[Faruq] For 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 Rose] Team End Game,
with the first ever Golden Bolt!
[Faruq] ...enters its second chapter.
Five nights of single elimination fights...
[yelling]
[Faruq] ...culminating in a merciless
-winner-take-all tournament. -I'm not dead yet!
[Faruq] Welcome to robot combat at its most raw.
Let's go!
[Faruq] This is BattleBots Champions.
The race for the Golden Bolt.
[robotic voice] Robots activate!
[audience cheering]
Welcome to BattleBots Champions: Sin City Slugfest!
I am Chris Rose,
joined as always by the UFC legend,
the robot combat analyst,
the people's champ, Kenny Florian!
[cheering]
[Kenny] Thanks, Chris! We've got a great night of action ahead of us,
as eight more robots are jockeying for a place
in our tournament of champions.
Over the course of the evening,
these competitors will hack, slash and burn
their way through the bracket until only one remains.
That team will then earn a shot
at one of robot fighting's highest honors:
the Golden Bolt!
[audience cheering]
[Chris] Over the course of this one-of-a-kind event,
we have seen rookies and veterans alike
lay it all on the line for a shot at glory.
And after four weeks of single elimination mayhem,
only one spot remains in the exclusive
Golden Bolt Tournament field.
Of course, our three most recent Giant Nut winners,
End Game, Tantrum,
and SawBlaze received automatic bids.
and they've been joined bySlugfest survivors
SHREDDIT BRO!, Whiplash,
Free Shipping and Jackpot.
Who's gonna lay claim to the final coveted slot?
Let's run down the fight card
and take a look at tonight's bracket.
Top to bottom,
this is the most stacked Slugfest line-up yet.
I mean, just look at these star-studded names!
We've got a clash between
two of the most electrifying young teams in the sport,
reigning rookie of the year,
RIPperoni is ready to deliver a slice of fresh death
to last season's top newcomer,
the grave-digging gunslinger, Glitch!
[Kenny] The big-wheeling thwackbot from the outer rim, Starchild,
throws down with the machine
that combines hard steel and sex appeal,
HyperShock!
[audience cheering]
[Chris] Batton down the hatches,
the British bomber Monsoon
rains metal in the BattleBox.
Can it extinguish the fire-breathing tank on wheels, Gruff?
[Kenny] But up first, don't blink!
The new prince of propulsion, Claw Viper,
is zooming into the arena.
We'll see if Shatter! can send it on a detour to pound town.
All right, enough talk! Let's get this thing going.
Faruq!
Tell 'em what time it is!
[audience cheering]
[audience] Faruq!
Ladies and gentlemen,
are you ready?
[cheering]
It's robot fightin' time!
[cheering and applause]
[Faruq] In the red square,
from Seattle, Washington,
so fast, you'd swear he took a space needle
of adrenaline to the heart,
it's Claw Viper!
[cheering and applause]
[Chris] Claw Viper, led by the tall guy in the glasses there,
Seattle-based engineer Kevin Milczewski,
really a mid-tier team until last season,
when Kevin unleashed a hyper-charged
and hyper-fast Claw Viper on the field.
[Kenny] Yeah, his bot is really a technological wonder, Chris.
For propulsion, Kevin uses the same motors
that power the strongest weapons in the sport.
Except, he's got one powering each wheel!
It moves unlike anything we've ever seen before,
and yeah, Kevin has proven speed can kill.
[cheering and applause]
[Faruq] In the blue square,
from Brooklyn, New York,
call this smashing bot MC Hammer,
'cause after one hit, you'll go broke!
It's Shatter!
[cheering and applause]
[Chris] Shatter!
Coming off an awfully tough season,
snuck into the tournament with a 1-3 record,
then got trounced by Riptide in the Round of 32,
captain Adam Wrigley handled it all with class,
but I'm sure he's looking to turn the page tonight.
[Kenny] For sure. Remember,
Shatter! made the final eight
two seasons ago,
this robot's capable of doing some serious damage tonight,
but a tough draw here for a hammer bot.
The team will need to use the sides of the arena
to slow Claw Viper down,
and then line up shots.
[cheering and applause]
[cheering intensifies]
Shatter! uses an omni-directional drive,
so he can move sideways, keep facing us.
Now, an omni-directional drive is difficult to control,
he tends to spin around a little bit,
he tends to over-steer.
So we're gonna take advantage of that,
avoid his hammer,
and then control him from the side.
We have an armor configuration designed
pretty much specifically for them,
but it order to run it,
we have to take the side armor off of our robot.
So Claw Viper's gonna look a little bit different in this fight.
It's gonna be a lot narrower,
but there's a lot more heavy armor on top,
so we can take a couple hits from his hammer,
then control the fight.
We think he's going to be coming at us with speed, a lot.
So it's gonna be about landing hammer blows.
Can we put our robot in the right spot to get the right hits?
You know, we're gonna use our new hammer,
the Paul Surprise,
uh, it should swing really fast,
a bit lighter than our other hammers,
so we're trying to bank on the speed of this hammer.
The World Championship VII was obviously
a bit of a disappointment for our team,
and Slugfestis a chance at redemption,
and we'd love to make it to the Golden Bolt
and be able to take on all these legends of the sport.
We really hope we can take advantage of that opportunity.
[cheering]
-[team speaking indistinctly] -[referee] All right, here we go!
[robotic voice] Robots activate!
[cheering intensifies]
[Chris] Okay, Kenny! With such a stacked Slugfestfield tonight,
who do you think has the best chances to come out alive?
[Kenny] Okay, check it out.
The lower the number, the better odds
I feel a team has to win it all tonight.
I've got HyperShock as the favorite,
but this is a murderer's row.
Monsoon, Claw Viper and RIPperoni
were all breakout stars last season.
Five of the eight made the WCVII tournament.
So many teams capable of going on a run tonight.
Buckle up.
-[robotic crescendo] -[cheering intensifies]
[audience chanting] Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[Chris] Only one spot left in the Golden Bolt Tournament.
Who's gonna grab it?
The final Slugfestbegins now!
[buzzer sounding]
[Chris] Let the bot battle begin!
[cheering]
-[Chris] Whoa! -[Kenny] Oh!
[Chris] Claw Viper on the attack!
[Kenny] That acceleration from Claw Viper is just freaky!
[Chris] Wow, that was crazy!
-Now Shatter! trying to work its way out of the corner-- -[Kenny] Oh!
-[Chris] And get that hammer to dig in! -[Kenny] Oh!
[Kenny] Impressive timing by Shatter! here early,
landing some shots with the hammer.
-[Chris] Uh-oh! -[Kenny] But man, that speed of Claw Viper,
just, how do you deal with that?
[Chris] And that ablative armor,
coming off with every hit,
that is supposed to peel off onto the floor.
[Kenny] A precise shot there by Shatter!
And another! Weapons operator Eric Wrigley
doing a great job with the moving target that is Claw Viper.
As for Kevin Milczewski,
speed is obviously not a problem.
But can he lock in his grappling here,
-and get a hold? -[Chris] Look, uh-oh, wow!
[Chris] It's unreal! It's mosquito-like!
-[Kenny] It really is. -[Chris] Except, uh,
if a mosquito weighed 250 pounds.
[Kenny chuckles]
[Chris] Oh, nice work,
taking Shatter! into the rails by Claw Viper.
[Kenny] Claw Viper, just too fast.
-Too low to the ground. Getting underneath Shatter! -[Chris] Oh!
[Kenny] Keeping them off-balance, Chris!
[Chris] Right into the screws on the Upper Deck!
But Shatter! holding up well so far,
appears to be still fully functional!
[Kenny] Shatter! needs to keep that front pointed at Claw Viper,
but how do you predict,
and how do you match the speed of Claw Viper?
Keep trying it when you get a chance.
[Chris] The hammer on Shatter! has gone quiet, Kenny!
You think Adam Wrigley's dealing with a weapons issue?
[Kenny] Yeah. It looks like he might be here, Chris.
You haven't seen it fire in a little while.
[Chris] Oh, man.
-Oh-ho! -[Kenny] Yeah, I mean,
that would have been their opportunity to land it,
it looks like their hammer is disabled, Chris.
[Chris] And that's gonna put Claw Viper
squarely ahead on the scorecards!
Can Shatter! find a way to even this match up
without its primary weapon?
Claw Viper still looking for a clean grab.
-[Kenny] Oh, like that? -[Chris] Oh, uh-oh! Oh!
[Chris] Let's see it again!
-Lift? -[Kenny] Shatter! just a little too big,
little too awkward there
for Claw Viper to get a good lift there.
[Chris] And, boom!
Right into the rails, next to the screws!
Don't stop trying!
[Kenny] Yeah, they're not quite able to get under
the center of gravity of Shatter! to get that lift there.
Either way, Claw Viper dominating the control category at this point.
[Chris] Under a minute to go, so the kill saws are active.
And, no lift?
No weapon working still for team Shatter!
Time is running out for Adam Wrigley here in the Slugfest.
Claw Viper doing a good job also, Chris,
they'll attack to the front and then they'll get
a little angle on the side, like that!
-[crowd cheers] -[Chris] Excellent aggression and control by Claw Viper!
[Kenny] Milczewski really getting way more
comfortable with his driving, no question about that,
getting very familiar with his robot.
[Chris] I mean, you can see Claw Viper
has just pecked its way through that top armor.
[Kenny] Yeah, absolutely. It looks like a vulture,
just kind of pecking at its prey there.
[Chris] That's nasty, Kenny. I don't know what you're watching in the off season.
