[electronic sound effects]
robotic voice: Robots, activate.
[theme music]
[cheering]
hi, everybody, and welcome
to "battlebots," the show that
lives out your childhood
dreams, if your dreams were
watching two robots
beat each other
into smoldering heaps of metal.
I'm chris rose.
And speaking of doing a
lot of damage, joining me
is former ufc punisher
and analyst kenny florian.
Kenny florian: Thanks, chris.
As we move closer to the
world championship tournament,
the stakes continue
to skyrocket.
Every bout tonight has
tournament implications.
Some bots are on the brink
of making the bracket,
and tonight's
fight is do or die.
Others are almost a lock,
so they face a dilemma.
How much risk will
they take to get
a better seed, knowing
one bad hit could
wreak havoc on their season?
And for the rest,
it's playing for pride
and letting it all hang
out as a potential spoiler,
and maybe make a loud
enough statement to shock
the selection committee.
We have an appetite
for destruction,
and the table is set.
Let's see the menu.
Tonight's high-stakes
fight card...
It's back to the future as
the technological wonder
that is chomp meets the
high-impact spinner hijinx.
Kenny florian: And for hijinx
captain jen herchenroeder,
not only are her playoff
hopes on the line.
She also has a chance to claim
a victory over her idol in chomp
captain zoe stephenson.
Chris rose: We may need an
exorcism after this one.
Witch doctor, a
finalist last season,
couldn't have had
a worse start...
Two losses, no wins.
Tonight may be the one
remaining chance to stay alive.
Kenny florian: Standing in their
way and looking to play spoiler
is the undefeated slammow!
Captain craig danby
didn't mince words.
He told us, "this will be the
biggest match of my career."
chris rose: And in tonight's
main event, two K*llers.
Two wins apiece, both
looking to stay perfect.
The deadly snake from the
mile high state, copperhead
takes on the battle-tested
beast from brazil, black dragon.
But first, we're serving up a
good one in our opening bout.
Captain shrederator
versus shatter!
Two bruisers, each
with a 1-1 record.
This ought to be
a heck of a fight.
Only one way to find out.
Are you ready?
I'm ready.
Faruq, let's get
this show started.
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
ladies and gentlemen,
it's robot fighting time!
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
in the blue square, it's
red, white, and blue,
and it's about to make
a scrap heap out of you.
It's the unstoppable spinner
here to eat you for dinner,
captain shrederator!
[cheering]
chris rose: Knocked
out by lock-jaw
and then a ko of axe backwards.
Brian nave is starting to
regain that confidence.
Kenny florian: Definitely.
This is a real crossroads
moment for this team.
Captain shrederator has been
plagued by reliability issues
for years now, but a win tonight
over a tough team like shatter!
Could launch them
into the tournament
and do wonders for
their reputation.
A loss or breakdown would
do exactly the opposite.
As brian would say, this
is a spin to win-or-go-home
fight for captain shrederator.
Spin to win!
Faruq tauheed: In the red
square, with a bright neon
color scheme, he's
incredibly flashy
and the most dangerous
vehicle from new york
since they invented the taxi!
It's shatter!
[rock music]
[cheering]
chris rose: Well, check it out...
A very different look for
the usually shiny shatter!
What gives, kenny florian?
Kenny florian: Different
is right, chris.
After shatter's
controversial lost
a malice in its last
fight, adam wrigley
is pulling out all the stops.
He's removed that
decorative shattering armor
he's become known
for, for fear that it
cost him his valuable
damage points
in his only loss of the season.
Adam clearly knows what's
at stake in this fight,
and he isn't taking any chances.
[cheering]
shatter's one of
my favorite robots.
It's a great robot... it's
reliable, it's maneuverable,
it hits hard.
It's gonna be a
good fight for us.
It'll test our reliability
'cause it's probably
gonna be the whole distance.
We're feeling better this year.
The robot seems to
be holding better.
For some reason, it
isn't spinning as hard
and spinning as fast, and
I think that's actually
giving us more reliability.
It's reducing our hit
power a little bit,
but sometimes you gotta give
up power for reliability
if you're gonna
make it to the end.
In this fight, we're going to be
taking a more typical approach,
a more conservative approach.
We'll try and slow
him down before we
hit him with the hammer.
So we've gotta be
really careful,
try to keep them from getting
up to full speed if we can.
And if they do, then try to
slow them down gradually.
There's just so much
power in that shell
when it gets up to speed.
[cheering]
robotic voice: Robots, activate.
[cheering]
chris rose: Kenny, it sounds
like adam wrigley is gonna play
the waiting game in this one.
Kenny florian:
Yeah, he's clearly
willing to absorb
some punishment if it
means he can break
shrederator and then
safely let the hammer fly.
Let's see if he can pull it off.
Robotic voice: Blue team ready?
Spin to win!
[cheering]
robotic voice: Red team ready?
Spin to lose, buddy.
[laughter]
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
chris rose: Shatter!,
shrederator...
A loss here, and it's probably
time to pack your bags
and go home.
[cheering]
let the bot battle begin!
Shatter!
Cautiously inching
toward shrederator.
[impact]
oh!
Shrederator rips a
chunk off shatter!
And lands another jab!
Brian nave draws first blood!
Kenny florian: Shatter!
Absorbed that punishment and is
still looking patient, chris.
Chris rose: The bots
doing a little tango.
[impact]
oh!
And shrederator dropped
another b*mb on shatter!
Adam wrigley has
gotta be careful he
doesn't spot brian nave too many
points here to start, kenny!
Kenny florian: Yeah,
clearly adam has
a lot of confidence in shatter!
[impact]
chris rose: Oh!
Another pop by shrederator!
Kenny florian: Team
shatter! Is committed
to this strategy, chris.
They want to try and
break shrederator
before they drop the hammer.
But you're right, shrederator
is racking up points here.
And any one of these shots
could rattle shatter's internals
and end this flight.
Chris rose: We're about
a minute into the fight.
[impact]
whoa!
Biggest hit of the match!
Kenny florian: And captain
shrederator's still spinning.
I don't think they want to be
over to the side of that box,
though.
Chris rose: The recoil is always
the danger with a full body
spinner in where it ends up
and if it's still working
after a major hit, even
one in which it dished
out some serious punishment.
Kenny florian: Shrederator a
little out of control here.
Chris rose: Ok!
There's the hammer from shatter!
Kenny florian: Uh-oh.
Chris rose: Oh!
And a wild swing!
Kenny florian: This is
where captain shrederator
has to attack, though!
Chris rose: Except it's smoking!
It's smoking!
So now, for the first
time, captain shrederator's
having trouble moving around.
Oh no!
Kenny florian: Smoke
pouring out of their bot!
Chris rose: This
is a perfect time
for shatter! To get a
hammerhead hit in, and it does!
Kenny florian:
Well, the patience
now is paying off for shatter!
They're slowing down, and their
strategy is being ex*cuted
perfectly at this point.
As predicted, captain
shrederator slowing down,
chris.
Chris rose: Adam
wrigley called his shot,
and now shatter! Has the
opening it was looking for.
Kenny florian: Oh!
Chris rose: Oh.
Oh, another one!
Kenny, the big
question here is, can
shatter! Dig itself out of the
hole it's in on the scorecards?
Kenny florian: Definitely
has some work to do!
Chris rose: And shrederator
backed up against the screws
is a bad spot for it.
The hammerhead once,
twice, three, four!
Do we have more?
There's definitely little
pieces of shrederator
all over the box!
Kenny florian: Shatter!
Is storming back, chris!
Get him, mary!
Chris rose: Oh!
And the pulverizer
drops on top, as well.
And again!
Kenny florian: You go!
No, you go!
No, you go!
Chris rose: That
was friendly fire!
Look at the hammer head!
Another!
Another!
And look at the
cracks that are on top
of that captain shrederator!
He's got him pinned!
Kenny florian: This is like
a carnival game, chris rose!
[impacts]
chris rose: And shatter!
Is actually shattering
to top of shrederator!
That's way too many
s's for me at once.
Here we go... the
final few seconds.
Oh!
And on for goodbye still!
Kenny florian: Put an
end to this madness!
[cheering]
chris rose: That was
a fantastic match!
[cheering]
oh, why does it always do that?
Chris rose: All right, let's
go to the bob whisperer.
Pete, what did you
see down the stretch?
Pete abrahamson: Well, I
saw perfectly ex*cuted plan
by shatter! To sort
of wait it out,
take the hits in the front
of the soft sort of armor
they got to slow
down shrederator.
Let shrederator almost
be his own enemy,
and then come in once
he stops spinning
to actually be able to get the
hammer to poke through the top.
Chris rose: So this
one goes to the judges,
scoring on an 11-point system.
Up to 5 points can be
awarded in the damage
category, 3 for aggression,
and 3 for control.
Your judges are all former
"battlebots" participants...
Derek young, lisa
winter, and jason bardis.
[dramatic music]
kenny, the first
minute of this fight,
it was pretty much
all shrederator.
