03x19 - The Tournament

[bunniefuu]

FARUQ:
Tonight, the 2018 BattleBots

World Championship rages on.

Two teams have punched their
tickets to the semifinals.

KENNY:
Oh, huge hit there by Minotaur.

REFEREE: Knockout!
Yeah!

CHRIS:
Wow, Donald Hutson and Lock-Jaw.

REFEREE:
That's a knockout!

CHRIS:
Unbelievable.

FARUQ:
Now, eight more will clash

for the remaining two slots.

The king has been slain.

CHRIS:
Holy smokes!

[BUZZER]
The champ is done!

FARUQ: The throne is open
for the taking.

KENNY:
Oh! What a hit!

FARUQ:
Who will rise up...

Oh, yeah!
Good hit, good hit.

FARUQ:
...and claim the crown?

KENNY:
Nice shot by w*r Hawk.

FARUQ:
We find out...

CHRIS: Oh!
FARUQ: ...right now.

ROBOT VOICE:
Robots, activate.

CHRIS: Hey, everybody,
and welcome to BattleBots.

The wait is over.

The 2018 World Championship
Tournament continues tonight.

Eight more bots will do battle
inside the box

for the ultimate prize in
robot combat: the Giant Nut.

I'm Chris Rose, and joining me,

a man that's seen a few
championship bouts of his own,

UFC star, Kenny Florian.

This is it,
it's tournament time.

We've already seen one side
of the bracket play out.

Youngster
Tom Brewster and Monsoon

upset the five seed Sawblaze

and the number one seed,

the heavyweight favorite,
Tombstone,

fell in the opening round
to Bombshell in a shocker.

At the end of the night,
Minotaur and Lock-Jaw

stood alone in the semifinals

with their championship dreams
still intact.

Now, they're waiting
to see which two teams

will emerge from the other side.

CHRIS:
And now, their wait is over.

Tonight, we dive into
the right side of the bracket.

This side is also packed

with heavy hitters,
and nasty newcomers,

each vying for their shot
at the world championship.

Of course,
the two seed is Bronco.

All eyes are on the most
powerful flipper ever built,

as they wage w*r for their first
Giant Nut in over a decade.

We've also got
upstart Whiplash,

driven by the hottest young
wheelman in the game,

Matt Vasquez.

And don't forget about Icewave.

The gas-powered engine
from Marc DeVidts

has been dishing out
devastating hits all year,

and he's revved up
to destroy a few more bots

in this tournament.

Remember,
win and you stay alive.

Lose, and you go home.

We'll dissect each match
as we go,

but let's start off
tonight's opening round

with the number three seed
and 2015 champ, Bite Force,

taking on the 14th seed, HUGE.

This fight is guaranteed
to be a big one.

Faruq, my man, take it away!

[CHEERING]

FARUQ:
Ladies and gentlemen,

are you ready?

It's robot-fighting time.

In the red square,

he's a former champ
ready to reclaim his crown.

If you get back up, he'll just
knock you right back down.

Make no mistake,
he's here to run this town,

it's Bite Force!

[CROWD CHEERS]

CHRIS:
Here's Bite Force.

Finished the year
a perfect 4 and 0.

And if I know Paul Ventimiglia,

he's already looking down
the line to another Giant Nut.

In the blue square,

this bot's no jolly green giant,

but it must have eaten
plenty of mean beans.

Here comes the roughage,
and the tough-age, HUGE!

CHRIS: Jonathan Schultz
and HUGE, they are 3 and 1.

But, Kenny,
they also finished the year

by getting cut in half
by Icewave.

KENNY:
Yeah, that was brutal,

and they've had
a massive rebuild.

We'll see if they did enough
to stand up to Bite Force.

We had to repair all the parts

that held the robot together,
basically,

and we swapped out for a new set
of wheels that we had.

Otherwise, we went back
to a longer bar

to try to have more
reach over Bite Force.

We didn't even think
we'd get this far,

so now the pressure's on
to try and perform

and beat Bite Force,
that's the hope.

Our teams are working
really hard,

but HUGE is a really tough
opponent to prepare for.

Their weapon has a lot of power.

It's a very unusual location,
very high up in the air.

We've thrown a lot
of extra armor on up top.

Hopefully that's enough.

ROBOT VOICE:
Robots, activate.

CHRIS:
Here we go, Kenny.

Winner takes the first spot
in the quarterfinals.

KENNY: Yeah, Bite Force
is obviously the favorite here,

but HUGE is a deceptively
tough matchup.

Hopefully, Paul doesn't fall
into a trap

of looking too far past
his first-round opponent.

ROBOT VOICE:
Red team, ready?

Blue team, ready?

[CROWD CHANTS]

[BUZZER]

CHRIS:
Let the bot battle begin.

HUGE, a little off-balance
at the beginning.

This is the way it rolls,

if you've never seen
it fight before.

Both weapons fired up.

Quite a sight to see,

and how about that huge spinner
in the middle,

giving Bite Force a shot.

KENNY: Big weapon-to-weapon
collision right there.

Bite Force has to be careful.

We know HUGE
has knockout ability.

CHRIS:
Oh! Huge hit there.