-[Kenny laughs] -[Chris] All right, under 10 seconds to go,
-so this one's gonna go to the distance! -[Kenny] Oh!
[Chris] Claw Viper putting Shatter! up on the screws,
just for a nice finishing touch!
-[buzzer sounds] -[referee] We're done! We're done! Okay, set it down.
-[audience cheering] -[teams and referees speaking indistinctly]
[Chris] Awesome performance by Kevin Milczewski and Claw Viper.
And Shatter! was durable enough to make it the distance,
and now it officially heads to the scorecards.
All three judges are former BattleBotsparticipants,
Fon Davis, Lisa Winter and Derek Young,
and they are scoring on an 11-point system.
Up to five points can be awarded for damage,
three for aggression, and three for control.
Well, kudos to Shatter! for landing a series of shots
with the hammer to start the match.
High degree of difficulty on those,
considering the blazing speed of Claw Viper.
[Kenny] Oh my goodness, I mean,
how are you able to prepare for speed like that?
You attack for the front, he's on your side.
You turn to the other side, he's on your other side!
I mean, Kevin Milczewski is just getting so good with this robot.
[Chris] Claw Viper able to get under Shatter!
and then slam it into the Hazards,
eventually disabling the hammer,
and rendering it helpless offensively.
[Kenny] That's right. Not a lot Shatter! could do at that point,
and Claw Viper never let up.
[Chris] Then in the final seconds,
one lasting memory, enjoy the view.
[Kenny] Look at that placement from Claw Viper.
- Beautiful. -[audience cheering]
The results from the judges are in.
[cheering intensifies]
The winner, by unanimous decision is...
[scattered cheers]
Claw Viper!
-Whoo! -[cheering and applause]
[Chris] Kevin, congratulations!
Don't you amaze yourself a little bit?
Uh, the speed with which your bot
just kinda scoots around that floor?
It's a lot of fun to drive, and it's really hard,
and when you're fighting an omni-bot,
an omni-directional drive, like what Shatter!'s got,
it's even harder, 'cause he can spin in place,
and make it hard for us to get around the side.
But yeah, it's a lot of fun to drive.
Kevin, what was the game plan here against Shatter!?
Uh, we actually wanted to treat them
a little bit like a vert, and stay out of the front,
because there's actually gaps in our armor in the top,
and I was afraid he was gonna go right through
and hit one of my big motors,
but we got lucky, and he didn't.
Kevin, it seems like you're also getting
way more familiar with driving that robot.
Uh, is that how you feel?
Absolutely. The more you drive it, the easier it is to drive.
Well, great job! We'll see you
in the semi-finals later tonight!
Thank you so much!
-Whoo! -[cheering and applause]
-[Kevin] Good fight, man. -Good fight, man!
[teams congratulating each other]
[Chris] Okay, so Kevin Milczewski
and crew move onto the second round,
where they will face the winner
of Starchild versus HyperShock!
Up next, the British bomber Monsoon
rolls its vertical disc into the box
to dance with a flamethrower so hot,
-it can melt steel, Gruff! -[audience cheering]
[Chris] And still to come, we've got RIPperoni!
Glitch!
The wild man, Will Bales!
This bracket reads like an all-star line-up!
Which squad will survive the gauntlet,
to grab the final spot in the Golden Bolt Tournament?
Find out, asBattleBots: Champions continues!
[cheering and applause]
[Chris] Welcome back to BattleBots Champions,
where we are in the midst of finalizing
the Golden Bolt tournament field!
In just one week,
our three most recent champions
and the winners of the fiveSlugfests
will go scorched earth on each other,
in hopes of taking home one of the sport's crown jewels.
[audience cheering]
[Chris] We just saw the lightning-quick Claw Viper
move one step closer to earning that coveted spot,
and during the break,
we caught up with captain Kevin Milczewski.
Speed killing is what we do.
We saw in the previous Shatter! fight,
we were getting around their side, every single time.
He could not keep his robot facing us,
unless we wanted to go head to head.
We broke some things against Shatter!
Uh, basically did it to ourselves,
driving into the wall really fast.
Uh, but we already replaced those.
We have everything ready to go.
We wanna show the fans and BattleBots
that speed and lifting is a valuable weapon,
so by advancing further in the tournament,
it further validates just what Claw Viper is,
and that we have a viable robot.
You don't need a spinner to win.
[Chris] We have got an absolutely
loaded field tonight, folks!
Claw Viper's scheduled to take on the winner
of HyperShock and Starchild in the second round.
But up next, the opening round continues
with a showdown between Monsoon
and the fire-breathing Gruff!
We saw Monsoon return to BattleBotsaction
-during season seven after a three-year layoff. -Yeah.
[Chris] And it was great to see what Tom Brewster and Tim Rackley did.
[Kenny] Absolutely. What a welcome back last season was for them.
Tom established himself
as one of the sport's top drivers,
and his skill was on full display
during their upset over Cobalt in the round of 32.
The team lost to eventual champion
SawBlaze in the next round,
but what I really love about this robot
is its invert ability.
Tom can flip Monsoon on a dime
and put it in position to either retreat
or land a shot.
So cool, glad they're competing tonight!
One thing that has been consistent
about their opponent tonight in Gruff,
they've always been durable,
they've always been able to take a punch,
which is a good thing,
because Monsoon certainly can pack one.
[Kenny] Yeah, definitely.
But not sure that tank-like reputation
is keeping up with the times.
Their World Championship VII season ended
with three straight knockout losses,
but I do think they have a path to victory,
not just in this fight, but in general.
Look at how Claw Viper suplexes and controls its opponents.
Gruff can do the same,
except where Claw Viper's superpower is speed,
Gruff's is durability.
Sam Mcamis just has to be able to execute.
[cheering]
[audience] Monsoon!
[cheering]
So, we had a really great run
back in the World Championship VII.
I think we've got some good momentum going forward.
So I'm pretty happy, uh, going into this,
that we should do quite well.
Our first fight tonight is Gruff.
Uh, they're a very tough opponent.
So they can take the hits,
and we can deliver the hits.
So, uh, I think we can keep delivering those hits,
and as long as we keep them moving,
keep them rolling around,
we should be fine to win this one.
Tonight, we're fighting Monsoon.
Our plan is to kind of try to go at the sides of them,
and get their, get those, uh,
those drive pods and get ahold of those.
We've both got forks, um,
I think that we have a little bit of reach on them,
so I think we can grab ahold of their drive pods.
Uh, and get ahold of 'em, and, uh, burn them that way.
[audience cheering]
[Tom] Guys!
-Best of luck. -Good game, good game.
-Good game? Good luck! -[chuckling]
-[Tom] Best of luck, man. -Good luck!
-Big fan of Gruff! -[robotic voice] Robots activate!
[Chris] All right, Kenny!
We obviously love Gruff's flamethrower,
but when it comes to offensive ability,
they're a little outmatched here.
So how can they win?
[Kenny] Yeah, if Gruff is a tank,
Monsoon is a nuclear bomb.
That being said, there's a way Sam Mcamis
can get that bomb to detonate on itself.
He needs to stay square, avoid showing his sides,
and then use those forks to tip Monsoon over,
so its weapon connects with the arena.
It worked against RIPperoni last season,
let's see if Sam can pull it off again tonight.
[robotic voice] Red team ready?
[audience cheering]
[chuckles]
[robotic voice] Blue team ready?
[audience cheering]
[Chris] Aw! All for one, one for all!
[robotic crescendo]
[audience chanting] Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[chanting continues]
[buzzer sounding]
[Chris] Let the bot battle begin!
Both bots wing out of the squares!
Monsoon spun up, Gruff spitting flames!
[Kenny] Monsoon, looking to attack the side there, just missed!
-[Chris] Gruff, whoa! -[Kenny] Oh!
[Kenny] What a counter by Gruff, that was beautiful!
-[Chris] That lifter can lift 400 pounds over its head! -[Kenny] Oh!
[Chris] But look at Gruff bouncing all around,
getting itself in the screws,
and Monsoon comes in for a potshot!
[Kenny] Oh, they're in a terrible position here--
[Chris and Kenny yelling]
[Kenny] Oh my goodness!
[Chris] Even a worse one now!
[Kenny laughs]
[Chris] Oh, it's smoking! Gruff is smoking!
Monsoon trying to touch it, oh, this is it!
[Kenny] Aye-yi-yi!
-[Kenny] Oh! -[Chris] Whoa!
[Kenny] There's a flame inside of Gruff now,
that's not the way it's supposed to work, Chris!
-[Chris] No, that's not that double-barreled flamethrower! -[referee] 10! Nine!
-[Chris] This is gonna do it! -Eight! Seven!
[Chris] Gruff! The first ten seconds were masterful,
-the last 40, a disaster! -[referee] Three! Two!
[referee] One! Knockout!
[cheering and applause]
[Tom] We didn't get the flame, but we almost did!
[team talking excitedly]
[audience] Monsoon!
Yes!
[Chris] What a start for Gruff, Kenny!
Spitting flames, taking names,
but then it all went terribly wrong!
[Kenny] Yeah, absolutely! It was an awesome lift,
slammed Monsoon down right on its weapon,
exactly what Gruff was looking for,
but Tom Brewster with the quick recovery,
followed by a bad driving error by Sam Mcamis,
feeding Monsoon his side.
Goodnight, Gruff.
[Chris] Kicked Gruff into the screws,
sent it skyward not once, but twice,
and then lit the match on Mcamis' robot.
Live by the flame,
die by the flame!
The Brits are moving on!
[cheering and applause]
[team talking excitedly]
-Hey, Tom? -Hey!
That was cool, wasn't it?
That was very cool!
