[Faruq] Over it's 25 year history,
excellence atBattleBots
has been measured in hardware.
Punctuated by the ultimate prize,
the Giant Nut.
Tonight,
the quest for another one of the sport's crown jewels...
[Chris] See End Game
win the first ever Golden Bolt.
[Faruq] Enters it's second chapter.
Five nights of single elimination fights...
[shouting indistinctly]
[Faruq] Culminating in a merciless,
winner take all tournament.
I'm not dead yet!
[Faruq] Welcome to robot combat
-at its most raw. -Let'sgo!
[Faruq] This isBattleBots Champions,
the race for the Golden Bolt.
[robotic voice] Robots, activate.
[crowd cheering]
Okay. [applauds]
-Yeah! -[applauds]
What's up? Whoo!
Good crowd. I love it.
Hey, everybody, and welcome to BattleBots Champions.
I am Chris Rose joined as always
by the guy that runs circles around
the other robot combat analyst,
Say hello to Kenny Florian!
-[crowd cheers] -[applauds]
Thanks Chris. Tonight the free-for-all begins
as dozens of bots lineup for a chance to win,
say it with me, Chris.
[both] The Golden Bolt!
[crowd cheering]
[Chris] Whether you're a rookie on the fringes
or a veteran desperate for glory,
this is an event like no other.
It's a real chance to boost your stock,
rise up in the rankings,
and put the robot combat world on notice.
In this tournament you've got to lay it all on the line
because every fight is win or go home.
Kenny,BattleBots Champions is where the chaos erupts.
[Kenny] That's right, Chris. Golden Bolt I
gave us some of the wildest moments
and nastiest knockouts we have ever seen.
And in the end it was End Game
taking home the hardware.
And we are back to do it all again.
Here's the way it's going to work.
Tonight will be the first of five qualifying brackets.
Each of these Sin City Slugfests
will pit eight bots against each other
in a high stakes one night tournament.
[Kenny] At the end of each Slugfest
one team will earn a spot in the ultra-exclusive
tournament of Champions.
All told, five winners will be moving on
and when they get there,
they'll be joined by former Giant Nut winners,
-End Game, -[crowd cheering]
Tantrum,
and of course, the reigning title holder, SawBlaze.
[Chris] This epic six episode series will be a knockdown
drag out sprint to the finish line.
And all of these teams have their eyes on the prize.
So let's take a look at
who will be kicking our tournament off tonight.
More than a few of these bots
would present a major challenge
to all those Giant Nut winners.
Rotator, Valkyrie,
these are some big names, Kenny.
[Kenny] Yeah, couple of former
most destructive bots right there.
We've also got a pair of brutes in Kraken
and Switchback, Ominous, Terrortops.
Those are newbies that have flashed
some potential, but we're getting this night started
with SHREDDIT BRO! and Skorpios.
Evan Arias believes his bro is ready for a breakout.
Zach Lytle and Diana Tarlson
ain't giving out any freebies
as they set their sights on the Golden Bolt.
All right, buckle up, Kenny.
I have a feeling this is going to be a wild ride.
Are you guys ready?
[crowd cheers]
Faruq, kick us off. Let's go.
Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready?
[crowd cheers]
It's Robot Fighting Time!
[crowd cheering]
In the Red Square from Staten Island, New York,
here to check your Shreddit report
and deny you a lease on life,
it's SHREDDIT BRO!
[crowd cheering]
[Chris] It is great to be back here in Vegas, Kenny.
[Kenny] Nothing like it.
[Chris] There's Evan Arias,
captain of SHREDDIT BRO! in the shades.
Coming off another rough world championship.
But we know this squad from NYC,
they never lack confidence.
[Kenny] Well, they love their drum.
SHREDDIT BRO! wants to be a brawler,
hasn't proven it so far in its career.
This fight should come down to lasting power
something which Skorpios has a clear advantage.
I'll tell you something, Chris.
If he doesn't deliver
a competitive performance tonight,
this could be the last time we see Evan Arias
make the walk to the BattleBox.
In the Blue Square from Lafayette, California,
currently on trial for murdering
over 14 couples therapists.
It's Skorpios!
[crowd cheering]
[Chris] Team Skorpios!
Diana Tarlson on the right,
Zach Lytle on the left.
A few seasons ago, this team won a bounty.
That's going to serve them well in this format, Kenny.
[Kenny] No question about it.
Skorpios may have lost some of its juice recently,
but this is such a dangerous,
well-driven robot.
And it knows how to fight through attrition.
The Hammer Saw tech held them back
once again in World Championship VII,
so this is a big chance to respond in a matchup.
They should win.
And frankly, they need this win.
Expect Skorpios to take the fight to SHREDDIT BRO!.
Tonight we have, uh, three fights lined up
if all goes well in our first fight.
We're going against Skorpios, which is a Hammer Saw robot.
We plan on hitting their forks,
get them a little bent up.
I'm looking to really knock them off their game
and then just take advantage
of, uh, when their little belly's exposed.
This new tournament, the Golden Bolt tournament,
is very important to us.
Back in the World Championships,
we had a 2-2 record, which was decent.
It was good for a new robot,
but we're looking to go 3-0.
SHREDDIT BRO! is a force to be reckoned with,
and we're going to absolutely sweep the competition.
Evan has been around for a couple years.
Now he's bringing SHREDDIT BRO!.
This is going to be hopefully a real exciting fight,
lots of back and forth.
But he is also a box.
Skorpios loves boxes.
-Flat surfaces cut easier. -They fit-- They fit
perfectly in our... in our scooped wedges,
and it's a nice big top for me to just wail on.
It's going to be a literal slugfest for us tonight.
-Skorpios! -[crowd cheering]
[robotic voice] Robots activate.
[crowd cheering]
[Chris] All tournament long, Mr. Kenny Florian.
Going to be donning his bookie cap.
It is Vegas, after all.
So tell us who you're picking in this one, my friend.
[Kenny] Well, I'm giving a healthy edge to Skorpios.
That plow is incredibly effective
in both facets of the game.
Defensively, it's like a pair of hands
holding back a dog's bite.
Yeah, they're going to get chewed up,
but at least it's not your face.
And offensively, it can pop SHREDDIT BRO! up
so Skorpios can unleash its Hammer Saw.
Historically, Skorpios is a vertical killer
so Evan's going to have to hunt
for angles, all fight long.
[crowd chanting] Skorpios! Skorpios!
[crowd chanting] Fight! Fight! Fight!
[Chris] Win three straight fights and punch your ticket
to the Golden Bolt Tournament.
Do either one of these squads have what it takes?
Let the bot battle begin.
Evan Arias with that 60-pound weapon up to full speed.
Going right at Skorpios.
Skorpios saying, "I've taken down spinners
bigger and badder than you, kid.
Bring it on!"
Oh, takes SHREDDIT BRO! on a little spin,
but Arias gets away.
[Kenny] Yeah, those scoops on the front
of that plow of Skorpios
working out very well for them.
-Uh-oh, uh-oh! -[Kenny] Oh!
-Skorpios just shoved it. -[Kenny] Oh, boy.
[Chris] Oh, man, it's still working,
but there's a lot of smoke coming out of that thing.
[Kenny] SHREDDIT BRO! landing some shots at the front of the armor
trying to win this pushing battle here against Skorpios.
[Chris] Wow, I mean, these two are just going at it.
[Kenny] The question is, will SHREDDIT BRO!'s weapon hold up?
That has been a major issue for this team.
[Chris] Whoa, oh! Big hit.
SHREDDIT BRO! has been inverted.
[Kenny] Skorpios has to be careful.
That last shot was in the area of their weapon coupling.
That is a critical part of the robot.
And there goes the chain, Chris.
[Chris] And finally, somebody backs off--
[both] Oh!
[Kenny] Good shot there by SHREDDIT BRO!.
[Chris] Great shot. Scorpios went flying,
and it takes another shot.
[Kenny] Oh, you see that front scoop there on...
Scorpios, flipped up.
That's going to allow SHREDDIT BRO! to take advantage.
[Chris] Unreal, Evan Arias.
Now he's got reason to be confident.
Look at him continuing to be on the attack
right in front of the driver's window.
[Kenny] Can he go the distance, though?
Oh, he's got another blade and a half.
-[Chris] Wow! -Boy, oh, boy.
The guy from New York is taking it to
the veteran bot builder.
[Kenny] Yeah, he is unleashing hell
right now on Skorpios.
Skorpios trying to run away.
Let's go!
[Chris] Skorpios has nowhere to hide.
That Hammer Saw is not working.
-[Kenny] Oh. -All they have is that plow.
[Chris] And maybe time on their side,
-[Kenny] Uh-oh. -but Skorpios has stopped running momentarily.
[Kenny] But has SHREDDIT BRO! hung up?
Can Evan get off?
He can.
Get off! Get off!
Leave him there!
[Chris] Wow.
The countdown has started.
Evan Arias and SHREDDIT BRO!.
Major underdogs coming into this fight
are going to pull off
a jaw-dropping upset to tick off the night.