KENNY:
Getting to the side of HUGE

is easier said than done, Chris.

CHRIS: Oh, another huge shot
on Bite Force.

Now, Bite Force has HUGE
sideways, momentarily.

KENNY:
Bite Force has had to settle

for going weapon-on-weapon
with HUGE.

And now, it looks like
Bite Force's spinner

might be having
a little trouble.

CHRIS:
Oh! Something came off

of Bite Force right there,
I think.

KENNY: Yeah, I think
that weapon on Bite Force

is out of commission, Chris.

You can see him trying
to get in closer to HUGE there

and prevent him
from spinning up.

CHRIS:
Bite Force has some work to do.

Oh! Paul Ventimiglia
going all in,

throwing his bot face-first
into HUGE.

Oh, no!
KENNY: Look at that!

CHRIS:
Oh, no! HUGE has fallen!

Oh! It has split.

This is unbelievable.

HUGE's wheels spinning,
and they ain't going very far.

KENNY: Looks like
that fight with Icewave

may have taken too much
out of HUGE.

CHRIS: Oh, no!

From 10, nine...

CHRIS:
They're getting counted out.

...eight...

CHRIS:
HUGE still spinning around.

Can they magically
put themselves back together?

...three, two, one.

CHRIS: They cannot!
That's a knockout.

CHRIS:
And the former champ survives.

Paul Ventimiglia and Bite Force
looked to be on the ropes,

but in the end,
Jonathan Schultz's bot

just couldn't go the distance.

KENNY: And now I've seen
everything, Chris.

Can you believe that?

CHRIS: So, Kenny,
Bite Force and HUGE,

two of the most powerful weapons
in this competition.

And when they make contact,
something's gotta give.

KENNY: Absolutely.

You can see here, a piece
of Bite Force goes flying,

and in the very next hit,
watch it.

There.

There goes Bite Force's
weapon chain.

CHRIS: And, after losing
that primary weapon,

Bite Force had to improvise.

Paul Ventimiglia
threw Bite Force

directly into the spinner
of HUGE,

hoping to break that weapon,

but it was HUGE itself
that ended up breaking,

in a shocking moment

that will go down
in BattleBots history.[/i]

So the curtain falls
on a remarkable first season

for Jonathan Schultz and HUGE,

and Bite Force becomes
our first team of the night

to advance to the quarterfinals.

And now, it's time
for the six seed, Icewave,

to take on the 11 seed, ROTATOR.

Kenny, we've seen
what that gas-powered weapon

on Icewave can do this year.

It split apart Vanquish,
chopped down HUGE,

and KO'd Yeti
in just 35 seconds.

Meanwhile,
Victor Soto And ROTATOR

started their year off
with a loss to Petunia,

but recovered
with three straight wins

to make it here tonight.

KENNY:
Looking at the matchup,

when it comes to the bots,

Icewave definitely has the edge
with that 47-pound blade,

and their sizeable
reach advantage.

But when you get
to tournament time,

I'm looking for X-factors.

Victor Soto has been
a master strategist this year.

He has a few different
configurations

he can come out with,

and he's used those
to perfection

in wins over Warrior Dragon
and Skorpios.

I'm sure he's got
a plan for Icewave,

and I would be careful
if I'm Marc DeVidts.

Let's head inside the box.

FARUQ:
In the red square,

to the extreme,
it rocks your bot like a vandal.

Lit up with rage,
it'll give all you can handle.

Ice, ice, wave-y.

It's Icewave!

[CROWD CHEERS]

CHRIS:
Marc DeVidts And Icewave

nearly went a perfect 4 and 0,

if it weren't for a
controversial loss to Skorpios.

We've never seen Icewave
looking this good,

and it's firing on all cylinders
heading into this tournament.

In the blue square,

its duel discs spin
like they are crazed.

It can hit your two ways,

and drive away unfazed.

It's the only bot
with a split personality.

It's ROTATOR!

[CROWD CHEERS]

CHRIS:
Team ROTATOR, the 11th seed,

and Kenny, looks like
they're only coming out

with one spinner for this fight.
KENNY: That's right.

Victor's going
with his defensive mode.

That means the bottom blade

has been traded out
for a titanium wedge.

He's reinforced the armor
around the wheels as well.

CHRIS:
Kenny, so I think

Icewave's strategy's
pretty simple.

Put on the long blade
and cut 'em up.

How's ROTATOR going
to counter that?

KENNY: Well, Victor Soto
knows his top disc

is a few inches
above their blade,

so the plan is to let Icewave

swing away
at his titanium wedge,

and counter with the disc
to get at the engine block.

There are a lot of dead robots

that wouldn't recommend letting
Icewave take his best shot,

so Victor's taking
a huge risk here.

Start, ready?

ROBOT VOICE:
Robots, activate.

CHRIS:
All right.

Winner advances
to the quarterfinals.

Awaiting them
will be Bite Force.

[BUZZER]

Let the bot battle begin.

Here comes Icewave.

Big hit early from Icewave.

And again.

KENNY:
Well, Chris, that titanium wedge

getting tested early.

Survived those first two hits.

Victor will be feeling good.

What's the matter, Alex?
What's the matter?

Talk to me, talk to me.

