-[robotic voice] robots activate. -[audience cheering]
[cheering]
welcome to battlebots,
where the world's most ruthless,
relentless and murderous robots
collide in the one place where violence is always the answer.
I'm chris rose and joining me,
a man who's committed
more than a few acts of assault,
although no battery.
Ufc icon, analyst,
and the strong, not-so-silent type,
that'd be kenny florian.
Chris, what can I say?
Guilty as charged.
Well, you're an absolute saint compared to the monsters around here.
While we've seen our usual amount of
massive flames and flying bot shrapnel,
it does feel like change is in the air.
Some of the fight game's biggest names
had their worlds and their robots turned upside down
by the young guns.
The legendary tombstone dethroned by end game.
Last year's runner up, witch doctor,
suffered from some air sickness,
courtesy of second year bot, hydra.
And infamous spinner, gigabyte,
literally having his head chopped off
by a sophomore bot in copperhead.
I keep asking kenny,
"is it a fluke or is this the future?"
I'm starting to look over my shoulder wondering, uh, if I'm next.
Well, tonight will tell.
Just look at the diabolical fight card we got locked and loaded.
Place your bets.
We'll see newcomer jackpot off to 1-0 start.
Sin city's terrifying diamond-shaped vertical spinner
has the rest of the field
wishing this bot had never left las vegas.
They're up against colossal fossil, ghost raptor.
[audience cheering]
[kenny] ghost raptor captain, chuck pitzer, will be seeking vengeance
after a catastrophic loss in his first match.
[chris] the ballistic missile launcher, hydra,
with an incredible win in its first bout,
takes on the steely-eyed spinner, huge.
They're hoping to roll off with a win after an 0-1 start.
A win would be huge if they want to keep their title dreams alive.
[chris] and in our main event, the legendary witch doctor looks to bounce back
after dropping its opening fight of the season.
But they'll have to go through the devil from the deep to do it.
As they step into the box with kraken.
[kenny] with only three regular season fights this year,
desperation will be in the air for this one.
Team kraken is also looking to avoid going 0-2
after suffering defeat in a controversial decision in their first match.
The feisty floridian, matt spurk,
tells us that kraken will be ready to shock the world
in their very first main event.
[chris] but kicking off the night, a battle of the beasts,
claw viper and black dragon
both 1-0 looking to keep a perfect record.
[kenny] what a perfect way to kick the night off.
This one's gonna get nasty.
All right, kenny, enough talk.
Faruq, let's light this candle.
[audience cheering]
[faruq] ladies and gentlemen, are you ready?
It's robot fighting time.
[all cheering]
in the blue square...
The only thing I hate worse than denim on denim
is a snake full of fangs and poisonous venom.
Little known fact: I'm afraid of snakes.
They make me quiver and give me the shakes,
so do me a favor and stay the hell over there,
or else faruq is gonna need a change of underwear.
It's claw viper.
[audience cheering]
[chris] kevin milczewski, he is a software engineer from seattle,
a ko of hijinx in his battlebots debut.
He loves his robot, kenny.
[kenny] claw viper can reach a speed of 20 miles an hour in around half a second.
Making it one of the quickest bots we've ever seen.
With that kind of striking speed,
it all falls on kevin's driving ability to outmaneuver
the wily black dragon.
[faruq] in the red square,
it's the brazilian brawler whose last name's not gracie.
Here to choke bots out till their vision gets hazy,
they're back this season to deliver more fiery knockouts
and make their competition wish they had arms
so they can tap out. The south american assassin,
black dragon!
[audience cheering]
[chris] this bot won a controversial split decision
over kraken in its first matchup this season.
They bring a ton of energy as a team and with this robot.
[kenny] but they didn't get to show it off much
spending most of their last match in the jaws of kraken.
That left a bad taste in their mouth.
So they're looking for a convincing knockout to prove they are a real 2-0 team.
[cheering]
our strategy is to be the more mobile robot.
Uh, like I said, we're not gonna be able to outlast their weapon.
Their weapon's not gonna stop.
I'm gonna have to get on him, stay on him.
You know, get around the side, pick him up.
Once I got him, they're mine.
I gotta grab him one time. Throw him out of the arena. So that's my plan.
2-0 will be awesome because... Clears the way for the top 32.
We want to show the selection committee
that black dragon is capable of giving great knockouts,
great firepower, and weapon capability.
We are confident going in this match.
So, vai brasil!
And we'll see in the arena. We'll see in the battlebots.
[robotic voice] robots activate.
-[cheering] -[dramatic music playing]
[chris] claw viper showing off its lightning speed
and after seeing the hits, it withstood against hijinx,
black dragon better be wearing its lucky underwear.
[chris laughing]
[robotic voice] blue team, ready?
[all cheering]
-[robotic voice] red team, ready? -Let's go.
[man] you can do it!
[audience chanting] fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight! Fight!
-[siren blaring] -[audience chanting] fight! Fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin!
Major box rush right there by claw viper, but it whiffed.
[all] oh!
Black dragon with a big pop to start the match.
Oh.
[kenny] got underneath claw viper, not a good sign.
[chris] claw viper trying to grapple and push.
And here's black dragon trying to get that flame thrower in the mix.
[kenny] gabriel teles all over claw viper.
[chris] oh, not that double vertical spinner.
Ah, taking some nice little chomps out of claw viper.
[metal screeching]
[kenny] some tremendous driving here from the brazilians.
It's eating up that flank there, chris.
-[all groan] -now you've arrived in the battlebox.
[chris] oh, yeah. Fire! Fire!
I don't think that fire is supposed to be there, is it?
[kenny] I think they may have taken some damage to that flame thrower, chris.
But that smoke isn't supposed to be there in claw viper.
[chris] now, claw viper's got some serious problems.
Uh-oh.
Flame thrower or not, black dragon's in the driver's seat
-as claw viper's being counted out now. - [hammer thudding]
-five, four, three... -[kenny] cooked snake, anyone?
[chris] oh, but claw viper at the last second finds new life
-but here comes...Whoa! - [all gasping]
black dragon says, "not so fast, you slithering snake." wow!
[kenny] I'm not really into snake meat, are you, chris?
[chris] not at all. I'll pass on that delicacy.
-This time I don't think... -Eight, seven, six...
...They're going to be able to recover from this countdown.
-...Five, four, three, two... -Black dragon with a knockout.
-One! - [chris] wow.
[all cheering]
[chris] kenny, the first five seconds of this fight
may have determined the outcome for claw viper.
[kenny] that's right. Claw viper tried to use its speed
to box rush, black dragon, but it whiffed.
That gave black dragon the time it needed to spin up and deliver this monster shot.
[chris] claw viper never quite looked right after that.
And the brazilians capitalized by bullying it around the battlebox.
[kenny] yeah, give black dragon some credit.
They knew how important this win was.
It sends them to 2-0 and puts them in great position to make the tournament.
[chris] and perhaps sending a little statement to the selection committee
there in the final seconds as well.
Claw viper showing signs of life.
And instead of hanging back,
black dragon says, "uh-uh, you stay in your room."
[all cheering]
[man] go, black dragon!
[chris] gabriel, over here.
Yeah. Turn around. Yeah.
Hi, chris. Hi, kenny.
-Yeah, you got a nice big smile on your face. -Yeah.
Last time you had to sweat it out with a judges' decision.
A split decision.
How does a knockout feel?
Uh, I think that knockout is the only way to guarantee our win.
So it came to this fight to prove
that we have ability to knock out any opponent.
-And, we did. -[cheering]
gabriel, you know, you only have so many matches in order to impress
the selection committee and make it to the top 32.
Do you think now that you're 2-0 including this impressive victory
that you solidified your spot in front of the selection committee?
I think that the selection committee would have a great bot
in the top 32 because this team is working so hard.
Whole day, we're, like sweating a lot
to get this bot really done here in the arena.
Gabriel teles,
congratulations to you and team black dragon as you improve to 2-0.
-Yeah! -They are the guys.
Vai brasil!
[chris] so, black dragon set out to make a statement,
and I think they did just that.
All right, coming up, veteran chuck pitzer looks to recapture former glory
in his return to the battlebox.
But a crew of young guns from las vegas has other ideas.
