[Faruq] Over its 25-year history,
excellence at BattleBots
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] Team End Game wins the first-ever Golden Bolt!
[Faruq] ...enters its second chapter.
Five nights of single-elimination fights
culminating in a merciless winner-take-all tournament.
[shouting indistinctly]
[Faruq] Welcome to robot combat at its most raw.
No!
[Faruq] This is BattleBots: Champions,
the race for the Golden Bolt.
[robot voice] Robots, activate.
Hey, everybody, and welcome to BattleBots: Champions Sin City Slugfest.
Are you ready to slug it out, Las Vegas?
[audience cheering]
Of course you are.
I am Chris Rose,
joined, as always, by UFC legend
and the best robot combat analyst
to ever put on a headset, Kenny Florian.
Chris, as you know, tonight we're going to be treated to
a seven-fight tournament
culminating in an admit one ticket
to the Golden Bolt bracket of Champions,
where they will face a mix of Giant Nut winners
and other Slugfest champs.
And have the chance to fight the all-time greats of the sport
in a bid to hoist...
[both] The Golden Bolt!
[audience cheering]
[Kenny] BattleBots: Champions
allows teams another chance at glory
outside of the World Championship tournament.
And last week, we saw a squad
that spent years hunting hardware like a rabid dog,
Whiplash, earn its spot in the Golden Bolt field.
[Chris] Whiplash joined Shreddit Bro,
as well as the three most recent Giant Nut winners,
End Game, Tantrum, and SawBlaze,
who received automatic bids as past Champions.
But three spots are still up for grabs.
Let's take a look at the field
vying for one of those spots tonight.
Ricky Willems and his paleolithic prowler, Mammoth,
will attempt to take down a man
whose passion for tinder
has nothing to do with online dating.
It's everyone's favorite pyromaniac, Mr. Gary Gin,
and the fire-breathing Free Shipping.
[Kenny] We've got a newbie
straight out of Area 51, Double Tap,
going toe-to-toe with the king of the hammerbots,
John Reid, and Beta.
[Chris] And from the Land Down Under,
it's Steven Martin's fat, hungry croc DeathRoll
looking to devour Craig Danby's Slammo!
as its first course of the night.
[Kenny] But to kick off slugfest number three,
we're gonna find out what happens
when you put a helicopter blade in the Box
with a Tasmanian devil.
Triton and its enormous horizontal weapon
has a date with the full-body spinner Gigabyte.
These bots are primed for the opportunity to prove themselves
and looking to earn a place in the annals of BattleBots history.
So you know what?
Let's stop talking about it and let them write their next chapter.
Take it away, Faruq!
Ladies and gentlemen,
are you ready?
It's robot fighting time!
[Faruq] In the red square...
From Las Vegas, Nevada,
you'll both be sleeping with the fishes,
but it will still be alive.
It's Triton!
[Chris] Team Triton led by the 6'7" Bradley Hanstad,
bringing up the rear.
Listen, this team likes things big.
Their captain, their wins, and their weapon.
-Right, Kenny? -[Kenny] Correct.
That is an 80-lb bar,
the maximum allowed weapon weight here at BattleBots.
The problem is Bradley hasn't quite figured out
how to control this beast and get it to connect.
The fans are waiting to see if he can find a way
to unlock the next heaviest hitter in this sport.
Good opportunity for Triton here tonight.
[Faruq] In the blue square...
From Oceanside, California.
It took this gig so it could bite.
It's Gigabyte!
[Chris] It's everyone's favorite 250-lb Beyblade, Gigabyte,
now led by young guns, Camden Wallraff, who's rolling the bot out,
and Derek Tran there to the left.
They took over for long-time captain
John Mladenik last season.
[Kenny] Yeah, World Championship VII
was a real welcome-to- the-big-leagues moment for these dudes.
They were learning how to run a team on the fly,
and you can tell that no matter who's in charge,
this bot is still the GOAT of full-body spinners.
So let's see if they can live up to Gigabyte's legacy tonight.
[Chris] Yeah, no pressure, guys.
Gigabyte is a really tough opponent.
We're intending to try and hit them kind of high
and try to do damage to their mechanism
that holds their shell on.
Triton is a robot that's designed for massive big hits.
We don't have a lot of armor. It's all in our weapon.
We're a glass cannon, and Triton's here to destroy something.
Fighting against a well-established robot
will really give us a real proving ground
for what we need to make Triton do in the future
to possibly win the Nut or, in this case, win the Golden Bolt.
The key against the Battle with Triton
is trying not to go directly into their weapon,
trying to go around to the sides.
Gigabyte's weapon is favorable compared to Triton's,
as we're essentially a giant wedge
while they're a traditional horizontal.
The only thing I am nervous about in this fight is the mast.
If the mast gets hit, that's a lot of damage we have to fix,
and that could cause issues if we do get flipped over.
To win all three matches and enter the Golden Bolt tournament
would validate us as a team coming together
and making Gigabyte competitive again.
[robot voice] Robots, activate.
[Chris] Okay, folks, Kenny is back with another set of odds
to help you win your office pool.
You're giving Triton the edge here.
Wow!
[Kenny] Yeah, could go either way,
but based on last season,
I'd say Triton is slightly...
Emphasis on "slightly" more reliable.
I'm also hearing Triton's changed the rotation of their weapon,
so it spins in the opposite direction as Gigabyte.
That means when the two collide,
the force will be doubled.
If you've ever seen a video of two giraffes fighting,
that's what I'm expecting to see here tonight.
[Chris] Yeah, I have no idea what that means, Kenny,
but I like it.
[audience chanting] Gigabyte! Gigabyte! Gigabyte! Gigabyte!
[robot voice] Red team, ready?
[audience cheering]
It's red.
[robot voice] Blue team, ready?
[Chris] That's a cut-out of their teammate Brent Rieker,
who is busy kicking cancer's ass.
[Kenny] Yeah, we miss you, buddy.
[all chanting] Fight, fight, fight.
[Chris] Triton.
Gigabyte.
Which one of these heavy hitters
is going to kick off Slugfest number 3 with a win?
[buzzer sounding]
[Chris] Let the Bot Battle begin!
Oh, Gigabyte wanted to box-rush and went the wrong direction.
[Kenny] Sure did. Ran right into the upper deck there.
[Chris] Bradley Hanstad trying to rein in that 80-lb blade on Triton.
Triton out of control here to start.
[Kenny] Gigabyte trying to get round to the backside of Triton.
-[both] Whoa! -[Chris] Get that!
[Kenny] There's that double hit.
-Beautiful stuff there by Gigabyte. -[Chris] Another!
Uh-oh.
Nice job by the youngsters of Gigabyte.
They have Triton trapped in the corner. They let him out.
And... Oh!
Another nice shot.
And again.
-[Kenny] Oh! -[Chris] Oh, man.
The ferocity of that blade on Triton.
[Kenny] Yeah, that impact sent Gigabyte flying across the BattleBox.
Nice recovery.
Triton's blade still functional.
[Chris] Here's Gigabyte with the follow-up,
looking to turn the lights out on Triton and advance.
[all exclaiming]
Oh, wow!
Gigabyte saying, "I'll be the one dishing out the haymakers.
-Thank you very much." -[referee] Ten! Nine!
[Kenny] Yeah, this is gonna be a knockout.
-My goodness. -Eight! Seven! Six! Five!
[Chris] The countdown has started.
-Four! Three! Two! One! -[Chris] The youngsters at Gigabyte, Eric and Camden,
-are advancing to the semifinal. -Knockout.
[buzzer sounds]
Yeah!
[imperceptible]
-Thank you. -Absolutely.
I was unbelievably scared of that part.
[Chris] Well, Kenny, I mean, Gigabyte, hard-hitting.
[Kenny] No question about it.
Triton choosing to go with an overcutting configuration for its blade.
That proved to be a big mistake
as Gigabyte got right underneath and went to work.
[Chris] Well, Gigabyte played it perfectly at some of the angles
and just let Triton bounce around that Box.
[Kenny] Yeah, they were much faster,
much more opportunistic as well.
You know, when you have that 80-lb blade,
it just doesn't allow for the whole robot to move that quickly.
Gigabyte was taking advantage of that for sure.
[Chris] And here's that finishing ricochet shot.
Triton was not designed to fly.
Hey, give that robot some smelling salts.
It's definitely gonna be in concussion protocol.
[audience cheering]
Derek and Camden, congratulations
as you advance to the semifinal.
-Thank you. -Hey, Derek.
I think you guys have figured out how to work this robot.
What do you think?
I mean, we just beat the crap out of them, I guess.
[Chris laughs]
Well, how much fun is it to beat the crap out of your opponent?
It's pretty good to do it to them and not ourselves.
All right, how excited are you to be moving a step closer
to getting into the Golden Bolt?
Very.
We are unbelievably excited to be going forward in this tournament,
especially considering our past issues.