CHRIS:
He's feeling good, all right.

Icewave in trouble, Kenny.

KENNY: Now, this is a huge
opportunity for ROTATOR, Chris.

CHRIS:
Oh! Huge hit by ROTATOR!

Good hit, yeah! Tore his engine!

[BEEP]. There goes our engine.

CHRIS:
Incredible game play by ROTATOR.

This changes everything, Kenny.

Good hit, good hit.

CHRIS: Another part of Icewave
has come off.

I can see inside his face,
down to his bones.

KENNY: Yeah, that's not good.

Icewave, basically,
is gonna be a wedge bot here.

Well, let's not forget,
there's more than two minutes

left in this fight, Chris.

Anything is possible.

CHRIS:
Oh, more of his innards

are coming out
inside the battle box.

KENNY:
Well, I'll tell you what,

if he keeps attacking there
with the fuel,

if that thing goes off,
we could see an expl*si*n.

CHRIS:
The fire marshal's on standby.

Oh! Bits and pieces now.
It's hacking Icewave.

It's now become just ice.

KENNY: ROTATOR, fighting
the fight of his life, Chris,

executing his game plan
perfectly.

CHRIS: More than a minute
into this one,

and now, Marc DeVidts is gonna
have to use the battle box

as its main weapon, Kenny.

KENNY: Yeah, that's right.

Let's see if Icewave can
at least trap or jam ROTATOR up.

Oh, look at this.

ROTATOR just rotating
and trying to be effective.

Look at that.

CHRIS:
And Icewave seizing the moment,

trying to scoop up ROTATOR.

Marc DeVidts is saying,
"This fight ain't over.

I don't ever give up."

Oh, no.

KENNY: Well, ROTATOR
has other ideas, Chris.

He's going for the jugular.

Oh!
Are you kidding me?

KENNY: Well, there goes
the engine of Icewave.

It's officially
completely out of that bot.

CHRIS:
Now it looks like Pac-Man,

but Icewave still trying
to be effective, Kenny.

Look at it
pushing ROTATOR around.

Weapon's gone,
but he still has a lot of power.

ROTATOR's scrambling.

If ROTATOR just stays
out of harm's way,

it's gonna win this thing,
but Icewave's doing it's best

to push his buddy
around the box.

KENNY: This is just
tremendous driving

from Victor Soto.

He's like a surgeon
out there, Chris.

Taking him apart
piece by piece.

CHRIS: Well, there's not
too many pieces left to Icewave

in this top-16 bout.

Oh, ROTATOR, turning this place
into a junkyard, Kenny.

But Icewave refuses to give up.

Shoves ROTATOR into the corner,

getting all up in his grill,
saying, "Is that all you got?"

"I might only have half a face,
but gee, I'm good-looking."

Under 30 to go.

Does Marc DeVidts And Icewave,

after taking it
in the bum from a k*ll saw,

have any push left?

Icewave looks like he had
a fight with a cheese grater.

Oh, Victor Soto, can he take
off the entire top of Icewave?

Eight seconds left.

Somehow, Icewave has
gone the distance,

but can ROTATOR claim the scalp?

Oh, he does, he does!

[BUZZER]
[CROWD CHEERS]

These two warriors
go the distance

in an amazing
opening round match.

ROTATOR! ROTATOR!

CHRIS: So this one
goes to the judges.

And there's tonight's panel.

Naomi Kyle, Derek Young,

and BattleBots veteran[/i]
Lisa Winter.

Kenny, ROTATOR with some
big shots early on,

and Icewave wasn't running
at 100 percent after that.

KENNY: It was the first hit
from ROTATOR.

He got right up
above and attacked

right where the engine
housing is for Icewave,

just completely dissected
Icewave piece by piece.

I don't remember there
being more bot parts

around the battle box
than I've ever seen right now.

Icewave is a devastating
horizontal spinner,

but against that wedge,

he basically was not
effective at all.

The winner,
by a unanimous decision is...

ROTATOR!
[CROWD CHEERS]

CHRIS: So ROTATOR cuts
the head right off of Icewave,

and they're moving on
to the quarterfinals.

Up next, the two seed, Bronco,
is getting set

to taking on the 15 seed,
w*r Hawk.

And, Kenny, with the one seed
out of the tournament,

Bronco is now the favorite.

But does Bombshell's
upset of Tombstone

give w*r Hawk any hope here?

KENNY: Listen, anything
can happen inside the box.

w*r Hawk has had a great year,

and they were really impressive
in the three-way rumble

to earn the 15 seed.

Rob Farrow as proven that
he is an opportunistic driver

who's been able
to take advantage

of small windows to get the win.

But, against Bronco,
those windows are very small.

Remember, Bronco is
coming into this at 4 and 0,

and they've barely
been touched this year.

Bronco looks geared up
to make a deep tournament run.

CHRIS:
Let's take you inside the box.

In the red square,
it's the rodeo king,

you're the rodeo clown,

and we all know how
this'll go down.

Here to cause some bleeding,

the always stampeding,

it's Bronco!

CHRIS: Xander Rose,
Reason Bradley, Team Bronco.

Their path to their first
Giant Nut in 15 years

begins right here.

