[narrator] in the 25 year history of the sport,
Excellence at battlebots has been measured in hardwar
The pride of the giant bolts
[kenny] what a destructive robot!
[narrator] the glory of the desperado and bounty hunter.
[chris] they have run the gauntlet.
[narrator] and the ultimate prize
For those seeking battlebots immortality,
The giant nut.
[kenny] world champion!
[narrator] now, a new quest for greatness begins.
This is battlebots champio,
The race for the golden bolt
[robot] robots, activate.
Welcome to battlebots!
Hi, everybody, I am chris rose,
Joined by a man
Who graduated from killer robot university
With a degree in communications.
Say hi to kenny florian.
[kenny] thanks, chris. Shout out to my alma mater,
Kru.
Fight on rusty nuts.
[chris] well, kenny,
Tonight we begin a special new event
That not only allows deadly weapons,
Quite frankly, it encourages them.
Today is the start of battlebots champions
Sin city slugfest.
[kenny] for years, every bot has had one goal:
To win the giant nut.
But tonight we introduce a new holy grail.
Las vegas,
Say hello to the golden bolts!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] I think we all agree.
The only thing better than robot combat
Is more robot combat.
And much like the champions league in soccer
Or the ryder cup in golf,
Special events like the desperado tournamen
And bounty hunters here at battlebots
Have provided more
Opportunities for teams to gain experience,
Build their resumes, and, of course, take home some new hardware.
And that's what battlebots champions is all about.
Now here's how it all works.
Tonight begins a March toward an exclusive champions-only tournament.
And when I say "champions only," I really mean it.
This epic six-episode serie
Will culminate in the golden bolt tournamen
Where the first three spots in the field belong to former giant nut winners
Tombstone,
End game,
And, of course, the 2021 world champion, tantrum.
The other five spots are wide open,
And tonight we will fill one of them.
But the road to the golden bolt is a grueling one.
Each week, eight teams will face a treacherous gauntlet,
And beating each other senseless simply won't be enough.
They must also defeat a battlebots legend
To join the field of champions.
[kenny] that's right. And whoever survives tonight marathon of mayhem
Will take on the formidable.
Gigabyte!
[crowd cheering]
[kenny] captain john mladenik has be
In the robot fighting game for 20 years,
And has racked up over 100 career wins.
Gigabyte's cemented its legend status last year
When it took down four bots in one night
To claim the son of whyachi bounty.
It is widely considered to be the most dangerous
Full body spinner on the planet.
[chris] will gigabyte be a stubborn gatekeeper
And clinch a spot in the field of champions?
Or will it be one of our fearless
Contenders?
Let's look at tonight's tournament bracket.
It's the most high stakes arm wrestling match of all time,
When two lethal grapplers square off.
It is claw viper versus defender.
[crowd cheering]
[kenny] a one-of-a-kind bot
Takes on an enemy with a one-of-a-kind captain.
It's todd mendenhall's triple crown
Against martin mason and madcatter.
[crowd cheering]
Two heads are, indeed, better than one,
But she's trying to cut 'em both off.
It's smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee versus valkyrie.
[crowd cheering]
[man] valkyrie!
[kenny] but up first, it's a bot that's got plenty of pluck,
And a bit of a "fowl" mouth
Hal rucker's duck!
Takes on a machine that puts the kill in kilowatts,
Will bales and hypershock.
We cannot wait to see how it all shakes out.
Faruq, let's get it on.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Are you ready?
It's robot fighting time!
[woman] whoo!
[faruq] in the red square,
From palo alto, california...
If you step to the quack,
He'll break your robot's back.
It's duck!
[chris] there is the veteran, mr. Hal rucker,
Pushing in duck! Alongside his 16-year-old daughter, hannah.
So, kenny, what is a defensive minded bot like duck!
Have to do to win some fights tonight?
[kenny] well, winning four fights in a nig
Requires some serious durability.
And there aren't many bots in the sport
More durable than duck!
Hal is coming off a very tough season,
Going 0 and 3 in last year's world championship.
So he is fired up to remind everyone
That duck! Can still compete
At a high level.
There's a lot on the line for this team
In this tournament.
[faruq] in the blue square,
From miami, florida...
He's from the sunshine state,
And he'll leave your box so broke,
It'll have to pan handle.
It's hypershock!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] here they come.
[group scatting "conga line"]
[chris] team... Oh!
They are in total in lockstep.
I love this.
[kenny] very coordinated.
[chris] hypershock, one of the most popular bots around,
And after years of, well, uh maddening inconsistency
This team really put togethe a special season in 2021.
[kenny] absolutely, they looked
Downright dominant in stretches,
Grabbing the 13th seat of the tournament.
