[robots whirring]
robot: Robots activate.
[music playing]
[cheering]
welcome to "battlebots," the show
that equips powerful robots with deadly weaponry.
What could possibly go wrong?
Unless you've seen any sci-fi movie, like, ever.
With me is a man who could have his own action franchise,
ufc legend and fight analyst, kenny florian.
Chris, thank you very much.
They could call me the beardinator.
Uh, I was thinking the mandi-florian?
Ooh, I love that.
I like it. - All right.
All of our builders, they're going
to need to use the force tonight,
as we close in on the end of the qualifying rounds.
After that, the selection committee
picks the 32 most-lethal contenders for the "battlebots"
world championship tournament.
Kenny florian: Yeah, chris.
And with so much competition for those spots,
a loss by any of tonight's teams could be crippling
to their tournament hopes.
With only one or two fights left,
this is one of their last chances
to prove they belong among the best.
Chris rose: So in many ways, these final qualifying
matches are the most important.
And they better impress.
Or it's bye-bye bot.
And I can't wait another minute.
So let's take a look at tonight's fight card.
[beeps]
we've got a bevy of bots eager to leave a lasting impression.
Including our friend john reid, from jolly old England,
and his not-so-friendly hammer bot,
beta ready to unleash that weapon
against perhaps the cutest robot we've ever seen, rusty.
Kenny florian: Builder dave eaton
charmed us all in rusty's debut win
over fellow rookie sporkinok.
But this match-up is his toughest challenge yet.
A win over beta would be a shocking upset
for the junkyard underdog.
Chris rose: Also on tap, a big one.
Literally, as mammoth takes on hypershock.
Kenny florian: Mammoth is even bigger this year.
Builder ricky willems and his brother michael
have added four inches to the gigantic bot.
And in its first fight, even huge
found itself outmatched against mammoth's towering size.
On the other side of the box is will bales, and hypershock.
Kenny florian: Yeah, will bales is a veteran builder
who always puts on a good show.
But his bot got absolutely torched
by gruff the last time out.
And will needs to bounce back in a big way.
Chris rose: Speaking of gruff, it's our main event.
Fresh off that impressive knock out of hypershock,
builder sam mcamis believes that this year's gruff
is ready to go the distance.
Kenny florian: But first, it has to get through whiplash.
Captain matty vasquez is feeling the heat
after an opening-night loss to sawblaze.
The vasquez family needs a victory
here to keep their plans for a deep tournament run on track.
Chris rose: Lots to look forward to.
But we're going to kick things off with two desperate bots,
hungry to prove that they deserve
a spot in the round of 32, axe backwards
and captain shrederator.
Time is running out.
And tonight is their best opportunity
to turn their seasons around.
[crowd cheering]
all right.
Well, let's get this party started.
Faruq, it's all you.
Faruq tauheed: Ladies and gentlemen,
it's robot fighting time!
[cheering]
[music playing]
in the blue square, from palm city, florida,
you're about to get lumberjacked!
It's axe backwards!
[cheering]
chris rose: All right, kurt durjan.
Under that mask he's still got to be smiling.
He loves getting out there with this huge drum spinner.
Kenny florian: It looks like he has
a new configuration tonight.
Gone are those axes we saw in the first fight.
Instead, he's going with that big metallic wedge,
hoping he can drive that thing under the shrederator
and get them up in the air.
Chris rose: After getting knocked out once already,
axe backwards can't afford another loss here.
[cheering]
[music playing]
faruq tauheed: In the red square,
from ormond beach, florida, better shred than dead.
It's captain shrederator!
[cheering]
[music playing]
chris rose: Brian nave told us that full-body spinner only
takes two seconds to get to a dangerous speed, five seconds
to get to full speed.
Will it finally do what it's intended to do?
Kenny florian: Yeah, it feels like they're at a crossroads.
We see shrederator every season.
And we hear him talk about what this bot might do.
But in the last five years, he has 2 wins and 10 losses.
At some point, potential needs to translate into performance.
So this is put-up or shut-up time for brian nave.
Thanks, brother.
[cheering]
we built a wedge tonight for shrederator.
We're going to try and feed that to him if we have to hit him.
I'm actually hoping to like, kite him into the wall.
I want him to try to ram me.
But I'm going to stay close to the wall the whole time.
Because I know he's his own worst enemy if he
hits the wall instead of me.
I think it's going to be a race to see who burns up
and catches on fire first.
One race I don't want to win. (laughs) but you know,
he's had a horrible run of bad luck.
I mean, I've had a horrible run of bad luck.
Let's-- you know, maybe it's the curse of the florida man,
I don't know.
His is more flammable than mine.
So I'm hoping for a big fire over there.
[cheering]
oh yeah!
Do it!
Robot: Robots activate.
[cheering]
kenny florian: All right, our bot whisperer, pete,
what do you have on brian nave's bot?
Peter abrahamson: So I was back in the pits with brian earlier.
And they had stripped this bot down to the bare frame.
They were taking apart gearboxes,
motors, rebuilding brushes.
But they've gotten deep into it.
He's really hoping he's sussed out some of the problems.
He doesn't feel he'd be spinning as fast as he wants to be.
But he should be spinning fast enough
for those nice big exposed wheels on axe backwards.
Chris rose: All right, pete, thank you.
One of these veterans will get win number 1.
[cheering]
robot: Blue team, ready.
You ready?
Are you ready? Are you ready?
[booms]
[laughs]
[cheering]
robot: Red team, ready.
Spin to win, baby.
This time for real.
[booms]
[cheering]
yeah, shrederator!
[music playing]
chris rose: Two bots, three minutes.
Destroy or be destroyed.
[chanting "fight!"]
let's do some work!
You can do it, you say.
You got it, girl.
Chris rose: Let the bot battle begin!
Looks like both bots are going to give
each other time to spin up.
Axe backwards, kind of hugging the rails like kurt
said they would.
And here comes shrederator.
[slams]
now a couple of jabs to the wheels of axe backwards.
[booms]
oh!
And a huge collision that sends both bots flying
into the side of the box!
Kenny florian: That's what axe backwards wanted, chris.
But shrederator already recovered!
Chris rose: And how about axe backwards shaking it up?
Back into the action with that flaming wedge!
[booms]
both: Whoa!
Chris rose: Shrederator goes flying!
Kenny florian: That was a great job by axe backwards,
getting underneath captain shrederator.
And he has him right where he wanted him.
But he missed that shot, chris.
Chris rose: Yeah, if he gets in anywhere near the screws,
that is trouble for shrederator.
And axe backwards, very much on the offensive on this one.
Captain shrederator, looking for space to spin up!
Kenny florian: Yeah, that wedge is working very well for them
here, allowing them to go head to head, just like that,
and survive these impacts.
[slamming]
chris rose: A glancing blow from shrederator!
And now on the attack, going for those exposed wheels!
Kenny florian: Oh!
Chris rose: Axe backwards is on the ropes!
We got a wheel!
Kenny florian: Uh-oh!
[booms]
whoa!
Another huge shot!
Axe backwards, dealing with some damage to those wheels.
But how about these two bots going at it?
They are not one-hitter quitters tonight.
Chris rose: Axe backwards, doing a really good job
of staying squared up to captain shrederator, even
with that lack of mobility.
Uh-oh.
Kenny florian: That was a brilliant move
right there by brian nave.
He's driving extremely well.
Chris rose: Axe backwards takes him into the wall.
But now it's-- oh!
No!
Kenny florian: And the fight is over.
Chris rose: That will do it!
[laughs]
yeah!
Man, they broke that bolt off.
Ref: 10!
9!
Chris rose: Well, the fight is over when
your bot stops moving! Ref: 8!
7!
Chris rose: So I'm guessing without a wheel,
the deal is sealed! Ref: 6!
5!
4!
Chris rose: And for brian nave, everyone stand and salute!
Because the captain is back!
Bro! Captain shrederator 3!
2!
1! Axe backwards is knocked out!
[cheering]
good job!
I got a win!
[cheering]
wow.
That was ok.
That's ok.
Yeah!
We got it!
Ah!
It ran!
Yeah!
[cheering]
[music playing]
chris rose: A lot of good action in this one, kenny.
Kenny florian: I thought so.
Excellent fight.
Both bots really had their moments.
And you know, even though kurt durjan
wasn't able to get the win, he had some some great moments
in this fight.
Showed some good durability.
Took some big hits.
Was you know, still clicking there almost to the very end.
But again, once you lose one of those tires,
just the design of the bot, is just a--
it's just a big vulnerability.
Chris rose: Two things really impressed
me about captain shrederator.
First of all, the reliability.
Kenny florian: Yep.
Chris rose: Because sometimes he'll dish out huge hits.
But it recoils and takes care of themselves as well.
And then the driving ability.
So precise.
You know, when he went after the tires, things of that nature.
Kenny florian: And that's the word, chris.
What a shot right there.
Chris rose: Wow.
Kenny florian: Beautiful camera angle
of the removal of that tire.