In the blue square,
flying in from Seattle,

trying to knock
Bronco off his saddle.

[IMITATES BIRD CAWING]

It's w*r Hawk!

CHRIS: Here's Team w*r Hawk,

and Kenny,
it looks like they've got

two mini bots for this one.

KENNY: That's right,
we already know w*r Stop,

and now they've added w*r Chick.

Rob Farrow thinks he can
use them to trip up Bronco,

to pick his shot
with their spinner.

How are the nerves,

knowing that you're going up
against Bronco?

Actually, out of all
the bots here,

Bronco is the one we
were most worried about.

Our wedge, I think, is a little
bit better than his.

Hopefully,
we can get around him.

We have two little multi bots,

try and distract him,
get him off his game.

And hopefully, we can get him.

Well, our goal, as always,

is to keep the other
bot in the air,

and it's usually very hard
to drive your robot

when it's not on the ground.

I mean, definitely,
we're sh**ting for knockouts.

So if we can throw
somebody over a wall,

without having to go
to the judges decision,

that's what we're looking for.

ROBOT VOICE:
Robots, activate.

CHRIS:
All right, Kenny.

How does w*r Hawk keep
from riding Air Bronco home?

KENNY:
It is no easy task.

w*r Hawk needs
to get their spinner

to the back and sides of Bronco.

They can make it interesting
with a few good shots.

But no matter what,
stay away from that flipper.

[BUZZER]

CHRIS:
Let the bot battle begin.

KENNY: Well, if I was gonna
fight Bronco, Chris,

I would try to attack it

with as many bots
as possible as well.

You see those two wedge bots
trying to get underneath Bronco.

CHRIS: They're like your
annoying little brothers.

They really are a nuisance.

As Bronco squares up,
sizing up his opponent,

w*r Hawk tentative in approach,
and I don't blame him.

Kenny, who's gonna
make the first move?

KENNY:
Nice shot by w*r Hawk.

CHRIS:
Using that vertical spinner.

Bronco a jab,
and almost got him over.

w*r Hawk still on the attack.

Uh-oh, Bronco
caught on it's side,

trying to get free.

Oh, he had him
and he flipped him!

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

Bronco going for a second one.

Now, he's gotta right himself.

Oh, no, he does!

Now, the question can w*r Hawk?

It does, using the screws.

Great job by Rob Farrow,
who ends up on the screws.

He's gonna get
chewed up in there.

Are you kidding me?

KENNY: Oh! He's going after
the little wedge bots.

You leave those
little bots alone.

You Bronco bully!

So w*r Hawk getting shredded
like a hash brown,

fighting for his life.

KENNY: He's out, he's out.

Chris, do you believe it?

CHRIS: But now
he's in the danger zone,

right in front of Bronco.

You can only flirt with danger
so many times, kid.

We're still going here.

KENNY: But w*r Hawk
is not moving, Chris.

After all that,
it looks like he's lost power.

He stopped, he stopped.
Leave him alone.

KENNY: They're gonna
count him out soon.

CHRIS: Can he get back up?

Here goes the countdown
on w*r Hawk.

Nine...
CHRIS: Bronco at the ready.

If the countdown doesn't
get you, that flipper will.

But it looks like
it is lights out for w*r Hawk.

...one, that's a knockout.

CHRIS: That is it.
[BUZZER]

As Bronco gets it done.

w*r Hawk is a beat bird,
courtesy of a bucking Bronco.

Kenny, w*r Hawk delivered
the first huge hit

with it's primary weapon,
but then it started

to get tossed around the ring,
look at that.

KENNY: Well, w*r Hawk
did find a small window,

but then they hung around
in front of Bronco too long,

and that's what happened.

CHRIS: Bronco tossed
w*r Hawk into the screws,

and even went after
the mini bot.

KENNY: That's right,
adding insult to injury there.

Bronco really
messed up w*r Hawk.

[CROWD CHEERS]

CHRIS: So as expected,

Bronco trots on
to the quarterfinals,

and they're one step closer
to the BattleBots championship.[/i]

Standing in the way of that goal

is the winner
of Yeti versus Whiplash.

And, Kenny,
let's start with Greg Gibson

and Yeti, the Alaskan Assassin.

He's been here before.

Had a miraculous run
to the semifinals in 2016,

and it feels like this year,

he's been out to prove
that that wasn't a fluke.

KENNY: Well, Greg definitely
came in this year

with a chip on his shoulder.

Now, he's back
in the tournament,

and he can focus
on what Yeti does best: smash.

CHRIS: He's facing Whiplash,

who is actually
in a similar position

as Greg was last season.

Came out of nowhere,

took a lot of people
by surprise,

and now, they're the 10 seed
in the tournament.

KENNY: I've been really
impressed by Whiplash this year.

Jeff Vasquez and his sons have
built a fast, durable bot,

and Matt Vasquez
has been driving Whiplash

like he stole it.

But Yeti's gonna
be tough for them.

It's nearly impossible
to outdrive

a monster 50-pound drum spinner

that's coming at you
relentlessly for three minutes.

You ready to buckle up
your chin strap for this one?

I am.
It's gonna get ugly,

which is actually awesome.

Let's head inside the box.