Knockout!
[Kenny] Are you kidding me?
[laughs]
[indistinct screaming]
Let's go!
-Let's go! -[indistinct shouting]
Let's go!
Yeah!
[crowd cheering]
[Chris] Kenny, let's put this into perspective.
We just saw a team that was at risk of relegation
after last season
take down an established veteran.
[Kenny] What a performance. SHREDDIT BRO! was relentless.
The weapon never stopped
and Skorpios never knew what hit him.
[Chris] Evan Arias used that 60 pound drum
to disable the Hammer Saw,
peel back that plow,
and eventually turn the lights out on Skorpios.
The bot from New York City saying,
"Allow me to reintroduce myself."
Bro, what an upset.
-Evan Arias. -[Kenny laughs]
Yeah, hold on.
Oh, na... Yeah.
[Kenny laughs]
Yo, what up, dog?
-What's up? -Wow.
Yeah.
Dude, this is...
this is what you've been telling us
for years now, right?
Oh, yeah. I'll tell you three things.
The most handsome, the most aggressive,
and the most handsome.
-Let's go! -[laughing]
[crowd cheering]
How the heck did you get your robot
to finally perform like that?
Trial and error, man.
You just got to keep going at it.
You know, when it's a new robot, it's really hard,
especially when you dial it in.
It took a few fights, but, you know,
now it's a whole other tournament.
We're here. We're ready. Let's go!
I'm afraid to even ask this one,
but what is your confidence level
that you can make it to the Golden Bolt?
How high are these ceilings again?
-Oh. -[both laugh]
All the confidence in the world. Let's go.
I got the best team behind me.
That's all I need.
Evan, congratulations on the huge win.
That's awesome.
Thank you.
-[crowd cheers] -[applauds]
[indistinct murmur]
-[man] Congrats, guys. -Thank you.
Well, we've always loved the energy Evan Arias
has brought to BattleBots.
It's just great that his robot came along for the ride.
You know, Evan's been searching for that definitive win.
That was that fight right there.
And this is the beauty of this event, Chris.
You never know which team might have a run in them.
SHREDDIT BRO! is now just two wins away
from punching its ticket to the Golden Bolt tournament.
Man, that sounds weird.
[Chris] It sure does.
But for now, Evan's squad heads back to the pits.
They will fight the winner of Switchback and Kraken
later this evening.
All right, there's a look at the golden boy, Victor Soto,
captain of Rotator,
might very well be the favorite tonight.
Has an opening match-up with Terrortops.
Victor's saying, "You might be Jurassic,
but you're about to get Jur-ass kicked."
We'll have the fight when BattleBots continues.
All right, we'll continue on here with the opening round
of the Sin City Slugfest.
Whichever team survives tonight's gauntlet
will earn a spot in the second annual Golden Bolt tournament
where they will join Giant Nut winners
End Game, Tantrum and SawBlaze
in the exclusive field.
Up next, it's a grizzled veteran
Victor Soto and Rotator
taking on a 19-year-old rookie named Ben Burton
and his bot Terrortops.
And let's start with the vet, Rotator.
Up and down, World Championship VII showing...
I'm not even sure the robot was ever at 100%.
Got bounced in the round at 32 by Copperhead.
What does Victor Soto want to accomplish here?
[Kenny] Well, remember, in Golden Bolt one,
Rotator was on the receiving end
of one of the biggest knockouts inBattleBots history
in its fight with Glitch.
Victor took that loss in stride,
but you better believe he hates seeing that highlight
over and over.
He wants to be the one dishing out those KOs,
so this is a real shot
at redemption for Team Rotator.
And when you look at tonight's lineup,
you've got to think Golden Bot is the favorite.
This is an opportunity to elevate that weapon system
back into elite territory,
tear through some softer matchups
and finally make a run at a major trophy.
Meantime, this is a big step up
for Ben Burton and his crew.
He's 19 years old. He is the youngest captain
in the entire field here.
Uh, he was actually fighting in exhibitionmatches
during the regular season.
So what he was trying to do is prove,
"Hey, we're good enough o participate in Season Eight
down the road."
Well, guess what? This is a huge opportunity for him.
[Kenny] Absolutely. I think it's still too early
to consider Terrortops a contender
to join the World Championship VIII field.
That is, unless it's got a deep run in it tonight.
Listen, Ben's probably exhausted
from incubating dinosaur eggs somewhere down in Costa Rica.
[Chris] You're ridiculous.
[Kenny] In all seriousness, excited to see
what the young captain's got.
[Chris] Well, we just saw SHREDDIT BRO!
pull off a massive upset.
Could Terrortops follow suit?
Let's find out.
Terrortops is a very unique robot.
It's a vertical spinner that also has a lifter.
So they can actually lift you up
and expose the underbelly of your robot,
so they can drive their vertical spinner into it.
We're going to try to be as aggressive as Ben.
Five seconds in, six seconds in,
we should be at top speed.
We start attacking. We're going to see if we can hit the sides,
the back, bend some forks.
It looks like they have some thin armor.
We can probably shred those up and get the damage points.
And we're just going to keep hitting hard
and causing as much damage as we can.
[crowd cheering]
Our first fight is Rotator,
who is definitely in my top three bots I don't wanna fight this season.
they're just really tough for us, because
our wedges are quite low,
when we get high up, they get purely vertical
which is really bad when going against a spinner like Rotator
We're definitely going to be playing a lot with our arm.
They have forks on the back and the spinner on the front,
and we don't want that spinner to hit our arm,
we want our arm to get under their forks.
So you might see them spinning a lot and us just
raising and lowering our arm the whole fight.
[robotic voice] Robots activate.
[crowd cheering]
[Chris] Okay, Kenny, you know we like to keep it real.
Does Terrortops doesn't have any shot at advancing?
[Kenny] It's absolutely a long shot,
but that's more of a testament to the class Rotator's in.
For what it's worth, Terrortops has had success on the robot combat circuit.
Ben's added Tegris armor panels
to protect the lifting arms,
he thinks that if he can land a few flips, things will go his way.
[crowd cheering]
[Chris] Rotator, Terrortops, their first step towards the Golden Bolt starts right now.
Let the Bot battle begin.
Terrortops with its arms in the air to start.
Oh, nice head to head hit. Good job by Terrortops.
[Kenny] Terrortops clearly having a lot of confidence with that vertical spinner.
-[Chris] Wow. -[Kenny] Well, Victor Soto claps back
nice shot with the undercut.
-[Kenny] Oh! -[Chris] Rotator, good shot,
Terrortops works it's way back up.
[Ben] Just send the forks its way.
[Kenny] Nice little self-right but dealing with some drive issues.
I don't think they liked that shot from Rotator.
[Chris] No, not at all.
-[Kenny] Oh. -[Chris] Looks like that drive in the right side maybe down.
[Chris] He's got him floating around the battle box.
And Rotator looking to take advantage.
-[Kenny] Victor Soto can take his time now. -[Chris] Nice.
[Kenny] The Undercutter doing a number of Terrortops.
Ben Burton needs to stay squared up to Rotator.
[Chris] And that maybe a tall task,
'cause Terrortops is hurting, it's severely lacking in the mobility department too.
[Kenny] Here's Victor Soto looking to bully the newbie up and on to the upper deck.
-[Chris] Oh. -[Kenny laughs]
[Kenny] The weapon on Terrortops grinding on the BattleBots floor there.
[Chris] That vertical disc is still spinning with Victor Soto underneath.
And looking to take Terrortops for a ride.
Ben Burton though, slips free.
[Kenny] Rotator backing off, Terrortops doesn't look like it has much left in the tank.
Victor Soto needs to finish the job.
Got speed, it's got speed.
[Chris] And remember Rotator is gonna need to win two fights
after this one, if it wants to punch it's ticket to the Golden Bolt Tournament.
[Kenny] Oh, there's a great shot, Terrortops getting ground in there.
Oh, Victor getting in there and underneath that lifting arm.
[Chris] More than 90 seconds through this match.
-[Kenny] Impressed with the durability of Terrortops, -[Chris] Yeah.
[Kenny] This is their first year in here against a veteran bot Rotator
and they maybe behind on the scorecards,
but their weapon is still active and they are hanging on.
[Chris] Oh, Victor Soto taking the rookie into the rails.
and then holding a 100 pound pulverizer, it's a bad spot.
Look at that thing, ow, ow, ow.
[Kenny] Oh, now Terrortops having to fight Rotator and the hammer at the same time.
[Chris] Yeah, oh-oh, they're right Terrortop's still moving.
Very gingerly, has lost a couple of ribs Kenny.
[Kenny] Yeah, Rotator assessing the damage
-[Kenny] Do I get him? Do I get him? -[Chris] Yes.
Is he moving? Is he moving?
-[Kenny] Oh, Oh... -[Chris] Oh, yeah.
[Kenny] This maybe the end for Terrortops.
[Chris] Approaching the 30 second mark and the countdown has started.
The rookie is not showing enough movement.
