[people cheering]
welcome to battlebots.
Tonight the tournament action continues in the round of 16,
as some of the field's most terrifying robots
fight it out for a chance to advance to the quarter finals.
I'm chris rose, joined by the man I'm hoping can
protect me from all the flying shrapnel tonight.
My "bot-e-guard" and my hero,
it's mma bad boy, and our analyst, kenny florian.
Yeah. No, chris, uh, this is my only suit, so...
Uh, right.
[chris] historically, the round of 16 has given us
some of the most memorable moments and high stakes upsets
we have ever witnessed inside the battlebox.
Whoa, chomp landing a one-in-a-million shot.
And we expect more of the same tonight,
as the world's top combat robots
continue their quest for the most prestigious trophy in all of sports,
the giant nut!
[audience cheering]
[chris] the remaining teams will have to win
four more fights
in order to stamp their name
in the history books.
And after a merciless round of 32,
all six rookie teams have already been eliminated.
And with eight of the top ten
seeded bots still in contention, names like
hydra, bloodsport,
and uppercut,
this round promises to be a clash of the titans.
[kenny] while just making it to the top 16 is an achievement,
across the bridge lies the championship rounds.
And for teams like mammoth, ribbot, tantrum, and shatter!,
who are still building their reputations in the sport,
punching their ticket to the final eight
would be a life-changing experience.
[chris] then there are established teams
such as whiplash, end game,
and valkyrie, who are sitting on the cusp of greatness,
ready to grab the torch from an older generation,
driven to win a championship and achieve superstar status.
[kenny] and there is no bigger star left standing
than former champion ray billings.
An unprecedented 21 seed this season,
ray told us he still believes tombstone
is the most dangerous bot in the field.
He'll get a chance to prove it when he faces the number five seed black dragon
in the biggest match of the young brazilian team's career.
[chris] we'll dive into all of the matchups
as we go,
but we begin tonight with a clash between
two veteran teams
eager to write the next chapter in their violent
head-to-head story,
it's the seventh seed, sawblaze, taking on
number 23, witch doctor.
A rematch from last season's 2019 world championship tournament
where witch doctor knocked off sawblaze in the quarter finals.
We spoke with jamison go earlier today,
he said, "listen, I have replayed that fight in my head
thousands of times,
I've rewatched it hundreds of times."
[chris] jamison go's dream season comes to a violent end.
Sawblaze wants payback.
[kenny] 48 feet across the box,
witch doctor will be lying in wait,
they're fueled by desire to get back to the mountain top
after coming, oh, so close to victory in last year's championship final,
falling all the way to a 23 seed this season,
they look like the witch doctor of old
in their first round fight against skorpios.
[chris] oh, what a shot by witch doctor!
[kenny] and andrea and mike gellatly
are ready to rip sawblaze to shreds
if it means another chance at hoisting the giant nut.
[chris] settle in, it's gonna be a heck of a night.
Faruq, let's hit that start button.
[all cheering]
ladies and gentlemen,
it's robot-fighting time!
[all cheering]
whoo!
In the blue square from cambridge, massachusetts,
the boston massacrer, it's sawblaze!
[audience cheering]
[chris] well, there they are, sawblaze.
Always like checkin' out the forks in front of the robot.
What have you got, kenny?
[kenny] well, as always, jamison wants to
use those front forks
to play the bully, scoop up witch doctor
and control the action.
But mike gellatly is a world-class driver,
and sawblaze will have to catch witch doctor
before they can impose their will.
In the red square, from miami, florida,
the bad joo joo concocter, it's witch doctor.
[audience cheering]
[chris] arguably, the most dangerous 23 seed in history,
witch doctor is always a knockout threat with that powerful vertical spinner.
What's their strategy against sawblaze, kenny?
[kenny] well, andrea will probably
use their nasty weapon to try and get a quick knockout,
but they need to be careful.
Jamison has the edge when it comes
to controlling the ground game,
witch doctor doesn't really have much protection against those forks on sawblaze.
So, the faster they can inflict damage, the better.
[all cheering]
we feel a lot more confident about our chances this time around.
Winning the low game, like every other fight,
is gonna be really important for sawblaze's strategy.
A lot of the improvements have been in the reliability of the machine
and the ability to keep the front end down.
And so, if we're able to win this one,
it's a huge validation to the improvements we made to the machine.
Basically, whoever dominates the fight first ends up winning the fight.
He knows that if the match goes a long time,
the odd switches in our favor to get a hit, and the same with him,
so he's trying to win the match really fast.
We're gonna try to get in really close quarters with him.
Sawblaze's weapon is no joke and it could be a one-hit knockout.
So our priority is to deactivate that
and then to knockout his drive.
[audience hooting and cheering]
[automated voice] robots, activate.
[audience cheering]
[chris] our bot whisperer, pete, is checking in
with more on jamison go's robot. Pete.
So, an amazing thing that the team spent quite a bit of time
during the off season doing is moving weight forward
within the bots. If they could get a little more grip up front
and not do pop wheelies,
look for an attack by their weapon into the center
between the two teeth of which doctor to cut some belts.
[audience cheering]
[audience chanting] fight, fight, fight, fight, fight!
[chris] witch doctor knocked 'em out of the tournament last season.
Can sawblaze exact some revenge and return the favor?
Let's find out!
-[audience chanting] fight, fight! -[buzzer sounding]
[chris] let the bot battle begin.
Jamison go has got ahold of witch doctor,
taking it into the rails,
that's a beautiful pin, that, saw's all fired up.
[loud smash]
shot to the top of witch doctor.
[kenny] great shot there by sawblaze,
getting off to a great start here.
[chris] sawblaze winning the low ground battle.
Witch doctor doesn't care...
-[loud smashing] -big hit, and again.
[kenny] great comeback shot by witch doctor,
as it tries to get around the side of sawblaze.
Looks like it's goin' for those tires, chris.
[chris] yeah, it doesn't mind stickin' its face in the grill.
Literally like that barbeque grill that's coming out
-of jamison go's bot. -[smashes]
look at that.
[kenny] but here comes sawblaze on the counter attack.
-[loud thud] -oh!
-[chris] oh! Great use of the pulverizer. -[kenny] oh!
[chris] and a huge hit by witch doctor, too.
[kenny] this is a back and forth war!
Now it's sawblaze's turn.
[chris] oh, it takes witch doctor down.
And that was a huge part of witch doctor which just came off.
[kenny] yeah, that was that front wedge, chris.
-[thuds] -[chris and kenny] oh!
[chris] sawblaze has been aggressive and is dictating the action here.
Witch doctor has some serious work to do.
[kenny] this is the most aggressive we've seen jamison go so far, chris.
[chris] no question about it.
Aggression, one of the three huge categories on the judges' score card.
Oh! Great job with the hammer saw.
He's got witch doctor pinned.
-[kenny] huge shot! -[chris] it's caught on those forks, too, kenny.
[kenny] yeah, the fork is jamming up the primary weapon of witch doctor, chris.
[chris] we are halfway through this match.
Witch doctor breaks free and is able to spin back up.
Both weapons still very much in play.
By the way, that hammer saw, the tip speed has been increased
to max out at 250 miles an hour this season on sawblaze.
[kenny] and that is doing some serious damage.
- We haven't seen him utilize... -[loud thud]
...In the competition, but right now,
it's doing some serious work
on witch doctor.
[chris] yeah, it's gotten in a few nice rib shots.
Oh, boy! Witch doctor's starting to smoke.
That's something you gotta keep your eye on with under a minute to go.
Oh! Witch doctor takes a rib shot from the pulverizer.
That's a 100-pound hammer dropping right on its rib cage.
[kenny] sawblaze putting so much pressure on witch doctor right now,
getting those forks involved beautifully.
[chris] and since we saw that smoke, it looks like
witch doctor lost their primary weapon.
That disc has slowed to a creep.
-[loud smash] -[audience exclaiming] oh!
-[chris] witch doctor is in deep trouble. -Whoo!
[chris] last season's runner-up is getting run into the screws.
-[kenny] oh! - [chris] 25 to go.
Witch doctor just taking blow for blow, getting run around
the battlebox by jamison go and sawblaze.
