it's time for that patented yeti knockout punch.
[crowd cheering]
[tense music playing]
[chris] skorpios will be looking at dish-out damage
with that upgraded hammer saw, kenny.
But zach lytle needs to be precise.
[kenny] no doubt. The last thing he wants is to drop that weapon
directly into yeti's spinning drum.
[man chanting] yeti! Yeti! Yeti!
[crowd chanting] yeti! Yeti! Yeti!
[automated voice] robots, activate.
[crowd cheering]
[automated voice] red team, ready?
[crowd cheering]
[automated voice] blue team, ready?
-[cheering] -[crowd cheering]
-[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight! -[chris] a must-win situation
for a pair of veteran bot-builders.
Winner looking to secure its spot in the round of 32.
The loser will have to sit and wait for the selection committee.
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin!
[man shouting] skorpios!
[chris] skorpios got caught up on the floor. Took a shot to the beak.
[kenny] yeti got underneath skorpios there.
[chris] you could hear that hammer saw.
-It's already rolling. -[kenny] oh, great shot by skorpios!
[chris] looks like a belt has come off on the floor, kenny.
[kenny] that was one of yeti's belts, but the drum is still spinning.
[chris] and yeti slams skorpios into the rail and ruins our sign!
-You better... Put that back up there! -[kenny exclaims]
oh, my goodness. How about greg gibson and yeti?
-Going right through those tires. -[chris] big hit!
And, kenny, does it look like skorpios is smoking a little bit?
[kenny] it might be, chris.
-There might be a-- -[crowd exclaims]
a fire going on inside of skorpios, but not in a good way.
-[crowd exclaims] -[chris] oh! Another great strike from skorpios.
[kenny] oh, gosh! Something got shot up through the lights,
and one just exploded inside the box. Wow!
[chris] both weapons still active.
Zach lytle looking for an angle with that hammer saw.
-[chris and kenny exclaim] -[kenny] well, it just took out one of the tires--
[chris] yep. Skorpios saying, "I know what I'm doing, chris rose,
just let me operate!"
[kenny laughing]
[chris] nice work by yeti to get skorpios up and over!
[kenny] well, right now, yeti doing a great job of winning the ground battle.
Look at skorpios, chris.
[chris] yeah, it is smoking, and it looks like the weapon is starting to sputter.
It's slowed down just a bit.
[kenny] yeti has delivered the power shot so far,
but skorpios has been precise with that saw.
[chris] 90 seconds in. Skorpios starting to go
to work on that left front tire of yeti now.
[kenny] been a very strategic fight from both drivers here,
but yeti has been more aggressive, in my opinion... Whoa!
-[crowd exclaiming] -[chris] the pulverizer lands a shot.
[kenny] wow.
[chris] closing in on the 1-minute mark.
-[crowd exclaims] -yeti, another shot at skorpios.
-It just hit the front-- -[crowd exclaiming]
-great job! -[kenny] what a hit!
[chris] is it...
It is stuck in the screws! Is it stuck for good?
[kenny] uh-oh!
Oh, it flipped back over. Wow!
Greg gibson is having the fight of his life right now.
He is driving so well here against zach lytle.
[chris] but has that primary weapon on yeti stopped spinning, kenny?
No lights there.
[kenny] it looks like it may be down, and that is gonna win skorpios
some points on the scorecards, chris.
-[chris] 30 seconds to go. -[kenny] what a fight.
[chris] unbelievable action between these two legendary drivers.
Greg gibson of yeti. Zach lytle of skorpios. Look at them work!
[kenny exclaims] and you see some damage to one of the tires...
The wheel of skorpios.
[chris] yeti gets off the upper deck!
-[timer beeping] -we have been treated to 3 minutes of mayhem.
Shot after shot! Shattered glass! Belts on the floor.
-Tires throwing around. -[timer buzzing]
-[chris] what an amazing main event! -[crowd cheering]
thank you!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] and that, ladies and gentlemen, is what battlebots is all about.
Who will the judges send into the world championship tournament?
The decision, when we continue.
[diana] that was so good!
Boy, that was a fun one.
What a good fight.
-Well, the drum was dead. -[referee] the drum's dead.
-Yeah. Something killed the drum. -[referee] okay.
Whoo! That was unbelievable!
-[man] all right, good work. Nice work. -[woman] that was awesome!
[diana] whew!
[zach] hopefully, we left a... Left that in the judges' hearts.
-[man 1] I think it's split. -[man 2] yeah, for sure.
[man 1] I think it's split.
-[diana] let's not... Let's not-- -he did have a lot of control.
-[diana] we gave them a lot to talk about. -[man laughing]
[man 2 laughing]
[chris] let's get it going.
[people cheering]
[chris] welcome back to battlebots, where skorpios and yeti just treated the fans
to 3 minutes of "holy cow!"
the judges' decision is mere moments away,
and while the teams await their fates, let's take a look at the replay.