Kenny florian:
Yeah, that's right.
Captain shrederator got
off to a great start.
They were picking their shots,
kind of sticking and moving.
They did a good
job of staying away
from the battle box
for the most part,
staying away from those hazards.
But shatter!
Was patient.
Chris rose: And their
patience paid off.
Shrederator's reliability
issues reared their head.
The shell stopped
spinning, and shatter!
Dropped the hammer.
Kenny florian: Boy, did he ever!
But it was a race against
the clock for shatter!
To even the scorecards.
Adam let it fly,
though, and started
racking up damage points like
he was playing a video game.
Chris rose: Heck, even let
the pulverizer in on the fun.
Kenny florian: Yeah,
how about that?
They have one
hammer on their bot.
They're like, you know
what, let's make it two.
Help me out here.
You go. Now I go.
You go.
Now I go.
Excellent teamwork there.
Chris rose: It has gone
from captain shrederator
to captain colander.
Here's faruq with
the judge's decision.
The results from
the judges are in.
The winter by unanimous
decision is shatter!
[cheering]
[music playing]
[cheering]
good job, adam.
Good fight.
Good job, man.
Chris rose: Adam wrigley, you
told us before this fight it
was essentially a playoff game.
Did it have that
type of intensity?
It did.
That was a real intense match.
I mean, you felt it the
whole day coming up to it.
We went the full 3 minutes.
That was a tough fight.
You talked about
your strategy with us,
and I thought you
ex*cuted it beautifully.
You said it was all about
patience, persistence, pacing.
Was that pretty much
the way it went down?
Yeah.
You know, I think we ex*cuted
our strategy in the last match
perfectly.
The strategy was wrong,
so we changed it up.
In this match, it worked.
So it's nice to see
it come together
and get the win in the end.
But adam, how
challenging is that,
when you see the clock and
the seconds ticking away,
and you're like,
ok, we're a 1:15 in,
and we really haven't fired our
weapon yet the way we want to?
Isn't that difficult?
It's frustrating, you know,
'cause we love smashing stuff.
Right?
We want the boom.
And to hold back is really hard.
But we knew it was
the right thing to do,
and it paid off in the end.
If you do indeed
crack the top 32,
as you expect, how
dangerous is this robot?
I think this robot
can go all the way, man.
You saw the armor
perform out there.
You saw the hammer
perform out there.
I think when we're
running right, nobody...
Nobody can beat this thing.
I remember asking you
earlier in the season
after your first win if it's
time to let your hair down.
You said, well, maybe
later in the season.
Adam, it's later in the season.
I think it's time.
Should I do it?
It's a tight bun.
Yeah.
She made it real tight.
Yeah.
Well, let's see this.
Oh!
There we go!
Holy smokes!
Now that... ok!
Nice!
All right, he's gonna open
for led zeppelin later.
I think al kindle might
be a little jealous.
[laughter]
there's plenty of
bot builders that
are a little jealous as well.
Adam, congratulations dude.
Thank you very much.
[cheering]
chris rose: So adam wrigley
avenges his controversial loss
to malice with a very
convincing victory here tonight
that sends him to a strong 2-1.
And for brian nave, it's not
looking great for the veteran.
He joins a cluster of
teams sitting at 1-2,
just standing in
the school yard,
fingers crossed,
hoping to be picked
to play in the big tournament.
Coming up, a "battlebots" legend
returns to take the wheel,
as gigabyte spins into the box
for a showdown with claw viper.
A spot in the top 32
may hang in the balance.
The action continues
next on "battlebots!"
we are back on "battlebots."
and right now, we have
yet another installment
of tonight's do-or-die
saga, as gigabyte
squares off with claw viper.
Both the iconic full-body
spinner and the speedy grappler
enter the final match
of the qualifiers
with a record of 1-1.
And both desperately need
to impress with a win
here if they want to be
considered for the world
championship tournament.
So who's it gonna be?
Let's check 'em
out inside the box.
Faruq, do your thing.
[cheering]
faruq tauheed: In
the blue square,
from oceanside, california, the
spinner with the naughty body,
it's gigabyte!
[cheering]
chris rose: Gigabyte
knocked out by copperhead,
and then it ko'd extinguisher.
Oh gigabyte, you
never looked so good.
Kenny florian: You know
who else is looking good?
That man in the
middle, matt maxim.
We haven't seen the
legendary driver since 2016
with his bot stinger.
He'll be operating
the shell spinner
to try and propel them to a
crucial victory here tonight.
Faruq tauheed: In
the red square,
from seattle,
washington, the seattle
face needle, claw viper!
[cheering]
chris rose: Team claw viper, led
by kevin milczewski, a software
engineer from
seattle, ko'd hijinx
in its "battlebots" debut, then
got beat up by black dragon.
Kenny, this is
one of the fastest
bots in the entire field.
Kenny florian: Yeah, this
thing is lightning fast
but has been bordering on out
of control at times this season.
Claw viper needs to be more
deliberate with their driving
and avoid those wild box rushes.
You don't want to
expose yourself
against a powerful full-body
spinner like gigabyte,
especially with a veteran like
matt maxim at the controls.
[dramatic music]
[cheering]
so we're 1-1.
The first fight didn't go well
because of driving issues,
and floor slippage,
and a stress fracture
that was in our main mast that
broke when it got a big hit.
So we fixed all
those things, and I
don't think we have a
chance to make the final 32
without winning this fight.
So this is really
important to us.
So gigabyte is a full-body
horizontal spinner.
Our strategy is we
have a wedge that we
used previously against hijinx.
We're gonna be on him quick,
fast, in a hurry, stay on him,
don't let him get spinning.
If gigabyte gets up to full
speed, we might be in trouble.
Horizontal spinners, they
tend to pop up and come back
down level, still spinning.
So if we pop him
up, we have to make
sure to not drive
underneath him, 'cause
then he's gonna land
on top of our lifter,
still spinning, and
chew it all to pieces.
We're gonna try really
hard to avoid that.
[cheering]
robotic voice: Robots, activate.
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
let's go, baby.
You and me. Crowd: Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight!
Chris rose: Let the
bot battle begin!
Claw viper with a box
rush there and a whiff.
That's gonna give gigabyte
the time it needs to spin up.
[impact]
whoa!
Kenny florian: Holy smokes!
Chris rose: Claw viper
pops gigabyte into the air,
but it sticks the
landing, kenny.
Kenny florian: Yacht,
claw viper's gotta be
very careful with those hits.
[impact]
chris rose: Wow!
But claw viper so far able
to take a punch, kenny.
Kenny florian: Yeah, but
it looks like they're
having drive issues here.
[impact]
chris rose: Whoa!
Kenny florian: A
little out of control.
That has been their weakness.
They need to lock in.
Chris rose: And
gigabyte, of course,
wants to stay into
the center of the box.
Anywhere near those graters
or screws, it smells trouble.
Back.
His back side!
His back side!
[impact]
chris rose: Gigabyte
rocks claw viper!
And claw viper
looks hurt, kenny!
Kenny florian: Yep.
They exposed their back side,
and gigabyte caught 'em!
Chris rose: An open
invitation for gigabyte
to maybe finish this off.
In the meantime, the
pulverizer doing some damage.
And claw viper may
have lost its drive.
Pete, is that what
you're seeing over there?
Pete abrahamson: I am seeing a
wheel roll-off from claw viper.
I'm seeing smoke coming
out of the main chassis.
I think it is done.
Chris rose: It is over.
You can hear the countdown.
Claw viper is knocked out!
Winner, gigabyte!
Chris rose: And gigabyte
at 1:13 with the knockout!
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
that thing drove like a*s.
[dramatic music]
chris rose: Kudos to matt maxim.
First time operating that
spinner of gigabyte, kenny.
Kenny florian: It was
pretty much all gigabyte.
Claw viper didn't
drive a great fight.
They overshot their attacks,
and gigabyte lit 'em up.
Chris rose: Pete,
when gigabyte is
flying through the air, that's
a 50-50 proposition on it.
Right?
Pete abrahamson: Completely.
I mean, the impact of
just hitting the ground
from 4 feet up is still rough.
Look at that!
Chris rose: Well,
maybe it has now landed
safely in the round of 32.
John mladenik, so was
that textbook gigabyte?
It was.
It was.
And we had a new guy doing
the spin, matt maxim.
Stinger!
Yes.
Welcome back from stinger fame.
So how did he do, john?
He did perfect.
He is so intense and so focused.
So he's really a big
help to the team.
Matt, what's it
feel like being back?
Uh, stress.
It's stress.
It's a lot of fun.
The energy.
It's hard learning a
new bot 'cause I'm so
used to working on my own bot.
So now, everything
I do, I have to make
sure I'm doing it right.
So to be on control of the spin
was... was really nerve-racking,
but it seemed to do good.
Well, you know what?
It sure is nice seeing
you on the ground
and not flying through the air
on fire like last time, matt.
Welcome back.
And john, congratulations
to you and team gigabyte.