[kenny] well, sawblaze has completely taken over this fight,
I think he's gonna get a knockout here, chris.
-Ten, nine, eight... - Witch doctor is getting counted down,
-seven, six, five... - But which clock will expire first?
The game clock or the ref's countdown?
...Three, two, one. Witch doctor is knocked out.
-[chris] ooh! Wow! -[audience cheering]
unbelievable!
With one second left on the clock,
sawblaze has knocked out witch doctor.
[kenny] jamison go and sawblaze have gotten their revenge
as they're moving on to the quarter final.
There's nothing we could do better.
Feel that he ripped the head out.
[chris] boy, at the beginning of this fight, mike gellatly and witch doctor,
I thought, had the upper hand. Didn't you?
[kenny] kind of reminiscent of their championship fight
last year with bite force, right?
A strong start, but they couldn't capitalize
on their early momentum.
Jamison go was just on point controlling the battlebox floor,
and I think it's fair to say that he out-drove mike gellatly tonight.
[chris] yeah, he took a couple of good shots, kept going,
jamison told us he was gonna be very judicious
with the use of his hammer saw.
He used it at the perfect times,
when he would get witch doctor in a corner,
he would drop the hammer saw.
[kenny] and they were so confident in it, they went weapon to weapon
with witch doctor and came out ahead.
And here you see it take out that front wedge,
from there. Jamison was a master at using those forks
and controlling the fight,
witch doctor started to smoke, and sawblaze just beats the clock
to earn a big-time knockout.
What a performance from jamison go and sawblaze.
[audience applauding]
jamison go, you got your revenge.
[chris] so what worked for you tonight?
Well, uh, we got the ground advantage early on,
I think that really helped.
The fork stayed low, we got underneath them,
uh, we did take a little damage on the front fork,
which worried me a little bit,
but we had two forks that were still low enough to get underneath,
uh, where it counted, so...
And the weapon, uh, did some pretty good damage there, I think.
You definitely utilized that weapon way more in this fight
than previous fights, man.
You were absolutely on fire, literally.
Uh, what was the game plan for this one?
Game plan was always to keep close, try to get underneath them,
uh, stop their weapon as much as we can
and then land blows wherever we could.
Witch doctor just got the top armor on there,
but underneath, we know there's some juicy, juicy bits.
So just kinda touched one,
and, uh, shut him down.
Jamison, how much did last season's playoff loss
against this same team drive you to be even better this season?
I think they taught us a huge lesson last season,
in the design and some of the other aspects.
This time, we took everything we learned,
we put it into the robot,
and this win basically showing that everything that we implemented,
it paid off well.
Jamison go and sawblaze, we will see you guys in the next round.
[audience cheering]
[chris] so we say farewell to andrea gellatly and team witch doctor.
Not the season they were looking for,
but make no mistake,
they will be back to cast their special brand of black magic
inside the battlebox next season.
And for the seventh seed,
sawblaze, they move on to the quarter finals
where they will face the winner
of bloodsport versus tantrum.
Up next, it's a good
old-fashioned college showdown.
Mit versus wpi.
The number four seed, uppercut.
The number 20, ribbot.
Sparks will fly and a frog may die,
when the battlebots championship tournament continues.
We are back on battlebots.
We continue on with the round of 16, and up next,
we've got the battle of massachusetts,
as the crew from mit,
the number four seed uppercut
look to send the boys from wpi packin',
that would be the number 20 seed, ribbot.
Let's start with uppercut coming off a jaw-dropping
knockout of high jinks in the round of 32.
Captain alex hattori has let uppercut's
vertical spinner do all the talking,
and it has spoken volumes this year.
They may have the most devastating weapon
in this tournament, and they're ready to tear
through all challengers on their way to the giant nut.
As for ribbot, david jin's team,
listen, they were very good during the regular season,
and as we saw in their knockout
upset over beta last round...
These guys have no fear.
[kenny] yeah, chris, the scrappy 20 seed is all offense,
and you're gonna have to drive a stake
through this frog's heart in order to kill it.
But they have yet to face a weapon like uppercut's.
Their aggressive style may just get them torn to pieces here
in the round of 16. Going to be fun to find out.
[cheering]
[chris] we are gonna keep this train rolling here tonight.
Both teams are already set up behind the glass
and locked and loaded in the battlebox.
[automated voice] blue team. Ready.
[chris] david gin, always with a smile on his face.
What's the strategy for this team tonight, kenny?
[kenny] well, aggression is their game,
so they're going to keep playing it.
David said he's going to dive face first
into uppercut's weapon and try to disable it.
Sounds like a death sentence, but david thinks it could pay a dividend.
[automated voice] red team. Ready.
[audience cheering]
[chris] so, let me guess. Same plan as always for uppercut.
Point the weapon, smash, repeat.
[kenny] go with what works, chris.
Alex knows his bot can take a hit.
He's not afraid to go weapon-to-weapon.
This one may come down
to who can land that first big blow.
[audience cheering]
[all chanting] fight, fight, fight!
[buzzer sounding]
[kenny] let the bot battle begin.
Here comes uppercut on the chase.
- We're getting started. What a... Whoa... -[thud]
- goodness. -[kenny] holy smokes,
ribbot lost its left front wheel already!
[chris] yeah, and now it's just uppercut standing still...
-[thuds] - ribbot just ran right into it.
It has come off!
Oh, man.
Oh, disgusting.
I can't watch.
[kenny] frog parts everywhere, chris.
[chris] oh, f or goodness sakes, it doesn't have
either of its front tires, it's lost its head,
and now what?
-[indistinct] -you're good, you're good.
[kenny] it looks like ribbot's trying to attack
those tires of uppercut right now.
Looks like they might be stuck here, chris.
[chris] yeah, I mean, this is really interesting.
[thudding]
-[indistinct] -[chris] they're just going nose-dip.
[kenny] well, there's no more nose on the frog,
but you understand what I'm saying.
[chris] that undercutter just underneath uppercut,
and uppercut can't really go anywhere.
I mean, is it doing anything to uppercut
other than holding it in place, kenny?
Maybe trying to burn out its motor?
-[explosion] -[audience groaning]
[kenny] whoa! The hammer has been dropped.
There was a massive explosion
and ribbot's saying, "I'm coming for ya."
-[chris] that was a great shot. -[thud]
[kenny] look at that, chris. Oh!
Another huge part of ribbot!
Somehow it's still operating, but the main weapon on it isn't.
Uppercut, I'm not seeing you've got control.
[kenny] uppercut really isn't, chris.
-They're going around in circles. - [chris] oh, my gosh.
-[kenny] this could be an insane, insane upset. - [referee] ten, nine...
[chris] the countdown has started on the number four sheet...
-Seven, six... -...Uppercut.
Has their magical run come to an end?
...Three, two, one, knock out!
[all cheering]
[chris] all here celebrating ribbot.
[man] [bleep] holy [bleep]!
Holy [bleep]!
Does it seem like a dead battery?
Watch...
-[bleep] -[chris] ribbot. Ribbot. Ribbot.
[chris] jenny, david jin told us before the fight,
he was going with a face first strategy,
and the dude, he wasn't lying.
[kenny] no, he wasn't.
And here's the result.
Uppercut shredded ribbot's front two wheels
and ripped their face clean off.
But ribbot hung in there, chris.
[chris] a high stakes pushing match ensued,
with both bots refusing to surrender their ground.
And then the moment of the match,
uppercut drops its pulverizer,
sending both bots screaming across the box,
and what do you know?
The frog survived, and the number four seed
lost half its drive and did not.
[kenny] unbelievable, ribbot able to stay afloat
in this match with only two wheels,
but once uppercut lost control of one of theirs, it was game over.
[chris] ribbot's cinderella story continues.
[audience applauding]
what happened?
[kenny] david jin, did you just ask what happened?
Yeah, I absolutely did.
I have no idea what happened in that match.
We're going-- I mean, our robot is all over the arena right now.
David, just as you planned, huh?
Uh, yeah... [chuckles]
sure, we'll go with that.
What-- what-- what happened?
What was the strategy?
Talk us through that fight.
