[in robotic voice] robots activate.
[all cheering]
hi everybody and welcome to battle bots.
It's the show where men and women,
dedicate their lives to building epic fighting robots,
just so they could send them into battle to be ripped apart, bolt by bolt.
I'm chris rose.
And speaking of part man, part machine, I'm joined by the only guy
who's an expert analyst in both human, and a robot combat.
That's kenny florian.
Thanks, chris.
Tonight get ready to see the most intense robot combat of the season,
as some of the fields most notorious spots
prepare for their third and final chance.
Tim press the selection committee and do some damage inside the battle box.
We don't know exactly how the damage will be done tonight,
but we know that it definitely will get done.
Let's take a look at the bots, that are going to do it, on tonight's white car.
It's a battle of undefeated, as the legend donald hudson,
and lock-jaw face off against rookie breakout jackpot.
[kenny] that's right, with both spots making a bid
for the world championship tournament,
a win here would all but guarantee that invaluable I see.
[chris] we've also got a master tactician in a pickle, making on a pickle.
As the winless rotator tries to avoid getting court, by big dill.
[kenny] yeah, chris victor soto definitely has his back up against the wall,
as any hopes of making the top 32 rely on a victory here tonight.
Our main event will feature a pair one in one bots squaring off.
As tombstone goes up against skorpios, and kenny,
this one could have some major playoff implications.
[kenny] absolutely, chris, a win or a loss here,
could be the difference between being a top ten seed
and finding yourself somewhere in the twenties, with a much tougher matchup.
[chris] and we open it up with some really monster madness,
as fan favorite, huge looks to avoid a winless season, standing in their way.
That devil from the deep, kraken.
That means faruq, it's your world.
[all cheering]
ladies and gentlemen, it's robot fight in time.
In the blue square, in french, they call this bot in enorm.
In japanese, they call it, keodi and in greek, they call it steals.
No matter how you say it.
One thing is for sure, this bot is so big, it could go on a world tour.
Make some noise, huge!
[chris] after back to back seasons,
making the top 16, jonathan schultz,
and huge now desperately need to dig themselves,
out of a controversial owing to ditch, kenny.
[kenny] yeah, and it's no lie when I say I've ' never seen jonathan,
this frustrated, huge fell to over two after
an incredibly disheartening loss to hydra.
And he could tell jonathan that needs a personal victory,
as much as his team needs a win, if they're going to have any hope
of making the round of 32.
[cheering]
[faruq] in the red square.
Its jaws be smacking, wins.
It's stacking, your body is tracking, parts your lacking,
backs your packing, release the kraken.
[chris] matt spark and kraken in making in enigmatic entrances.
They get ready to make their bid for two and one.
What's with the cloak and dagger, kenny?
[kenny] well, for the second fight in a row, huge is going to have to face,
a custom configuration with an opposing bot,
that has fashioned a hook onto the johnson kraken,
to hopefully jam up huge's wheels and an attempt to win with control game.
They're not a r robot, the guys easily,
so yeah, it's there, definite planets to outlast us.
We let them do that.
We're gonna lose the fight, the figure for spending the this three minutes.
We stayed out of the cruz and I'll point of hammers.
Probably win. We're going to kraken ten times
and hopefully one of those does something, and, on get something like that.
We're feeling really confident.
We've got a little couple gimmicks,
that they were going to spring a surprise on huge night.
We'll see if they work, but there's no other robot here,
that's like huge, huge hits it about two feet up,
which is very high in about two feet on kraken,
there's a belt where everything important this,
but we're looking forward to.
We're going to take it till, and hopefully we do well enough
that we can convince the selection committee.
We get into the final 32, and start the playoff run.
[announcement in robotic voice] robots activate.
[chris] the ships, the line on kraken,
harpoon configuration.
Let's go to former battle bots contestant,
and our resident bot whispers.
Pete abrahamson, pete, how that thing help kraken against huge?
I' am not sure, they're going to be able
to help themselves with, huge here.
I mean, huge has the double ended bar, that they're going to be spinning up with,
anything it's going to catch, is gonna slice big holes in,
having a little like harpoon hook, on the end of their nose.
I am not sure that was the best idea.
[announcement in robotic voice] blue team ready?
[announcement in robotic voice] red team ready?
-You ready? -Ready.
-Are you ready? -Ready.
Let's kill it, here we go.
[screams] let's go!
[audience screaming] fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin, kraken tracking, huge here.
Already goes right for the weapon, before it can spin up,
does it have a clean bite?
Yes.
Play, play, play.
A perfect start for cracking that now living on the flames here,
spinning its wheels but kraken in full control here, kenny.
[kenny] this is exactly what kraken is designed to do it.
Kraken is blasted huge, right between the eyes.
With that flame thrower jonathan schultz
has to be concerned about that fire,
doing some real damage here.
[chris] remember, huge with a record of owing to this season,
and it's immediately behind the eight ball here against, kraken.
Then there is the release.
[kenny] huge still working here.
But looking a little play broiled after that stretch.
[chris] huge still in cracking that plate is still active
and kraken do at its best to stop it as well.
[pete] looks like kraken is going to need some plastic surgery after this one.
Huge is getting up to full speed right now, chris.
[thuds]
wow!
-[chris] wow, full face lift. - [kenny] oh my goodness.
[chris] if there was just a doctor through its southern california
that could perform that kind of surgery.
[kenny laughs]
but, kraken unfaced still chasing huge with that harpoon.
[chris] another heal just.
Oh gosh!
[pete] those are some brutal hits.
This is huge, at his best right now.
He's got to create some space though.
-Just look that hook is working, chris rose. -[chris] it sure is.
He caught a huge tire on the side, but he just couldn't so anything.
Oh, gosh!
Kraken takes more damage to its grill.
[kenny] how durable is kraken.
[chris] unreal.
Oh, put back on its hit,
but it flips over, and after a dominant start by,
kraken, huge continues to mount an attack.
[kenny] another big hit,
[chris] closing in on one minutes left. Kraken on its head.
Huge, literally just spinning its wheels.
And this fight had a little bit of everything, back and forth
action here to start the night.
Now they free themselves.
[kenny] kraken is one tough bot.
[chris] huge, looking to get some space, and attack, but kraken gets to the side.
Drives huge into the side of the box in that harpoon attachment.
A fantastic design adjustment for matts spurk.
[chris] but kraken has got to do shut with its defense,
its primary weapon, in the remaining 35 seconds.
[kenny] krakenkon, doing a good job. A stand close to the wheels.
[chris] wow.
[kenny] there's another piece, that went flying from kraken.
[chris] yep.
Well, the hook is doing its job.
But kraken has-- oh!
[kenny] was that the kill shot?
[chris] wow, let's see if huge backs up,
...Backs up. Maybe kraken won't move anymore.
Under ten to go.
[jonathan] one more hit. [chris] huge wants to give one more huge hit.
Will it deliver one?
Yes, it does, to the backside.
-[buzzer sounds] -the shot at the end shows
that huge are back.
[jonathan] let's go!
[chris] the team looks awfully confident.
They have earned their first win of the season.
With the judges agree,
or will it be kraken finishing their season on top?
We'll find out when battlebots continues.
We are right back into the madness here on battlebots
as the judges deliberate
which one of huge or kraken will improve their chances
of making the 2020 tournament.
-[man] you guys built a hell of a robot. -Hell of a fight.
[man] that thing took a beating.
[chris] so, now this one goes to the judges,
who are scoring on an 11-point system.
Five points could be divvied up for damage,
three points for aggression and three for control.
The judges are all former battlebots participants.
Derek young, lisa winter and jason bardis.
Kenny, kraken got the early jump on huge,
sinking its teeth into the giant
and adding a little fire for good measure.
Unbelievable.