He was surgical out there, chris.
Chris rose: If he's spinning, he's winning.
[cheering]
and check it out.
There's a live look at captain shrederator.
Brian nave can't get that thing to stop spinning.
All right, brian nave!
Hey!
How's it going?
Well, how's it going for you?
Hey, I told you it wasn't going to quit, right?
[laughter]
it's still not quitting.
Chris rose: It is not.
Kenny florian: Another little wacky thing going on.
What'd you think of the performance of your bot
tonight?
You know, we've been fighting all kinds of gremlins all week
long.
It's just been one thing after another, one thing
after another.
I mean, we're so happy we got to get to the end
of a fight for a change, right?
The captain put out some big hits.
It was driving good.
The floor is slippery.
You know, the full-body spinners are absolutely
the hardest robots to drive.
Because they want to drive themselves all the time.
My partner jonathan, here, did a great job running the spinner.
You know brian's working his ass over there in the pits.
And you know, it's just really a team effort.
And it's a long time coming, man, a long time.
Brian, it hasn't been just this season.
It's been a frustrating few seasons.
Oh, man.
Yeah.
And you've been very open and honest about that.
How good does this feel?
It's like a huge weight off your shoulders.
I mean, he's never even seen a win.
Yeah. - First one.
- You know?
First time we made it to the end of a match.
Never, ah.
Our first win.
Ah, it feels great.
You know, we just want to keep it going.
Do you feel like you've turned a corner with your bot
at this point?
Or you still got some work to do?
Well, every year I come in here thinking it's
going to do great.
It's going to do great.
And then some crazy, stupid little dumb thing.
Like what happened in the first fight.
You never see him coming.
So like you know, now it's stuck on.
Is it going to ruin the motors? Is it going to?
What's it going to kill?
Don't worry, that thing should--
it should what, die in about one or two hours?
I can look at the voltage and tell you.
But it's still got a little bit left.
Great.
Thanks so much.
Brian, congratulations.
Hey, thanks.
And turn that damn thing off!
[laughter]
spin to win, baby!
Yeah!
[cheering]
chris rose: All right, coming up.
Speed racer versus the bot eraser,
as p1 takes on copperhead, coming up next on "battlebots."
if captain shrederator ever stops spinning.
Turn!
It!
Off!
[laughter]
[robot whirs]
we are back on "battlebots."
he's kenny florian.
I am chris rose.
And we are just scratching the surface
of tonight's loaded fight card.
Up next, a pair of robots coming off a knockout in their first
fights of the season.
But let's start with copperhead.
Because he knocked off the head of his opponent, gigabyte.
Impressive performance by zach goff and his crew.
He told us before the season, I'm
going to be disappointed if we don't crack the top eight.
Uh, looks like they're on their way.
Kenny florian: They definitely are.
And you know, he still felt that there was some,
you know, weaknesses in their bot the first fight.
And they still looked very strong.
That primary weapon is sick.
Chris rose: Did you just say--
both: --Sick.
Ok.
Taking on p1 and brandon zalinsky.
And these are a bunch of kids from clemson.
They went winless, last year's rookies.
But in an unaired fight earlier this season, p1 actually
picked up its first-ever "battlebots"
victory, knocking out chronos.
[bangs]
let's go!
Let's go!
Kenny florian: Yeah, p1 might look like a formula one car.
But it was that hinge flipper on the front
there that made the difference against chronos.
Brandon was fired up after that win.
It was a long time coming for these guys.
They were really excited.
They felt relieved.
This fight though, this is another level.
It could be a whole lot of fun.
Let's check it out.
Faruq, do what you do.
[cheering]
faruq tauheed: In the blue square, from the loveland,
colorado, one bite and you're dead!
It's copperhead!
[cheering]
[music playing]
chris rose: Kenny, that drum spinner on copperhead
is lethal.
Kenny florian: Yeah, it sure is.
And they've upped the power by 50% since last year.
3 and 1/2 seconds to spin-off.
Chris rose: Copperhead looked very impressive
in knocking out gigabyte.
Another win here would put them in great position
to claim a spot in the tournament.
[cheering]
faruq tauheed: In the red square, buckle up!
It's p1!
[cheering]
[music playing]
chris rose: There's p1, looking like it
could hop over to a racetrack after this for a few laps.
But brandon told us that the driving
was actually a bit of a problem in his first fight.
Kenny florian: Yeah, he needs to be able to drive
with precision tonight.
Because he wants to keep that ar500
steel wedge pointed at copperhead to avoid getting
flipped.
[cheering]
so I think strategy for p1, I'm going to try and take
the middle arena and just stay focused on their robot,
not let them get around to the side.
Because as long as I've got my forks in his direction,
I'm going to be able to get under him,
bite into that wedge, and toss him to the air.
Copperhead is by far the strongest
robot this team has ever faced.
We have these very long forks that go into our wedge.
And we're going to try to get in and get under the drum
and make him knock himself up into the air.
A win over them would be huge in kind of moving up the ranks
and essentially securing a high seed in the round of 32.
[music playing]
[cheering]
robot: Robots activate.
[cheering]
chris rose: Kenny, other than that sleek paint
job-- oh, whoa.
Just lost a spoiler there.
It's aesthetic.
Leave it off.
Chris rose: What kind of weapon does p1 have?
Kenny florian: There's a hinge flipper built into that wedge.
So if p1 gets under you, it can use
that thing to turn you over.
Which is exactly what it did to chronos.
[cheering]
chris rose: Copperhead looks ready to strike,
flanked by a couple of slithering
nuisance spots on either side.
Robot: Blue team, ready.
[booms]
[cheering]
robot: Red team, ready.
[booms]
[cheering]
- you got this. - Yep.
- Stay calm. - Mhm.
Get him.
[cheering]
[music playing]
[crowd chanting "fight!
Fight!
Fight!"]
[buzzes]
chris rose: Let the bot battle begin!
Oh, listen to that drum spin!
Kenny florian: Uh-oh.
Chris rose: Oh!
Hope p1 brought some anti-venom!
Are you serious?
Kenny florian: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Chris rose: Oh, no!
It's taken another shot.
And that's a real problem.
Kenny florian: Somebody grab a tourniquet.
Sometimes it just be like that.
Chris rose: P1!
Snake bitten.
And zach goff, with another impressive knockout!
Ref: 10! 9!
Chris rose: Zach, you the man! Ref: 8!
7! Kenny florian: Wow.
Just too much power there from copperhead.
6!
5!
4!
Chris rose: Yeah, the countdown is on.
Ref: 3!
2!
1!
That's a knockout, p1! [buzzer]
wow.
Chris rose: Copperhead!
Hey, what's better than 1 and 0?
Wow.
Chris rose: 2 and 0!
Zach?
Good job.
Thanks.
[cheering]
pretty sick.
Yes!
[music playing]
chris rose: Pretty simple.
Zach goff, copperhead, dominant.
Kenny florian: Yeah, just ridiculous.
I mean, this is like watching tyson in his prime in the '80s.
And you're all excited for this big fight.
And then one or two shots later, the fight is over.
Chris rose: Zach said he thought he could get underneath p1
and flip him up in the air.
Uh, mission accomplished.
Kenny florian: That drum spinner is ferocious.
[cheering]
chris rose: Zach goff, have you surprised yourself
through two fights so far?
Wow.
Yeah, that was a lot quicker than I expected.
There's a pile of parts in there, so it worked well.
You're mean, bro.
[laughs]
I know, I was just such a-- such a-- yeah, terrible person.
[laughter]
are you-- are you excited about what copperhead is doing
in the battlebox so far though? - Yeah.
We're running great.
Like, ah, the bot just felt perfect.
The drive was excellent.
The drum just got up to speed without any hitches.
We're running 100% now.
So we're just killing it.
Is there another bot out there that you'd like to face?
You know what?
I think we need to have an old rivalry with black dragon.
Ooh.
We go way back to you know, 60-pounder small robots.
I always beat the heck out of them.
And I'm sure they want a chance to return the favor.
So you're calling them out.
You would like the schedule makers
to put that one on the docket?
Yeah, let's let's put black dragon in.
I like it.
Zach goff, congratulations, as you improve to 2 and 0.
Woo!
Thank you.
[cheering]
yeah!
Woo!
Chris rose: All right, coming up,
this might be the underdog story of the season.
Can rusty continue its winning streak
and pull off a w against a veteran hammer bot beta?
That's next, on "battlebots."
[robot whirs]
we are back on "battlebots."
and up next, it's a new fan favorite
against a legendary favorite, rusty versus beta.
Let's start with beta.
Back from jolly old England, captained by john reid,
beta's started their season off with a controversial win
over rotator.
Kenny florian: Yeah.
Impeccable driving in that first fight.
But they never used that hammer.
And it actually got sawed off by rotator's blades.
So we've seen the speed and agility out of beta.
But we are still waiting to see the power.
And tonight, taking on rusty!
Led by david eaton.
It's just david eaton.
He's the only guy in the team.
He lives on his parents' farm.