It's ghost raptor versus jackpot when we return.
All right, we are back on battlebots.
And up next, we've got a rookie eyeing a 2-0 start
versus a grizzled vet wondering if he should have stayed retired.
It is jackpot versus ghost raptor.
And let's start with jackpot.
Captained by jeff waters, and he is a bot builder on a budget.
He threw this thing together in a month for $4,000
and in its first fight against subzero, it came up money.
[kenny] it won. Not the flashiest of wins, but a win nevertheless.
And even though we didn't get to see much
from their primary weapon in that first fight,
we keep hearing from the pits that jackpot is a seriously heavy hitter,
off to an impressive 1-0 start.
The bot on a budget plan is working pretty well.
Taking on chuck pitzer and ghost raptor,
which is looking for that first w of the year.
Ghost raptor got hammered in a ko loss to shatter!
In chuck's return to action after a four year hiatus.
I don't know. Does he seem a little shaken to you right now or no?
I think so. You know, he was talking about the anxiety that he felt,
you know, competing in battlebots again.
He has a lot of robot-building experience,
but being out of the game for a long time can set you back.
I mean, a lot of these bot builders are advancing all the time
and learning so much.
So I think he's got a tough fight ahead of him.
Let's see how it plays out.
Faruq, tell them the deal.
[all cheering]
in the blue square from las vegas, nevada,
you're headed for heartbreak, you can't deal with jackpot.
[chris] jackpot led by jeff waters, a 26-year-old plumber
hoping to spread the gospel of robot fighting to las vegas.
And you can see that bot, heavily vegas themed.
Its main weapon:
You've got those diamond-shaped discs in the middle.
[kenny] and jeff says his motivation this season is to prove to the world
that you don't need to spend tens of thousands of dollars to build a winning robot.
[cheering]
in the red square from san jose, california,
the scare-dactyl, it's ghost raptor!
[audience cheering]
[chris] there's ghost raptor, captained by battlebots' veteran chuck pitzer,
who is bringing up the rear.
Chuck's an engineer by trade.
He got into robotics in college with his brother
who also competed during the early days of battlebots.
[kenny] yeah, chuck's got a ton of pride.
He really needs this win tonight to keep his tournament hopes alive.
[all cheering]
strategy going to this is
we're gonna change up everything we did against subzero.
We're gonna end up raising the ride height with larger wheels.
So we don't scrape the floor like before.
We got rid of our forks.
We don't want them to have anything to catch.
We are adding a bunch of uhnw top armor for ghost raptor.
He does have that articulated spinner.
We're worried that it might get into our top armor.
We're just gonna go weapon to weapon with them right off the get-go.
A specific strategy that you would use when you get a new robot
is to try to test its limits.
Basically, a lot of times what happens is
they maybe haven't had enough time to test.
Some things in there that maybe can't take
the kind of shocks that they see in the arena.
Um, and that's one thing we can take advantage of.
[crowd cheering]
[robotic voice] robots, activate.
[chris] and we turn our attention to jackpot,
let's bring in our bot whisperer, pete.
So $4,000 on this bot.
-What does that really buy you when you're shopping? - [pete] barely anything.
I mean, many of these teams are spending that in batteries alone.
No speed controller, no motors.
Just batteries can cost you four grand.
It's amazing they were able to get a robot that works this well under this budget.
[all chanting] fight! Fight!
[siren blaring]
[chanting] fight! Fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin!
Ghost raptor's trying to get up to speed, but takes a shot.
-[crashes] -[all] oh!
Oh! There goes the primary weapon
of ghost raptor, that's not good.
Ten seconds into this fight, and guess what?
Ghost raptor has lost its head.
It might be time to put the kids to bed early.
Uh-oh, so now what does chuck pitzer do?
-[kenny] oh, man. Well... - [chris] it's been split, too.
[kenny] yeah, he's almost cut in half--
-[all gasping] -[chris] what a shot by jackpot. Oh!
That didn't go how I planned.
[chris] oh, somehow ghost raptor is still moving, but just barely.
[kenny] oh, man, that thing looks like the terminator dying.
And jackpot might go in for the final blow. Will he?
-[chris] is it lining up? -Oh, gosh. No, no, no.
[referee] ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five...
[chris] ghost raptor's being counted out. No need to do any more damage.
-...Four, three two, one... - [chris] wow, this one is over.
Ghost raptor is knocked out. Winner is jackpot.
Whoa! Yeah!
[all cheering]
wow.
[all laughing]
top 32, here we go.
[chris] kenny, thanks to jackpot, those slots were paying out.
[kenny] ghost raptor made a critical error at the start of this fight.
Turning its back side to the rookie.
I mean, right there, that weapon-to-weapon hit.
That was the end for ghost raptor.
Just so much energy in that weapon to jackpot.
Here's the blow that splits ghost raptor. Look at that.
[chris] pete, are you surprised
by the amount of energy dished out by jackpot?
[pete] totally. I was not expecting this much damage.
I mean, I was thinking that chuck may lose the weapon again,
but I was not ready for the splayed robot in half.
[chris chuckles] spins a little bit faster than a roulette table, huh, pete?
[pete] it's amazing when you bet four grand versus 40 grand and look what happens.
Jeff waters, over here, man, I don't want to break up the team hug or anything,
but you guys have a second victory to celebrate, and this one,
you took total control of, right?
-Yeah. Yeah. -Yeah.
We-- after that subzero fight, we tore it all the way down.
We had so many gremlins, we were scraping the floor.
We learned so much in that fight.
We took that and applied it in here.
And we rolled the dice and we got a win.
Jeff, did you expect your bot to do that much damage?
I was really hoping it was going to do that damage.
We have such a high kinetic energy level in that robot.
It's definitely going to be one of the biggest hitters of the event.
It was very impressive, man.
You are now 2-0 here at battlebots.
Did you expect that?
Uh, not at all.
Especially after that last fight went.
We were... We were so worried about how the bot was gonna do.
We basically tore down the whole robot,
built a whole new robot overnight
on the same timeline we built that originally,
and it worked out for us.
You might have a second job as a financial consultant for the rest of the teams now.
[all laughing]
because you're picking the right parts for the right price, man.
Yeah, we're definitely probably one of the cheapest robots in the field,
and it's crazy that we're still able to do that
especially to a legend like ghost raptor.
He's been doing this for so long.
To get a win like this is crazy.
Finally, you're 2-0.
Uh, what do you think you have said and shown
to the selection committee in terms of making it to the top 32?
I think if we keep improving like this,
compared to how we did last fight, this fight,
they should watch out for our third fight.
Attaway. I like a little trash talk.
Go celebrate with the rest of the team.
Jeff waters jr., congratulations.
Thank you.
-[speaking indistinctly] -[laughter]
[chris] so, jackpot is officially 2-0.
We witnessed another case of the young guns taking out the old guard.
Coming up next, grabot makes its battlebots debut
as it faces veteran flipper subzero.
Speaking of flippers, arguably the most dangerous flipper in the game,
hydra is set to face huge later tonight.
And leave it to hydra captain jake ewert to stir up a little controversy.
He's looking to stay undefeated by any means necessary.
Take a look.
[engine revving]
-[crashing] -[chris] whoa!
[chris] whoa! Holy smokes!
We told everybody coming in to see that you better drop test your bot at 16 ft.
Otherwise you're not gonna be ready for us.
-[man] hydra! -[audience cheering]
yes!
[chris] huge cannot free itself.
First fight of the season didn't go according to plan.
...Two, one! That's a knockout!
It's put us on our back foot and now we have to respond to that.
[jake] huge is a super tough opponent.
As a flipper bot, as high as huge is,
it's gonna be really tough for a flipper
to get underneath him and do any flipping, really.
So we have to come up with a different game plan this time.
[jonathan] last year with bronco, we really learned how to
get flipped and come back and still win a fight.
[commentator] huge lands an uppercut
to the side of bronco.
We've never had to deal with a flipper like that before.
We never had to deal with getting flipped before.
[commentators] oh!
I think for whyachi,
the bronco fight was a reason to be concerned about huge.
-Yeah! -Yeah!
[jake] going up against a bot like huge,
you have to do something specifically for him.