[kenny] yeah, a perfect start for kraken.
But once huge got that big bar spinner cranked up,
they turned the tables and were able to land some monster shots
and inflict all types of damage of their own.
[chris] and let's give some credit to matt spurk here.
That harpoon proving to be surprisingly effective
in the control bot's eternal hunt for those valuable control points.
[kenny] absolutely.
And while both bots maintain consistent aggression,
you can feel the desperation behind the glass from team huge.
They knew their entire season was riding on this fight,
and they didn't hold anything back.
Clutch performance by jonathan schultz.
[chris] let's go to faruq
with a huge decision for both teams.
The results from the judges are in.
The winner by unanimous decision is...
Huge!
[jonathan] good job, guys.
Whoo!
[chris] jonathan schultz, is that a smile under that mask, finally?
-Ah. He's back. -[jonathan] a very full one. Yeah.
Is it a sense of relief more than anything else?
Because we have never seen you this frustrated ever before.
[jonathan] we never have been this frustrated ever before.
You know, just...
That was the hardest fight we've ever had, the last fight.
And, and this felt really good to finally...
You know, we spent all day tuning it.
Finally get the bugs out. And finally get some real hits on somebody.
Did you feel like you had to win impressively
to try to squeeze into that top 32?
Absolutely.
Um, you know, I think the fight with mammoth was very competitive.
It was good. But you need a win on your record.
And I'd say that was a very good win over a great robot.
So, even though you're just one in two,
you feel confident based on the competition that you've faced
that you are in the round of 32?
Um, I wouldn't call my shot, but we're going to fix the robot.
Ah. Okay.
And if you are fortunate enough to get into the round of 32,
how dangerous is huge?
It's a lot more dangerous
than what it was when it walked in the building.
I think we're ready for the playoffs.
We got a lot of spare parts that we haven't had to use any of yet.
And I think we're ready to make the run.
You think you'll sleep a little easier tonight?
I think I'll sleep a lot easier tonight.
Very good.
Jonathan, congratulations to you and team huge.
Thank you.
Whoo-hoo!
[chris] all right. Matt spurk, you're still smiling.
Why is that?
Uh, that was another great match.
Um, and you can't kill the kraken.
We're in here. Nothing's gonna kill us.
We're gonna keep fighting.
We're down, the weapon's down.
We're gonna shove that weapon right back in the blade again and see what happens.
Um, really happy with how that fight went.
We had a lot of damage after the witch doctor match.
We've been working to prepare that.
Just got it all fixed up.
Finally go back in there, huge tears it all apart.
Now, we'll be back. Late night tonight.
Late night tonight again, putting it all back together.
But, uh, just super proud of how we've done this season.
And, uh, the quality of the competitors that we've faced is, is the best.
We've faced the best robots here.
So, uh... And we've held our own,
so I'm proud of how we've done.
Matt, the selection committee was definitely watching this fight tonight.
What do you have to say to them?
Uh, I would say, "you've got to put the kraken in."
you're going to get three minutes of just all-out aggression.
Um, it's the kind of fights that need to be in the tournament.
We faced a huge... A super hard schedule.
Uh, black dragon, witch doctor, huge.
All robots that finished in the top 16 last year.
Witch doctor was the number two robot,
probably the top bot in this tournament,
and we took him out,
uh, so I think we have to be in the tournament.
Well said. No arguments here.
Matt spurk and team kraken, awesome job,
even though it was a loss. Well done.
Thank you, guys. Appreciate it.
[chris] so, both huge and kraken
finish off the qualifying rounds with a bang
that most certainly got the attention of the selection committee.
And right now, we've got another pair of teams on deck,
one of which needs to make a statement here tonight.
And that's the kids from wpi and ribbot.
They're squared up against a rookie bot, axolotl.
But let's jump right in with the frog.
Coming off a loss to mad catter,
and standing at one in one, david jin and ribbot
have a point to prove here, kenny.
[kenny] definitely. Like we just heard matt spurk
make his case to the selection committee.
Ribbot is a perfect example of how vital strength of schedule is
for any team hoping to make the 32.
Ribbot lost a close fight
to a solid bot in mad catter, but their only win
was against a rookie bot in tracer.
They're going to need to make a meal out of another rookie tonight
if they want to keep their run alive.
[chris] and that rookie is axolotl and captain alon belkin.
They're sitting at 0 in one after an untelevised loss
to fellow newcomer war?Ez!
And the fact that we're just now seeing this team
speaks volumes about their rocky start. Kenny.
[kenny] yeah, axolotl has certainly struggled here
in their first season at battlebots,
but don't count them out just yet.
Alon and his team built this bot together in just a month.
And with only one fight under their belt,
this will be a great opportunity
to find out who axolotl really is.
Faruq, do what you do.
In the blue square from worcester, mass,
the savage in the swamp, it's ribbot.
[chris] ribbot ko'd tracer, lost a unanimous decision to mad catter.
What do you see with ribbot tonight, kenny?
[kenny] well, it looks like they're going with their undercutter weapon.
They're going to try to go weapon-to-weapon with axolotl
and really test their durability straight off the bat.
In the red square from northridge, california,
a cute, little amphibian who's about to start killing 'em,
it's axolotl.
[chris] axolotl lost its only fight so far to war?Ez!
Alon belkin and his college and high school teammates
having the time of their life, but they want to get that win.
We decided to run our undercutter module.
Um, we think that this will deliver some really big hits,
and we don't think they're that well armored low down on the robot.
We're hoping to use our higher speed and maneuverability
to really get around them and choose when we want to hit them.
I think we have the agility advantage here.
I think we also might have the weapon advantage,
although we haven't really seen what their weapon is capable of.
I think it'd be really huge for us
to get a knockout during this fight.
Right now, we're sitting at a one in one record,
so it'd be really good to get a two in one record with two knockouts.
I think way have a pretty strong chance against them.
They, uh, don't have that much strong an armor.
They do have a long weaponry.
We took that long wedgeless
and attached them on the front short of wedgeless.
So, the whole goal is to just try to get around
the side of the robot, take out some wheels.
[automated voice] robots, activate.
[chris] let's bring in our bot whisperer.
Uh, peter, what do you think of these two college kids?
Well, this is going to be
a pretty rough fight for axolotl.
They have been working the axolotl's off in the pits,
trying to repair the damage they suffered in their last match.
But, uh, ribbot has really proven itself to be a pretty formidable robot.
It's going to tear that thing apart.
[chris] and I always love ribbot with the dry sense of humor.
They always get dressed up based on what their opponent looks like.
So, well, there's cute, little eyelashes.
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight!
[chanting continues]
[chris] let the bot battle begin.
[kenny] I don't see those tires on axolotl lasting very long, chris.
[chris] no? You have an over-or-under on the prediction?
-Thirty-two seconds? -[kenny] yeah, maybe 45.
[chris] whoa! [kenny] there goes the primary weapon of axolotl.
-[chris] yep. -I can't move it.
[chris] okay.
Well... Yeah.
-More problems for axolotl. -[kenny] ooh!
[chris] axolotl's gotta show some sort of movement.
-The weapon's moving. That's a good sign. -Light it up. Send it!
[kenny] that's a mean strike. [chris] oh, my gosh!
-Oh! -[kenny] oh, my goodness!
Ribbot's head just came off.
[kenny] stop, stop. He's already dead.
[chris] well, the countdown has started.
But, boy, what a risky move by david jin and ribbot.
[commenter] they wanted to make a statement.
[cheering]
and they did just that.
Ribbot loses it's head, bur axolotl you dead.
[crowd cheering]
well, axolotl made up of a bunch of college kids
could certainly go to school on this one.
[host 2] yeah, I mean, david jin and his boys,
we're not messing around.
They were in there to destroy and to destroy quickly.
Axolotl a sitting duck.