And eventually losing, a controversial decision,
To p1 in the round of 32.
I'm interested to see which hypershock
We get here in the slugfest.
The fans want to see a deep
Run by this crew.
Let's see if they can deliver.
Normally I drive, but in the sin city competition,
Hannah's gonna take the reins.
I'm really excited to face hypershock.
I'm also a little nervous.
Will bales is such an amazing driver.
Will's crazy driving
Introduces a new level of chaos into the arena.
It's a little bit of trying to attack a hurricane.
Duck!'s very robust.
It's incredibly well built.
Very durable.
Kind of the whole mo is that they just don't quit,
And they wait for you to make a mistake or die.
Our focus is gonna be maintaining a good pace,
But not making mistakes.
This is all about getting to the... The tournament of champions.
Um, we want to get to gigabyte,
Take out gigabyte, prove that we belong,
And then take home the... The big, old golden bolt.
Whoo!
[crowd chanting] fight!
[chanting] fight!
[chanting continues]
-[chris] let the slugfest begin! -[man] go, hypershock.
[chris] you can see just how fast both these bots are.
Here's hypershock trying to get underneath duck!
[kenny] we've seen will drive on top of his opponents at times,
He has to be careful doing that with duck!
You see that beak lifting?
That is a lifter, that can launch hypershock and get them inverted.
[chris] the bots reset.
Here comes the... Oh!
Hard charge at hypershock,
But hannah rucker may have gotten the worst of that one, kenny.
[kenny] yeah, chipped a piece of that duck bill off.
So far, it's hypershock that's winning
The ground war here though.
Those forks are serving 'em well.
[chris and kenny] whoa!
[kenny] these are two fast bots out there colliding, chris.
[chris] hypershock rocked up with that shot,
-Goes in for another! -[kenny] whoa!
[chris] will bales came to party tonight.
He's been all over duck!
Whoa! Hypershock up on two wheels!
[kenny] hypershock almost got inverted there.
[chris and kenny] oh!
[chris] 'kay, that's some serious damage.
[kenny] wow!
[chris] oh, no, I don't think that bot's gonna be doing much trash talking.
[kenny] that was a massive hit.
Hypershock going to town on duck!'s lifter.
[chris] but duck! Continues to stick that beak in the danger zone.
[kenny] here's hypershock backing duck! Down and into the screws.
[chris] well done!
-[duck! Quacks] -[kenny] oh, boy.
-[duck! Quacks] -[chris] aw.
[chris] he's saying, "help, help!"
Duck wiggles free.
Oh, no, hypershock winding up.
Whoa!
[kenny] serious air time!
He almost fell on top of hypershock.
[chris] I didn't know hypershock was a flipper bot.
That was impressive.
Duck!'s doing... Wow.
[chuckles] okay.
[chris] ninety seconds in...
[kenny] oh, and duck!'s inverted.
Didn't stick the landing...
-[kenny] oh! -[chris] goodness.
[kenny] and one of the wheels just flew off.
A wheel just fell off!
[chris] or is it two? No, one of the wheels.
-[kenny] what a hit! -[chris] but duck! Can still drive.
[kenny] he sure can, just not like he used to.
Way slower...
[chris] oh!
Hypershock goes for the kill now, chris.
[chris] will bales delivering a flurry of shots.
Duck! Feels like there's ten hypershocks out there at the moment.
Uh-oh.
Some smoke trickling out of hypershock there.
We've seen this bot look spectacular in the past, kenny,
Then, of course, die suddenly.
[kenny] yeah listen, duck! Is beat up,
But it is built to outlast its opponents, chris.
You know, hypershock is looking for that knockout,
But you're right, you never know with this bot.
Let's see if will can finish the job without blowing himself up.
-[man] hit him again! -[chris] but, kenny, don't you want
To pace yourself a little bit?
Once again, this is four fights in one night you have to win.
It's not about just expending all your energy.
[kenny] no, it's a great point, chris.
You don't want to give yourself more work than you need in the pits.
You gotta be efficient in your wins,
But, will bales, he only knows one gear. It's six.
[chris] just about 20 seconds left to go,
In tonight's opening match.
Duck! Hanging on for dear life,
After an undressing at the hands of will bales,
And team hypershock.
But it appears this one is destined to go to the judges score card.
[kenny] one last browning shock there by hypershock on duck!
And trying to get the pulverizer in as well.
-It gets one last shot in. -[buzzer sounds]
Impressive performance by team hypershock.
[chris] so now we turn things over to our panel of judges,
Derek young, jason bardis, lisa winter.
Scoring on an 11-point system.