Kenny, break this high-stakes brawl down for us.
[kenny] man, both teams came to play tonight.
Check out this beautiful strike by skorpios severing yeti's weapon belt.
But then, greg gibson unleashed hell with that drop spin.
[chris] who would you give the aggression points to?
Because I really thought both of them did a great job.
[kenny] both were very aggressive,
but I think yeti might have been a little bit more so.
I think they landed some more shots.
Their ability to get underneath with those forks,
I think, was a huge advantage for them.
[chris] skorpios able to survive blow after blow...
[chuckling] that is one tough robot.
But in the end, it was yeti's primary weapon that couldn't go the distance, kenny.
[kenny] yeah, let's see how the judges break this down.
The loss of a primary weapon always has an impact on scoring.
For my money, yeti dictated the action in this fight. It's gonna be interesting.
Here's faruq with the decision.
The results from the judges are in.
[crowd cheering]
we have a split decision.
[zach exclaiming]
judge derek scored the battle
for skorpios!
[all cheering]
judge lisa scored the battle
-for yeti! -[all cheering]
judge jason scored the battle for the winner...
[tense music playing]
yeti!
[all cheering]
[all chanting] yeti! Yeti! Yeti!
[chris] greg and christian.
Hey, congratulations. When you hear the words, "we have a split decision,"
how nervous do you get, greg?
Little bit. I... I knew that one could be a coin toss.
-Uh... But it was a fun fight, right? -[all] yeah!
-[crowd cheering] -okay.
Greg, have you ever been in a bar fight?
-Uh, no comment. -Uh, me either. Me either.
-[laughs] okay. -That was what that was like.
It was like a bar fight.
[stutters] you said you were gonna, uh, drive a more technical, uh, you know...
Have a more technical fight.
To me, that seemed like a wild brawl.
[stuttering] well, I can make all the plans I want,
-but then zach comes in and drives like hell. -[christian chuckles]
-there's only so much I can do, so... -[kenny laughs]
-[diana] whoo! -We just kind of mashed and did it.
-[kenny and chris chuckle] -[all cheering]
greg, you guys missed last season.
It took you a fight to kind of get your sea legs under you.
Now, we've seen supreme driving and action in the last two.
Can yeti be a giant nut contender?
-[crowd cheering] -I'd like to think so.
More important is that we put on the good fights.
I want that every time.
Christian, you've been around this sport an awfully long time.
I'm gonna let you answer the question.
-Is this a giant nut contender? -[greg chuckles]
look, I'm having a great time.
This is the most exciting fight I've been a part of in a long time.
It's fantastic. And great job, skorpios.
-And great job, yeti! -[all cheering]
well, I'm sure we will see you guys in the round of 32.
Congratulations. Go check out your bot.
Thanks, guys.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] zach and diana, I, uh... I don't even wanna
call you guys the losers tonight.
Because I just... I just feel like you didn't win the fight.
-Um-- -the audience won tonight, for sure.
-[zach laughs] -that was...
-[crowd cheering] -[diana chuckling]
-I know we took down a couple signs in there. -[chuckles]
sorry about your arena, guys. [chuckles]
zach, you know... Again, you went out there and had an amazing fight.
You may have lost, but the way that you fought,
do you think you still have a chance to get into top 32?
Well, I think this selection committee needs to realize...
We just went 3 minutes with yeti. We went 3 minutes with whiplash,
-and every second of that was awesome television. -Yeah!
-[crowd cheering] -so if you want more of that,
-you gotta put us in the 32! -We got more!
-[kenny and chris laugh] -we got some more for you, guys!
-Let's go! -[both laughing]
guys, we look forward to hearing from the selection committee.
-Great show. Congratulations. -Thank you.
[zach] yes.
Skorpios!
-[all cheering] -[theme music playing]
[chris] so, congratulations to greg gibson, christian carlberg,
and the abominable yeti for notching a win
that should all but guarantee them a spot in the round of 32.
Great comeback season for them so far.
And for zach lytle and team skorpios
they're gonna have to hold their breath
and hope that their strength of schedule and overall pedigree
are enough to sneak them into the bracket with a record of 1-2.
There were some amazing fights tonight, and incredible storylines.
Valkyrie and minotaur both improved to 2-1.
Blip now sits at 3-0 after flipping veteran donald hutson out of the running.
Gruff's season hangs in the balance after
it was made into minced meat by the now 2-1 cobalt.
And riptide notched a statement win
that should have the rookie tournament-bound.
And, buckle up, folks, because next week,
it is the final qualifying fight card of the season,
leading to the epic reveal of the 32 teams that will be
-competing in this year's world championship tournament. -[crowd cheering]
it does not get much better than that.
So, for faruq, our bot whisperer, pete, my man, kenny florian...
I'm chris rose. We're gonna see you next time, here on battlebots!
[all cheering]