[commenter 1] wow. Take it easy.
Thanks for playing.
One more look at that last shot.
Look at us.
[commenter 2] yeah!
[commenter 1] you know what?
There is glass in front of us.
We shouldn't really have that reaction.
[host 1] all right, david, that was quick work.
Did you guys even break a sweat?
Or I don't even know if frogs sweat.
To be honest with you.
[david] I think we do some sort of sweating
but yeah, that was a quick match.
Went about how we wanted to.
We stretched our legs a bit in the beginning,
did a couple circles and then just
decided to hit them straight on.
[host 2]did you see their primary weapon,
vulnerable there, dave?
Um, I'm don't know if vulnerable the right
word, but it was definitely juicy.
So we went in there.
[host laughs]
[host 1]was there any thought
of not delivering that last hit? Because...
[david] no, absolutely not.
We lined it up. We cheated 'em. We knew,
it was going to happen, and we just sent it.
Wow. Was a message to the selection committee,
since you guys are now two and one.
I hope so, right?
[team] yeah.
All right, boys, go celebrate two and one,
as you await word from the selection committee on,
if and where you land in the round of thirty two.
Thanks. [david] thank you.
[crowd clapping]
[host] and to rookie team axolotl, as the
ancient proverb states,
every journey starts with a mechanized frog,
destroying you with their horizontal disc.
[host 2] that's true poetry, chris.
[host 1 ] so as ribbot adds a nice little,
e xclamation point to their resume,
we've officially got four team eagerly awaiting the call
from the selection committee.
All right, coming up a pickle
tries not to get sliced as big dill takes on,
rotator and buckle up for our explosive main event.
Skorpio finally gets the fight it was built for, against,
the terrifying tombstone.
That's coming your way later,
tonight on battlebots. Fight night!
[host] welcome back to battlebots we are two fights down
and a handful of teams have closed out their seasons,
and are awaiting word from the selection committee.
Right behind them is the mad scientist himself,
victor soto and rotator taking on big dill.
And let's start with rotator.
Victor soto, told us before, the season started
at minimum we want to be a top eight bot.
They have got to get a victory here tonight,
in order to keep that dream alive.
Yeah, victor and rotator were, without question, a top tier,
bot coming into the season, but they're neck deep and over
rotator stop fooling around.
Any hope , victor has of making a tournament rest,
with the win here tonight.
And then there's big dill, hoping to place spoiler here.
Driven by emmanuel carillo.
The first year bot is coming into tonight,
one in one with a win over atom#94
and a loss to lock jaw.
So a decent rookie campaign for them.
[host 2] yeah, emmanuel and his team are well positioned
to break some hearts here tonight.
If they could pull off this win,
and send rotator to owing three.
That'd make a very impressive statement.
To the selection committee, it's theirs for the taking.
Faruq, show us how you get it done.
In the blue square, from seattle, washington.
He's from the land of rain, and here to bring the pain,
its big dill!
Captained by emmanuel carrillo if you have not seen him fight,
yes, he was born without a right hand.
He has been competing in battlebot for years,
he is a member of team mad catter,
and war hawk and now he has his team in contention.
Kenny, what do you know about the bot today?
Well, you could see that heavy armor on the front.
You see the armor protecting the wheels
that is going to be crucial to their success,
if they're able to withstand the blows from the hard hitting rotator.
In the red square from doral, florida,
the sunshine state slayer. Rotator!
[crowd cheering]
rotator coming in at a swell two hundred fifteen pounds
and unprecedented thirty five pounds less than the allowable max.
Why's it dressed for the swimsuit competition kenny?
Looking very trim indeed chris ,victor's actually,
decided to remove the armored wheel guards,
that are usually on rotator after seeing big dills,
first fight against atom#94
victor was nervous that big dills,
pickle forks could get caught in rotator wheels,
and decided this configuration would be both safer,
and make his bot, a little speedier.
So we're fighting rotator in a probably the most important,
fight we've has this tournament, so we have a reinforced frame.
We added all the units and w armor on it
this match is gonna come down to driving.
I mean, if I can keep,
the forks on his body and keep him away.
Just control and manipulate him..
He won't even get a hit on us the whole match.
If we lose this, we're out of tournament.
So no holds bar. We're gonna go out,
and give it everything we've got today.
Today we're facing big dill
we're going to use my new forks this year.
To see if I could get underneath big dill.
We're gonna try to breathe, take it's slow.
Start off with the back.
If I can catch some edges, I'm pretty sure I'll be able,
to rip some pieces out. You can't take anyone lightly
[crowd cheering]
[robot voice] robots activate.
[intense music playing]
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight!
Let the bot battle begin.
Big dill with the box rush a little out of control here.
Rotator's weapon already humming up to full speed.
Now probing with those bad boys...
Oh! Whips around, a shot to big dill! And another.
Wow, and here's a big deal.
Getting underneath rotator almost pulls off the lip,
but no dice.
That's a big shot.
Sparks are flying early.
[banging]
whoa!
Rotator attacking those big forks on the,
front of a big dill, and it looks like
they've taken on some damage, kenny.
Yep, and that is going to be a problem for big dill.
Emanuel is going to have to change up his strategy,
if he can't get those forks underneath rotator.
Rotator trying to get to the back.
[clangs]
now big dill beating rotator that wedge
you know that might be the best play they have
trying to use rotators, own energy against itself.
But rotator has no fear.
Just being relentless with that point.
Oh, love the pretty sparks.
Big dill still trying to use that lifter,
but it's not happening for them.
They've got to get something going,
because rotator is running away with this one.
Boy! Rotator with that main disc just chopping
away at the wedge.
And at the sides of the big dill.
It sure can take, a hit. No question about it.
Yeah, big dill is being completely outdriven,
in this match.
This is a bad spot,
for the big dill to be in, right against the rails.
Right here, right here.
There's big dill parts all over the battle box right now, chris.
Rotator just chipping away piece by piece.
Big dill running out of time here in it's third
and final fight.
And rotator looking... [banging]
rotator smells blood. He wants to rip off,
one of those tires.
Oh, and there it goes.
Oh, rotator looking to finish the job.
Big dill hanging on for dear life,
hoping they could make it to the closing bell.
This is some serious precision here from victor soto.
Team rotator.
About forty five seconds to go in this fight.
There has to be some sort of control movement from the big dill.
Or it's gonna get counted out.
But victor soto says I don't care.
I'm going to keep chopping along.
Yeah, I think the moment victor stops engaging here.
The ref is gonna start this count out.
[ref] ten, nine...
Mr... Kenny florian, you are all over it
the countdown is starting.
Rotator proving its might.
Chalk up the big w. With a spin to win
[ref] knockout! Winner rotator!
Awesome.
[crowd cheering]
masterful performance by rotator and victor soto.
Yeah, that's right, part time plastic surgeon victor soto
so it looked like he was just really patient,
he took his time.
He was kind of taking big dill apart piece by piece, chris.
And the driving skills by victor soto.
It's interesting, because when,
we talk about the top drivers in battle bots,
his name doesn't get mentioned.
I think maybe it should.
No doubt he was leading with those forks
and then doing his best tombstone impression,
by whipping the blade around and landing shots.
Victor used that undercutter to target big dills tires,
managed to pick one off and,
these last few shots sealed the deal.
Rotator is one of two, and much deadlier,
then the record may suggest.
[host] victor.
Victor soto.
Should I call you dr soto,
after that surgical performance?
Uh, sure. It runs in the family would be awesome.
[laughs]
and that was some amazing driving victor.
Congratulations.
Can you take us through the fight a little bit?
Sure. Sure. Yeah.
I added the forks for this fight
to see if I could get underneath big dill.
Uh, hopefully push him around,
but it seems like we don't have a lot of pushing power,
but uh, I was able to use the weapon to my advantage.