Thank you.
[cheering]
chris rose: So gigabyte
spins its way to 2-1
and sets the table for
a 2020 tournament run.
Always great to have a
full-body spinner in the mix.
When we come back,
zoe stephenson and jen
herchenroeder shift
into survival mode,
as chomp faces hijinx.
Both teams are 1-1 with
their seasons on the line.
That's coming up
next on "battlebots!"
[dramatic music]
we are back on "battlebots."
and up next, kenny,
jen herchenroeder
will bring hijinx
into the battle box
to face one of the most
cutting-edge combat robots
in history, chomp,
captained by zoe stephenson.
Let's start with the 500-pound
walking marvel that is chomp.
This thing is utterly
massive, kenny.
Kenny florian:
Yeah, it's basically
two robots in one, chris.
The bottom half
controls the legs,
and the top half controls the
flamethrower and the hammer.
It's an incredible machine.
But the jury's still
out on performance.
Chris rose: You know, after an
impressive victory over gamma 9
in its debut fight, there
was actually some contender
talk swirling around chomp.
But after a
disappointing breakdown
in an untelevised
loss to ghost raptor,
zoe stephenson now sits
at 1-1 and desperately
needs a win here
in her final match
to have a shot at the top 32.
And tonight, she's squaring
off against hijinx,
led by jen herchenroeder.
And for jen, there's a lot on
the line, not only for her team
but for her personally.
Because she said, listen, if
you participate in "battlebots,"
you're gonna end up
fighting your friends.
If you hang around long
enough, you're gonna
end up fighting your heroes.
And for her, zoe
stephenson is truly a hero.
Kenny florian: And
she's gonna have
to take down her
hero tonight if she
wants her season to continue.
With the loss to claw viper
and a knockout of tracer
and an untelevised fight on
its resume, hijinx sits at 1-1.
And it needs to
impress by knocking
out the 500-pound chomp.
She has a ton of
respect for zoe,
but she wants to beat
her 'cause she wants
to make it to the round of 32.
Yes.
Let's see who will.
Faruq...
[cheering]
in the blue square, from
burbank, california, all rise
for the queen supreme, chomp!
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
chris rose: There it is... a
marvel of engineering, chomp!
And without any new technology,
it's all about baby steps.
They've had to work out some
reliability issues on the fly.
So the big question...
How does chomp
take care of an undercutter
like hijinx, kenny?
Kenny florian: Well chomp's
game plan is simple.
They want to occupy the
center of the battle box
and wait for hijinx
to come to them
so they can catch them
with the flamethrower
or drop the hammer.
Their last line of defense is
that yellow skirt, positioned
to protect chomp's legs.
In the red square, from
oakland, california, the golden
hate warrior, hijinx!
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
chris rose: Kenny, jen told
us, I'd be lying if I didn't
say that I wasn't nervous.
Maybe she's trying to hide
it behind the cool shades.
Kenny florian: I
think she's actually
pretty confident
in her bot, chris,
and she likes the match-up.
An undercutter presents a
unique challenge for a walker,
so jen has a path to
victory against chomp.
She's gonna to go cobra
kai and sweep the leg...
Or legs in this case.
[cheering]
we only have about 3 minutes
of walking in our legs.
So if I got too
excited on the drive
and I tried to really skitter
around all over the place,
we'd run out of air.
And then we'd be counted
out not because of damage
but just because our
air tank is empty.
So a thing I keep in mind when
I'm driving is, how much of you
have?
Do you really need to
make that movement or not?
I think if we can hit them
hard before they hit us,
we'll do really well.
It's just coordination,
staying calm, and getting
that hammer hit off first.
Chomp and zoe stephenson,
that's a legend.
Chomp is the bite force k*ller.
And what we have now is the
bite force k*ller on steroids.
It is twice as heavy.
It's pretty slow,
but it does walk.
I think one of the biggest
things we're worried about
is being able to get either
under or over the skirt
that's protecting the legs.
If we can get our wedge under
that skirt and make an opening,
swing the weapon into it,
I'm pretty confident we
can take out some feet.
[dramatic music]
robotic voice: Robots, activate.
[cheering]
chris rose: In a very
clever move from jen,
she has padded all hijinx'
armor with an extra layer
of vibration-dampening polymer.
We'll see if it's enough
to keep the weapon
motor safe from chomp's hammer.
[dramatic music]
[impact]
[dramatic music]
crowd: Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight!
Fight!
Chris rose: Let the
bot battle begin!
Hijinx firing up.
Kenny florian:
This is gonna come
down to the height of that
blade versus the skirt of chomp.
Chris rose: Bot bots
staring each other down.
There's that little flame.
Kenny florian: Chomp using that
flame almost like a deterrent,
saying, don't come
near me, hijinx!
And hijinx trying to tempt
that blade into firing.
[impact]
chris rose: Oh!
Hijinx probing, but chomp
staying patient for now.
[cheering]
get around!
Get around!
Chris rose: I feel like I'm
watching a nature documentary
and something bad's
about to happen here.
Kenny florian: Uh-oh!
[impact]
chris rose: Whoa!
Big shot! - Yes!
Good hit!
Kenny florian: Might be time
for chomp to drop the hammer.
Chris rose: Well, it
looks like the front
is tilted down a bit, kenny.
Kenny florian: Yeah, it
looks like they bent that.
[impact]
oh!
Chris rose: Oh, hijinx
slides underneath chomp,
and now attacking those legs!
Kenny florian: Well, this is
an excellent strategy here
from hijinx...
That stick and move strategy.
They're waiting for
that hammer to fire...
[impact] chris rose: Wow!
Kenny florian:... And
land a shot themselves.
Walkers are hit.
Kenny florian: And it
looks like hijinx may have
bent chomp's hammer, chris.
Chris rose: Oh, that is gonna
be a major, major problem.
Hijinx lining up.
[impact]
oh!
Continues to attack the
defenseless chomp's legs.
Kenny florian: And
that skirt on chomp
looks like it's been pushed in.
The legs are struggling to move.
And I don't think chomp
is mobile at this point.
Whoo!
Referee: 10...
Chris rose: The
countdown has started!
Referee: 8...
Chris rose: Chomp,
nowhere to run,
nowhere to hide, except back
to the pits with a second loss.
Chomp is knocked out!
Winner, hijinx!
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
chris rose: Kenny, so frequently
you talk about patience.
That's what orion beach,
the driver of hijinx,
had all night long.
Kenny florian: He's a
very skilled driver.
And I think the way that they
matched up against chomp,
this is a very tough
match-up for that hammer bot.
That horizontal spinner was
able to get to the legs.
They got to the armor first.
They compromised that armor.
Then they were
taking out that leg.
So they were very methodical
in their approach.
Chris rose: Pete,
what did you see?
Pete abrahamson: So hijinx
waiting for that perfect moment
of the hammer strike to
just get underneath it
and kick the legs out.
Kenny florian: And I
think that the armor
that they put on
the top of their bot
really paid off as well, chris.
That was a very smart
adjustment from team hijinx.
Chris rose: And then
once chomp kind of
lost its ability to
utilize its hammerhead,
it was over as well.
[cheering]
jen herchenroeder...
Wow.
Jen, you look like
you're in shock.
Are you?
I'm... I'm elated.
You never know how
a match is gonna go.
There's just no way to tell
how it's gonna turn out.
We spent a lot of time
getting ready for this fight,
knowing that chomp was
uniquely capable of doing
serious damage to
electronics that we have
stored very near the top armor.
So we took a lot of time
to prepare for this.
And I'm just so happy
it all worked out!
How amazing has this run been?
This has been everything
I could have wanted.
We came with a functioning
robot that looks great.
I have a solid team.
We've done incredible work.
I could not be
more proud of what
we've accomplished already.
And we want to go all the way.
Jen, congratulations.
Go celebrate with your team.
Thank you very much.
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
chris rose: So team
hijinx delivers
a clutch performance to end the
qualifiers and improve to 2-1.
Will it be enough to
break into the top 32?
For zoe stephenson and
chomp, at 1-2, they may be
left on the outside looking in.
However, you cannot say
enough about this team.
Every season, they
push the boundaries
of this sport with their design
and engineering brilliance.
They are true pioneers.
We can't wait to see
what next year brings.
All right, coming
up, the surprise
storyline of the season.
find themselves in an 0-2 ditch,
desperately needing a victory
to keep their tournament
hopes alive.
Slammow!
Stands in their way.
That's next on "battlebots!"
[dramatic music]
we are back on "battlebots."
we've witness three do-or-die
fights so far tonight.
And next up, a team trying
to come back from the dead.
Witch doctor steps into the
box with a surging slammow!
Jenny taft caught up with
andrea and mike gellatly
of team witch doctor
to see how they plan
on snapping their cold streak.
[dramatic music]
well andrea, mike, I know that
there were high expectations
coming into this season.
You start off with
a couple losses.
Kraken!
Yeah!
Just talk me through what
you've done to the bot,
and the changes and
adjustments you've made.