Five points can be
Awarded for damage,
Three apiece for aggression and control.
Will bales, attack mode, they go hand in hand.
[kenny] no doubt about it. Give hannah rucker credit for some good driving.
Keeping duck! Squared up as long as she could,
But hypershock, just too much in this one.
[chris] and how 'bout this?
Going right to the beak, kenny.
[kenny] parts just flying everywhere. That fort didn't last long.
[chris] and then the big one sending duck! 12 feet into the air.
[kenny] what a hit.
[chris] and then one last sh into the rails
Just in case the judges weren't impressed enough.
The results from the judges are in!
[crowd cheering]
[will] you never know.
The winner by unanimous decision is...
Hypershock!
[cheering]
That's an impervious robot.
You can't kill it.
It can't be killed.
[crowd chanting] hypershock! Hypershock! Hypershock! Hypershock!
[crowd continues chanting]
Oh, will. That's a pleasant sound, isn't it?
Ah. That's the kind of judges' decision you want.
But you never know what's gonna happen.
You know, they see something different than I do, so...
Um, we're glad to have the win.
Well, is that why you stayed so aggressive throughout that fight?
I wanted to stay aggressive. I wanted to set the pace.
Um, but in our ending fight in the tournament against p1,
I got a little too cavalier and started monster trucking over people
And using them as ramps instead of, you know, hitting 'em.
So, uh, I wanted to learn that lesson.
Uh, [chuckles] already learned it once.
Um, and so we just kept on trying to hit and
Maintain that pace. And I think we did it.
-[crowd cheering] -will, congratulations. Great first fight out of the gate.
Thanks, guys.
Yeah!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] all right. So hypershock moves one ste closer to a possible showdow
With gigabyte at the end of the night
Where a berth in the golden bolt tournamen will be on the line.
Up next, a wall on wheels
Takes on one of the hardest hitting spinners in the game
It's smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee versus valkyrie
Next on battlebots champion, sin city slugfest.
[chris] welcome back to battlebots champions
Where hopeful contenders and a battlebots icon
Are fighting for a spot in the exclusive golden bolt tournament field
Will one of our next two competitors run the gauntlet
And lay claim to tonight's open slot?
And quite a large order for valkyrie.
-Literally... -[chuckles]
...Because they are gonna b taking on smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Which made its debut in 202 and caught everyone's eye.
This thing is eight feet lon it is a monster, kenny!
Yeah, it's big. But it's really defensively sound.
I think that's at that heart of what joe was trying to do with this robot.
He's three and four all tim in the battlebox.
So this incredibly unique design has won him
Some fights. But he's here tonight to prove
That it's not just a novelty act,
And can actually be a legit contender in this competitio
[chris] and for valkyrie, they enter the slugfest
After a disappointing 2021 season.
Getting tossed out of the world championshi tournament
In the first round by blip.
[faruq] valkyrie!
[chris] they are looking to go deep in this thing, kenny,
And looking to remind everyo why they were voted
Most destructive bot way back in 2020.
[kenny] yeah, they were very down
After last year's frustrating season.
They had weapon issues all year.
And are coming into this eve to try to right the ship
And re-establish themselves as a hard hitting top-tier bot.
All right. Let's see what happens.
Valkyrie taking on smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
Faruq?
[crowd cheering]
In the red square, from new york, new york,
The bot so terrifying, it'll make you evacuate your vowels!
-It's smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! -[chris chuckling]
[kenny] that's good stuff.
[chris] well, smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee certainly made some adjustments
In the off-season, but adding an extra "e"
To their name was not one of them.
There is joe fabiani,
Looking like he just came out of surgery,
And is wheeling in the patient right now.
The smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee's just fine. It's just it needs
A table that long to make it in here.
[kenny chuckles] yeah, this is a fascinating bot!
It's designed to absorb punishment
Along that long front wedge, and corral bots against the rails and screws
In the hopes that they destroy themselves in the process.
Those satellite bots there on the sides
Feature horizontal spinning blades.
But we have yet to see them do meaningful damage in competition.
Let's see if they can make an impact in this fight.
In the blue square, from somerville, massachusetts...
♪ oh, holy crap, dude this robot's got 'tude ♪
♪ it's gonna kill you you're gonna die ♪
It's valkyrie!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] here comes valkyrie. Led by driver frederick moore
And captain leanne cushing.
So, kenny, tell us about their weapon tonight.
[kenny] that, my friend, is glory,
The latest and greatest addition to the valkyrie arsenal.
It was designed with the help of the brilliant minds
At autodesk.
It's a lightweight blade that allows for a fast
Spit up time.