Tried so hard doing the wave, look I'm moving.
No you're moving out of the way kid.
All right, there we go.
Whoo!
That power switch got me nervous.
[Chris] Well Kenny, Rotator certainly in control, throughout.
[Kenny] Absolutely, Terrortops won the first exchange,
but lost half it's drive shortly after,
could never really get that lifter involved
I think those armor plates ended up limiting its reach
but those are the type of tough lessons you have to learn as a first year team.
[Chris] Yeah and this was really were the rookie robot got in trouble
anytime you gotta run into the screws and the upper deck
it's gonna be an issue.
[Kenny] And for Terrortops these are kind of fights they want
they want to face elite competition,
I... I would put Rotator into that category,
they've been around a very long time.
They're gonna learn a lot from this and improve.
[crowd cheering]
[indistinct chatter]
Victor what... Victor what were you looking at, the replay already?
No, we're data logging.
We've had so many issues with the weapon in the past that we've
-started... logging the data. -[Chris] Yeah.
So we can basically match it up with the fight to see where something went wrong.
Yeah, what did the data say, that you kicked your ass?
It looks like it.
It seems like you guys took a little
took it easy a little bit in the beginning, wanted to analyze the
the robot a little bit, then you kind of just went at 'em.
Yeah, so back in the championship tournament
we were being a little more defensive
and always started with the forks
this time I just said, "Okay, well let's just buy some time a few seconds to spin up,
and just go more offensive rather defensive."
Once they were up against the screws then I said," Okay, let me try to
like pinch them a little and see if I can get them on the upper deck."
But I just decided, let's just be more offensive this time.
We wish you luck, we'll see you in the semi finals here tonight.
-Thank you. -[crowd cheering]
-Congrats. -Thank you, guys.
[indistinct conversation]
[Chris] So, Rotator and the golden boy Victor Soto are moving on,
He'll be waiting on the winner of Valkyrie and Ominous.
As for Terrortops, tough competition a quick exit,
but maybe there's something there Kenny.
[Kenny] Well you know Chris, life, uh, uh, finds a way.
[Chris laughs] Okay.
[Chris] Coming up, it's a heavy duty battle between Switchback and Kraken
moreBattleBots Champions after the break.
[crowd cheering]
[Chris] All right, we are back here in Las Vegas
and up next, Switchback taking on Kraken,
the winner earns a date with SHREDDIT BRO!
in the second round on tonight's Slugfest bracket.
Let's start with Switchback,
which just completed it's second regular season here at BattleBots,
They're captained and engineered by Greg Needel
a very cool bot and I feel like they're building some momentum.
[Kenny] Yeah, I... I definitely like this weapon
way better than when we saw them a couple of seasons ago.
That articulating arm has elevated Switchback's versatility,
it's armor configurations have absorbed,
plenty of punishment and kept it in fights,
Looking forward to seeing what kind of improvements they've made here
as they face Kraken.
And Kraken's still one of the most popular robots out there,
captained by Matt Spurk and his entire family.
Listen, they haven't won anything over the last few seasons.
And Matt debuted a completely rebuilt Kraken in World Championship VII.
So he didn't care about the win, loss at all.
He just wanted to feel like the Bot was making some improvements.
[Kenny] Right, last season really was experimental for him and his team.
He was prepared for growing pains transitioning from a crusher
to a spinner. Now that he's had some time with the bot,
remember, Matt is a literal rocket scientist,
I'm expecting more outta Kraken here.
[crowd chanting] Kraken! Kraken
[Kenny] Both bots are locked in let's hear from the captains.
We feel very comfortable going weapon on weapon.
Um, drum versus vert.
Uh, we... we like that match up.
It's just a question of is that gonna happen up here or is it gonna happen down here,
Matt's an aggressive driver I'm an aggressive driver,
I assume we're gonna lose patience really quickly and
just start ramming in the middle of the BattleBox.
In a perfect world this fight goes quickly,
so that we can get the robot back to the pit
recover for whoever's next.
They're a tough opponent for us, because they like to attack with a high reaching
weapon as well.
Which is how we would like to attack,
we would like to really use our... our hammering saw configuration
where it kind of hammer it down on them.
The plan to win this match against Switchback
is to get out early get out fast, get on him
and just trying to circle around avoid that big spinning weapon upfront
as much as possible.
It's as simple as hit him and don't get hit.
[crowd cheering]
[robotic voice] Robots activate.
[Chris] Some nasty looking weapons out there Kenny.
But I think the Narwhal is the real danger.
[Kenny] Oh, yeah that cute little nose actually shoots lasers.
No, the Narwhal is more about being a nuisance
and giving the young Spurk boy some stick time here on the big stage.
The real weapons out there are Switchback's 40 pound drum
and Kraken's vertical disc.
It's much lighter at 13 pounds
but it hits hard in that kinetic pressure configuration.
[Chris] Eh! I would still go with the Narwhal.
[crowd cheering]
[crowd chanting]
[Chris] Let the bot battle begin.
[Kenny] Kraken fast on the attack.
[Chris] Wow! Switchback pumps back Narwhal.
Threat neutralized.
Oh, Kraken digging in.
Oh, and it gets taken into the screws
and hit on its head.
[Kenny] Uh-oh.
[Chris] Oh, wow, look at the power of Switchback.
-Kraken... get your head out of the screw. -Evacuate.
[Kenny] Yeah, I can see Kraken lost a weapon belt.
-[Chris] Ah! -[Kenny] Great job by Greg Needel
to keep punching with an opponent on the ropes.
[Chris] Oh, Kraken's smokin'
that dragon's hurt but it's still moving.
You cannot kill me!
[Kenny] Well, Matt's first robots are known for being unkillable.
Since World Championship IV he's only had three fights
not go the distance, Chris.
[Chris] Well now that 13 pound blade,
it spins at over 200 miles an hour
non-functional of Kraken
What can he do Kenny?
[Kenny] Well for starters the team's gotta stop flailing the head like that
they should lower the weapon arm, like how Switchback has theirs
which will make it more effective as a push bar.
[Chris] Greg Needel showing Matt Spurk how it should be done.
[Kenny] Now is Switchback's weapon is just shutdown or is it disabled.
[Chris] Well we've got chains scattered all over the arena floor.
If Switchback's weapon is also out of commission,
Kraken is still very much in this fight.
[Kenny] Yeah, Kraken could outlast them.
Uh, looks like it's spinning up again, Chris.
[Chris] Yep, Oh-ho, ho man.
Kraken tried to prevent it from getting in full speed.
[Kenny] Greg Needel really dictating the action here.
[Chris] Still 90 to go in this fight, and here's Switchback putting down the clamps down
on Kraken yet again.
[Kenny] Yeah, Max Spurt's team trying to use the head to wickle free here.
Huh, and I don't think Switchback strategically
power down their weapon Chris, they've got the lead
they just need to take time off the clock.
[Chris] Kraken, trying to get it's bearing,
oh, no another shot here by Switchback.
Oh God he's just been teaching a master class in a screw job.
And this is what Switchback's wide frame is meant to do.
It's kind of like a snow plow out there
[Kenny] Yeah, and a little smoke now for Kraken.
[Kenny] At this point they just have to hold that Switchback's drive gives out.
[Chris] With under a minute to go, those kill saws are active.
Kraken doing everything it can to try and
do something to Switchback.
[Kenny] Starting to see a little more smoke now, but whose is it?
It's smoking, that's us.
[Chris] Greg Needel's team is claiming it if Switchback's starting to overheat,
maybe Kraken's still got a shot here Kenny.
[Kenny] Yeah, but they are wisely bleeding the clock again
Switchback showing it can win as a control bot,
But Kraken's not going down without a fight.
[Chris] Really a remarkable job by Matt Spurk and his crew
to have this bot so durable that it can take this pounding.
It's still make it the full three minutes, Kenny.
[Kenny] Absolutely, Kraken as tough as they come,
it's the offensive side of things that Matt Spurk needs
to figure out with this new robot
but credit to Switchback doing what they need to do to advance.
[Chris] And now this one will head to the judges.
To see who is moving on to the semifinals.
All three judges are formerBattleBots participants.
They are Fon Davis, Lisa Winter and Derek Young,
scoring on an 11 point system.
Up to five points to be awarded for damage
three for aggression and three for control.
That was fun man.
-Yeah, good play, yeah. -Good play.
[Chris] Well things were working in the beginning for Kraken until just
too much muscle from Switchback.
[Kenny] Yeah, unless it was that weapon to weapon hit
that really got that weapon belt to fall out of Kraken
you see it hanging off right there.
Kraken did a great job at getting off the screws but,
Switchback taking full advantage of that some nasty shots
early in this fight.
[Chris] Greg Needel was relentless with his follow up shots.
And then it looked like he shut down his weapon,
and basically just started playing prevent defense.
[Kenny] No doubt, Switchback went into control the fight and drain the clock mode.
You know these two robots are actually very similar
but the difference here was execution.
