[Faruq] Over its 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] 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.
I'm not done yet.
[Faruq] Welcome to robot combat
at its most raw.
Let's go!
[Faruq] This isBattleBots Champions,
the Race for the Golden Bolt.
[robotic voice] Robots, activate.
[crowd cheering]
Welcome to BattleBots Champions
Sin City Slugfest.
I'm Chris Rose and joined as always
by UFC legend and the greatest
robot combat analyst ever to call a fight,
Kenny Florian.
[crowd cheering]
Chris, it's great to be here in Vegas
for our fourth Slugfest qualifying tournament.
We are down to our last two
available spots in our tournament of champions
in a chance at...
-the Golden Bolt. -The Golden Bolt.
[Kenny] The Golden Bolt Championship field
is stacked, Chris.
Giant Nut winner SawBlaze, Tantrum,
and End Game have been joined
by Slugfest winners Shreddit Bro,
Whiplash, and Free Shipping.
Tonight, eight more teams will put it all on the line
in a one-night, three-round gauntlet
and only one will conquer this bracket
and get their shot at the hardware.
[Chris] All right. We're gonna break down
all of the matchups as we go
but let's jump right into the action
and kick off round one.
We got Banshee squaring off with Cobalt.
Can the flipper bot pull off the upset
against one of the most destructive
verticals in the sport?
Let's find out.
It's about to get wild in here,
Vegas, and BattleBotsfans.
Take it away, Faruq.
Ladies and gentlemen,
are you ready?
It's robot fighting time!
In the red square from Phoenix, Arizona,
you scream, I scream,
we all scream for Banshee!
[crowd cheering]
[Chris] First year squad Banshee
led by Captain David Small
repping his Celtic heritage
with the sword and the kilt, Kenny.
[Kenny] Yeah, brought a sword to a bazooka fight.
This is a tough draw for this squad
but the few times Cobalt has been KO'd,
it's been when they get tipped upside down.
If Banshee can get that flipper going,
it's got a puncher's chance here.
[man] Banshee, Banshee.
In the blue square
from Oceanside, California and the UK
and proving that the special relationship
is still intact, it's Cobalt!
[Chris] The vicious vertical spinner of Cobalt.
This team had a heck of a World Championship VII.
Driver Dave Moulds was phenomenal on the sticks.
But Kenny, Dave won't be driving tonight.
What's up with that?
[Kenny] Well, co-captain John Mladenik purchased Cobalt
with the intention of driving it as well.
Now that Dave Moulds has shown him the ropes,
he's ready to take over completely.
Remember, John was the longtime
driver of Gigabyte.
He knows how to maximize destruction
but he's still getting used to this bot,
so expect a bit of a learning curve tonight.
Their weapon is absolutely devastating.
It's one of the most destructive robots
we've seen in the sport, period.
So we've armored up the robot with UHMW.
This will absorb some of the major blows
that their weapon dishes to us and will hopefully give us
another chance to come around and try to flip them.
This tournament's do or die. We've got one shot basically
and with that one loss, if that happens, we're done.
We pack up and we leave, so every fight counts.
We are taking a risk by me driving
because he just has more stick time.
I'm not as aggressive fighter as he is.
I don't have the skills to do those fast maneuvers.
When I get an opportunity, you know,
I'm gonna make sure I line up when I get an opportunity
and I'm gonna jam him.
And I think with our front wedge setup
that for this fight, I think that's gonna work.
Historically, we find if we just get
one good hit on an average robot,
it's pretty much...
It's over then.
[crowd cheering]
[robotic voice] Robots, activate.
[Chris] Team Cobalt there still repping
former Captain Brent Rieker
who's battled health issues.
We continue to wish him well.
All right, Kenny.
Who are you putting your chips on for this one?
[Kenny] Yeah, massive edge to Cobalt.
That 45-pound blade is an absolute serial killer.
David Small has surrounded Banshee
with one-inch thick UHMW
but my bookie senses tell me that won't be enough
to stop Cobalt from mashing it into blood pudding.
But hey, like I said, all it takes is one flip
and a lucky bounce for Banshee to pull off the upset.
Great value pick if you like the underdog here.
[Chris] Let the bot battle begin.
Cobalt, oh, I'm keeping my eye on that weapon, Kenny.
[Kenny] Yeah, they're trying to keep
that weapon pointed at Banshee at all times,
just kind of waiting for Banshee to attack.
-Oh, there's an opportunity. -[Chris] Yup.
John Mladenik at the controls.
Dave Moulds carried it through last season.
[Kenny] Oh.
[Chris] And Banshee takes a serious shot
and a second time and a third.
-[Kenny] Whoa. -[Chris] It took out a light.
-Flipper works. -[Chris] What a combination
but Banshee somehow survives it.
[Kenny] Oh, but now the flipper bot
on its head, a little out of control here.
Let's see if Cobalt can take advantage.
Banshee, looks like it's shaking off some cobwebs.
[Chris] John Mladenik admittedly much more
conservative than Dave Moulds in the driving department.
Oh.
[Kenny] Way less experienced as well,
still getting his bearings here with the drive.
[Chris] Yeah. A few seasons ago,
the Wildman Matt Maxham that was the driver of Cobalt.
Last season, it was Dave Moulds.
Now John Mladenik here in the Slugfest,
having some trouble navigating his way on the floor.
[Kenny] Yeah, he is struggling
but David Small not very much better
as he leaves Banshee extremely vulnerable once again.
[Chris] The killshot has been there
for the taking for Cobalt.
John just has to find a way to line it up.
[Kenny] Banshee is not moving well, Chris.
[Chris] Whoa!
[Kenny] Another good shot there.
[Chris] Another huge shot.
There's all sorts of pieces flying around the box.
I have no idea what's what.
More than 90 seconds into the three-minute fight.
Cobalt has certainly landed
the bigger blows but John Mladenik
has been unable to put Banshee away so far.
And of course, you don't ever wanna let a bot
hang around in a fight, Kenny,
especially when you don't have a self-righter
-and you're facing a flipper. -[Kenny] Yeah, that's right.
It only takes one shot to swing a fight.
[Chris] Oh, nice exchange there.
And here's Banshee with a flip putting Cobalt
on its head and the team reacts.
Look out.
[Kenny] That's exactly what we're talking about,
Chris.
Dicey exchange there for Cobalt.
That weapon produces so much energy.
If it makes contact with the floor,
it can send the robot flying out of control
and potentially disabling it.
[Chris] Under a minute to go, the Kill Saws are active.
-Oh. -[Kenny] Uh-oh.
There's an opportunity.
[Chris] Banshee unable to convert
with the flipper there
and Cobalt's front forks are bent upward, Kenny.
That's not gonna make life any easier for John Mladenik.
[Kenny] No, it makes it much more difficult
to feed Banshee into his weapon.
Cobalt needs to be careful as it turns away.
That's where it gets some lift,
some gyroscopic action
which could allow Banshee to get underneath it.
But is that flipper working on Banshee?
I'm not so sure, Chris.
[Chris] It doesn't look like it at the moment.
Cobalt trying to get one more shot
to impress the judges
as we're under 10 seconds to go.
[Kenny] Oh, chipping away at the armor
on Banshee and now taking it for a ride.
Nice finish by Cobalt.
[buzzer buzzes]
[Chris] So after three minutes of combat,
we are headed to the judges' scorecards.
They are Derek Young, Lisa Winter,
and Fon Davis scoring on an 11-point system.
Five points can be awarded for damage,
three apiece in the categories of aggression and control.
Well, Kenny, Banshee may have had
a golden opportunity here with John Mladenik
still getting his bearings on the sticks for Cobalt
but David Small unable to capitalize
in the early going.
[Kenny] Yeah, and it started with David
driving headfirst into Cobalt's weapon.
Never a good idea.
Cobalt followed it up with a big shot
that hurt Banshee and seemed to affect its mobility.
[Chris] Normally, Cobalt would make quick work
of a wounded opponent, but again,
Mladenik was clearly hesitant,
had trouble lining up the killshot.
[Kenny] And Banshee almost made him pay, Chris.
Got underneath with the flipper
a couple of times.
Very close calls for Cobalt.
[Chris] A very nice finishing sequence
from Cobalt,
which certainly did more damage
but was it enough to advance?
Here's Faruq.
The results from the judges are in.
The winner by unanimous decision is...
Cobalt!
John, congratulations on the victory.
You made a big switch on the team.
You decided to drive. Why was that?
Yeah, we...
I had to start driving eventually.
I only had three minutes in a grudge match last season.
So this is my second three minutes,
so I got six minutes of stick time.
It had to happen.
John, we of course know you
from your Gigabyte days as well.
The biggest difference between driving Gigabyte
as opposed to Cobalt is?
I can always tell what's the front and what's the back.
There's no... There's no mistaking it.
I don't have the muscle memory that Dave has.
I think it's gonna take me a while to get to that level
but I think it's gonna happen,
so hopefully we'll keep winning.
Dave, how difficult is it
watching somebody else drive the robot?
It was really painful.
[laughter]
-But... No, it's good-- -Off the team.
I think it's good.
I think John needed just kicking out
the nest and now he's there,
I think he's gonna do really well.