So we wanted to hit him directly on the disk.
But, uh, I mean, some of the hits landed on the disk.
Some of them didn't.
We lost the weapon pretty early on.
We lost both of our front wheels.
We lost about the first third of our robot.
Uh, the back wheels are still turning though.
All right, so now you're just a few wins away
from fighting for the giant nut.
Has that hit you yet?
Uh, not really, because our robot is completely destroyed.
So there's a long road ahead of us still.
Are you going to be able to rebuild, david?
Absolutely. I got the best team here.
David, congratulations.
Go enjoy that victory with your teammates.
Thank you very much.
[audience cheering]
[applause]
[chris] what a night so far,
the 20th seed, ribbot, shocks the world,
and leaps its way into the quarter finals
as uppercut heads back to mit
in a pile of makeup exams.
- Sounds fun. -[kenny] coming up...
It's the tri-blade terror
taking on the diabolical punching disk.
It's the number two seed,
bloodsport, sets its sights on the hard to kill
number 18 seed tantrum,
when the 2020 championship tournament continues.
We are back on battlebots
as we continue on with the round of 16,
and up next,
we move to a match-up in group number two.
It's the undefeated second seed bloodsport,
taking on the 18th seeded tantrum.
We saw bloodsport go the distance
with gruff in the round of 32.
They were forced to do a control battle after losing their weapon
early in that fight, but managed to out-drive,
gruff the rest of the way
and pull off a miraculous judges' decision.
Captain justin marple has this team
believing they could lift the giant nut
in this, just their second season at battlebots.
Standing in their way tonight, the surging tantrum.
[kenny] that's right, chris, tantrum is peaking at just the right time.
After being knocked out by valkyrie
in their season opener, they won three straight,
including taking out fusion to join the top 16.
You'll be hard pressed to find a more confident driver than aren hill.
[chris] let's get right to it.
[cheering]
[chris] the teams are on the driver's deck
and ready for action inside the box.
[automated voice] blue team. Ready.
[chris] tantrum, captain, aren hill,
has been impressive.
Can he pull up yet another upset?
That's the big question.
[kenny] this is a tall task, chris.
He's reinforced tantrum with thicker steel
to defend against bloodsport's blade.
He has to be aggressive and use tantrum's long forks
to feed bloodsport into their weapon.
[automated voice] red team. Ready.
[chris] bloodsport damaged its weapon in its match-up with gruff.
Have they made any adjustments tonight?
[kenny] well, they're going with their thicker
one-and-a-quarter inch 76-pound blade,
crafted especially for vertical spinners.
As we like to say, we'll see if
bloodsport's punch is stronger than tantrum's face.
[audience cheering]
[all chanting] fight, fight, fight!
[kenny] let the bots battle begin.
[explosion]
[chris] they're firin' up that weapon
and already a little chunk of tantrum came off.
Tantrum trying to push around bloodsport...
Trying to prevent that weapon...
Full board but nice little shot
-by bloodsport. -[kenny] yeah, great shot by bloodsport.
Tantrum trying to pin bloodsport up against the walls.
[chris] uh-oh. Kenny, it looks like bloodsport's
weapon might not be functioning.
[kenny] well, those wedge-lets
on the front of bloodsport, I think, are jamming up the weapon
-and it's actually-- effectively... -[explosion]
...Stopping that weapon from spinning, but now that wedge-let is gone.
[chris] yeah, and so is the second one.
I think that's going to help it, though.
[kenny] yeah, we didn't need those things anyway.
[chris] there goes another wedge-let.
[kenny] look at the driving by aren hill,
and tantrum just staying right in bloodsport's grill.
[chris] this is exactly what he wanted,
but there's some nice driving here
by team bloodsport.
Weapons on, weapons on. Guys, look--
[chris] oh, nice little hit there,
as bloodsport pops in the air.
-[thudding] -and now tantrum has got
bloodsport pinned against the rail.
Somebody's trying to drop that pulverizer to do a little damage.
[kenny] he said he wanted to pin and then hit them on the exit.
I'm not sure that primary weapon
is firing up for them right now, chris.
[chris] tantrum has got bloodsport against the screws.
Bloodsport just cannot get away.
[kenny] I'll tell you what, those gruff bars are rough.
-Stop both in the front of tantrum. -[loud thud]
[chris] whoa. Huge shot and the pulverizer
drops down and does some damage, too.
And that's gonna hit their self-rider on top as well.
[kenny] oh, he's kinda bending that thing.
[chris] oh. Kenny, I thought your nose was all jacked up.
[kenny chuckling]
my goodness.
Excellent job there by tantrum.
[chris] by the way, I was just joking.
We're still friends, right?
[kenny] yes, we are.
[chris] look at that job by tantrum pinning bloodsport.
Bloodsport has got to get away as we approach a minute to go.
It has to start delivering some pain with that weapon.
[kenny] I tell you what, the primary weapon
that tantrum isn't firing up right now.
Aren hill has done some of his best driving of this season,
but he's going to have to keep it up
if he wants to overcome the loss of that spinner.
[chris] bloodsport's weapon seems to be slowing down now as well.
They've taken some punishment in this fight, lost those front wedge-lets,
and have to find a way to keep scoring points
in this do-or-die match.
[thud]
[kenny] tantrum has just kept the pressure on these guys from the beginning.
[chris] tantrum continues to play the aggressor.
[kenny] but a nice shot there from bloodsport, chris.
-[chris] oh. -[kenny] and another one.
[chris] so who will leave the lasting impression
with the judges? Under 20 to go.
Oh, bloodsport sheds a wheel.
Tantrum not giving him an inch.
And drops the pulverizer for good measure.
Tantrum in control throughout this match.
Bloodsport trying for one last hit.
And it whips.
-[buzzer sounds] -[chris] and we are going to the scorecards.
This one's going to be close, folks.
One of these teams will be moving on
to the quarter finals. The decision,
when we return.
[chris] we are right back into the action
here on battlebots, waiting to see if
bloodsport or tantrum will be moving on to the quarter finals.
Our judges, derek young, lisa winter, and jason bardis will be scoring
the teams on an 11-point scale.
Five points could be awarded for damage
and three a piece for aggression and control.
[cheering]
we can get aggression points from using the weapon.
And we did damage. We took out their weapon with our weapon.
Yeah.
[chris] all right, kenny, as we take a look at what went on, tantrum
certainly aggressive from the onset.
[kenny] just fantastic driving by aren hill
in this match, he brought the pressure and did his best
to keep bloodsport from spinning up.
But check out this exchange right here.
The weapons collided,
bloodsport lost its wedge-lets
and tantrum came away with a broken disk spinner.
[chris] bloodsport continued to score points with its primary weapon,
but tantrum did an amazing job of improvising
and using the hazards to its advantage.
Look at that.
[kenny] yeah, it's going to be interesting to see
how the judges award damage points here.
Tantrum has to overcome the loss of its weapon.
But bloodsport lost those wedge-lets
and lost a wheel.
And to me, tantrum controlled the pace of this fight.
[chris] could the number two overall seed
be headed home in the second round?
Let's go to faruq for what should be a very close decision.
[audience cheering]
the results from the judges are in.
We have a split decision.
Judge lisa scored the battle for bloodsport.
[audience cheering]
judge derek scored the battle for tantrum.
[audience cheering]
judge jason scored the battle for the winner...
Tantrum!
[cheering and applause]
[woman] yes! Yes!
Aren hill, how excruciating is it when you are waiting
for the judges' decision like that?
[aren] it's real bad.
Last three fights were knockouts we had.
I liked that a lot more.
[chuckling]
so why do you think this one went the distance?
[aren] it went the distance, our weapon died after that first big hit from them.
And after that, I had no choice
but to just use the arena, smash 'em around,
keep the fight, take it completely to them.
Aren, you showed some great driving, though.
What was your strategy for this flight?
[aren] to quote, one of... One of my teammates,
strategy is easier when you're comfortable taking the opponent's
weapon to your face repeatedly, so that makes it a little easier.
The robot was beefed up real good.
We actually copied some stuff from gruff last fight,
and had some nice solid bars welded on the front.