So you have to make something just special just for him.
Hopefully, this is checkmate.
We have a big bar to go across
and we're gonna act like a wall...
If I just corral his wheels,
his blade can never touch me with a flat bar across it.
...And we're just gonna push him in to the corner and hold him for three minutes.
I've heard rumors from people down their end of the pit.
They've got a big attachment for us.
Up to date,
never has an attachment worked to beat huge.
[engine whirring]
but there's a first time for everything,
so we have to treat it like it's a fatal threat, 'cause it is.
[jake] I mean if this works,
it's going to be checkmate for huge and he'll be done.
[laughs] I'm the builder, man. I told you.
[commentator] it's huge!
[jonathan] after losing to mammoth in our first fight,
our backs are against the wall.
Pressure's on, and we need to deliver.
[chris] welcome back to battlebots.
Up next, first year captain, logan davis,
will try and flip the script on subzero's season
as he takes on the rookie's grabot.
Let's get right into the action.
Faruq, sing your song.
In the blue square,
from irving, texas, the fridge of sacrilege,
subzero!
[audience cheering]
[chris] there he is! Logan davis ready to deliver,
although he didn't exactly deliver in his first fight, kenny.
[kenny] he did not.
After dominating most of their match against jackpot,
subzero had a paralyzing malfunction that cost him a w.
[chris] one of the cool things about this team,
logan's dad, brady, is the one that will pilot spitfire...
Yeah!
...That's the flame-throwing drone.
His dad was, of course, the one that got him into the sport
when logan was just 13.
Great to have them here together 20 years later.
In the red square,
from plymouth, wisconsin, someone's about to get got
by grabot!
[audience cheering]
[chris] and here he is!
Ben davidson making his battlebots debut,
and there's nothing quite like your first fight, is there, kenny?
[kenny] truly a milestone in any sport, chris.
It's always so much fun meeting battlebots' newcomers
and ben is coming with something we've never seen before.
A unique kind of grappler
that's going to use those hands and try and win the control game.
Maybe lift some robots?
Should be interesting to watch.
[chris] pete, you heard kenny tell us
those hands on the back of ben's bot
are actually meant to literally grab onto another bot,
so what's the scoop here?
[pete] well, guys, he was telling me that those arms
and the way that that system works,
it's a single mechanism that lifts the arms,
rotates the arms and also closes those clamps.
That's gonna be interesting to see how it works if it can get it to go,
'cause complexity like that can be really difficult in the battlebox.
[brian] all right, do we have hammers?
Yes, we've got hammers.
Did you check 'em? Okay.
[robotic voice] robots, activate.
[audience cheering]
[brian] I'm this side in the far corner.
-This side, far corner. -Yeah.
[dramatic music plays]
[audience chanting] fight, fight, fight, fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin!
Grabot trying to get straight... Oh, no!
[kenny] well the flipper's working, chris, right now.
[chris] yes, it is.
Oh, it's going after grabot in a hurry.
Yeah, easy there!
[kenny] subzero doing a little breakdancing.
[chris] uh-oh!
Oh, trying to get the big bot out of the arena!
Grabot has gotta get going.
Can it drive inverted at all?
[kenny] grabot doesn't have a self-rider,
but it can drive inverted, yes!
[chris] lining up.
[kenny] oh!
[chris] s ubzero using the rookie as a punching bag.
[brian] yeah! Hit 'em, hit 'em!
[kenny] logan davis, looking to make a statement here.
[chris] oh! Grabot collecting frequent flyer miles.
Brian, come on!
[chris] he's gonna be a platinum member before this one's done.
[kenny chuckles]
[chris] yeah, now it's taking some shots
from the pulverizer on top of it.
Unbelievable!
Oh!
[kenny] looks like subzero's
taking out all its frustration on grabot.
[chris] oh!
Put an end to this madness!
[kenny] subzero's now just wanting to show off.
[high-pitched voice] stop, stop!
[referee] ten, nine...
[chris] and the ref has seen enough!
After technical issues in its first fight,
subzero answers the bell tonight with a dominant performance.
-[referee] ...Two, one! That's a knockout! -[bell buzzes]
-yeah! Yeah! -Whoo!
Whoo! Good show!
-I thought you guys had problems! [laughs] -[chris] wow!
Yeah! All right!
-All right, man! Yeah! -That's something!
Whoo!
[chris] kenny, it looks like subzero's starting to find its stride
getting under grabot right off the bat.
[kenny] absolutely. Subzero went cobra kai
and took no mercy on the newbie,
able to get underneath grabot repeatedly,
logan was finally able to show off his infamous flipper
and that flip right there is what really did grabot in.
The impact of all 250 pounds of bot smashing
into the box floor, clearly taking its toll.
[chris] a nd let that be a lesson learned.
It's much more difficult for your bot to grab anything
while it's spending the whole match in flight.
[audience cheering]
[chris] logan davis.
Logan davis, I assume that's the way
subzero is supposed to work.
Yes, yes.
After years...
After years, we needed one of those.
Oh, my god.
How does that feel? I mean, what a performance, man.
Grabot, they are a brand new team, a brand new robot.
I've been there.
Fourteen years ago, son of whyachi bashed our batteries in,
I was 14 years old
and, uh, you know, it was a tough time for me
but, you know, grabot, they're pitted next to us,
we're gonna help them get it back together
and get ready for their next fight.
Um, and, you know, I'm just...
I'm just so thankful that I have such a wonderful community,
and, uh, and great team,
and, uh, a win! A win!
[chris] hey, in 20 seconds,
what does this mean to do this with your dad?
It means everything to do this with my dad.
Like I said, we've been doing this so long, 20 years,
and, uh,
you know, to still be doing this that long,
uh, you know, I think it's a very special thing
between a father and a son.
-I love you. -I love you, too.
-[kenny] aw. -Logan, congratulations. Go enjoy the victory.
You guys are now 1-1 on the season.
All right, thank you.
Whoo!
[chris] so big congrats to logan davis
on his first win as team captain.
Subzero moves to 1-1.
Up next, get ready for hydra-gate.
In a matchup for the ages,
jake ewert looks to challenge the rule books
to score a victory against huge.
Can the midwestern madman tame the beast,
or will it prove to be a huge mistake?
Find out when battlebots fight night continues.
All right, we are back on battlebots
three up and three down on tonight's explosive fight card.
And, boy, do we have something exciting here in the fourth spot
as hydra takes on huge.
Let's see what all the fuss is about
we take a look at hydra.
The last time we saw hydra,
it was throwing witch doctor, like, 20 feet in the air.
But that's in the rear view mirror
as they look up at a very different opponent in huge.
We know jake's got something up his sleeve.
Kenny florian, tell us what time it is.
[kenny] well, it's time to get a ruler
because this thing is, and pun intended, chris, huge.
It's an attachment meant to corral the giant
and prevent it from doing any damage to hydra.
My understanding is that jake has described it
-as a cow-catcher style front for huge... -So like this?
...Which is probably like that if that could use your arms.
-Yeah. -Exactly.
[chris] so speaking of huge,
0-1 on the wrong end of a knockout against mammoth.
It got thrown out of the ring.
Now he's going up against a very different opponent in hydra,
and kenny, last season, bronco tried to outsmart huge
with an attachment of their own,
which didn't end well for that flipper.
So jonathan has got to feel confident here.
[kenny] chris, he's absolutely confident.
Everyone thinks they have a game plan
when they draw huge as an opponent.
So jonathan is no stranger to outlandish schemes
to solve his bot,
and in fight that could see him drop to 0-2,
look out because jonathan schultz knows how to adapt.
Always. All right, well, let's see
if he can handle the pressure against hydra.
Faruq, take it away.
[audience cheering]
ladies and gentlemen, are you ready?
Yeah!
It's robot fighting time!
In the blue square, this bot comes from wisconsin,
the land of cheese and dairy.
If you're lactose intolerant, this might be kind of scary.
It'll turn you into swiss 'cause its flipper doesn't miss.
Make you crumble like ricotta,
it's one big botta.
It's hydra!
[audience cheering]
[chris] all right, let's see... Oh, gosh!
That's a cowcatcher, kenny,
[kenny chuckles] oh, my! The thing is massive.