We look forward to seeing you guys in the semifinals.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
[cheers and applause]
Well done.
-Well done. -Great semi-final.
Well done.
[Chris] So Banshee's David Small
must sheath his sword for now.
Tough matchup for the rookie.
But hey, there's nowhere to go from here but up.
As for Cobalt, that has got to be tough for Dave Moulds.
You could hear it in his voice.
He wants to be on that stick right now
'cause he thinks this machine has plenty left.
[Kenny] Yeah. And to be fair, John Mladenik,
learning how to drive one of the most vicious
combat robots on the planet is no easy task.
The big question will be if John's skills
can keep up with the level of competition
as he gets deeper into this bracket.
[Chris] A very solid point, Kenny Florian.
Up next for Cobalt would be the winner
of Emulsifier versus Captain Shrederator.
Coming up, two mean green machines
are getting ready to enter the box
as the hometown heroes Jackpot
square off with Emmanuel Carrillo
and Big Dill.
And hey, we are just getting started
on a night that looks like aBattleBots roulette wheel.
You can spin to win, get lucky,
maybe even hit a jackpot.
Who's gonna punch their ticket
to the Golden Bolt tournament tonight?
Stick around and find out.
[theme music playing]
This is BattleBots Champions
Sin City Slugfest.
Tonight, we're locking in
one of the last two remaining spots
in the upcoming Golden Bolt tournament.
Whichever team can win three fights in a row
will earn the right to join this exclusive field.
The first round continues right now
with a matchup between Big Dill and Jackpot.
And, Kenny, let's start off with the blue collar bot.
Led by local Las Vegas plumber, Jeff Waters,
this is a robot built on a shoestring budget,
been a great bang for buck bot, too.
They had never lost a regular season fight
until last season.
They lost their first two.
They had to make a run all the way
to the round of 32, where they were eventually
eliminated very quickly by Witch Doctor.
So, where does Jeff Waters' bot
sit right now in your opinion?
[Kenny] Well, budget-wise, it may be an outsider,
but this bot fits right in with the current meta.
Jackpot's vertical weapon hits incredibly hard
and it boasts one of the biggest
reaches in the field.
So chances are it's hitting you
before you hit it.
And if anyone knows how to handle
a punishing work schedule, it's Jeff.
He's built for the Slugfest.
They're squaring off against the robot called Big Dill.
Emmanuel Carrillo, of course there is the captain.
As a control bot, Big Dill couldn't compete
with all the big weapons out there.
But for World Championship VII,
Emmanuel added a vertical spinner
to fight fire with fire.
It went one and three and missed the tournament,
but do not let that fool you.
This is a bot on the rise, Kenny Florian.
[Kenny] Right on the money, Chris.
Once Emmanuel got things dialed in,
Big Dill started looking dangerous.
Put on an epic fight against Mad Catter,
closed out World Championship VII
with a solid win over Free Shipping.
This bot is gonna be trouble going forward,
and I think they could pull off an upset here.
[cheers and applause]
Yeah.
Coming into this match with Jackpot,
I think the big thing
is we got to avoid their weapon.
The goal is really just to box rush him.
Make sure they can't really spin up.
If they do get spun up, they really can't drive.
So we're gonna really maneuver around the box
and try to get our strikes that way.
We're gonna have to do a lot of back-to-back fights.
And this is a war of attrition,
so we're not gonna play that sparring game,
we're not gonna play as defensive.
We're gonna go super offensive,
try to keep these matches short,
so that we don't sustain damage
and we can turn around quicker.
So our next match is gonna be a bit of a pickle.
Big Dill is doing really good now
with their newer design.
They got new vertical spinner on the front
that's actually very effective despite how small it is.
Right now, we have BlackHeart,
which is our big heart-shaped weapon.
The design on this one compared to the double diamond
is that we'll concentrate the energy into the middle
to prevent them from going down the center.
I'm hoping that after this, we can relish in victory.
[robot voice] Robots, activate.
[Chris] Big Dill going with their mini bot,
Nacho Supreme, which does pack a punch.
But, Kenny, you know what Jeff Waters told me?
He wants a nickel every time he tickles that pickle.
[Kenny] Well, he'd settle for just the five cents
if he could land a one-shot KO.
And, you know, for all the bot-on-a-budget talk,
Jackpot is a pretty versatile robot.
But Jeff has decided to stick
with just one configuration tonight
to save time between fights.
As he mentioned, going with BlackHeart,
which is their largest and most powerful blade.
Great reach on it, too.
But Big Dill's long forks could be the equalizer.
[Chris] Let the bots battle begin.
Quick box rush by Big Dill nailed Jackpot.
[Kenny] Yeah. Big Dill going right to work here
getting underneath.
Nice flip there.
Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up.
[Chris] Emmanuel Carrillo on the attack.
Uh-oh, he's got one of his forks
stuck in the KillSaw
so that allowed Jackpot to get a little shot in there.
[Kenny] Yeah. I think I just saw a belt come off
of Big Dill, though, Chris.
-Not a good sign... -[Chris] Yeah.
[Kenny] for their vertical spinner, I believe.
I think that's the weapon on that.
[Chris] And now Jackpot is in control of Big Dill.
[Kenny] Yeah. You could see the weapon belt there
from Big Dill.
[Chris] Only 30 seconds in and Big Dill
has lost its primary weapon.
And now looks to be struggling to move, Kenny.
[Kenny] Yeah. He's gonna go around in circles.
Jackpot gonna take full advantage of that.
[Chris] Yeah. Jackpot staring Big Dill on the face,
trying to spin up that 52-pound weapon,
but that BlackHeart has been silenced momentarily.
Now it's back up running.
[Kenny] Yeah. Jackpot having some issues
with their lifter as well, it seems, Chris.
Emmanuel Carrillo, an experienced driver,
crab-walking his robot across the BattleBox,
looking to engage,
Big Dill has got a lot of fight left in it.
-And look at that. -[Kenny] Oh.
Battle of the lifters,
Big Dill winning that exchange.
[Chris] Well, prior to last season,
Big Dill's only weapon was that lifter.
So Emmanuel certainly knows how to put it to work.
Impressive control for Big Dill
given his lack of mobility here.
[Kenny] Jeff Waters pushes back.
Lands a nice jab there.
The Jackpot's weapon doesn't have
the same pop it did at the start.
[Chris] Oh, no.
That's enough to send Nacho Supreme flying, though.
And hey, here comes the little guy.
He's back. We got a standoff.
[Kenny] Oh, the two lifters locking horns,
neither one willing to back down.
Big Dill's got to be careful here on the release.
Jackpot could light him up.
[Chris] And look at this. The mini bot,
Nacho Supreme determined to leave
its mark on this fight.
Trying to high center him.
[man] Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
[Kenny] These two continue to butt heads.
Big Dill hanging in there.
[Chris] One minute. KillSaws active.
Smokes coming out of Big Dill.
-[Kenny] Oh. -[Chris] Pulverizer, good shot on Jackpot.
[Kenny] Sweet little move by Big Dill
to drag Jackpot back underneath the Pulverizer.
The mini bot's got it high centered,
Emmanuel Carrillo showing some nice control here
down the stretch.
[Chris] The bots separate, the smoke clears.
That most likely coming from Bid Dill's tires.
You know, Jackpot has done the bulk
of the damage here, Kenny.
But Big Dill determined to win
the aggression and control categories.
[Kenny] Big Dill moving a lot better now
and definitely playing the aggressor at the moment.
Emmanuel Carrillo has Jeff Waters on the run.
[Chris] Can Big Dill find a way to sway
the judges to take out the hometown hero?
Oh, pushing Jackpot across the box.
And nice control there by Big Dill.
Oh, under 10 to go.
Big Dill, burning rubber, leaning on Jackpot.
Trying to make a statement.
Will it be enough in this one?
[buzzer buzzes]
[Kenny] Fascinating fight
for the judges to break down, Chris.
[Chris] Fascinating fight indeed,
Kenny Florian, starting with the nice
box rush by Big Dill right out of the gate.
[Kenny] Yeah. That is one fast pickle.
Gets the lifter go and got underneath Jackpot,
got some nice lifts in in this fight.
Look at that.
[Chris] The problem was Jackpot took out
Big Dill's weapon belt in this early exchange.
And Emmanuel Carrillo's bot was without
its vertical spinner for the rest of the match.
[Kenny] Yeah, that's right.
Big Dill, also obviously battling some mobility issues
out there, but Emmanuel refused to roll over, Chris.
Put the lifter to work, stood his ground,
and I thought pretty much controlled the action.
[Chris] Here's a shot of these two heavyweights
going nose to nose.
I think you and I both feel like this fight
was closer than it may have actually appeared.
How do you think the judges will break this one down?
[Kenny] Well, hard to ignore the fact
that Big Dill lost its primary weapon,
but the team did still have use of their lifter.
Jackpot's spinner clearly wasn't 100%.
But for me, the door's open for Big Dill
when you consider how aggressive they were
throughout the fight, as well as take stock
at the control they showed down the stretch.
It's gonna be close.
[Chris] Let's see how they call it.
Faruq?
The results from the judges are in.