I'm a bit sad that I didn't get to toast any crumpets,
-but that'll do, yeah. -[all laugh]
-That's British trash talk at its best right there. -[all laugh]
No, uh, Gruff is a fantastic robot,
definitely on my bucket list of robots that I want to fight,
so, uh, it's a bit of a tank,
I knew it'd be a tough one, but, uh,
I'm happy to take the win. [chuckles]
Congratulations, we'll see you in the semis later tonight!
Thank you, thank you!
[cheering and applause]
[Tom] Love you guys. You're the best.
[teams congratulating each other]
[Chris] And so Monsoon delivers a thunderous beating
and advances to the second round of tonight'sSlugfest ,
where they will face the winner
of our next match-up.
It is two of the top young teams
from the last couple of years,
as heavy-hitters Glitch and RIPperoni
go head to head inside the box.
The Berkeley bomber was a co-rookie of the year
at World Championship VI,
while the big bad pizza bot
shocked the robot combat universe last season.
Who comes out on top tonight?
Find out next, on BattleBots Champions!
[cheering and applause]
We continue on here BattleBots Champions, Sin City Slugfest!
Up next, it's the first of two bots
under the Team Omega umbrella.
We'll see Brandon Zalinsky's Starchild in just a bit.
But right now, RIPperoni is gonna try
and dish out a win against Glitch.
And let's start off with the pizza bot,
engineered by Anna Zolnikov.
At first, we looked at that thing, we were, like,
dang, that is a cool pizza.
Then we saw it fight, and we were, like,
yeah, that thing means business.
Yeah, 100%!
As soon as they shocked the world
with their upset win over End Game,
we knew they were the real deal.
Some rookie mistakes cost them in the tournament,
but this robot could be the future of the sport.
Again, the downside of a humungous vert
is that the gyroscopic forces from the spinning weapon
make it tough to drive,
RIPperoni cancels those forces out
with a flywheel that spins in the opposite direction.
Next-level stuff.
And I'm excited to see what they do in thisSlugfest .
-Taking on the co-rookie of the year from season six. -Mm.
That is Glitch, but when it came to season seven
for Kyle Miller and the rest of his UC Berkeley kids out there,
it was a holy mess.
They didn't win a single fight.
Here, they have a chance for a little redemption.
That's right, they couldn't get anything right.
In its rookie year, the robot didn't have great mobility,
but it could pivot quickly,
and with its atomic bomb of a weapon,
that produced some of the nastiest knockouts
we've ever seen,
in an epic 4-0Slugfest run,
that landed them a spot
in the first Golden Bolt Tournament.
But last season, it couldn't really move at all,
which was embarrassing for this group
of high-performing college kids.
I know they wanna show they can still bang with the top bots,
but they have to be able to move to do it.
[Chris] Ah, look at the drawn-on moustache!
Hey, I couldn't grow facial hair until last season, so, I get it!
-[Kenny chuckles] -[audience chanting] Pizza! Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!
We feel pretty good that we can make it to the end of our bracket.
Our team is ready to go all the way.
We first have to get through Glitch.
Um, which is, they're a very good opponent,
they have a really hard-hitting weapon.
So we're running the pizza wedge,
because we think that if we're gonna take damage,
we're gonna take it from the front.
We have a piece of Tegris armor in the front as well,
that proved really useful
when we went up against Copperhead.
As soon as the light turns green,
we're going to be very cautious,
and we're going to wait for them to expose their back side.
Then, we're gonna charge in for a really big hit.
We're running our configuration
with our best ground game.
We have wedgelets in the front.
Hopefully we're gonna try to go
to the side of their robot, that is lifted.
We've seen their wheels lock up in the past,
so hopefully we can get some shots on the wheels,
or just go directly weapon-on-weapon.
This is really an opportunity to be fresh slate for Glitch.
In World Championship VII,
we had an absolutely devastating season.
And we really wanna take back control
and win a match like we did last year,
and potentially win the whole bracket.
[robotic voice] Robots activate!
[cheering and applause]
[Chris] All right, Kenny! Both of these upstart teams
have tasted the highs and lows of this sport.
Who wins this one and why?
[Kenny] Well, when everything's working on RIPperoni,
it's a world-beater.
When it's not, it's an egg-beater.
I've got them as a large favorite,
but if Glitch has this drive dialed in,
this will be a much closer fight.
The Berkeley bot's weapon has produced so many one-hit KOs,
and its low profile does make it a tough bot
to get a clean shot on.
I'm taking the pizza,
but both these teams have high ceilings
and even lower floors,
so really anything can happen here.
-[robotic voice] Red team ready? -[cheering]
[Chris] Pineapple on a pizza?
That's a personal foul, bro.
[robotic voice] Blue team ready?
[Chris] What does that say?
Pi...pizza eater?
I hope you like pineapples.
[cheering]
[robotic crescendo]
[audience chanting] Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[Chris] Two of the brightest young teams in the sport.
Only one can continue its journey toward the Golden Bolt.
[audience chanting] Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[buzzer sounding]
[Chris] Let the bot battle begin!
Those bots hovering quietly...
[Kenny] Glitch moving very well here, Chris.
-[Chris] Yeah, and both spinners up to full speed-- -[audience yells]
[Chris] Whoa! We nearly had a meeting
between those two weapons of mass destruction!
That would have been tasty.
[Kenny] Oh my goodness, if that happens,
we're gonna see a crazy hit here.
Looks like RIPperoni is trying to test Glitch's mobility.
So far, Kyle Miller's squad doing a good job pivoting!
-Uh-oh! -[Chris] Now Glitch isn't moving!
[Kenny] Oh!
[Chris and Kenny] Whoa!
[Chris] RIPperoni punches Glitch into the corner of the box!
The Berkeley crew's in serious trouble!
Fred Moore looking for a second delivery!
-[Chris] Oh! -[Kenny] Whoa, some top armor from Glitch just shot off!
-[Fred] You want another one? -Wait, wait...
[Chris] Anna Zolnikov telling her team to pull back,
she wants to give Glitch another chance here!
-[Kenny] Moving a little bit here! -[Chris] Little bit!
-Want another one? -[Chris] Uh-oh, Fred Moore's lining up another shot!
-[Chris] Oh! God... -[Kenny] RIPperoni tries to finish the job,
and I think they did with that shot, Chris!
[Chris] Glitch isn't moving!
-Ten! Nine! Eight! -[Chris] And there goes the countdown!
-[Chris] What a difference a year makes! -[referee] Seven! Six!
[Chris] The World Championship VI
-co-rookies of the year, done! -Four! Three!
-[Chris] And RIPperoni! You're moving on! -[referee] Two! One!
-Knockout! -[buzzer sounds]
[cheering and applause]
Okay. All right, I can't re-gyrate the flywheel...
-[audience cheering] -Yeah!
[audience chanting] Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!
-[laughter] -[Anna] It's okay! It's perfect!
All right, all right!
-All right! -[team member roaring]
[Chris] Well, Kenny, uh, things turned quickly for Glitch.
[Kenny] Yeah. They seemed to be moving just fine to start,
but then, my goodness,
it's like deja vu all over again,
the robot just froze,
and you can't make these kinds of mistakes
against a bot as dangerous as RIPperoni.
[Chris] No, you cannot.
Once Glitch was put in the corner,
there was just one thing left
on Frederick Moore's to-do list,
toss it like pizza dough!
Order's up!
[cheering and applause]
-All right... -[Chris] Anna!
-Ah! -Hi!
-Congratulations!
Thank you so much!
That was a great fight!
-Well-- -We did exactly what we wanted to do!
We hit 'em in the back!
[laughter]
You're the first pizza company
that delivers in, like, under a minute!
-[laughter] -So that's...
Thirty seconds or less!
-That a way, that a way! -[Kenny chuckles]
What has impressed you about your robot
most during your rookie season?
Uh, how well it drives.
We put a lot of effort and design
into figuring out the flywheel,
figuring out the gearing of the wheels,
uh, and the fact that it drives so well
for such a massive weapon,
really gives us a leg up.
You know, Anna, uh, Glitch is so low to the ground,
were you guys concerned with that aspect of their robot?
Yeah, we definitely don't have the best fork game out there,
but that's okay! We just avoid the forks!
Congratulations, team RIPperoni!
We'll see you in the semi-finals!
-Thank you so much! -[cheering and applause]
-[Anna] Good match! -[teams talking excitedly]
[cheering and applause]
[Chris] So Anna Zolnikov's squad advances,
next up, they will try to weather the storm
against Monsoon.
And as for Glitch, man,
that is a lot of ugly tape
since their incredible 7-1 rookie run.
But they're still over 500 for their BattleBots career,
let's hope they can find their form
at World Championship VIII!
Up next, Team Omega wheels another one
of their creations into the box.
It's a match-up you simply don't wanna miss,
as the out-of-this-world design Starchild
squares off with Will Bales
and the always-electric HyperShock!
[cheering]
[Chris] Last year in theSlugfest ,
HyperShock put on one of the greatest
performances in BattleBots history,
ripping up four dominant victories,
punching a ticket to the Golden Bolt Tournament
in a style only Will Bales is capable of.
Can the missionary of mayhem do it yet again tonight?
Find out next!
This isBattleBots Champions!
[cheering and applause]
We continue on with more BattleBots Champions, Sin City Slugfest!
And we're gonna finish off tonight's opening round
with a clash of designs.
It's the powerfully athletic HyperShock
squaring off with the intergalactic thwackbot,
Starchild!
And let's start with Kenny's favorite
to win it all tonight,
the squad led by Will Bales!