And he said, this looks good to build a robot.
This looks good to build a robot.
He's just a dude that wanted to fight on "battlebots."
let that be a lesson to all of you.
And he's awesome.
Kenny florian: Yeah, absolutely.
He's another one of these guys that
are really trying to do, you know, a battlebot on a budget.
His bot has a lot of personality.
He's got a lot of personality.
Love this guy.
Let's see if rusty can survive, or pull
off the monumental upset.
Faruq, it's all you.
[cheering]
in the blue square, from antioch, illinois.
It may look like a toy, but it don't play.
Rusty!
[music playing]
[cheering]
chris rose: Knocked out sporkinok
in its "battlebots" debut.
And yeah, dave eaton is a one-man band, kenny florian.
Kenny florian: Yeah, he sure is.
And he has-- - rusty!
Rusty!
Kenny florian: --A chance tonight to really
make a name for himself.
We saw him use that drill with some success
in his first fight.
But beta is a major step up in competition.
We're going to find out whether rusty
can hang with the big boys.
Chris rose: Hey, be careful out there, rusty.
Keep that popcorn-bowl head on a swivel, you know what I mean?
[cheering]
man: Go rusty! Woo!
Faruq tauheed: In the red square,
from oxford, united kingdom, this bot's sure to nail it!
It's beta!
[cheering]
chris rose: Oh, john reid, gabriel stroud, and beta.
Beta! Beta!
Chris rose: They're gonna "beata" the heck out of you
with that hammer head.
Kenny florian: Well, let's hope they actually use
that hammer this time, chris.
John told us that they are being very selective about when
they deploy that thing.
But at some point, you just got to give the people what they
want, let that hammer drop.
Chris rose: Beta, looking to hammer a rusty nail tonight.
Hopefully their tetanus shots are up to date.
[cheering]
so my next fight is beta.
It's a beautiful robot.
It's kind of the polar opposite of rusty, which is cool.
I got a new little bit that I'm going
to run against beta, which I think should do the trick.
Because he's got a lot of exposed top area on his bot.
I'm going to have to stay on my toes or my tracks.
And I'm going to have to keep moving.
I'm going to try to get in there and keep at him,
and get him to fire up his weapon.
And I'm going to try to stay out of the way of this weapon,
obviously. Because it is quite powerful.
I think the strategy's going to be get to the side of him.
We really, really want to hammer his back.
He's got a really soft back.
I'm going to plunge the hammer into it.
It's all that aluminum on the top.
So hit it really hard.
That's where his gas bottle is.
So we take his gas bottle out, that disables him.
[cheering]
crowd: Rusty!
Rusty!
Woo!
Robot: Robots activate.
[cheering]
chris rose: All right, over to our bot whisperer, pete.
What are you keeping your eye on here?
Well, I'm really feeling for dave, with rusty.
Because I mean, beta is one of the original hammer bots.
It is super powerful.
And it's going to hit really hard on that salad bowl.
I'm not sure if that pneumatic drill on the end of the arm
is going to be able to punch through the inside of beta
at all.
Robot: Blue team, ready.
[booms]
[cheering]
robot: Red team, ready.
[booms]
[cheering]
[music playing]
[crowd chanting "fight!
Fight!
Fight!"]
[chanting "fight!"]
[buzzes]
chris rose: Let the bot battle begin!
And here comes beta.
Already on top of rusty, scooping him up, and oh!
Delivering him right into the rails!
Kenny florian: Rusty's going to be at a big speed disadvantage
in this fight, chris.
Beta is lightning fast.
Chris rose: Beta has yet to fire that hammer
kenny florian: Uh-oh.
Chris rose: Rusty, trying to get that spike to dig in to beta.
And here's rusty, with some evasive maneuvers.
Catch me if you can.
And beta, on the attack.
Kenny florian: Rusty, trying to get out of there.
Oh!
Rusty almost landed a shot there.
Uh-oh.
Chris rose: But now, exposing his backside to beta.
Oh! Uh-oh!
Kenny florian: He's behind you! Chris rose: Uh-oh!
Both: Oh! Chris rose: Oh gosh!
Kenny florian: Oh. Chris rose: Oh, he just--
kenny florian: Yeah. - Lovely!
Chris rose: We're going to need a proctologist after that one.
Kenny florian: Oh. Yeah, that's not good.
Chris rose: There's a major problem
on the back side of rusty.
Kenny florian: Well, I'd moving a lot
slower if I got hit there too.
Chris rose: And he's back for more.
Both: Oh!
Kenny florian: Jeez!
Chris rose: The brit's slammed two crushing blows with beta!
And the top side of rusty, looking like a busted soda
can, as a result.
Kenny florian: Oh, man.
Chris rose: Although it is shaking.
Which is kind of what I-- there it goes.
There it goes.
It's trying to move forward.
Going to have to do better than that to avoid a countdown.
Oh!
Beta, just lining it up!
Saying here I come!
Kenny florian: Oh!
Chris rose: Rusty's still fighting though!
His primary weapon's still working.
But not showing much movement, kenny.
Well, come on!
Here comes beta!
Both: Whoa!
[slams]
ref: 10! 9!
8! Chris rose: That's it.
Stop drilling our floor, rusty.
Kenny florian: Yeah. Chris rose: Please.
Ref: 7! 6!
Chris rose: We just swapped it out this season.
Ref: 5! 4!
Chris rose: It's not in the budget to do it again.
Thank you. Ref: 3!
2!
1!
Kenny florian: I agree, yeah. - 1!
Kenny florian: There's no screws over there, man.
It's just, it's fine.
Knockout of rusty!
Winner, beta!
Kenny florian: Wow.
Chris rose: You the man. You tried, rusty.
Kenny florian: You did. You did.
Chris rose: You really worked it.
Kenny florian: It's a good job. Chris rose: Good try.
Kenny florian: His helmet's still on, by the way.
Chris rose: It's ok.
Listen, you're a newbie.
You just faced one of the bad boys.
Kenny florian: He'll be back.
He'll be back.
Chris rose: You're good.
This is like a therapy session.
[music playing]
kenny, in the early going, rusty was fairly nimble.
Kenny florian: Yeah, actually, it was definitely
faster from its last flight.
But it wasn't able to get away from beta right there.
Beta, doing a great job of really attacking the flanks,
attacking from the backside.
And speaking of attacking from the back side,
that's what happens when you get hit by beta's hammer.
They didn't use that hammer a lot.
But they executed perfectly on their strategy
to hit rusty's rear end, where he's most vulnerable.
Chris rose: That spanking lifts beta to 2 and 0.
Looking good now for a spot in the tournament.
[cheering]
john reid, turn around.
[laughs] there you are!
Over here.
All right, what was it like tearing through a junkyard bot?
Wow.
That was so good.
It's taken us 9 months to get here.
All sorts of troubles.
But we got here, and it worked perfectly.
So good.
You know, you didn't use that hammer very often.
But when you did, you really caused a lot of damage.
It's a brand new, complex machine.
We're being really careful until we get the feel of it.
But yeah, we just saved it up and hit
it when it went for a good hit.
John reid, congratulations to you and team beta.
Job well done.
Thank you.
[cheering]
woo!
David eaton: You got to get fabulous, all right?
All right, guys.
Chris rose: All right, dave.
We spoke with you under better circumstances
in your previous fight.
What's it like to taste an l in "battlebots?"
(laughs) yeah, right?
It was-- it was sour, but it was good.
It was good.
I tell you what.
When he fired off that hammer, when the match started,
I was like, whoa, that sucker.
The floor was like, "choo."
and I was like, rusty, you better be ready for it,
because it's coming.
[laughter]
is rusty ok?
Is he going to be ok?
Yeah, I think so.
You know, he-- he rammed into me early on.
And when he did, he bent those forks on the front.
And I saw that and was like, uh-oh.
Because it lifted the belly of the bot up.
And I wasn't getting traction.
And then I was like, oh man.
And then he really started ramming me into the walls.
And then he got me all positioned for that money shot
and just, "choo."
but luckily, it did do some damage to some of the panels
and stuff on the back.
Obviously the nice aluminum cover now is destroyed.
But he's rebuildable.
His main body and everything is intact.
Rusty had a little pep in his step.
He seemed faster this time out, at least.
He does.
I, you know, I don't know if that's just 'cause
he's in a good mood or what.
But he was.
He was cooking faster this time.
I put some new belts in him.
I was trying to get some tuning work done on the eses
and wasn't able to get that squared up.
And I did get an eyeball put back in him.
There you go.
I was working on the other one.
But I ran a little short.
Dave, you told us that you stole some parts
from your parents' farm, that they might not even know
are missing.
If one of them is returned with a hole in it
I--
--what's going to be their reaction?
I mean, if they try to use--
luckily the helmet, which is important
because that's the popcorn bowl, is still intact.
That's still intact, right?
So they can still use that when it gets back.
I might have to, when I get home,
I'm going to probably have to shop
around for some more parts.
Dave, you're awesome to work with we.