Knowing smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee is going to try to corral them,
Leanne wanted to use a weapon that can pick momentum up quickly,
After every hit.
[chris] all to go with their nice outfits.
[crowd cheering and clapping]
I'm terrified. Valkyrie has a really big spinner.
They're really fast
And they're really well built.
Our strategy is simple.
We want to get them into the walls
And keep them from actually getting their weapon up to speed.
We're using our steel wedge, which bends a lot
Against heavy spinners.
So the goal is that we can absorb energy,
But also remain rigid enough to still control our opponent.
So we can push them around when we're not getting hit,
And otherwise we can hopefully survive the hits they're dishing out.
I'm kind of excited.
He's been my favorite beetle weight, uh, design
In recent years.
I kind of know his driving style,
I kind of know his general, like, corralling, sheepdog idea.
We're hopefully gonna get in some good punches,
Make it look good, and not get corralled into a corner.
[crowd cheering]
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[chanting continues]
[chris] let the bot battle begin!
Smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee on the attack
And valkyrie going right for the middle.
Which I'm not so sure is the right strategy.
[kenny] yeah, I mean, they're so pliable there.
And they're so good at diffusing those direct hits.
Ah! On the flanks is where they're vulnerable though.
I think valkyrie has kind of figured that out.
[chris] yep. You'll kind of notice
Smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee has those blades on the top side
Of his satellite box for this match.
Frederick moore, the outstanding driver
Of team valkyrie.
Trying to move from end to end.
It's almost like an electric toothbrush though going
-Straight up and down those choppers in the middle. -[kenny laughing]
[chris] although remind me not to put that in my mouth anytime soon.
[kenny] no life from those horizontal spinners on smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
At the moment.
Part of its strategy is to try and break its opponent's
Weapon by wearing it down on the wedge,
And then attack with those spinners.
[chris] valkyrie's still probing here.
Maybe looking for a way to get around to the backside of smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
Kenny...
[kenny] yeah, that's where smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee's tires are.
That would be the kill zone if valkyrie could find a way.
Yeah. They're just kind of waiting for their chance
To go on the offensive.
-[chris] okay! -[kenny] valkyrie's got... Cutting 'em up now, chris.
[chris] yeah.
[kenny] little pieces of tire are getting chewed up.
[chris] uh-oh! Frederick moore going to town on the back of the robot!
Smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee is in some serious trouble here.
[kenny] frederick looking to take out those tires and end this fight.
Valkyrie just chewing 'em up without any response from smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
[chris] yeah.
Smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee is still able to move,
But very, very slowly.
-Much like the old lady dropped her-- -[kenny] oh!
[chris] there, man. Help you.
-[chris] wow! -[kenny] wow!
Just switched out that weapons half in there.
[chris] there goes one of those horizontal spinners.
It's officially off now.
[kenny] yeah, that thing came off like it was just
Kind of glued on.
Still hanging in there, kenny.
It's early to break valkyrie's weapon,
Maybe even-up the score cards.
[kenny] yeah, remember valkyrie has had a ton
Of weapon reliability issues as of late,
So crazier things have happened.
They cannot mess around here.
Valkyrie needs to finish this fight.
[chris] under a minute to go,
So watch out for the kill saws which are now active as well.
[kenny] whoa!
How 'about that armor though?
I mean, the tip speed on valkyrie
Is right around 250 miles an hour,
And that armor is taking it.
[chris] but for how long?
Valkyrie again eating away at the backside
Of smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
And now really sinking in deep into those tires!
Oh!
Valkyrie says, "I'm not waiting
For the referees to get in on this...
-[kenny] oh! -...I'm just gonna keep chopping away!"
[kenny] fred moore, an absolute surgeon out there.
[leanne] you got it!
-[crowd cheering] -[chris] here comes the countdown!
Valkyrie backs off.
Smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee gasping
For its final breaths!
-[referee] knockout! -[buzzer sounds]
-[crowd cheering] -what?
[joe] the best fight ever.
[chris] kenny, seven out of ten bot builders recommend
Cleaning your smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee at least twice a day.
[kenny laughing]
[kenny] yeah, uh, valkyrie just kind of brushing
At that front armor.
Smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee doing what it was designed
To do and absorbing the punishment.
But it's the vulnerability and ineffectiveness
Of those satellite bots that so often leads
To smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee's undoing.
That was the case again here
[chris] eventually valkyrie got around to the backside,
And it was all downhill for joe fabiani's bot from there.
[kenny] yeah. Great choice by leanne cushing
To go with that cutting weap for this match.