In last year'sSlugfest ,
Will went on a run for the ages!
Four straight dominant wins in one night,
that really elevated HyperShock
into the conversation of real deal,
Giant Nut contenders.
Last season, that dream came up short.
Or maybe I should say high.
But either way, the team's using tonight to have a little fun!
Will is just gonna be a spectator.
His wife Alex is gonna be at the controls.
She actually won an event,
right here in the BattleBox in the off-season,
winning three fights,
Will's sitting there on the sidelines, he's like,
-you go, girl! -[chuckles]
Yeah, no, I think that, uh,
she's an excellent driver as well.
And you know the old saying,
"the couple that slays killer robots together, stays together."
The event she won was the re:MARS all:STAR
competition here in Vegas,
and in one night, Alex defeated Tombstone,
Hydra, and Blip!
We even saw her coaching Will during WCVII,
but the lights are going to be shining much brighter tonight,
and her skills are going to be tested
immediately by a very unorthodox opponent.
[Chris] Yeah, Starchild, a very, uh, interesting robot.
Again, this is the other machine
fighting under the Team Omega umbrella tonight.
Brandon Zalinsky is the captain,
and of course, in seasons past he brought P1,
that little racecar around.
They didn't get a win during the regular season,
but they have learned an awful lot about their robot.
[Kenny] Yeah, that's right. This is a scaled-up version
of a robot Brandon runs in the three-pound weight class
at tournaments like the NHRL.
It's been effective there. At 250?
That's TBD.
It's got a complex way of delivering energy to an opponent,
and Brandon struggled to line up
a ton of good whacks in its first year.
But with more stick time under his belt,
I'm hoping we get to see this wild design put on a show.
-We are officially on thwack-watch. -[chuckles]
Whatever the heck that is.
Faruq!
[cheering and applause]
[Faruq] In the red square!
From the depths of outer space,
by way of Hudson, New Hampshire!
It's Starchild!
[cheering and applause]
[Chris] And there is Brandon Zalinsky's latest creation!
Remember, the theme behind Starchild
is Ridley Scott's Alienmovie,
Team Omega all about creativity, Kenny!
[Kenny] Yeah, but as we've seen with RIPperoni,
they are serious engineers too,
specifically for Starchild,
they've added an extra 600 RPMs
to their hammer saw weapon for the Slugfest,
so they're expecting the thwacks
to hit way harder.
It's just gonna be all on Brandon to connect.
[cheering and applause]
[Faruq] In the blue square!
From Miami, Florida!
Call this bot a Venti Cold Brew,
'cause he'll run right through you!
It's HyperShock!
[cheering and applause]
[Chris] Here come the fan favorites, HyperShock!
Made it to the Golden Bolt Tournament
after an epic Slugfest run last season,
gave us some of the all-time great
knockouts in the process.
And again, Will's wife Alex, who is from Denmark,
will be driving tonight!
Oh. Maybe that's not official yet.
[all cheer]
[Chris] Yeah! Alex is gonna be doing this!
[Kenny chuckles] That was fixed.
In terms of the robot,
going with the dual-disc weapon,
which will give Alex more margin for error,
but tough task here,
need to wrangle Starchild to land a shot
while being wary of that overhead attack,
and shout-out to Will's mom Connie,
in the Scout uniform!
Her whole Scout troop is actually here to watch this fight.
[cheering and applause]
[audience chanting] HyperShock! HyperShock!
So our first fight is against HyperShock.
Their drive is really strong, their weapon's really strong,
there's no question about that.
But they haven't fought a robot like Starchild before.
So we're kinda banking on our ability
to be unfamiliar, and be different,
hat will kinda carry us along.
The real big thing that we're hoping,
is to get hits in on his top,
disable his weapon, and hopefully,
be able to control the fight that way.
For season seven and, uh, World Championship VII,
I was the driver.
Uh, didn't exactly go according to plan.
So, uh, for the Sin City Slugfestand Golden Bolt,
she's in charge, she's making the shots.
I think the tactic is gonna be to go for the wheels,
pushing them around is gonna be the way to go.
We're going with a wedge configuration,
so we're a bit more stable,
hopefully, we can't flip over then.
That's what we really wanna avoid,
we don't wanna give them that nice, big belly shot.
[audience member] Let's go HyperShock!
[cheering]
[robotic voice] Robots activate!
[cheering intensifies]
[Chris] Well, a lot on the line for both teams
in this do-or-die match-up!
Will Alex Bales be up to the oversized challenge,
and kick off yet another all-time great Slugfestrun?
Or is this the moment that something
clicks for Brandon Zalinksy,
and his meta-breaking bot
starts its robot combat invasion?
There's only one spot left in the second round.
Find out who earns it, next!
On BattleBots Champions!
[cheering and applause]
[Chris] Welcome back to BattleBots Champions,
where we've got HyperShock and Starchild
ready to duke it out for the final spot
in the second round of tonight's Slugfest!
Kenny, tee us up!
What should we look for in this one?
[Kenny] Well, it's all about the drivers.
Again, WIll Bales' wife Alex
is running the show for HyperShock tonight.
Not her first time driving the robot,
but the first time under the big,
bright lights of national TV.
Starchild's Brandon Zalinsky on the other hand,
is still trying to master one of the most complex
weapon systems in this sport.
Either way, should be a fun one!
[audience chanting] Fight! Fight! Fight!
-All right, tell me when. -Yep.
[audience chanting] Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[robotic crescendo]
[audience chanting] Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[buzzer sounding]
[Chris] Let the bot battle begin!
Alex, trying to attack the wheels of Starchild!
-[Kenny] Oh! -[Chris] Oh, wow!
Let's go!
[Chris] That alien head on Starchild just got obliterated,
but Brandon Zalinksy celebrating one of the better
thwacks we've seen him deliver!
[Kenny] Yeah, that was about as clean of a shot
as we've seen from Starchild!
Ooh, great shot! Great shot!
[Kenny] Alex Bales, quickly evening up the scorecard, Chris!
[Chris] HyperShock throws Starchild onto the screws,
but those big ol' spokes on the thwackbot
knocked it back down!
Brandon Zalinksy, trying to line up another shot!
-[audience yells] -[Chris] Alex Bales not making it that easy!
[Kenny] Yeah, Alex is being very pragmatic here,
check it out, she creates space,
locks on her target, and then attacks like a targeted missile!
And Chris, so far,
that has been a very effective strategy.
[Chris] Absolutely!
Starchild already needs a little air in one of those tires!
-[Kenny] Oh! -[Chris] But look at that!
[Chris] HyperShock's weapon no longer spinning!
[Kenny] Yeah, but with Starchild already flopping around
like a fish out of water, you gotta wonder if they're just conserving it!
This is our hammer, right? Get ready on the hammer!
[Chris] This isn't HyperShock's first Slugfest!
They know that keeping parts working
is critical to their success tonight!
But keep your eye on that dual-disc spinner,
let's see if they fire it back up
and look to finish the job!
[Kenny] Taking Starchild for a ride, now!
[Chris] 90 seconds in,
and that thwackbot's becoming one with the floor!
[imitating the Wicked Witch] It's melting! Melting!
[Kenny chuckles]
[Chris] Well, while the clock continues
to tick on Brandon Zalinksy's evening,
HyperShock staying aggressive,
even though their weapon isn't spinning!
I'll tell you what, though, Kenny!
Alex Bales has impressed me so far!
[Kenny] Absolutely, I mean, even here,
pinning a slippery bot like Starchild,
takes a ton of skill.
I know this is her first official BattleBotsfight,
but she looks like a seasoned vet.
[Chris] Approaching the one minute mark and--
-[Chris and Kenny] Oh! -[audience yells]
[Chris] HyperShock's weapon's back on!
[Kenny] Alex Bales might be trying to finish this off,
let's see if she can start her career with a KO!
[Chris] Well, it seems like HyperShock--
-[audience yells] -[Kenny] There it is!
[Chris] That's a nice shot.
[Kenny] Starchild just getting bullied right now.
-[Chris] Wow! -[Kenny] HyperShock really stepping on the gas here.
[Kenny] Starchild's weapon is toast!
[Chris] Closing in on the 30-second mark to go!
Oh, look at those wheels!
Those things are just mangled, dude!
[Kenny] Kids, hide your eyes!
[Chris] Oh! Alex Bales has gotta get off
those kill saw slots,
that's the second shot she's taken from 'em!
-[screeching] -[Chris] Make it a third!
[Kenny] I think that's the only rookie mistake
we've seen her make in this fight, Chris.
She'll learn where those are with more experience,
but great start to her driving career!
[Chris laughing] Under 10 to go!
-[chuckling] Kenny, I cannot get over those wheels! -[audience] Five! Four!
-[Kenny] They've seen better days. -[Chris] Yeah.
-[Chris] It's wheel soup on Starchild! -[buzzer sounds]
[Chris] And this one ends up going the distance!
[Chris laughing]
-Gosh! -[Will] Awesome!
-Awesome. -I owe you so, so much!
[Will] You're doing great. You're doing great. [chuckles]
[Chris] All right, Kenny, the first official fight
for Alex Bales as a driver,
and she dominated.
[Kenny] 100%.
We did see an effective thwack
from Brandon Zalinsky early on.
But after that, it is was the Alex Bales show.
She was methodical, clearly targeting those big, bulky wheels.
And she basically had Starchild immobilized
less than a minute into this fight.
[Chris] HyperShock choosing to throttle down their weapon,
perhaps conserve it for the coming rounds?
[Kenny] Yeah, again, I think they shut it down
to avoid taking any unnecessary damage,
but the important point
is that Alex stayed aggressive during that time.