The winner by unanimous decision is...
Jackpot.
Jeff, congratulations.
Did you feel like once Big Dill lost its weapon,
that if you had just made it three minutes,
that would be good enough to get a W?
Yeah. We came in there originally,
we're gonna Dill-iver the pain.
[laughter]
No. It was a... It was a good fight.
Jeff, were you a little nervous
when it went to the judge's decision?
We snagged that belt on that first hit.
So, like you guys said, it was just surviving
for three minutes to get it going.
Jackpot's driving phenomenally now.
As you can see, it was drifting around the arena.
So I...
I'm thankful that there was not much damage on it
and we can get there
and get ready for our next two fights.
Look forward to seeing you in the semifinals.
Congratulations.
[man] Yeah, yeah.
[laughs]
-You did good, guys. -It was a great match.
[Chris] So, the hometown heroes
now advanced to round two, where they will take on
the winner of Lucky versus Overhaul.
But, Kenny, I wanna go back to the decision for a second.
All three judges had it seven to four for Jackpot.
Surprising to you?
[Kenny] Yeah. I was impressed by Big Dill.
I think it's fair to ask if that was Matt Vasquez
out there controlling the fight
like Emmanuel Carrillo just did,
would we not be talking about
what an incredibly surgical performance that was?
Big Dill hasn't earned the benefit of the doubt yet,
I guess, but I think it will in short order.
[Chris] All right. Well, up next, we're gonna see
one of the biggest blades in all of robot combat,
try to break through the red, white, and blue.
It's Emulsifier versus Captain Shrederator
whenBattleBots Champions continues.
[crowd cheering]
[Chris] We continue on with more
BattleBots Champions Sin City Slugfest.
Up next, it is Emulsifier versus Captain Shrederator.
The winner moves on to face Cobalt.
Kenny, what are we looking at in this fight?
[Kenny] Well, we've got a seventh-year vet
going against basically a first-year bot.
It's hard to root against Brian Nave and Shrederator.
I mean, 'Merica. Am I right?
But it's been a long time since this full-body spinner
has done the stars and stripes justice.
Emulsifier, on the other hand,
really impressed me at World Championship VII.
A really neat design with those treaded wheels
and a humongous vertical spinner,
and it's under the Bots FC umbrella
started by Shatter!'s Adam Wrigley,
so you know it's well-built.
The team is coming in hungry after feeling
like they were snubbed
in last season's tournament.
Excited to see what they do tonight.
[crowd cheering]
[Chris] A towel-off? Nice.
Looking like Kenny in spring break '96.
[Kenny laughs]
Shederator has a big steel shell,
and if we let it get up to speed,
he could land a devastating blow on us.
We're gonna try to box rush him,
stay on top of him,
ping pong him off the walls.
We have a huge titanium plow on the front
of our robot that we're hoping will deflect
a lot of his hits up into our weapon.
We obviously want the fight to be quick,
and we don't wanna take a lot of damage
so we could go onto the next fight
as fresh as possible.
[tense music playing]
We got Emulsifier.
It's a big giant wedge and a vertical spinner,
the two things we hate the most,
but we're gonna try something new this time.
We got what we call the "Talons of Freedom"
that we're gonna put in there and we're gonna try
to win the ground game.
Whole-body spinners are notorious
for losing the ground game,
we're gonna see if we can turn that around.
I feel like we got a chance, I feel like we're gonna enter
the ground game for the first time ever,
and... But we'll see. We need some luck.
We're gonna try wedge to win,
with a little bit of spin thrown in.
[crowd cheering]
[robotic voice] Robots, activate.
[crowd cheering]
[Chris] So Brian Nave
mentioning Shrederator's wedge,
what they call the "Talons of Freedom" there.
Will it make a difference in this one, Kenny?
[Kenny] Well, it's small, might be like trying to stop
a tidal wave with an umbrella,
but if Brian Nave can keep it pointed
directly at Emulsifier,
the idea is that it pops him up
and prevents a direct shot
from that big old vertical spinner.
Tough needle to thread, but with nothing to lose,
I like seeing the grizzled vet
trying something different.
[dramatic music playing]
[crowd cheering]
[timer beeping]
[Chris] Let the bot battle begin.
Emulsifier, quick out of the gate.
Oh, lands a couple of shots to the Captain
and not letting him get away.
[Kenny] Oh!
[Chris] Uh-oh.
Near disaster there for Emulsifier,
but Matt Bores being very aggressive here early on.
[Kenny] Oh, but there's Shrederator's
Talons of Freedom at work.
-[Chris] Yup. -[Kenny] Jammed up Emulsifier.
[Chris] Uh-oh. Emulsifier not really moving well.
[Kenny] Oh, boy.
[man] Oh. I'm spinning, spinning.
[Kenny] Captain Shrederator
almost destroyed himself there.
[Chris] Emulsifier, I don't know if it's stuck
on the KillSaw's slits or not,
something is going on with those treads.
I mean, I don't see that left side of Emulsifier
working there as far as the treads go.
Come on, Brian.
[Chris] At the very least,
it has to be crab walking.
[Kenny] Oh, man.
And Captain Shrederator up to full speed.
Are they gonna go in for a hit?
[referee] I gotta see some kind of engagement here.
[Chris] Shrederator's got to engage.
Emulsifier is a sitting duck right now.
-Oh! -[Kenny] Oh!
[Chris] All right. Shrederator lands a jab,
but backs off yet again.
[Kenny] Yeah. I'm not sure what Brian Nave's doing here.
Emulsifier is really struggling to move.
[Chris] Shrederator connects on another little jab there.
But you're right, Kenny.
They're not being nearly as aggressive
as they could be,
especially with an opponent that's limping around.
-Go forward... -Keep going.
go forward, go forward. Keep it going.
[Chris] The brothers Wrigley coaching at Matt Bores
as Brian Nave tries to find an angle.
Oh, there's a good shot.
And he's got Emulsifier on its back foot.
Oh.
[Kenny] Shrederator can go in for the kill there,
if they can attack the sides or the back, it was exposed.
[Chris] Yeah. But right now,
Shrederator's no longer spinning.
[Kenny] Oh, boy.
[Chris] And that is huge in the eyes of the judges
because Emulsifier's weapon is still fully functional.
-Come on, Brian! -Keep it going.
[Chris] Captain Shrederator needs to get a little space,
see if it can spin up again.
Oh, this is just brutal for Shrederator
because it's theirs for the taking
with just over a minute to go.
[Kenny] It certainly is.
-Another minute? -One more minute.
[Chris] We can hear the dread in Brian Nave's voice.
Oh.
But here's the thing.
Shrederator can move but has no weapon.
Emulsifier's got a weapon but cannot move.
[Kenny] And this is why we were calling for Brian Nave
to try and finish off Emulsifier
when he had the chance.
[Chris] Fifty seconds to go.
Emulsifier's doing everything it can
to show that it's got some kind of mobility.
[Kenny] Oh, Matt Bores is still at least
trying to be aggressive here,
controlling things even on one leg.
[Chris] Smart move by Emulsifier,
putting him on top of the KillSaws.
[Kenny] In a fight like this, those kind of
savvy little moves can make a difference.
[Chris] Shrederator manages to slide off.
We are now under 30 to go.
Can either team make a statement
or land some kind of shot down the stretch here?
[Kenny] Well, Emulsifier's weapon
is still spinning at full speed.
They've definitely been the more aggressive bot
in this one.
[Chris] Tough fight for both these squads.
And if you're Brian Nave, you have to wonder,
what would have happened if you went for the kill
a bit earlier?
-Hit it up all the way. -[indistinct]
-Come on, come on. -[man] We got a kill function.
[Chris] Well, this is gonna end up
going the full three minutes.
All right, we're done. We're done.
[Chris] A lot to unpack here.
[man] There we go!
[indistinct chatter]
[Chris] Team Emulsifier thinks they've got it,
but we will have the official judges' decision
for you after the break,
as well as an exciting matchup
between the grappler, Overhaul,
and the Canadian flipper bot, Lucky.
So much more to come
as these teams continue their quest
for a shot at The Golden Bolt.
Don't go anywhere.
[crowd cheering]
[Chris] We continue on here with the first round
of the BattleBots Champions Sin City Slugfest.
Before the break,
Emulsifier and Captain Shrederator
went the full three minutes in a match
and saw both bots limp to the finish line.
And we can now report that the judges awarded
Emulsifier the victory in a unanimous decision.
The shredded terror will take on John Mladenik
and Cobalt in the next round.
Up next, it's tonight's final first round matchup.
You've got the best damn combat robot from north
of the 49th parallel, the Canadian Lucky,
led by Mark Demers,
squaring off with the president
of grabber bot nation, Charles Guan
and his power lifter, Overhaul.
Our camera crew tracked them down back in the pits.
[Faruq] Overhaul!
[crowd cheering]
[Charles] Overhaul is gonna be fighting Lucky
for our first Sin City Slugfest match.
Lucky is a very big bot that it's very unlikely
that Overhaul will actually be able to grab and pick him up.
My strategy is to stay away from that flipper
and try to keep him rolled over,
make him waste his shots trying to get upright.