I'm excited to see what they look like after that beating.
Aren, big picture here, uh, the first few seasons,
you struggled on battlebots, and you told us this much.
Why have things gone the right direction this season?
We're finally making up that learning curve.
And we've actually done a lot of work at home,
and practice and development on improving things.
And the biggest one of those is still the drive train
which has been doing fantastic.
Aren, congratulations.
You are now on to the quarter finals.
Thank you, guys.
[chris] so, down goes
the number two seed bloodsport
in yet another massive upset, and tantrum,
now moves on to the quarterfinals
to face the surging
seven seed jamison go and sawblaze.
All right, don't blink because our round of 16
action continues right now
as we move to group number one,
where the top seeded and undefeated hydra,
is ready to face the 17th seed, gigabyte.
Let's start with hydra.
Jake ewert didn't just win his first round match up against hypershock,
he sent them into orbit. 13 massive flips for hydra.
And if there was any question about whether they are the best flipper
in the game right now, I think that fight erased any doubts, kenny.
The question here. Can gigabyte do anything to stop them?
[kenny] well, let me state the obvious.
They have to avoid that flipper at all costs.
That will take some elite driving against jake ewert,
who has been masterful on the stick himself this season.
John told us he believes gigabyte is durable enough to pull off the upset.
[chris] we'll see.
[all cheering]
whoo!
[chris] the teams are in position in a spot,
and the top eight is on the line.
You've got this. You've got it.
[whooping]
[woman] go, gigabyte!
[automated voice] robots, activate.
[all cheering]
[chris] here we go!
One of these teams will keep their championship dreams alive.
Who will prevail?
Gigabyte... Hydra...
It's do or die!
And it's next.
[cheering continues]
[chris] the atmosphere is electric here on battlebots,
as the tournament's number one seed hydra
is ready for combat against the 17th seed gigabyte.
A spot in the quarter finals is on the line.
[crowd cheering]
[automated voice] blue team, ready.
[chris] big hill to climb here for gigabyte
against the number one overall seed.
Kenny, what's their strategy?
[kenny] well, they're gonna have to try and land
power shot and stun hydra.
To do that, they have to target the corners
because if they attack from the front,
they're going to slide right over the top of the body.
[chris] not to mention probably get tossed 10 feet in the air.
[automated voice] red team, ready.
-I hope I'm ready. -[all cheering]
[chris] and for hydra,
any adjustments since their last fight?
[kenny] they're going with that full wedge.
Jake thinks it's the best way to get underneath gigabyte
without sustaining much damage.
But with the way they've been performing,
I don't know if it even matters
what they use, chris.
This bot has been absolutely unstoppable this year.
[whooping]
[crowd cheering]
[crowd chanting]
[chris] can gigabyte spin up and upset over the number one seed hydra?
Let's find out.
[crowd chanting]
let the bot battle begin!
And a box rush from hydra!
Trying to get there before gigabyte can spin up.
Uh-oh.
Oh! There's a nice hit.
Boy, hydra not afraid to use that wedge.
-[crowd cheering] -whoa!
[kenny laughs]
-[chris] you're kidding me. -Our whole table just shook on that hit by hydra.
[chris] and look at gigabyte, able to self-right,
but there here goes the quick flip from hydra.
Baby flip.
[man] don't spin, don't spin. I gotta drive.
[chris] oh, gigabyte is wobbling all over the place.
[kenny] uh-oh.
[chris] oh, so tough for gigabyte,
which has to get some distance in order to fire its weapon-- instead,
hydra nearly knocks it out of the box!
[kenny] gigabyte doing an excellent job of self-righting, though.
[chris] kenny, this is such a difficult position for gigabyte.
Just can't fire up that weapon at all.
[kenny] oh, and I think gigabyte just lost a belt.
Hydra all over them, pushing them into the corner,
maybe looking to get them out of the box.
-Whoa! -[chris] oh, my goodness.
Unbelievable. Gigabyte in the corner! Gets itself--
-[kenny] oh! -Flipped again!
[chris] I mean, how about gigabyte and its durability?
Wow, gigabyte never would have been able to do is this in previous seasons.
-[kenny] please stay away from me. -Oh, stop it.
[kenny] I like both of you guys.
[chris] you're supposed to be the tough guy in the relationship.
[kenny laughs]
I can't do anything about 500 pounds metal coming at us.
[chris] a minute to go in this one.
And how flustering it must be for team gigabyte.
They can't spin up to full speed.
This is like one of the few times they've been able to.
And look what happens.
They just get tossed in the air
like hydra's making pizza.
[kenny] oh.
John mladenik finally caught an edge there, chris.
And hydra has to be careful.
Gigabyte can knock you out in one shot
and they are in desperation mode.
You do not want to let your guard down if you are hydra.
[chris] oh, and there it goes again!
And jake has told us so many times
the most important thing is when he hits,
he has to drive away.
He does not want his opponent landing on top of him.
[kenny] I'm really impressed with the durability of gigabyte.
There's not a whole lot of bots
that can withstand these shots and these flips from hydra.
Are you done yet?
[chris] it is amazing.
Somehow, gigabyte has made it the entire three minutes
in the round of sixteen against hydra.
[kenny] hydra's flipper is stuck in the upright position,
but it's not going to matter, chris.
[crowd cheering]
[indistinct]
[chris] 13 flips performed by jake ewert,
hydra and the number one seed. And john mladenik,
it might not go his way on the judge's scorecard,
but the fact that he was able to survive is nothing short of amazing.
Kenny, the flips are just simply sensational.
[kenny] yeah, it's unbelievable what hydra can do.
[chris] wow! Oh, my goodness.
[kenny] hydra is just amazing.
The consistency, its ability to get underneath you.
The ease in which it throws bots all over the battlebox,
it's just insane.
And gigabyte, to its credit...
Is one of the more durable bots that we've seen.
Kudos to the guys over gigabyte for making a far superior bot
than we've seen in previous seasons.
[chris] hydra's averaging 13 flips per match in the tournament so far.
Let me repeat, 13 flips.
That's unbelievable.
[kenny] they made a perfect adjustment
in adding that big front wedge for this fight.
Jake ewert is on fire at the controls,
and hydra is looking every bit the favorite
to win this tournament.
The judges should have this is as a sweep for hydra in almost every category.
Here's faruq.
[crowd cheering]
the results from the judges are in.
The winner by unanimous decision is...
Hydra!
[crowd cheering]
jake ewert, you have got that flipper bot tuned in, don't you?
Uh, yeah, it's working pretty good, I guess.
Stop.
Don't... Don't give me that.
You have known the two of us for five years now.
-Do not give us that answer. -Hey, hey.
Technically, it's still not doing what it's supposed to be doing.
So there's still more to work on.
What the heck is it supposed to do better than that?
That's thirteen flips.
That's supposed to go higher than that yet.
We're still working on higher than that.
Okay, jake ewert, you are moving on to the quarterfinals.
Congratulations.
Thanks. No problem.
[all cheering]
[chris] so, gigabyte powers down for the final time this season.
But it was certainly great to see a full-body spinner
make it this far in the tournament.
Meanwhile, jake ewert and the top seeded hydra
cruise into the quarterfinals and wait to see who they can flip with next.
Coming up, the five seed,
black dragon, will have to strike down the grim reaper himself,
ray billings in tombstone,
if it wants to carve a path to the quarter finals...
As the battlebots championship tournament continues.
[chris] welcome back to the 2020 battlebots world championships
as we continue with the round of sixteen.
Next up in group four,
we find ray billings and tombstone in an unfamiliar spot
as the 21 seed taking on the five seed black dragon.
And, kenny, I'm sick and tired of talking to ray billings
before each one of this fights
'cause he keeps saying the same thing.
He said, "first of all, the seeding doesn't mean anything to me.
At the end of the day, you're either number one or you're nothing."
[kenny] well, right now, he's 21, and that's a generous ranking
for a team that went one and two.
But listen, we're talking about the king of kinetic energy here.
He's coming off another signature knockout of madcatter,
who many viewed as a tournament darling.
Numbers don't mean anything to him,
creating chaos and winning his second giant nut does.