We have a 50-pound blade this time,
and it seems like it was cutting really well.
[cheering]
so at this point of the season,
how are you feeling overall about your robot?
Feeling good.
We were able to return back, fire pretty quickly.
Uh, didn't really have any internal damage to the robot.
It's very robust.
Put it back into shape same day
and strapped on new armor and we were ready to rock.
Victor, what's it like facing a newer team to battle bots
like big dill?
I wouldn't really call them a new team.
It's a new robot, but they've been around for a while,
so I wasn't taking them lightly.
Um, I actually did some special things
that I wouldn't normally do.
I actually took off about 30-pounds from the robot
because I felt like it was just stuff
that they could grab on to with their grabber.
So I was a little nervous.
They came in, like, at 215 pounds.
Uh, that's out of my comfort zone
just because I was taking them seriously.
Very good, victor.
As always, an outstanding performance.
Thanks for the time.
Thank you, chris. Thank you, kenny.
[crowd cheering]
so, both big dill and rotator
finished the qualifiers at one and two.
But with the contrasting strengths of their schedule,
victor soto's tournament chances still looks strong
with losses to top-tier bots.
And for emmanuel carrillo, a solid rookie outing.
But it's time to soak big dill and brian until next season.
Coming up.
Can the versatile veteran lock up a perfect season
or will the new kids on the block
claim that prize for themselves?
It's lock-jaw versus jackpot.
[kenny] and it's next.
Welcome back to battlebots.
He is kenny florian. I am chris rose.
And while team jackpot gets ready to test his luck
against the legendary lock-jaw,
let's check in with jenny taft
who has the scoop on tonight's epic main event.
Skorpios was built with one robot in mind,
and zach will tell you,
"my bot is a tombstone killer."
zach has been waiting for years
to go up against ray billings and tombstone in the box,
and now he finally gets his chance.
As for ray billings, he told me he's well aware
that he has a target on his back,
but ray and tombstone have earned it,
and they always come prepared.
[chris] good stuff, jenny.
We'll see how that plays out later tonight.
But right now, it is time for jackpot versus lock-jaw,
both teams looking to cap their seasons
with an undefeated record
and guarantee themselves a spot in the round of 32.
Let's fire it up with lock-jaw.
While we've gotten used to always labeling donald hutson as a legend,
it's important to take a beat
to remember what earned him such a distinction.
[kenny] yeah, chris, it's easy to take someone of donald's stature for granted,
but after two decades of the sport,
the guy has done a whole lot of winning.
Couple that with being one of the best strategists we've never seen,
donald hutson and lock-jaw are a safe bet
in almost any match-up you throw them in.
[chris] and on the opposite end of the career timeline,
we have jeff waters, jr.
And his bot on a budget, jackpot
making waves in their rookie season
with ko's over subzero and ghost raptor.
What makes this bot so dangerous, kenny?
[kenny] well, if you take a look at the tail,
what stands out is the reach
of that diamond-shaped spinner
at nearly a foot long
and spinning at a blistering 200 miles an hour.
Jackpot has been taking full advantage of its impressive reach.
And if you compare that to lock-jaw's shorter 3-inch reach,
it will be on donald hutson
to use his bot's agility to avoid the big shots.
We know he has the skill.
Let's see if the rookies can knock the legend off his game.
Faruq, you got this.
In the blue square,
this bot knows what you did last summer
and it's out for revenge.
It doesn't use a chainsaw, but a spinner to avenge.
Scarier than paranormal activity thriller,
it'll make you scream.
It's one stone-cold killer.
More sinister than the villain from saw,
get ready for lock-jaw.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] the legend donald hutson standing confidently at 2:0.
What do you think, kenny?
Is donald playing with house money
against a bot like jackpot?
[kenny] listen, jackpot has had a great run so far at 2:0,
but a veteran like donald
has to be looking at this fight as his to lose.
While he's likely already bound for the top 32,
a win here over jackpot
would spell some very advantageous seating
for donald and lock-jaw.
In the red square, let's get straight to it.
It'll leave you feeling flush.
Spinners he's got a pair,
and they're here to crush.
He's going all in blind, really taking a risk.
But you better not flop
or he'll be raking all the chips.
It's jackpot!
[chris] jeff waters, jr.
Just your friendly neighborhood plumber from las vegas,
and he's not shy about being a little star-struck
facing a guy he grew up watching on tv in donald hutson.
[kenny] yeah, definitely.
But learning to face your heroes
is all part of elevating your game.
Jeff knows a win here would
all but guarantee him a spot in the round of 32.
So, he's not planning on letting one of his heroes stand in his way.
Donald hutson's been doing this for over 20 years.
He has one of the fastest bots in the field.
We're making our drive system more reliable
and beefing up our frame
to allow us to drive more consistently
and be more precise.
Lock-jaw's weak spot is going to be that weapon hinge point.
If we can get a direct hit on that,
I believe it'll snap right off.
If we win the next fight,
we'll definitely be guaranteed into the top 32.
Even if we put on a good showing
against a legend like donald hutson,
I feel like we'd still be able to make it in.
I got the luck of the draw.
I got jackpot today.
I've seen a couple of their matches, they're pretty good.
Our plan is to go in with this one with our biggest weapon
and just try and, you know, outdrive him,
try to be the first one to make the attack.
Yeah, it's got to be a little bit of stick and move in this one.
[robotic voice] robots activate.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] a pair of bots looking to go undefeated
and punch their ticket to the world championship tournament
that's coming up next on battlebots: Fight night.
[chris] welcome back to battlebots,
where lock-jaw and jackpot are ready to throw down.
Winner will finish with a perfect 3:0 record
and guarantee themselves a spot in the round of 32.
[chanting] fight! Fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin!
Oh! Jackpot going right into the drill of the veteran.
[kenny] and I think the rookie's got the better of that exchange, chris.
There are bot parts scattered all over the battlebox.
[chris] holy smokes! Jackpot's weapon, it's still humming.
Lockjaw's looks to be slowing down now.
Oh, and another big weapon-to-weapon collision.
[kenny] looks to me like lockjaw's spinner is out of commission.
You see donald trying to use the battlebox
and do his dirty work there.
Without a primary weapon,
lockjaw is at a disadvantage now,
drive in to him. Take him out.
[chris] you hear the weapons operator robert stehn.
He's encouraging jeff waters, jr. To stay aggressive.
They have driven a great fight so far.
Oh! Another head-to-head collision.
It sends sparks flying.
[kenny] lockjaw has a little plume of smoke coming out of the back.
Watch the motors, they will get hot.
[chris] all right, not sure why lockjaw's continuing to go head-on with jackpot,
but it is losing that battle.
[kenny] whoa! Jackpot looking for a huge upset.
They have lockjaw inverted now.
But don't count donald hutson out yet.
[chris] and it looks like lockjaw's on its last legs.
-[kenny] oh! -And jackpot can smell it.
-Uh-oh. -It's going back in for hit after hit.
Whoa!
I think jackpot just lost a belt there, chris.
Yeah, we can push!
[chris] oh, but look at this.
It still has enough power to push lockjaw across the box.
[kenny] lockjaw trying to hang in there,
driving inverted...
Doing its best to try to get underneath jackpot.
Now that primary weapon is disabled from jackpot, it seems.
[man] yea!
[chris] closing in on a minute and 15 seconds left.
Can the veteran donald hutson and lockjaw avoid the plume of smoke?
More and more smoke pouring out of that robot
as the rookie jackpot tries to do the unthinkable
and take down a legend in donald hutson.
Can they do it?
[kenny] lockjaw not getting any traction right now, chris.
I think they're gonna count them out.
What an upset this would be.
-Start waving. -Yeah!
Wave yourself further.