Mike gellatly: This
year, one change
that we made is that we made
the weapon a little bit harder.
So I mean, our biggest
issue the last two fights,
has been our disks
failing each time.
We're scrambling for ideas
on how to resolve the issue.
And you know, a lot of people
are using ar400, ar500 armor.
So the disks our
first two matches,
they've basically exploded.
So what changes were made,
and how did you do it in time?
The ideal situation was
to make new weapon disks
out of a different material.
We had to find the material,
which is very difficult to do.
Mike gellatly: So we
just messaged everybody.
We actually... we reached out
to al kindle from blacksmith,
who we... who we fought
last year in the top 16.
And he was able to
source material for us.
And he was able to get us
a dropped piece of ar400
that we were able to
pick up yesterday.
Remind me what you
were using before.
Andrea gellatly: Before, we
were using s7 tool steel.
We're using a material
that's a little bit softer.
So we'll be sharpening
that between every match.
And in order to get the
material the same day,
we couldn't buy
just what we needed.
We had to buy a 600-pound
piece of material.
Jenny taft: What?
Andrea gellatly: We're
driving a minivan.
You can't really put a 600-pound
piece of steel in a minivan.
So we had to actually borrow
a truck from sporkinok.
And by the time we do
all this in la traffic,
it's after 5 o'clock.
So there's no waterjet place
that's gonna take us that late.
Jenny taft: Yeah.
Andrea gellatly: But luckily,
we're pitted next to chomp, who
has a waterjet at their shop.
And they were
competing here late,
but they were so nice
to actually take it
back to their shop and
babysit the cutting of disks
until 5 o'clock in the morning.
So I understand
the, "thanks chomp."
this is a really
appropriate gesture.
If you guys go in and
do well, this is not
just a win for witch doctor.
There's a lot of people
involved in getting this win.
Andrea gellatly: But we're
leaving it all on the table
for this match.
I'm not used to
seeing witch doctor
kind of scrambling a bit.
This is different for you guys.
I appreciate the time.
Good luck.
Thank you.
Thanks.
Chris rose: Thanks, jenny.
A fascinating look at witch
doctor's plagued season.
And speak of the devil...
It's time to see how
that new disk will hold.
And remember, if they
don't get a win...
And this is what andrea
and mike told us.
They said, how could we
get put in the round of 32?
We just don't see it happening.
So they have got
to upend slammow!
And craig danby.
They're 2-0 with wins
over pain train and w*r?
Ez!, the latter of
which was not televised.
And kenny, this may
be the biggest fight
of craig danby's entire career.
Kenny florian: I
think it is, chris.
After years of struggling,
craig has finally
put together a couple of wins.
And while slammow! Has had
a relatively weak strength
of schedule, if it
can impress here
against a legend
like witch doctor,
I think the committee will
be hard pressed to leave
them out of the top 32.
A lot riding on this fight.
Faruq.
[dramatic music]
faruq tauheed: In the
blue square, more chilling
than a haunted house, more
deadly than a scorpion,
it's the most lethal
physician since dr. Kevorkian.
Throughout many seasons,
it's showed crazy endurance.
And that's not scary
enough, this doctor
doesn't take your insurance.
It's witch doctor!
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
chris rose: Losses this
season to hydra and kraken.
This team knows it is do-or-die.
Kenny florian: That's
never a good position
to be in because you're
gonna feel the pressure.
You might be a
little more tense.
You might not drive as well.
I'm sure that the team
members at witch doctor
would say this would be a
complete failure if they
weren't able to make the top 32.
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
[cheering]
faruq tauheed: In
the red square,
this bot slams so hard you'd
think he was hulk hogan.
And the way he
grapples, his matches
should be called by joe rogan.
But whether it's
"battlebots," mma, or wwe,
this bot is about to take down
his opponent live on your tv.
It's slammow!
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
chris rose: And here's slammow!
Captain craig danby walking
with a little swagger.
Do we think the lifter can
grapple a win here, kenny?
Kenny florian: Absolutely.
We've seen how
effective slammow! Can
be in getting a hold of
opposing and dropping
the suplex on them.
Look for them to test
witch doctor's new weapon
early on in the fight.
And if they can find a
way to break it, slammow!
Can go to town with
those grappling arms
and pull off the upset.
This is a huge opportunity
for craig danby here.
[cheering]
we're gonna be a little bit
more conservative than usual
with our weapon disks.
These disks we just
got made overnight.
It's the kind of steel that you
see on bulldozers, the really
heavy construction equipment.
It should be more that
up to the task for this.
But nothing is really
made for "battlebots."
so until we try
it in that arena,
we won't know
what's gonna happen.
We have to show the
selection committee
that they're gonna
see an improved witch
doctor for the tournament.
Our weapon cannot stop working.
These disks cannot
break this match.
So not only do we have to win,
we can't take it to the judges.
We have to make it
decisive and short.
So this time around, we're
using our triple point grabber.
So we've got a long tongue on
the bottom and two hooked claws
on the top.
The idea is that we're gonna try
to go straight down the middle,
as close to as possible,
and try and get those belts.
So if we can do that, we
should be able to grip
on the chassis and the drum
and get her up in the air,
and then either just
suplex her out of the arena
or just put her onto the
screws, or under a hammer.
We'll just keep
plodding, and keep
hoping and praying that the
robot gods shine on us one more
time.
And we'll see.
We go this.
We got this.
We got this.
We got this.
Robotic voice: Robots, activate.
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
[cheering]
chris rose: Will witch doctor's
new and improved spinner
be enough to save their season?
Or will slammow!
Play spoiler and launch
themselves into the tournament?
Find out next on "battlebots...
Fight night."
[cheering]
welcome back to "battlebots."
we've got witch doctor fighting
for their lives and slammow!
Looking to play the
role of spoiler.
Let's get it on.
[dramatic music]
[cheering]
crowd: Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight!
Chris rose: Let the
bot battle begin!
[impact]
kenny florian: Whoa!
Chris rose: And witch doctor
goes right into the claws there
of slammow!
Kenny florian: Pretty
good start there
for slammow! As
it tries to attack
the flank of witch doctor.
Chris rose: And starts
pushing witch doctor around.
Kenny florian: Yeah, that
front wedge of slammow!
Is working out pretty
well for 'em right now.
Chris rose: Will that new ar400
disk hold up for witch doctor?
[impact]
oh yeah!
Doing some serious
damage, creating sparks.
But look at slammow! Quickly
back him into the corner!
Kenny florian: Oh!
Chris rose: Oh!
Witch doctor rips a chunk
off of one of slammow's arms!
And so far so good
for that new weapon!
But check out slammow!
Holding witch doctor
like a boxer now, trying
to dictate the pace here!
Mike gellatly, one of the
best drivers in the biz,
backs up, tries to get
a little bit of a run
and then spins around
delivering a backside shot.
But look at slammow!
On the reversal.
[impact]
kenny florian: Whoa!
Chris rose: Both teams
super aggressive to start
this do-or-die match.
Kenny florian: Might have
been a mistake by slammow!
Dropping its grappling arms
into witch doctor's weapon.
I think they were trying
to test that new disk,
see if they could
break it, chris.
But it's held up, and slammow's
arms no longer look functional.
[impact]
[impact]
chris rose: Whoa!
Yeah, that's a big shot!
Big shot again!
Kenny florian:
They're taking apart
that side armor,
exposing the right side
of the wheels of slammow!
Right now, chris.
Chris rose: Yeah.
And mike gellatly
knows that it...
Kenny florian: Oh!
There goes some more!
Chris rose: There it is!
Yes!
Chris rose: Now
it starts to come
apart like a tuna can a bit.
Kenny florian: Witch doctor
fighting like their season
depends on it, and it does.
Chris rose: Yeah, craig
danby and slammow's only hope
here is to try and break
witch doctor's weapon.
Can they do it?
[impact] kenny florian: Oh!
Chris rose: Nice shot there.
[impact]
kenny florian: Uh-oh!
Chris rose: Now, one
thing that witch doctor
has gotta be careful
about is sometimes
this robot does overheat.
Does it use too much
energy at times?
Kenny florian: Slammow!
Is struggling, chris!
Witch doctor lining
up the k*ll shot!
Chris rose: Oh!
Straight into the rails!
I know that was stupid.
Kenny florian: Not
the battle box!
Take it easy.
Chris rose: And with under
a minute to go, slammow!
And craig danby only
rotating in a circle.
Have to show some sort
of controlled movement
for the fight to continue,
or he's facing a countdown.
Come on!
Referee: 10...
Chris rose: Here
comes the countdown.
Chris rose: Witch
doctor is going
to chalk up that first
victory of the season
and keep its dreams for
the round of 32 alive.
Referee:... 1.
Slammow! Is knocked out!
Winner, witch doctor!
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
[cheering]
chris rose: You
heard it from andrea.
This is the witch doctor
they've been waiting for.
Kenny florian: Yeah, absolutely.
And they took out a very tough
and durable bot in slammow!