She pinned Starchild and racked up control points
before getting the weapon going again for the final stretch.
[Chris] Not a whole lot for the judges to think about here.
And by the end of this fight,
Starchild's wheels looked like they just came out of a microwave.
Here's Faruq to make it official.
[audience cheering]
The results from the judges are in!
[cheering]
The winner, by unanimous decision, is...
[scattered cheers]
...HyperShock!
-[Will laughs] -[cheering and applause]
[Chris] Alex Bales, congratulations!
Um, Alex, raise your hand if you're undefeated
-while driving HyperShock. -[laughing]
Yeah. Yeah.
-You just had to go there. -[laughing]
How much fun was being at the controls today?
It was a lot of fun. I'm definitely getting
my sea legs back a little bit.
I did a lot of oversteering.
And I, you know,
I feel like I could have gotten some bigger hits,
but we took the win so that's good.
And it seems like the game plan was taking away their legs.
-You guys were smashing into those wheels. -[laughs]
And it looked like someone had dipped their wheels
in lava at the end of the fight.
-[laughs] -It felt like it.
-[laughs] -I couldn't move. [laughs]
-Congratulations, Alex. -[Alex] Thank you.
[cheering and applause]
Thanks to all the Boy Scouts in here, all the Scouts!
[cheering and applause]
[chanting] HyperShock! HyperShock!
[Chris] So Alex Bales blasts off with an impressive debut,
and sends Starchild packing.
And with that win,
HyperShock is moving on to the next round!
They join the speed demon, Claw Viper.
The British roller, Monsoon,
and the spiciest pizza
on this side of the BattleBox, RIPperoni,
as the final four teams remaining.
And we are getting oh, so close to finding out
who's gonna grab the final spot
in the Golden Bolt Tournament.
Do not go anywhere!
[cheering and applause]
[Chris] We are back on BattleBots Champions, Sin City Slugfest!
We have arrived safely,
or actually, not so safely,
at the semifinals.
And one of these teams is just two wins away
from earning the final coveted spot
in the Golden Bolt Tournament field.
Kicking off round number two,
it'll be a showdown between
a pair of the sport's quickest killers,
HyperShock and Claw Viper!
[cheering and applause]
[Chris] But before they enter the box,
let's hear from Anna Zolnikov of RIPperoni,
who's coming off a first-round victory
over last season's co-rookie of the year, Glitch.
We won our first fight against Glitch.
We did exactly what we were hoping to do.
We waited for them to turn around,
we hit them in the back,
we disabled some components,
and we won via knockout.
The City Slugfest goes really quickly.
We don't have a lot of time
to repair the bot between matches,
and we have a lot of brackets to get through.
So we want to take as little damage as possible,
get in, get a quick knockout, and get out,
just like we did with Glitch.
[Chris] Well, the pizza bot better have
all the toppings ready to go
because Tom Brewster's bringer of rain,
Monsoon, looks hungry,
yum, yum, yum!
We'll see that fight in just a bit.
But now let's get back to our first semi-final matchup
in a fight that should play out like
a Fast & Furiousmovie,
between HyperShock and Claw Viper.
They each won earlier tonight by judges' decision.
HyperShock of course made the big move.
Will Bales still the team captain.
But his bride, Alex,
nice win in her first time driving here atBattleBots.
[Kenny] Yeah, absolutely, and she's gonna find out what speed is all about.
HyperShock is fast, but Claw Viper is, like, warp-speed level quickness.
While Alex had a huge target to hit in that first fight,
this is going to be more like trying to swat
a 250-pound mosquito.
And although HyperShock dominated Claw Viper
in a qualifying match last season.
That might have been a result of load management.
In an effort to save his last set of good tires
for the Round of 32,
Kevin Milczewski actually used
an older, less grippy set of tires for that fight.
So with some fresh wheels on tonight,
I'm expecting the rematch to be a back-and-forth brawl.
[Chris] And at the start of the night, Kenny,
you said HyperShock was your favorite
to make it out of this gauntlet alive.
You sticking with that pick?
[Kenny] Yeah, Alex looked cool,
calm, and collected against Starchild,
but the level of competition
is only going to get tougher.
I'm keeping my chips where they are,
but if I were to hedge my bet,
I think I'd sprinkle a little on Claw Viper.
That speed is just something else.
Whoever wins this fight
has a great shot at winning theSlugfest.
[cheering and applause]
[Will] Whoo! Yeah!
[cheering and applause]
Driving against Claw Viper is gonna be a real challenge
because they're just so fast.
It's gonna be a challenge of pointing the weapon,
not letting them get around to our side and grab us
because then they have all the control.
So in order to beat Claw Viper,
we're running with a fork configuration
so we can get underneath them
and really get those nice, big hits.
The way to do it is be meticulous
be fast,
and really think about what I'm doing,
not drive all over the place,
like I did against Starchild.
[cheering]
The difference maker for Claw Viper versus HyperShock
is how fast we can turn.
We both go about the same top speed,
but we can maneuver much better,
so it's up to us to control where the fight
happens inside the BattleBox.
It's going to be a driving match.
It's about who can position the robot in the right spot
to apply their primary weapon,
and take control of the fight from there.
It's going to be a bang-bang fight.
We want to get around the side
and actually control the fight.
Everybody says they can.
Claw Viper's fast enough to actually do it.
[audience cheering]
[robotic voice] Robots activate!
[cheering intensifies]
[Chris] Okay, Kenny, two of the fastest teams
in the sport of robot combat.
What's the key to wining this one?
[Kenny] Well, there's obviously pressure on Alex Bales
in only her second ever official match.
But I actually think Kevin Milczewski
is in the tougher spot here.
If Claw Viper wins this fight,
it's most likely going to be a judges' decision.
And because HyperShock only needs to land a few good shots
to take the damage category,
that means Kevin Milczewski has to play with enough fire
to win control and aggression,
but not enough to get burnt.
Tough line to tow.
[audience chanting] Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[robotic crescendo]
[audience chanting] Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[Chris] Claw Viper.
HyperShock.
Two robot-combat thoroughbreds in a race to the final.
[audience chanting] Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[buzzer sounding]
[Chris] Let the bot battle begin!
[Chris laughing]
-[Kenny] Wow! -[Chris] That was ridiculous! [chuckles]
-[Kenny] Oh! -[Chris] Oh! Big hit by HyperShock. Well done.
[Kenny] These are two of the fastest robots
-in the game -[Chris] Whoa...
[Kenny] Uh-oh, I think Claw Viper
lost the tip of its grappler arm there.
[Chris] We'll see if that affects its ability to suplex.
It sure as hell isn't affecting that speed advantage.
[Kenny] Alex doing a great job so far though.
Getting caught on the flank there!
-[Chris] Uh-oh. Oh, that's painful! -[Kenny] Oh!
[Chris] The old rib shot for HyperShock.
Kevin Milczewski can pin them for up to 10 seconds.
[Kenny] Claw Viper scoring some solid
control points early on here.
-[Kenny and Chris] Oh! -[Kenny] Nice shot there by HyperShock!
[Chris] Excellent!
A couple of 'em!
-[Kenny] Great job by Alex, trying to stay square. -[Chris] Oh.
-[Chris] Nice catch by Claw Viper. -[Kenny] Oh!
[Chris] Here we go!
[Kenny] Looks like the grappler arm is fine!
[Chris] Taking HyperShock onto the Upper Deck!
-[Kenny] Oh! -[Chris] Oh! And a follow-up shot!
That right-front tire is shot, Kenny!
[Kenny] Claw Viper doing an amazing job.
Oh, is HyperShock stuck?
[Chris] Oh, that is just brutal, no!
Look at that ability to get off the Upper Deck!
-[Kenny] Excellent driving there by Alex! -[Chris] Whoa!
-[Chris] Unreal! -[Kenny] Uh-oh.
[Chris] Claw Viper punches back,
but now Alex Bales is trying to engineer a comeback
in just her second fight ever!
[Kenny] 'Cause Claw Viper is so fast,
as they spin around to the side of HyperShock,
they're forcing HyperShock to drift
and lift up just like that!
[Chris] That is brutal!
Now we've seen Claw Viper
get one good bite and carry,
can they get a second?
They'll go nose-to-nose there.
[Kenny] And it looks like Alex is shifting
to more of a turret-style strategy here
to deal with Claw Viper's quickness.
-[Chris] Speed kills! -[Kenny] Oh!
[Chris] That's very true to BattleBots,
but that's a nice shot by HyperShock.
-[Kenny] HyperShock needs a big shot like that! -[Chris] Oh!
Can Claw Viper withstand those?
[Chris] The two bots locking horns now
like a couple of fiends fighting for dominance in the wild!
Claw Viper loses a claw!
[Kenny] Oh, this is fantastic!
[Chris and Kenny yell]
-[Kenny] That's a good knockout shot! -[Chris] Oh!
-[Kenny] And another one! -[Chris] Great follow up by HyperShock!
[Chris] Under a minute to go,
so the kill saws are active on top of everything else.
I'm not dead yet, guys! Let's keep going!
[Chris] Kevin Milczewski letting us know he's not done!
But what a second half this has been
for Alex Bales and HyperShock!
Come on, Alex, let's have some fun!
[Chris] Under 45 to go!
A berth in the final tonight on the line.
[Kenny] And, Chris, right now this is still anyone's fight.
[Chris] Just two wins away
from entering the Golden Bolt Tournament.
Oh, another flip by HyperShock!
[Kenny] Oh, another!
Great shot. Keep going.
There hits right here at the end of this fight, Chris,
are critical to HyperShock's success.