[chris] and as far as black dragon, this is a huge matchup.
We talked to their captain gabriel teles,
and he was very honest, he said,
"listen, this is the biggest fight we've ever had in this robot's history."
[kenny] well, he knows tombstone is a monster.
Gabriel said they've never faced anything like it
and aren't sure if black dragon can hold up
against his powerful bar spinner.
They are the number five seed for a reason
and have a monster weapon of their own.
Half the battle, in winning a fight like this,
it's overcoming the intimidation factor.
Faruq, bring the noise.
[crowd cheering]
in the blue square, from placerville, california,
time to meet your maker.
Better atone, it's tombstone!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] ray billings and tombstone always ready for a fight.
And if I'm not mistaken, kenny,
that nasty bar he has attached is of a smaller size, right?
[kenny] that's right. He's going with the one he used against madcatter.
His shorter 72-pound blade.
He said this heavier bar is tougher
and can withstand a collision better
against a sturdy bot like black dragon.
Ray needs to get around their wedge
and deliver the pain to the sides of gabriel's bot.
[crowd cheering]
in the red square, from itajuba, brazil...
It's brazil.
You know what that means.
[singsong] he's nuts.
Black dragon!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] it's black dragon, and they brought their good luck duck.
[quacks]
let's see if they need it.
Looks like they went with their egg beater weapon for this one, kenny florian.
[kenny] yeah, this hefty drum is dense,
and gabriel feels it could withstand
a few direct shots from tombstone's bar
better than the lighter double-disc spinner.
He also said he wanted to make black dragon a tank
and added some extra armor plating around his bot.
[all cheering]
[chris] all right, for more on this matchup,
let's bring in our bot whisperer, pete.
What do you have?
[pete] well, I've got a couple of points about black dragon here.
Some of the things that you might have noticed is, one,
they've lost the flamethrower so they can make a little more weight
because they've used it to add into that wedge.
That wedge they went and welded specifically for tombstone.
They've also been rehearsing
an invert self-righting flip,
the dance that we've seen minotaur do so many times.
That's what they think they've got down pat now.
[chris] interesting.
[crowd cheering]
[crowd chanting] fight, fight, fight.
Fight, fight, fight.
[chris] who will be off to the quarter finals?
The five seed black dragon
or the 21 seed and the former champion tombstone?
[chanting continues]
it is time to find out.
[chanting continues]
[chris] let the bot battle begin!
And here comes tombstone.
On the attack. Ooh.
Nice little spin move.
-[kenny] yeah, a little-- -[chris] oh!
Oh, that wedge. Already taking a pounding.
It's getting a test in the first 15 seconds.
[kenny] that wedge is doing a great job at deflecting that weapon
of tombstone right now.
[chris] ohh! Ray billings gets thrown in the air,
thanks to the velocity of its own weapon.
[kenny] it looked like tombstone was just trying to go weapon-on-weapon
against black dragon.
[chris] oh, there's another big shot-- ohh!
There goes tombstone
flailing across the battlebox!
[kenny] black dragon doing a great job of pointing
that wedge at the weapon of tombstone.
[chris] and, kenny, tombstone's weapon, not fired up right now.
That's something to keep your eye on.
[kenny] yeah, ray usually fires back up right away, chris.
There's a chance he may have lost the weapon in that last exchange,
and that could mean big trouble for the king.
[chris] that is a critical moment.
One minute into this match,
tombstone getting pushed around by black dragon.
[kenny] but it looks like black dragon's
weapon may also be out of commission, chris.
We may have a pushing match on our hands for the next two minutes.
[chris] well, tombstone has gotta get away from black dragon,
get back to the center of the box.
But right now, it's getting pushed around.
[kenny] tombstone is not set up to score points like this.
[chris] and going into the screws, courtesy of black dragon.
[kenny] yeah, it sure is.
Black dragon showing excellent control and aggression right now.
[chris] we are halfway through this match.
Pete, what do you think is going on with tombstone?
[pete] so, I think he's probably lost control
over the ability to spin his weapon. His chain is still there.
But I think he may have lost the contactor.
Black dragon, who also lost their weapon,
has now the perfect wedge to be able to defeat tombstone.
[chris] unbelievable.
Tombstone getting thrown into the corner by...
Black dragon.
Closing in on the one-minute mark.
The 2016 champions on the ropes.
Hey, keep in mind, the most heavily-weighted category,
in terms of scoring, is damaged.
Most importantly, damage done with an active weapon.
Both these teams have lost those weapons.
And so now the control and aggression categories
take on extra importance as these two battle to show the judges
that they're the ones dictating the action, kenny.
[kenny] that's exactly right.
And if you're watching the same fight we are,
black dragon is just dominating on both those fronts right now.
There's just not much tombstone can do without that monster weapon.
[chris] twenty-five seconds to go.
And no matter what the seeding may say,
it's always shocking to see tombstone on its heels in a fight.
This is perhaps the most well-known robot in the entire sport.
The number five seed black dragon continues to apply some serious pressure.
[kenny] what an achievement this would be for the brazilians.
[man shouting indistinctly]
[loud cheering]
well, neither weapon worked, but...
So after three full minutes, we are going to the score cards.
[speaking foreign language]
[chris] kenny, the early action in this fight had the crowd in a frenzy.
[kenny] no doubt, both teams delivered some monster shots,
with tombstone testing black dragon's wedge
and the brazilians popping the former champ up into the air.
The fight was about even to that point,
but it was this collision right here that changed the game.
Both bots came away with busted weapons,
and we had a pushing match on our hands.
[chris] and, of course, there's no real plan b
for tombstone if it loses its weapon.
Black dragon took advantage of that
and racked up some serious control points
by using their wedge to pin tombstone
against the rails and the hazards.
[kenny] black dragon did a fantastic job
of parading tombstone around the box
and basically saying to the judges,
"hey, we're the ones in charge here."
it's going to be tough for tombstone to survive this decision.
I think ray knows it,
and I think the number five seed will be moving on here.
[chris] well, let's see if the judges agree.
Here's faruq.
[crowd cheering]
the results from the judges are in.
And the winner by unanimous decision is...
Black dragon!
[loud cheering]
-very good, guys. Very good. -[man] ray, you're the king.
-Thank you, ray. -Thank you, ray.
-Thanks you. -Thank you, ray.
[chris] gabriel.
Hey, chris. Hey, kenny.
Is this the greatest moment in the history of brazilian robot competition?
Probably, it's biggest moment for our team.
Uh, we are so thrilled to have a fight
against the tombstone and coming out with a win after three-minute fight,
uh, feels amazing.
Feels amazing. I love my team.
I love these guys, they're great.
Gabriel, can you talk about this flight and talk about what you were thinking
when tombstone's primary weapon went down?
It was great to don't have that giant spinning bar
hitting us all over again during the three minutes.
So, it felt great. Felt great.
Gabriel, how tough is that wedge that you built?
Oh, very, very tough. It's our toughest wedge.
It's the heaviest wedge that we have.
So our strategy went fine and, uh, we had it, we had it.
Gabriel, who's happier? The rest of your teammates or the duck?
-I think the duck is always the happiest person-- -he's shaking.
Yeah, he's shaking.
Gabriel teles, congratulations to you and the entire black dragon team.
-Thank you. -You are on to the quarterfinals.
Thank you.
[all cheering]
[chris] a tough season for ray billings and tombstone,
but knowing the king, he will be back in his lab
and make some modifications and unleash more destruction again next year.
So black dragon handles its business and buries tombstone.
They will be moving on to the quarterfinals
to face the 20 seed ribbot.
That should be a good one, no doubt about it.
Coming up, it's a rematch of one of the biggest slugfests of the season.
Whiplash and valkyrie are set for another all-out brawl.
They'll remix it up, next on battlebots.
[chris] welcome back to the battlebots world championship tournament.
Next up in group number one, we have got an eight-versus-nine matchup
between whiplash and valkyrie.
This is the lone round of 16 matchup
that is actually a rematch from the regular season,
won by whiplash.
In a fight that whiplash basically controlled from beginning to end.
So if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Matt vasquez doesn't see any reason to deviate from the plan that worked
oh-so well last time, kenny.