In the process.
Landed some great hits.
Slammow!
Had some great moments
early in the fight.
They did a great job of
attacking around the sides.
And I think their biggest
mistake was going weapon
to weapon with witch doctor.
I think they were
hoping maybe that they
had the same kind of weapon,
and that it might break.
That was not the case.
They did a great adjustment
in finding this ar400 steel.
Chris rose: Eventually taking
off so much of slammow!
That it couldn't do anything
but roll around in circles.
And that's not good
enough to prevent a ko.
Kenny florian: And right
here is the final hit
from witch doctor.
Kind of teasing slammow!
Boom!
Attack from the side,
picking apart those wheels,
taking off the side armor
first, and, bit by bit,
winning this fight.
[cheering]
chris rose: Andrea,
there you go!
Yes.
Did I just hear that you
told your husband, we're back?
Yeah.
The witch is back.
That's the witch doctor
we're used to seeing,
not what we've seen in
the first two fights.
Is this more of a
relief than anything else?
Absolutely.
I mean, coming off a
finals run last year,
you know, we
thought we might not
make the tournament this year.
I mean, we still might
not make the tournament,
but at least we have a
chance, I think, with the show
we put on with hydra and
taking kraken in the distance.
I mean, it's out
of our hands now,
but we feel we do what we could.
And those disks did
not break, which
is all we were hoping for.
You know, when you're trying
out a weapon for the first time
and you're 0-2 at this
point in the season, you
start to second guess yourself.
What were you guys
feeling before this fight?
I definitely feel a lot
of pressure in this fight,
because, like andrea said, you
know, if we didn't win this,
there's no way we're
getting into the tournament.
And andrea, if you
guys are fortunate enough
to make it into the round of
I think if everybody's
been watching,
they know exactly
how scared to be.
Got it.
Go celebrate with the
rest of your team.
Good job.
Congratulations.
- Thank you guys.
Thank you.
[cheering]
chris rose: So andrea gellatly
and a very relieved team witch
doctor put out a show
for the committee
just in the nick of time.
And congrats to craig danby on
the best season of his career.
Slammow!
Put up a respectable
showing in this fight.
And at 2-1, do not count
them out of this tournament
just yet.
Coming up, sound the alarm!
Extinguisher is
determined to snuff
out the fire-breathing gruff's
chances of making the top 32.
That's on "battlebots...
Fight night," and it's next.
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
[cheering]
welcome back to
"battlebots," where
the fight to make the world
championship tournament
continues.
Up next, it's gruff
versus extinguisher.
Kenny, with a knockout win
over hypershock and a loss
in a judge's
decision to whiplash,
gruff enters its final
match of the qualifiers
with a record of 1-1 but a
solid strength of schedule.
Kenny florian: That's right.
Sam mcamis told us he's feeling
confident in that 1-1 record.
But in my opinion, this
is a big one for gruff.
With so many teams
in the mix this year,
the margins for making the
tournament will be razor thin.
Luckily, they're the
favorite in this fight.
I expect them to handle their
business tonight and punch
their ticket to the tournament.
Chris rose: They will be
facing 0-2 extinguisher, who
got knocked out by 11-year-old
tyler nguyen and perfect
phoenix in its first
fight, then suffered
the same fate against gigabyte.
Kenny florian: Yeah, it's been
a tough season for them so far.
But you know, extinguisher
has the chance
to play spoiler here against
a high-profile bot in gruff.
It's a tall order, but even
going the distance with gruff,
would do wonders for
this team's reputation.
Faruq, do what you do.
In the blue square,
from tampa, florida,
you're gonna get hosed.
Here comes extinguisher!
[cheering]
chris rose:
Extinguisher captained
my 18-year-old college
freshman john flaacke.
His parents owned a company
that recycled electronics
when he was a kid.
One day, dad brought
home an old robot.
John took it apart.
And guess what?
He was hooked.
Kenny florian: That's right.
John built his first heavyweight
robot at the age of 12.
He's going with extinguisher's
vertical disk configuration
tonight since it's capable of
inflicting the most damage.
Makes sense, as he's facing one
of the most well-armored bots
in the field, gruff.
In the red square, from
palm harbor, florida,
it's into the rough stuff.
It's gruff!
[cheering]
chris rose: Gruff trying to
bounce back after it lost
a decision against whiplash.
huge fight for them.
Kenny florian: These
guys are just so durable.
Their flame throwers
are extremely potent.
They need this win right here.
Chris rose: And here's a
nifty little "battlebots"
fun fact for you.
Sam mcamis is actually a teacher
in john flaacke's florida
school district, and has
even tutored some members
of team extinguisher.
Kenny florian: Think
he'll assign more homework
if they beat him tonight?
[cheering]
to prepare for tonight's
match-up with gruff,
we're coating our
electronics with some kevlar
so that's the flames can't
get into the electronics
and melt them as much.
We want to prove that
we're able to actually last
fight with a robot
that's not a giant spinner.
We're running the vertical
spinner with a few wedgelets
to help us get under them.
And then we're gonna
try to be a lot
more aggressive driving-wise,
instead of defensive.
So we're fighting
extinguisher tonight.
Our biggest concern
going into this fight
is just being able to get our
drivetrain problem solved.
We've got a solution for it.
I feel like we need
to win this fight
to guarantee a shot in the 32.
I feel like, if we win it,
we'll be a pretty good position.
If we lose it, it's...
It's gonna be tough.
We might barely
squeak in, but it's
hard, with a record of 1-2,
to make it into the top 32.
[cheering]
it looks like an anime puppy.
I know.
It looks cool.
That's why I spun the
thing so it was down.
Robotic voice: Robots, activate.
[cheering]
chris rose: Ah, it
looks like extinguisher
did a little paint job to
its bar in the center, kenny.
Kenny florian: Yeah,
a little dalmatian...
The dalmatian colors.
Very creative.
But you know what I don't like
about that bot is the fact
that it looks very high.
I think gruff's gonna be able to
get underneath that repeatedly,
chris.
Chris rose: And as far as
gruff goes, if there's ever
a bot that truly
lives up to its name,
it's this creation
by sam mcamis.
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
robotic voice: Blue team ready?
[cheering]
red team ready?
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
crowd: Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight!
Fight!
Chris rose: Let the
bot battle begin!
Extinguisher quick on the draw.
Kenny florian: Oh!
Chris rose: Nice block
from extinguisher,
and continues to
walk gruff down!
[cheering]
oh, but here comes
gruff on the counter,
giving the youngster
a taste of that flame
up close and personal.
Kenny florian: Gruff got
the low ground there.
Chris rose: And
here they are again,
flipping extinguisher
on its head
and driving them
into the screws!
That was nice!
That is a bad spot for them!
This is the worse one!
Kenny florian: Uh-oh!
Chris rose: Oh,
looking to suplex!
Kenny florian: Oh!
Could he pull it off?
Chris rose: Come on!
Kenny florian: Oh, can't quite
lift him up, though, chris.
Chris rose: No, can't.
Kenny florian: Oh, he's
trying to get some momentum
to try to get that lift going.
Chris rose: And...
Kenny florian: So close!
Extinguisher isn't having it!
Chris rose: Nope!
Kenny florian: Oh!
Chris rose: Wow!
Ok, I'll just toast you instead!
Oh yeah!
Kenny florian: Wow!
Chris rose: That's some
strength right there!
Can gruff complete the suplex?
Oh, there he goes!
Yes!
That is one of my favorite
moves inside the battle box!
Whoa!
Nice!
Kenny florian: Gruff is
dominating this fight, chris!
Chris rose: Just delivering
the beating all around the box!
Kenny florian: That is
just sheer brutality
there from gruff.
Sam mcamis determined to keep
the pressure on extinguisher
here.
Chris rose: Under
Gruff well ahead on
points at this stage,
but not content to sit
back and burn clock.
Looking to keep that
lifter active, kenny.
Kenny florian: Yeah, and
that vertical spinner
on extinguisher looks
to be out of commission.
Oh!
And here's gruff with
another blast of flame
to the face of extinguisher.
[cheering]
john flaacke has
to be careful here.
He's done an admirable job with
extinguisher in this fight.
The bot is moving better than
we've seen it before, chris.
Chris rose: No
question about it.
Gruff goes for the lift, but...
Oh, but look at this, kenny!
- Oh, he's smoking!
- Go!
Go!
Kenny florian: Oh my goodness!
Gruff is smoking, and
I mean really smoking!
This is bad news for sam mcamis!
He may have burned
out his motors, chris!
Chris rose: You have
got to be kidding me!
After dominating this fight,
gruff now struggling to move!
Kenny florian: Sam
mcamis just can't believe
what he's seeing right now.
What an upset this would be.
Chris rose: Oh, the
ref is hovering.
I need to see
controlled movement!
Kenny florian: If
they can just make it
to the closing bell, chris, they
are still way ahead on points!
Extinguisher is
already celebrating!
Referee: 10...