In the red square,
straight out of Wasilla,

part machine, part gorilla.

It's Bigfoot's brother
from another mother.

I know you ready.

Say it with me,

it's Yeti!

CHRIS:
Here's Greg Gibson and Yeti,


coming into the tournament.

You can bet that this monster

didn't come out of hiding
to bow out in the first round.

In the blue square,

this family means business,
and business is booming.

Could a spot in the next round
be looming?

It's here to fight,
slam and smash.

It'll beat you in a flash.

It's Whiplash!

[CROWD CHEERS]

CHRIS: The Vasquez family
and Whiplash,

they also went 3 and 1
this year,

with their only loss
to Tombstone.

KENNY:
Yeah, and if you remember,

Matt Vasquez gave Tombstone

all he could handle
in that fight.

That's a good sign,
but we're about to find out

how young Matt performs
when it's tournament time.

What are you going to do to go
into this match and dominate?

We're gonna try to go in there

and hit everything
that isn't his drum.

We're gonna try to take it
from the side, flip him over,

keep him off-balance, knock him
into the sides of the arena,

and try to get him behind him,
but if we have to,

we're going to go face-to-face
and smash him as hard as we can.

We're coming into this,

we're both 3 and 1 through
the qualifying matches.

We got pretty even rankings,

so I think it's gonna
be a driver's match.

Matt is hands down a better
driver, but I'm more reckless,

and I think might even
just give me the edge here.

ROBOT VOICE:
Robots, activate.

CHRIS:
Yeti and Whiplash,

a combined 6 and 2
in the regular season.

Yeti, a pair of KOs,

Whiplash, three knockouts
on the résumé.

A lot of firepower.

[CROWD CHANTING]

[BUZZER]

CHRIS:
Let the bot battle begin.

Matt Vasquez and Whiplash
sh**ting out of the gate,

going right for
that drum spinner.

Whoa, stuff flew all the way
up to the top of the battle box.

And, Greg Gibson
not joking around, either.

He's sticking his chin
right in there,

and now he's getting lifted up
like a giant Alaskan bear.

KENNY: Whiplash almost
got a nice lift in there,

trying to get them
out of the arena.

No signs of nerves
from Matty Vasquez,

absolutely dominating
Yeti there, Chris.

CHRIS: Whoa, something just
flew across the battle box.

KENNY: Oh!
CHRIS: How about that?

Yeti getting spun around
again by Whiplash.

Incredible start here
from the young driver,

not giving Yeti an inch.

Oh, look at this,
locking horns now.

Whiplash saying,

"Give it to me, I can take
it all, you snow beast."

KENNY: Well, Whiplash
trying to get under Yeti here,

Chris, under that drum spinner.

CHRIS: Yeti getting
thrown onto it's side

and spun over.

That's exactly what--

Oh, and then he just
flipped him right back over.

That was nice.

KENNY: Beautiful lifts, though,
by Whiplash.

So far, this is Whiplash's
fight, Chris.

CHRIS:
Oh, Yeti gets taken from behind,

and run right into the rails,

and Jeff Vasquez
loves seeing that.

There goes that BattleBots sign.[/i]

We're gonna need some
more rubber cement

inside the box, please.

Yeti getting taken
to the corner.

Don't you think,
great, this is good.

Greg Gibson's gotta get
some distance right now

to recollect his thoughts.

KENNY: Yeah, that's right,
and fire up that drum spinner.

Yeti's primary weapon
have little impact here.

Whiplash,
just in berserker mode.

These guys are not
messing around here, Chris.

Look at this.

CHRIS:
Yeti getting taken for a ride,

and something else came off
one of the bots.

KENNY: Whiplash is just
too low for Yeti, Chris.

CHRIS: Yeti near the screws,
pops a wheelie.

And then gets hit
right in the nose.

KENNY: Yeah, Yeti's got no room
to be effective here.

CHRIS:
Closing in on one minute.

With under 60 ticks left,

the k*ll saws will be activated
inside the box.

Oh, the Pulverizer
just swings and misses.

KENNY: Whiplash is just
outdriving Yeti completely.

We knew Matt Vasquez
was special,

but he is proving it here
under the bright lights.

CHRIS:
That primary weapon for Whiplash

still looks like
it's at full speed,

even though it's taken on
some serious shots.

And now smoke coming from Yeti.

Is that weapon cooked?

KENNY:
Whiplash trying to get him

over towards the screws.

Yeti preventing that.

CHRIS:
Under 40 seconds to go.

KENNY: And, Chris, it does look
like that drum spinner on Yeti

is out of commission.

And, that is a huge turn
of events here down the stretch.

CHRIS:
And who knows what's going on

with Whiplash's weapon,

although there it starts
to spin up a little bit.

Oh, there's the k*ll saws
hitting the underbelly of Yeti.

KENNY: Whiplash introducing
Yeti to the k*ll saws there,

except Whiplash is starting
to burn up, Chris.

This is not good.

CHRIS: With 15 seconds
to go in the fight,

can Whiplash survive a count?

Greg Gibson praying
for a miracle in the box.

Under 10 to go,
so it will survive.

But, look at this,
it's definitely taking on smoke.

And some k*ll saw act too.