It took care of the tires,
And that was the beginning of the end
For smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
[chris] actually. It was the end of the end, kenny.
[kenny] there you go.
[crowd cheering and clapping]
-[chris] all right, leanne. -[leanne chuckling]
[chuckles]
Well, uh, I imagine
With your pre-game strategy,
It must have been awfully fun to see it come to fruition
The way that it did tonight.
Definitely. We knew that if we were getting corralled, there's a more
Of a chance for us to get into a corner,
Which will make our blades stop.
So we were trying
To make sure we stayed on either end,
And tried to get behind. And once we got behind, I feel like we were able
To keep staying on one... Either of the drive pods.
Guys, congratulations on taking that first step!
Thank you.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] all right, that's two down in round on
As valkyrie advances to face hypershock.
Coming up, it's a battle of the grapple
As claw viper squares off against defender
This sin city slugfest continues!
Next!
[crowd cheering]
Do you want more of the sin city slugfest, here at battlebots?
-Of course you do, my man. -Jeez, so aggressive.
I should stop touching you, you could kill people with just your eyes.
[chris] let's take a look at our updated bracket.
So far, hypershock and valkyrie
Have punched their tickets to the second round.
And joining them will be martin mason and madcatter,
Who earned a de facto bye,
After veteran builder, todd mendenhall's new bot, triple crown,
Couldn't get out of first gear.
[kenny] a hard charge out of the gate for madcatter,
And I don't think triple crown is functional.
[chris] aw, man!
[referee] that's a knockout!
[chris] triple crown is an extremely ambitious design,
Featuring multiple weapons and a swerve drive motor.
But sometimes, with new and complicated technology,
There's a steep learning curve.
We applaud todd for the effort,
But it is martin mason and madcatter that are movin' on.
So with madcatter advancing only one spot now remains in the second round,
And it's down to claw viper and defender to wrestle it from each other.
Defender is led by jason vasquez.
Of course, he is the younger brother
Of the acclaimed, matty vasquez of team whiplash.
Jason wanted to spread his wings and lead his own team,
So last season he unveiled his grappler bot,
And went an impressive two and two in his rookie campaign.
And this is really a great experience for jason.
[kenny] no doubt, he definitely showed some promise,
Making it all the way to the play-in match
Of the world championship tournament, eventually falling to hydra
But jason is chomping at the bit for more stick time,
And this is a valuable opportunity to build his resume
By making a deep run here tonight.
[chris] well, he will be taking on fellow grappler, claw viper
Captained by kevin milczewski.
[kenny] that's right, if you haven't seen this robot
It can get up to 20 miles an hour in under a half a second.
The team is two and five in their two seasons here at battlebots,
So they are certainly in need of some quality wins
If they want to remain relevant.
Again, this is one fast bot, so buckle up.
Let's find out just how fast. Faruq?
In the red square, from seattle, washington,
This thing's a battle snake and he's hisssssed off.
It's claw viper!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] captain, kevin milczewski, there with the briefcase in hand,
And, kenny, he told us he's given the snake a stronger bite
For this tournament.
[kenny] yeah, they upgraded that viper strike head.
You see there, it now has a four bar lifter mechanism on top,
Which is much more stable and has a longer reach than their previous grappler.
Kevin's said he's hoping to take control of defender,
And let the arena hazards do the dirty work for him.
In the blue square, from thousand oaks, california,
When this bot gives you a lift, he'll have you seeing five stars.
It's defender!
[chris] well, jason vasquez told us he wants to prove to all the builders out there,
I'm not just the younger bro.
I've got my own identity and my own robot that can run.
[kenny] that's right, and he's dead set
On making a name for himself with the control bot
In a sport filled with so many dangerous spinning weapons,
Getting all the way to the golden bolt tournament
Would mean instant respect and credibility.
Tonight we're gonna fight defender.
I'm super excited to fight it, because it's not a spinner.
We get to have a long, drawn-out, control match,
And see who the better driver is.
I wanna use the hammers, hopefully damage his robot with the arena.
Get him up on the screws, maybe rip a wheel off at the screws.
Later in the fight, those kill saws will come up,
We're gonna grab him, hold him,
Right on top of the kill saw till they cut a wheel off.
I know he drives really fast and, I think that's something I need to watch out for.
So I think I'll just try and be a little more patient,
And just keep my front end of my robot pointed towards him,
And maybe let him come to me.
Claw viper may be fast, and really good with her lifter,
But I think I could show them who's boss.
Good luck!
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin!
Oh, wow! Quick draw by defender knocked claw viper out of the gate.
[kenny] defender getting underneath claw viper, nice lift.
[chris] let's see how much claw viper can roll over.