[Mark] Charles is a really good driver,
-he's got more motor than us. -Oh!
[Mark] We don't wanna get into a pushing match.
We wanna avoid their front
to be around on the sides
and have them in the air.
[Charles] Lucky sometimes has mobility issues
and we're gonna try to exploit that.
The KillSaw slots
are renowned for trapping robots,
so I'm gonna try to lure him across the KillSaw slots
to try to outmaneuver Lucky's very low to the ground design.
When you have such a compressed schedule,
it's always hard.
We're worried that if we take damage
that we won't be able to repair in time.
[Chris] What an enormous shot by Cobalt!
[Mark] Luckily, we have a great pit crew this year.
I think we're one of the best teams
in terms of getting things turned around quickly.
If we can get in there for The Golden Bolt,
that really solidifies our position at BattleBots.
[Charles] Overhaul has never had to fight
three times in one night.
This is gonna be a battle of attrition,
it's gonna be a battle of inventiveness
and creativity,
because at some point,
I think I'm gonna start running out of parts,
and then I'm just gonna start
making stuff up.
I'm very confident that Overhaul
is gonna win this.
Time to see what happens.
[Chris] Lucky Captain, Mark Demers
coming off his best season ever.
Overhaul Captain, Charles Guan,
just thrilled that he isn't facing a nasty,
spinny thing in his opener.
[Kenny] No, absolutely.
He's got some kind of vendetta
against the horizontal and vertical spinners.
He's a grappler bot through and through.
So this is an interesting match.
We have the grappler going against the flipper.
-Yeah. -At least he won't be angry
-at Mark Demers. -No.
-That'll make it fun. -Yeah.
-Mm-hmm. -Let's check it out. Faruq.
[dramatic music playing]
[Faruq] In the red square, from Ottawa, Canada,
the Canuck that "don't give a puck,"
it's Lucky!
[crowd cheering]
[Chris] Lucky, one of our favorite
flippers in the game,
hotshot driver Matt Olson to the right.
Captain Mark Demers bringing up the rear.
Kenny, how do you see Lucky
handling a rapid-fire tournament like the Slugfest?
[Kenny] Well, the team showed massive improvement
last season, so I think they could make it
to the final,
possibly get a rematch with Cobalt
who blew them up in WCVII.
Need to take care of business against Overhaul first.
[dramatic music playing]
In the blue square,
from Atlanta, Georgia,
charging you extra for the dolly, it's Overhaul!
[Chris] The always entertaining Overhaul
led by Charles Guan.
[laughs]
Hey, Charles.
Six seasons under his belt, not a ton of wins,
but look at this guy.
Every day in the BattleBots is the best day of his life!
[Kenny] Yeah. Charles loves the game.
Listen, for better or worse,
he's wedded to this design,
but this bot's starting to look like a relic
of the old days.
That being said, whether it's by
welding a chair to lifter arms
or just refusing to go down,
Charles always finds a way to produce
grade A entertainment.
[crowd cheering]
[man] Let's go, Lucky!
[cheers and applause]
[dramatic music playing]
Good match, Charles.
-[Charles] Yeah, finally. -[Mark] First time, buddy.
Woo!
[robotic voice] Robots, activate.
[crowd cheering]
[Chris] Okay.
Well, we've got a pair
of BattleBots OGs here,
a combined 12 seasons of experience
between these two teams.
On a night where it feels like anything is possible,
could one of these squads find a way
to punch their ticket to the Golden Bolt Tournament
and launch themselves
into the upper echelon of the sport?
We'll find out
whenBattleBots Champions continues.
[crowd cheering]
[suspenseful music playing]
[Chris] We are back on BattleBots Champions
where Lucky and Overhaul
are revving up in their squares.
Winner moves on to the second round of tonight's slugfest.
We've got a classic grappler versus puncher matchup here.
Kenny, real quick, what's gonna be the key?
[Kenny] Well, to win, Overhaul has to dominate
control and to do that, Charles Guan
is gonna have to take some shots to the face.
But if he gets Lucky to whiff on enough jabs,
he might be able to drain the flipper bot's air tank,
which would give him free reign to suplex.
Tough nut to crack,
but for a mechanical sadist like Charles,
a little rope-a-dope might sound like fun.
[crowd chanting] Fight! Fight! Fight!
[Chris] Champion RC driver Matt Olson
on the sticks for Lucky.
[crowd chanting] Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[timer beeping]
[Chris] Let the bots battle begin!
The bots creep out of the squares
that match their paint jobs.
Lucky in the red, Overhaul in the blue.
[Kenny] Oh, there's a nice angle.
Oh.
[Chris] Lucky able to get underneath Overhaul there
but does not fire the flipper.
Oh.
Here's Overhaul getting underneath Lucky.
Matt Olson reverses, gets free.
The team's jostling for the low ground early.
[Kenny] Overhaul has to be careful to keep its beak
out of the way of Lucky's flipper.
Charles Guan almost able to get the lift there.
Come here. I see you. I see what you're doing.
[Kenny] Matt Olson looking to attack the flanks.
Able to get to the side but whiffs on the flip.
No connections with that weapon so far, Chris.
[Chris] Yeah, no damage to speak of,
but both drivers trying to win the control game.
[thuds]
[Kenny] That's a nice angle.
[Chris] Lucky has Overhaul
pinned against the rails.
-[Chris] There you go. -[Kenny] There it is.
They need to get a little bit deeper
underneath Overhaul there.
Get underneath that center of mass a little bit.
They don't have that same reach
with that flipper tongue.
[Chris] Overhaul in the meantime having...
Looks like it's having a little bit
of a drive issues.
Can't get itself out of the corner.
[Kenny] Oh.
[Chris] Lucky lands a kidney shot, follows it up.
Here come the Canadians.
-[Kenny] Oh. Nice flip! -[Chris] Nice flip
onto the upper deck.
[Kenny] Yeah. Lucky will use a lot of jab-like flips
to get their range a little bit.
Kind of, get the other robot off balance
and then they'll look for the big one.
[Chris] Yeah. Well, make no mistake,
this isn't HYDRA.
We understand that,
but it still has a dangerous flipper.
[Kenny] Absolutely.
But Overhaul not going to go down easy.
[Chris] More than halfway through this fight,
Overhaul still looking for that ability
to flip the flipper over on its head.
[Kenny] Yeah, Charles Guan has shown
that he can get underneath Lucky with those forks,
but can he find a way to invert it?
-Oh. -[Chris] Nice flip.
And pop back by Overhaul.
[Kenny] Matt Olson just missed the big follow up shot there,
hasn't been able to really capitalize here
against the wounded Overhaul.
Always dangerous to let a bot hang around in this sport.
[Chris] Under a minute to go, KillSaws active.
Lucky in control so far.
You'd have to think ahead on the scorecards
with Overhaul struggling to move.
Can the Canadians finish the job
and advance to the second round
or does the crafty Overhaul have one last push left in it?
[Kenny] Oh, there's a nice flip by Lucky.
[Chris] Uh-oh, Lucky's smoking.
[Kenny] Uh-oh.
[Chris] That might be the one thing that could do it in.
If it can't move anymore,
that's gonna be a major problem.
[KillSaw screeching]
[Kenny] Oh, KillSaws get in
on the underbelly of Overhaul.
-[thuds] -[Kenny] Whoa!
[Chris] Oh, nice shot by Lucky.
[Kenny] This is where they can follow up
with another flip, unable to do it though.
[Chris] Yeah, they're not mobile enough to do it.
They just need to survive to the ten-second mark.
[Kenny] Oh.
[Chris] And have this one go to the judges,
which they will do.
[timer beeping]
[Chris] Let's see if Overhaul wants to come in
and play one more time.
I still got it. I still got it.
[Chris] And the answer is...
no, thank you.
[crowd cheering]
[rock music playing]
[Chris] So, for the fourth time in as many fights,
we head to the judges' scorecards.
[Matt] Good job, Charles.
-Good match, buddy. -[Charles] Hell, yeah.
[man] Nice match.
[Chris] Well, Kenny, after some juking
and jockeying for position,
Lucky finally able to get Overhaul
pinned against the rail.
That's where this flipper bot does its best work.
[Kenny] That's right.
And this first big shot clearly hurt Overhaul,
took out the left side of its drive.
After that, Matt Olson found some openings
and was able to punt Charles Guan's bot
around the BattleBox.
[Chris] Overhaul known for its durability,
was able to avoid the knockout,
hang around and...
Uh-oh, Lucky started coughing up smoke
and actually lost some mobility itself.
[Kenny] Yeah, both bots are gonna need
some electrolytes after this fight,
but I think given its aggressiveness
and the number of shots it landed,
Lucky should be the one moving on.
[Chris] Here is Faruq with the decision.
[crowd cheering]
The results from the judges are in.
[suspenseful music playing]
The winner by unanimous decision is...
Lucky!
[crowd cheering]
[dramatic music playing]
[Chris] Mark, congratulations.
Thank you.
So it looks like...
You guys are super effective when you kind of
throw those jab-type flips.
Is that...
Are we seeing that the right way?
Yeah, you're seeing a lot of jabs.
There were a couple of haymakers,
so the bigger one in there, but mostly jabs, get control,
put them on their back to control a game.