While Kraken kept flailing it's head after the weapon went down,
Greg Needel turned his robot into a plow,
credit for Matt Spurk's bot for being so tough to take down.
But Switchback, dominated this one.
[Chris] And even in the final few seconds, Kraken was saying,
you're not gonna get rid of me this easily.
Let's see the results here is Faruq.
The results from the judges are in.
[crowd cheering]
The winner by unanimous decision is...
Switchback!
Yeah! Whoo!
[Chris] Greg, congratulations.
How exciting would it be for you guys to win tonight and enter the Golden Bolt?
I mean the Golden Bolt is, you know, the pinnacle of this sport where,
we have to fight through other champions and everybody else who's run the same gauntlet.
So that would be amazing to, uh, be in the BattleBox
to be compared to robots of that class, it would be incredible.
Two more steps and you're there.
-We'll see you later tonight. -For sure.
[indistinct conversation]
So impressive to see the growth of Greg Needel's team
and Switchback that's a team that can make a serious jump.
[Kenny] Every single time, every single fight,
you see a better version of Switchback, uh, that's a very impressive team.
[Kenny] And listen, great effort from Matt Spurk and Kraken,
just ran into a team who as you said earlier, has a lot of momentum.
[Chris] That's right and Switchback is riding it into a
second round match up with SHREDDIT BRO!
All right, next up in our opening round,
the slick omni wheeler Ominous will collide with the vicious undercutter of Valkyrie.
A former most destructive award winner
and one of the hardest hitters in the modern game.
First year captain Lucy Du, is still trying to unearth this kind of potential.
-[man] Woah! Hell man. -[crowd cheering]
[Kenny] Pinches the Rotator all over the BattleBox.
[cheering and applause]
[Chris] We got more on the first round
of the Sin City Slugfest coming your way right now.
It's Valkyrie taking on Ominous.
And let's start off with Valkyrie,
which has made theRound of 32 in seasons past.
That did not happen this past season.
Uh, their new captain, Lucy Du,
taking over for Leanne Cushing.
Lucy has been a... a veteran member of other teams in the past,
but she became a captain here for the first time.
Obviously joining a team that had had a degree of success.
An up-and-down season for her
but has a chance to hit the reset button
here in Slugfest number one.
[Kenny] Yeah, there is an absolutely monster
lurking under the shell of Valkyrie.
Lucy has yet to figure out how to unleash it.
World Championship VII moved Valkyrie
even further off the competitive map,
and it's veering into desperation territory.
Whatever outside pressure this squad's dealing with,
they need to figure it out right now against Ominous
or we may have seen the last of the mighty Valkyrie.
In the meantime, we saw Tim Bouwens back
at BattleBots for the first time since 2018.
Back then, he brought a robot called Reality.
This time it was Ominous.
It didn't have a wonderful regular season,
didn't make it to theRound of 32.
But this bot, from the Netherlands,
showed glimmers of potential, Kenny.
[Kenny] Yeah, this is an ambitious build.
But in this sport,
you don't get credit for good ideas.
You need to perform
or your time here is gonna be short.
The vertical disc has good pop when it can make contact
but Tim has struggled to give it opportunities.
Those omni wheels do provide
an advantage that make Ominous so unpredictable.
It's hard to line up a big shot on it.
Those omni wheels, I love 'em.
They're the things where you can float
-all over the floor like this. -[Kenny laughs]
-And just go everywhere. -Way more mobile
-than how you're moving now. -Really?
-Yeah. -I'm not moving quite as well as I did in my young...
-back in season two? -The wheels are similar but...
-All right. -The motion.
Let's get to it. Faruq.
[audience cheering]
In the red square...
From Somerville, Massachusetts,
it made Thor run for the door.
It's Valkyrie!
[audience cheering]
[Chris] Team Valkyrie!
This robot's been a part of some of the most
violent and unforgettable fights of all time, Kenny.
[Kenny] Yeah, safe to say
Valkyrie is the hardest hitter in this field,
has a variety of blades in that undercutter setup.
This one is called Sweet Caroline.
Lucy wants to aim for the sides of Ominous
and pummel it around the BattleBox.
[cheering and applause]
[audience chanting] Valkyrie! Valkyrie! Valkyrie!
[Faruq] In the blue square...
From Tilburg, Netherlands,
the hills may have eyes
but do they have a deadly spinner?
Didn't think so.
It's Ominous!
[audience cheering]
-Woo-hoo! -[Chris] The Dutchman.
Tim Bouwens, captain of Ominous
there on the left.
This is a sleek-looking machine.
[Kenny] Oh, it's beautiful.
The movement is fantastic as well.
But when we last saw the bot, Tim struggled with control.
With so much at stake for the future of this team,
he needs to throw caution to the wind
and push Ominous forward more aggressively.
[cheering and applause]
Always a little bit worried
going against that vertical spinner
with a big wedge.
I think, um, that way, it's...
It's not really advantageous for us
but as long as the weapon is robust enough,
I think we can do it.
Our strategy is, uh, hopefully to get around the wedge.
They have this huge wedge in the front
and see if we can do undercutter things
and just kinda get underneath
and get their omni wheels.
Having to turn matches around back to back is really tough.
It always depends on how much damage you take.
It gets a lot, um,
and you have to completely rebuild the robot.
It's... it's really stressful
and everybody kinda has to be on top of their game.
Valkyrie is a really tough opponent.
It's, uh... it's...
If it... if they get up to speed,
they're really a force to reckon with.
Um, our plan is just not to let them spin up fully.
I think we have a good enough top speed
to at least box rush them.
We have enough plow on the front
to make sure that we'll at least survive the first hit.
Using our omnidirectional drive
we'll be able to face the opponent,
uh, not only with our weapon
but also with the... the heavily armored front.
And wait for the good chewy wheels
to show up at the... at our disc
and go for them.
Yeah. [speaking indistinctly]
[indistinct chatter]
[Chris] All right, Kenny. For the fans who want
a throwdown on some BattleBotsaction,
what's the play here?
[Kenny] Well, I'm giving Valkyrie the edge
but it's a lot closer for me
after seeing that front armor attachment on Ominous.
That could end up frustrating Lucy Du.
Still, Valkyrie's massive reach advantage,
with the undercutter,
has the potential to dictate the story of this fight.
[automated voice] Robots, activate.
[audience cheering]
[Chris] All right.
We got a good one brewing here, Kenny.
The stakes for this tournament are high enough.
But for these two squads,
their standing in the sport might be on the line.
Will Ominous glide into the second round?
Or will the mighty Valkyrie deliver a victory worthy of Valhalla?
We're gonna find out
when BattleBots: Champions continues.
[audience cheering]
[Chris] This is BattleBots: Champions
where Valkyrie and Ominous,
two bots with uncertain futures in the sport
are ready to throw down.
One of these teams will move closer to a spot
in The Golden Bolt tournament.
It is win or go home.
Here we go.
[audience cheering]
[audience chanting] Fight! Fight! Fight!
[Chris] Winner of this match
will face ROTATOR in the second round.
Lucy Du, the captain of Valkyrie.
Tim Bouwens of the Netherlands leads Ominous.
Let the bot battle begin!
Ominous floating over and taking a shot.
Sweet Caroline.
[Kenny] The weapon of Ominous had stopped spinning
after that first exchange.
Have they lost it?
Or has Tim Bouwens shut it down?
[Chris] There is some life in that dual disc.
Tim Bouwens firing back up and tracking Valkyrie.
Lucy Du, probing.
[Kenny] That wedge holding up really well in Ominous still.
-[Chris] Oh. -[Kenny] Always interesting any time to get
a vertical spinner against a horizontal spinner.
There's an opportunity for Ominous
-to attack the backside of Valkyrie. -[Chris] Yeah.
-[Kenny] Oh. -[Chris] Oh.
[Chris] A nice shot by Valkyrie there.
start chipping away at the front end of Ominous.
[Kenny] Lucy Du has to be careful
to not oversteer in this fight.
Ominous doesn't have much reach,
but she needs to avoid showing it.
Valkyrie's backed up.
[Chris] Lucy with an opportunity to fire back
at her critics here in the Slugfest.
Remember, she was not happy about being left out
of the World Championship VII tourney.
Can she make a statement
by going on a run this evening?
[Kenny] Valkyrie slowly trying to break down
the defenses of Ominous.
Tim Bouwens, trying to stay squared up.
That undercutter on Valkyrie looks hungry.
[Chris] Still looking for that hurt...
massive hit of the fight.
-[Kenny] Oh. -[Chris] Oh, big impact.
Now Ominous in pursuit
but Valkyrie with the whip-around counterstrike,
doing her best Ray Billings and Tombstone impression.
-[Kenny] Oh. -[Chris] Couple of power shots landed by Ominous.
[Kenny] Lucy learned a lot in the regular season,
and you could see it here in her driving.
[Chris] Both weapons still humming.
Valkyrie lining up a shot...
-[Kenny] Oh. -[Chris] ...and delivers it to the front of Ominous.
Just passed the halfway mark,
and the bots looking for some space.
[Kenny] Here comes Valkyrie.