We love having you here at "battlebots."
yep. Thank you.
Chris rose: We'll talk to you down the road.
Thank you, gentlemen. Appreciate it.
Chris rose: You got it. Kenny florian: Yep.
[cheering]
yeah!
Woo!
[cheering]
chris rose: So much fun to watch beta when that hammer's
working like that, huh?
Oh man, that thing is absolutely deadly.
But not so much fun for rusty, who suffers his
first-ever "battlebots" loss.
But showed some signs of life, I suppose.
Kenny florian: It was faster.
It was moving really well.
He even got a hit in on beta.
That was cool. Yeah.
- Very good stuff. - Yeah.
Chris rose: All right, coming up.
Did somebody order an extra large?
We got the supersized mammoth facing
off against hypershock, when "battlebots
fight night" continues!
[cheering]
[robot whirs]
[cheering]
chris rose: We are back on "battlebots."
mammoth and hypershock are flexing their gears
ahead of their showdown.
But before they duke it out, let's
check in on this season's most lovable robot, who
just got his teeth kicked in.
America, world, it was bound to happen at some point.
Rusty was going to lose.
For more on that, let's head back to the pits.
Jenny taft, what was the universal reaction
once rusty took the l?
Oh, rusty does have a battle wound, guys.
I'm looking at the bot right now.
And you know what?
He took the l, but he did it with pride.
And he might as well go down against a bot like beta.
So dave was actually proud of that mark.
He was taping it up.
And just to remind you guys, he was sleeping in his barn
as he was trying to continue to work on this robot.
So happy to be here.
And just so you guys know, yes, beta did kind of knock
out rusty there.
Gabriel came right over.
He offered to help.
He wanted to make sure rusty could get back in the box.
And that's what this is really all about.
Chris rose: All right, jenny.
Thank you very much.
Hopefully dave eaton can find a trashcan
laying around somewhere to give rusty a brand new body.
[cheering]
all right let's get back to business,
with two robots ready to bring the pain.
We've got mammoth locking horns with hypershock.
Will bales and his team really need a win, kenny.
Kenny florian: Yeah, hypershock got knocked out
and flamed out in their opening match.
Chris rose: Oh!
Wow!
Gruff, he has put hypershock up on the screws!
Kenny florian: And for a team that has never quite lived up
to expectations, you have to think that will bales is
starting to feel the pressure.
He thinks his bot is capable of advancing to the top 16
for the first time ever.
But winning tonight is crucial to making that happen.
Chris rose: Well, he has an awfully tall task ahead of him.
Because mammoth looked large and in charge in its opening
win over huge.
Kenny florian: Whoa!
Mammoth, cutting off the battlebox like a boxer!
It sure did.
Mammoth is better than ever this year.
And I can't wait to see how the big guy handles the smaller
and shiftier hypershock.
Should be fun.
Faruq, it's all you.
In the blue square, from baltimore,
maryland, the ice age assassin, here's mammoth!
[cheering]
[music playing]
kenny, ricky willems told us after that knockout of huge--
see?
That launcher is significantly improved.
Kenny florian: Oh well, there's no doubt about that.
He entertained to the very end.
I mean, first of all, you look at the size of that thing.
And you're like, there's no way that thing
can be agile and flexible.
It is all of those things and more.
It's also powerful.
Chris rose: By the way, welcome to the rose parade.
Although that thing ain't made out of flowers.
Faruq tauheed: In the red square, from miami, florida,
the pitbull of "battlebots," hypershock!
[music playing]
[cheering]
chris rose: Knocked out by gruff in its first match.
Will bales.
Is his confidence shaken?
Kenny florian: Well, he's smiling.
He's looking good.
It always seems like he has everything in order.
Except for one thing.
And sometimes that one thing really matters.
[music playing]
[cheering]
against hypershock, we've decided to go
with our all-metal weapon.
Our plastic weapon was defense.
This is all offense, all the time.
We're going to go in.
We're going to chuck them.
And we're going to try and really launch them this time.
We're going to have a monster going up against a toy
car in this fight.
They run around, they're fast.
They're shiny, they're dangerous.
But we are just going to be able to completely envelop
them and overshadow them.
Mammoth is huger than huge.
So it's a bit of a-- it's a weird thing to fight.
They're pretty well driven.
But they can be a little clumsy, I would say.
So our goal, strategy, is hit the wheels and kind
of dictate the pace of the match and get our shots
in before they get theirs in.
Then we should be ok.
Oh boy, it's really going to.
Robot: Robots, activate.
[cheering]
chris rose: Let's check in with our bot whisperer, pete.
Pete, what do you have on hypershock?
Well, guys, as you know, that will
has been spending quite a lot of time
making it a more serviceable robot.
He has gotten the bot itself to run.
He's gotten the weapon to run.
But here he is, fighting a flipping robot
with no self-riding mechanism.
Kenny florian: Hey, peter, we've seen will bales utilize
that primary weapon, that vertical disc spinner,
to self right.
Is that a possibility?
Peter abrahamson: That always is, of course.
I mean, one of the great things about hypershock
is it can drive upside down.
It's only driving on two wheels.
And it drives on those little sort of antennae
that stick up the top.
And he can run into the side of the battlebox
and pop himself back over.
But that, you know, that requires time.
That requires precision.
Against a robot as big as mammoth,
that takes up so much square footage of the battlebox?
That could be difficult.
Chris rose: Thank you, pete.
Lots of strategy in the mix, as we gear up for this one.
Hypershock collides with mammoth!
When we return, on "battlebots!"
[crowd chanting "fight!
Fight!
Fight!"]
[music playing]
[robot whirs]
[music playing]
chris rose: Welcome back to "battlebots," where
the prehistoric giant mammoth is looking to stay
unbeaten against hypershock.
Woo!
Here we go, buddy.
Yep.
[cheering]
robot: Blue team, ready.
[booms]
[cheering]
[music playing]
robot: Red team, ready.
[booms]
[cheering]
[music playing]
[crowd chanting "fight!
Fight!
Fight!"]
[chanting "fight!"]
oh, I'm gettng the jitters again.
[crowd chanting "fight!
Fight!
Fight!"]
[buzzes]
chris rose: Let the bot battle begin!
A classic match-up of speed versus size.
Will bales, attacking from the sides.
Trying to get to mammoth's flanks!
Kenny florian: Yeah, hypershock, going
for those wheels of mammoth.
Which is a nice strategy.
But mammoth, doing a great job of driving!
Chris rose: Woo!
Nice job, by hypershock. Oh!
He's somewhat disabled mammoth!
It's a little off center!
Ok, will bales has gone into what I call berserker mode.
This is when he's at his best. Yes!
Creating chaos! Kenny florian: Huge flip!
Chris rose: Hey! Get away from me!
Mammoth, looking like a mangled jungle gym!
Hypershock delivers the beast down to the screws!
Oh, baby! Kenny florian: Uh-oh!
Oh!
Kenny florian: There goes the chain!
No-ho-ho-ho!
Kenny florian: This fight is going to be over!
No-ho-ho-ho-ho!
Holy crap!
Chris rose: Woo!
Not much mammoth can do now.
It is at the mercy of hypershock and will bales!
Kenny florian: This one is a wrap, chris.
You've got to think a countdown's coming soon.
Come on, will, flip me over, baby!
Come on!
Chris rose: And you can hear ricky
willems, pleading with will bales, please flip me over!
Ricky!
Hit it!
Knock the battery box.
Anything else.
[booms] chris rose: Yeah!
Kenny florian: Oh!
Chris rose: He did!
Holy smokes!
And now mammoth is smoking!
Kenny florian: I don't think that's what ricky had in mind.
Chris rose: Uh, be careful what you ask for.
Ref: 10! 9!
8!
Chris rose: The countdown is on!
The one thing I asked him not to do, but that's fine.
Ref: 6!
5!
Chris rose: Yes, the celebratory spin by hypershock!
4! 3!
2!
Chris rose: And will bales!
Ref: 1!
Mammoth is knocked out!
Winner, hypershock!
[buzzer]
[cheering]
it's our first win!
Yeah!
[cheering]
[music playing]
[cheering]
[music playing]
chris rose: Kenny, so frequently we talk about the driving
skills of will bales.
They were on display.
Kenny florian: A chaotic hypershock,
a crazy will bales is a good will bales, in my opinion.
They just went at 'em.
Just getting them from all angles.
It almost felt like there was like, three
hypershocks in there.
Mammoth's launcher was incapable of getting
hypershock off the ground.
Meanwhile, hypershock's spinner, look at that just
cutting right through the shaft of that primary weapon
on mammoth.
And once that chain flew off, mammoth was extinct.
Chris rose: And then, ricky willems said please,
please, help me get back over.
Well?
Kenny florian: Yeah, but they didn't want
to get hit in the battery box.
They've got 15 pounds of lithium batteries in there
with no replacements available.
And now, it's all up in smoke.
[cheering]
chris rose: Will bales?
Yes, over here.
[laughs]
how does it feel to not suck?