[chris] jake ewert knows he's going, let's say,
the unconventional route here against huge.
Will he even be able to flip with that,
what do we call it, a doohickey?
[kenny] you know, I'm not even sure
he's even planning to use the flipper.
And jake knows his strategy here
may actually cost him the win if he can't dish out any damage.
But when you combine "cunning" with the last name "ewert,"
you know you're in for a spectacle.
And the red square from south windsor, connecticut,
it has angry eyes
for the same reason that big bar flies.
It helps with division.
Here to put you in the icu,
it's huge!
[audience cheering]
[kenny] we'll see what it does.
[chris] jonathan schultz says, "we want to 'embrace the chaos."
-[kenny chuckles] - [chris] you think they're ready, kenny?
[kenny] well, we've gotten used to it,
but we have to remember that huge is a unique bot.
It's been breaking opponents
since it broke the mold in 2018.
So if anyone is up to the challenge,
it's jonathan schultz.
[booing]
[chris] there's a good look at the new configuration of hydra,
which, of course, is legal, given the whole bot
still weighs under 250 pounds.
Now let's get the bot whisperer's take.
Pete, is this the right call by jake ewert?
I am having reservations that it is.
Uh, to me,
I have a feeling this is going to end up
much more looking like chomp's arms did back when they fought huge,
which is gonna be a giant pretzel.
[chris] yeah, absolutely.
And with that cowcatcher or whatever he's calling it,
I think it also allows for huge
because he's gonna be spinning his weapon in an upwards fashion,
could actually flip hydra.
[pete] totally.
I mean, he may even be able to get a wheel contact
on any one of those edges,
which will just lift hydra right into the weapon.
[robotic voice] robots, activate.
[chris] battlebots is a game of adjustments.
Has hydra made the right chess move?
We'll find out next.
Might be three minutes of chaos, jonathan.
You ready for this?
[jonathan] ready as I'll ever be.
[chris] welcome back to battlebots.
It is time to unleash the madness.
Hydra, huge,
ready for battle.
[robotic voice] blue team, ready?
I'm ready.
[audience cheering]
[robotic voice] red team, ready?
[audience cheering]
[audience chanting] fight, fight, fight, fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin!
And here comes that cowcatcher,
and it's caught huge.
What does it do from there?
[kenny] that's the big question.
I mean, it can isolate huge,
it can kind of box him in a little bit,
but what kind of damage can it do to huge?
I'm not sure it's gonna do anything.
[chris] pete, when the judges are looking at this,
what is considered the primary weapon on hydra tonight?
[pete] I mean, hydra's flippers
are supposed to be the primary weapon,
but this looks like it's gonna
be just a pushing wedge match for them,
and I don't think that's gonna score well.
[chris] and pushing is what hydra's doing so far.
Huge doing what it can to try and attack.
But jake ewert using that giant attachment
exactly as he told us he would.
Just kind of playing "keep away" right now.
There you see huge backing up, trying to make a run at hydra.
Jake ewert receives him at the perfect angle
and shuts huge down.
[kenny] yeah, when you see it in action, chris,
jake is doing a really nice job driving.
He's kind of flipping them over a little bit
with that cowcatcher.
If he doesn't keep hydra at exactly the right angle,
huge could catch one of those arms and rip it off.
Hydra's agility, jake's driving paying off right now.
[chris] yeah, I mean, really, that's the key.
See, that bar, at some point,
has gotta whack away one of those arms
so he can cut the distance.
All right, there you go. There's the first sparks.
[kenny] and if you're scoring at home, that shot from huge
is probably a love tap in another fight.
But in a match like this,
that could prove significant, chris.
[chris] whoa!
But now, hydra pushes huge into the pulverizer
that scores a shot with that 100-pound hammer.
[kenny] wow!
[jake] there it is. There's endgame right there, buddy.
[chris] and with that shot,
hydra may have scored a few points.
It's got huge pinned now.
You need to release. Back up.
I'm not touching him.
-He can back up back up. If he wants. -[jonathan] I'd back up.
-Back up! -[don] back up!
I don't need to move anymore.
[chris] well, you hear jake ewert saying, "I'm not actually touching him."
he can move if he wants.
- [referee] back up. - [jake] I'm not holding him.
Jake, back up. I'm telling you to back up. That's a warning.
Back up.
All right, I backed up. There you go.
[chris] wow, okay, jake, you're talking trash to the referee
saying, "hey, listen, I'm backing up.
I'm giving him some space to move.
I don't have fully let him out of the corner."
[kenny] it's like a big brother with this finger in your face going,
"I'm not touching him. I'm not touching him."
[chris] so hydra has received the referee's warning,
but here he is corralling huge in the corner once again.
That's a ten-second allowable pin
before jake ewert and hydra have to release huge out into the wild.
[kenny] I think jake ewert is doing the math and saying,
"I landed that shot with the pulverizer.
Now I'm just gonna run out the clock
and I don't care what you think about it."
[chris] and jonathan schultz, you can see the frustration in his eyes.
And I'm not talking about the ones on the bot.
Oh! And another shot to the top of huge from the pulverizer.
[kenny] this strategy has really paid off for hydra,
and he's doing a great job of really isolating huge
and identifying a big weakness.
[chris] final few seconds.
-This one's gonna go to the judges' scorecard. - [bell buzzes]
hey, jonathan, I think it worked perfectly, huh, buddy?
[chris] all right. The match will be scored
using an 11-point system broken up into three categories.
Five points for damage,
and three apiece for aggression and control.
Jason bardis, lisa winter and derek young are your judges.
And before we go any further,
let's bring in our bot whisperer.
All right, pete, what did you think of the strategy overall?
I mean, wow.
I mean, it totally worked, obviously.
But is that the math you want to show to the judges?
Like, this is all you have,
was you added sort of a cage to hold your opponent in?
That showed no weapon, so was it aggressive enough?
I don't know. I mean, yes, he totally got control.
But, you know, was there any damage?
They did get one hammer hit on the back of huge.
But I'm thinking that maybe huge's one little hit with those sparks
might be enough to call it.
[chris] uh, kenny, the strategy by hydra worked, I suppose.
[kenny] yeah, he was kind of like a border collie,
just kind of herding sheep over here.
Dude's trying to get him over there in the box.
Get over here. Come on. Come over here. It's time to go home.
Let's go. You've had enough, huge.
[chris] and how frustrating must it have been for jonathan schultz and huge,
because there wasn't anything he could do.
He tried to cut the distance throughout the entire match.
[kenny] well, I'll tell you what, jake ewert and hydra,
uh, it wasn't exciting,
um, but they did their homework.
They really did.
Uh, you know, they got the right range on that cowcatcher,
they kept huge on the outside,
they really didn't take any damage at all,
but how the judges are gonna see this
and how they're gonna judge this one?
I have no idea.
[chris] well, let's throw it to faruq who has the official decision.
[audience cheering]
the results from the judges are in.
The winner by unanimous decision is...
Hydra!
[audience cheering]
[jonathan speaking]
[imperceptible]
[audience booing]
jake ewert, we were questioning the strategy going in.
Are you satisfied with the way it ended?
Yeah, we're just getting the win. We don't wanna take damage.
I mean, battlebots is all about strategy.
And if I don't use my flipper and that's how I win,
I mean, that's what we're gonna have to do.
So what do you say to the people at home
who are super excited
that you have become the premier flipper bot
here at battlebots
and say, "hey, we want to see if you could launch huge
"up into the ceiling."
yeah, I mean, we've seen bronco last season do that, try to do that.
I mean, he's so gangly and he's such a unique design
that it's tough to ever get a flip on him, even if my flipper did go high enough.
So I mean, we just played the control game, we kind of worked it,
and I mean, at least I didn't give him an edge that he could hit me.
Were you a little concerned
with how the judges were going to call this one?
Um, I mean, they didn't do any damage,
and I had the hammer hits and I had all the control,
so I figured it was gonna be pretty easy one way.
All right, team hydra, an unorthodox win, to say the least, but a win.
You guys are 2-0. Job well done.
Thanks guys.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] jonathan schultz, I could see it in your eyes.
This must have been the most frustrating match
you have ever experienced.