[BUZZER]

But this round of 16 match
goes the distance.

Wow, awesome, awesome,
awesome job.

Awesome.

CHRIS:
This one goes to the judges.

Kenny, we talked about
the importance

of Matt Vasquez's driving,
and boy, did he show tonight.

KENNY: Yeah, absolutely,
right from the get-go,

Whiplash getting
underneath Yeti repeatedly.

Yeti just never got
that one huge hit we expected

out of that big bot from Alaska.

KENNY:
Well, this is a very durable

and tough bot in Whiplash,

and just never allowed Yeti
to smash.

He didn't make it about power.

He didn't make it
about the primary weapon.

The Vasquez family had a plan

and ex*cuted it perfectly,
Chris.

CHRIS: Scary moment, though,

for Team Whiplash
in the closing seconds,

as that bot started smoking.

Never a good image
to leave in the judge's minds.

Let's go down to Faruq

and see who's moving on
to the quarterfinals.

The results from the judges
are in.

The winner,
by unanimous decision is...

Whiplash!
[CROWD CHEERS]

CHRIS:
So Whiplash pulls off the upset.

They'll be moving on
to face Bronco

in the quarterfinals
later tonight.

But first, we'll see Bite Force

taking on the double blades
of ROTATOR.

Kenny, Paul Ventimiglia
is as focused as ever.


including four knockouts.

He got to this fight
by surviving a tough one

against HUGE.

Bite Force is all business
this year.

KENNY: He sure is.

After an early exit in 2016,
Paul has been out for blood.

And that vertical spinner

has been delivering vicious
uppercuts in every fight.

CHRIS:
And for Victor Soto,

his 2016 season
was a massive disappointment.

But this year,
he made it into the tournament,

decapitated Icewave,

and now he's in
the quarterfinals.

KENNY:
Victor has proven that he's
a master strategist in the box.

However, ROTATOR is up against
one of the best builders

and possibly the most
balanced bot in the field.

He'll have his work
cut out for him,

trying to find a weakness
to exploit in Bite Force.

A berth in the semifinals
awaits.

Let's take you
inside the box.

FARUQ:
In the red square,

a long time ago,
in a galaxy far, far away,

a bot was designed
to stop the Dark Side.

Today, the force awakens.

It's Bite Force!

[CROWD CHEERS]

CHRIS: The three seed,
Paul Ventimiglia and Bite Force,

you gotta imagine
Paul is feeling pretty good

after that first-round win.

KENNY: They did break their
weapon chain against HUGE,

but if there's anyone
in the pits I trust

to get their bot back
to 100 percent,

it's Paul and his team.

In the blue square,

all it does is spin, spin,
spin, no matter what.

Got wins on its mind,
and it's never giving up.

When it steps into the box,
everybody hands go up.

It's ROTATOR!
[CROWD CHEERS]

CHRIS:
Here's ROTATOR, the 11 seed,

and Victor Soto's looking a
little like Rocky, here, Kenny.

KENNY:
Well, he probably feels

a little like Rocky, Chris.

Pulled off a big upset
last round,

and he's hoping to do it again,
facing the former champion.

So we're going
with full offense mode,

and we're going with our bars
instead of the discs.

Paul has this powerful
vertical spinner.

He could actually
mangle the aluminum,

and we're gonna try
to get him from the side.

It's gonna be hard.
He's a good driver.

And see if we can lock up
his drivetrain,

because he doesn't have a lot
of clearance with his wheels,

so maybe we can
damage something there.

The strategy
is a little simpler.

We can just keep
our front end aimed at them,

because basically
all of our offense

and defense is right there.

They had to put on
these steel bars,

because they're worried about us
hitting their aluminum discs,

so we're okay to face the bars
because they're not hearty,

they're not that thick.

Our weapon is a lot more stout
than their weapon.

So weapon to weapon,
I'm okay with it.

We just want to make sure
they don't hit our frame

or the back of our robot.

ROBOT VOICE:
Robots, activate.

CHRIS:
Well, Kenny, Victor Soto

has got this far
with superior strategy.

How does this one look?

KENNY: Well, those steel bars
are a necessity.

They're all he's got

that can stand up
to Bite Force's power.

If ROTATOR can get
to the back of Bite Force,

they can cause a lot of damage.

Too many weapon-to-weapon hits,
though,

and this could get ugly.

[BUZZER]

CHRIS:
Let the bot battle begin.

Bite Force with that weapon
already up to full speed.

You can ask ROTATOR about that.

A vicious uppercut
to start this match,

and Bite Force
all over ROTATOR here.

Victor Soto is scrambling.

Edge, edge,
edge, edge!

KENNY:
Well, now, we can't tell

what side ROTATOR started with.

Oh, and he's getting smashed
by the Pulverizer.

CHRIS: So far, there's been
nowhere to hide for ROTATOR.

Paul Ventimiglia's
cutting off every angle,

and closing every gap.

KENNY: Yeah, it feels like

there's three Bite Forces
out there.

CHRIS: And he's right back
on top of him.

KENNY: Oh, man.
CHRIS: What do you think?

Do you think ROTATOR
has to make an adjustment

and spin up that top blade
to full speed?