[Chris] Oh, and collision that sends Lucy Du's bot
careening into the screws.
[Kenny] Still time for both of these teams
to make a push for a knockout, that would impress the judges.
This one's not over, Chris.
[Chris] Lots of sparks, lots of jabs
and a few big shots in this fight so far.
but no critical damage to speak of.
But which of these teams
is gonna exert their will down the stretch?
Winner moves on to the second round.
Loser takes a long flight home.
Much longer, by the way, if you're Ominous.
[Kenny] Whoa! That was a nice weapon-to-weapon hit.
-[Chris] Oh... -[Kenny] Is Ominous alive?
[Chris] No, that's it.
That is it.
We waited more than two minutes for the first huge shots.
And Valkyrie giving it a sniff to see if he's still alive.
And now backing off.
-Ten! -[Chris] That will do it.
-Nine. -[Chris] The countdown has started.
Valkyrie is gonna move on to the next round,
where it will face ROTATOR
in the Sin City Slugfest semifinals.
Knockout!
[Kenny] That's a big win for Lucy Du.
[Chris] And this one was a slow burn, Kenny.
Very effective defensive configuration by Ominous.
But you just have to sense that big shot from Valkyrie
was lurking in there.
[Kenny] Yeah, nice job by Lucy Du,
keeping the pressure on Ominous.
Chipped away at that big wedge.
Probed and prodded and jabbed with the undercutter,
and eventually got the weapon-to-weapon shot
she was looking for.
-[Kenny] Boom. -[Chris] There it is.
[Kenny] What a shot.
[Chris] Valkyrie sends Ominous back to the Netherlands
and launches itself into the next round.
Lucy... congratulations.
Thank you.
Now that sort of shot...
That's the sort of shot that you delivered to Ominous
-that you've been waiting for. -[Lucy] Yeah.
Um, I think as we gained more confidence in the robot,
we were able to, kind of, full stick in a little bit more.
Uh, Lucy, we will see you in the semifinals
against ROTATOR. Congratulations.
All right. Thank you.
[cheering and applause]
That was awesome.
Yeah, that was great.
[Chris] So Team Valkyrie will head back to the pits.
to try and get their bot ready for what will be
a highly-anticipated rematch with ROTATOR.
Their first fight was an epic back-and-forth classic.
Had more sparklers than a wedding on the Fourth of July.
We'll break that down a little later.
But up next, we'll kick off
the second round of tonight's Slugfest
with SHREDDIT BRO! versus Switchback.
And to hear Evan Arias tell it
his bot is the most destructive,
the most handsome.
It's got a GRAMMY.
It was the first bot on Mars.
Fact is, no one talks the talk like Big Evan.
Now we'll see if he can walk the walk
asBattleBots: Champions continues.
[cheering and applause]
[Chris] It is time for more of the Sin City Slugfest.
We started with eight bots tonight
and now just four remain in the quest to join
The Golden Bolt tournament field.
There's a look at teams Valkyrie and ROTATOR
getting prepped for their second round fight.
Just around the corner, Kenny.
[Kenny] Yeah, no rest between matches in this event.
It's go, go, go or you go home.
[Chris] Okay. Time to kick off round number two.
We got SHREDDIT BRO! versus Switchback.
[audience cheering]
And for the madman Evan Arias,
dude is loving life after a shocking KO
Skorpios in round one.
He is feeling great about his robot,
and it looks great.
On a scale of Pain Train to Minotaur,
this bot's trending in the right direction.
Well, listen, whatever Evan...
Evan, whatever you did to SHREDDIT BRO! and left,
just do that again.
Do that again.
I mean, his robot looks so much, uh, better,
so much stronger, so much more powerful,
so much more durable.
And let's be honest,
his driving may be rough around the edges at times,
but the man is fearless.
Let... let's just slow his roll for just a second,
because Switchback, that thing is a brick.
It can deliver a shot with its weapon.
So I think that Greg Needel
has the advantage here, don't you think?
[Kenny] Yeah, this is a sophomore team
on the right trajectory,
led by a captain with the right attitude,
which is get better each and every time out there.
Switchback isn't a world-beater just yet
but their armor setups are incredibly effective.
I'm looking for more progress on the offensive end.
The drum has knockout power
but not a lot of sting power.
And that weapon's gonna be tested here.
Evan Arias has an in-your-face driving style,
so Greg Needel is gonna have
plenty of opportunities to make a statement.
-This could be an extreme one. -Okay.
-Yeah. -We'll find out who's headed to the final.
Faruq.
[cheering and applause]
In the red square...
This lo-fi darling came out of nowhere.
Now he's making the rounds.
Trying to be a legend,
even though he's like your corpse underground.
He's not big but you'll get hipster cred
if he hits you with his tool.
And you can say,
"Yeah, he killed me before he was cool."
It's SHREDDIT BRO!
[cheering and applause]
[Chris] Evan Arias coming of off his best performance ever
in a fight earlier tonight.
He was losing confidence
when he was average.
Now how do you feel?
[Kenny laughing]
I mean, he... he loves this game.
Great to see him finally get his bot dialed in.
Is it dialed in for this fight?
[Chris] Yeah, we'll see.
[Kenny] Find out.
[cheering and applause]
[Faruq] In the blue square...
This next bot sounds like a pop up band
from the early mid-2000s.
"Breaking Back Sunday" or "Newfound Glory"
is how a Switchback concert sounded.
His body count sum is 41.
Now you have a brand-new home in heaven.
Just make sure your heart strings are in tune
as the APB plays Blink-187.
It's Switchback!
[cheering and applause]
Yeah!
[Chris] Round two for Team Switchback.
This is the bot we were honing in on
before the night started, Kenny.
And it has not disappointed so far.
[Kenny] No, and with this armor configuration,
SHREDDIT BRO! is gonna have a tough time
landing significant strikes on Switchback.
You know, Evan is gonna come out swinging.
So Greg Needel might wanna just play defense early on
and outlast the BRO!
[audience cheering]
Right now, we have Switchback coming up
and I'm very excited.
That'll be our second fight tonight.
Hopefully, we get another one and I...
I just can't... I'm looking forward to it. We...
After knocking out Skorpios,
I feel like there's nothing we can't do.
I'm usually confident but I'm, like, overly confident now.
So Switchback is an interesting robot
that has these lifter arms attached to their weapon,
that whole assembly.
So we're looking to knock the arms completely out
and hopefully break their pulleys
and render the robot useless.
Because they have a... a big drum
that basically scrapes the ground,
uh, we're gonna go to our beak configuration.
That beak will hopefully take the impact,
stop their drum before the weapon-to-weapon impact.
And we really need to...
make sure that we're hitting our angles of attack,
trying to win the ground game
and then, you know, hoping that the,
uh, weapon-to-weapon engagement goes our way.
[automated voice] Robots, activate.
[audience cheering]
We're good.
[audience chanting] Fight! Fight! Fight!
[Chris] Evan Arias and SHREDDIT BRO!
Greg Needel and Switchback.
Winner is moving on to the final.
Let the bot battle begin.
Switchback either taking its time
or having trouble on the floor, Kenny.
I can't know which one.
[Kenny] Oh, a big pop there.
Switchback's weapon belt
is now lying on the BattleBox floor.
That's gonna be a problem.
Advantage SHREDDIT BRO to start this fight.
[Chris] So now Switchback, what is it gonna get,
-it's smoking on top of everything else. -[Kenny] Oh, no.
SHREDDIT BRO! just shredding Switchback.
[Chris] Going to the back side, opening things up.
[Kenny] Look at that rear armor.
SHREDDIT BRO! breaking the factory seal.
[Chris] Evan Arias can fail none.
-He is going in for the kill! -[Kenny] Oh!
SHREDDIT BRO! is nasty. Look at this.
[Chris] Oh, man. Wow!
-Oh, is he gonna follow it up? -[Kenny] Oh!
[Chris] Oh, he just cleans up the mess.
[Kenny] He is destroying the armor all over Switchback right now, Chris.
[Chris] Greg Needel having trouble getting his robot right side up.
But Evan Arias... Oh, God!
He took the shot from the 100-pound hammer.
Good. Good on drive.
[Kenny] Switchback still mobile
but desperately trying to find some space
to reset here.
[Chris] So impressive.
Now the only thing to worry about if you're SHREDDIT BRO! is,
if you stop working at some point.
'Cause he's dominating.
[Kenny] And that's been the issue with SHREDDIT BRO!.
The reliability of that weapon hasn't been great.
It's last few fights, though,
it's been fantastic.
[Kenny and Chris exclaiming]
[Kenny] Serious airtime for Switchback, Chris.
I think that's a knockdown.
[Chris] Unbelievable.
The question was could Switchback stop the BRO?
-The answer is hell no! -[referee counting down]
[Kenny laughs]
[Chris] SHREDDIT BRO! and Evan Arias
-off to the final. -[referee] Two, one.
Knockout!
[man 1] Let's go!
[Chris] What a performance.
The ascension of the BRO continues.