[jonathan] I'm here to fight robots, not bike racks.
And whenever he's ready to have a real fight with his actual robot,
we'll be here, batteries charged, ready for it.
We'll win it like we're supposed to.
Are you upset with jake ewert and his design?
I don't judge him in the least.
He's got a robot that can't deal with huge normally.
He wanted to keep his robot safe,
and that's what he had to do to do it.
I 120% disagreed with the judges' decision.
He never fired his weapon once.
He did no damage to us. All he did was sit there.
So again, happy to have a rematch anytime.
So, jonathan, are you upset
because that's not really the spirit of battlebots in your mind?
That's correct.
They were supposed to fight, they didn't fight.
Okay, so if I'm playing devil's advocate,
do you think he identified a vulnerability in huge in any way?
Absolutely. No. Again, all credit, it worked perfectly,
but he didn't do anything with it.
-Right. -And that's what I have a problem with.
Well, so now big picture here.
How do you rally your troops?
Such big time aspirations at the beginning of this season,
yet you sit at 0-2. Where do you go from here?
We go win our next fight, whatever it is, we just need to win it.
Okay, jonathan schultz and huge.
We appreciate the time. Go rally.
Thank you. Will do.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] kenny, in a sport where adaptation is the name of the game,
huge now has some serious work to do.
[kenny] that's right. You know, huge has been the bot
other builders have been forced to adapt to the last few seasons,
and no matter what you think of jake ewert's strategy here,
he just exposed a weakness in huge
and now it's jonathan schultz's turn to adapt.
So hydra at this point 2-0.
We will see them certainly in the round of 32.
Huge winless, who knows.
[chris] all right, up next it's one for the ages.
I'm sorry. I meant aegis, one for the aegis.
Yeah, the newcomer takes the fight to fusion, next.
Welcome back to battlebots.
We are at the midpoint of another action packed fight card.
We just saw jake ewert take down huge
in the decision that the fans will be debating for quite some time.
Next up, it's aegis versus fusion,
whose captain is, believe it or not,
another member of the ewert family.
This time it's reese ewert.
He's the youngest of those guys.
He's still looking for win number one with his bot fusion.
He admitted," I'm feeling pressure from my family. I need to get this done."
he got knocked out by madcatter first time around.
He's got to start picking up the pieces tonight.
[kenny] yeah, you know, you can argue one way
to kind of not feel any pressure
and just getting that loss over and done with.
And that way, he could just kind of focus on just driving the bot.
You could definitely sense there was a lot on his shoulders.
But now that he's experienced that,
hopefully, he's calmed down.
In the meantime, it's a brand new experience for team aegis.
They are captained by chris sparzo from salt lake city.
He's got a little bit of a lifter there.
It's a cool looking bot.
We really just don't know what to expect.
And sometimes that's fun for us.
[kenny] definitely. But not so fun for the bot builders,
because at the end of the day, you don't know what your bot's gonna do
until you go out there and fight.
Okay, let's see what happens.
He wanted to take on a bot like hydra.
Instead, he's gonna get jake ewert's brother, reese.
Faruq, my man, take it away.
[crowd cheering]
in the blue square from dorchester, wisconsin,
it's the green bay smacker.
It's fusion!
[audience cheering]
[chris] all right, well, it'll be interesting to see how this bot rebounds.
Remember, it's the first of its kind in battlebots history,
utilizing both a horizontal and vertical spinner at the same time.
What do you want to see out of this team in their second fight in the season?
[kenny] it seems like they had some drive issues,
so they've got to really rectify that.
Both weapons were working, though, so that was a good sign.
In the red square, from salt lake city, utah,
the ute of ill repute, aegis.
[chris] first heavy weight tournament in combat robotics for this bot
and look at this thing.
Okay, it's...It's bigger than I was anticipating.
[kenny] it's interesting that the other bot from the ewert clan is a flipper,
so they might have some experience
in dealing with bots like this.
[chris] it'll be interesting, you know, for a lot of rookies,
they try to get mentally prepared
for getting inside the battlebox, and then they stand next to it.
All of a sudden, the nerves start kicking in, kenny.
[kenny] well, that's for sure,
I mean, driving is gonna be very important here against fusion.
We'll see what they got.
Strategy is just to be more aggressive than the last fight.
Some of the mistakes I made in the last fight were chasing him into the wall,
and just with my weapons, that's not a very good idea.
Uh, we replaced all the speed controllers,
all four of them that run the weapons in the bot.
We're hoping that they're not gonna burn out this time.
We put all of our heaviest armor on since they're a spinner.
So we're gonna put a lot of it on there,
more than we probably need, since it's our first match,
and it's against a really good team, and a really fast spinner,
that's just what we'll do.
We'll just try to slow it down and then flip 'em.
Hopefully, they break again.
[robotic voice] robots, activate.
[chris] and as we get our first good look at aegis,
let's bring in our bot whisperer, peter.
So, pete, what are we looking at here?
Well, I mean, the amazing thing is they've got
this full kevlar armor that they put around this lifter.
And I know they've been having
some serious problems in the pits,
so hopefully they can get all that dialed in
and get a couple of damn good flips out on fusion.
Fusion also had a lot of damage from that fire to clean up.
They worked their butts off in the back,
and it's looking like it's gonna be ready for a spin.
[crowd cheering]
[techno music playing]
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] two robots looking to get their first battlebots victory.
[audience] fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin!
[kenny] uh-oh. [chris] oh, boy.
Fusion having some trouble just firing up at all.
I'm getting stuck on everything here.
[chris] not sure what's going on.
Oh, he's having problem. Let him come to you.
[chris] and now, fusion's trying to fire up.
Okay, now fusion is working.
You can hear it humming.
Oh! It's undercutting aegis and taking a big chunk out of it, too.
[kenny] tell you what, chris. That kevlar is very expensive stuff,
and that's all over the battlebox right now.
[crowd gasping]
aegis is not moving!
[chris] now there's a ton of it all over the battlebox.
Anyone have a vacuum?
[referee] ten, nine, eight, seven, six...
[chris] the countdown has started.
[kenny] oh, man.
[referee] five, four, three, two, one.
Aegis is knocked out. Winner, fusion.
[audience cheering]
yeah!
[chris] remind me not to buy anything kevlar in the near future.
A first victory in the air for fusion.
Cheer up. Don't make me kiss you.
[chris] the minute we heard the hum of the fusion weapons going...
-[kenny] we knew it was over. -[chris] yeah, once it got to speed,
it was absolutely devastating. There's a piece.
It's like the cheese on the cutting board. Would you like a slice?
[kenny] oh, man! You know, aegis made a critical error
firing that flipper too early.
Once fusion got underneath them, it was lights out.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] reese ewert, congratulations.
Are you more excited or relieved to get that first "w" with this bot?
Relieved. I'm glad I didn't start on fire.
[laughs] what was your strategy for this fight, man?
Actually, we came out and we were gonna push bottom.
Just try and run their drive out.
We were getting stuck on the floor,
so we just spun up the weapons and went after 'em.
Okay, well, you told us before the season started
that as long as you don't screw this thing up,
this is a robot that can win the whole thing.
After two fights, do you still feel that way?
I think so. Yeah.
Okay. Reese, go enjoy.
-Thank you. -Go celebrate.
-You got your first win, man. -Yeah, beers tonight.
[chris] okay. Party on.
Yes! Whoo!
So reese ewert and fusion improved to 1-1.
Uh, he's on pace with another good showing
to at least try to impress the selection committee.
Where does this bot stand in your eyes?
It's like fighting. You can have all the power in the world,
but if your feet aren't in the right position,
you can't hit the target.
So I think for fusion, they have to figure out their drive issues.
They have to be better. They have to be faster.
It starts, though, with getting a win,
and that's what happened tonight inside the box.
All right, folks,
we are just one fight away from the main event.
Featuring two teams that are friendly outside of the box
but will find themselves in uncomfortable territory inside it tonight.
2019 runner up witch doctor is looking to avenge
a brutal loss in its opening fight
as they take on the devil from the deep, kraken,
who will be looking to make a statement in their very first main event.
Both teams desperately need a win
in order to keep their tournament hopes alive.
Take a look.
- [chris] whoa! - [kenny] hydra is just dominating right now.