Yeah. How confident are you
that you could actually reach the Golden Bolt?
-100%. -We got this.
Whoa! All right!
All right, guys. Good job. That was entertaining.
-Thanks. -[both] Thank you.
Good game.
[Chris] It's so nice when you can see college kids
growing up right in front of you, right?
[chuckles] I prefer just seeing those robots colliding with each other.
-Yeah. -That was a lot of fun.
Yeah, I think sometimes we overanalyze this stuff.
It was just one big spinning top that weighs 120 lb
with that shell delivering some energy.
Yeah, but, you know, we saw them control that robot
-way better this time out. -Yes. That was better.
You know, during the regular season,
you know, they had some issues,
but this time it seemed like it was totally different.
[Chris] So Triton's big-ass blade is done for now,
and Bradley's mission to unlock the next heaviest hitter
in robot combat trudges on.
Gigabyte will meet the winner of DeathRoll versus Slammo!
in round two.
Coming up, John Reid
will roll his legendary hammerbot Beta into the Box
to throw down with a rookie robot
led by a crew of pro drone pilots, Double Tap.
The single elimination action continues next.
More of the opening round of the Sin City Slugfest coming your way right now.
And remember, tonight's action will determine who grabs
one of the remaining three slots
in the Golden Bolt tournament,
where a field of Champions
and other Slugfest winners await.
Now let's get to our next matchup,
as the newbie squad Double Tap takes on
a robot combat legend, the UK's John Reid
and his hammerbot, Beta.
Kenny, John Reed's menacing mallet has been wowing audiences
and performing unsolicited robot facelifts
since the turn of the century.
And clearly, it's not done.
The iconic hammerbot is coming off a very impressive season,
but despite its reputation, the trophy shelf is empty.
For John Reid, this Slugfest is about the hunt for hardware.
[Kenny] Yeah, World Championship VII was a return to form for Beta.
New weapons operator Jason Marston
fired the hammer 73 times across five matches,
a huge increase from previous years,
which helped them pound their way to a 3-1 record
before the round of 32.
They did have an embarrassing exit from the tournament though.
The robot just died, which is why John's not playing around tonight
at this stage of his career.
He's chasing legacy.
If they can get to the tournament of Champions and hoist the Golden Bolt,
it would secure Beta a spot in the pantheon of this sport.
[Chris] And on the opposite side of things,
we've got Double Tap,
a team that is just beginning their robot combat journey.
They actually come from the drone world.
They were one of those teams
that fought in the exhibition matches
throughout the regular season,
trying to prove that they are good enough
to appear full-time in season eight.
Not sure they did that. Right, Kenny?
[Kenny] Yeah, the saying, "Two years away from being two years away" comes to mind,
which makes tonight a big opportunity.
The robot has a huge horizontal blade,
but it looked only half functional
in its two exhibition matches.
If they could get it going tonight
and at least put up a fight against Beta,
that would go a long way to show
Double Tap has what it takes to compete in the big leagues.
And hey, we thought Shreddit Bro was out of its league two weeks ago.
You never know.
[audience cheering]
[Chris] All right, well, let's hear from the team captains
as their robots get into place.
So we're going against Beta.
I was checking out some footage last night
with the team over some beers,
and everybody was like,
oh, my God, this guy is an amazing driver.
He is a hammer, so we're protecting the top of our bot.
So with our horizontal spinner,
we believe our best attack against Beta
will be to attack his arm.
Being next to a legend, you know,
and being brand new,
even getting that close to fighting a legend,
I mean, who's not excited about that?
You know, we're stoked.
So our first opponent is Double Tap.
Brand new robot,
very inexperienced team.
It's a very large, flat machine, so perfect for us.
Lots of target area.
We are gonna be trying to push them around the arena.
expose their weaknesses,
and give them a damn good thumping.
In a series like this,
we've got to be a bit tactical,
keep it simple, keep it clean,
so we're not stressed for the second fight.
[robot voice] Robots, activate.
[Chris] Okay, Kenny, sometimes last season
we saw Beta use a more knife-like skinny hammer,
but tonight the big boy is back.
What does that tell you?
[Kenny] Yeah, John's going with the magnesium mallet here,
a hammerhead that is better for crushing,
but is much more fragile.
And to be honest, that means there is nothing
about Double Tap's weapon that scares him.
He almost never uses it against horizontal spinners.
So I think this means the wily vet is ready to put on a show.
[robot voice] Red team, ready?
Go ahead.
[Chris] That is Neil Marek, Double Tap's drone minibot operator.
He's gonna try and crash-land it
into the exposed backside of Beta
in hopes of damaging key parts.
I kinda dig that idea.
[robot voice] Blue team, ready?
Let's go.
[all chanting] Fight, fight, fight.
[buzzer sounding]
[Chris] Let the Bot Battle begin!
Reid already trying to work the angle game.
A drop of the... just a touch, just a touch.
[Reid] A little kiss to the top.
[Chris] Oh, and here comes a little mosquito drone
saying, "Hey, you leave my daddy alone, you big bully!"
As Beta continues to drop the hammer.
-[Kenny] Oh, how about that power? -[Chris] Whoa.
-[Kenny] There from Double Tap. -[Chris] Nice.
All right, go, go, go.
[Chris] That was good work.
[Kenny] Double Tap needs a little bit more space
to get that weapon up to full speed.
They're almost there.
[Chris] John Reid in pursuit, looking to get that big wedge into the mix.
[Kenny] Beta doing a great job of jamming him up there, Chris.
[Chris] Yeah, look, man, you can just hear the velocity
in the hammer swings.
[Kenny] It is cocked and dangerous.
[Chris] Oh, let's see if he...
-[Kenny] Oh! -[Chris] Takes him right into the rail.
-[Kenny] Oh! -[Chris] Uh-oh, Double Tap's in trouble.
[Chris] Beta's gonna disembowel the rookie.
[Kenny] Wow, look at the power of that thing, Chris.
[Chris laughing]
[Kenny] Ay-yi-yi.
This is brilliant stuff here for John Reid.
[Chris] Oh, my God.
Stop, stop.
He's already dead.
[referee] Ten! Nine!
-[Chris chuckling] Oh, the countdown has started. -Eight! Seven!
-Wow. -Six! Five! Four!
[Chris] John Reid is gonna move on to this Sin City Slugfest semi.
Three! Two! One! Knockout.
[buzzer sounds]
[bleep] One more thwack. One more.
[Chris] Well, Beta really ran this fight perfectly.
[Kenny] Yeah, 100%. That wedge was working really well.
They were able to get underneath Double Tap.
[Chris] John Reid using the BattleBox to his advantage,
pinning Double Tap several times,
eventually exposing the underbelly.
Kids, ah, look away!
[Kenny] A beautiful execution by Beta.
Set Double Tap up for the blunt-force trauma.
-Brutal. -[Chris] Yeah.
I think we're gonna need some, uh, some new underwear on this robot.
-[Kenny chuckles] -[Chris] And maybe a cup.
John, that sure looked like fun.
-That was great fun. -Yeah.
You know, Kenny and I were having a little discussion before the fight.
-You're, like, one of the sweetest men here. -Ha!
I thought you were very angry
based on how the round of 32 went,
you know, several months ago.
Am I right? Were you angry?
I'm quite cool. It's this animal here.
[all laughing]
I was angry.
So now how do you feel?
Yeah, it's good therapy.
-It's nice. -[all laughing]
John, what would it mean for you and your squad to get to the Golden Bolt?
That would be so sweet.
After our knockout in the Championship,
yeah, that would be rather nice.
Yeah.
Okay, well, two more victories and you'll be there.
We'll see you in the semifinals.
-Congratulations. -Thank you.
[audience cheering]
Well done. Amazing. Thank you, thank you.
[Chris] So John Reid with a vintage Beta performance there.
And for Team Double Tap,
they seemed ecstatic to have the chance to compete here at BattleBots.
But that was certainly not the outing they were hoping for.
[Kenny] Yeah, they've got some work to do.
Not sure they're ready for the big leagues just yet.
[Chris] All right, up next for Beta
will be the winner of Mammoth and Free Shipping,
which we will see in just a bit.
But after the break, we've got a collision
between Commonwealth countries.
It's the Australian assassin DeathRoll
versus the British brawler Slammo!
There's the Aussie captain, Steven Martin,
putting the finishing touches on his robot,
including the famous self-righting arm.
We'll see if it's as functional tonight as it is terrifying.
They fight next on BattleBots: Champions.
All right, we continue on here with the quarterfinal matchups
and up next it is DeathRoll taking on Slammo!
Let's start with the Aussies.
DeathRoll.
We saw them last season for the first time since 2019.
Remember, this was a top-four bot back then.
And after being off for a few seasons,
World Championship VII was sort of their chance to see
if the field had passed them by.
From a destructiveness standpoint, it clearly hadn't.