[indistinct chatter]
[man 2] Oh, my God.
Whoo!
[Evan and Greg speak indistinctly]
[Chris] Kenny, Evan Arias has
dominated with a 3 lb version of SHREDDIT BRO!
on the Beetleweight circuit.
This kinda offense is why it's so feared in that division.
[Kenny] My goodness.
Landed some absolutely ferocious shots
in this one, Chris.
Ripped into Switchback's armor
and sent it flying backwards into the corner.
I thought Greg Needel
panicked a little bit in this fight,
having trouble getting his robot on its feet.
as a result of all the pressure.
Phenomenal performance by the BRO.
[Chris] Couple more really nice shots and...
-[Kenny] Oh! -...Oh! That was the finishing blow.
-Evan Arias. -Yup.
Oh, hold on, hold on, I got you, I got you.
Yeah, sorry. Sorry, bro.
Yup!
Evan, do you think you have some believers now?
Uh, I might have, like, three...
Some of them are mannequins on the front,
but we have a few more now. Let's go!
[Kenny chuckles]
Dude, in season 6 and season 7
you talked your bot up and we were like,
"Okay, dude. When are you gonna start delivering?"
Well, that has happened tonight.
What has been the big deal with you guys here?
So, I would say, uh, you know, doing the robot up,
you know, we had all types of drive issues, weapon issues.
And then coming into this tournament
you know it's the second fight of the night
and honestly, uh, there was a lot to get here
and we really wanted to make sure we were dialed in.
Evan, the reliability of that
drum is just unbelievable.
You're hitting with such ferocity.
And you guys are just inviting these weapon to weapon exchanges
and winning them all.
Yeah, that's how... That's kinda how we do.
We love weapon to weapon contact.
Everyone who loves this sport, you know, you go for that big engagement.
And we wanted the big hits.
And, you know, sometimes we got great competitors who want the same thing.
So, uh, I would say this weapon design
is something we're gonna take
and, you know, keep going with in the future.
Uh, I see a long career for SHREDDIT BRO!.
-Well, congratulations. -[Evan] Thank you, guys.
[speaking indistinctly]
-[man 3] Nice fight. Good fight. -[man 4] Good job.
-[Kenny] Bruh. -[Chris] Bruh.
-Bruh. -Bruh.
That was awesome. That was...
That was a lot of fun.
SHREDDIT BRO!, you know, they've had their issues
and to see them come in here in the Slugfest,
they've been very impressive, man.
[Chris] So, against all odds,
the BRO is moving on to the final.
It will face the winner of our next match.
Lucy Du and Valkyrie.
Victor Soto and ROTATOR.
A World Championship V rematch.
A trip to the Slugfest final is on the line.
We'll have the fight
whenBattleBots: Champions continue.
This is BattleBots: Champions, Sin City Slugfest.
One half of tonight's final
is officially locked in as SHREDDIT BRO!
Yes, you heard me.
SHREDDIT BRO! is on a tear.
Kenny, there's a look at Evan Arias, already back in the pits
after that incredible knockout win over Switchback.
Chatting it up with his victim, Greg Needel.
I like this. Like, this shearing action.
Definitely, all things started to shear off.
[Kenny] Yeah, the work in the pits is the other battle tonight.
SHREDDIT BRO!'s drum has taken a beating.
Armoring will be critical for the final.
It's not just about repairing,
but preparing for whoever their next opponent might be.
[Chris] And we're gonna find that out, right now.
ROTATOR and Valkyrie.
Back in season 5
they put on an all-time classic.
[Chris] ...Cushing's popped up onto its heels.
It was a 3-minute melee, Kenny.
[Kenny] Yeah, endless sparks.
Both weapons at full capacity.
[Chris] Both teams refusing to back down.
[Kenny] Huge hits.
Victor's driving was incredible.
-[Chris] Keeping the pressure on. -Go, go, go, go.
[Kenny] You had Valkyrie ripping off ROTATOR's armor
late in the fight.
[Chris] Pieces of ROTATOR all over the BattleBox.
[Kenny] Got that one favorited on YouTube.
[Chris] Now, I got it.
Back then, Leanne Cushing not Lucy Du,
was the captain of Valkyrie
but I wouldn't be shocked if we see the same thing here tonight.
[Kenny] No question about it.
Um, you know, Lucy might not have the experience of Leanne Cushing
but she is getting better with this robot.
And for Victor Soto it's feeling like business as usual.
Time and again, ROTATOR is in the mix
But now I want to see that killer instinct.
It's time for ROTATOR to prove it's a championship level bot.
[audience cheering]
[Chris] We're ready for a fun one.
So are the captains.
We fought Valkyrie two years ago,
and we had a 3-minute
spark fest basically.
They ripped off our plow
and won, a judges' decision.
Very close match.
We have a little bit of a chip on our shoulders.
We wanna come back and beat them.
We have a whole new plow redesigned just for Valkyrie
and we can't wait to use it and try it out.
We're gonna hopefully use the plow to
kind of slow them down,
pin them against a wall.
And then we're gonna use our blades to try to aim for the wheels.
I know they have some interesting armor configurations as well.
We're gonna see if we can use the thin blades
to slice even easier through the armor
and get to the wheels and disable them.
In our fight against Ominous
we ended up taking more damage than we initially thought.
Um, we thought that we had just bent a blade
but in addition to that we also bent the weapon shaft.
And, um,
so the team has been working around the clock
trying to turn it around, um,
so that we're ready to fight ROTATOR.
ROTATOR is a really formidable opponent
and, um, they always hit really hard,
they are generally really reliable,
so we really have to bring our A game.
I think that there is a pretty decent chance
that both robots will take a lot of damage, win or lose.
I think, any time,
Valkyrie meets the wedge there's gonna be a lot of sparks.
[robot announcer] Robots activate.
[Chris] All right. This matchup getting a lot of attention back in the pit.
Their first encounter was an instant classic.
So, how do the builders see this rematch going down?
[Kenny] They've got ROTATOR as a 72% favorite
despite losing that first matchup.
[Chris] Does that surprise you?
[Kenny] Listen, I get it. In recent seasons
ROTATOR's been a class above Valkyrie.
For this one, the team's added that beefy AR400 plow to eat up shots.
And you heard Victor. He wants to attack Valkyrie's tires
with the overcutter.
But Valkyrie's blade, New Glory,
gives it a big reach advantage.
This should be another brawl, Chris.
[audience chanting] Fight!
[machine beeping]
[Chris] Let the bot battle begin.
Those horizontal blades getting up to full speed.
Victor Soto circling Valkyrie.
[metal clanks]
[Chris] Oh, nice side shot.
-And, yeah... Oh! -[Kenny] Oh!
[Chris] A vicious shot by Victor Soto.
Trying to attack those wheels.
[Kenny] Lucy doing a good job of keeping that weapon pointed at ROTATOR.
ROTATOR now...
losing its balance here.
Nice shot by Valkyrie.
[Chris] Excellent work by Valkyrie.
[Kenny] Victor Soto not relying on that wedge
as much as I thought he would here.
Keeping that blade squared up.
[Chris] Valkyrie not minding. Going weapon to weapon.
It's that wedge it's trying to stay away from.
[Kenny] Another shot to the side of Valkyrie by ROTATOR
but look at the follow-up from Lucy Du.
Goes over ROTATOR now.
This is the oppression we've been waiting to see
from Lucy since last season.
-[Chris] Man, the energy that these weapons... -[Kenny] Wow.
...just have.
So far they've been trading jabs.
But it feels like any second a nuclear bomb could go off in here.
And Chris, that first moonshot
might be what turns this fight.
[Chris] Now, Victor trying to...
That wedge right into the mouth of Valkyrie.
You know, there's a current poetry in each engagement here.
The sparks are flying,
weapons are humming.
Two legends going toe-to-toe.
Blow for blow.
[Kenny] Yeah, each driver is carefully trying to find an edge here.
They know what happens if they make a mistake.
[Chris] Little bit of separation there.
Valkyrie goes in over again.
[Kenny] Uh-oh.
[Chris] That was a big piece of Valkyrie that just came off.
[Kenny] Yeah, looks like it lost the armor...
-[Chris] Oh! -...protecting its left side wheel.
[Kenny and Chris exclaim]
[Kenny] Nasty shot that sends robots in opposite directions.
ROTATOR having some issue with its left tire.
[Chris] Oh, no question about it.
It has been chopped up.
And Lucy Du is right on top of it.
Can she put the nail in the coffin?
[Kenny] She's just trying to get whatever she can right now.
And remember, the left wheel is exposed
to one shot from ROTATOR.
Could even this back up.
[Chris] Under a minute to go.
Who's gonna close this out?
Oh, look at that.
That's tire's just shredded, Kenny.
[Kenny] Yeah, let's see if Lucy can get around and finish it off.
It's attacking the other side now,
but either way, I love the aggression
we've seen from her in this fight.
[Chris] Oh!
That's like the third or fourth time we've seen her leapfrog over ROTATOR.