Well, he gets a little assist from defender,
Who's trying to put claw viper in the upper deck.
Uh-oh.
Claw viper in danger, he gets put into the screws!
And look at the power, the reversal, on the bot from seattle.
[chris] these two grapplers kind of look like cousins out there in the box.
[kenny] chris, in a control battle, low bot usually wins,
That has been defender so far.
Defender doin' a good job of getting the right angles,
Almost got a nice bite down on the plank of claw viper.
[chris] little head to head smack and again.
[kenny] jason vasquez, an excellent driver in his own right,
Looking for that angle. And he's outdriving kevin, for sure, so far.
[chris] claw viper's speed hasn't played much of a role in the fight, to this point.
Here's defender getting underneath claw viper, once again,
Let's see if it can drag it over to an arena hazard.
Whoa! An elegant spin there on the dance floor,
But defender looks like it's stuck underneath the rail.
Ouch!
[kenny] oh, a big opportunity here for claw viper, let's see if it can capitalize.
[chris] claw viper scoops up defender, ooh, but loses grip.
[kenny] missed opportunity there for kevin milczewski.
[chris] claw viper gets free and now we've seen that speed for the first time.
-Looks like they're kickin' it into high gear, can he... -Uh-oh.
-...Grab defender? -Yeah, defender might be havin' some drive issues here.
Let's see if claw viper can take advantage.
Definitely has some ground to make up on the scorecards.
Both of these teams have struggled
With their grappling mechanisms in this fight, chris.
[chris] yeah, it seems like both are missing just another gear weapon-wise, kenny.
Both are trying to get that perfect angle
And boy, claw viper had him, just couldn't grab down in time.
[kenny] and a nice, aggressive move by claw viper,
And look at this, defender loses a wheel!
[chris] yeah, that right tire is on the box floor now.
There we go! That's the first major hit of this fight.
That will look good for the judges.
[kenny] took away a wheel, got him over towards the screws.
Kevin finishing strong here with claw viper.
[chris] and that all happened right in front of one of our three judges, jason bardis.
So he got a great look at it box-side.
[kenny] both bots circling, looking for those angles and it's kevin again,
Almost got a flip there on defender.
[chris] under 30 to go.
Who's gonna leave their imprint on this fight?
Will it be claw viper? Will it be defender? And... Oh!
[kenny] defender got off to a good start here and it's claw viper finishing strong.
[chris] that pulverizer dropped down three times,
But didn't connect on claw viper.
This one goes the distance in a very technical fight.
[buzzer sounds]
The question is how will the judges see it?
Kenny, we talk about battlebots as being a matte
Of rock, paper, scissors, when it comes to these robot's designs.
-Well, this was paper versus paper. -[kenny laughs] that's right
Two control bots, neither with the type a weapon that's gonna knock you out,
But defender was able to win the low ground early
And that allowed them to dominate the first half of this fight.
[chris] neither captain's gonna be happy
With how their weapon performed,
But I thought claw viper's new four bar grappling syste was a disappointment.
[kenny] yeah, it feels like that bite radius may be too narrow,
Claw viper, never able to get a good clamp.
[chris] claw viper found a way to score some points
After defender encountered drive issues.
Eventually, took a wheel off defender, as well.
[kenny] that's gonna separate claw viper in the damage category,
And may just be the difference in this fight.
[chris] let's go to faruq with the decision.
The results from the judges are in.
[crowd cheering]
The winner, by unanimous decision is...
-Claw viper! -Yeah!
-[crowd cheering] -whoo!
[kevin] ha, ha! Got it!
[chris] yes, you did get it, kevin milczewski.
It's gotta be nice that when your weapon
Isn't working at full capacity,
And you can get... Still get a win, right?
Yeah, yeah, we couldn't grab him as much as we wanted to.
It's a brand new weapon, never been done at battlebots before,
We wanted to try it. Got a little tweakin' to do,
But I think it worked pretty good.
Well, kevin, here in the sin city slugfest,
It's not about winning one fight,
It's about winning four fights.
Can you with the way this machine is built right now?
Yeah, absolutely. We got spares in the pits we got ready to go.
Um, we're lookin' forward to fightin' gigabyte, right?
We lost to him last year, this is a totally different robot.
We wanna put on that show.
Well, you got a few steps before that, kevin.
Yup! We're gonna get there.
Oh, I like the confidence. Congratulations!
Thank you!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] so that wraps up the first round of tonight's tournament.
As only four bots remain,
All with the hopes
Of taking on the gatekeeper, gigabyte,
In our golden bolt qualifying match.
Coming up...
The hotshot will bales will March hypershock back into the arena
To face leanne cushing and valkyrie.