Their weapon alone got them to the round of 32,
where they got flipped to high heaven by Hydra.
But will it be enough to earn them a spot
in the tournament of Champions, Kenny?
[Kenny] Well, while that huge vertical disc
still hits as hard as any weapon in the field,
where they've fallen behind is in the ground game.
Steven Martin and crew still don't have any forks or wedges,
which has become an integral part of robot combat
the last couple of years.
And that cost them in the World Championship VII tournament.
So to punch a ticket tonight, they're going to have to turn
every match into a good old-fashioned bar fight.
Taking on a veteran of BattleBots,
Craig Danby, and his robot, Slammo!
And while Craig's certainly a familiar face,
his team was relegated to the exhibition field last season.
But this is a great opportunity for him to show
that Slammo! can go toe-to-toe with a tournament squad
and prove that his team deserves
to be back in next season's field of 50.
[Kenny] That's right.
Slammo! actually went 0-2 in its exhibition matches, Chris.
So if Craig's going to change the narrative around this team,
he needs to come out here and crush it.
But against one of the biggest weapons in the entire Slugfest field,
it ain't gonna be easy.
[grunts]
[Chris] It's Australia versus England.
Let's get the game plan from the two captains.
We had a decent run
in the World Championship,
but I think coming back to the Golden Bolt,
we're a bit more tuned and ready to fire.
Slammo! has the drive advantage.
He can push us around all day.
We've got the big weapon on the front.
So I think our strategy going into this fight
is to try and get some really big hits.
The question will be, can Slammo! take 'em?
Watching the Slugfest and the Golden Bolt on TV last year,
we were disappointed we missed out.
And we're really excited to get in there
and see if we can smash out some fights.
In 2019, I fought DeathRoll
with my old robot, Foxtrot,
and they knocked me out in about 30 seconds.
So I'm trying to see if I can last maybe
a whole minute with them.
We're a control bot.
We have to be in control of the fight.
We have to be aggressive.
We have to get on top of them and smother them.
We have to stop their weapon
from doing what they need it to do.
I'm really in a position
where I really want to prove
that the robot is good.
We haven't had a great time recently.
I want everyone to see what it's actually capable of.
So the most important thing,
really, is to kick ass.
[robot voice] Robots, activate.
[Chris] All right, Kenny, we know Slammo! is a long shot in terms of pedigree here,
but do you actually think this is a decent matchup for Craig Danby's bot?
[Kenny] Yeah, listen, when you talk about vertical spinners,
DeathRoll's unique in that its weapon sits high above the floor
with no forks or wedges in the front.
That means Slammo! will at least have a chance
to get in close and clamp down.
And remember, against a bot as violent as DeathRoll,
there's always the opportunity to tip it upside down
and get it to destroy itself.
[all chanting] Fight, fight, fight.
[buzzer sounding]
[Chris] Let the Bot Battle begin!
Uh, wake up, Slammo! Here comes the croc.
-Oh. -[Kenny] Oh. Oh.
[Chris] Oh, yeah. That is a real issue.
[Kenny] Oh, boy.
-[all exclaiming] -[Chris laughing] Oh.
Oh.
-[Kenny] Slammo! just got slammed. -[Chris] Yeah.
Can you help out your jiu-jitsu brother?
[Kenny] Well, he wasn't ready.
No one told him it was going to start right there and then.
[Chris] Yeah, the countdown lights weren't a dead giveaway.
Come on, Slammo!
[Kenny] DeathRoll giving him a little poke, like, "You okay, bud?"
-[Chris] Oh. -Ten! Nine!
-[Chris] Craig Danby... Oh, no. -[referee] Eight! Seven! Six!
[Chris] All right, well, DeathRoll pretty much a one and done
-as they move on to the semifinals. -[referee] Five! Four! Three!
Two! One! Knockout!
[buzzer sounding]
[audience cheering]
[Chris] Well, we kind of knew that Slammo! was in trouble
when it couldn't get out of its box.
[Kenny] Yeah, I mean, that shot was just devastating.
Slammo! just wasn't ready to get out of the box.
There's another.
It was pretty much done after, what, two shots?
[Chris] Yeah, there's one. Oof!
[Kenny] It was like a double whammy.
It was like a little jab and then a cross.
Boom, boom. And then a boom.
-[Chris] Slammo! slammed. -[Kenny] Boom, boom.
-See, it's like two shots. -[Chris] Yeah.
[Kenny] Hey, Chris, what do you call a crocodile that loves to start fights?
[Chris] What's that, Kenny?
-[Kenny] An instigator. -[Chris groans]
-[man] Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! -Oi, oi, oi!
Well, Steven, um, I guess your strategy worked.
Yep, yep. We still kept the big red thing pointed at the opponent.
And you didn't get grabbed, so that was good.
No, that was good, too.
We were a bit worried he was gonna come around the back of us
and just chomp onto the robot,
but fortunately, our arm survived another fight.
Steven...
You know, we know how much you guys like to have fun out here,
but what would it mean for you
to get a shot at the Golden Bolt this year?
We had a bit of a disappointing World Championship,
but we learned a lot after our time away.
And being able to go all the way to the Golden Bolt
would mean a great deal to us.
We certainly wish you the best of luck.
Thank you very much. We'll get back out there.
[audience cheering]
Hi, Craig.
Hey, how's it going?
How are you?
I'm fine. How's the kids? You doing all right?
Oh, I'm great. Thank you for asking.
Fantastic. How about you, Kenny? You all right, man?
-I am well. I am well. Yes. -Terrific.
Let's leave that one.
You know, it was a non-starter.
So we'll just... So yeah, let's just talk about the families.
-How about that? -Okay. Good.
[Chris] What's going on with the robot, dude?
It's done everything it's supposed to do outside of the BattleBox.
And I cannot figure out for the life of me
why we started up, we drove over to the square,
and it wasn't pulling away correctly.
And then, lights go green, and it doesn't move.
I was kind of going, "Now what?"
I was like, well, there's a crocodile coming.
At least get out of the way a little bit.
[all laughing]
Come on.
Every loss is a learning opportunity.
And, boy, have I done a lot of learning.
Hey, Craig, you're always fun to watch.
We love your enthusiasm and passion for the sport.
-We do hope to see you back. Good job. -Thank you, man. Thank you.
[audience cheering]
-You all right? -You all right?
-Well done, mate. -Well done.
[indistinct conversation]
[Chris] So, tough go for Craig Danby and Slammo!,
but one thing you can't knock is Craig's attitude.
Robot's got some work to do,
but Craig continues to be an excellent ambassador for this sport.
And for DeathRoll, don't sleep on that weapon.
All he needs is one shot.
-Maybe two. -Two.
You could ask Craig Danby and Slammo!
So, DeathRoll rolls on to the next round,
where they'll face the full-body spinner, Gigabyte.
But up next,
we've got a big-time battle
between two fan favorites,
as Ricky Willems and his powerhouse pachyderm Mammoth
try to deliver a win
against the robot combat OG,
Gary Gin and the fire-breathing Free Shipping.
Gary Gin isn't sweating this matchup.
Check out how his team got ready for this fight.
Well, we got a robot over there somewhere.
But, you know, one of the first things
we had to set up was our slushy machine.
Gotta get your priorities straight.
[Chris] Well, we've got a tasty one coming your way
when BattleBots: Champions continues.
Cheers, Gary.
We continue on here with the first round of
the BattleBots: Champion Sin City Slugfest.
And before we dive into our next matchup,
let's check in with Team DeathRoll,
who's coming off a dominant opening round victory.
Our first fight, fortunately,
against Slammo! was a pretty easy win.
And we only really took cosmetic damage,
so we're putting some new teeth on the heads
and touching up some of the paint,
but we'll be ready to get back in the Box.
We watched this tournament on TV last year.
We weren't here.
So getting to participate is really exciting.
We're really good at keeping the robots running,
and DeathRoll is super durable.
So if we can get further,
I think our chances go up every fight.
Genuine 3D-printed crocodile teeth. [laughs]
[Chris] Again, the Aussies will see the full-body spinner Gigabyte next
in what should be a very kinetic matchup.
But let's keep the Slugfest moving.
It is time for tonight's final first-round fight.
And we've got a good one
between a couple of fan favorites.
It's prehistoric prowler
versus doomsday delivery bot,
as Ricky Willems' Mammoth squares off
against Gary Gin's Free Shipping.
Both squads are coming off seasons where they just missed
the round of 32,
And tonight's a chance to tell the robot combat world,
"I am back."
Let's see what the builders thought about this matchup.
[Faruq] Give it up for Mammoth!
[Ricky] We're super excited.
This is another chance at glory for Mammoth.
I think we've got a lot better chances going into this
now that we've got a lot of our bugs hammered out from the main season.
[Chris] Here comes Mammoth on the attack.
Come on.