-Oh, and another one! -[Chris] That is huge.
[Chris] Under 20!
[Kenny] Oh!
[Chris] Wow! Hypershock taking Claw Viper into the rails.
[Kenny] Can they knock them out
in the corner there? They're trying!
-Oh! -[Chris] Oh! Under 10 seconds to go!
-[Kenny] Whoa! -[Chris] Howling shot by HyperShock!
-This beast is an animal! -[Kenny laughing]
-[buzzer sounds] -[referee] We're done! We're done!
-[Kenny] Wow! -[referee] Put it down right there.
[Chris] Thunderous applause cascading...
-[laughing] -...down for both of these bot builders!
-Will and Alex on one side... -[laughing excitedly]
[Chris] ...Kevin Milczewski on another!
-We're good? -[Chris] A fantastic fight!
[cheering and applause]
[Will] Amazing control.
Absolutely amazing control, like, we...
[Chris] So, now, this one ends up in the hands of the judges.
Boy, do our judges have a lot to sift through, Kenny.
[Kenny] Oh, my goodness,
this fight had chapters, Chris!
Claw Viper lost the tip of its grappler arm early on.
But Kevin Milczewski dominated the first minute regardless.
Was able to pin HyperShock,
then take Alex Bales coast to coast
and onto the Upper Deck.
[Chris] Unreal.
Did some massive damage to that right-front wheel.
Somehow, Alex Bales was able,
after getting stuck on the Upper Deck,
to work back down to ground floor.
And that's when she really started to take over, Kenny.
[Kenny] Yeah, the adjustment Alex made
halfway through the match
was a thing of beauty.
She stopped trying to chase Claw Viper,
and instead, let it come to her, and boom!
She sent Claw Viper airborne repeatedly down the stretch.
[Chris] There is no doubt HyperShock made a furious push to the finish.
Where do you think the judges land, Kenny?
[Kenny] Well, the control and aggression categories are up for debate,
but I think Alex doing her own version
of Berserker Barrage mode
in the final 40 seconds
was enough to put HyperShock over the top.
[Chris] Someone is finals-bound!
Here is Faruq with the decision.
[audience cheering]
The results from the judges are in!
[cheering]
The winner, by unanimous decision, is...
Yeah!
-...HyperShock! -[all cheering]
[Will laughing]
[cheering and applause]
Alex Bales, congratulations!
-Did you know you had that in you? -No.
-I didn't. -[laughing]
He... He apparently knew, but I had no idea. [chuckles]
How much did your confidence grow during that match,
once you started to see Claw Viper fly in the air?
I would love to say it did,
but Claw Viper's just so scary and so fast,
-so I'm still like, "Oh, did we get it, did we not? -[chuckles]
-He got some good grabs in, I don't know." [chuckles] -[crowd laughing]
[Chris] Hey, Will?
-Hi. -How proud are you?
Are you kidding? [laughing]
-She's 2-0, she's doing better than I am. -[all laughing]
[audience cheering]
[Chris] Alex, congratulations. An amazing job out there.
-We'll see you in a few minutes. -[cheering and applause]
Amazing driving. You kicked my ass.
[laughing]
[cheering and applause]
[Chris] What a great story with Alex Bales, unreal.
I mean, that seemed like a seasoned vet behind the sticks there.
Unbelievable. First... First of all,
-two top-notch bots going at it. -[Chris] Mm-hmm.
[Kenny] Uh, amazing driving by both teams.
I think Alex is the better driver.
I mean, forget Will. Will's out for me!
-Will? -[laughing]
-Goodbye. -[laughing]
[Chris] Just kidding! Will, we love you.
But it is the missus taking HyperShock to the final,
where she will face the winner
of our other second-round matchup
which is coming your way!
Will RIPperoni chop its opponent
into eight different pieces?
Or will Monsoon rain on their pizza party?
They'll battle each other while I battle alliteration
in our second Sin City Slugfest semi-final of the night,
here on BattleBots Champions, Sin City Slugfest!
I did it!
[cheering and applause]
All right, it is time right now for our second semi-final.
HyperShock and Alex Bales,
obviously closely watching this one
between RIPperoni and Monsoon.
Bot these bots won by knockouts
earlier tonight to arrive here.
RIPperoni, a fascinating robot.
Uh, we talked about its design countless times.
It has impressed everyone back in the pits.
[Kenny] Absolutely. After World Championship VII,
the team took home the Grant Imahara Award
for the best new design.
In terms of itsSlugfest matchup tonight though,
this will be a little like looking in the mirror.
These bots sport two of the biggest vertical spinners
in all of robot combat.
And for all the praise we give RIPperoni for its agility,
Monsoon is actually very nimble as well,
thanks to its invert-ability.
That said, the teams employ
two distinctly different approaches.
While Monsoon uses more of a point-and-shoot strategy,
RIPperoni wants to use its maneuverability to make you miss,
and then land a shot to your back or sides.
When it comes to weapons,
both are capable of earth-shaking shots.
RIPperoni's full-cylinder deep dish
has more kinetic energy,
but Monsoon's brawler bar
has a little bit of a reach advantage.
Really, two top teams, I'm excited!
[cheering and applause]
[audience chanting] Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!
[Chris] All right, one of these squads will meet HyperShock
in the Slugfestfinal.
Let's hear from the captains.
Our next fight is going to be Monsoon,
which is actually a very similar robot to RIPperoni.
It's got a big weapon,
two trapezoidal sidepods,
and two exposed wheels.
So it's a little bit like fighting ourselves.
We think this fight is gonna end
in a lot of damage,
and we're not sure who's gonna get it.
Uh, it's gonna be whoever gets the first hit
on one of the big side pods.
Um, if they get our batteries, then we're toast.
But if we get them first, then we would win.
This is definitely gonna be a knockout fight.
I think if we're both doing three minutes,
we're both limping with one wheel,
can't hit each other,
but I think somebody's getting roof-shotted.
This fight is very much a driving battle,
and it's crucial
that I don't lift off the ground
and let them get under me, and deliver the hits
because they have a very, very fearsome weapon.
So to get the win here,
I need to pick my shots very carefully
and only move in when
I've got a very clear shot.
Their design is a little bit weird,
and a bit funky, it's kind of asymmetric.
So if I can target maybe the bigger side,
that's probably the easy side to go for.
But, um, either way,
it's gonna be a very difficult fight, this.
[audience cheering]
[robotic voice] Robots activate!
[cheering intensifies]
[Chris] All right, Kenny, what should we keep an eye on here?
[Kenny] Well, you just heard Tom Brewster say
he wants to attack that big wheel on RIPperoni.
We've seen how volatile the pizza bot can be
when it gets thrown off balance.
That's what Monsoon is hoping for here.
As for RIPperoni driver Fred Moore,
he's just got to be patient
and avoid wild weapon-to-weapon exchanges.
Those shots could play right into Monsoon's hands
and send RIPperoni careening out of control.
[robotic crescendo]
[cheering intensifies]
[audience chanting] Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
-You got this. -Mm-hmm.
[buzzer sounding]
[Chris] Let the bot battle begin!
Uh-oh, RIPperoni a little slow on the draw!
-[Kenny] Oh! -[Chris] That is true weapon-to-weapon.
[Kenny] Oh, Monsoon's landing some great shots
at the start of this fight here.
Keep on 'em, keep on 'em!
[Kenny] RIPperoni trying to battle back.
They're giving up their side though, Chris.
[Chris] RIPperoni resets,
and Monsoon's coming in hot, but can't deliver.
[Kenny] Tom Brewster's going after that big wheel.
-[Chris and Kenny] Oh! -[Chris] Another massive shot.
What do you think RIPperoni's trying to do?
-Oh, no! -[Kenny] Monsoon's on fire!
[Chris] They have dominated the first 30 seconds of this fight.
Will they be able to hang on
for another two-plus minutes while cooking?
[Kenny] And RIPperoni's having its own drive issues.
The front wedge has a huge gash in it.
-Looking a little lost. -[Chris] Yep.
[Chris] Having a hard time!
So with both gigantic weapons
continuing to spin at full speed,
the question now becomes,
which team's gonna be able to use theirs first?
-Is that chicken on your pizza? Come on! -Come on then!
[Chris] Monsoon's Tim Rackley pleading with RIPperoni to engage,
and Fred Moore says, "You got it, pal!"
But he misses!
Here's Monsoon! They went too!
[Kenny] All it'll take is one shot to end this fight, Chris!
Next hit wins!
[Chris] Well, both bots are dancing
so who's it gonna be?
-[Kenny] Uh-oh. Oh! -[Chris] Oh, RIPperoni lands a shot!
Can they finish him off?
Oh, no. Oh, no!
-Yeah! -And that might be it for Monsoon!
It ends up on its dome, and it's done!
The Brits are speechless for once!
-RIPperoni looks like they're gonna outlast their opponent. -[Referee] Ten!
-Nine! Eight! Seven! -[Chris] The countdown has started!
-[Chris] We will see RIPperoni in the final... -Six! Five! Four!
-...against HyperShock after a killer KO! -[referee] Three! Two! One!
Knockout!
Whoo! Good job, man. Good job, man.
[cheering and applause]
Whoo!
Mate, thanks, mate.
-Oh! -[laughs]
Nice fight, guys, nice fight.
-Nice, job, yeah. -[chuckles] Excellent!
[Chris] Well, Kenny, for the first 30 seconds, Monsoon dominated.
[Kenny] Absolutely, came out swinging,
sent RIPperoni head over heels,
and took a big bite
out of the pizza's front wedge.
Looked like they knocked out RIPperoni's right-side drive too.