I need to see some controlled movement there, lockjaw.
[chris] you can hear the referee telling donald
"you have to show me some sort of controlled movement,
or the countdown is starting."
-10, 9, 8... -And it has.
It is a monumental upset.
-6, 5... -The kid from las vegas,
a plumber by day has come back...
3, 2, 1...
...And won.
[cheering]
they have done it!
The bot on a budget, jackpot, has defeated a legend
to close out their rookie season at 3:0.
Yeah! Whoo!
Peter, are you surprised
that a rookie was able to do this to one of the legends?
Totally. I have fought donald myself,
I have lost to him because he's that good of a driver.
But this was really about that first hit
that donald feared was like, whoever got it,
that was gonna be the winning thing.
[chris] and really, after that first hit, kenny,
you could see lock jaw was wobbling.
They were smoking throughout the match.
[kenny] I mean, this was unbelievable.
Went weapon to weapon, was not afraid to go right at the legend, donald hutson.
We talked about jitters maybe being an issue.
Uh, that is definitely not the case.
These guys could drive. They can build, they have the right strategies.
I mean, is there a bigger or better cinderella story
than jackpot at this point in the season, chris? I don't think so.
Oh, my god. Oh, god.
Jeff. Why the tears?
Oh, my god. I just-- we just beat a legend.
[hoots and sobs]
[exhales]
are you shocked?
So we were worried going into this fight.
It was scary. I mean, that weapon is pretty big, and
and, you know, if it hits us on the side, bend our-our weapons into the belts,
we would have been having some trouble. But we sped up for most of that match.
This was pretty good.
We did lose a belt. Like. Halfway through the match.
You guys said you're learning a lot from your robot.
What did you learn about it now?
That I could drive.
-Yeah, he can drive now. -Every match is getting better and better.
After every match, it's all the way down to the base frame,
we tear it all the way back up and we upgrade it every fight that we have it in.
Jeff, you told us before this fight
that you've been watching donald hudson fight on television
-ever since you were a little kid. -Yeah.
You not only beat him, but knocked him out to improve to 3 and 0.
-What does that mean to you? -What?
That's crazy. It's beyond the wildest dreams I could've thought.
I'm surprised this robot's doing as well as it did
for how quickly we threw it together.
Well, go celebrate. Job well done, jeff.
Thank you, thank you.
[hoots]
[cheering]
[chris] so, lock jaw and jackpot put a period on their qualifying rounds,
and I have a feeling we'll be seeing both of these bots again very soon.
Coming up, chronos and bloodsport,
two bots with a hair trigger are set to go off
on battlebots fight night, and it's next.
We are back on battlebots with one of the surprise robots of the season.
That would be bloodsport which is one win away
from a perfect 3 and 0 regular season.
They'll be facing off against another spinning weapon in chronos.
But let's start with bloodsport.
They're captained by justin marple.
They've had impressive knockout wins over scorpios and end game.
And let's remember, end game was the one that took it to tombstone earlier this season.
What has gone right for this squad?
[kenny] uh, I mean everything. [laughs] these guys have done their homework.
You look at what they did last year, was only their first year here at battlebots,
to what they're doing now,
not only are they winning, they're making it look easy
through getting knockouts left and right. They just might get another one here,
you know, they, uh, told us that last season, they had no clue what they were doing,
which takes us to chronos and jerry serafin.
We've seen jerry the last few seasons. He's an interesting dude.
The ring spinner thing is awesome.
The bot looks amazing. It just doesn't win.
Does he know what he's doing here tonight?
Well, you know what? He's in a much better position tonight.
He's way more confident, even though we've heard that before.
But he has been doing some testing that's been going well with his bot.
So, that is a good sign.
You gotta admire his ability to bring something different to the table here.
He is certainly doing that. He's taking a risk. I hope it just works.
It's a winless team against one that's unbeaten.
Smell an upset? Anyone? Maybe. Let's find out. Faruq.
[faruq] in the blue square, from gardena, california,
tick tock, your time has run out. Here's chronos!
[chris] here he is, jerry serafin and chronos.
This is fight number two for this team.
They had a very rough outing against p1 in a match earlier this season.
How can they move the needle here tonight, kenny?
[kenny] well, chronos is the only ring spinner in the field for a reason,
and that's because it's a very difficult design to pull off successfully.
Unlike full-body spinners like captain shrederator or gigabyte,
that 85 pound ring spins independently around the body of the bot,
making it less susceptible to gyroscopic precession,
and, in theory, easier to control.
Let's see if they can get it going here.
[laughs] okay, let's go.
In the red square, from cambridge, mass.
The mass murderer, bloodsport!
[chris] team bloodsport looking to hit the jackpot
with an undefeated 3 and 0 regular season.
What's at stake for them here tonight, kenny?
[kenny] well, they've already pulled off two huge wins
over very solid teams in end game and scorpios.
But they know the pressure is on them
to round out their bid for the world championship tournament.
This is bloodsport's chance to make a meal out of the struggling chronos
and establish themselves as a true top-tier bot.
We're going up against a bloodsport, pretty vicious robot.
So we're gonna focus on spinning up,
getting up to speed and just getting as many hits in.
It's just gonna be who can spin up the fastest and get as many hits in.
It's very important for us to get a win this time in this fight.
We put a lot of work and effort and we really wanna see this thing function.
This matchup with chronos is going to be an interesting one.
We never faced a horizontal spinner like this before.
We've seen them fight a few times in the past, I think.
Our strategy going into this match will just be to try to kick 'em into the wall,
let 'em pinball around, hit all the walls, let walls do all the damage for us.
So far, we've had two knockouts.
Um, a third knockout, I think, would show really, really well
for the selection committee.
[crowd cheering]
-[robotic voice] robots, activate. - [cheering gets louder]
[chris] well, let's bring in our bot whisperer. He is our pinball wizard.
Pete, what has impressed you most about this second year bot, bloodsport?
So, bloodsport has done some major changes to the bot itself.
There's great wheel selection they've done.
So, he's got much better control
with soft wheels in the front and hard wheels in the back, lets him drift a bit.
But the thing to watch out for here
is the fact that bloodsport spins far faster than chronos.
Both these robots are counter-rotating, so, think of, like, two gears.
When bloodsport makes contact,
they will most likely catch the backside of those tooth on chronos,
sending chronos flying into the wall.
[chris] you should see the gears in my head, which way they're spinning.
[peter] they're spinning?
[robotic voice] blue team, ready.
We got this, jerry.
[crowd cheering]
[robotic voice] red team, ready.
[electronic distortion]
[crowd] fight, fight, fight...
[buzzing]
[chris] let the bot battle begin.
And here comes bloodsport firing up that 77 pound weapon
chronos looking to create some space,
trying to draw bloodsport towards the side of the box,
and here comes bloodsport.
-Whoa! - [kenny] huge hit!
[chris] bloodsport sends chronos into the rails.
Can chronos recover?
[kenny] chronos is still moving,
but I think that ring spinner might be shut down.
[chris] whoa! Another huge shot!
[kenny] uh-oh, chronos is just kind of sitting in the corner now,
maybe trying to bait bloodsport into attacking here.
[chris] if it hits chronos, it could recoil and do some serious damage to itself.
Oh, and there it is. Bloodsport catches a blade on the side of the box.
[kenny] that is what chronos is trying to get bloodsport to do.
[chris] yup. And without a primary weapon,
chronos is gonna have to get creative here.
Now the question is, is bloodsport's weapon down?
Pete, what are you seeing from your vantage point?
[peter] I'm thinking that they're actually holding back
and trying to keep from damaging their weapon.
They may well still have some power in there. We'll see later on in the match.
[chris] okay, so we are about one and forty five to go in this match.
Chronos's ring spinner is down.
Bloodsport's weapon either not active or not working.