[Kenny] This fight's gonna come down to the wire, Chris,
but right now ROTATOR's wheel is the big difference.
That was for a lot of damage points from Valkyrie.
[Chris] Well, their first fight at World Championship V
was an instant classic.
The sequel's doing it justice.
So many punches landed by each robot.
20 seconds to go.
[Kenny] And look at this!
Lucy is not backing off.
[Chris] Just listen to the sound of that.
[Kenny] That plow is about to fall off ROTATOR, it looks like.
[Chris] Oh, Lucy Du trying to kill that plow.
Can she knock it off before time expires?
-[buzzer sounds] -[Chris] She cannot.
But what a fantastic fight this matchup was,
the second time around.
Everything is now in the hands of the judges.
Lucy, good job.
[speaking indistinctly]
Couldn't get that wheel.
[Chris] Kenny, there is a tremendous amount of filth
on the BattleBox floor.
I certainly understand why.
[Kenny] These were some tremendous shots, back-and-forth.
See Valkyrie riding over the top of ROTATOR there.
ROTATOR had some nice licks to the front armor on Valkyrie.
This was just a brawl here, Chris.
[Chris] There were two massive shots in the middle of this fight
that set up an exciting finish.
The first one, ripped into Valkyrie's armor
and left its wheel exposed.
The second left ROTATOR's wheel severely compromised.
[Kenny] Yeah, and I didn't think we'd be saying this
but what made the difference down the stretch
was Lucy Du's aggression.
With her side exposed,
it would've been easy for her to be cautious
and let time run out,
but she stayed on top of ROTATOR,
targeted Victor's wheel
and did a ton of damage to the plow as well.
[Chris] It's amazing because ROTATOR's mindset
has been all about durability over the years.
And here, limping around with a gash in the wheel.
Let's find out who's moving on.
Faruq.
The results from the judges are in.
Whoo!
The winner by unanimous decision is...
-Valkyrie. -[exclaiming]
[woman 1] Did it. We did it.
Oh, God.
[woman 1 screaming]
So happy!
[Chris] Lucy, congratulations.
That is the most emotional I've seen you and your team.
Why jumping for joy so much?
Uh, that fight was kind of awesome.
Uh, we spun the whole three minutes and
it was great.
[Kenny] It was more than kinda awesome.
It was very awesome.
You know, you guys just stood there
and started trading shots the whole time.
Was that a part of the game plan?
Yeah, absolutely.
Um, our plan was just
-point the spinny thing and... -[Kenny chuckles]
...drive.
Well, listen, this is your first year with the robot.
We know that Valkyrie's had
a tremendous amount of success here at BattleBots.
But for you personally,
how satisfying is it that you're now
one win away from participating in the Golden Bolt?
Um, I think
for me and my team it means a lot.
We put a lot of work into upgrading
that weapon system on Valkyrie,
to make sure it spins the full three minutes every single fight.
Um, and I think it's shown that in every fight we've had.
Congratulations, Lucy. We'll see you in the final.
Thanks.
Valkyrie!
[indistinct]
[Chris] Okay, Kenny, tonight's final all set.
Valkyrie moves on to face SHREDDIT BRO!.
Both teams just one win away
from a trip to the Golden Bolt tournament.
[Kenny] Huge credit to Lucy Du.
She's got Valkyrie back on the right track.
And for Victor Soto and ROTATOR,
another solid showing
but a major trophy still eludes this talented squad.
So, coming up next,
SHREDDIT BRO! versus Valkyrie.
A berth in the Golden Bolt tournament awaits.
Don't go anywhere.
It's the final.
And it's next on BattleBots.
We are back on BattleBots: Champions,
Sin City Slugfest.
It is time right now for the final
between Valkyrie and SHREDDIT BRO!
And if you picked these two
to make the final at the start of the night,
you need to go buy yourself a lottery ticket right now.
This is the long shot of long shots.
Two squads coming off disappointing,
underwhelming World Championship VII seasons.
And I'll tell you what,
if they performed like this back then
there's no doubt they would've grabbed a spot in the tournament
and potentially made some noise.
[Kenny] Absolutely. This is also
a fascinating matchup in terms of backgrounds.
SHREDDIT BRO! has more humble beginnings.
Evan Arias comes from the projects of New York.
Got passed over for scholarships.
The man is essentially self-taught.
[Kenny] On the other hand, you have Valkyrie.
A complex engineering marvel
with a gaggle of MITeers behind it.
Two vastly different pasts for these squads.
But they're converging right now.
Why don't we start it out with The Bro?
Evan Arias, SHREDDIT BRO!
We love Evan's confidence,
the cool-guy vibes.
But behind that is a steady, dedicated, and patient captain.
His squad's truly been through theBattleBots meat grinder, Kenny.
[Kenny] Yeah, it all started a few years ago with Pain Train,
which was never really competitive.
Kind of, the butt of the joke.
But Evan stayed positive.
He was killing it in the lower weight classes of robot combat,
with his three pound version of SHREDDIT BRO!.
He scaled it up.
It didn't work out great initially.
But Evan stayed positive.
Here in the Slugfest, back against the wall,
SHREDDIT BRO! knocks out a proven contender, Skorpios.
Delivers a stunning KO of Switchback in the semifinal.
Tonight, Chris, that positivity is working overtime.
And it's finally paying off.
Now just one win away from joining the Golden Bolt tournament.
So too, is Lucy Du,
the brand new captain of Valkyrie.
But we've got a little business to take care of.
Before the break, Rotator did appeal it's loss to Valkyrie.
The judges took a look. Told Victor, no dice.
And team Valkyrie got the official nod.
That is a big resume piece of Lucy Du.
Who as we know, took control of this big-named bot.
Perhaps the expectations were too high, early on.
After all, it wasn't just Leanne Cushing that left the squad,
it was also the driver, Fred Moore
who now spins dough for RIPperoni.
So, Lucy's working two jobs,
but she's confident in her team and her own abilities.
And perhaps, that pushed her to do so well tonight, I think.
[Kenny] Yeah, absolutely. I think they've had two solid wins.
Uh, and they're looking stronger and stronger as well.
Lucy getting much more familiar with her bot, Valkyrie.
Somebody is off to the Golden Bolt tournament.
Is it SHREDDIT BRO! or is it Valkyrie?
Let's find out. Faruq.
[crowd cheering]
[Faruq] Ladies and gentlemen,
are you ready?
It's time for the main event.
[siren blaring]
[Faruq] In the red square,
this New York bot will put you underground,
like a subway tunnel that's been abandoned.
And like that city, you'll never sleep
for fear of the dead that you'll be handed.
So run for Jersey. Hit the turnpike,
or your demise, it couldn't be gorier.
And beware this team in Sin City,
'cause man, they look like warriors.
It's SHREDDIT BRO!
[Chris] Come out and play.
SHREDDIT BRO! making its third trip to theBattleBots this evening,
in unexpected run, to say the least.
But, Kenny, it might be time to start believing in The Bro.
[Kenny] Well, the biggest KO of the night belongs to SHREDDIT BRO!
That's already a feather in the cap,
considering the talent level this evening.
But you're only one win away from
the most successful night of your career,
you have to dream big.
Evan Arias, go for it all, my man.
[Faruq] In the blue square,
this thing is a horizontal spinner,
just like Pat Sajak's wheel.
But give it a spin, and all you're winning
is a mouthful of steel.
You'll get lit up like Vanna White touched you.
It'll be bad for morale,
and go completely bankrupt,
if you try to buy a vowel.
A-E I owe you a beat down
from Valkyrie.
[Chris] Lucy Du and her talented team KO'd Ominous,
won the rematch with Rotator.
Just one more win to advance
to the tournament of champions, Kenny.
Valkyrie is back.
[Kenny] It's definitely back.
And the field isn't gonna like that.
When Valkyrie is on its game,
the repair bills, back in the pits, go way up.
And the vibe with this squad is completely changed.
They're ready to bring the fight to SHREDDIT BRO!
and take their shot at the Golden Bolt.
[Chris] Okay. As they say here in Sin City,
big money, big money, big money.
Hit me, Kenny.
[Kenny] Well, full credit to Evan Arias
for even making this a question.
But the edge still goes to Valkyrie.
It's got that 65 pound blade Sweet
Caroline again.
It got bent up against Ominous,
but looks pristine now.
And Lucy says,
she's aiming dead center on SHREDDIT BRO!
She has full faith in her bot's durability.
For The Bro, not much in the way of changes,
and Evan's practically giddy
at the notion of weapon to weapon strikes.
He believes, that's his best shot,
at coming out on top.
[robotic voice] Robots, activate.
[crowd cheering]
[Chris] An offensive, brawl brewing here in the final.
SHREDDIT BRO!
Valkyrie.
Who's gonna earn a shot at the Golden Bolt?
We'll find out,
whenBattleBots: Champions continues.
[Kenny] Let's take a look at the awards
from World Championship Seven,
presented earlier this year.
The excellence in sportsmanship award
went to Rory Mangles from Monsoon,
The most destructive robot,
World Championship VII runner-up,
Huge.