So Mark, you're now off to the semi-finals
where Jackpot awaits.
What sort of challenge does he pose?
We know they're hitting hard
and we know they're gonna come out swinging.
So we got to be ready to take some hits
and we're looking to control that match, too.
We're looking forward to it.
Good job by you and your entire team.
Go have a shift change.
Go clean the sweaters
and we'll see you next period, eh?
[crowd cheering]
[Chris] Hi, Charles.
Hey, hey, what's going on?
[Chris] You weren't able to get much going
offensively tonight.
I guess overall big picture with your robot,
there are some people that'll say,
"Okay, you're a lifter, you're a grappler.
That's kind of fun."
Would you ever wanna change and bring something different?
Not at the moment.
I will always be the last knight
of the defenders of the Grabby Bot Nation.
[man] Grabby Bot Nation!
[laughs]
Is that like a party of one?
-Yeah. -[Chris] Or what is--
I mean, here we have Claw Viper, we have Quantum,
we have a lot of other lifters, right?
So, I think that we will remain stalwart
in the face of the vertical spinner threat.
We wish you the best of luck with that, Charles.
Thank you.
[Chris] You're always entertaining. Thank you.
[crowd cheering]
[suspenseful music playing]
-[Charles] Good match, sir. -[Mark] Hell, yeah.
[Matt] Long time coming.
[Charles] Yeah, I've been looking forward to this
for a while.
[Chris] Kenny, I thought Lucky
obviously did enough to advance.
It's that simple.
Yeah, I think they had a great game plan.
They were very effective.
They were able to get underneath Overhaul's side
and I thought they executed very well.
[Chris] Okay. So our second round matchups are all set.
Lucky advances to take on local Las Vegas hero Jackpot.
And up next, we're gonna see
two of the biggest weapons in robot combat.
It's a battle between buzzsaws,
as Emulsifier and Cobalt try to get one step closer
to a shot at immortality.
-[Kenny] Oh, oh, oh! -[Chris] Oh!
The carnage is getting cranked all the way up
when we return on BattleBots Champions.
[crowd cheering]
[upbeat music playing]
[Chris] We continue on with more BattleBots Champions
Sin City Slugfest.
All four quarter finals went to the judges' scorecard.
What do we have in store as we hit the first two
semi-final matchups?
Let's break it down.
It's Emulsifier taking on Cobalt.
Of course, John Mladenik, not only the team captain,
he is currently driving as well.
What does that mean for this team?
[Kenny] Well, as we saw in that first fight,
it means a completely different Cobalt.
While John learns how to tame this beast,
opponents are gonna have
some extra opportunities to attack.
But I think we've got to take a step back
and realize how tough it is to drive a 250-pound robot
with a weapon this deadly.
It's not like driving an RC car.
Gyroscopic forces
from Cobalt's vertical spinner
are constantly pulling on the bot,
making it difficult to line up a shot.
That being said, if something doesn't start to click,
we could see Cobalt,
one of the top bots in the world,
exit this Slugfest earlier than we thought it would.
So Emulsifier is a very interesting robot.
It's actually very similar to Cobalt.
A huge vertical spinner with a big front wedge,
but it's those treaded tires that are different
and nearly cost them in their last fight, Kenny.
[Kenny] Yeah. One of those early shots
from Shrederator damaged their right side drive.
So, they've been working overtime
to get it ready for this matchup,
but one thing that kept on working is that weapon.
In fact, they've never had to die during a fight.
So Matt Bores is ready and willing to go
head-to-head here
and put John Mladenik on his back foot.
[crowd cheering]
Cobalt's a very tough robot.
He's got a really nasty ground game.
He's got the spring-loaded forks.
If he gets under you, he just sends you flying.
Cobalt may win the ground game on us,
but we are a little bit more maneuverable than Cobalt,
in my opinion.
So, we might try to get around to the side of him,
get a shot off on his chassis,
and try to disable him that way.
If we go head-to-head,
I have a little bit more reach than him
and I'm gonna try to use that to my advantage.
I should hit his chassis before he hits mine.
So, we're hoping that that plays in our favor.
Emulsifier's got a very dangerous weapon on it.
If they hit you, it's gonna... It's gonna hurt.
It's not gonna take many hits to knock them out.
It's just getting there first and getting those hits
and making sure you can drive there
and get in there before he gets to you.
If we're losing that ground game,
it's a tough fight for me.
The ground game makes me feel more confident
that when I do come in a clear area to hit him,
that I'm getting under him.
And if that happens, I can't see how we lose.
We want this Golden Bolt so bad.
He said he would streak around the whole hotel if we win.
Again.
[laughs]
[robotic voice] Robots activate.
[crowd cheering]
[suspenseful music playing]
[Chris] I think Matt Bores was alluding to it,
but Emulsifier has removed the wedge here
in hopes of gaining a reach advantage,
is that right, Kenny?
[Kenny] Yeah. And it's a gamble.
They'll have a better reach and improved mobility
on the box's uneven floor,
but losing the wedge also means
those treated tires are completely exposed.
Matt Bores has to stay squared up with Cobalt
at all times now
or those treads are going to get shredded.
[robotic voice] Red Team, ready.
Blue Team, ready.
[man] Let's go!
[crowd cheering]
[Kenny] Two vicious verticals,
one spot in the final round,
zero second chances.
[Chris] Let the bot battle begin.
[Kenny] Oh, boy. Get ready for some
-crazy hits here, Chris. -[Chris] Yeah.
Let's go for it.
Oh, nice.
[Kenny] Look at the size difference
between these two discs.
[Chris] Oh, a lot of energy being exchanged.
[Kenny] Cobalt giving up inside there.
Emulsifier almost had a nasty hit on him. Boom.
[Chris] Emulsifier with those treads,
-having all sorts of issues. -[Kenny] Yeah.
Come on, John, you gonna come after us?
[Chris] Eric Wrigley from Team Emulsifier
trying to bait his opponent, as he's been known to do.
[Kenny] Emulsifier really out of control
-to start this fight. -[Chris] Wee.
[Kenny] Gyroing around the BattleBox
on the treads.
Cobalt trying to stay squared up.
It's already taken some damage to its front wedges.
[Chris] But remember, John Mladenik
tearing the torch and driving it for Cobalt.
He's a little bit more conservative
than Dave Moulds who ran it during season seven.
[Kenny] Oh, Cobalt's got to stay away
-from those KillSaw slots. -[Chris] Whoa.
[Kenny] Nice shot there by Cobalt.
-[Chris] Very nice work. -[Kenny] Oh.
[Chris] And uh-oh, it looks like one of the treads
has come off of Emulsifier
and it's really going to affect its mobility.
Can Cobalt take advantage?
-[Kenny] Still has one tread left, -[Chris] Oh.
[Kenny] on the other side. Nice shot by Cobalt.
[Chris] Oh, man.
[Kenny] Matt Bores does not have good control
of his robot, Chris.
[Chris] Not at all. Not at all.
In fact, it's lost half of the tread,
one on each side.
[Kenny] Can John Mladenik line up a shot
and finish the job?
The Emulsifier's weapon is still spinning,
but the robot is crab walking.
John's got to go now.
[Chris] Ninety seconds, and another big shot by Cobalt.
And the Pulverizer drops on top of the Emulsifier now,
not once but twice.
Oh, it just whiffs on the third try.
[Kenny] I think this is gonna be it, Chris.
[Chris] Yeah. Emulsifier is in a terrible spot,
cannot self-right.
That is the equation for death in BattleBots.
Eight, seven...
[Chris] The countdown is on.
Cobalt is going to be headed off to the final.
[man] Two, one, knockout!
[man] Nice work.
Good job.
[Chris] Well, Kenny, Emulsifier
really couldn't stay grounded in this one
and Cobalt certainly took advantage.
[Kenny] Yeah, that's right.
You know, that gyroscopic motion right there
was getting them up in the air
and allowed Cobalt to take advantage,
get underneath and land shots just like that.
[Chris] Yeah. And started removing
the tread off of Emulsifier.
That was a big deal for Cobalt.
[Kenny] Yeah, it's a vulnerability,
you know, anytime you have exposed wheels
or exposed treads, you're gonna get a robot
with a vertical spinner that is going to attack it.
[Chris] And few weapons can hit the way that Cobalt does.
So even though Emulsifier
has a tremendous amount of power,
you're gonna get flipped just like that
across the BattleBox.
[Kenny] A disappointing outing for Emulsifier.
Far from a perfect performance by Cobalt,
but John Mladenik did what he needed to do
to advance.
[crowd cheering]
[Chris] John, congratulations on your semi-final win.
Looks like you're getting very comfortable
driving that machine, huh?
Yeah. And, you know,
I have a different tactic than Dave,
but so far, it's been successful.
Yeah, John, it seemed like it was all about patience
and precision there.
They're very dangerous, so I didn't wanna make
a mistake where they would hit us.
If they get a big hit on us, you know,
it could have been over with that hit.
So it... I mean we got... They got a lot of hits on us,
but I don't think they got one just solid enough
to knock us over at least.
John, you don't see a lot of robots out here with treads.