[Chris] But before Tom Brewster could capitalize,
his bot went up in flames
which turned this barfight
into a showdown of wounded warriors.
[Kenny] Yeah, and the big takeaway for me here
is RIPperoni's durability.
They were able to outlast Monsoon
after getting beat up early,
and credit to driver Fred Moore
for being able to thread the needle
at the end and land the finishing blows.
[cheering and applause]
[Chris] Anna!
I... At least I think that's Anna.
Congratulations!
You are off to the finals!
-Whoo! -[audience cheering]
-We survived the rainy day. -[laughing]
Yeah, it looked like it was a little bit of a struggle bunny
for both robots.
What happened out there?
Uh, yeah, Monsoon is a super-tough robot
and they have another really big weapon,
so we really, really careful
not to run right into it, even though we wanted to.
-[Chris chuckles] -We really wanted to get the big hit,
but we knew that we also could take a lot of damage,
so there was a lot of planning and waiting for our opening,
and I'm really glad that we did that
because once we got it, we tipped him over,
and... and we survived.
[audience cheering]
Give us a little preview of the finals.
It's HyperShock, but it is not Will Bales driving,
it is Alex Bales,
who's been doing a killer job so far.
HyperShock is just as fearsome an opponent no matter who's driving.
We're gonna have to be really careful,
and also wait for our opening,
and turn down the pizza time
and take it real casual, real smooth.
[audience cheering]
All right. Well, we will see you in the final.
Please don't change your outfit for the final,
you better show up like that, that is killer.
-Good job, Anna! -Thank you.
[cheering and applause]
-Great fight! Great fight. -Great fight, great fight.
[Anna] Fantastic. Good one, guys.
-Good one, guys! -[Tom] Great!
[Chris] So, RIPperoni named Rookie of the Year
last season during season seven,
and they certainly have not disappointed.
[Kenny] Yeah, absolutely.
Fifth career win, and fifth career KO.
When RIPperoni is fully functional
like it's been tonight,
it is tough to beat.
"Carpe diem, cheese the day."
-I mean, "Seize the day." -[chuckling]
Ever since you've had kids,
-your dad jokes have just plummeted. -I know, I know.
They are now horrible.
[Chris] All right. So the 'za continues to awe,
which means our final Slugfest fight is all set,
and what a match-up it is.
We've got one of the most technologically-advanced
and impressive young teams
taking on one of the most destructive machines
in robot combat.
-It is RIPperoni and HyperShock... -[cheering intensifies]
...in a fight for the final spot
in the Golden Bolt Tournament!
That's when we return,
on BattleBots Champions!
[cheering and applause]
We are back on BattleBots Champions, Sin City Slugfest,
and we have an extraordinary final set for you tonight.
It is last season's top rookie RIPperoni
taking on one of the most electric teams
in robot combat, HyperShock,
now being driven by captain Will Bales' wife Alex!
It's a match-up between a couple of fan favorites.
But only one can advance
to next week's Golden Bolt Tournament.
[Chris] Oh, wow!
[Kenny] HyperShock really stepping on the gas here.
[Kenny and Chris] Oh!
[Kenny] Nice shot there by HyperShock!
[Alex] Going in for the RIPperoni match,
I'm feeling pretty pumped
and I'm feeling pretty confident.
Claw Viper was a really tough fight.
It was a lot of driving,
so I feel like I have more of my maneuverability
in check for this match.
I think me driving can be an advantage
because people don't know my driving style,
they don't know what I'm gonna do.
And quite frankly, I'm a new driver,
so I don't always know what I'm gonna do.
[Anna] We've really learned what configurations work,
and how to drive the robot.
We've learned that we don't have to be as aggressive
as we started out in our matches.
We can take our time a little bit more,
and plan our attacks,
line up our shots, and go in for the kill.
[Alexi] One of the most scary things about RIPperoni
is that they live in chaos.
[Kenny] Oh! No mercy from RIPperoni!
[Alex] And we do too.
[Chris] A one-in-a-million shot!
[Anna] I would love to go for a knockout tonight.
The last two fights have been JDs.
A knockout, it's just such a big victory,
and it's such a sure way to win.
And it's really proving yourself.
You can't appeal a knockout.
-[laughing] -You can try.
[Anna] The key to beating HyperShock
is gonna be to wait for them to make a driving mistake.
That's how we won our past two fights,
we waited for someone to oversteer,
and then we went in for the kill,
and we plan to do the same thing with HyperShock.
I think we're gonna cut up HyperShock
into triangular slices.
[audience cheering]
[Chris] Both these teams have been on a tear tonight,
and what a national TV driving debut
for Will Bales' wife Alex.
HyperShock is firing on all cylinders, Kenny.
[Kenny] Yeah, Alex has been a real asset to the team,
certainly a different style than Will,
but just as effective.
[Chris] But boy, oh, boy, the stakes are high
going into the last fight of theSlugfest series.
Whichever team wins
will earn the final spot in the Tournament of Champions
where one of the crown jewels
of robot combat is on the line.
Let's find out who is off to the Golden Bolt Tournament.
Faruq!
[cheering]
Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready?
[cheering intensifies]
It's time for the main event!
[cheering intensifies]
[siren wailing]
[Faruq] In the red square,
this bot's one of the fastest,
her top speed, nobody's passed it.
She puts Speed Racer in his place,
and put Dracula in a casket.
She'll flatten the Batmobile.
It's Fury Road when she starts wrecking.
She's got Drive like Ryan Gosling.
And you'll be Gone in 60 Seconds.
It's HyperShock!
[cheering and applause]
[Chris] Alex Bales has wins over Starchild and Claw Viper
in her first two official BattleBotsfights.
Kenny, they haven't taken much damage yet,
but this is the first bot the team has faced
that has one-hit KO power.
And all right, check it out,
they're bringing back the wave!
[Kenny chuckles] Yeah, they're also bringing their front wedge back.
Used it against Starchild,
and then switched it to the forks
for Claw Viper in Round 2.
This is about comfort.
Alex knows forks can help against a vert,
but she is more comfortable driving in this configuration.
[cheering and applause]
[Faruq] In the blue square,
she stuffs coffins like crusts,
sends Papa John crying to his mama.
Trust me, you don't want a pizza piece of this drama.
She'll kick your Dominos over,
playing with her is a mistake.
She'll let your mamas borrow a handkerchief
when she's crying at your wake.
Even the Noid avoids RIPperoni!
[cheering and applause]
[Chris] RIPperoni!
Driver Fred Moore pushing out the body,
-he has been great tonight! -[audience chanting] Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!
[Chris] Oh, and look at this!
P1, the old robot of Team Omega member,
Brandon Zalinsky, making an appearance!
That's a nice little Easter egg!
[Chris] But this one's all about the 'za, Kenny!
[Kenny] Yeah, what a win this would be for them,
could turn them from rookie sensation
to real-deal contender.
And this is the exact type of fight
RIPperoni was built for.
Most giant verts have trouble keeping up
with the agility of a bot like HyperShock.
But for the pizza, and its gyro-cancelling flywheel,
that won't be a problem.
[cheering and applause]
[Chris] Okay, Kenny, HyperShock's been a favorite
to win this Slugfest all night.
With a ticket to the Golden Bolt Tournament on the line,
what do you think decides this fight?
[Kenny] To me, it's unforced errors,
which when it comes to HyperShock,
actually favors Alex's driving over Will's.
See Will's performance against Riptide
in last season's tournament.
Love you Will, but against a giant vert like RIPperoni,
getting cute and exposing the sides of your bot
can be instant death.
I think Alex has done a great job
staying square to her opponents.
If she can continue doing that here,
I think HyperShock makes their second straight appearance
in the Golden Bolt Tournament.
[robotic voice] Robots activate!
[cheering intensifies]
[Chris] All right, well, it is win or go home.
Can RIPperoni keep one of the all-time great
rookie campaigns alive?
Or will HyperShock continue to own
-this mid-season classic? -Yep.
-Yeah, it is what it is. -[Chris] The answer when we return!
I love BattleBots Champions!
[cheering and applause]
[Chris] As they prepare to go head to head
in tonight'sSlugfest final,
let's go under the hood
with HyperShock and RIPperoni.
We have three matches, back to back to back.
Uh, they're all brutal.
Uh, I'm sure RIPperoni's scrambling right now.
There are a lot of veteran builders,
but it's a rookie robot,
so there's all sorts of new problems
that they're having to solve on the fly.
Fortunately, we've had two seasons now to... to work out,
so when we have an issue, we know exactly what to do.
We have all the spare parts.
In terms of preparedness, I think we're,
we're sitting much better than RIPperoni right now.
The robot's pretty beat up.
It's taken a lot of damage.
We definitely don't have as many spare parts
as other teams do,
so we have to do a lot more
of hammering things back into place,
welding patches over things,
taking two motors apart and Franken-motoring them,
so we can use that.
Our frame is definitely on its last legs.
It has several welded patches,
um, in places that are somewhat critical.
We just don't really have any other options right now
with the fights being so close together.
[cheering and applause]
[Chris] Welcome back to BattleBots Champions,
where HyperShock and RIPperoni are about to throw down
for the final spot in the Golden Bolt Tournament!
So far, the lights haven't been too bright
for Will Bales' wife Alex,
who is 2-0 in her BattleBotsdriving debut.
But now, she's about to square off
with one of the most technologically advanced bots in the sport.
A hot and ready pizza that is trying to keep
one of the greatest rookie years in BattleBots history alive!
Let's do this!.
-[robotic crescendo] -[cheering intensifies]
[audience chanting] Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[chanting continues]
[buzzer sounding]
[Chris] Let the bot battle begin!