[chris] witch doctor, it is smoking. It is overheating.
[kenny] that was one of the best fights in battlebots history.
This sucks. That was terrible.
No. What could you do with the weapon broken? It broke right away.
[chris] oh, and we've got flames inside the battlebox.
Oh, something definitely happened to kraken's teeth.
[faruq] for the winner, black dragon!
[chris] if you're kraken, you have to wonder what more you could do.
[matthew] we just came off, like, very close,
controversial decision with black dragon.
[chris and kenny] oh!
He took one tooth off.
[matthew] we are sitting at 0-1.
We're gonna be fighting witch doctor today.
We've gotta win this next match.
The pressure is so high on both of us to do well.
And we're not gonna let this one go to the judges.
[faruq] it's witch doctor!
This year, we have a giant target on our back.
[matthew] you ready for this? You better be.
[andrea] there's nobody that's gonna take us lightly. Everybody's preparing for us.
[faruq] it's kraken!
Whoo!
If we lose this match, anything can happen.
So there's a lot riding on this matchup.
When you're fighting a friend...
Let's do this!
Once the match starts, once the green light goes.
[robotic voice] robots, activate.
Here we go.
They're not a friend anymore. They're the competitor.
And it's my job to kill them and it's their job to kill me.
[chris] whoa! Kraken just went all the way through the primary weapon.
With witch doctor, we hit big.
[andrea] three, two, one.
We're gonna try to go for that one-hit ko.
-Oh! -Oh.
It's gonna be a tough match.
Yeah! That's what I'm talking about.
It's gonna be an all-out-drag-out brawl for sure.
[chris] are you ready for the main event?
[crowd cheering]
we are back on battlebots fight night.
Five fights in the books,
four knockouts
and one judges' decision
that has the pits buzzing.
Hydra, what the hell.
You can't play defensive and win.
He can't play offensive with a low wedge.
-Just keep away. -Do something.
He's just sitting there.
[kyle] all right, all in favor of huge.
-Huge. -[derek] without a doubt.
[kyle] all right, all right. They're here.
[will] it's huge!
-[tyler] huge! -[derek] it's so huge.
[chris] teams watching the hydra vs. Huge fight live
had plenty to say about captain jake ewert's controversial strategy.
Not that he really cares.
Jenny taft went straight into the eye of the storm,
to talk to the man with the plan.
Jake, here's the situation.
I saw you preparing for the fight against huge.
And there are a lot of angry people in the pits
about what you did and how you handled it.
[chris] hydra's flipper is supposed to be the primary weapon,
but this looks like it's gonna turn it into just a pushing wedge match.
-[jake] yeah. -You had a plan.
Take me through why you did this.
I mean, there's a lot of haters out there.
I mean, they'd say that it wrecked the spirit of the sport
but the way we look at it is, "I'm not gonna go out there just to take damage."
I hear you. I mean, people were annoyed,
but you had a plan.
You said after you saw what huge did to bronco,
you started the plan.
So just take me through the design and why you did it this way.
I mean, huge's wheels. He can't have a blade bigger than his wheels.
So we just need to touch his wheels and his blade can't hit us.
So that's why it's just flat across the face.
It's at the center of his bot.
That way, he couldn't have climbed over top.
It worked perfectly. We completely controlled him.
Had I have messed up driving, that's what they should talk about.
It's the 100% accurate driving that didn't allow him to get around the corner.
I'll give you that.
Uh, do you like being the villain of battlebots?
I mean, at this point, I know I am.
So I might as well keep playing it, right?
You know it? Are you pissed this season?
I...I'm coming for that nut. I mean, I'm not going to mess around anymore.
And I'm gonna do what I have to do to win.
Uh, what is this sign?
[jake] this is for anybody else
who wants to use it.
We're gonna rent it out,
I mean, they know it works.
They might as well use it, right?
-Okay, we'll see you soon. -Oh, thanks.
[chris] well, I doubt the officials will let jake rent that bad boy out
but I think
we get the point.
Okay, let's turn our sights
over to the newcomer,
big dill
and the legendary lock-jaw.
We saw donald hutson in his first fight.
And I've never seen a guy so upset after winning via knockout,
and I guess that's because donald is such a perfectionist, right?
Yeah, absolutely. He's a perfectionist
and he wants to win, but he wants to win in the right way.
He lost a belt in that first fight,
and his weapon didn't perform like he wanted it to,
said he's better prepared for this one.
So if you're big dill, watch out.
You mentioned the big dill. They're captained by emmanuel carrillo.
They are 1-0 after beating atom#94, yet another rookie bot,
by a judges' decision.
However, this is a huge step up for him,
and this is part of the process of learning.
Yeah, no doubt about it.
And they did show that their bot can work.
They believe they have the most powerful lifter in the competition.
I'm not sure it's the most powerful,
but we did see a lot of positive signs in that last fight.
So, it's the first time captain against a guy who has seen and done it all.
Let's take it inside the battlebox.
But first, here's faruq.
[crowd cheering]
in the blue square, from san diego,
the brawler by the beach, lock-jaw!
[chris] kenny, you know, team lock-jaw, they always look the same to me
but they're always working on their bot, aren't they?
[kenny] there's a lot of different configurations
that they can set up lock-jaw with.
Longer fork, shorter forks, dual vertical disc, single vertical disc,
and you see that 50 pound disc?
That is a change up from the last fight.
[faruq] in the red square,
from seattle, the washington warrior, big dill.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] emmanuel carrillo.
He used to be a team member for madcatter and war hawk.
Now he is captaining the ship for the first time.
And if you missed his first fight, yes, he was born without a right hand.
But he loves being a role model for younger kids with physical disabilities.
So what is the big deal with big dill tonight, kenny?
[kenny] I'll tell you what, he told us he would love to upset some big teams,
lock-jaw is a pretty big team, chris.
So here's his opportunity.
I'm very concerned. I watched him pick up a 250 pound robot
and carry it around like it was...
You know, a grocery bag, right. I mean...
We'll be running with our bigger weapon.
Uh, we'll be testing that out for the first time in combat.
It's, uh, it's an extra 13 pounds.
We want to know how it works.
It seems like a good match to try it.
I think the main goal is gonna be just use the long forks on outreach.
He's got forks, too, so it might be a little bit of interesting battle there
to see who's...Who can use them more effectively.
Lock-jaw has just a really great driver.
That's the biggest threat in the boxes, you know.
He's out in the middle of the open and doesn't have to worry about anything.
He's deadly, so probably trying to keep him around the arena hazards,
and make him little bit more...
Make him think a little bit more about what he's doing.
[crowd cheering]
[robotic voice] robots, activate.
[chris] will big dill finally get his big upset?
Or will lock-jaw move to 2-0 on its way to the 2020 tournament?
We'll find out next.
[chris] welcome back to battlebots.
We've got two undefeated teams locked inside the battlebox.
Only one can keep their perfect record alive.
[men chanting] fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin.
Big dill backing up against the rail,
making donald come to them.
Oh, there's a nice little head on head hit.
Uh-oh, lock-jaw's got a little smoke coming out of its head.
[kenny] this is a classic rock-paper-scissors match up.
You've got a puncher in lock-jaw against big dill
who's got a long reach.
[chris] donald doing the right thing here, attacking the flanks.
Big dill trying to stay squared up.
Oh! Big dill got a tasty shot!
Pops lock-jaw into the air and lock-jaw is now inverted.
You got it.
[kenny] it's a bit of a chess match up until this point, chris.
[chris] the big dill...
Trying to line up. Use its weapons properly.
[kenny] those big forks on big dill
trying to keep lock-jaw at bay.
Donald doing his best to try and find an angle of attack
that can work for him here.
[chris] well, if anyone can, donald hutson can.
He's one of the best drivers
in the history of the battlebots
-[crashing] -[kenny] oh!
[chris] landing some big blows there.
[kenny] oh, those were some devastating shots
to the underbelly of big dill.
[kenny] there's another. Oh!
Goodbye, fork.
[chris] unbelievable shot by donald hutson.
He's just like a surgeon.
[kenny] lock-jaw trying to dill-ete that fork.
[chris] cliche jar!
[kenny] you gotta pay for that one.