Chris rose: Oh, but here
comes the countdown!
And with 15 seconds left,
if gruff can't stop it,
they're gonna get counted out!
Referee: 4, 3...
Chris rose: Oh, what a hopeless
feeling for sam mcamis!
Referee: Knockout!
[cheering]
chris rose: Unreal!
[cheering]
kenny florian: Wow!
Wow!
[dramatic music]
chris rose: You know,
kenny, things we're working
really well for gruff early on.
He seemed to have
this match in control.
Kenny florian: Definitely.
You know, he's gotta be
super disappointed right now.
He had some amazing
moments, both with his fire,
with his grappler bot.
Hit a beautiful suplex, was
carrying the extinguisher bot
all over the battle box.
But I think he maybe put a
little too much effort into it
and burnt out his motors.
Chris rose: And that
is such the key.
This is a 3-minute fight.
And how many
builders have told us
that 3 minutes feels
like 10 minutes when
you're outside the battle box?
Because you just don't
know, so much can
go wrong at any given second.
Kenny florian: Being
able to pace yourself
and also manage your aggression.
I think he was out
there to really
try to impress the selection
committee with this win.
And he burnt out his
drivetrain in the process.
[music playing]
chris rose: John
flaacke, how surprised
are you that you
were able to reverse
the fortune of your robot
midway through that fight?
It was pretty good.
We haven't had a lot
of luck this season,
and some of the stuff that we've
been doing during our downtime
is kind of paying off.
Were you a lot more
satisfied with how
extinguisher was driving?
Yeah.
It really liked driving
with the spinner
on it instead of the hammer.
I think the weight was
making it a little bit
easier to control
with the differences
in where the weight was.
John, congratulations.
Is that the most
frightening firefighter
you've ever seen over your
left shoulder, by the way?
No, that's just my dad.
He's like our mascot.
Yeah, he is kind
of the team mascot.
Well, go celebrate
with the team mascot.
You got your first
win of the season.
Good job.
Thank you.
[cheering]
chris rose: So
extinguisher ends it's
with by far and away the best
performance of its career.
And for team gruff, an
absolutely disastrous end
to the qualifying rounds,
losing to a winless bot
and perhaps jeopardizing
their hopes of making
it into the tournament.
Coming up, two
students, one master.
Perfect phoenix
and atom#94 square
off in the battle
of ray billings
disciples on "battlebots...
Fight night," and it's next.
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
welcome back to "battlebots."
we are just one fight away
from tonight's main event.
But up next, a battle from
a galaxy far, far away...
Or in this case, los angeles.
We've got two disciples
of the sith lord himself,
ray billings, battling
for supremacy, as perfect
phoenix clashes with atom#94.
Let's start with the youngling.
Perfect phoenix is captained
by 11-year-old tyler nguyen.
His mom, julie johnson,
is dating ray billings.
So ray acts as a
mentor to tyler.
Is he really 11?
I want to check his license.
He's uber smart.
Kenny florian: Yeah.
Tyler could read
by the age of two.
He's been tinkering with
robots since the age of six.
And in his debut season
here on "battlebots,"
the kid isn't just
happy to be here.
He wants to make the top 32.
Chris rose: Well,
standing in his way is
yash deshmukh and
atom#94, who also counts
ray billings as a mentor.
Ray helped guide yash
through the early stages
of building his bot.
Kenny florian: Yeah, atom#94
is a dual vertical disk spinner
capable of reaching 5,600 rpm.
It's dangerous, but
yash has struggled
with reliability issues
in his rookie season.
He has one more chance to
impress his mentor, ray, who
will be in attendance tonight.
Let's see if he can get it done.
Faruq, do your thing.
[cheering]
in the blue square, from
herndon, virginia, put 'em up,
here comes killy the kid.
It's perfect phoenix.
[cheering]
chris rose: And here
come the little dudes.
Tyler nguyen, perfect phoenix...
They sit at 1-1 with
a ko of extinguisher,
also a loss to skorpios.
And make no mistake about
it, kenny, they are fighting
for their tournament lives.
Kenny florian: No doubt.
But hey, with extinguisher
just having beaten gruff,
tyler's strength of schedule
is suddenly on the rise.
But perfect phoenix
has very little
room for error in this match.
They need a knockout
of atom#94 here
to make a case for the top 32.
In the red square, from
india by way of canada,
it puts the b*mb in bombay.
It's atom#94!
Chris rose: There is yash
deshmukh from calgary, alberta.
Atom#94 is 0-2 with losses
to big dill and tantrum.
It has not been the best of
debuts for this squad, kenny.
Kenny florian: It hasn't.
But yash has a real
opportunity in this match
to right the ship,
impress his mentor,
and play spoiler to perfect
phoenix all at the same time.
And top 32 or not, getting
your first "battlebots" win
is a huge motivation
for any builder.
This is the major
leagues, folks.
All of these teams want
to continue to prove
they deserve to be here.
[cheering]
so tonight, I'm
fighting against atom#94.
And I'm feeling pretty...
I'm feeling pretty
good about it.
My bot has the speed advantage.
So I think I might get into a
good position around atom#94.
We're fighting quite a...
A pretty big spinner here.
So the red bar is made
of s7 steel, which
runs the risk of snapping every
time you hit the other bot,
especially a spinner like atom.
So I chose the blue bar for
better, like, absorption.
And it'll dish out comparable
power to the red bar.
The first floor
strategy from my side
is to remove his spinner
because I have that heavy weight
moving in front of my bot.
And that could probably help
me a lot in breaking the blade
or most probably
taking the blade off.
So that would be my first point.
And apart from there,
like, maneuvering my bot
into the arena so, like, I
won't be exposed to any damage
from the back side of
my bot and my wheels.
So that would be my
strategy for this match.
And taking it to be at a
ray billings-built bot,
that makes a lot importance
for me to win this match.
So this match is, like, just
win, just win, just win.
There's nothing like
lose and [inaudible]..
[cheering]
robotic voice: Robots, activate.
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
[cheering]
chris rose: Yash
deshmukh, tyler nguyen...
The battle of ray
billings disciples.
There can only be one winner.
Crowd: Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight!
Fight!
Chris rose: Let the
bot battle begin!
Both teams going with the black
and blue color scheme here.
Perfect phoenix
up to full speed.
And now...
Kenny florian: Oh!
Chris rose: Oh,
what a collision!
Kenny florian: Uh-oh,
there's a bot part.
I think it came off... [impact]
chris rose: Whoa!
Collision!
Whoa!
Get away from me, please!
Kenny, you should have
caught it like a foul ball.
Kenny florian: Look
at the vertical
disk spinner for atom#94.
That is completely compromised.
Chris rose: It is
not working at all.
And perfect phoenix's
blade is still working.
And look at the little guy!
He's still on the attack!
Kenny florian: Little fireworks
display right in front of us.
[impact]
chris rose: Oh!
Atom#94 just sticks
its grill right
in the face of perfect phoenix
and takes a shot at the schnoz!
Kenny florian: And without
its primary weapon,
atom#94 is in a tough spot now.
They're gonna have to
stay aggressive and try
and break perfect phoenix's
weapon, see if they
can even the score here.
[impact]
chris rose: Oh!
But perfect phoenix showing
no signs of letting up, kenny.
You think tyler should
throttle down here and maybe
run a little bit of a clock?
Kenny florian: He's
an 11-year-old looking
to make a statement, chris!
Chris rose: Oh jeez!
This is what we're
talking about!
Perfect phoenix is
now starting to smoke.
The weapon is not
working at all.
Atom#94 is ecstatic.
But here's perfect phoenix
right back on the attack.
Kenny florian: Yep,
he transitioned
right into a wedge bot.
Didn't really take
any time to go right
back on the offensive, chris.
Chris rose: Now the question is,
how long can either these bots
make it?
Can they make it
another 90 seconds?
There you go.
There you go.
Kenny florian: Well, we are a
little bit more than halfway
there.
And you can see all
the damage to that
primary weapon of atom#94.
That's not gonna look
good to the judges.
Chris rose: And remember,
in that all-important damage
category, things are heavily
weighted toward damage
done by an active weapon.
We saw plenty from
perfect phoenix,
very little to none by atom#94.
Kenny florian: Tyler
staying nice and calm,
trying to continue
attacking the sides.
Atom#94 having some
control issues here.
But yash deshmukh
has done a good job
of staying square to tyler.
Chris rose: And now the bots
locking horns in the center
of the battle box.
Kenny florian: Both
these guys need
to be careful with this shoving
match, this pushing match.
They don't want to
burn out their motors.
Chris rose: That maybe atom#94's
best hope, to try and stop
perfect phoenix's drivetrain.
Kenny florian: Uh-oh.
Nice attack there
from perfect phoenix!
Chris rose: Nice work taking
him into to the rails.
Kenny florian: Perfect phoenix
with great control there!
Chris rose: 11-year-old
tyler nguyen...
You gotta think maybe he's 25
seconds from a second victory
this season, maybe a
berth in the round of 32.