KENNY: Well, the problem is,

Paul Ventimiglia isn't letting
him go up to full speed.

And I don't think those primary
weapons are active anyway.

He's picking him apart.

CHRIS: Kenny, something big--
Oh, my God!

Wow!

KENNY:
Put an end to this madness!

Victor, you good?

Keep going,
keep going, keep going.

CHRIS: Paul Ventimiglia
offering mercy,

but Team ROTATOR
wants no part of it.

Oh! Are you kidding me?
He's just dismantling ROTATOR.

One of the tires is done.

The countdown has gotta start.

Here it goes.

...eight, seven, six....

CHRIS: And, all Victor Soto
and his team can do is applaud

and bow down
to the former champ.

That's a knockout!
[BUZZER]

CHRIS: Paul Ventimiglia,
you're a stone-cold k*ller.

Good match.

CHRIS: Kenny, Bite Force
took big damage

in that opening round fight,

but Paul Ventimiglia
must be a wizard in the pits,

because I'm not sure this bot
has ever looked better.

KENNY: This was surgical.

He set the pace of this fight
right from the get-go.

He hit ROTATOR
with everything he had,

and ROTATOR
just never had an answer.

Bite Force came in
at full power,

utilized every aspect
of the battle box,

and he picked him apart.

CHRIS:
So Bite Force becomes

our first semifinalist
of the night.

Paul Ventimiglia
just one win away

from being back in the finals.

We'll find out
who he's facing next,

as Bronco prepares for liftoff

against young hotshot driver
Matt Vasquez and Whiplash.

KENNY:
Oh, huge hit there.

Oh!

CHRIS:
My God!

[WOMAN CHEERS]

Thank you.

The robots of this crop
of BattleBots

has been really impressive.

Pump it up there.
All right.

Some part of the robot
are constantly getting weaker

from small damage.

There's cracks in the frame,
that kind of thing.

I think we gotta get
the other robot operational,

because I think this could
start to go in a long match.

In general, this frame
is on its last legs.

My team,
they're trying to improve it

and work on it right now
the best it can be.

Tormach put in so much
effort to help us out,

so that we can have a fresh,
stronger frame ready to go.

Now, we have the robot
exactly the way we want it.

It shows that, not only
do we have a good design,

but also, we've been working
really hard at the same time.

CHRIS:
Next up, the two seed Bronco

squares up against
the 10 seed Whiplash

for our last spot
in the semifinals.

Bronco's coming into this fight
still undefeated.

They made quick work of
w*r Hawk in the opening round,

and they're still looking
like the bot to beat.

KENNY: They sure are,

and what really
impresses me

is that you look at the rest
of the tournament field,

and how many other flippers
do you see?

None.

Bronco is in a league
of its own, and this year

they seem more determined
than ever to take the Giant Nut.

Well, you know, they are true
legends in the sport.

And you know what?

People that face them
now grew up watching them.

In fact, Matt Vasquez,
the driver of Whiplash,

idolized Xander and Reason.

But now, he's competing
against his heroes

in the BattleBots
World Championships.

KENNY: This is the old guard
versus the new.

And sure, they're Matt's heroes,

but right now,
they're his peers.

Matt is an amazing driver,

but this is gonna be a huge
challenge for him here.

Let's take you
inside the battle box.

[CROWD CHEERS]

FARUQ:
In the red square,

last round, it sent a hawk
flying into the screws.

Stand in it's way,
and you're the next to bruise.

Meet the heavyweight horse,

Bronco!

[CROWD CHEERS]

CHRIS: Team Bronco, 5 and 0.

Four knockouts so far.

Every fight, they're not
just thinking about winning,

they're thinking about how fast

they're gonna toss their
opponents out of the ring.

In the blue square,

it dominated a monster
in the opening round,

sending parts of Yeti
to the lost and found.

A bot that will make you crash,

give it up for Whiplash.

[CROWD CHEERS]

CHRIS: Team Whiplash
and the Vasquez family.

They're 4 and 1 this year,

upsetting Yeti
in the opening round,

and I'm guessing the only people
who knew they'd make it this far

are all standing
in that blue square.

Matt is a phenomenal driver.

How do you feel about him
going against Bronco?

He's our ace in the hole.

It's way harder than it looks,

but he's been doing it forever,

and I have absolute
confidence in him.

He's meant to do it,
he's up to the task,

and win or lose,
he's gonna put on a good show.

He's been driving a fantastic
tournament this whole time.

And so I think
his driving skills

is the main concern we have.

I think we have
a pretty good shot.

It's another vertical
spinner configuration.

And as long as we can
get underneath him,

we can start launching him,
and see what breaks.

How high are these
guys gonna fly?

We're gonna give it
everything we have.

Hopefully, you know, eventually
we'd like to bounce somebody

off the ceiling or the lights,
but we'll see if that happens.

ROBOT VOICE:
Robots, activate.

CHRIS:
Our fourth and final spot

in the semis is up for grabs.

Could Matt Vasquez really be
Whiplash's ace in the hole here?

[BUZZER]

Let the bot battle begin.

Both bots quick out of the
blocks, sizing each other up.

And here's Whiplash,
able to get under Bronco,

and now pushing him
toward the side of the box.