[kenny] and on the other side, despite losing that first fight,
valkyrie kind of feels the same way.
Leanne cushing thinks her bot is more than capable of beating whiplash.
They just need to be a bit more precise
with that powerful horizontal spinner.
Should be a ton of fun. Faruq,
show them how it's done.
In the blue square,
from thousand oaks, california,
here to crash the party and your face.
Ah, succotash! It's whiplash!
[chris] here's the eigth seed, whiplash and the vasquez family.
Anything less than that giant nut will be a huge disappointment for them.
Kenny, what have they done to prepare for valkyrie tonight?
[kenny] well, they're using the same configuration
from their first fight with valkyrie,
a big defensive wedge. Matt plans to plow this thing
into valkyrie's blade like a battering ram,
disable it and use their flipper to toss them around the box.
Go with what works.
In the red square from somerville, mass.,
she's a fly girl and a die girl.
It's valkyrie!
The ninth seed valkyrie, they're going with the blade they call mr. Cavity.
It is the same blade that they used against whiplash earlier this season. Kenny.
[kenny] that's right, leanne still feels this blade,
which is designed to dig into thick armor.
It is the best tool for taking out whiplash
as fast as possible.
Matty broke it last time around, though,
so valkyrie has to pick its spot, if you lose your weapon
against a control bot as athletic as whiplash, you're in deep trouble.
Worst-case scenario, going against whiplash,
is that the weapon that we repaired from last time
we fought them, brakes faster or easier.
We worked really hard the last couple days to get it right.
And hopefully, by keeping that weapon spinning the whole time,
we'll be able to get enough fight that will disable them.
The harder they hit us,
the more likely they are to break their own weapon.
Because we took those shots like there were nothing,
pretty much. Our wedge took damage,
but the robot itself was fine.
So we're going to try to hit them as hard as we can
and try to get their weapon to break. And once their weapon
stop spinning, we're gonna use our lifter and flip them over.
[all cheering]
[automated voice] robots activate.
[kenny] now, chris, if you take a look at whiplash, you'll see that
matt added two metal taps to the top of their wedge.
That's to stop valkyrie from climbing on top of their bot after a hit
and inflicting some serious damage to their lifting mechanism.
[chris] big matchup because the winner will face
the number one overall seed in the tournament, undefeated hydra.
[crowd chanting]
let the bot battle begin!
And a box rush from whiplash,
not allowing valkyrie to spin up that blade.
Matty vasquez wants to play the aggressor here to start.
Oh, nice shot there by whiplash.
-Oh! -[kenny] oh, what a hit!
[chris] that's a nice hit.
And whiplash is all over valkyrie in the opening stretch
of this fight, going face-first with that wedge.
Whiplash gets out of the corner.
Valkyrie's blade, whoa!
As it is driving inverted, takes a serious shot.
-[kenny] jeez. -And it's up right in front of the driver's window.
Now whiplash gets underneath valkyrie and delivers it into the corner.
[kenny] whiplash trying to get valkyrie to destroy itself.
-And our border! And it's brand-new this season! -[kenny] oh!
-[chris] come on! -[shouting indistinctly]
valkyrie's blade no longer spinning.
I think they've just disabled that primary weapon, chris.
[chris] and now, matty vasquez isn't taking any chances.
He's trying to get valkyrie up on the screws and out of the box.
[kenny] this is what whiplash does best--
but, oh, looks like that primary weapon's back up and running.
And this is where it could do some serious damage--
get away from us, please!
-[chris] oh! -[kenny yelling] oh, my goodness!
[chris] valkyrie with a back tuck off the high beam.
How much longer can this weapon survive?
[kenny] wow.
[chris] now it's right side up and it takes another shot. Gets into the screws.
Vasquez has been all over valkyrie.
[kenny] whiplash is just so well-rounded.
[chris] it can be technical, and it could also brawl.
And right now, it's brawling with valkyrie.
Unbelievable, another huge shot at valkyrie and it's up on the screws yet again.
Whiplash trying to finish this thing
as we are in a minute-fifteen to go.
[kenny] valkyrie is drowning, chris.
Come on, get away, get away, get away. Center it.
[chris] now let's keep an eye on valkyrie's blade,
mr. Cavity. Does it have life?
Oh, look at this, get in there. Get into the screws.
Have some of that.
[kenny] I think valkyrie's blade may be down for good this time, chris.
And the only shot leanne cushing
has to turn the tide here is to break whiplash's weapon, or better yet,
burn out their drive motors. But whiplash showing no signs of fatigue whatsoever.
[chris] under a minute to go.
[kenny] whiplash really putting valkyrie through
the washer machine right now.
[chris] I'm not even sure valkyrie
has much mobility left at this point.
The number nine seed, which was rock-solid this season,
conquering the durability issues that have plagued it in years past,
but as you can see, it has run into a brick wall here at the round of 16,
as whiplash and the vasquez clan, they pretty much systematically
dismantled leanne cushing's robot.
[kenny] this has been a virtuoso performance by matt vasquez.
[chris] the final seconds ticking away.
This one will go to the judges,
as whiplash dominated from beginning to end.
Look at this, whiplash with a plume of smoke
coming out of its robot.
I wonder what happened to it?
Square bolt probably, 'cause we were flying all over the place.
Yeah, we were.
Awesome job. Awesome job.
[chris] kenny, whiplash made it to the semifinals last season,
and they look prime to make another deep tournament run this year as well.
[kenny] yeah, what I saw was just superior control,
superior driving skill from matty vasquez.
Just staying on valkyrie the whole fight.
[chris] and you saw whiplash using the battlebox to its advantage.
Getting valkyrie into the corner and then valkyrie,
with that high-energy weapon would just bounce around the floor
and ended up on the screws several times as well.
[kenny] yeah, absolutely.
And you never saw whiplash really take a big hit from valkyrie.
They were always able to either deflect with their wedge
or attack at the proper angle and get those lifts going.
Just amazing stuff from matty vasquez.
The results from the judges are in.
The winner by unanimous decision is...
Whiplash!
[all cheering]
matt vasquez, congratulations on reaching the quarter finals.
Thank you.
Did it feel like this was an even more dominant performance
than your regular season win over valkyrie?
Oh, definitely not.
Our first fight against them went almost perfectly for us.
We, you know, stopped their weapon after, like, three hits. This time,
their weapon went for, like, two out of the three minutes,
which was, I mean-- that's insane for how big of hits they were giving us.
They definitely made big improvements.
We made a couple of little improvements that definitely really helped us.
We're just happy to be moving on.
Matt, the good news is you're on to the quarter finals
for the third straight year.
-Yeah. -The bad news is you get the number one
-overall seed in this tournament... -Yeah.
...Hydra. Are you excited or concerned?
I think more excited than anything.
I think we do have a couple plans for hydra.
We're not sure exactly which will go.
We kind of like have a safe route,
and then, like, a more-- a little bit risky competitive route.
We'll see which we go.
But, yeah, we're excited.
Hopefully, we won't end up in the ceiling like everyone else.
Well, matt, it should be a great quarterfinal matchup.
Thanks so much for the time and best of luck.
-Moving forward. -Thank you.
[all cheering]
[chris] so whiplash stamps its passport
to the quarter finals,
where none other than the top dog,
hydra, lies in wait.
Get your popcorn ready for that one.
Coming up, fresh off their bracket-busting upset of copperhead,
the 30th seed, mammoth,
looks to keep their cinderella story alive, as they battle the 19th seed,
the hammer from hell, shatter!
That's next on battlebots.
We continue on here on battlebots, the round of 16.
He is kenny florian. I'm chris rose.
We now move to group number three
for a matchup between the 30th seed, mammoth,
and the 19th seed, shatter!
The lowest remaining seed in the tournament,
captain ricky willems and mammoth,
are looking to keep their cinderella story alive,
fresh off their stunning upset of the three seed, copperhead.
They will face the only remaining hammer bot in the field,
adam wrigley's shatter!, who beat the veteran lock-jaw to get here.
This is gonna be a fascinating clash of designs.
One moves on, the other powers down for the season.
So what do you say?