Well, ah, ah, ah, sucking less.
[laughter]
was that as--
was that as fun as it seemed to be?
Yeah, yeah.
That was good.
Obviously, mammoth's a really good sport.
So at the end, they wanted us to go in for another hit.
So whatever we broke, I'm sorry.
But it was-- it was an awesome fight.
I'm-- I'm happy that everything worked.
The back left wheel is a little tweaked,
if you guys didn't notice.
So there's a little bit of fixing to do.
Don't know what the heck happened there.
But overall--
see, this is like, vintage will
bales, a will bales performance, man, vintage hypershock.
You went into berserker mode.
That's when I think you're at your best, man.
Just creating chaos in the battlebox.
That's all we're good at, apparently.
Just you know, full sail and full yolo.
Kenny florian: Crazy, everywhere.
I like it.
We're super happy, thanks, guys.
Will, as you were facing mammoth,
the scouting report was you could not self right.
Was that accurate?
Oh, it totally could.
Just, you didn't see it because we didn't need it.
(laughs) no, it didn't work.
Not at all.
Right at the last minute, we plugged in a whole bunch
of new electronics.
Tried to rush and doa.
So but we don't need it, apparently.
Hey, if bite force doesn't need one, we don't need one.
So are you guys reborn with this performance?
Is this the way you want the bot to function?
There's still some tweaks I want to make.
You probably noticed a little bit of jerkiness
in the drivetrain, aside from general tomfoolery.
So there's some sensor issues that we got to solve.
But we think we have a solution for that.
So hopefully for next fight we'll have all that dialed in.
Will, you're a giggly guy.
You like to have a ton of fun.
But you sit at 1 and 1.
I know you really, really want to make that top 16.
How critical is your next fight?
Yeah, we have to win.
We'll see who they throw us.
I have a feeling it's not going to be easy.
Will bales, congratulations to you and team hypershock.
Go celebrate, man.
You got a w.
Thanks, chris.
We did it!
Yay!
So good!
Chris rose: All right, coming up later tonight.
If you can't stand the heat, get out of the battlebox.
Gruff and that fearsome flamethrower
take out the smooth-driving whiplash in our main event.
But up next, it's the last-chance saloon,
for logan davis and subzero.
He's hoping to knock out sporkinok, and make
his case for a spot in the tournament,
when we return on "battlebots!"
[music playing]
[cheering]
[robot whirs]
[cheering]
all right, we are back on "battlebots."
and up next, there's a lot riding on the line tonight
for subzero and logan davis.
A win means they check in at 2 at 1.
And the selection committee has to say, huh,
you are an interesting robot.
Do you deserve to move on and advance?
Kenny florian: Well, they were very aggressive
in their last fight, knocking out grabot.
But they need to do the same thing again tonight, exhibit
their durability and put another dominating win on their resume.
Chris rose: Subzero will look to capitalize
on a bit of good luck in the scheduling department.
Tonight they are going against a newbie, sporkinok,
driven by lilith specht.
She's been around this sport for years, hosting events
and fighting smaller robots.
But she would love to prove that she is capable of competing
at the highest level.
Kenny florian: That's right.
Any rookie bot will experience some growing pains in
its first year at "battlebots."
but when you are a competitor, you have a constant desire
to show that you belong.
And for lilith, this is her big chance to do just that.
And how nice would it be for her to knock somebody else out
of postseason contention?
Let's see if she can get it done.
Faruq, show us how you get it done.
[cheering]
in the blue square, from irving, texas.
When the temperature is chilly, he starts feeling killy.
It's subzero!
[cheering]
[music playing]
chris rose: Lost in knockout to jackpot, and then turned around
and ko'd grabot.
And in that fight, that looked like the subzero
everybody was waiting for.
Kenny florian: Absolutely.
And what I liked about that fight
was that logan wasn't content to just win.
He wanted to score some style points.
That's the kind of energy he needs to bring again tonight,
with his tournament fate on the line.
Chris rose: Subzero also runs the only drone
in the competition.
That is logan's dad, brady, that is at the controls.
Cool little family story.
[cheering]
faruq tauheed: In the red square, from orlando, florida.
It's not quite a fork, not quite a spoon.
But it's ready to lay down the boom.
It's sporkinok!
[cheering]
chris rose: Kenny, when this bot is working
right, what's happening?
Kenny florian: Well, it looks like they've
got a new configuration.
The lifter from the first fight is still there.
But tonight they've added that spork-shaped hammer,
hoping to inflict some damage rather
than trying to lift subzero.
[music playing]
[cheering]
we know subzero can launch pretty dang high.
And it seems like they've gotten it tuned in.
So I'm ready to go to the moon.
Hopefully we can get the hammer going,
hit him a lot on the top.
I don't think he has much top armor, and left him up.
Subzero is not a slouch.
So getting a win on him would show that we can do this.
Our primary weapon is a very powerful pneumatic flipper.
We're confident that it's going to go out there,
you know, put on a good show and throw sporkinok,
you know, six, seven feet in the air.
I feel like I have to do more than just win this fight.
I really need to go out there and continue
to prove what this robot can do, just to solidify
my spot in the top 32.
[cheering]
man: Go subzero!
Robot: Robots activate!
[cheering]
chris rose: Kenny, what are you looking for out of sporkinok?
Kenny florian: Well, I'm interested to see how
that new primary weapon works.
The lifter wasn't very effective the last time out.
So the hammer might be a work in progress as well.
Chris rose: And on the other side
subzero, has been fortunate to face a couple of rookie bots.
Sporkinok's still finding its footing.
So this is an opportunity for logan to really flex
his muscles and put on a show.
Woo!
[cheering]
robot: Blue team, ready.
[booms]
let's do this.
Let's do this.
Robot: Red team, ready.
Get it, girl.
[booms]
[cheering]
[music playing]
let's go to the moon!
[crowd chanting "fight!
Fight!
Fight!"]
[chanting "fight!"]
chris rose: Let the bot battle begin!
Kenny florian: Oh!
Chris rose: Oh, there's a nice little head-on-head
hit there between the bots.
And now, uh-oh!
Oh!
Sporkinok gets flipped over.
The question is, can it self right now?
Both: Whoa!
Chris rose: Subzero says, hey, I can help with that!
Subzero, very aggressive but a little
this is right in front of us I think that subzero and logan
may be trying to show off.
Hey, dude, we're not the judges.
We're just the boring generic announcers.
Kenny florian: Sporkinok, looking for some room
to breathe.
But subzero, following her like a shadow.
A big whiff, and uh-oh.
Logan davis's bot, subzero, up on the screws,
now has to right itself by popping itself over.
Chris rose: That was easy gymnastics.
Kenny florian: Logan's still a little wild.
Sporkinok might have been caught up against the battlebox.
And logan might be stuck as well.
Chris rose: This could be trouble for subzero.
We're having issues again.
Chris rose: Yeah, it looks like maybe both are
caught under the rails here.
And logan's able to free itself.
Sporkinok is also free, but not really driving much.
Man: Hit him again! Get him!
Get him!
Kenny florian: Logan davis, with an opportunity
to put this fight away.
He needs to capitalize.
Chris rose: Uh-oh.
Sporkinok's a sitting duck here!
And let's see the flip!
Yeah!
There's a flip almost out of the arena!
And lilith specht can only watch as her bot gets
tossed around the battlebox!
Ref: 10! 9!
8!
Chris rose: And the ref has seen enough!
The countdown begins on sporkinok!
Ref: 7! 6!
5!
Chris rose: Subzero, in a fight it had to win--
4! 3!
2!
Chris rose: --Improves its resume
and delivers an entertaining performance as well!
1!
That's a knockout for sporkinok!
Winner, subzero!
You're wrath's deseeded.
We got it!
[cheering]
yeah!
Yeah!
Let's do it again!
[music playing]
all right!
We did it!
Chris rose: Kenny, logan davis, subzero,
definitely put on a good show.
Kenny florian: Yeah, this fight was all subzero.
They were the faster robot and were
able to get underneath sporkinok and dictate the pace.
Chris rose: Well, you could feel the desperation
from logan davis in some of those wild whiffs.
Maybe a little too amped up for this fight.
But in the end, subzero gave the people what they came for.
Some flippage.
Kenny florian: Yeah.
Sporkinok earned some air miles in this one.
Lilith specht definitely has some work to do on her bot
if she wants to be competitive here at "battlebots."
but let's give logan davis some credit.
This was a must win, and he handled his business.
[cheering]
logan, you've got the hands-on-hips
confidence of a man that has just won his last two bouts.
Thank you, yeah.
Yeah, I do.
But was it enough?
Well, let me ask you that.
Do you think at 2 and 1, it's enough to get
you into the round of 32?
You know, there's a lot of really good bots out there.
But you know, I really hope to have a shot at the 32
and you know, continue to prove myself.
You know, I think we found some-- some flaws here.
But you know, we're going to continue to improve.
And I think we can continue to improve throughout the season.