Was it your plan to go after those things
or you just saw one on the floor
and you're like, huh, I can go get some more.
Well, you know, I saw they lost one side
in the Shrederator fight, right?
When they fought Shrederator?
So I thought if I could just get a single hit on that,
you know, maybe they lose a tread,
-and that was the whole plan. -[Chris] Congratulations.
We will see you in the final momentarily.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
[crowd cheering]
-[John] Good match, guys. -Hey, good match.
-[man] Good fight, folks. -[John] Good match.
[man] That was a slugfest.
-[man] Great fight. -[man] Thanks, man.
[man] Thank you, guys.
[Chris] So Matt Bores and Emulsifier are done.
A little underwhelmed
by what I saw from them tonight, Kenny.
[Kenny] Yeah, I was expecting more.
After what they did at World Championship IV
as a rookie, I thought they had a chance
to come in here and run the table,
but maybe this is a good thing,
to bring them back down to earth a bit
and to continue to fuel their fire moving forward.
Well, Cobalt, throughout season seven,
and now here in the Sin City Slugfest,
continues to demonstrate how nasty its weapon can be.
[Kenny] Absolutely. It proves that you don't have
to go a million miles an hour to be effective.
He took his time, waited for the right spots,
and, you know, got the knockout.
[Chris] All right. Well, up next,
we're gonna find out who Cobalt will see
in the Slugfest final.
It's a gambler's dream as the Canadian flipper Lucky
squares off with the Las Vegas local, Jackpot.
And we caught up with Jeff Waters and his squad
as they were gearing up to face the flipper bot.
[Jeff] The fight against Big Dill,
we chose the wrong material for our bushing,
and then it just deposited
a lot of material onto the weapon shaft.
That's why it wasn't spinning up so well during that fight.
Jason's currently trying to slap that back together.
Uh, we just found out that Lucky won their fight,
so we're gonna get ready for them.
With how quick the turnaround times are for the Slugfest,
uh, where you can't do much as far
as like configuration changes,
so we're gonna run it the same way we fought Dill
and hopefully, we won't take much damage
in that fight as well.
[theme music playing]
[Chris] We continue on with our second semi-final.
It is the local bot Jackpot
taking on the kids from up north candidate, eh, Lucky,
captained by Mark Demers.
Winner will see Cobalt in the Slugfest final.
And Kenny, these teams are in somewhat different
situations after their first round fights, right?
[Kenny] Yeah. Lucky, of course, took on a bot
with a non-lethal weapon in round one,
so all they had to do was refill the pneumatic tank
and buff out any scratches.
Jackpot, on the other hand, had a weapon failure,
which took a little more than Drano to fix.
Apparently, some debris got stuck
in the weapon shaft
and prevented it from spinning up.
Everything is running at a hundred percent now,
but Jeff Waters is a bit more behind the eight ball here
than the king of the North.
Either way, these are two high level teams,
so I'm expecting this
to be a very competitive fight.
All right. So both these bots are in a good spot.
Somebody's gonna be in a better one
after this semi-final. Faruq.
In the red square,
this bot is as Canadian as the maple leaf flag,
but he'll suck the soul from your body
like it was milk in a bag.
It's Canuck tradition to be polite and well-behaved,
so before he kills you, he'll help dig your grave.
He's poutine you in your place,
it's Lucky.
[Chris] Here they are, Team Lucky.
So excited.
Two wins away from a berth in the Golden Bolt.
The machine always looks great, man.
[Kenny] Yeah. And we talked about it,
but they've got a chance to really elevate
their reputation tonight.
Second season with the hotshot driver,
a veteran bot that finally looks dialed in.
This is a big fight for the Canadians.
[crowd cheering]
In the blue square, you don't know Jack
if you think you can beat this jack of all trades,
hit the road, Jack,
or get jacked up by his spinning blades.
He has variety like a potluck.
You have no pot of gold or rainbow,
just him raking the pot
while you are broke and in some pain, bro.
Give it up for Jackpot.
[Chris] Jeff Waters, the Las Vegas-based plumber.
When I think of Jackpot, Kenny, the first word
that comes to mind is scrappy.
[Kenny] Yeah, Jeff is really a problem-solver.
No budget, no problem.
Potentially fight three times in one night?
Sure, why not?
And I will say his opponent, Lucky,
is one-in-seven all time against verts,
so Jeff likes his chances
at solving this problem, too.
[crowd cheering]
Jackpot does hit at a strange angle.
We know that thing is terrifying
when it's spinning at full speed,
so we're expecting massive hits
and we're gonna try to avoid those as much as possible.
We have a relatively new fork configuration,
which is in the front.
I think we can get in close
and we're really aiming for their sides.
Ultimately, we wanna go in
and get under them, flip them a few times,
while also never letting them under us.
They have this gyro effect
which keeps them from turning quickly
and we look to capitalize on that
and really pick the spots for the engagement.
We know Lucky is a really good flipper.
It's got an amazing dryer.
Matt Olson, me and him have a history
of racing RC cars together.
I know what he's capable of,
so I'm going into that match
expecting a really good driving fight.
Best way to win this fight
would be to make sure if we're going head-to-head
that we have the lower ground game.
And if we're not going head-to-head,
I got to make sure I get to his side
or he doesn't get to my side.
The other thing we're gonna have to look out for is a...
Just any type of shock damage.
They're gonna shoot us really high in the air,
so we're just gonna make sure everything is all beefed up
and can take all those g-forces from landing.
[robotic voice] Robots activate.
-[crowd cheering] -[intense music playing]
[Chris] All right. Well, Lucky versus Jackpot,
this is a matchup made for Sin City.
Kenny, dial us in on the action.
[Kenny] Well, it should be a fun one.
Lucky is in full-on defense mode
going with the forks and some extra armor
around their wheels.
Jackpot, as we know,
isn't changing their configuration tonight,
but they did bring out the mini bot Ace for this one.
Each of the forks on that little doorstop-looking thing
can lift 500 pounds.
This is one of the few mini bots
that can really make a difference in a fight.
[cheering]
Let's go, Jackpot.
Fight! Fight! Fight!
Let's do this.
[alarm buzzing]
[Chris] Let the bot battle begin.
Lucky misses on the box rush
to get under Jackpot, but doesn't pull the trigger.
[Kenny] I think they got caught
on the KillSaw slot there.
[Chris] Jackpot's mini bot Ace
trying to get involved.
A little friendly fire,
but it is chasing down Lucky like a mosquito.
-[metal clanging] -[Kenny] Oh, look at that.
[Chris] Oh. Oh, no.
[Kenny] Ace helping out Jackpot, Chris.
That was beautiful.
[Chris] What a great job by the mini bot.
You're gonna get a little something extra
in your paycheck this week, pal.
[Kenny] And you can see, it's lifting up the sides
of Lucky so it can't drive.
[Chris] What a nuisance for Lucky,
that is dealing with a two-on-one fast break
by the Las Vegas tandem of Jackpot and Ace.
-[metal clangs] -[Chris] Oh.
[Kenny] Lucky's starting off in a deep hole here.
Matt Olson got to find a way to punch back.
[Chris] Lucky, on top of everything,
those little forks are getting stuck in the KillSaw slits.
[Kenny] Yeah. And while those forks
helped the Canadians get under Jackpot early on,
I'm wondering if they're preventing Lucky
from getting close enough
to really pull off an effective punch.
Everything's been more of a slap, so far.
[Chris] Uh-oh. This is good for Lucky,
bad for Jackpot.
The Canadians have to be careful
they don't get clipped from above though.
-[metal clanging] -[Kenny] Oh, here you go.
Nice driving there by Matt Olson.
Oh, look at the chains fell off of Jackpot there, Chris.
[Chris] Uh-oh. That spells trouble.
Jackpot's weapon no longer spinning
and now Lucky's trying to take advantage,
but they still can't land a punch.
-[metal clangs] -[Chris] Another whiff.
[Kenny] Look at this. Lucky's got Jackpot
against the screws.
Get him up there, big fella!
[Chris] Excellent, excellent driving by Matt Olson,
to put Jackpot on the upper deck.
[Kenny] He can now corner him there.
-Oh. -[Chris] Oh.
Missed opportunity.
[Kenny] Oh, this is a good one.
[Chris] Yeah, that's a hundred-pound Pulverizer
that's dropping on these bots.
[Kenny] And can you move?
Is... Oh, no.
Is Lucky stuck up against the box?
Tell me when.
[Chris] Or do we have a standoff?
If Jackpot reverses,
Lucky's gonna launch into the moon.
Help me out.
[Kenny] Matt's gonna have to fire eventually.
-[metal clangs] -[both] Oh.
[Chris] Matt Olson 20 steps over here.
Right on the clock and landed a shot.
[laughs]
Under a minute to go and the KillSaws are active.
You gotta back away from me.
[Chris] Lucky has the pin.
[Jeff] Don't let him out of the corner.
I'm not running him over.
[Chris] Do we have another flip out of Lucky?
[Kenny] Wow. What a comeback here for Lucky.
[Chris] Oh, there is some smoke.
I can see smoke out of one robot.
Whoa.
Maybe it's just bad breath
coming out of one of those things.