Let's get it going.
[automated voice] blue team ready.
Mike, this one's all on you.
Kenny, we've been told
mammoth's launcher can throw a refrigerator
like it's a snowball.
[kenny] yeah, it definitely has the power to launch shatter! Out of the box,
but they want to focus on winning the control game.
So watch for them to use the launcher
the way a boxer uses a jab to try and keep shatter! At bay.
[automated voice] red team ready.
Go.
Kenny, how does adam wrigley attack a bot as large
and as awkward as mammoth?
[kenny] well, honestly,
shatter! Is one of the only bots
that has a reach long enough to get to mammoth's gearbox and weapon chain.
But in order to do that, they'll have to get in close
and mix it up with the giant, which will leave them vulnerable to damage.
So, this is gonna be fun.
[crowd cheering]
[crowd chanting]
[chris] let the bot battle begin!
Mammoth trying to swallow up shatter!,
swatting them away like a fly. Look at that reach.
[kenny] well, so far, that launcher doing a great job of
establishing the distance here, chris.
[chris] oh! A huge hit, wow!
Follow up, follow up!
[chris] mammoth punched shatter! Head over heels into the corner.
Shatter! Self-rights,
but mammoth is dominating the opening stretch of this fight, kenny.
[kenny] ricky willems using his weapon to perfection so far,
racking up points against shatter!.
[both] oh!
[kenny] shatter! Was very close to getting to
those drive motors there of mammoth.
Oh!
-There it is! Fire, fire. -[talking indistinctly]
[chris] mammoth has lost its weapon chain.
[kenny] wow!
That chain is now dragging at the feet of the bot.
And shatter! Has seriously turned the tables in this fight.
[chris] absolutely. This is gonna free shatter! Up to get a lot more aggressive now.
Oh, shatter! Is on its head here,
tangled up in the frame of mammoth.
Mammoth just kind of hovering over top adam wrigley's bot,
trying to smother it and keep shatter! From doing any more damage.
Oh, look at this, trying to go upstairs.
[kenny] really nice shot by shatter!.
And how about mammoth pushing shatter! Around the box?
-Wow. -[chris] uh-oh!
Mammoth has shatter! Up against the screws now.
Leaning on him, kind of like a heavyweight boxer.
Shatter!'s got to create some space to land some shots here, kenny.
-[kenny] oh! -That's a nice hit. And another one!
[chris] that was some nice shots by shatter!.
Yeah, attacking the wheel of mammoth
and accumulating some valuable damage points there.
-[kenny] absolutely. -Oh!
[kenny] shatter! Should be ahead
of the damage category after breaking mammoth's weapon.
This is a neck and neck fight, chris.
Oh, he is hard to push.
[chris] great driving by ricky willems and team mammoth.
He's got shatter! Right in his claw.
[kenny] oh!
[chris] mammoth driving shatter! Hammer-first into the rails.
Less than a minute remaining in this fight.
And, kenny, don't look now, but shatter!'s weapon has suddenly gone quiet.
Yeah, I think they may have damaged it in that last collision, chris.
[chris] and you know what that means?
We got a pushing match on our hands down the stretch in this round of 16 matchup.
Come on!
[chris] the 30th seed, mammoth,
has been sensational from the opening bell,
who was facing a serious uphill battle for the majority of this fight
after a brilliant strike from shatter! Broke their weapon chain.
Now, they seem to have answered back by stopping shatter!'s hammer.
But the question, will it be enough in the eyes of the judges?
[buzzer sounding]
their wheel came off.
[man] their wheel came off.
[chris] peter, what did you think?
[pete] that was amazing.
I mean, I don't know if you just caught what just happened at the very end.
The wheel fell off of mammoth right there at the very end.
That could be some serious points against them, but wow.
I mean, removing the chain off of mammoth so early on
and keeping them from being able to lift shatter!,
but mammoth would never let go.
So most of the control was gonna end up on mammoth.
[chris] remember, mammoth scraped into this tournament
as the 30th seed, took out the third overall seed
in copperhead just to get here.
And what a performance tonight in the round of 16.
[kenny] unbelievable.
Mammoth, so effective with that launcher at the start of this fight.
They were relentless,
and just overwhelmed shatter!.
[chris] but with one swing of their hammer
shatter! Flipped the script and tore mammoth's weapon chain clean off.
[kenny] yes, they did. And here's what the judges are asking themselves right now.
Did mammoth do enough to overcome the loss of their weapons
so early in this fight?
Yes, they showed incredible control throughout
and eventually stopped shatter!'s weapon,
but that was later in the match,
and shatter! Did have a few nice flurries in between.
This is a very tough call.
[chris] and I want you to take a look at this.
As time expired, one of mammoth's tires fell off of the frame.
Could that be the final impression the judges need to make a decision?
This is going to be a nail-biter.
So now let's turn it on over to faruq.
The results from the judges are in.
[crowd cheering]
we have a split decision.
Judge jason scored the battle for mammoth.
[cheering]
judge lisa scored the battle for shatter!.
Judge derrick scored the battle for the winner...
Shatter!
[whooping triumphantly]
[all cheering]
[chris] adam wrigley.
Whoo!
You okay?
I'm okay.
I know that in seasons past, you and the judges saw fights differently.
How worried were you that was going to happen again?
I... That was... I'm really happy.
I'm really happy, is what I am right now.
[laughs]
that's a smart man who might need those judges
sometime in the near future as well.
All right, it looks like your pit crew member,
I believe that's mary standing next to you...
And she's all... Why so emotional?
We've been working on this for years now.
Ever since adam and I have been together, it's been a dream of his
to get even farther and get to the nut.
So it's just awesome to see that paying off.
And I'm a very... I have no poker face, so...
[all laugh]
it's coming out.
Hey, guys. Congratulations.
We look forward to your next fight in the quarterfinal.
Whoo!
-[mary] ...Guys. -Good job.
[chris] some tough decisions for the judges tonight.
I do not envy them at all.
However, adam rickley and shatter! Punch their ticket to the quarter finals.
We will find out there who their dance partner will be next.
In our final round of 16 match-up,
it's the sixth seed endgame taking on the 22-seed rotator.
Come on back as the battlebots world championship tournament continues.
[clapping and cheering]
[jenny] congratulations!
-Thank you! -Oh!
-What a win for you guys! -Yeah.
You're definitely doing something right.
You guys took down minotaur last season.
You just took down tombstone and ray.
How does it feel?
Feels great to beat ray billings.
It was a pleasure for us to fight them.
Is this already a win for you guys?
Taking down tombstone? Or do you your eye on the giant nut?
We have our eyes on the giant nut,
but right now we are celebrating the moment.
We know that we did something really big.
Okay. There was a little bit of a dance going into the box.
Can you guys recreate the moment right now, please.
Yes? Thank you. This is it!
-The celebratory dance. Congratulations... -Yeah!
[chris] welcome back to battlebots,
the world championship tournament.
Right now, it's a showdown for the final spot in the top eight.
It's the six-seed endgame, taking on number 22-seed rotator.
And let's start with rotator.
[chris] kenny, victor soto
told us before the season started, his goal was to make the top eight with a win.
He does just that.
[kenny] yeah, absolutely. And could go even further.
I mean, this is a very tough matchup for him. He understands that.
He says the physics is such that, you know, when you go against a vertical spinner,
they shoot you up in the air.
And he's hoping he'd go to full three minutes.
He understands he has to be patient,
and it's all about armor and driving in this fight.
[chris] and what about endgame?
[kenny] the weapon of rotator isn't so concerning for them.
You know, they don't really want to go to a decision.
Uh, they've been happy with what they've done,
but a loss here would be crushing,
and I think they have to be aggressive here.
Try to land some shots and, uh, take out rotator as quickly as possible.
Faruq, show us how it's done.
[all cheering]
in the blue square... This bot has destroyed all over.
From the cities to the boondocks.
And he hasn't awesome disc spinner like my very first boom box.
But just like old cds, your time is about to be done.
So here comes "now- that's-what-I-call-murder" volume one...
With rotator!
[chris] rotator knocked out jackpot in the round of 32.
Kenny, what configuration is victor soto coming to work with tonight?