RIPperoni, already moving way better
than they did in the last fight,
and the knives are out for this one!
-[Kenny] HyperShock trying to get around to the side! -[Chris] Oh!
[Kenny] They're able to flip 'em!
[Chris] One, two, three hits on RIPperoni,
courtesy of HyperShock!
[Kenny] But uh-oh, look at this!
HyperShock's front-right wheel is jammed!
And RIPperoni's whole left side looks down!
[Chris] Oh, man!
We need more, we need more.
-[Kenny] Oh! -[Chris] We got a lot of crab-walking,
a lot of sauntering, but they are about to hit!
Something's gonna happen, I'm telling you!
[Kenny] Kinda dancing by themselves right now in the corner.
-[Chris and Kenny yell] -[audience yelling]
-[Chris] What did I tell you, Kenny? It was coming! -[Kenny] Yep!
All right, so you got one wheel.
So that's where you're at.
[Kenny] Both bots still struggling to move.
Will we see a simultaneous incapacitation?
[Chris] Oh my gosh!
[Kenny] One of HyperShock's chains is on the floor,
but both teams doing their best to inch toward each other!
[Chris] Well, of course, with the new rules
instituted before season seven,
this does count as some mobility!
Obviously, RIPperoni has considerably more than HyperShock.
That small wheel's been shut down.
-[audience] Oh! -[Chris and Kenny] Oh! Oh!
-[Kenny] Going around in circles! -[Chris] Oh! Whoa!
[Will] You're doing great. You're doing great.
[Chris] Oh, the anticipation is killing me!
[Kenny] RIPperoni's at least able to get some momentum going,
Alex Bales has to be careful, here!
I gotta, I gotta move forward, though!
[Chris] Boy, I don't know. HyperShock is, like--
-[Kenny] Oh! -[Chris] There you go!
[Kenny] If they attack another wheel they can get a knockout, Chris!
[Chris] No question!
[Kenny] It wouldn't be pretty, but it'd be effective!
[Chris] Closing in on the 1:15 mark to go!
Neither teams showing any signs of giving up,
here in their third fight of the night!
The crowd can feel the anticipation!
-[Kenny] Oh! -[Chris] Oh, here it comes!
[Kenny] HyperShock offering up that side!
Back up...
-[Chris laughing] -[Kenny] RIPperoni with a couple of chip shots here!
But in a fight like this,
those little jabs could be the difference
between winning and losing!
[Chris] Under a minute to go, so the kill saws are active!
Can somebody land one critical shot
to end this match?
It's like we've got two warriors so bruised and bloody
that it's taking every ounce of energy
just to crawl back toward each other!
Break their weapon! Full speed, full speed, full speed!
[Kenny] Chris, RIPperoni landed two big shots
to HyperShock's one to start this fight,
I think the pressure's on HyperShock to do something here,
but they're down to just one working wheel now!
[Chris] Yeah, that is it!
And of course, RIPperoni only has one working wheel,
but of course, they only have two.
-[beeping] -[Chris] Final 10 seconds!
One last hit could win it!
But it looks like both teams will drag
their exhausted bot bodies across the finish line instead!
-[buzzer sounds] -We're done! We're done.
All right, put it on the zone...
[Chris] Not a ton of shots.
But very interesting scorecard coming your way!
-[Alex exhales] -You did great!
You did great.
[Chris] Well, Kenny, I don't think that
was the final fight we were expecting,
but it was still a ton of fun.
[Kenny] Yeah, and dissecting it in slow-mo,
you can see RIPperoni jammed up
HyperShock's front-right wheel
in that very first exchange,
but Alex Bales answered back
and was able to shut down
the pizza bot's left side drive.
Then with both machines struggling to move,
Fred Moore landed the shot of the match.
[Chris] HyperShock lost a chain in that hit,
but not much action to speak of after that.
How would you score this one, Kenny?
[Kenny] Tough one.
RIPperoni remained slightly more mobile
as the fight went on,
so that'll help them in the control category,
they also landed those two little chip shots,
which in fights like this, take on more importance.
But overall, great job by both drivers
to make it the full three minutes.
[Chris] All right! Well, let's find out
who's moving on to the Golden Bolt Tournament!
Faruq!
[audience cheering]
The results from the judges are in!
[cheering intensifies]
The winner, by unanimous decision, is...
[scattered cheers]
-...RIPperoni! -[all cheering]
[cheering and applause]
[team chanting] Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!
[audience chanting] Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!
-[audience chanting] RIP-per-oni! RIP-pero-oni! -[clapping in sync]
-Well, I-- -Anna, I hate to break up your pizza party,
but congratulations!
You are off to the Golden Bolt Tournament of Champions!
[all cheering]
That's crazy! That's not at all
how we thought that fight would go!
I can't believe that RIPperoni is a control bot now!
[all laugh]
How much panic was in your heart
when you, uh, went face to face
and had those two huge shots?
Oh my goodness. Every time we crab-walked
a little towards them, we were, like, "Oh, no!
They're gonna spin up the weapon!
They're gonna hit something of ours!"
And every time, we just missed it!
And, and we just kept going like that, and going like that,
till we got the wheels, which was exactly our plan,
so, we delivered.
-The pizza. -[audience cheering]
[Chris] You know, Anna, when we saw you before last season,
which was your rookie season, season seven,
you said, "We just wanna prove that our technology works."
You went on an amazing run to the Round of 32,
here, you win three fights in one evening
to take on a bunch of champions
and other legendary robots.
How do you explain this success?
Um, we have an absolutely fantastic team.
We spent a lot of time designing this robot
to be easy to work on,
which made it a little bit easier to take apart between fights,
even though we were ripping it down to the bones
every single time,
we had the support of our sister team, Starchild.
Drive coaching of Brandon Zalinksy,
and of course, Fred on the sticks.
[Chris] You guys are a blast to watch,
we can't wait to see you in that group of eight!
-Thank you so much! -Congratulations!
And thank you for a great fight, HyperShock!
-[Alex laughs] Good fight! -[Anna] Good fight!
[Will] Congratulations! Great job!
[Chris] Alex, you had such a great run there on the sticks tonight,
uh, what was it that went wrong in your eyes?
So right from the get-go,
our drive felt a little weird.
I felt it in the test box,
but I figured, you know, it's fine.
Driving to the square, I felt it too.
We were slow, and a little unresponsive.
Don't know what it is, but, you know.
It's my fault. I'll fix it.
-[Chris laughs] -[Kenny] Yeah, I was gonna say!
It sounds like it was something Will did.
-[Will] Yeah. -Probably.
I'm not allowed to drive anymore,
so I'm supposed to work on things,
and I forgot the memo, it's my fault, I'm sorry.
Well, it's our anniversary tomorrow,
so I think he just really wants to sleep in.
-[Chris and Kenny] Oh! -[laughter]
Yes!
[Chris] Very cool. Love hearing that.
Well, amazing run as always by team HyperShock,
thanks for the thrills, we appreciate it!
-Thanks, guys! -Thank you!
[cheering and applause]
[Chris] Well, hats off to Alex Bales
for doing a great job in her official
BattleBotsdriving debut tonight.
But congrats to RIPperoni,
for keeping one of the great rookie seasons alive!
It wasn't the prettiest final we've ever seen,
-but you know what? -[Kenny chuckles]
Kudos to RIPperoni out there.
Yeah, hey, sometimes the fight game's like that, you know,
there was just one shot that changed the whole fight,
uh, from there, both robots were really pretty messed up.
At the end, I thought RIPperoni was kinda
advancing a little bit more,
and landing more shots, so I thought that was the difference.
-An amazing run, really, from RIPperoni. -Yeah.
[Chris] So now that the exclusive Golden Bolt Tournament is all set,
let's take a sneak peek at the bracket
for next week's clash of the titans.
Reigning Golden Bolt champions End Game
are the only Giant Nut winners
in the top half of the bracket.
In the first round, the Kiwis will see the wild man,
Gary Gin and Free Shipping,
who wonSlugfest number three!
Jackpot versus Whiplash is the only first round
match-up between Slugfest winners,
and in the south side of the bracket,
our most recent Giant Nut champ, SawBlaze,
will square off the with the bad to the bone
Evan Arias and his bot SHREDDIT BRO!
Who shocked the world by takingSlugfest number one!
World Championship VI winners, Tantrum,
coming into this tournament hungry after a tough season,
which is good and bad,
because they'll see tonight's winner, RIPperoni, first!
But let me ask you, Kenny,
who do you think takes home
that big, beautiful Golden Bolt next week?
[Kenny] Well, I think End Game has the easiest
path to the Bolt,
given they're the only champion
in the top half of the bracket.
Whiplash is a former Giant Nut runner-up, though,
and with Matt Vasquez on the sticks,
they are never out of a fight.
But tough to pick against SawBlaze,
after the run we saw Jamison Go put together
at World Championship VII.
That robot matches up well with everyone.
Also, check out the possibilities
for some insane rematches here.
End Game and Tantrum have given us
two all-time classics in the past,
or can you imagine a RIPperoni/End Game
rematch in the final?
And hey, chaos has definedBattleBots Champions this year,
any one of these teams could win it all next week, Chris.
Even a Jackpot or a SHREDDIT BRO!
[Chris] Yeah, never say never!
You know Evan Arias doesn't!
That'll do it for us, for now.
For Faruq, and Kenny Florian,
I am Chris Rose.
When we see you next time here,
it is the tournament of champions,
somebody will be hoisting the Golden Bolt!
We'll catch you next time, everybody!
[cheering and applause]