Well, that answers my question.
Peter, well done. You get a gold star in the report card.
Just ram 'em, jerry, just ram 'em, ram 'em...
[kenny] this is predator and prey right now.
Blood sport trying to slice and dice,
but chronos showing some good durability in this flight.
[chris] unbelievable, right?
And if you're bloodsport and justin marple,
do you rethink the strategy? Do you even fire up that weapon anymore, kenny?
[kenny] yeah, I mean, that armor for kronos has been surprisingly tough, chris.
And if you're justin marple, you may wanna consider
being a little more conservative going forward.
You've got to think that judges have bloodsport winning this fight
since they were able to shut down the primary weapon of chronos.
But bloodsport is still spinning.
[chris] closing in on the 50 second mark to go, bloodsport continues to attack
meanwhile, on the other side, chronos is staying aggressive as well,
simply hoping for a miracle.
[kenny] yeah, at 0 and 1, chronos doesn't have much to lose here, chris.
As bloodsport goes in for another hit,
we know they're looking for that perfect 3 and 0 record.
But justin marple kind of rolling the dice wit these last few hits.
[chris] thirty seconds to go, will bloodsport fire up its weapon yet again?
Leave one lasting impression in the eyes of the judges?
Or are they content to just drive around and keep it safe?
I would say, with 15 seconds to go,
they're just willing to run off the clock at this point, kenny.
-[kenny] yeah, no doubt. - [countdown timer beeping]
jerry definitely made some improvements to chronos,
but that primary weapon shutting down is gonna be tough for them to get the nod.
-[chris] that'll do it. It goes the distance. - [timer buzzing]
[rose] pete, what do you think of bloodsports strategy as far as weapon-use?
[abrahamson] I think it was brilliant
because they're a, saving themselves for the 32,
b, they were sort of trying to get a good position,
anywhere they could possibly be that'd give them a long time to spin up
and then make the hit.
Rather than barely being spun up and getting hit by chronos.
[rose] so remember, there are three different categories
the judges are looking at.
Up to five points could be awarded for damage,
three for aggression, and three for control.
Your judges are all former battlebots participants:
Derek young, lisa winter, and jason bardis.
Kenny, bloodsport came out looking for blood
and delivered a vicious shot that broke chronos' ring spinner,
and put them on their heels.
[florian] yeah, without a primary weapon,
chronos was forced to bait bloodsport
into attacking for the rest of the match
in hopes of disabling their blade.
Credit to chronos for looking durable.
But that big shot from bloodsport was the story of this match.
Pete, what do you think of the overall weapon that bloodsport has?
[abrahamson] it's one of the better horizontal spinners
we're seeing in the whole field right now.
[rose] and if you were a judge?
[abrahamson] if I was a judge, it's gonna go straight to bloodsport.
[rose] say that with more enthusiasm, pete.
[abrahamson] if I was a judge, it would go directly to bloodsport.
[rose] that-a-away. Way to sell.
[audience cheering]
the results from the judges are in.
[dramatic music playing]
and the winner by unanimous decision is...
[music stops]
bloodsport!
[audience cheering]
[rose] justin marple, a 3-and-0 regular season.
Is this beyond your wildest dreams?
Yeah. Yeah, this is uh, a bit unexpected, really.
Going with a brand-new bot, we didn't know what was gonna happen.
We're really excited to see how it's performed so far.
It seems like you were turning that weapon on and off.
Why were you doing that?
So we have suspicions that maybe the weapon was overheating.
There might be some... We're not totally sure yet.
We'll find out when we go into the bot,
but yeah, we're hoping if it's overheating,
we'll let it cool down and get back up to speed when it's cool again.
What do you think you have shown to the selection committee?
I think in the previous two matches,
we really showed them a good reliable bot.
It's a bran-new bot, we've never fought a horizontal before like this.
So obviously we have some learning to do.
But yeah, I'm excited going forward.
Are you getting used to this, man?
You're undefeated.
We keep interviewing after your fight with the win.
Uh, what do you think?
I I couldn't be happier with all this. [chuckles]
so what sort of ranking would you be most pleased with?
Number one, of course.
And if you are outside the top ten,
will the selection committee have made a mistake?
I think so. I think we're top-ten worthy, for sure.
Well, you've certainly participated like a top-ten robot.
-Job well done during the regular season, justin. -Thank you, chris.
[music playing]
[rose] so as bloodsport caps off a stellar performance in the qualifying round,
we will say see you next time
to the struggling jerry serafin and chronos.
Coming up, it is familial ferocity
as the legendary ewert clan rolls fusion into the box
to take on the father-son duo of war? Ez!
That's next on battlebots.
[cheering]
we are back on battlebots,
and up next, a pair of one-and-one teams.
It's fusion taking on war? Ez!
And with the selection committee looming,
you know both of these teams are gunning for that winning two-in-one record.
So let's start with fusion, led by the familiar ewert clan.
This time, its reese at the controls.
And he told us at the beginning of the season, kenny,
"listen, this is a bot that can win it all,
as long as I don't do anything to screw it up."
so how does he prevent screwing it up tonight?
[florian] well, he does it by banking a convincing win
to impress the committee here, chris.
Though they haven't exactly faced the toughest strength of schedule,
fusion has proven to be a bot on the right track.
It has a devastating pair of primary weapons
and everything to lose, so I'm interested in seeing
what reese and the ewerts' have up their sleeve.
He's taking on a true rookie bot-builder
in jonathan juarez.
The bots name is war? Ez!
They're at one-and-one with a couple of untelevised fights
so safe to say their hopes of winning the nut are all but dashed.
But jonathan and ethan juarez
are gaining invaluable experience in their rookie season, kenny.
[florian] yeah, definitely. Not every rookie bot
can have a season like, say, a jackpot.
But the experience this team is earning here is absolutely vital
if they want to come back next season with something better.
For r the juarez's, they've put together a brilliant-looking bot,
but their inexperience certainly shows.
They could always surprise us,
but I'd say this is fusion's fight to win.
Faruq, it's all on you.
[tauheed] in the blue square,
the whyachi bloodline shows that family matters.
That's a full house of robots where blood actually splatters,
his spinners will leave you with dino-sores.
So please don't try your luck
because he's walking step-by-step
towards the giant nut, t.G.I.F, this guy is fusion.
[dramatic music playing]
[rose] fusion, the first bot in history
to have both horizontal and vertical spinners working at the same time, kenny.
[florian] I love that about this bot, you know.
As a fighter, you want to have as many weapons as possible.
It gives you more options,
and they're gonna try to utilize all those options on war? Ez! Tonight.
In the red square, war? Whoa! What is it good for?
A giant nut, that's what.
It's the father and son from the lone star state.
With a bot that's here to annihilate.
It's war? Ez!
[audience cheering]
[rose] thirty-four-year-old jonathan juarez decided to build a robot
with his 11-year-old son, dylan.
They've had an amazing experience so far.
First match, they knocked out axolotl.
Then they were on the wrong side of a ko by slammow!
[rose] kenny, did those exposed tires get you a little nervous?
[florian] more than a little nervous, chris.
Those things are fully exposed
and going up against a bot like fusion.
I expect they'll get chewed up faster
than the delicious hors d'oeuvres I had at my wedding.
[audience cheering and applauding]
I feel pretty confident about this fight.
They've been having difficulties and they're also a newbie bot.
Uh, I'm really looking at this match
like a practice match, just to get better for the tournament.
Their bot looks great. I just, I kind of feel bad
it's not gonna look so pretty.
-Who are we fighting? -We're gonna fight fusion and we're quite nervous.
It's a strong bot and it's very scary.
For us to be going against them, scary, but it's also an honor.
It's a very, very popular robot. Think we're ready?
-Not really. -As ready as we're gonna get.