We're going to be going up against Free Shipping with driver Gary Gin.
He's one of the most veteran competitors here.
He builds pretty incredible machines.
He's got awesome fire on the robot,
and I think that's gonna look great
as he's toppling through the air.
-[Chris] There goes Gary Gin! A ball of fire! -[Kenny laughs]
We've never fought a robot like Mammoth before.
It's big, it's powerful.
If he actually gets ahold of us,
he can actually lift us up and flip us around the arena.
[bleep]
Which wouldn't be good. [chuckles]
We're gonna try to take off a tire as quickly as we can.
Stay away from the spinning weapon.
Just gotta be quicker than them.
Mammoth's weapon is gonna be a really fun matchup.
We need to get good purchase on the underside of the robot
and really send him flying over and over again
if we want to win this match.
[Chris] Are you kidding me?
[Kenny] What a knockout by Mammoth!
[Gary] We didn't do well in the Championship this year,
so I'm pretty excited to hopefully win three fights in a row
and win our qualifier for the Golden Bolt.
We've only got one shot to win or we're out.
We've got a better Mammoth than we've ever had before.
We just got to kick butt.
[Chris] Two very different robots
with two very different captains.
Kenny, we know Ricky Willems lives and dies
with every Mammoth fight.
And Gary's like, "Hey, whatever happens, happens."
We went back to the pits today.
-Dude had a margarita mixer working. -Yeah.
I mean, hey, two thumbs up, man.
[Kenny] That was actually a slushy machine, Chris.
250-lb robots and margaritas do not mix.
That's the best way to watch our show, by the way.
Faruq.
[Faruq] In the red square...
From Baltimore, Maryland,
bringing more tusks than a Fleetwood Mac concert,
it's Mammoth!
[Chris] Here comes the big boy, Mammoth, standing 6' tall.
Ricky Willems, 5'9" is the fearless leader there to the left.
Didn't make the cut
for the World Championship VII tournament last season.
And Kenny, feels like it'd be good for the fans and for Ricky
to see this robot return to form tonight.
[Kenny] Dealt with mobility and weapon issues
throughout WC VII.
But, yeah, when this robot is working, it's a spectacle.
Almost like seeing NBA great Manute Bol play.
Someone that big shouldn't be able to move like that.
And Ricky puts his heart and soul into this robot.
So hopefully, we see one of those jaw-dropping performances tonight.
[Faruq] In the blue square...
From San Leandro, California,
needing no return address
because you won't be going home.
It's Free Shipping!
[Chris] Will somebody please give this man a flamethrower?
Gary Gin behind those glasses is a mastermind of mayhem.
After years of running as a lifter bot,
Gary added that vertical disc last season
for some much needed offensive firepower.
So don't ever, ever say
you can't teach an old bot new tricks, Kenny.
[Kenny] Yeah, that new weapon,
coupled with Gary's devil-may-care driving,
makes Free Shipping a must-watch.
And while he'd never admit it,
we know that just making it to the Golden Bolt tournament
would mean so much to Gary.
He's had a storied career,
but this would be one of his biggest accomplishments
in the modern era.
All set.
[Chris] All right, it's like the circus is in town, folks.
We've got a fight with a fire breather, a towering giant,
and two showmen who know how to wow a crowd.
It's Mammoth and Free Shipping.
A pair of teams ready to walk the tightrope
for a shot at the Golden Bolt Championship trophy.
I'll be back with the bearded man,
Kenny Florian, next on BattleBots.
[Chris] Welcome back to BattleBots: Champions,
where we are moments away from tonight's final first-round fight.
We've got two fan favorites locked inside the Box.
It is Mammoth squaring off with Free Shipping.
Both teams are hoping to use this slugfest to make a giant statement.
And knowing these two captains,
it's gonna be a loud one.
And Kenny, you're giving Free Shipping the slight edge here.
Why?
[Kenny] Well, Mammoth does have the more powerful weapon here,
but to me, the X Factor is reliability.
Free shipping can take a hit and keep on truckin'.
It got flipped 20 times in one fight last season
and still went the full three minutes.
Don't be surprised to see a little rope-a-dope here from Gary
to try and wear out his oversized opponent.
[sighs]
[audience cheering]
[all chanting] Fight, fight, fight.
[buzzer sounding]
[Chris] Let the Bot Battle begin!
Both bots quick out of the box.
Free Shipping on the run from Mammoth here to start.
[Kenny] Clear speed advantage here for Free Shipping.
[Chris] Oh, nice shot by Mammoth,
sending Free Shipping towards the upper deck.
And now Gary doing what Gary does, starting the fire.
[Kenny] Using his speed to try and keep Mammoth off balance here.
Ricky Willems doing a great job of keeping
that weapon pointed at Free Shipping.
Wow, there's a nice shot. And another.
[Chris] Yeah, absolutely.
[Kenny] Gary trying to get to the inside and do some damage.
Another good shot there.
[Chris] Oh, a shot by Free Shipping
sends Mammoth's weapon chain flying across the BattleBox.
That is a direct hit, Kenny.
Oh, no!
[Kenny] Yeah, Mammoth is gonna be without
its primary weapon for the rest of this fight.
Ricky Willems is behind the 8-ball.
[Chris] Ah! There we go.
He's trying to burn up the motors.
-Gary, you are sick. -[Kenny laughs]
[Chris] Oh, that's why we love it.
Uh-oh.
The pyromaniac, Mr. Gin, looking to finish the job,
take down Mammoth.
Can Ricky Willems hold on and get his wounded giant
to the closing bell?
Looks kind of like Mammoth is having drive issues now, Kenny.
[Kenny] Yeah, and Free Shipping has already ripped off
one of those front forks on Mammoth as well.
[Chris] Gary Gin hunting for a tire now.
[Kenny] Oh, he just missed there.
[Chris] It looks like Free Shipping's weapon
has now gone the way of the dinosaur as well.
No life in that vertical disc.
Both of these robots simply exhausted here
after an all-out effort in round one of the Slugfest.
Oh, that wheel's bent.
[Kenny] Mammoth in trouble here, Chris.
Free Shipping ran it in circles to start this fight,
picked it apart,
and now I think it just needs a nice long nap.
[referee] Ten! Nine! Eight!
-[Chris] The countdown has started! -Seven! Six!
-Five! Four! Three! -Ricky Willems can only watch
as his chance to make a run in the Golden Bolt tournament
-slips through his fingers. -[referee] Two! One!
Knockout!
[buzzer sounding]
[Chris] The veteran, Gary Gin, moving on!
You know, Kenny, Gary Gin has more robot combat experience
than just about anybody on the planet.
And that know-how was on display right out of the gate.
[Kenny] You know, sometimes the simplest strategy
is the most effective, Chris.
Gary looked at Mammoth and thought,
I should probably just run this giant around the BattleBox
and disorient it before I attack.
And it worked like a charm.
Ricky did a good job keeping his weapon pointed forward.
But in the end, Free Shipping's speed
was just too much to handle.
[Chris] Once the fireball that is Free Shipping
got to the inside and took out Mammoth's weapon chain,
Ricky Willems didn't have many good options remaining.
[Kenny] Yeah, that's right.
Without that weapon to keep Free Shipping at bay,
it was only a matter of time before Gary finished the job.
[Chris] The smaller, speedier bot
forced the big boy to sprint with it
until Mammoth was like, "You know what? I'm tired, man.
I'm just so tired."
[audience cheering]
[Chris] All right, Gary, congratulations.
Thanks. Phew.
[chuckles]
You ever fought anything that big?
No. [laughs]
I couldn't even imagine trying to build something that big.
But it's a big deal.
Gary, it seemed like speed and driving was the difference here in this fight.
Is that the way you saw it and approached this fight?
Yeah, I knew we were gonna have to take advantage of our speed,
hopefully get some traction out there and,
uh, you know, just stay away from that front end,
'cause Mammoth, you know,
it looks slow, but, man, it can, uh,
really launch you if you're not paying attention, so...
All right, well, now you move on to the semifinals,
take on another veteran bot-builder
in John Reid and Beta.
Yeah.
[Chris] The question is, are you gonna invite him
to kick back with you in the pits before the fight?
[laughs]
Hey, slushy bar is open 24 hours a day.
[all laughing]
[Chris] You better be careful.
Few of the fans might be leaving the stands and heading back to the pits.
[Gary laughs]
-Hey, good job out there, Gary. -Thank you.
We'll see you in the semis.
All right, thanks.
[audience cheering]
Hi, guys.
[Chris] Hi, Ricky.
[sighs]
[audience laughing]
I know.
Yeah.
[sighs] We got some things to fix.
What's going on in your head and your heart right now?
Uh, to go up against Gary is a...
as the veteran that he is,
and to be able to get the good shots
that we did get off there a few times,
[sighs] that means a lot, but it's just...
It's such motivation to go back and make the thing better
and make it work the way that I want it to work.