An award near and dear
to the hearts of theBattleBots community,
the Grant Imahara award for best design...
The pizza bot,
RIPperoni.
Finally, the founders award,
which celebrates those that best represent
the spirit and values ofBattleBots.
The one and only,
Martin Mason from MaDCatTer.
Thank you, guys. Thank you.
Whoo!
Yeah!
Whoo!
[Chris] We are back onBattleBots.
We've got SHREDDIT BRO! and Valkyrie,
inside the box for tonight's Slugfest final.
A berth in the Golden Bolt tournament is on the line.
Evan Arias,
Lucy Du,
show us what you got.
[crowd cheering] Fight! Fight! Fight!
[Chris] Let the bot battle begin.
Ah, there's your face to face.
[Kenny] Yeah, we're gonna find out real quick,
whose weapon is more powerful.
-Oh. -Oh.
[Kenny] Nasty shot there.
[Chris] SHREDDIT BRO! continuing to attack Valkyrie.
[Kenny] Yeah, they're going right at it.
-[Chris] Oh, yeah. -Both teams.
[Kenny] Not shy to exchange here.
[Chris] Kenny, it's just gonna come down
-to dependability in this one. -Oh.
[Kenny] Yeah, I'm surprised Valkyrie isn't trying
to go for the wheels on SHREDDIT BRO!
[Chris] Uh-oh. Valkyrie up against the screws on the upper deck.
And, able to slip free.
Now looking to get that undercutter back up to speed.
And Kenny, SHREDDIT BRO!'s weapon, no longer working.
Did Evan Arias lose it in that last exchange?
[Kenny] Those were some violent shots
to start this match, Chris.
Obviously, SHREDDIT BRO! not known for its durability.
I think that weapon is down.
Which mean Valkyrie will have surged ahead
on the score cards here.
[Chris] Just about a minute into this Slugfest final.
Is this where the Cinderella run of
SHREDDIT BRO! comes to an end?
[Kenny] Oh.
[Chris] As Evan Arias delivers a shot to the front of Valkyrie.
He is now scrambling without use of his primary weapon.
Can SHREDDIT BRO! find a way to get back in this fight?
[Kenny] Oh, Evan Arias keeping the pressure on,
continuing to throw SHREDDIT BRO!
into Valkyrie's weapon.
And, Chris, I think Valkyrie
may be struggling with some mobility issues now.
[Chris] SHREDDIT BRO! smothering Valkyrie,
as we approach the half way point.
And Lucy Du needs to find a way to create some space here,
and catch a breathe.
Trying to hold on to a lead,
and punch her ticket to the Golden Bolt tournament.
Oh!
[Kenny] Oh, there's a nice shot there, at the side of the box.
[Chris] Valkyrie looking a little sluggish after that shot.
SHREDDIT BRO! starting to come back here,
giving Valkyrie a tour of the BattleBox.
Certainly being more aggressive of the two bots.
[Kenny] Uh-oh.
It's now Valkyrie tastin' the screws.
That's no good.
[Kenny] And Valkyrie having serious drive train issues, Chris.
[Chris] Yeah. I mean, if SHREDDIT BRO! is still
fully functional on the drive area,
Valkyrie's...
just kinda sittin' and spinning.
Don't know if that's enough movement.
[Kenny] This is exactly what SHREDDIT BRO! needs to do.
There's 40 second left, Chris.
They need to stay aggressive here.
If Valkyrie survives, this could be their fight.
[Chris] Evan Arias is doing everything in his power
to try and disable Valkyrie.
[Kenny] Oh, oh.
[Chris] A great job by SHREDDIT BRO!.
Valkyrie, is it moving or not?
[Kenny] Doesn't look like it's moving, Chris.
This could be a knockout for SHREDDIT BRO!
Are you kidding me?
-Nine, eight... -[Chris] The countdown is started.
Seven...
[Chris] Valkyrie is not moving.
Can you believe?
Evan Arias and SHREDDIT BRO!...
Knockout.
[Chris] ...onto the tournament of champions.
Wow!
[indistinct dialogues]
That was proper SHREDDIT BRO!
[man] Oh, my [bleep]. That was us. Oh.
[Chris] Well, Kenny, uh, they weren't bashful about saying,
"We're going weapon to weapon".
[Kenny] No. And we got a great fight, because of it.
See Valkyrie get jammed up against the screws there,
but their weapon just would not stop spinning.
[Chris] Well, at this point, Shreddit's weapon was done.
So they had to go to plan B,
and, boy, did they execute it.
[Kenny] Yeah, that's right. And this is where you need to have
composure, and the ability to adapt and adjust.
And that's exactly what SHREDDIT BRO! did.
You know, they believe in their robot,
and they just kept slamming Valkyrie,
into the sides of the BattleBox.
Eventually, Valkyrie got pinned into the corner.
SHREDDIT BRO! just stayin' on top of it.
And Valkyrie's dream of being
in the Tournament of Champions was over.
So I got away from you this time. Hold on.
[Chris] Evan Arias and SHREDDIT BRO!,
congratulations.
You are off to the Golden Bolt tournament of champions.
Very happy to be here.
Honestly if it wasn't for my amazing team,
we would not be this far at all.
Take us through that crazy fight, man. What happened?
Whoo!
So, that's a scary weapon.
And, uh, usually my game's like, head on.
And, uh, I was kind of hesitant,
but I was hoping, maybe... maybe we could do some damage there.
But, uh, that thing is... That's a nasty weapon.
[Kenny] Evan...
It seems like those weapon to weapon hits
shut you guys down.
But then you guys adjusted and started ramming Valkyrie
into the side of the BattleBox.
Yeah. So that's my game.
It was, you know, head on, no matter what.
Whether weapons working nice,
gotta keep, you know, keep being there aggressive, keep going.
And hopefully things will work out.
Big picture here, Evan.
A few seasons ago,
you joined us here, at BattleBots,
with a robot called Pain Train.
And to be honest,
it was kind of, painful to watch.
Um...
[crowd exclaims]
A few years later,
here you are...
challenging for the Golden Bolt.
How did this all happen?
Uh, I would say, experiences, lessons,
and honestly, the community coming together,
and having the best team behind me
makes me afraid of nothing that's ahead of me.
[crowd cheering]
You are a guy that's from the East Coast, up there in New York.
You make no bones about it.
You didn't have the engineering opportunities as a kid,
that a lot of the people back in the pits do.
What does this mean to you,
and the community back East,
that you're trying to build?
Well, I want everybody to know,
it doesn't matter where you grew up, where your background is,
if you got the heart and you got the spirit,
if you wanna do it, make it happen.
Follow that dream.
[crowd cheering]
Well, you've almost achieved that dream.
We will see you in the tournament of champions.
Congratulations to you and you entire squad.
Thank you.
[crowd cheering]
[Chris] Hi, Lucy.
Hi.
I know you're disappointed.
One step shy of making the tournament of champions.
Did you think you really had a chance
to clench this thing, once you saw his weapon stop working?
I did.
Um, but unfortunately, shortly after that,
something in our drive, died.
And we kind of just, drifted around
by the weapon, for the rest of the match.
Um...
It happens.
It seems like your guy's strategy
was to go weapon to weapon with SHREDDIT BRO!
Do you regret that strategy?
Not at all.
Um, our weapon still spins.
It's totally fine.
And I think that, as a team,
that was our entire plan for the season,
is make sure the weapon never stops spinning.
So we're all really proud of the work that we did on that.
And, um, the weapon rips.
Thanks so much for the entertainment.
Another great season for you and team Valkyrie.
Thank you.
Did good.
Well, congratulations to Evan Arias and SHREDDIT BRO!
Evan's first few seasons, here atBattleBots were bleak, to say the least.
But one thing we know about New Yorkers,
they do not quit.
Evan was determined to make a big splash in this sport.
He brought in the Bro,
and finally it happened tonight.
No, absolutely.
And this was a gutsy performance.
Evan sent SHREDDIT BRO! head first into every fight.
Consequences be damned.
And the bot held strong.
When we looked at the field,
even at the beginning of the night,
we didn't pick that bot,
to be representing this bracket
into the Tournament of Champions.
And now, they're just a few wins away
from hoisting the Golden Bolt.
Well, if you thought, they were a long shot tonight,
just wait a few weeks.
SHREDDIT BRO! you may be the king of this hill,
but Mt. Everest awaits.
[Chris] And remember,
there is still four spots up for grabs.
Next week, another batch of mechanical monsters
is gonna battle it out
in qualifier number two.
Looks like a loaded line up, Kenny.
[Kenny] That's right. We'll see the killer Bs,
Bloodsport, Blip, and Black Dragon.
Whiplash hunting for its first major trophy.
The Founders award winner, Martin Mason
and MaDCatTer,
and so much more, I can't wait.
So that'll do it for tonight,
for Faruq, my man, Kenny Florian.
I am Chris Rose.
We will see you next time here
on BattleBots Champions, Sin City Slugfest.