-[Kenny laughs] -[Chris] Oh, the hundred-pound
Pulverizer just nailed Lucky.
I don't know how much movement
we'll see out of the Canadian bot.
[Kenny] Oh, doing a little crab walking there.
I think they have some damage to their left side.
[Chris] No question about that.
Oh, yeah, you can see the outer armor
bent against the wheel there.
And with Lucky still able to crab walk,
Jackpot has got to engage.
[Kenny] Not much Jackpot can do
without its primary weapon.
Lucky just spinning in circles.
[Chris] Well, this one's gonna end up
going the distance.
A very interesting fight here
-in the semifinals. -[buzzer buzzes]
-[dramatic music playing] -Spin down. Spin down.
You have any spinning left on your weapon?
-We lost both of ours. -[man] Okay.
-But the rest are fine. -Oh, yeah.
[Chris] Okay. Well, a tale of two halves there.
Jackpot dominant in the first 90 seconds.
Lucky controlled things in the second half
for the most part.
How will the judges see it?
We'll get the decision.
Find out which one of these teams
is taking on Cobalt in the final,
that is next.
-Yeah! -[man] Let's go!
[Chris] On BattleBots Champions.
[dramatic music playing]
[crowd cheering]
[Chris] Welcome back to BattleBots Champions,
where the flipper bot Lucky
and the hometown heroes Jackpot,
just went the full three minutes
in an incredibly close fight.
The judges are nearing their decisions,
which will send one of these teams
into the slugfest final to take on Cobalt.
[dramatic music playing]
[Chris] Kenny, a lot to unpack here in this one.
[Kenny] Yeah. I thought it was a great
start there for Jackpot.
Ace, their mini bot getting involved,
high centering Lucky, putting him on a T.
-Here you go. -[Chris] Jackpot
racking up points in all three categories to start.
Lucky couldn't quite utilize its flipper
the way it wanted to,
but it did put its front forks to good use,
shoving Jackpot into the side of the box.
[Kenny] And Jackpot lost its weapon
in that collision, Chris.
Big time damage point for Lucky there.
[Chris] Matt Olson then proceeded to pop Jackpot
onto the upper deck and even played some mind games,
waiting until the very last second
to launch Jeff Waters' bot
after it got stuck on top of Lucky.
So won this fight, Kenny?
[Kenny] Yeah, this is gonna be an interesting
judges' decision here.
Both had some good opportunities,
both scored some nice damage.
Jackpot's weapon, though, went down early.
That's gonna certainly factor into the decision.
But Lucky had mobility issues down the stretch.
Does that put Jackpot over the top?
This is going to be very close.
[Chris] Faruq has the decision
that'll send one of these teams to tonight's final.
[crowd cheering]
The results from the judges are in.
[tense music playing]
We have a split decision.
-Ooh. -[crowd oohs]
Judge Fon scored the battle for Lucky.
[cheering]
Judge Derek scored the battle for Jackpot.
[cheering]
Judge Lisa scored the battle
for the winner...
[crowd chanting] Lucky, Lucky, Lucky...
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding! Jackpot!
-[cheering] -[triumphant music playing]
-Good job, guys. -Well done.
[crowd cheering]
[Chris] Hey, Jeff, congratulations.
How shocked were you that you ended up
getting this split decision?
I'm not shocked at all.
I sucked up Ace into our robot about 30 seconds in,
cut both their belts from there as a driving battle.
Matt Olson's one of the best drivers around,
we raced in the past against each other.
I knew it's gonna come down to driving.
We both had gremlins toward the end.
I need to hurry up and get it ready
to our final fight.
Jeff, you are now one win away in your hometown
from entering the Golden Bolt Tournament.
What does that mean to you?
I'm really hoping that we
don't have to cost the BattleBots
any money of having to ship the Bolt out.
-[laughing] -Very good.
All right. We'll see you in the final, Jeff.
-Congratulations. -Thank you.
[laughs]
-Good job. -Oh, yeah.
That was close.
[crowd cheering]
Hi, Mark.
Hey, Chris and Kenny. How are ya?
How are you is the question with the split decision.
We knew it was a close one and, you know, in Vegas,
sometimes you hit the Jackpot,
and sometimes Jackpot hits you.
-[Chris laughs] -Yeah. Yeah. What...
Were you shocked that that mini bot
was as big a nuisance as it appeared to be?
Yeah. It was a pain in the ass.
-[laughing] -Yeah, they did a good job.
Good driving over there.
They... That was actually a big decision-maker
in the...in the match.
It was a real nuisance for us,
and was able to get under us,
set Jackpot up for some good hits right at the start.
So, that might've been the difference.
Mark, it's always a blast
watching you and your team do battle.
Thanks so much.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
[crowd cheering]
Good driving, dude.
That was good driving. Well done.
[Chris] Well, those Canadians are gracious in defeat.
But it is JackPot who moves on.
That means the Las Vegas locals
will now take on Cobalt
in the final fight of the night.
One of those teams is gonna punch their ticket
to the Golden Bolt Tournament
where the other slugfest winners
and our three most recent champions await.
And those three Giant Nut winners
End Game, Tantrum, and SawBlaze,
are champing at the bit
to get their hands on some more hardware.
[dramatic music playing]
[Kenny] Oh.
[Nick] The Golden Bolt is another level entirely.
We're here to show that we've still got it. We're still the top.
[Jack] The first Golden Bolt and the Nut was not a fluke.
Being a world champion is a lot of pressure now.
People are gunning for us.
[Chris] Oh!
[Ginger] We had a disappointing
championship seven.
So this is a second chance
for Tantrum to prove itself.
They won't see what's coming for them.
This is the best of the best.
We wanna bring our A-game, even more so than before.
End Game is the best robot out there
and we're gonna show you.
Hopefully, we don't have to hit End Game round one.
[Chris] Mark Setrakian is a Hollywood
animatronics expert and aBattleBots legend,
having helped push the sport forward
with iconic creations like Mechadon,
Snake, and The Master.
[Faruq] Give it up for Mark Setrakian!
[crowd cheering]
[Chris] Earlier tonight, alongside The Bot Whisperer,
Mark thrilled the audience with a demonstration
of his revolutionary robot prototype,
a five-legged walker bot called Stalker.
[Mark] Stalker weighs 77 pounds,
so this is really tiny.
You have to imagine what this thing would look like
if it's scaled up to full BattleBots posture.
I could go into... Oh, this is scorpion-style.
Here we go. That's the mantis position.
And then figure out what kind of weapons to put on it.
You know, hey, this is BattleBots, you gotta have weapons.
How strong is it, exactly?
[Chris] Who knows what kind of wide-sweeping applications
this design could have.
Time will tell.
Uh-oh.
[crowd cheering]
[dramatic music playing]
[Chris] We are back on BattleBots Champions
Sin City slugfest,
we have arrived at the final
between JackPot and Cobalt.
This showdown's gonna determine who advances
to the tournament of champions,
where former Giant Nut winners
and fellow slugfest survivors await.
And at the end of the journey lies one of the crown jewels
of robot combat, the Golden Bolt.
[crowd cheering]
[Chris] So which of these two heavyweights
will earn the chance to add some hardware
to their trophy case?
Well, Cobalt hasn't looked like the same
"bat out of hell" berserker bot
with John Mladenik driving.
But its weapon is still as vicious
as any in the sport.
Will that be good enough to take down
the hometown heroes' JackPot?
Let's dive into this matchup.
[dramatic music playing]
[Jeff] You couldn't have the Sin City Slugfest
without a bot from Sin City.
It's kind of that pressure on us to go through,
beat Cobalt, and qualify ourselves for Golden Bolt.
This tournament has just been so grueling for us
and we're totally exhausted, but if you're going
for that goal that you dream of,
you get hyped up.
It's a... It's a motivation.
[Jeff] Watching the Cobalt and Emulsifier fight,
I noticed Cobalt was having issues driving forward.
John has very limited stick time on Cobalt itself.
So I feel like us zipping around really fast
is going to be a good advantage for us
because they're not gonna be able to chase us.
We're definitely gonna throw our mini bot Ace in there.
That should keep Cobalt
from going forward and backwards,
allowing us to get a good piercing hit
with our weapon, BlackHeart.
The only way we get knocked out
is if we lose our weapon and it goes upside down.
But I think we have a bigger hit than they do.
I think it's going to be fireworks.
I doubt if this match with JackPot
is gonna go three minutes. I would be shocked if it did.
[Jeff] I'm excited to be here in the finals.
The crowd gets really loud when we come out there.
So, I feel like having them on our side is gonna be great.
To make it to the Golden Bolt itself is very prestigious.
And I think getting to fight the best of the best,
and being considered being one of the best of the best,
that's a big deal.
[crowd cheering]
[Kenny] Really an impressive job by JackPot's pit crew
to get this robot and the mini bot
ready for this fight.
You kind of get the feeling that Jeff Waters
is having the time of his life.
They told us earlier tonight,
he wants to save BattleBots' expenses
by just having them basically drive
the Golden Bolt home.
You got to win this one just to make it into that...
-Yeah. -tournament.
But this dude does not lack confidence.
[Chris] No, not at all.