That's a lot of pressure, though, that you're putting on yourself.
Would it be easier to just say,
"Hey, Mammoth, we've given you a good run,
you've given us everything we can.
We're moving on"?
I...
-So... -[audience booing]
[Ricky chuckles] Yeah.
With a response like that from the crowds,
how can you walk away from a a robot like that?
[cheering and applause]
[Ricky] So, yeah, we'll come back.
We'll be, uh... maybe not bigger,
but faster, stronger and harder hitting.
We look forward to seeing you in season eight, Ricky. Thanks.
Thanks, guys.
[audience cheering]
[indistinct chatter]
[Chris] All right, let's start with the good news.
Mammoth isn't going anywhere.
I didn't... Sorry, Ricky, I didn't mean to offend you.
We just have to ask the question.
We've seen some bot-builders say,
"We're retiring our robot."
We're happy to hear that Mammoth will be coming back.
It was a tough question, but it was a good question, you know?
-Um, he's been very frustrated with Mammoth. -[Chris] Yep.
[Kenny] But you never know.
I mean, it took another oversize bot, HUGE,
five years to figure things out,
but it nearly won the Giant Nut last season.
Ricky clearly has some work to do,
but maybe Mammoth is closer than we think.
[Chris] Okay. In the second round,
Gary and Free Shipping will square off
with John Reid and Beta,
a team that's coming off of first round beatdown.
But up next, we're gonna see
a couple of bazookas enter the Box
as Gigabyte and DeathRoll butt heads for a shot at the Slugfest final.
We are just three fights away from finding out
which team will join the field of Champions
and some of the most battle-tested bots in the sport.
The stakes are getting cranked up even higher
when BattleBots: Champions continues.
[cheering and applause]
[Chris] We continue on.
It's BattleBots: Champions Sin City Slugfest.
We are now in the semifinal round.
All four quarterfinal winners
won with the powerful punch of a knockout.
And remember, the teams are fighting
for one of three remaining spots
in The Golden Bolt tournament field.
And there are only household names left
in tonight's Slugfest bracket at this point.
We've got a classic clash
between horizontal and vertical spinners,
as Gigabyte tries to tell Aussie bot DeathRoll,
"I don't care which hemisphere you're from.
When it comes to rotating, it's my way or the highway."
And on the other side of the bracket,
it's a couple of robot combat legends,
as John Reid and his hammerbot, Beta,
try to turn Gary Gin and Free Shipping
into a flat-rate package.
First up, it's the spinner and the croc.
It's the college kids, Derek and Camden,
leading Gigabyte into its charge against DeathRoll,
and the Aussies captained by Steven Martin.
Can we start with the college kids for a second?
-Sure. -'Cause I think they're a great story, right?
Last season, they took over running Gigabyte from John Mladenik,
who now captains Cobalt.
And we've been able to see
Derek and Camden's confidence grow in real time, Kenny.
[Kenny] Yeah, at the start of last season, they lost.
The bot was driving terribly,
and it wasn't reliable.
Slowly but surely, though, they found their footing.
And I'd say that Triton fight
was the best we've seen Gigabyte look
in the Camden and Derek regime.
If it continues to return to form,
they're not only capable of winning the Slugfest,
they could do some damage in The Golden Bolt.
Except that now they're going against, uh, a madman in Steven Martin.
-Yeah. -I mean that in the nicest way possible.
If you blinked and missed it earlier,
DeathRoll put Slammo! in a body bag in well under a minute.
And Steven's point-and-shoot strategy
should also work well here against Gigabyte.
Wouldn't you say, Kenny?
[Kenny] Yeah, with no forks or wedges,
there's nothing standing between Gigabyte
and a face full of DeathRoll's AR500 steel disc.
And thanks to basic physics,
verts do win weapon-on-weapon collisions
with horizontals the majority of the time.
If Gigabyte isn't careful,
we could see a repeat
of one of the nastiest knockouts of all time...
[Chris screaming] Oh! Oh, it's all over!
[Kenny] ...which saw Gigabyte split into pieces in last year's Slugfest.
[Chris] Ugly for Gigabyte, but awesome for the fans.
This is gonna be fun. Let's get to it.
Faruq.
[audience cheering]
In the red square...
This thing is uber-tough
and one shot will lift you to the sky.
Give you an Airbn-beating
and then just watch you die.
It's like Postmates or DoorDash,
it delivers hits in high quantities,
and completes a five-star killing.
Welcome to the gig economy.
Don't forget to leave a tip for Gigabyte!
[audience cheering]
[Chris] And for the second time tonight,
here is Gigabyte.
The robot ate a bunch of shots
from Triton in the opening round.
But according to Derek and Camden,
most of the damage was superficial.
[Kenny] Yeah, they just had to buff out a few dents in that shell,
which is a game-changer
in a three-round blitz bracket like this.
They also said that first fight
gave them a little more confidence in their drivetrain.
So expect them to be the team that initiates contact here.
In the blue square...
This bot was gone for two years
and I don't want to accuse,
but I think he's returned with a few teardrop tattoos.
Whether he was doing time or out on the lam,
his next crime will end with blood on his hands.
It's DeathRoll!
[audience cheering]
[Chris] Steven Martin pushing out the robot
with the big, bad disc.
And they're looking pretty confident
after taking virtually no damage
in that first fight against Slammo!, Kenny.
[Kenny] Absolutely. But the key for Steven here will be
keeping that weapon pointed at his opponent.
DeathRoll isn't exactly nimble.
So if Gigabyte gets behind him,
it could be a problem for the killer croc.
[cheering and applause]
I think the advantage we have against DeathRoll is that,
with our shell sitting lower and being sloped,
they may not be able to properly hit us
unless they really get under us.
Uh, their weapon is easier to control and easier to point,
but ours is significantly more powerful.
It's almost guaranteed that they will try and box-rush us.
We need to dodge the box-rush
and then get to the center.
And if we can get to the center
and they're not putting too much pressure on us,
we could spin up very quickly and then go in.
Gigabyte's a hard opponent.
Like, he's spinning, there's the whole shell.
All we can really do is go straight in and try and hit him.
I guess we're really worried about the damage we'll take.
If we go in and take a huge amount of damage and still win,
it's gonna be so hard to turn around for the next fight.
I think the key in this fight
is really gonna be showing the aggression.
Uh, if you leave Gigabyte alone and let him spin up,
then you're in a lot of trouble.
But if we can stay on him
and just keep DeathRoll at him
and try to gnaw away at that shell,
I think we have a good shot.
[robot voice] Robots, activate.
[audience cheering]
[Chris] All right.
We're about to see two of the most powerful weapons left in the field.
So, Kenny, how would you handicap this fight?
[Kenny] Well, robot combat is a "what have you done for me lately" sport.
Based on their last couple performances,
I'm giving the Aussies the edge.
If Steven can stay on top of Gigabyte
and prevent them from reaching their top speed,
they should be able to control this match.
[robot voice] Red team, ready?
[audience cheering]
[robot voice] Blue team, ready?
[Chris] Hold.
[Chris] Gigabyte.
DeathRoll.
Someone's going to the Slugfest final,
the other is going home, bruised and bloodied.
[buzzer sounding]
[Chris] Let the Bot Battle begin!
Hard shot by DeathRoll before Gigabyte can spin up.
Oh!
Whoa! [laughs]
[Kenny] Oh!
DeathRoll gonna stay right on him
and this could be the beginning of the end for Gigabyte.
[Chris] Steven Martin executing his game plan to perfection
right out of the gate.
[Kenny] Oh, man.
Gigabyte doing a good job of recovering, though,
-but DeathRoll going right back to work here. -[Chris] Oh.
[Kenny] This is not where they want to be.
[Chris] Gigabyte on its head, trying to self-right,
and does!
DeathRoll, though, refusing to let it spin.
Spinning up, spinning up, spinning up, spinning up.
[Kenny] Another nice recovery by Gigabyte.
-[Chris] Oh! -[Kenny] Oh!
[Chris laughing]
[Kenny] Gigabyte's starting to come back here, Chris.
[Chris] DeathRoll's still spinning.
Now it delivers a hard shot to the college kids.
[Kenny] Both teams showing great durability.
Oh! Nice defensive driving.
[Chris] DeathRoll just knocked its face into the rails.
I'm not laughing at you, believe me.
[Kenny] Now a little cartoonish bullfighter move.
[Chris] Oh, man.
-[Kenny] Wow! -[Chris] Nice.
Oh! What the heck was that?
[Kenny] I think that was DeathRoll's head or face.
[Chris] And how about Gigabyte,
after getting beat up and controlled early,
surging back into this fight?
-Oh! -[Kenny] Uh-oh, uh-oh.
Now why do you guys have to fight over by us?
[Chris] Unreal. But DeathRoll is caught up on the flippers.
Oh. Right, takedown. Takedown.