The second-round action kicks off next.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] welcome back to battlebots champions sin city slugfest,
Where only four teams remai in tonight's bracket.
Their goal? Win three more fights
And qualify for the exclusiv golden bolt tournament.
Who'll be joining this deadly field of champions?
Will it be one of our contenders
Or will it be tonight's gatekeeper, gigabyte?
[crowd cheering]
[chris] there is captain john mladenik
Preparing his full-body spinner for combat.
He says he's got a special configuration planned
For whichever bot he faces at the end of this evening.
[john] what happens with the shell spinner, it's kind of a one-trick pon
You don't have ways to deal with every type of robot,
So, we changed the shell design.
We're gonna use this for vertical spinners.
This shell's all for the horizontal spinners.
The difference is this flat part right here.
The reason is, for the vertical spinner to hit on this
Instead of under the area out here.
Where horizontal spinner's just gonna be this.
Vertical spinner's this.
All right, we continue on.
It is the race to fight gigabyte at the end of the night.
This is gonna be a good one next.
Hypershock and valkyrie.
And, kenny, both teams are no stranger
To collecting battlebots hardware.
Each of these captains has won a giant bolt award.
[kenny] yeah, that's right.
Valkyrie, of course, took ho most destructive weapon in 2020,
And will bales was awarded best driver back in 2016.
But in this sport,
Stacking your trophy cases is what it's all about,
And these two would love nothing more than
To qualify for the field of champions
And get their hands on the golden bolt.
First, they'll have to go through each other.
Let's see what happens.
Faruq?
[cheering]
In the red square, from miami, florida,
Here to turn up the heat, it's hypershock!
[cheering and applauding]
[chris] here comes the consummate showman,
Will bales and team hypershock.
Kenny, it looks like they're going with
A different configuration for this fight.
[kenny] that's right.
They've changed over to a single-disk blade
With a big wedge out in front in order to better defend
Against valkyrie's hard-hitting, horizontal spinner.
And that single disk features a two-inch wide tube
That is designed to cut into bots.
Will said he is looking to tear the armor of valkyrie apart in this one.
-[fan] I love you, will. -[will] I love you too.
[faruq] in the blue square,
From somerville, massachusetts,
The new England nightmare,
It's valkyrie!
[cheering and applauding]
[chris] once again, entering the arena,
Leanne cushing and team valkyrie
Looking pumped up to be a part of the second round
Of tonight's slugfest.
[kenny] she sure is, and for this fight,
They've also added uhmw armor on the front of valkyrie as well.
Leanne knows how important durability is
To survive this tournament.
And she saw what hypershock did to duck! In its first match
Offense sells tickets but defense win championships
And she's taking that to heart for this fight.
[crowd chanting] valkyrie! Valkyrie!
We made it into the second round of our sin city slugfest.
We're excited to go up against valkyrie.
We think we've got this one.
We're gonna try to box-rush 'em, stay on 'em,
Uh, again, setting this pace,
Uh, that seems to favor us really well.
If we can keep everyone scurrying away from us,
And we're the cat chasing the mouse,
Then that seems to be where we strive.
We have a long road to go.
By no means are we in the home stretch here,
But, uh, we see the light at the end of the tunnel.
We wanna get to that golden bolt.
Next up in the sin city slugfest for us is hypershock.
Uh, we have faced them once before
A couple of years ago.
We've learned a lot about our robot
And gotten a lot better at driving since then.
So, I'm pretty optimistic.
If we win this,
We're another fight away before we get to gigabyte.
I think it's just gonna be a matter of the best robot wins.
[crowd cheering]
You got this, fred.
-All right. Ready? -Yeah.
[robot] robots, activate.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] two fan favorites
Ready to tear each other apart.
Hypershock! Valkyrie!
Only one can advance in this deadly duel.
The fight when battlebots champions continues.
[chris] welcome back to battlebots champions,
Where valkyrie and hypershock are about to throw down.
Winner moves one step closer to joining the field of champions,
And fighting for the golden bolt.
Loser goes home.
[robot] red team, ready?
[chris] that is will bales' fiancée, alexandra.
Let's see if she brings him some good luck here tonight.
[robot] blue team, ready?
[crowd chanting] valkyrie! Valkyrie!
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight!
[chanting continues]
-[chris] let the bot battle begin, and... -[kenny] oh!
...Rush by hypershock and he lands a shot right to valkyrie.
And he's right on top of valkyrie.
[chris and kenny] whoa!
[kenny] what a shot!
Will bales just knocked off valkyrie's weapon.
[chris] unbelievable! The blade is off of valkyrie.