Listen, if you look at his robot,
I think it's hitting very hard.
And I think this is gonna be a much faster pace
than John Mladenik is used to with Cobalt.
I think that's gonna be a challenge
because Jeff is so familiar with this robot.
Let's find out who is off to the Golden Bolt Tournament.
Faruq?
[crowd cheering]
[intense music playing]
Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready?
[crowd cheering]
It's time for the main event.
-[intense music playing] -[crowd cheering]
In the red square,
you got to know when to chokehold them,
know when to stone-cold them,
know when to claw away because he'll never run.
You better count your blessings
if he doesn't put you through a table
because there will be no time for counting
when your ass is done.
Give it up for the gambler,
it's JackPot.
[intense music playing]
[Chris] Listen to that crowd cheering for one of their own,
get ready to go head-to-head with such a dangerous weapon.
What are Jeff Waters and his crew thinking here, Kenny?
[Kenny] Well, they're putting a lot of faith in the mini bot, Ace.
Believe it or not, it was surprisingly effective
at stopping and lifting a veteran driver
like Matt Olson in their last fight.
They believe against John Mladenik
who is still figuring out how to drive Cobalt.
Ace could play an even bigger role.
[crowd cheering]
In the blue square,
named for one shade of gray,
he knows at least 50 more.
The BattleBox is his personal shred room
and he's locking the door.
"You signed the contract," he says,
"now let's you and I fight."
Ripping off your limbs like Fifty Shades
ripped off Twilight, don't forget your safe word,
because here comes Cobalt!
-[crowd cheering] -[intense music playing]
[Chris] Cobalt.
Captain John Mladenik bringing up the rear.
And while he's been driving this robot
at a different speed than we're used to seeing,
I think it's fair to say he's improved
-in every fight, Kenny. -[Kenny] Absolutely.
But now, let's see if he can perform
when the lights are brightest
and the home crowd is rooting for the other team.
All John needs is one big hit with this weapon, though.
JackPot can take a punch,
but Cobalt is that powerful.
[crowd cheering]
[Chris] Okay, Kenny.
Two vicious vertical spinners,
what's gonna be the key to punching a ticket
to the Golden Bolt here?
[Kenny] Well, we've been saying it all night,
but the wild card is John Mladenik.
Cobalt is one of the most violent bots in this sport.
If something clicks, then John starts
whipping it around, they could very well win
the Golden Bolt not just this slugfest.
But if John is overly cautious,
Jeff Waters will hit Cobalt
like you hit the slots, Chris,
early and often.
[Chris] No gambling before 8:00 a.m.
That's my rule.
Sticking to it.
[crowd cheering]
[crowd chanting]
[Chris] Let the bot battle begin.
Deliberate to start.
Little circling.
Cobalt.
[Kenny] Been trying to get Ace involved
to try to tap the back side of Cobalt.
[Chris] Yes, they are. Here's JackPot.
His little buddy staring down Cobalt.
Now they split up.
[Kenny] Oh, there's that two-pronged attack there,
Ace at the backside.
Oh, nice shot.
Oh, man, we got smoke already.
[Chris] A huge mistake by John Mladenik.
[Kenny] Oh, boy.
Like, a ton of smoke.
Like, I can't see the freaking robots smoke.
Cobalt showed JackPot its backside
and Jeff Waters was more than happy
to sink his blade directly into the battery compartment.
This is nasty, Chris.
[Chris] And now we've got flames spewing out of Cobalt.
JackPot is still lodged to the back side
of John Mladenik's bot.
I'm not sure these two are gonna be able
to be separated, Kenny.
It is a freaking horror show out there.
[Kenny] JackPot dragging Cobalt around the box
trying to shake it lose.
Cobalt's weapon has stopped spinning.
Will it be able to move if Jeff Waters
can find a way to separate?
[Chris] Waters looking for any way to break free.
[man] Tag along those corners one more time, Jeff.
[Chris] These two heavyweight robots,
they are bonding together in hellfire at the moment.
We approach the halfway point
of tonight's Slugfest final.
[Kenny] Now how is this gonna affect JackPot as well?
JackPot can be burning up... There you go.
[Chris] Oh, there you go. Oh, my God.
Cobalt can still move though.
Its weapon is still spinning.
And the mini bot, Ace, right back underneath him.
[Kenny] He might be stuck up against the KillSaw slots there.
[Chris] Okay. Let's see if... Oh, yeah,
Cobalt can still move.
[Kenny] Oh, JackPot got a little too aggressive there.
Those wedges working nicely for Cobalt.
But how long can Cobalt withstand this fire.
[Chris] Kenny, Cobalt refuses to die.
And here it comes, looking to re-engage.
The weapon's somehow still spinning. Look out.
[Kenny] Crazy.
JackPot now trying to attack the sides.
Could this be it for Cobalt?
[Chris] Uh-oh. Yeah.
That fire is way too big.
Way too much for the drive motors.
The countdown has started.
JackPot is gonna win in its hometown.
And it is off to the Golden Bolt Tournament.
Three, two, one.
-Buzzer. -[buzzer buzzes]
Come on!
[cheering]
Basically I [bleep], man.
[Chris] And Kenny, in terms these Vegas fans
would understand, JackPot chose to split
their pair to start the match.
Cobalt followed the little guy
and then the big guy made him pay.
[Kenny] A critical driving error by John Mladenik
showing JackPot his back side.
One mistake against a high level team
can be the difference between winning and losing.
[Chris] Well, that shot started a five-alarm fire
in the BattleBox.
But shockingly, once the bots were able to separate,
Cobalt was still fully functional.
[Kenny] Yeah, that's right. And JackPot was forced to re-engage.
Even took a scary little shot from Cobalt.
Impressive that Cobalt stayed mobile
and kept spinning for as long as it did.
[Chris] Eventually, Jeff Waters got around
to the side and said,
"Go towards the light, Cobalt."
And the flames overtook John Mladenik's bot.
The Las Vegas locals win the night.
[crowd cheering]
Jeff Waters, congratulations.
You are off to the Golden Bolt Tournament.
Oh, my goodness.
[crowd cheering]
That was a heck of a hit.
Jason did a hell of a job
getting that thing set up for me.
He teed it up and I hit him right in the butt.
-It was awesome. -[laughter]
Dude, I thought you were a plumber.
I didn't know you were worked at a barbecue joint, too.
I made sure he had a pumber's crack as well.
-Oh, God. -[laughter]
[crowd cheering]
All right. What was the game plan heading into this hard...
Very hard hitting robot in Cobalt?
Exactly that. I was dancing around.
I know it had issues with the forks in forward.
I was waiting for Ace to get him teed up for me.
And I got him right where I needed to hit him.
[crowd cheering]
So Jeff, now you get to prove
that you are one of the best.
You are going against former Giant Nut champions,
other winners of Sin City Slugfest,
are you ready?
-Yes. -Oh, yeah.
She's ready to go.
I got to hurry up and get her ready.
We got to see... We had three fights
to go through and see if we can take that Bolt home.
Jeff, congratulations.
We will see you in the Golden Bolt Tournament.
Great job.
[crowd cheering]
[Jeff] Oh, my goodness.
John, I know you... Obviously, you're disappointed.
But how shocked are you that it was basically
one shot that did you in?
The back is the weak point and I went for the little guy,
and I should've never done that.
You know, I don't know why I thought,
"Oh, I can knock this little guy out."
And then he came from behind.
And it really was a driving mistake.
And what was that that exploded in your robot?
-What went on fire? -The batteries.
He hit right where the batteries were.
It's amazing it went so long
when the batteries were on fire.
-Yeah. -[crowd cheering]
I think I got a hit.
-The best hit was after the batteries were on fire. -Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[laughs]
John, great run for you and your entire team.
-Congratulations. -Thanks.
[intense music playing]
Dude, that was a good fight.
-I was getting there, man. -Good job.
Your little guy did distract me.
[Chris] So we say goodbye to John Mladenik and Cobalt.
An off-season of driving and I think we'll see
that violent vert back up to speed.
But, Kenny, we have seen Jeff Waters and JackPot
around the BattleBox now for three years.
This is a big deal for him to move on
to the tournament in champions.
Yeah. You don't just get into the Golden Bolt Tournament.
You have to earn your way in.
And they absolutely did that
with all those impressive wins.
[Chris] Okay. So JackPot moves
into the fourth Slugfest winners spot,
making the Golden Bolt Tournament field
even more unexpected
than it was coming into the night.
[Kenny] Chaos, baby.
When Shreddit Bro was our first Slugfest winner,
you knew we were in for some wild nights.
[Chris] And we saved one of the best
Slugfest fields for last.
Take a look at next week's all-star lineup.
Last year's top rookie, Ripperoni.
The most improved robot,
the lightning quick Claw Viper.
Monsoon. Glitch.
Oh, yeah, and the man who changed his reputation
in last year's Slugfest,
Will Bales and his bot, Hypershock.
You cannot miss Slugfest number five
where we will lock in the final spot
in the Golden Bolt Tournament.
That'll do it for us.
For Faruq, my man Kenny Florian,
I am Chris Rose.
We will see you next time here on BattleBots Champions
Sin City Slugfest.
[intense music playing]