How satisfied are you with subzero, at this point?
You know, I'm pretty satisfied.
I think there's-- like I said, there's room for improvement.
And you know, we're going to make some changes.
And I think we can have an even better show and a better fight.
If you're fortunate enough to get into the round of 32,
how scary an opponent are you?
Oh, man.
You want a-- you want a number?
Oh, I'm terrifying.
That's what the snowflake's for.
[laughter]
logan davis, thanks for making us laugh and smile.
And thanks for entertaining everybody
in the "battlebots" community.
Job well done.
[cheering]
yeah!
Chris rose: And with that, like so many other bots
on the bubble, all logan davis can do now
is wait and see if the performance he turned
in over the course of his three fights this season
was enough to earn him a spot in the top 32.
All right, coming up, tracer and that vertical spinner
are going down to the farm to take on bale spear.
That's next, on "battlebots!"
[robot whirs]
[cheering]
chris rose: We are back on "battlebots fight night."
it's been another action-packed card.
And up next, we've got a match-up featuring the prince
of puncture, bale spear.
And a bot that looks like it's straight out of the movie
"tron," in tracer.
They're getting ready to make their way into the arena,
in hopes of improving their tournament chances.
And kenny, we've already seen a few teams boost their resumes
with a win tonight.
Yeah, I think captain shrederator looked
the best he has all season.
Subzero made a strong case that they deserve a spot.
They're now 2 and 1.
And hypershock got off the schneid by blasting
mammoth all over the battlebox.
Some very impressive performances.
Chris rose: A lot of bots sitting squarely on the bubble.
So let's take a look at where teams stand
in the grand scheme of things.
Remember, each bot will fight up to three times
in the qualifying rounds.
So as you look at the big picture here,
you'll notice a lot of teams in those middle sections that
could either work their way up the ladder,
or see their tournament hopes smashed to pieces.
We know one absolute lock for the tournament
is mad catter, standing alone as the only 3 and 0 team.
Yeah!
Oh yeah!
Chris rose: But the most interesting collection of bots
is that 1 and 1 club, with more than a third
of the entire field in that category.
It shows how much still hangs in the balance for some big guns.
Like end game, sawblaze, gigabyte, and tombstone.
He is literally tearing apart this bot piece by piece!
Kenny florian: With their pedigree,
you would imagine they still have
a chance at a decent seed in the tournament
if they finish with a quality win.
But if they lose, it could be the end
of their 2020 title dream.
Chris rose: Elsewhere in the standings,
those teams currently sitting at 2 and 0
have to be feeling pretty good about their tournament hopes.
I'm talking about the likes of black
dragon, bloodsport, beta, lock jaw,
uppercut, valkyrie, and hydra.
But it's important to note that not all 2 and 0 are the same.
Right, kenny?
Kenny florian: Yeah, it's not just did you win?
But how did you win?
Did you win a pushing match with minimal damage?
Or did you go toe to toe, back and forth in a slugfest,
against a perennial top bot?
Chris rose: Whoa!
Uppercut has just punted sawblaze out of the arena!
Kenny florian: Oh my goodness!
Chris rose: My gosh!
And that means there's hope for those 0 and 2 teams,
like rotator, huge, and witch doctor.
Although they're winless, they've lost some epic
fights against top competition.
Kenny florian: Oh!
That was the shot witch doctor wanted!
Chris rose: You got to think that if they win
their last fight, they'll sneak into one of those 32 spots
in the case for the "battlebots" championship.
Kenny florian: And imagine one of those heavy hitters
with the low seed?
Whoa.
I would not want to see that on my side of the bracket.
This is going to be fun.
Chris rose: Speaking of teams with a great pedigree who
need a win, matt vasquez and whiplash
are dying to get back in the box for a chance at redemption.
Kenny florian: That opportunity is right in front of them
in tonight's killer main event.
Two veteran bots are ready to make a statement,
as whiplash and gruff go at it.
Chris rose: Uh-oh!
Oh!
Gruff put hypershock up on the screws!
Knockout!
[cheering]
chris rose: Sam mcamis, of team gruff, what's cooking?
Hypershock.
[laughter]
chris rose: Whiplash could be in trouble here!
Both: Oh!
Chris rose: A huge shot to the top of whiplash!
He may have sent whiplash into the shadow realm!
Matt vasquez: Our fight against sawblaze was brutal.
So at this point in the season, we're 0 and 1.
Dropping 0 and 2 would be unacceptable.
So this is a must-win fight for us.
There's no question about it.
Sam mcamis: I'm really happy with how well the torch
has worked against hypershock.
A win here would put us at 2 and 0 against two top-tier teams.
It would basically guarantee us a shot in the tournament.
Faruq tauheed: Whiplash!
Sam mcamis: I think whiplash is a good bot for us to take on.
Their entire frame is aluminum.
Aluminum is very good at conducting heat.
Which, when you're facing gruff, is bad.
Ignition.
The most concerning thing with gruff
is probably their flamethrower.
Sam mcamis: Oh!
Oh yeah!
So if they get us pinned against the wall
and they just roast us for you know, 10 or 15 seconds,
that could be a big problem for us.
The hardest thing about going up against whiplash
is just matt's driving.
Chris rose: Here comes whiplash!
Oh!
We're going to have to drive a little conservatively.
Try to not let him take advantage of us.
And if we get a hold of them, dump heat into them, and for it
to go into the internal, to the robot.
Gruff is definitely less offense and more defense.
Faruq tauheed: Gruff!
Chris rose: This is one of the toughest bots.
Matt vasquez: Which is really what whiplash
thrives on to win fights.
We're a control robot.
We're there to get under you, flip you over.
So all the armor is not going to help him against whiplash.
Robot: Robots, activate.
Sam mcamis: I'm really excited for this fight.
Because both gruff and whiplash are built to control the fight.
And I think it'll be interesting to see who comes out
on top in the control battle.
We have very high expectations for ourselves this season.
But losing to gruff would be a huge blow to our chances
of making the tournament.
So winning this fight, I think, is essential for any success.
[music playing]
[robot whirs]
[music playing]
[cheering]
chris rose: All right, we are back on "battlebots."
and we are moving ever closer to that high-powered clash
in the main event between gruff and whiplash.
But first, we have a battle between two desperate teams who
know at this point it's make or break,
bale spear versus tracer.
Both of these teams had unaired fights earlier this season.
Tracer got knocked out by hijinx, dropping
to a disappointing 0 and 2.
Bale spear lost its season debut to deadlift,
suffering a knockout to begin the year at 0 and 1.
And let's start with bale spear and earl pancoast iii,
the farmer from new jersey.
He came back after a year off from "battlebots."
and what kind of bot did he bring with him?
Kenny florian: Well, it's a sturdy bot.
They have those big tractor tires.
And right away you notice that spear up front.
That can either jab you or get underneath you
and flip you over.
So bale spear took a year off.
Tracer, led by jason woods, has taken more than a decade off.
Kenny florian: Yeah, he participated in the early days
of "battlebots."
so he is a builder with a history in this sport.
But a heck of a lot has changed since then.
So he doesn't have a lot of recent experience.
And we've seen that play out in those first two losses,
as he works to get his new bot fully dialed in.
Somebody's getting a victory.
Yeah.
Faruq, let's find out which one.
In the blue square, from salem, new jersey,
it's earl the impaler, with bale spear!
[music playing]
[cheering]
chris rose: Might be 0 and 1, but this bot
is running better than it did a few years
ago when we last it, kenny.
Kenny florian: Yeah, it sure is.
And it's a huge bot as well.
That thing will drive right over a lot of bots
in this competition.
Chris rose: So bale spear and earl pancoast iii,
currently living on a 24-acre farm.
And by the way, he wants to give a little shout out
to earl pancoast iv, his little four-year-old son,
that's watching.
Faruq tauheed: In the red square, from gold river,
california!
Going for the gold tonight, it's tracer!
[cheering]
[music playing]
chris rose: You can see that big vertical spinner there
on tracer.
That's what jason woods needs to unleash tonight.
Kenny florian: Yeah, that spinner
weighs 50 pounds and rotates at 85 miles per hour.
If he can get that thing cooking,
it could deliver a lot of damage.
And he desperately needs a decisive win
on his resume to have a shot at the round of 32.
[cheering]
a little bit nervous.
It's not exactly a good match-up for us.
We've got a lot of exposed large areas broadside for him to tear
into if he gets a hold of me.
We're going to try to dance with him
and try to stay out of his reach and try
to poke him with a stick.
I'm going to basically run at him with a scalpel
as he shoots at me with a shotgun.
We'll see what happens.
Hopefully he can't hit the broad side of a barn.
We're getting set up to fight bale spear right now, the--
the monster truck of "battlebots."
that big spike coming out the front?
I mean, I'm not worried about it piercing my armor.
But it basically works like a giant wedge.
So I mean, if I plow into that thing and he gets under me
and flips me over, that's all it's going to take.
This is do or die, at this point.
If we don't make this happen, it's pretty much
pack it up and go home.