[Chris] Wow!
Now that flipper should release.
But the question is,
how much damage did DeathRoll take in that collision?
It's trying to get off.
-It's trying to get down there. -[Kenny] Wow.
[Chris] Oh, it's stuck behind it.
[Kenny] At an angle.
The arm with the knife is trying to get it out,
-it's trying to push out. -[referee] Ten!
-[Chris] Oh, that is terrible. -Nine!
-Eight! Seven! -[Chris] Oh, and the countdown has started.
-[referee] Six! Five! -[Chris] DeathRoll stuck between
-a flipper and a hard plate. -[referee] Four! Three!
-And their streak will end now. -[referee] Two! One!
-Knockout! -[Kenny] Never bring a knife to a robot fight, Chris.
Whoo!
[audience cheering]
[indistinct chatter]
[Chris] DeathRoll on point in the beginning, Kenny.
[Kenny] Yeah, they did a great job
at getting underneath Gigabyte there.
They got him off balance
and stayed on him with that pressure.
Hit after hit after hit.
[Chris] Somehow Derek was able to get Gigabyte
far enough away where it could then spin up in time
and utilize that energy to its advantage.
[Kenny] Yeah, I thought Team Gigabyte
showed some excellent defensive driving
and some excellent durability to withstand those shots.
And once they had their opportunity,
they took over.
[Chris] In fact, they ripped half of DeathRoll's face clean off.
And here's the big-time collision
that ended up deciding this match.
Boom!
Both bots absolutely blown up in this exchange.
But it was Gigabyte that lived to tell the tale.
The croc trapped by the arena,
unable to self-right,
a gory final scene for the Aussies.
[Steven] That was awesome.
[Camden] You were on me, man.
[chuckles]
[Steven] That was brilliant.
[Chris] Hey, Derek.
Camden, congratulations, guys.
-Thank you. -You are off to the final of the Sin City Slugfest.
-Whoo! -Yeah!
Hey, man, it wasn't pretty early.
They were all over you
the first 30 seconds of this thing, Derek.
How were you guys able to get away and then spin up?
I still don't know.
I mean, they were all over me.
We're taking hit after hit.
I was thinking to myself, "It's all over."
But the bot kept spinning.
Well, how do we explain your success?
Because it looks like Gigabyte is the type of robot,
it would take seasons in order to properly figure out
how to drive this thing.
You've done it in basically six fights.
I mean, it's just...
I did a little bit of practice beforehand
and then got some advice from people
and then I just kind of turned my brain off.
-Okay. -If you need more advice
on how to turn your brain off, ask Chris.
-Yes. -He's very good at that.
-I'm excellent at it. -Yeah.
-In fact, I don't even remember their names now. -[all laughing]
Hey, guys, congratulations.
We will see you in the finals later tonight.
[both] Thank you.
[audience cheering]
Hey, guys, good fight.
Great fight.
[indistinct chatter]
[Chris] Well, DeathRoll put on a good show tonight.
It'll be fun to see how they rework the robot for World Championship VIII.
But we've been saying it,
anything can happen in these BattleBots: Championship brackets.
I gotta give those college kids some credit.
Dude, it would take me, like, the better part of a decade
to figure out how to even turn on Gigabyte,
let alone drive it.
[Kenny] Yeah, Gen Z, man. Can't keep up.
But they took a beating from DeathRoll.
Curious to see how that affects Gigabyte going into the final.
-Have we cleaned up that hand? -[Kenny laughs]
-Just right in that part of the BattleBox. -Yeah.
That thing kind of freaked me out.
I'm gonna have nightmares about that thing.
[Chris] All right. Coming up, we'll find out
who Derek and Camden will see in the final,
and it's gonna be one of two legends.
Gary Gin, John Reid.
Two names that have helped define robot combat
for the last 20 years.
Who's going to get one step closer
to the tournament of Champions?
It's Free Shipping and the hammerbot, Beta,
next on BattleBots: Champions.
[cheering and applause]
We move on to our second semifinal of the evening.
And we've got two bona fide legends
about to enter the BattleBox
in Beta and Free Shipping.
Now in the Slugfest final,
the winner of that fight will take on Gigabyte.
And we've actually got some breaking news
on the full-body spinner.
[people exclaim]
[man] Oh, [bleep]
[Chris] Moments after their win over DeathRoll,
and before the team could even get back into the pits,
Gigabyte went up in flames.
Here's what co-captain, Camden Wallraff,
had to say in the aftermath.
Our opponent DeathRoll managed to hit our base plate
from underneath our bot,
which is the first time that's ever happened in 20 years.
And it slammed into one of our four batteries
that we have in the back of the bot.
The batteries were on fire, killing themselves.
This has been a grueling tournament for us.
[Chris] All right. Well, the clock's ticking on that repair job.
We'll see if Camden and Derek can rally their team in time.
We've been rushing.
[Chris] Now let's find out who they'll be facing in the final.
Coming up right now, it's Free Shipping and Beta,
a pair of veteran drivers.
John Reid trying to dial in that bot.
And in the meantime,
Gary Gin is just trying to show up on time and have a good old party.
-Is that pretty much the way you see it? -[Kenny chuckles]
[Kenny] Well, there is certainly more to Gary than meets the eye.
But we've talked about it.
Both of these guys are legends in this sport.
John Reid's Beta has been pounding opponents
since the turn of the century.
And Gary Gin's Original Sin
is on the Mount Rushmore of combat robots.
But the one thing neither has in the modern era is hardware.
Surviving tonight's bracket will give them a chance
to take home one of the crown jewels of this sport.
And, yeah, it is cool to have two OGs
who have two completely different styles
get a shot at immortality.
We've got calculated versus cool as a cucumber here.
[Chris] And, hey, these guys actually have fought before,
way back in World Championship II
when Gary was driving LUCKY!
John Reid came out on top in that match.
Let's see what happens this time around.
[audience cheering]
Key moment in this fight
is being able to getting underneath, uh,
that huge plow or whatever
he's calling it on the front of, uh, Beta.
And, um, hopefully, not take any hits from his hammer.
In last year's Slugfest,
we did make it past the first round,
um, but then got blown up again in the second round.
So it'd be great to, you know,
make it into the, uh, finals of a Slugfest.
Good luck, guys.
Good luck.
[chuckles] Rematch!
[John laughs]
I think this is a tricky one for us, uh, Free Shipping.
They've got their big wedges on the front.
Their roller is gonna beat us
in the ground game on that.
They've also got Gary Gin,
one of the best drivers in the world.
We're just trying to reduce weight as much as possible
so we can get good maneuverability.
It'd be amazing to get into
The Golden Bolt tournament.
Top eight robots in the world.
That would be a real feather in our cap.
-Okay, John. -Oh, word.
-All right. -All right.
[robot voice] Robots, activate.
[audience cheering]
[Chris] Kenny, you heard Gary.
This is the round where Free Shipping's Golden Bolt run
went up in flames last year.
Literally.
[Kenny] That was such a big explosion.
I think I lost an eyebrow, by the way.
And that was the last time we saw Free Shipping
without its new vertical disc.
Maybe that was the straw that broke the camel's back
and finally got Gary to add a kinetic weapon to his bot.
Note that Beta's going
with their AR500 skinny hammer here.
Doesn't pack the same punch as Uppercut's fist,
but it's definitely capable of piercing the top armor on Free Shipping.
[audience chanting] Fight! Fight! Fight!
[Chris] Beta.
Free Shipping.
Which BattleBots OG is going to the Slugfest final?
[buzzer sounding]
[Chris] Let the Bot Battle begin!
Good start by Beta.
Takes a little love tap from Free Shipping.
Gary Gin lighting it up.
The bots go nose to nose.
-Oh! -[Kenny] Whoa!
That's a big shot.
[Chris] Beta knocked on its dome.
[Kenny] Uh-oh.
[Chris] And Gary Gin taking it around the arena.
[Kenny] Chris, we saw Beta die suddenly
in the World Championship VII tournament.
No life from John Reid's bot here once again.
And it is vulnerable if Gary Gin wants to regain.
[man] Watch out.
Hit the fire command.
-[Chris] I don't think it needs to. -[Kenny] Yeah.
[Chris] Beta cannot pop itself back up.
-[referee] Ten! -[Kenny] Uh-oh.
-Nine! Eight! -[Chris] Oh, man.
-Where's the "nine"? -[referee] Seven!
-[Chris] What a tough way to go for John Reid and Beta. -[referee] Six! Five! Four!
-And Gary Gin, just like that, advances to the final. -[referee] Three! Two! One!
Knockout!
[buzzer sounds]
[indistinct chatter]
[audience cheering]
Yeah! [laughs]
[indistinct chatter]
[Chris] Kenny, Gary Gin is like the John Wick of BattleBots.
Just a quiet guy minding his own business.
But you put a controller in his hand, and...
boom!