[announcer in robotic voice] robots, activate.
[rose] kenny, one thing we didn't talk about with fusion.
How much pressure is reese ewert under tonight?
[florian] he's definitely under a lot of pressure as always, you know.
Coming from the ewert clan, they expect excellence.
They've been working on a new technique, a little tail whip.
Fusion's gonna try to utilize that here against war? Ez!
And I'm sure they're attempting to take out those tires.
[audience cheering]
[announcer in robotic voice] blue team, ready?
[audience cheering]
[audience clapping]
red team, ready?
[audience cheering]
[electrical buzzing]
[audience chanting] fight fight!
[buzzer sounds]
[rose] let the bot battle begin.
Team fusion leading with that vertical disk.
Could they go weapon to weapon?
[florian] looks like fusion's had a little trouble on the floor.
Getting rolled over, they're kind of a sitting duck for war? Ez! Right now.
[rose] they're having an issue with their ground clearance.
Looks like they keep running into the floor of the battlebox.
[crashing]
-[rose] whoa! -[florian] whoa!
[rose] major face-to-face collision.
And there's a tire off of war? Ez!
Drop the weapon.
Fusion's still running, war? Ez! Is on its head.
It might be an o-u-t.
[florian] yeah, that was the knockout shot.
They're not gonna be able to self-right.
This fight's got to be over. One hit.
-[rose] unbelievable ko. -[referee counting down]
can you see it?
And yes, fusion spinning...
-Dead, isn't it? -We'll fix it.
-[rose] as you get that win. -It's a knockout.
[buzzer sounds]
[dramatic music playing]
okay, it wasn't that bad.
[rose] kenny, it's a pretty simple trait of any ewert bot.
-[rose] high, high energy. -[florian] yeah, absolutely.
[rose] there's that tail whip.
And it worked perfectly. They went weapon-to-weapon,
but, uh, it ended up working out for them.
Any time you trade shots like that in a fight,
uh, you know, you're kind of throwing the dice,
but they were the more durable bot,
their weapon hit harder and goodbye to war? Ez!
Reese, where's that big old smile
after improving to two-in-one?
It's getting a little bigger every day.
I feel more relaxed now that you have two wins, my man?
Yeah, it's a little better.
I'm kind of upset with this one.
It didn't go too long, so I I didn't get much more practice.
Were there some driving issues happening in there again?
Yeah, the wedge.
The wedgelets are getting stuck on the floor.
And, so, that pretty much changed my whole game plan.
I didn't really have one after that.
Just try and hit him.
-Try not to get hit. -[kenny] it worked.
But it...It's a pretty simple game plan for you
because you have so much power built up in that weapon.
Yeah, yeah, we got 50 horsepower between 'em, so...
Do you think your family's proud of where you are right now?
Uh...
It's too early to decide.
When will they ever be proud of you?
-When we come home with the nut. -[kenny laughs]
so, it's nut or I'm not allowed back in the house.
Back to the woodshed.
-[kenny laughs] -back to the woodshed, it is.
And back to the pitstop for you and congratulations.
You..You've improved to two in one, reese.
Thank you.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] so fusion finishes out the qualifiers with a winning record
and waits for the selection committee.
As the juarez family banks some valuable experience.
Hopefully, we'll get to see them again next year.
Coming up, will tombstone's graveyard
get another headstone?
Or will skorpios hand him a stinging defeat?
It's tonight's main event.
[crowd cheering]
we are back on battlebots and time right now for our main event.
We've got a match up featuring
two bots on a collision course,
one of the most destructive machines of all time.
Stepping into the box to face a team that's been
foaming at the mouth to take it down.
It is tombstone versus skorpios.
[chris] oh, my goodness.
Dr. Billings.
-[kenny] whoa! -[chris] whoa!
[chris] just surgical out there.
In the match against slap box,
I wish I showed more of what tombstone's capable of.
[kenny] ray just completely removes tire after tire.
And so I think we're ready to move forward and win us a giant nut.
[kenny] oh oh, skorpios has it right where he wants 'em.
Lay it on! Lay it on!
[kenny and chris] oh!
Oh, yeah!
[chris] the blade is caught in the screws.
One! Knockout!
Our only win so far in this season has been perfect phoenix.
[kenny] and tyler's mentor, ray billings
has to clean up the mess made by skorpios.
And we are a little concerned since ray had spent the entire night
fixing the robot after we broke it.
[ray] but you can see where the frame is cracked in between--
we're worried he's gonna have a little frustration he wants to take out on us.
Yeah.
[ray] well, I'm going to have to avenge his loss with some authority.
[kenny] ray, does the rest of the pit still fear you and tombstone?
[kenny and chris] oh!
[ray] they'd be silly not to.
[chris] the carnage continues.
I mean, you know, it is the big hitter.
[kenny] oh, my gosh!
In this match between tombstone and skorpios,
we're definitely going to see some big hits.
So in order to fight tombstone and beat tombstone,
you have to be able to take a punch.
My biggest goal in this match is to get in tombstone's space,
absorb each impact as it comes...
[faruq] skorpios!
..And just hope your robot holds together long enough...
[kenny] oh, yeah!
Tombstone clearly has a lot more kinetic energy.
As long as I can get a hold of a piece, solidly, I don't slide up...
He's gonna be in trouble.
[faruq] tombstone!
[zachary] when we designed this robot,
our goal was to make a robot that would beat tombstone.
And we've been waiting for this match for four years.
And today is the day.
Let the carnage begin!
Right now I have one giant nut sitting on the shelf at home.
You say you have one giant nut,
that sounds like a problem.
If you got a pair of giant nuts, that sounds like you're doing pretty good.
We're definitely here to win it all.
[crowd cheering]
[kenny] it's the moment we've all been waiting for,
our main event.
The spotlight doesn't get any brighter than this.
Kenny, we have a pair of one and one teams.
But they are in very different places, at least emotionally.
When we spoke earlier today with ray billings of tombstone,
same old ray, uber confident not sweating this one at all.
You know he likes this fight.
Uh, he believes that the way they match up and the way his weapon lines up
with the bot of skorpio's,
he feels that eight out of ten times he should win.
But he still has a lot of respect for scorpios.
He's not overconfident, but he's confident.
In the meantime, when we spoke with zach lytle,
he said, " I f I want to be respected
as one of the great bots of this sport,
this is a sort of fight that I need to win.
I can't just have a good showing.
I need to get that critical w."
[kenny] it's pretty simple.
If you want to be a legend, you've got to beat a legend.
Everyone wants to face a bot like tombstone.
However, he also has said goodbye preemptively to his bot.
He said he knows that any time you face tombstone, your bot is probably
not going to look the same.
But that doesn't mean you can't still get a win
even if your robot gets mangled.
-Correct? -That's true.
Let's see what happens.
Faruq, take it away!
[crowd cheering]
ladies and gentlemen, it's robot fighting time.
In the blue square,
it's written in the stars.
This bot's destined for greatness,
one sting of its tail and you'll say, "damn, who made this?"
named after the most deadly constellation in the pits.
It's caused a minor sensation.
I'm not a betting man, but if I was I would wager
this bot's about to kick your ursa major.
It's skorpios!
[crowd cheering]
-are you ready? -Let's go!
[chris] knocked out by bloodsport
and that rebounded by knocking out perfect perfect phoenix.
[kenny] well, these guys have been working hard in the pits.
They've been welding, every crack.
They've been taping down wires.
They're trying to shore up every single vulnerability on that body.
-[chris] they're ready, -[kenny] they giving it its last rites?
[chris chuckles]
[chris] anything you see that's a little bit different on this bot?
[kenny] well, the wedges definitely look stronger.
It's a lot of armor on their bots.