[cheering]
robot: Robots, activate.
[cheering]
chris rose: Kenny, tell us about tracer's mini bot.
Kenny florian: Yeah, needle is what they call that little guy.
And it's basically a tiny forklift
that can get the opponent off the ground
and let tracer come in for the kill.
Well, let's put her out to pasture, boys.
Hopefully he don't put us down like a broken-legged horse.
[music playing]
[cheering]
for three minutes.
[crowd chanting "fight!
Fight!
Fight!"]
[buzzes]
chris rose: Let the bot battle begin!
Here comes bale spear!
Oh!
A big shot by tracer!
That's more than we've seen out of that
weapon so far this season!
Impressive!
Kenny florian: Bale spear lost one of its barn doors
there, chris, now chasing after the mini bot.
Needle, trying to get underneath bale spear there.
Got close.
Chris rose: Tracer's weapons, still at full speed.
Bale spear faces him!
Kenny florian: Whoa!
Chris rose: Oh!
Nice shot there by jason woods's bot.
Kenny florian: Yeah, this is a different tracer
we're seeing tonight.
And it looks like needle may have bale spear hung up.
I got to get him, get him.
Chris rose: Bale spear cannot move at all.
Kenny florian: Oh, wow.
Chris rose: Now it's moving, thanks to tracer.
And going for a ride, too.
And now, looking to deliver bale spear into the screws, and he
does just that.
Not the biggest impact you've ever seen.
But bale spear looks lost, kenny, I got to admit.
Kenny florian: Yeah, I think this is going to do it.
Tracer thinks so too.
Just circling now.
And bale spear, dying right in front of us.
Well, he took us out back behind the shed on that one.
Chris rose: I feel like I'm watching
the end of "braveheart" here. Ref: 10!
9!
8!
Chris rose: And finally, the referee gives his mercy!
Ref: 7! 6!
5!
4!
Chris rose: Team tracer will get its first taste
of victory inside the battlebox this season!
Ref: 3, 2, bale spear is knocked out!
Winner, tracer!
[buzzer]
[cheering]
good job, guys.
[music playing]
good job, buddy.
Dude, that was perfect.
[cheering]
go!
Yeah!
[music playing]
chris rose: Job well done by tracer, huh?
Kenny florian: Yeah, absolutely.
That spinner went to work, immediately
blowing the barn door off.
And look, that needle there, jamming up those tires
and holding bale spear in place until his buddy tracer
could arrive to deliver the body blow.
Great teamwork between the main bot and the mini bot.
Chris rose: No question about it.
This is far and away the best we've
seen tracer look I mean, the fact it was still working
after 30 seconds was a plus.
Had to be a good feeling for jason woods and his team.
Kenny florian: Definitely.
And you wonder, if tracer was working like this earlier on
in the season, they could have gone much further
and could have had a much better shot to make it to the top 32.
They still might.
But again, this is the way tracer is supposed to work.
[music playing]
[cheering]
jason woods?
Woo!
Nice job!
That sounds like a sense of relief.
Jason woods: Oh, man.
It's so amazing, after this long and this much work,
to see it do what it was supposed to do.
I've decided these are my new lucky shorts.
I'm not wearing jeans anymore.
[laughter]
I think that might have been the problem.
And we're going to finish the self righter.
But man, that was-- that was amazing.
I'm really happy.
Jason, you stopped competing after 2009.
Life gets in the way occasionally.
But you remained a big fan of "battlebots."
after all that time, to finally get a victory,
how does it feel?
You know, it's three minutes in the box.
But it's, you know, decade in the making kind of thing.
It's really hard to, in just mere seconds, really comprehend
the scale of what happened.
But pretty overwhelmed.
Really, really proud.
Really thankful to our sponsors, for making
this whole thing possible.
And my amazing team, for putting in all the hours
to make this thing come together, so.
You have three daughters watching at home.
What do you want to say to them?
I love you little girls.
And I love you, honey.
Thank you for supporting me and watching the kids
while I'm here doing this.
You're the best.
- 'atta way, buddy. - Thank you, guys.
- That'll get you some points. - Thank you guys.
Job well done.
Appreciate it.
[cheering]
[music playing]
chris rose: Well, we've had a healthy serving
of robot-fighting appetizers.
But I'm still hungry.
How about you?
You're always hungry.
Good point.
And good thing, it's time for tonight's main course.
These builders have been working hard
in the kitchen to cook up an epic
showdown for our enjoyment.
It's gruff, serving up a platter of flame-broiled destruction,
taking on whiplash and their not-so-secret recipe of
finely-chopped robot carnage.
Coming up next, on "battlebots!"
[robot whirs]
kenny florian: Uh-oh!
That goes the chain, chris!
There goes the chain! - Oh, no-ho-ho-ho!
Kenny florian: This fight is going to be over!
I wanted that match to keep going.
Chris rose: Oh, that's got to be it.
Kenny florian: Yeah.
Ricky, what do you want?
Ricky!
Come on, will!
Flip me over, baby!
Come on!
My wheels were still working.
If I were able to get back onto my feet,
I could have still been in that fight.
Please flip me over!
Ricky!
Hit it!
Not battery box!
Anything else!
You know, will's a fast driver.
But I don't know if he's precisioned.
Chris rose: Yeah!
Oh, he did!
Holy smokes!
And now mammoth is smoking!
Kenny florian: I don't think that's what ricky had in mind.
Chris rose: Uh, be careful what you ask for?
We all want a good show.
And I'm always happy to see a robot smoking in the arena.
I just really wish it hadn't been mine.
The one thing I asked him not to do, but that's fine.
Well, ow!
I thought I was going to get it. I thought--
dude!
Did you get his plate number?
Dang!
Night, kurt!
[robot whirs]
[cheering]
all right, we are back on "battlebots."
it is time now for our main event.
It's gruff taking on whiplash.
And gruff, already 1 and 0, after knocking out
hypershock in its first fight.
Kenny florian: Uh-oh!
Oh!
Chris rose: Wow!
Look at the flamethrowers on that!
What sort of damage could that do to the interior
of the other bot?
Wow!
Sam mcamis, not a man of many words out there.
He lets his bot do the talking.
Kenny florian: Yeah, he sure does.
That that thing is insane.
It is built like a brick.
It is very durable.
That thing will never stop moving, it seems.
And those flamethrowers are some of the most effective weapons
in the whole competition.
Facing whiplash, one of the best bots out here,
driven by the vasquez family.
In particular, the college student, matty vasquez.
Yes, they lost, knocked out by sawblaze
in their opening-round match.
Both: Oh!
Yeah!
Chris rose: He's cutting his teeth on whiplash!
They told us, listen.
We've accomplished almost everything we've
wanted the last few years.
We've been in the semifinals.
We've been in the quarterfinals.
There's just one more step.
Tonight they really got to get a victory, I think.
Kenny florian: They do.
I don't think they're short on confidence, though.
I still think they believe in their bot.
Obviously, tremendous drivers, the both of them.
I think they will be back.
But again, they could go 0 and 2.
I mean, gruff is that good.
Which would be crazy.
That's how good the competitors are here at "battlebots."
unbelievable.
Faruq, let's bring them out.
[cheering]
faruq tauheed: Ladies and gentlemen!
Are you ready?
[cheering]
it's robot-fighting time!
[cheering]
[music playing]
wo!
Faruq tauheed: In the blue square,
black and orange like Halloween!
Isn't that something?
You better not say jack, or he'll carve you like a pumpkin.
His flamethrower has been optimized to bring the heat!
When he takes the noise to your front door like trick or treat.
It's gruff!
[cheering]
chris rose: He's a high school teacher by day,
for engineering and robotics.
He's a bot crusher by night.
Sam mcamis, putting his stamp on things.
Kenny gruff can take a hit.
It can deliver a few as well.
Kenny florian: Yeah, absolutely.
That flamethrower is just ridiculous.
Sam cranked it up to generate 200 times the heat output
of a typical stove-top burner.
This thing could cook a robot for lunch in about 5 seconds.
Faruq tauheed: In the red square!
When it comes to drivers, they say he's the best in the biz!
The 21-year-old student is an absolute whiz!
He's driven opponents crazy, making their head spin!
But now it's a giant nut the vasquez family wants to win!
Once again, looking to make a splash,
make some noise for cali's own whiplash!
[cheering]
[music playing]
chris rose: How good is this bot?
In the last three seasons, it's only 4 losses
are to tombstone, witch doctor, bite
force, and sawblaze, kenny.
Kenny florian: Yeah, these guys really
have established themselves as one of the elite
bots here at "battlebots."
chris rose: With whiplash, something to keep an eye on,
matty vasquez was out driven by jamison go,
in their first loss to sawblaze.
I don't know if he has anything to prove.
But he wants to be better.
Kenny florian: Oh, absolutely.
I think he wants revenge.
He's going to try to take it out on gruff.
[music playing]
[cheering]
man: You better be ready!
Chris rose: Pete, what are you seeing going into this fight?