[chris] we might be joking about it, kenny,
but that is major moment in this fight.
That fork looks dislocated now.
That's gonna shut down
a lot of what big dill is trying to do.
[man] oh!
[kenny] yeah, big dill trying to play the reach game
here against lock-jaw,
and now that reach has been neutralized.
[chris] and don't look now,
lock-jaw's weapon no longer seems to be working.
Not sure if he's turned it off to save it,
of if it's actually been disabled.
[kenny] but donald hutson still driving inverted.
Amazing. He can do it so effectively.
Using those forks to his advantage.
In what has become a pushing match, chris.
[chris] not sure what big dill can do.
Maybe push donald into his corner
and try and use the hazards?
That's his. Get away from his hammer.
Almost. Get him right over here.
[kenny] right now big dill looks stuck.
I can't tell if he's stuck into the box
or he just can't move.
[chris] yeah, he's trying to get out of there.
The ref has to at least be considering
counting big dill out at this point.
-[referee] ten. Nine... -[chris] there it is.
Eight. Seven.
-Six. Five. Four. -[chris] and the big dill is seconds away
-from being counted out. - [referee] three.
Two.
[chris] and they have stopped the countdown momentarily,
because the big dill was able to move.
And it looks like he's gonna make it,
because we're under ten seconds to go.
[woman] whoo!
Radio down.
[chris] now donald's team looks like it's already celebrated.
Even though the knockout did not officially happen.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] so this one ends up going to the judges.
Kenny, they say, "styles make fights."
break this one down for us.
[kenny] yeah, this was an interesting matchup.
Big dill is more of a tactical body grappler,
while lock-jaw is more of a puncher and likes to mix it up.
Emmanuel carrillo retreated to the side of the box
to start the fight,
but donald was patient.
Picked his spots and attacked from the sides
to try and take big dill's forks out of play.
[chris] big dill managed to get underneath lock-jaw,
and invert it, but as we've seen so many times over the years,
donald hutson's driving was stellar regardless.
[kenny] look, he's a master.
Even though lock-jaw was inverted,
donald kept the pressure on
and eventually landed a shot that bent big dill's fork
basically taking its grappling strategy out of play.
[chris] the judges should take that damage on big dill into consideration.
But lock-jaw's weapon also went down towards the end of this fight.
You just never know how these decisions are gonna shake out.
So, let's see if the near count out comes into play as well.
Faruq, take it away with the decision.
[audience cheering]
the results from the judges are in.
We have a unanimous decision.
And the winner is...
Lock-jaw!
[all cheering]
[chris] all right, donald hutson,
you improved a 2-0 on the season.
Donald, you never panic.
It doesn't matter whether you have a weapon, you don't have a weapon.
Is that just your philosophy throughout battlebots?
You know, it's kind of funny. I... I think you just have to
keep trying, right?
I mean, I think the robot performed very well
and I think my attitude is to just keep going.
Best I can.
You know, donald, you're 2-0,
you won your last fight.
But you seemed a little bit disappointed.
Are you a little happier with this performance tonight?
Yeah. No, no. Actually, I was happy
with the last one. I just...
You always-- that first one--
you're kind of expecting it to perform a little better.
Ironically, I kind of had the same thing--
a little belt come off, and it's silly.
But when it happens,
it hits you 'cause you never want to lose
because of something simple mechanical.
You want it to be destructive and entertaining.
So that's where
I get most of my disappointment.
Do you have the moxie to win a giant nut?
I'm coming, baby.
I'm coming. Just warming up.
Attaway, donald. Go celebrate with your team.
As you improve to 2-0.
[cheering]
kenny, I think the best word
to describe donald hutson is unflappable.
For me, it's warrior spirit.
I mean, everything he talked about
is what a warrior is all about,
and, uh, maybe I could get him into the martial arts too.
-Hey, I like your word better. -[chuckles]
I think that was-- that was--
-that's why you're the analyst. -[chuckles]
[chris] coming up.
It's the main event.
With only three fights in this regular season,
it gets late early,
so desperation time has arrived
for witch doctor and kraken.
A loss tonight could turn their dreams
of making the tournament into a complete nightmare.
That's coming up on battlebots fight night.
[chris] under 30 seconds to go
and kraken cannot bite down.
He cannot clamp down all the way on black dragon.
This little piece of hose...
Maybe three cents worth of hose,
was what cost us the match against black dragon.
[chris] there's the flame, there's the flame.
Let's see what sort of effect that has.
This air line here would
normally sit right down here and run up to this valve.
And the flame was
blowing up through the side of the robot,
and it caught that edge of that tube on fire.
And without that air in the tanks,
we couldn't fight anymore.
So we were fully functional,
we just had no air in the tanks.
We stripped her down to the frame
so we could repair everything. Inspect everything.
We want to go into this match with witch doctor at 100%
and leave no room for error.
[cheering]
welcome back to battlebots.
That's kenny florian, I am chris rose,
and up next, hang on to your shaman and pirate hats,
we have arrived at the main event.
It's witch doctor taking on kraken.
And let's start with the 2019 runner up, witch doctor.
Andrea and mike gellatly had an incredible first match against hydra.
Did they win?
Well, no. They're sitting at 0-1.
But to say they survived three whole minutes
while taking the beating that they did,
proves this is one well-built bot.
[kenny] it's an incredibly durable bot.
And given their almost undefeated 2019 season,
not a team you want to face after a loss.
Witch doctor is still one of the favorites of the tournament.
For any bot to be able to knock out witch doctor
you're gonna have to be out of this world.
I mean, witch doctor is as good as it gets.
It proved it last season.
I think they're out for revenge here against kraken.
[chris] yeah, so they're taking on matt spurk's team
and kraken, fresh off that controversial judges' decision
loss to black dragon.
Yet to see this as a nod from the selection committee,
saying, "oh, okay, you've got our attention."
and here they are in their first ever main events.
[kenny] absolutely. Considering they started battlebots
three seasons ago as something of a gimmick,
this is a huge opportunity for kraken.
It's of course, a steep mountain to climb
against witch doctor.
But matt needs to stick to his game plan.
[chris] he's gonna have to be on point
if he's gonna face mike gellatly.
And he's got to expect,
if he wants to win this fight, to go the full three minutes yet again.
Should be a whole lot of fun. Faruq, it's all you.
[crowd cheering]
ladies and gentlemen.
Are you ready?
It's robot fighting time.
-[all cheering] -[dramatic music playing]
in the blue square...
Sim sala bim.
It's the high priestess of sin.
She was in the last finals.
Now she's a must win.
What spell will the voodoo child cast
to stay alive in round five?
I'll never tell,
but you can bet your soul it's gonna be hell.
You'll rue the day
you ever knocked her.
Here to sacrifice you... It's witch doctor.
-[crowd cheering] -[dramatic music playing]
[chris] and there they are,
the gellatlys and team witch doctor.
Back in one piece after their run-in with hydra.
Kenny, what do they have to do to get back
in the win column here?
[kenny] well, chris, it's easier said than done,
but they really just have to
play their game.
Mike gellatly is easily
one of the best drivers
in the tournament,
so it's on him to avoid the killer jaws of kraken,
while getting in as many
heavy hits as they can land
with that vertical spinner.
[faruq] in the red square.
It's topsy, it's turvy.
It's gonna do you like a bad case of scurvy.
Your teeth will end up all busted and blackened.
It's the end of the lime for you.
Here's kraken.
-[all cheering] -[dramatic music playing]
[chris] matt spurk and team kraken there,
along with their mini bot narwhal.
You have to think they're looking to make
a serious statement here tonight, kenny.
[kenny] absolutely.
Matt executed his game plan to perfection against black dragon,
and regardless of losing that split decision,
he told us he won't be changing up his strategy for witch doctor.
Kraken is a grappler, and that's how it plans to win here
in its first ever main event, by controlling the fight.
[chris] all right, peter.
What're you keeping your eye on in this one?
Well, matt's going with the thinner jaws again.
He wants to sort of be able to slide in, in-between wheels
and grab ahold of witch doctor.
And witch doctor, they're gonna come out
pretty damn strong, pretty fast.
They want a decisive win almost immediately.