They're going to have to make sure that that wedge is
always leading the way and if it get some hits
with that, uh, hammer saw on the top of tombstone,
maybe they could pull off a huge upset.
[faruq] in the red square.
One touch can kill you like he's the grim reaper.
And he's told more tales of death than the crypt keeper.
He's the legendary bot with a plan to put you in the cemetery plot.
[laughs maniacally]
it's tombstone!
[chris] ray billings' season got off to a rough start,
suffering a knock out at the hands of end game,
but that picked up a k.O. Itself,
courtesy of slap box.
Always fun to take a peek at the weapon...
On tombstone, as ray billings is soaking in the moment.
[kenny] well, it's the same one that got them some success against slap box.
That is a a.R.500 steel
and man, does it hit and it hits hard.
[chris] oh, boy.
[kenny] every weapon he's got is just simply ferocious.
[suspenseful music playing]
[chris] all right, let's bring in our bot whisperer, pete.
What do you have?
Well, ray went with this play because it's a lower moment of inertia.
It definitely spins up faster for him and that's kind of what he's looking for here.
He definitely does not want to go out of the box like he did with end game.
-Did you hear that? -Yeah.
[suspenseful music continues]
-[music stops] -[crowd continues cheering]
[robotic voice speaking] robots activate.
[chris] after four years of waiting,
skorpios will finally fulfill its destiny by taking on the mighty tombstone.
How will the story end?
Find out next,
on battlebots!
[faruq] bringing slaughter from the water, it's kraken!
Let's do it! Here we go!
[kenny and chris] oh! Oh!
[kenny] kraken taking one right in the kisser.
That was an amazing fight.
That's what we're... That's what we hope for every match.
[kenny] oh, gosh!
Lot of sparks, lot of fire.
Flame, flame, flame.
[chris] oh, my goodness.
It was just so much fun.
[kenny laughs] oh!
Huge is a robot, we absolutely did not want to face,
the worst robot for us.
There's...We're so vulnerable on the head.
[kenny] oh, yeah! Kraken just took another shot to the noggin.
[chris] yeah, that cranium is split wide open.
And, uh, we were able to escape.
All the major components survived intact.
So, we'll get her back into shape and ready for our next match.
[kenny] how durable is kraken?
Unreal!
Kraken is one tough bot.
[chris] it's right back into the action here on battlebots,
skorpios and tombstone
are all set to collide in what's bound to be an epic main event.
[robotic voice speaking] blue team, ready?
[kenny] ha ha, the gary gin
dropping by.
[robotic voice speaking] red team, ready?
You ready?
For it's head.
[zachary sighs]
channel gary gin.
Wow.
Holy smokes.
No...
Skorpios has got weapon to weapon
but now tombstone looks angry
aw what a shot
tombstone take a chunk out of skorpios
but that's already for more
oh, huge hit
wow
skorpios still proceeding with lim and it looks out...
Oh my goodness, another huge hit
and tombstone just rolling in place
and skorpios right back on the attack
shoot... Oh
oh oh... No
brutal collisions getting, tombstone looks hurt
just got a crab walking now
skorpios buried down on the legend
and the body blow, amazing
oh, on my goodness and look at this
tombstone's right tyre gangling by a cred now
and skorpios refusing to let up, kenny
zack is a fighter, cris he keeps going to right at tombstone
and rebuilding his fighting with disaster here
tombstone is barely moving, but here comes that blade, fire back up
tombstone losses a tyre
unbelievable, tombstone gas peak fire in the corner
approaching the one minute, mark
I'm not sure that control movement, cris
rebel is in serious trouble
the farmer chief, he is on the robes
and listen the countdown has started
seven... Six...
The ref's signal, has seen enough
team skorpios is celebrating
two... One...
And that's a knowout and team skorpio winners, skorpios
knowing this, stunned
tombstone has been k'd and what still on the season
what a huge applous for zackline or team skorpios
wow...
-Oh my god, oh my... -I got the radio, yeah
well, skorpios was on the attack form the beginning, kenny
yeah, absolutely and that's the story of this fight. They just never let up
and skorpios did the great job of keeping that which, pointed towards tombstone
the whole time they were studded on slot
from the former champ, leading with their which and
landing ahandful of perfectly timed shot with that hammer saw
eventually causing tombstone to lose a wheel and be countered on
pete,what did you think of skorpios continuing to go in
even though tombstone was having trouble with its one wheel
skorpios is just like a champion fighter who just kept with the grip
just stayed in there, I mean you see there flip in that one corner
how quickly they got back up and write it, and this is amazing
this show is like zack's skill of driving the people or kindof probably discounting
but should not
and peter, what did you think about count out? Do you think that was wanted there?
Um, to me that does not whcih I control movement
there is, yes, he's got some action that he can caught on by a weapon
and the one wheel but that really is in control translation in my mind
[all cheering]
-zacklidle -we did it
oh my got we did it
four years of planning, four years of building, and we beat the king of energy
-zack, are you ok? -No
-did you see that? -I've looked for this so long, he build the best robots
he knocks out more robots than anyone else
I cannot believe what just happens
what did just happen?
Our front little scoper did what they were suppose to do
what they've designed it four years ago, all thank to orian's designing
so, thank you orian. Thank you letting me captian and drive
and, big thanks to my team who put this thing
back togeather
I broke the radio
zack, I think what's even more impressive than the win was the fact the you never stopped
attaching, even when you have opportunity kind of lay off gas a little bit
you kept going after him to the very end, it was do or die
that's what he gotta do, you can't let him spin up to full
it's the only way to beat tombstone, it's the only way to beat ray
we love you ray, we love you ray.
[all cheering]
zack, you told us before the fight that
in order for you to be taken seriously in the sport, you needed a win like this
now that you've got it, how do you feel?
I feel amazing.
We're going to disney land. Wait a minute, no we're not
no we're not, no
and the very least you're going to the round of thirty two
so, zacklidle and team skorpios, congratulations
thank you.
Skorpios
rebel, so you're in shock?
I can still move on one wheel, I honestly don't know why it was being counted out
so why do you think the count down did start?
I... The whole idea is controlled movement
if they don't think I had controlled over moving around. That's... I guess that's fair
ray, what would you've done differently?
I don't know that if I could've done anything massively different
I got the big hits in I was after. Yes, it's the way this game is played
so we'll... We'll get a put back togeather and see what happens going forward
finally if you do make it into the round of thirty two, how dangerous are you?
As dangerous as ever, obviously
it's a new start, new tournament, three of thirty two, single elimination
will be there and will be ready to put on the big hits
rebel, you're always gracious with your time we appreciate it
no problem, thanks guys
-kenny, are you shocked? -I'm very shocked
again, this is one of the favorites in the competition, this is a legitimate legend
in rebel and the tombstone
that's a bot that hits was so much energy but, it's getting hit
and it's just not working that well out there
if you're a selection committee, does he get a spot?
Man, I don't know listen, based on his pedigreew and the people that he lost
it was not like he got upset by first season but this is skorpios and this is end gane
-he's getting a spot? -Yeah, I think so.
-He's getting a spot? -Yes.
-He's getting a spot? -I think so, he should
I think so, he should
we'll have to tune in,
we'll find out in few episodes I guess
and speaking of looking ahead, a handful of teams on tonight's fight card
are doing just as the selection committee assess thier faiths
jackpot and blood spotter sitting pretty at three and o
so they will be sleeping soundly tonight
meanwhile, teams like cracking, huge and rotator
hope the both their reputations and strength of schedule to carry them
into the post season with the record of one and two
and ofcourse the two in one teams, lackjaw, robot and fusion feels solid about
their record but can only hope the committee shares that sentiment
things are gonna get very interesting, no doubt.
That'll do it for tonight, for jenny taft
and faruq and pete the my man kenny florian
I and chris rose will see next time here on battlebots