Peter abrahamson: Oh, I think whiplash
is going to haul ass across this field
and take it to a slow-moving gruff.
Something I just noticed is that gruff is missing one
of its weglets in the very front,
which could possibly be its downfall,
with a bot like whiplash.
Chris rose: Whiplash needs a win to avoid falling to 0 and 2.
And gruff wants to lock up a spot in the tournament
by adding another name to its list of burn victims.
[cheering]
robot: Robots, activate.
[cheering]
[music playing]
[cheering]
robots: Blue team, ready.
[booms]
[cheering]
robot: Red team, ready.
[booms]
let's go.
[cheering]
[music playing]
[crowd chanting "fight!
Fight!
Fight!"]
chris rose: Let the bot battle begin.
Whoa, there's that fire-breathing monster,
known as gruff, right in the face of whiplash!
Kenny florian: This is where whiplash wants to be,
attacking the flanks and the sides,
trying to get a flip here.
Chris rose: Gruff slips away.
Looking to stay squared up to whiplash.
Here's the flame.
Uh-oh!
Kenny florian: Here's a nice flip from whiplash,
trying to get underneath gruff!
Chris rose: Oh!
Nice move!
Kenny florian: Whiplash, able to land a shot to the underbelly
of gruff right there.
[slamming]
all right, fire, fire, go higher.
Kenny florian: With a big explosion right there.
And you can see, that right flamethrower may be down now.
But oh!
Whiplash, able to get underneath gruff, once again!
Chris rose: Well, he's got him in the corner,
trying to really lift him.
Kenny florian: We're seeing matt vasquez at his best right
now, just destroying gruff from the bottom.
Chris rose: Ooh!
A nice pulverizer hit on whiplash, from team
gruff in tight quarters, kenny!
Kenny florian: And whiplash, right back on top of him.
Pulling shots and pushing him into the screws.
I'm not sure those flamethrowers are working anymore, chris.
Chris rose: That's a real problem for gruff.
And so too is the driving skills of matt vasquez,
on full display.
Kenny florian: Wow!
Chris rose: Now, right in front of us,
another big hit by whiplash!
Kenny florian: Whiplash, just dominating
the battle for low ground.
And to gruff's credit, it has refused to get flipped.
Countering whiplash there, and a beautiful overhead
shot from whiplash.
Chris rose: Nice little reversal by gruff.
And now he's got whiplash in his sights.
[slamming]
oh!
90 seconds to go it!
Both: Uh-oh!
Chris rose: Whiplash is starting to smoke!
Kenny florian: Oh no, gruff, just starting to take over.
Utilizing its grappling skill there.
He almost got a nice lift in a suplex.
Chris rose: And all of a sudden, whiplash's weapon no longer
looks to be active.
May have dominated the early stretches of this fight.
But is the playing field starting to even now, kenny?
That is the big question.
Kenny florian: Well, whiplash can utilize that weapon
as a lifter, as can gruff.
So two very similar bots right now, chris.
Chris rose: Whiplash takes gruff for a ride
into the side of the box.
Has him pinned now.
Trying to use the battlebox to his advantage.
And look what's back and running.
At least a little while, it was his main weapon.
Kenny florian: Smoke leaking out of both bots now, chris.
Feels like we're in the eighth round of a heavyweight fight
here.
Chris rose: Under 45 seconds to go.
Can these two warriors make it the full three minutes?
Whiplash, continuing up at gruff, and dictate the pace,
showing no fear.
Especially without those big flamethrowers in the mix.
Kenny florian: Yeah, I think whiplash got to their fuel tank
with one of those early shots.
And check out whiplash here.
Just bullying gruff.
This is one of the most versatile
bots you will ever see.
It can attack you from below or above, head on, rear facing.
Chris rose: Wow.
Kenny florian: The total package, chris.
Chris rose: And it has all been on display in this fight,
as the final seconds tick away.
[ticks]
this one is going the distance.
[buzzer]
[cheering]
not so bad, we did good.
Great job.
Good job, guys.
Got it down to the countdown.
[laughter]
chris rose: So now this one goes to the judges, scoring
out of the 11-point system.
Your judges are all former "battlebots" participants,
derek young, lisa winter, and jason bardis.
[music playing]
kenny, you want to talk about major league robot combat?
Check out this sequence.
Whiplash, getting underneath a fire-breathing gruff,
almost flips him.
But gruff uses its forks to counter
and kick back up, only to catch it
uppercut from whiplash's disc.
That was unreal.
Kenny florian: Yeah, this was an amazing technical fight.
Whiplash dominated the battle for low ground.
But gruff responded with some beautiful counters.
Seems like gruff may have blown a fuel tank early on
and lost those flame throwers.
And of course, matt vasquez capitalized.
Chris rose: The 21-year-old's driving skills
were on full display, as he said,
attacking from below and then from above with those overhead
shots.
A virtuoso performance from the versatile whiplash.
Kenny florian: Yeah, gruff even the scorecard a bit
towards the back end of the fight
by showing off its grappling skills
and controlling whiplash for a stretch.
But I think the judges are going to be hard
pressed to not deliver a unanimous decision
for the vasquez family.
Whiplash, just too much.
[cheering]
the results from the judges are in!
[cheering]
[music playing]
and the winner, by unanimous decision, is--
[music playing]
whiplash!
[cheering]
[music playing]
good job, you guys.
[cheering]
matt vasquez, congratulations on win number 1.
Were you driving like your season depended on it?
Yeah.
That's exactly what I was doing.
Our season did depend on it.
We were, you know, 0 and 1.
So we had a loss, no wins.
We have to win this to get a chance
to make it into the tournament.
But hopefully if we could win at least one more fight,
I think we have a good chance of getting in there.
But yeah, this is-- we are very happy about this win.
It's a great thing for us.
Matt, take us through this fight.
So going into this fight?
Honestly, the robot did a lot of the work in this fight.
It was just, our fronts were a lot lower than theirs.
So I didn't really have to get to the sides.
I just had to get the weapons spun up and just run into him.
And that was all it really took.
But it seemed like every time you went head on.
Those flamethrowers were getting spewed right at you.
Was that a concern?
It was a concern before the fight.
But to be honest, while I was fighting I
just kind of forgot about it and ignored it.
Which probably wasn't good.
But I mean, that happens when you're fighting.
It's-- you get tunnel vision.
[laughs]
matt, look at the laundry list of teams
that you have faced over the last few years.
Yeah.
Your only four losses in the last three seasons
were to teams like bite force and tombstone,
and witch doctor and sawblaze.
And here you have a tough one with gruff.
Do you love facing this sort of competition?
Oh, I absolutely love facing this sort of competition.
That's why we come here.
It's, we want to fight the best people.
Like, gruff is one of the toughest robots in the world,
probably.
So just the fact we were able to do some damage to them,
it's-- we're very happy about that.
And when you fight a bot like gruff,
do you basically have to work under the assumption
that you're going to go the full three minutes?
Oh, 100%.
No-- no one knocks out gruff.
I mean, he's one of those robots.
And plus, we're not like, one of the huge spinners.
So we don't have that much knockout potential
with a robot like them.
So it was really just all about using the lifter
and just keeping control.
Well, matt, congratulations.
Can you breathe a sigh of relief?
Or because the job is not yet finished,
are you still laser focused?
It's a little sigh of relief.
But we're just going to have to carry this momentum
and just get the robot fixed.
There was some smoke coming out.
We hope it's belts and it wasn't motors.
But we'll see.
We'll take it apart and check it out.
Congratulations to you and your brother, and your mom
and pops.
Go celebrate.
Thank you.
Woo.
[cheering]
chris rose: All right, sam, how did
you see that fight unfolding?
I mean, we just got out-driven.
I mean, that's all there is to it.
So are you saying that you shoulder
the blame for this loss?
I think that's fair to say.
Why do you feel that way?
I just feel like we--
he hit us in our weak spots.
And I wasn't able to make sure that we, you know,
got under him.
Sam, you know, you are a teacher.
And so every fight that you have here at "battlebots"
can be used as a learning experience.
What did you learn tonight?
I think I learned we got to get lower.
We-- every time we went head to head, like--
or not every time.
But a lot of the times, like, we should have been able to get
underneath him and we couldn't.
We got to figure out how he was able to do that.
All right.
Well, we'll give you a chance to go fix your bot.
Still a great show out there, as you fall to 1 and 1
on the season. Thanks for the time.
Yeah.
Thank you.
[music playing]
[cheering]
chris rose: Kenny, we talked a lot about the importance
of this fight for whiplash.
Does this big-time win re-establish them
as one of the top contenders this season?
Kenny florian: Absolutely.
This was whiplash at its finest.
The driving, the control, the power.
This bot could go wheel to wheel against anybody.
Did you have fund tonight again?
I had an awesome time.
We always do around here.
So for jenny taft and faruq, and our bot
whisperer, pete, and my man kenny florian, I'm chris rose.
We'll see you next time, on "battlebots."
[cheering]
[music playing]