An unbelievable
story... the youngest
captain this season
in "battlebots."
meanwhile, can atom#94 make
a final push here and give
the judges something
to think about as we
approach the closing bell?
Kenny florian: Oh!
And there's perfect phoenix
starting to smoke, chris!
Chris rose: How about that?
The horn sounds just in
time for young tyler nguyen!
Unbelievable!
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
I don't know who
they'll give this to.
[dramatic music]
chris rose: Kenny, both
students of ray billings.
These teams came out looking for
action, just like their mentor.
Kenny florian:
Yeah, they weren't
afraid to go weapon to weapon.
Here's atom#94
with a monster shot
towards the start of the fight.
Look out, chris!
I have no idea how
perfect phoenix
landed right side up there.
Chris rose: But
atom#94 destroyed its
primary weapon in that
exchange, and perfect
phoenix didn't let up.
Kenny florian: That's right.
And may have let atom#94
back in this fight
by failing to pace
themselves and breaking
their weapon in the process.
From there on out, we had a
pushing match on our hands.
Chris rose: So how do
you think the judges
are gonna break this down?
Kenny florian: Well, both
bots were aggressive.
Perfect phoenix had some
great control moments.
Check them out throwing atom#94
into the side of the box.
I think tyler did more damage.
But a very interesting
moment here
at the closing bell, as perfect
phoenix started smoking.
You never want to leave
that type of image
with the judges as
the last impression.
Chris rose: Let's go to
faruq with the decision.
[cheering]
the results from
the judges are in.
[dramatic music]
the winner by unanimous
decision is perfect phoenix!
[cheering]
yes!
Yes!
[cheering]
[music playing]
great job, guys!
Tyler nguyen, what's
that little celebratory
dance you're doing, man?
Well, it was 'cause
a 2-1 record is
a really good record
for the... that might
get me into the round of 32.
So tyler, let's look
overall at your résumé.
You're 2-1.
Your one loss is to skorpios.
Your overall record is
better than tombstone's.
Isn't that good?
That's definitely really good.
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
Let's go.
Let's go.
Yeah, that's really
good because our record
will be higher than ray's record
going into the round of 32.
Are you gonna let
him know about it?
Well, it looks
like he already kind
of knows about it right now.
Yeah.
Listen, you've done
an amazing job so far.
Hopefully, we'll see
you in the round of 32.
Why don't you and
sawyer leave us
once again with that celebratory
dance on the way out, ok?
Let's... yeah, yeah.
Yeah, that's good, bro.
All right, rock it!
Good job, tyler nguyen.
Everybody's proud of you.
Yeah.
[cheering]
so tyler nguyen
continues to impress,
and quite possibly punches
his ticket to the tournament.
Nobody's gonna want
to face that kid.
All right, kenny,
the 2020 season
has been one of the
most action-packed
in the history of "battlebots."
in the end, 59 teams
made it into the arena
to compete under
the bright lights.
And as always, we didn't have
time to show you everything.
So here are some
highlights from a match
with tournament
implications that
didn't make it to your screen.
[dramatic music]
after an epic win
over huge in a fight
that immediately flipped
itself into a classic...
Wow!
Kenny florian: Whoa!
Chris rose:... Ricky willems and
mammoth ran into some adversity
against hypershock.
[impact]
kenny florian: Oh, he's dead!
Chris rose: But in an
untelevised match-up
versus the struggling
rookie deadlift,
mammoth was expected
to right the ship.
Let the bot battle begin!
And they came out swinging!
Kenny florian: There's a
little punt from mammoth.
Get out of here, deadlift!
Chris rose: But after
losing their primary weapon
halfway through the match...
Kenny florian: Uh-oh,
there goes that chain.
Chris rose:... They were
forced to improvise
in order to save their season.
Kenny florian: It's now
gonna be a pushing fight.
Chris rose: Yeah,
and that is not
what mammoth is built to be.
Kenny florian: Mammoth doing
a good job pushing him around.
Chris rose: And
after a shoving match
that lasted until
the closing bell...
[buzzer sounds]
whoo!
Best we could do!
Chris rose:... Mammoth's
fate was left
in the hands of the judges.
The winner, mammoth!
Chris rose: And although they
finished the season at 2-1,
mammoth is still left
wondering whether their chances
of making the tournament
have gone extinct.
[dramatic music]
thank you to all of the builders
who made the trip during a year
where just getting here
was an achievement itself.
This has truly been a
season like no other.
We cannot wait to see
what next year brings.
[dramatic music]
coming up, it's the big
one, our main event...
Copperhead versus black dragon.
Two undefeated teams on the
hunt for a perfect season and
a high seed in the tournament.
That is next on "battlebots...
Fight night."
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
welcome back to "battlebots."
after a night chock full
of high stakes action,
it is time for the main
event of the evening,
copperhead versus black dragon.
Two undefeated bots
targeting a high seed
in this year's tournament.
These teams have some history.
They're looking to
make history this year
with a run at the giant nut.
Take a look.
[dramatic music]
kenny florian: Oh!
In the fight against claw viper,
we managed to hit them
again and again and again.
Chris rose: Claw viper's
got some serious problems.
Kenny florian: Oh, h*, h*!
And eventually, we knocked out.
Chris rose: Congratulations,
as you improve to 2-0.
By brazil!
We've had two knockouts.
Kenny florian: Whoa!
Chris rose: That
was a massive hit!
The shell is off of gigabyte!
Just completely
tore apart gigabyte.
[cheering]
p1...
Chris rose: Whoa!
Kenny florian: Oh!
...Shattered every single
bolt on their wedge.
Kenny florian: Is
there another bot out
there that you'd like to face?
You know what?
Black dragon.
[cheering]
we go way back.
So you're calling him out?
You would like the
schedule makers
to put that one on the docket?
Yeah, let's... let's
put black dragon in.
We have met multiple times in
the past at smaller events,
and it's always a
really close fight.
[dramatic music]
in this fight
against copperhead,
we want to use our speed.
[dramatic music]
we think that we are
faster than copperhead,
so we can go around and try to
knock him in the right spots.
Chris rose: Oh!
Nice shot by black dragon!
I know their strategy.
They like to get really
fancy with the driving,
get around to the side.
So I'm not gonna give
'em that opportunity.
I'm just gonna stay trained
on him, pointed, get the drum
spun up, and make a big impact.
[dramatic music]
chris rose: Whoa!
Yes!
Faruq tauheed: Black dragon!
In this fight
against copperhead,
we are using the egg beater
because it's the strongest
weapon that we have.
Egg beater is good
against huge weapons.
We don't want our
weapon to break.
We don't want to
lose our weapons.
Faruq tauheed: Copperhead!
Zach groff: It's
gonna be a slugfest.
Someone's probably gonna have
to be doing a lot of repairs
after it.
And if we end up pulling
off a great match, I mean,
people are gonna be throwing
some mad respect at copperhead.
I think we'll be a pretty
high seeded in the tournament.
If we win this fight, no one
should take us for granted.
Robotic voice: Robots, activate.
I want to dig in
deep and get a big
old juicy bite of
the other robot
and toss 'em through the air.
Black dragon wants
the giant nut this year.
We want to go to the title.
Chris rose: Copperhead
and black dragon
hunting that oh-so-important
high seed, something that
is vital to any team looking to
make a run at the "battlebots"
world championship title.
Let's check it out.
Faruq.
[cheering]
ladies and gentlemen...
[cheering]
...it's robot fighting time!
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
in the blue square,
get ready to cobra die.
It's the k*ller snake
from the rockies, yo.
It'll karate chop you
like early ralph macchio.
Hi-ya!
You're dead.
It's copperhead!
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
chris rose: Knockout wins
over gigabyte and p1.
And that drum spinner
is flat out nasty.
Kenny florian: Yeah, it really
sounds like a jet engine
when it fires up.
And I love the boldness in
his call out of black dragon.
Chris rose: Is black dragon a
good opponent for copperhead?
Kenny florian: You know what?
It's tricky.
I think that black dragon has
faced minotaur many times.
They know that bot
inside and out.
And copperhead is a very
similar bot to minotaur.
[dramatic music]
[cheering]
faruq tauheed: In the red
square, I am bragging,
I know my dragons from martin
to tolkien and bilbo baggins.
From dragon to mushu,
you can come ask me.
I got a phd in dragonology.
Now adding another to
the dragon hall of fame,
it's the robot black dragon.
Remember his name.
It's black dragon!
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
chris rose: Won a judge's
decision over kraken.
Also knocked out claw
viper to get here.
And for the first
time this season,
kenny, the egg beater
has made an appearance.
[cheering]
kenny florian: That's right.
They've broken out their
trademark egg beater drum
for this one, the
same weapon that
was vital in their huge upset
over minotaur last season.
Copperhead's weapon
is, by comparison,
very similar to minotaur's.
It's a proven strategy that's
worked well for them already.
[cheering]
chris rose: Let's bring
in our bot whisperer.