[Kenny] My goodness. One shot, one kill.
Not sure what happened to Beta,
but it looked like that crash just completely stunned it.
And much like in the World Championship tournament,
Beta couldn't self-right and just died there
by the side of the Box.
[Chris] Yeah.
The side of the Box is undefeated in BattleBots.
[Kenny] Boom.
[Chris] Nighty-night.
Sorry that wasn't a good fight.
-Oh, that... -[laughs]
-[Chris] Hi, Gary. -Hey.
Congratulations, man.
Thanks.
Whoo.
[Chris] I mean, did you think that you could ever end a fight
against John Reid in less than a minute?
Yeah, I was not expecting that. [laughs]
You know, uh, faced John
way back, Championship II.
I think it was Beta's first fight.
It was LUCKY!'s first fight,
when I was driving LUCKY!
Yeah, and then, you know, waited all this time.
We finally got a rematch and we came out ahead this time.
So, really happy about that.
And Gary, it looks like you don't have any damage to your robot.
That's kind of different as well, right?
-Yeah! -[Kenny laughs]
Think you got out clean?
I don't know what I'm gonna do tonight. You know?
I guess, you know, just...
You know, just relax with the team.
-Have some slushies. Have some cake. -[Kenny laughs]
And get ready for the next fight, I guess.
[Chris] Well, next step, it's Gigabyte.
You ready for that challenge?
Yeah. I mean, back in season seven, right?
We'd take him out in our Fight Night fight,
and so, they're gonna be hungry for some revenge.
So I gotta be ready for 'em.
Yeah, but they are remarkably improved, wouldn't you say?
Yeah. So I gotta be on my game.
And, you know, just do whatever I did last time to beat 'em.
So I'll just go at 'em and go hard and keep hitting 'em.
All right. Well, congratulations.
We'll see you in a few minutes in the final.
All right. Thanks.
[audience cheering]
All right.
Yay.
[Chris] Hi, John.
We've seen your robot take some punishment before,
but usually you'll just pop right back up, the way that Beta does.
-Yeah. -Why didn't it happen here?
We don't know.
For some reason, the self-righter didn't work today.
It's been good as gold all the past few days, but...
Don't know. Something's gone wrong. Something's let go inside.
Maybe it's those flames.
-Melted something. -[Chris laughs]
How frustrating is that
when, you know, you expect something to work,
and you say, "Okay, well, we get knocked on our head,"
and then it doesn't work?
Yeah. That's so disappointing, that.
We got one good hit on them.
Got a big hit on them.
Interesting to see what that did,
but no, once they got us upside down, we couldn't do anything.
All right, John. Thanks for keeping it classy as always.
We appreciate it, guys.
Thank you.
[indistinct chatter]
Sorry it wasn't a better match.
[Chris] Well, John Reid's gonna be kicking himself
for missing out on a golden opportunity
to run through the rest of tonight's bracket.
Always a pleasure to have him on this side of the pond.
But it is hammer time no longer.
Now, for Gary Gin and Free Shipping,
they advanced to the final,
where they're gonna take on Gigabyte.
This is a rematch of their opening match of season seven.
That feels like light years ago, right?
[chuckles] Yeah, absolutely.
And for Gigabyte,
-they've gotten so much better since then. -Yes.
[Chris] I think they made the front page of Reddit
for looking like a giant, out-of-control top
the last time they met.
With a full season under their belt now though,
I don't expect that to happen again.
I'm excited.
Ready to check it out?
-You ready? -[audience cheering]
I know you're re--
Calm down.
We gotta pay a few bills around here.
We got more BattleBots: Champions Sin City Slugfest
coming your way right after this.
[Chris] We are back.
This is BattleBots: Champions Sin City Slugfest.
And what a great final we have for you.
It is the veteran,
Gary Gin and Free Shipping,
taking on a veteran bot,
but rookie captains in Derek Tran
and Camden Wallraff of Gigabyte.
Now, when we last saw Gigabyte,
the robot was hosting its own BattleBots barbecue outside the arena.
The team was able to rally under the pressure,
and get the full-body spinner ready for this match.
But we'll see how that affects them
in a fight with so much on the line.
For the college kids, Derek and Camden,
this is a chance to prove that they are capable
of carrying the torch for this legendary robot.
And for Gary Gin and Free Shipping,
a win here would give him a shot to finally take home
some BattleBots hardware.
[Faruq] It's Free Shipping!
[Gary] It just seems pretty crazy that,
you know, we're just one fight away
from getting into the Golden Bolt tournament.
So we're gonna have to take out Gigabyte again.
So it's kind of a known quantity.
[Camden] I am feeling optimistic and concerned.
Optimistic, because, our robot is working well now.
I'm concerned because we've been scrambling
to get everything working again.
So, it's been crucial to make sure everything is buttoned down,
taped down, glued down,
however we can.
[Chris] Gary Gin all over Gigabyte right now.
Oh!
[Gary] In our last fight, got 'em up on their side,
chopped off their self-righter.
And they were just spinning like a top.
But since Championship VII,
they've gotten much more reliable.
Now they've made it to the finals, too,
which means they're coming off two wins in a row.
As soon as that light turns green,
we're gonna turn on our spinner, and just go for it.
Our strategy will be to use our speed
to try and prevent them from spinning up.
If not, we'll just take it to full speed
and go weapon to weapon.
We just need to make sure our bot does not break
when we hit them.
[Derek] What it would mean for us to get into the Golden Bolt
is it would validate Gigabyte as a robot.
Gigabyte has such a legacy.
And our regular season didn't really show that.
And we hope to show that again.
I'm feeling pretty confident.
You don't want to get overconfident.
But we'll be ready for Gigabyte.
[Chris] What a journey both these teams have been on tonight.
And so impressive
the way Camden and Derek stepped up in the eleventh hour.
We have seen Gigabyte and these college kids
grow and grow and grow.
Yeah, 100%.
Their bot looks way better.
They're becoming more familiar with the robot as well, as drivers.
[Chris] So many of these bot builders,
they are meticulous in their preparation
and in their strategy.
And Gary Gin don't give a damn.
And that's exactly why we love this guy.
He just wants to have fun.
And oh, by the way, if he wins tonight,
he's in the tournament of Champions.
[Kenny] He brings chaos every single time he competes.
[Chris] And also slushies.
Which ain't bad.
Faruq, take it away.
[audience cheering]
[Faruq] Ladies and gentlemen,
are you ready?
It's time for the main event!
[siren blaring]
[Faruq] In the red square...
History's full of notable Garys.
But he's worse than the Garys that came before.
He'll knock you to the far side like Larson.
Like Gygax, he'll lock the dungeon door.
Like Gary Oldman, he's intense.
Like Gary Busey, he's bananas.
He'll keep it Gary Coleman short
when he kills you like Gary Indiana.
It's Free Shipping!
[audience cheering]
[Chris] Gary Gin, he is looking as chill as ever.
But, Kenny, don't let that poker face fool you.
This is one of the biggest fights of his career.
[Kenny] Yeah, if he can punch his ticket,
just being in the same sentence
as Champions like End Game, Tantrum, and SawBlaze,
is a big deal.
And Gary really does have the experience advantage here.
He's going to use Free Shipping's speed
to take the fight directly to the college kids.
[Faruq] In the blue square...
It doesn't care if you have a Family, Guy,
it'll still make the crowd say, "Whoa,"
when it takes the lowest road
and puts you in a wheelchair like Joe.
Call Peter, this thing's an animal,
an absolute killer for hire.
And if you Chris Cross this boss,
you'll end up in a real Quagmire.
It's giggity-giggity- giggity-Gigabyte!
[Chris] Gigabyte.
Camden Wallraff pushing out the freshly repaired robot.
But the pressure is now all on
co-captain and driver Derek Tran,
who is there on the left.
[Kenny] Absolutely.
Their first meeting with Free Shipping
was literally Derek's first time
controlling a 250-lb robot in the BattleBox.
Clearly, he's improved since then.
But the key here will be avoiding head-on collisions.
Derek needs to try to chop away at Gary's wheels,
and steer clear of those big wedges on Free Shipping.
[Chris] And if you're thinking
Free Shipping is the big favorite in this one,
not so fast, my friend.
Take a look at how the pits voted in this match up.
What does that tell you, Kenny?
[Kenny] I think this shows that Derek and Camden
are really starting to gain the respect
of the other builders.
The performance of this team is night and day
compared to the last time they fought Free Shipping.
And it is so hard to beat the same team twice.
That being said, I'd still take the professor Gary Gin here.
He's gonna try and create as much chaos
in the Box as he can.
So we're gonna find out real quick
if Derek can handle him.
[Derek] We're on.
[robot voice] Robots, activate.
[Chris] All right. It is do or die time.
One more victory to punch a ticket
to the Golden Bolt tournament.
Who's it gonna be?