Oh! Oh, nice job ripping apart
the side of Bronco,

and he's definitely
left a dent, Kenny.

KENNY: Chris, that weapon
on Whiplash is so versatile.

It can push you,
attack from above,

and even flip you
like you see right here.

CHRIS:
Oh, Whiplash is trying

to maybe flip him
out of the ring, wow!

KENNY: Wow, look at this
from Whiplash. Oh!

How about that for a self-right?

CHRIS: But Matty Vasquez,
right on top of him,

barely gave him an inch to land.

And now throws him
into the side of the box.

Are you kidding me?

KENNY: A very aggressive
driving from Matt Vasquez.

Whiplash is controlling
the pace of this fight.

CHRIS: Oh, and now
the Pulverizer

getting in on the action,

with several shots
to the top of Bronco.

KENNY: Look at Whiplash
blocking Bronco's path

out of the corner,
keeping the pressure on,

and keeping that flipper at bay.

CHRIS:
Bronco getting upended again

by Matt Vasquez and Whiplash.

Bronco, out of the corner.

But look at Whiplash,
he's on Bronco like a rash.

Bronco, he's stunned here,
Kenny.

Just being denied
that flipper again and again.

KENNY: Whiplash is using
those big metal pwangers

on the side of Bronco
to its advantage here.

Oh! Bronco, trying to get loose
by flipping itself.

CHRIS:
But Kenny, you're right,

those metal extensions on Bronco

are playing right
into Whiplash's hands.

KENNY: Well, Whiplash
is just never getting

in front of that lifter
of Bronco.

CHRIS:
Oh, there you go! Wow!

KENNY: Bronco, starting
to mount it's comeback,

but Whiplash still
attacking the sides.

CHRIS: Trying to take Bronco
into the screws.

He's got a hold of him.

KENNY:
Not a whole lot of bots

have been able to do this
against Bronco.

CHRIS: Oh, trying
to flip his way out.

Oh, nice maneuver
and reversal by Bronco.

Closing in on a minute to go,

when the k*ll saws
will be activated.

Bronco, the two seed, in danger.

Has got to start scoring
points with the judges.

KENNY:
Bronco just hasn't been able

to get underneath Whiplash.

Look at this.

Whiplash, again,
just with that pressure

and aggressive driving style,
dominating Bronco.

CHRIS: And, trying to cut
through the side again

with that vertical disk spinner.

Just taking shots
and shots out of Bronco.

Under 40 seconds for
the two seed to do something.

KENNY: Well, Bronco looking
a little maimed,

trying to flip.

Oh, there's some smoke.

Whiplash smells blood.

Bronco is in big-time trouble.

Whiplash, about 25 seconds away
from a huge upset.

CHRIS: Bronco,
just trying to pop itself,

gain some sort of momentum.

But he is not moving.

He's in danger
of being counted out.

KENNY: Wow, this could be
a knockout for Whiplash.

Ten, nine, eight...
CHRIS: Here comes the countdown.

KENNY:
This is unbelievable.

CHRIS: Kenny, in this
tournament, no one is safe.

...one, knockout!

CHRIS: The two seed

will join the one seed
on the sideline.

An unbelievable victory for
the Vasquez family and Whiplash.

[KENNY LAUGHS]

In the meantime,
tremendous disappointment

for the two seed
and Team Bronco.

Let's go down to Jess
with our winner.

JESSICA:
Matt, come on over.

Oh my gosh, you are officially
a giant-k*ller.

Break down the fight for us,
because you were the one

dominating that thing
the whole time.

So really,
what it came down to,

was our front wedge was
lower than their front wedge.

When I realized that, we didn't
have to drive super amazing.

We just had to drive a little
bit better than them,

just to keep our front towards
them, and when we got under,

we could just push them around.

But that really went way better
than we thought.

We thought we were gonna lose.
We thought we were done.

Why did you think
you were gonna lose?

You guys have been doing great
up to this point.

They're a pretty confident team,

and they have been
k*lling everybody,

so it's a scary fight.

It was scarier
than the Tombstone.

Did you think that you guys
were gonna lose, as well?

To be honest,
my money was on Bronco

to win the whole thing, so--

And I told them that
the other night.

JESSICA:
All right, you guys

are on to the semifinals,
congratulations.

Thank you.

Excellent job, guys.
This was a joy to watch.

CHRIS: Kenny, what a fight.

Matt Vasquez, welcome
to the big leagues, brother.

Whiplash rounds out
our semifinalists

from this side of the bracket,

taking down the mighty Bronco.

We've seen some incredible
action so far in the tournament.

Historic upsets, steel-splitting
mayhem, heroic victories.

And now, only four bots remain:

Lock-Jaw, Minotaur,
Bite Force, and Whiplash.

Each of these teams
are now just one win away

from their shot at the ultimate
prize in combat robotics,

the Giant Nut.

Tune in next time to see
who will survive,

whose dreams will be shattered,
and at the end,

who will be crowned the 2018
BattleBots World Champion.[/i]

So, for Faruq, Jessica Chobot,
my man Kenny Florian,

I'm Chris Rose.

We'll see you next time
on BattleBots.