If they can get a knockout within the first 30 seconds
that's what they're looking for.
-[robotic voice] robots, activate. - [cheering]
they're firing.
[robotic voice] blue team, ready?
[audience cheering]
[robotic voice] red team, ready?
That's all right, it's all right.
-Here we go! -[mike] let's go.
Let's go.
[bell rings]
[chris] both teams at 0-1.
Another loss here will push one of their seasons to the brink.
[alarm buzzing]
[chris] let the bot battle... Begin.
[both] oh!
[kenny] big hit by witch doctor.
And already--
witch doctor a little off center and now caught in kraken's claws.
Bite, bite, bite. Down, down, go, go, go.
[kenny] you saw that wobble there from witch doctor.
That may have split their disc on that impact, chris.
That is exactly what happened in their last fight.
[chris] and kraken in control early as they clamp down on witch doctor
with that 60,000 pounds of pressure.
What an amazing start.
[kenny] look, I can't imagine a batter start for kraken right now
as it uses those screws to do some damage to the back of witch doctor.
[chris] there's the catch and release.
So, mike gellatly the driver of team witch doctor's gotta
get away from kraken, recover,
and then start doing some damage with its primary weapon.
[kenny] yeah, you can see that wobble.
Witch doctor broke a disc,
and is imbalanced now, chris.
[chris] doing what he can to maybe knock away those teeth
-instead he gets caught in 'em again. -[kenny] wow.
Oh, come on.
[chris] this is going totally the wrong direction for witch doctor.
[kenny] no doubt about it.
Team witch doctor has to be extremely nervous right now.
There you go. Bite, bite, bite.
[chris] kraken once again can hang
and drive its opponent around for 30 seconds
before it has to release.
And it does so.
Witch doctor, looking to get some space.
That weapon is still spinning.
[banging]
-[chris] did those teeth get knocked loose? -[kenny] they're still there.
[chris] unbelievable strength on those chompers.
[kenny] yeah. Witch doctor is wobbling all over the battlebox.
This is not a good sign, chris.
Could witch doctor, one of the favorites
-go 0-2? - [matt] bite, bite, bite.
Get ready on that hammer.
[chris] the game plan has been executed to perfection so far.
Now it's trying to grab a bite of the ribs on the side.
Yummy!
[kenny] there's a nice shot from witch doctor
stripping off a piece of kraken's armor.
This is a veteran team that can score points in a hurry.
[chris] oh!
Witch doctor starting to chip away at kraken now.
Looking to turn the tables
in what has turned out to be
an action packed main event.
Kraken once again grabs witch doctor.
Forty-five seconds to go.
The 2019 runner up is in serious trouble.
[kenny] yeah, it sure is. Kraken just crushing witch doctor
with every chance it gets, attacking from the back,
attacking from the sides
and even going weapon to weapon,
and still being effective.
[chris] can witch doctor muster up the energy
and deliver some sort of shot to impress the judges?
Under 30 to go.
[kenny] that front wedge of kraken is working perfectly right now.
[chris] there's a shot from witch doctor,
and now punts the mini bot.
Crush, crush.
Both teams looking to leave that final impression.
-[man] hammer, hammer, hammer. -[matt] hammer.
[audience member] oh, yeah!
-Yeah! -Yeah.
Killed his weapon.
-So this one is going to the judges. -[alarm blares]
-yeah! Yeah! -Whoo!
Yeah! Yeah!
[all cheering]
good job.
Whoo!
[chris] kenny, how about team kraken?
[kenny] amazing. They used their powerful clamper to control the pace.
And even went weapon to weapon with witch doctor.
You can't say enough about their performance in this fight.
[chris] witch doctor took damage to their disc in that first exchange.
It put driver mike gellatly on his heels.
But they hung in there, stayed aggressive.
They scored some serious damage points
by ripping sheets of armor off of kraken.
[kenny] yeah, I think the control points have to go to kraken.
Aggression is probably a split,
and you never know how the judges are gonna interpret damage.
Listen, kraken lost a split decision to black dragon
in a very similar fashion in their first fight.
Witch doctor is a high profile team.
You just never know when it goes to the judges.
[chris] with both of these teams sitting at 0-1,
stakes are sky high here.
Let's send it over to faruq with the results.
The results from the judges are in.
We have a unanimous decision,
in favor of your winner...
Kraken!
[all cheering]
yes! Yes!
Go get 'em, kraken!
[whistling]
[chris] matt spurk, what is going through your mind right now?
Uh, this is the most relaxed I've ever been going into, uh, a match.
And I knew the result of the match was gonna be fantastic.
We're gonna mix it up, we're gonna throw big sparks.
We're gonna hit some flames, we're gonna get some crushes in,
and we're just gonna go after it.
And it was another great match.
I'm really proud of how we did and proud of that fight.
Based on what both... Both teams have done.
This has to be one of the biggest upsets in battlebots history.
Do you see it that way?
Absolutely. Absolutely. We were underdogs,
going into the black dragon match.
We were massive underdogs in this match.
Um, witch doctor's just been so successful for so many years.
And for us to come in here and really just give it to 'em
in this match and really fight hard,
it felt-- it feels great. It really does.
Biggest win of your career?
Yeah, well, I only have, like, three or four.
-I think I have four now. -[laughing]
so what does this mean for you, going forward
in the eyes of the selection committee, in your opinion.
So I think this is a great match for us,
in the selection committee. Uh, we're one and one now.
We've had two fantastic matches.
Really violent. A lot of destruction.
Um, so I think we're in a good spot.
We need to get that last win.
All the pressure is on us to try and get one more,
and, uh, I think we're in.
Matt, congratulations. Go party it up with your father and your father-in-law.
Thank you so much. Appreciate it, guys.
Thanks.
Andrea gellatly, mike gellatly,
I know you told us before the fight
that you had to be impressive,
that it wasn't good enough to win
you had to impress the selection committee.
Where's your head at right now?
Well, obviously you saw the same issue in the first match.
We're having a recurring problem with our weapon disc.
It appears that they're too hard and they just keep breaking.
They broke on like the first hit.
Which wasn't even that big of a hit.
So, the robot otherwise is in tip top shape,
it's taken all the beating that we give it,
but if our weapon discs aren't there, there's nothing we can do about it.
We've got to get that problem fixed and turned around
and, hopefully, big upset for the third match.
You guys seem like you're pretty shocked.
-How do you turn things around from here? -[mike] um...
Once your weapon breaks, it's hard to drive the robot.
So obviously I think that we got to get...
Gotta get that fixed.
And if that means making new weapon assemblies,
we gotta find somebody locally or who could turn it around pretty quick, but,
you know, hopefully we can make it into the tournament.
Yeah, I'm remembering minotaur's season last, uh, last year.
They had problems with the weapon over and over, and they recovered,
so hopefully we can do the same thing here.
We'll see what sort of story you end up writing,
andrea and mike, thanks for the time.
Thank you.
[cheering]
[chris] and just like that, a preseason favorite in witch doctor
falls into an even deeper hole.
The fact that they are 0-2 right now
and the fact that they might not even make
the post-season tournament, it's insane.
[chris] of course we also saw another top tier team.
Huge, fall to 0-2 tonight.
In a season with only three fights the stakes have never been higher.
With the absence this year of three time champion,
paul ventimiglia and bite force
the only person in the competition to hold
the giant nut in the heavy weight class is ray billings.
But even tombstone is off to a surprising 1-1 start.
Let's take a look at some other notables in the field.
Like tombstone, teams such as,
kraken, skorpios,
and end game also find
themselves at 1-1.
Then there are teams sitting
at 0-1,
like hypershock,
rotator and whiplash,
who still control their own destiny
with two fights left
on their schedules.
And in contrast,
up and comers, bloodsport,
madcatter, and malice
are making it look easy at 2-0.
One stand out team who has a giant nut in their sights
is hydra. Undefeated last regular season,
2-0 so far this season,
they look like they might be the team to beat.
So many question, so many twists and turns to come.
You know the best part?
You'll get to watch it all unfold right here.
So that's gonna do it for us.
For jenny taft and faruq
and our bot whisperer peter
and my man kenny florian,
I'm chris rose,
we'll see you next time
on battlebots.