Can the college kids of Gigabyte
get payback for their first career loss?
Or will Gary Gin be able to double down,
and keep his hopes of hardware alive?
We'll find out next
on BattleBots: Champions.
[Chris] The Golden Bolt tournament
is a challenge unlike any other.
And no team knows that better
than Jack Barker and Nick Mabey's End Game,
who in two weeks hopes to add a second Golden Bolt
to their ever-expanding trophy case.
So the Golden Bolt tournament is a really stressful tournament.
And you need to keep your composure during that.
[Chris] Oh!
[Nick] You've got to design the robot in such a way
that parts can be swapped out as quickly as possible.
You've gotta be ready.
[Kenny] Not able to get the shot.
Look at that by End Game!
[Jack] We have to, you know, fight the robot,
come back, pull it completely apart,
and rebuild it in about two hours.
And that's a challenge that you don't get anywhere else in BattleBots.
The teams that have the best processes,
have the most preparation,
will come out on top.
[crowd exclaims]
[Chris] Witch Doctor is no longer moving.
[Nick] That's our trophy. We're gonna win it again.
Yeah, I don't think anybody is ever gonna get a Golden Bolt aside from us.
So, you know, we're here for it every year.
[Chris] Welcome back to BattleBots: Champions,
where we are all set
for the final fight of the evening.
Gigabyte and Free Shipping
are ready to lay it all on the line
for a spot in the exclusive Golden Bolt tournament field.
In a meeting between these two last season,
Free Shipping gave the first-year captains of Gigabyte
their welcome-to-the-big-leagues moment.
Time to find out if they've improved enough to even the score.
[all cheering] Fight! Fight! Fight!
[buzzer sounding]
[Chris] Let the Bot Battle begin!
Gigabyte gonna spin up and Gary Gin gives it a serious shot.
-They're up on their head already. -[Kenny] Uh-oh.
Oh, yeah. Completely off balance.
This is where Gary Gin loves to take control.
Missed an opportunity there though, Chris.
[Chris] Yeah. Looking to clean up the mess.
Gigabyte's got to get out of that corner and spin up quickly.
[Kenny] Free Shipping lining up a shot.
Whoa!
Spinning up, spinning up, spinning up.
[Kenny] Gary Gin just missed there.
[Chris] Oh-ho. Here comes that fire.
If he gets in, it's gonna be a fireball right here.
Instead it's Gigabyte ricocheting all over.
Oh, my goodness!
Gigabyte's lost its self-righter.
Can it find a way to flip back over?
[Kenny] Gary Gin just precise with that driving.
Uses his whole robot as a weapon.
That combined with his speed and accuracy as a driver,
is a big problem to Gigabyte.
There's no way they can self-right.
-Chris, this is over. -Ah.
[Chris] The full-body spinner is on its head,
being pounded into the ground by the pulverizer.
Gary Gin with some magic here at the Slugfest final.
[Kenny] Free Shipping headed back, anticipating a countdown.
-Listen to the crowd, Chris. -[audience cheering] Gary! Gary! Gary!
[Kenny] They know they've just seen something special.
Ten! Nine! Eight!
[Chris] Here comes the countdown.
-Gary Gin is gonna do it. -[referee] Seven! Six! Five!
[Chris] One of the veteran bot builders,
-lighting the flame. -[referee] Four! Three!
[Chris] He is moving on to fight for the Golden Bolt.
[referee] Two! One!
Knockout!
[Chris laughs]
Well, Gary Gin has always been a kick-ass driver.
But man, you give this guy a weapon,
and now you've got a real problem on your hands.
[Kenny] My goodness.
Gary Gin creeping like a lion in the tall grass
that sprinted towards his prey.
Boom! I felt that one in my chest, Chris.
[Chris] Launched Gigabyte into the side of the Box.
Then the ricochet into the BattleBots sign.
Those repairs are coming straight out of your paycheck, by the way, Kenny.
[Kenny chuckles] What a shot.
Gigabyte lost its self-righter in the crash
and was pretty much cooked after that.
[Chris] The people's champ, Gary frickin' Gin,
is moving on to the tournament of Champions.
Slushies on the house tonight!
[audience cheering]
[Chris] Gary Gin.
-Whoo! -[Chris] Congratulations.
You are off to the tournament of Champions, my man.
Uh, I can't believe it.
-Yeah! -[Kenny laughs]
[Gary sighs]
Gary, for all the years we've known you, you've always said,
"Sure, it's nice to win, but it's more about puttin' on a show."
But how sweet is it when you win three fights in a single night,
and now you're a step closer to hoisting the Golden Bolt?
Yeah, it's unbelievable.
You know, our crew is working hard to keep us going.
And it feels great to win and put on a good show.
[audience cheering]
Gary, Mammoth, Beta, Gigabyte,
all three in a row.
Did you have confidence
that your robot was capable of doing that?
Yeah. I mean, in the previous seasons,
we never had this kind of knockout power.
You know, and it feels really great.
Um, you know, three really short matches,
but yeah, it...
I still can't believe it.
Well, congratulations.
We will see you against former Giant Nut winners
and other winners of the Sin City Slugfest.
You, my friend, are just three wins away
from hoisting the Golden Bolt.
Congratulations to you and Free Shipping.
Thanks.
[Chris] Hey, Derek.
I know that obviously this didn't work out the way that you wanted.
Uh, what exactly transpired in that fight,
in your opinion?
So, they rushed us in the opening. That I expected.
But once we got to the center,
we got some pretty good shots on them.
But I think we hit a little bit too hard again
'cause we just busted the mast off in that last shot.
[Chris] Well, at the beginning of last season,
you squared off against Gary Gin.
You were knocked out there.
But in between then and now,
how much do you think your team has grown
and your confidence level with Gigabyte?
I think our team and our confidence level has grown by 1,000%.
Because we managed to take a couple of fights in a row,
with a new team and a basically new bot.
Well, listen. We look forward to whatever modifications you make with Gigabyte.
We will see you in season eight, my friend.
Thank you.
[indistinct chatter]
[audience chanting] Gary! Gary! Gary!
[Chris] You hear that, Kenny?
Yeah, that's people chanting Gary Gin's name.
Oh-so popular.
That's just because he always loves to put on a great show.
I am so happy for him, because now,
he has a chance to win something big.
Yeah, absolutely.
What an opportunity for him and his team.
And hey, credit to Derek Tran and Camden Wallraff.
The college kids turned a corner tonight.
Maybe we'll see a full-body spinner renaissance next year.
But speaking of renaissance,
how about the Gary Gin revival?
Give that man an active weapon,
and there's no telling what he can do
in the Golden Bolt tournament.
[Chris] So, now that Gary's punched his ticket,
we've only got two spots still left up for grabs.
Let's take a moment to break down
how the illustrious field is shaping up.
Headlining the group are the automatic bids,
our three most recent Giant Nut winners,
starting with Jamison Go
and his meta-breaking machine, SawBlaze.
After years of grinding,
the respected veteran finally reached the mountain top
in World Championship VII,
and will now look to thread his freshly-minted Nut
with a glistening Golden Bolt.
[Kenny] And don't forget the compact killers,
season six champ, Tantrum,
led by Ginger Schmidt and Alex Grant.
The team's got a bitter taste in their mouths
after a disappointing first-round tournament exit.
They return to the BattleBox hungry to prove
they can still bang with the best of the best.
[Chris] And who could forget the reigning Golden Bolt champs?
A team that's all about the bling, End Game.
The Kiwis, Jack Barker and Nick Mabey
will try to add a second Bolt to a trophy case
that already includes a Giant Nut
from World Championship V.
[Kenny] And we've also got the battle-tested winners
of our first two Sin City Slugfests,
including Whiplash, led by the whiz kid,
23-year-old, Matt Vasquez.
The king of control bots ranks second all-time in BattleBots wins,
but has never taken home a major trophy.
Will this be the year the team finally pops the champagne?
[Chris] And of course,
Cinderella's wearing a leather jacket to the big dance.
It's Evan Arias and Shreddit Bro,
a team that saved their BattleBots future
by winning a Slugfest.
If the Golden Bolt could be won on confidence alone,
we might as well hand it to the Bro today.
And I'll go ahead and say it.
It's not the field any of us expected,
but I think that makes it all the more intriguing.
And with our penultimate Slugfest a week from today,
let's see who's competing.
Lots of diverse bots coming your way,
including the flipper from the Great White North, LUCKY!
And the hometown heroes, Jackpot,
led by Las Vegas plumber, Jeff Waters.
But the headliner has to be
the viciously violent vertical spinner, Cobalt,
a robot that's given us some of the nastiest knockouts of all time.
When that bot's in the Box, you don't wanna miss it.
That'll do it for now for Faruq,
my man, Kenny Florian.
I am Chris Rose.
We will see you next time on
BattleBots: Champions Sin City Slugfest.