Pete, is there any drawback
to running a high velocity
weapon like copperhead has?
We'll, watch in this fight.
When you're gonna see
that weapon fully spun up
and copperhead goes
to make a turn,
you're gonna see a lot
of gyroscopic forces
that are gonna pick copperhead
up on one wheel... on an edge.
And they could use it as a move
to attack downward, like you'll
see with daniel and minotaur.
But black dragon could also
take advantage of that moment
while they're up to
get to the underside.
[cheering]
robotic voice: Robots, activate.
[cheering]
chris rose: It is two
undefeated beasts trying to move
to the top of the food chain.
Copperhead, black
dragon... who will
complete the perfect season?
[dramatic music]
find out next on "battlebots."
[dramatic music]
whoa!
Biggest hit in the
match by shatter!
Adam wrigley: Everything
worked pretty much exactly
as it's supposed to work.
This right here is
the ablative armor,
the black uhmw polyethylene
piece behind all the triangles.
So this fight, we ran without
'em so there's no confusion
about what's happening.
I don't want people saying
there's damage happening
that's just decorative.
You can see there's a
lot of gouges in this.
That's what's
supposed to happen.
So when the shrederator
hits other robots,
like axe backwards, he sends
them flying across the arena
and breaks pieces off.
When he hits this plastic, we
still go a little bit flying,
but instead he's
tearing and slicing it.
This drastically
reduces the g forces
that we see in our robot.
Chris rose: Shrederator...
He's got him pinned!
Kenny florian: Shot
after shot for shatter!
Adam wrigley: I
think we're starting
to prove to other people that
we're a top team to beat.
I think we're in a great spot.
I don't know who's
gonna take us out.
In every fight, our
strategy has worked to plan.
We've just gotta make sure we
have the right strategy going
into the fight.
[dramatic music]
[robotic sound effects]
[dramatic music]
chris rose: Welcome back
to "battlebots," where
the final main event of this
year's qualifying rounds
is about to begin.
It is copperhead
versus black dragon.
Two undefeated teams, only
one can stay that way.
Robotic voice: Blue team ready?
[cheering]
red team ready?
[cheering]
[dramatic music]
[cheering]
let's do it.
Crowd: Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight!
Chris rose: Let the
bot battle begin!
Kenny florian: Uh-oh!
Chris rose: Copperhead's
either stuck or playing coy
and takes a shot
right in the kisser.
And the mini copperhead just
got its snake head decapitated!
But it looks like
copperhead go the wake
up call it needed, going to work
on the sides of black dragon!
[impact]
whoa!
Kenny florian: Oh!
Big shots by copperhead!
Chris rose: Take
that, black dragon!
Threw it right into
the driver's window.
Kenny florian: Whoa!
Chris rose: Holy smokes!
Black dragon inverted
it in that exchange.
They're driving upside down now,
and they're gonna have to find
a way to get back over here.
[impact]
[impact]
oh!
Kenny florian: I
saw a belt come off!
I believe that's off
of black dragon, chris!
That's not good!
You see the primary weapon
starting to slow down?
Not the case for copperhead!
He's just getting started!
Chris rose: That is a
game-changer, folks!
That egg beater weapon is
toast, and the brazilians
are behind the eight ball.
[impact]
oh!
Kenny florian: Oh
man, copperhead
just destroying black dragon...
Chris rose: Wow!
Kenny florian:
...From the bottom up.
Chris rose: But there is no
quick from the brazilian squad!
They are right back into it!
And...
Kenny florian: Oh!
Chris rose: Sending
him into the screws!
Bring it!
Whoo!
Chris rose: Black
dragon is chopped!
Kenny florian: Oh!
Chris rose: Oh!
Copperhead flips
black dragon again!
But here they come, and
they are hungry for more!
[impact]
kenny florian: Whew!
Black dragon just
throwing themselves
face first into
copperhead's weapon, chris!
Feels like they're determined
to try and break it
and get back into this fight!
Chris rose: We are 90
seconds into this match,
and it looks like black
dragon's aggression
may be starting to pay off.
Copperhead having
some drive issues now.
[impact]
kenny florian: Whoa!
Chris rose: A shower of
sparks inside the battle
box, as black dragon's starting
to smell a comeback now!
Smothering copperhead in the
back half of this main event!
Wow!
Kenny florian: Copperhead
looks hurt here, chris!
Not sure if they've
lost that drum spinner
or if they powered it down.
The bot is still moving, though.
Chris rose: Yeah, but it's
not moving well, kenny.
Kenny florian: No, it isn't.
Chris rose: The
drum is back firing,
but it is having
major drive issues.
Can the brazilians
complete the comeback
and stop copperhead for good?
Oh!
The k*ll saws get to the
underbelly of copperhead!
Kenny florian: What
a move by gabriel
teles, pushing copperhead
into the k*ll saws like that!
Are you kidding me?
Chris rose: Both bots seem
to be moving ok, kenny.
But they both look exhausted.
Kenny florian: This has
been an absolute w*r.
It's a shame someone
has to lose this fight.
Chris rose: Unbelievable
as this fight
between copperhead and black
dragon goes the distance!
Oh so impressive!
[buzzer sounds]
[cheering]
kenny florian: Wow!
What a fight!
[dramatic music]
that was tough!
[cheering]
chris rose: Kenny, early
on, copperhead seemed
to do whatever it wanted.
Kenny florian:
Yeah, it was doing
a great job of
continually getting
underneath black dragon.
Copperhead landing
some beautiful shots.
And there it is.
There are the belts coming
off that primary weapon
of black dragon.
Chris rose: There's been less
that has k*lled other bots,
though.
The fact that black
dragon was still working,
kenny, nothing
short of remarkable.
Kenny florian: Yeah,
couldn't agree more.
Black dragon is as
tough as they come.
Chris rose: Wow!
Kenny florian: The egg
beater was disabled,
but it kept going nose to nose
with copperhead repeatedly.
They made a big time
comeback in this fight.
Slowed copperhead down and
almost took out their weapon.
If they had done that, they
would have given the judges
some serious food for thought.
Chris rose: So what do
you think, the decision
goes to copperhead?
Kenny florian: I just don't
see how black dragon overcomes
the loss of their weapon.
But as we've seen,
anything could happen.
Chris rose: Off to faruq,
who's got the decision.
[cheering]
the results from
the judges are in.
[tense music]
the winter by
unanimous decision is...
Copperhead!
[cheering]
[music playing]
chris rose: Zach goff.
Hey zach, over here, man.
Thank you.
How does 3-0 taste?
Oh, it's so delicious.
It just fills me with joy.
How pleased are you
with copperhead and
how it's working?
Oh, it's working outstanding.
I think we're getting
a little hot in the box
there at the tail
end of the match.
That was such a slugfest.
Zach, you had a slow start.
Was that by design, or
was there an issue with...
With the drive?
That was the strategy.
So I've gone against these
guys so many times in the past.
We've kind of got
a dance that we
do, so following
the choreography
that we've kind of established.
It worked out for copperhead.
You know, you guys were
obviously very durable.
But did you expect
that from black dragon?
I mean, you guys had
some epic hits out there.
Jeez, I know!
They were... I mean,
that's an amazing robot.
It never stopped working.
If we didn't see
cinch those belts off,
they might have taken it.
But they lost their
weapon, and I think
that was the key to the battle.
And yeah, I mean, it's an
amazingly durable robot.
So mad props to them for
building a great machine.
Zach, great job out there.
Congratulations on a
Job well done. - Appreciate it.
Thank you very much.
[cheering]
chris rose: So black
dragon finishes
its qualifying campaign
on a disappointing note,
but I think we all know
it's not a team you want
to draw in the round of 32.
Look out.
Meanwhile, the
still-undefeated copperhead
looks primed to
make some real noise
in this year's tournament.
And it is certainly in position
to score a top five seed.
As for the 12 other bots
at tonight's fight card,
they are officially
playing the waiting game.
Witch doctor finally got
the monkey off its back,
reminding the
"battlebots" universe
just how destructive it can be.
In contrast, sam
mcamis and gruff
might have doused
their chances of making
the top 32 with that loss to
the struggling extinguisher.
But all we have is
conjecture as our field of 59
eagerly awaits word from
the selection committee.
So tune in next time as the
world championship bracket
is cemented, and
we find out which
at hoisting the giant nut.
We shall see.
So that'll do it for tonight.
For jenny taft, and
faruq, and our bot
whisperer, pete, and my man
kenny florian, I'm chris rose.
We'll see you next
time on "battlebots."
[cheering]
[music playing]
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05x09 - Now or Never
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Show is an adaptation of the American Robot Wars competitions hosted in the mid–late 1990s by Marc Thorpe, in which competitors design and operate remote-controlled armed and armored machines designed to fight in an arena combat elimination tournament.
Show is an adaptation of the American Robot Wars competitions hosted in the mid–late 1990s by Marc Thorpe, in which competitors design and operate remote-controlled armed and armored machines designed to fight in an arena combat elimination tournament.