[kenny] well, he's working with that nasty undercutter,
which is designed to get underneath bots and take out the tires.
So he hopes to disable endgame that way.
He said he's approaching this fight like it's the final
because if you could get by endgame,
he feels like he could take the whole thing.
[faruq] in red square...
"battlebots assemble!"
this bot has no equal.
After knocking out tombstone, we green lit a sequel.
Like j.A.R.V.I.S. It's made by a genius programmer.
It's the coolest thing since the cap lifted thor's hammer.
Trust me, you're going to want to stay till the end frame, but, shh, no spoilers.
You're about to watch endgame!
[crowd cheering and clapping]
[chris] endgame took care of 11-year old tyler and perfect phoenix in the round of 32.
These guys, this is the most confident they've been
in their three seasons on battlebots.
[kenny] yeah, they're on top of their game right now.
Their weapon is firing insanely well.
Jack barker has been an absolute beast on the stick,
and they've been killing good bots with relative ease.
This should be a fantastic fight.
[crowd cheering]
they're interesting as they have a gap in the middle
where the weapon's exposed, and I just have to be careful
that I don't feed my armor into their weapon.
This is one of those fights where I really can't make any driving mistakes
because it could be very costly with how hard they hit.
And I have to be careful that they don't shoot me outside of the arena.
They've been doing that pretty often.
So we've got obviously the big wedges on the front,
and really, the idea is just to keep him in front of those the whole time.
If we can drive properly, we can hopefully make sure he doesn't get under them.
We're not terribly scared of his weapon.
What we're really scared of is him getting around to our more squishy areas
like our wheels or just the back of the robot
because he's very good at that.
[crowd cheering]
[crowd] fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] all right, the last spot in the quarterfinals on the line.
Endgame...
Rotator...
Only one can advance. Here we go.
[crowd] fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin!
Rotator turn around a nice little smash.
Oh, no! Endgame nearly popped rotator out of the box!
[kenny] endgame has to be careful with the wheels on the backside.
Can't let rotator get that undercutter to them.
There goes one of the wedges of rotator.
That's going to make things a little easier for endgame.
[chris] endgame trying to get control of its bot, driven by jack, on the attack
and nice shot on rotator!
[kenny] uh-oh! You just saw a belt come off endgame, chris.
[chris] you can see the weapon has slowed down significantly.
[both] whoa!
Yeah!
[chris] now the weapon has actually stopped.
That is a huge deal.
Not even 45 seconds into this fight.
Is endgame relegated to push-bot duties?
[kenny] I believe they are, chris.
Without that belt, primary weapon is going to be done.
Not a good start for endgame, but they certainly got some great hits off.
[chris] rotator's blades spinning at full speed.
Oh! There's a big shot! Endgame still moving around.
And that is part of the name of the game.
Keep moving.
What sort of strategy is jack barker have up his sleeve?
[kenny] well, he's got to get underneath rotator.
Can't let that weapon get around to the side.
They'll need to protect their wheels.
That was a concern of theirs.
It looks like... Whoa! That's a great shot by endgame!
[chris] unbelievable!
Massive as rotator went into the driver's glass right in front of victor soto,
[man] oh!
[chris] now rotator's driving inverted, which it can do.
Uh-oh, endgame having some driving issues...
[chris] oh! Another huge shot.
[kenny] whoa!
[chris] pete, how dangerous is rotator when it's driving inverted?
[kenny] for this configuration of endgame,
the worst case scenario because they can hit high
and take out the whole weapon set creating a lot of damage.
[kenny] but may not matter, chris.
Rotator's blades looks to be slowing down.
[chris] ah! Endgame's gonna be able to take advantage of this with their wedge.
It's gonna be a full 55 seconds of just pushing and shoving.
[kenny] this is the kind of match that rotator wanted though.
They wanted to go the distance
to give themselves a chance here with these judges.
[man] right now! Yeah!
[kenny] nice shot to the pulverizer landed by rotator.
What a fight.
[chris] rotator took out endgame's weapon.
Endgame has returned the favor.
Now closing in on the 30-second mark.
[kenny] this, I think, is the part of the fight...
It's really going to favor endgame with that wedge.
They're going to be able to get underneath rotator
and push them around the battlebox.
See if they can get the hazards involved.
There they go. They're underneath rotator.
See if they're gonna bring him over towards the hammer.
[chris] rotator trying to wiggle free!
Oh! Endgame lands a shot with a 100-pound pulverizer.
Finding a way to score points here in the home stretch.
It is a wire to wire war between two veteran teams here in the round of 16.
[buzzer sounds]
whoo!
[chris] wow! Oh, that was a good fight.
[man] don't know what we would've done.
So much to unpack. The judges, they have their hands full with this one.
So kenny florian, break it down for us.
[kenny] yeah, I tell you what. This was just a brawl.
Full stop. I mean endgame got off to a great start,
getting underneath rotator and landing some amazing shots with that vertical disc.
[chris] but rotator, tough as nails, answered back.
They took the fight to endgame.
Broke their disk spinner and grabbed control of this match.
[kenny] that's right. But give the... A ton of credit for not panicking.
They stayed right on top of rotator and found a way to score points.
Look at this shot as endgame punches rotator into the driver's window.
Wow!
[chris] so how are the judges gonna sort this one out, kenny?
It may come down to aggression, chris.
[kenny] I mean, endgame never stopped attacking.
Even when their weapon went down,
they did a great job of getting underneath them.
They landed some great shots with that wedge
and ultimately got rid of their primary weapon as well.
[chris] will it be enough to send endgame to the quarterfinals?
Let's find out.
The results from the judges are in.
We have a split decision.
[crowd] oh!
Judge lisa scores the battle for endgame.
Judge jason scored the battle for rotator.
Judge derrick scored the battle for the winner...
Endgame!
[crowd cheering and clapping]
[indistinct]
yes!
[chris] nick, jack, get over here.
You are on to the quarterfinals.
Can you exhale, nick?
I just have to breathe in first.
[kenny and chris laugh]
[nick] rotator just doesn't die.
That was one... That was probably our best fight ever.
We never got three minutes in a big slug fest like that.
And, man, it gives me so much confidence that our robot isn't gonna die.
Just randomly now.
I mean, we lost the weapon, but...
I really think we should add some belt guards.
[chuckles] yeah, maybe, um, because there's a belt on the floor in case you need.
-There's four of them. -[kenny laughs]
so how nervous were you when you lose your primary weapon
45 seconds into a playoff fight?
Um, we were pretty scared about that.
But it looked like from the beginning
that we had the advantage on drive.
We were getting under him, were able to push him around.
So we weren't too worried.
We knew that we could have control and aggression.
So I think it's really lucky that his weapon died on us as well.
We hit it a bunch of times with our face and that ended up killing it.
And I think that's what got us the win.
Jack and nick. Congratulations to you and all of the entire team.
We will see you in the round of eight.
-Congratulations. -[nick] thank you, chris. Thank you, kenny.
[kenny] well done.
[chris] so for only the second time in three seasons,
endgame goes the distance and grabs the last spot in the quarter finals,
and now the top eight is all set.
And look at these matchups.
In group number one...
The last of our top four seeds still in contention.
Hydra will meet the number eight whiplash.
Manny vasquez tells us he's got something in store for hydra.
Can't wait.
[kenny] over in group two, 18-seed tantrum's magical season
could literally be cut short by the seventh-seed sawblaze.
[chris] in group three, we just saw endgame
finding ways to win without actually using it's weapon.
Kind of a frightening thought for the competition
and especially for the 19th-seeded shatter!
Who they take on in the final eight.
And finally, in group four, the lowest seed left in the tournament,
20th-seed ribbot takes on fifth-seed black dragon.
[chris] all right, so that'll do it for us.
For jenny taft and faruq and our bot-whisperer pete and my man kenny florian,
I'm chris rose.
Next time we see ya, we have got the quarter finals,
the semis, and somebody is walking out of here
with the giant nut.
We'll see you next time on battlebots.
[chris] think you have what it takes to be the next battlebots world champion?
Go to discovery.Com/battlebots to find out how to join in on the action.