Will bales going to work on the front of valkyrie now
After dislodging that weapon from the face of the robot.
Look at that thing!
[kenny] this is that vintage berserker barrage here, chris.
[chris] whoa!
[kenny] oh, will bales just destroyed everything in his path.
[chris] he's just taking shots at the blade.
There's all sorts of shrapnel inside the box.
How long can valkyrie survive this, kenny?
[kenny] I don't think they can.
This might be a knock out. My goodness!
-[chris] well, the-- -[kenny] jeez!
[chris] hit with a punch.
It's not exactly appetizing for valkyrie
And its driver frederick moore.
Eight! Seven!
[chris laughing] oh, my goodness.
We've seen some spectacular moments with hypershock over the years,
But we've never witnessed something quite as violent as that performance!
Unreal!
-That, like, fully broke the shaft, yeah. -Yeah.
[chris] what has gotten into team hypershock?
Kenny, what the heck happened?
[kenny] I mean, when have you ever seen
The primary weapon of a bot as well-built as valkyrie
Actually come off the robot
Look at that. Are you kidding me?
[chris] that is 65 pounds of ar500 steel
Flying around the battlebox
And we know how people love their memes here at battlebots.
There's one for you.
Check out leanne cushing's face. Love it.
[kenny] yeah, chris, this was no mercy all the way.
And at the very end, a little death kiss.
Thanks for coming out.
Sorry, valkyrie.
[chris] will bales a fan favorite in seasons past
For the way his robot looks and his fantastic persona.
Tonight, it's all about a stud-like performance.
-[kenny] will. -Whoo!
Hey, will, that was awesome.
Have you ever had more fun than that?
-That's pretty good. -[all laugh]
[chris] this is what I call berserko-barrage mode.
When you just... You're out there to destroy.
And, man, did you do that.
-I did not expect that. -[team laughing]
I don't think anyone expected that.
Um, I'm just happy that the robot's working,
Our team's working, um, you know, uh...
[chris] it seems like you're very focused.
What would it mean for you to get the golden bolt here?
[will] I think this is...
I think hypershock's one of the best robots here this year.
Um, it certainly feels like it.
Uh, when we're driving and we're doing things well,
I mean, [laughing] it works.
So, um, I think we wanna prove that we belonged in the tournament,
And that we should have kept going further.
And so getting to the golden bolt,
And taking it home with us,
Would just kind of solidify that.
An amazing run by you and your entire team.
-Congratulations, will. -[will] thanks, guys. Appreciate it.
[chris] so how about mr. Will bales and hypershoc
Moving on to round three of tonight's slugfest in style.
They will face the winner
Of claw viper versus madcatter.
And, kenny, gotta say goodbye
To leanne cushing and her valkyrie squad.
[kenny] yeah, a disappointin loss here for sure,
But have no doubt,
This team will be tuned up and ready to go
For the 2022 world championship,
And they will have a legion of fans in their corner.
[chris] all right, coming up...
Will the speedy claw viper wipe the floor with madcatter?
Or will the wild man, martin mason,
Scrape his way to the finals?
It's snake versus cat when battlebots champions continues.
We continue on,
And who wants to face hypershock in the next round?
Claw viper says, "me." madcatter says, "meow."
[kenny laughs]
[chris] there's a shot
Of claw viper captain, kevin milczewski,
Back in the pits after his first-round fight,
Making sure his bot is ready to go
For a clash with the wild ma martin mason,
And his vicious vertical spinner.
Ooh, yeah!
I don't know if we have the battlebots police on standby doing radar
Because both of these bots could get pulled over.
-They are very speedy. -[kenny] extremely fast.
But this isn't 100-yard dash, chris, it's a fight.
And I do worry about claw viper's lack of offensive firepower here
It does have the ability to control bots
And use that grabbing arm
To suplex or deliver its opponents into the arena hazards.
The question is, will claw viper have that chance
-Against the blitzkrieg style of madcatter? -[cat meowing]
Rumor has it, uh, madcatter's martin mason is quite the character.
-I don't know anything about it. -[laughs]
I can't wait to find out.
-Faruq? -[crowd cheering]
[faruq] in the red square,
From seattle, washington,
It's a rain down brutality.
Give it up for claw viper!
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] for the second time tonight,
Here is claw viper, captained by kevin milczewski,
Pumping his fist in the air like he just don't care.
Kenny, how has kevin set up the bot for this match up?
[kenny] knowing how powerful madcatter is,
Kevin switched out the uhmw plastic snake head on claw viper
For a metal one.
This one still features that new four bar mechanism we saw against defender.
It was pretty ineffective in that fight.
Couldn't seem to get a good bite.
Let's see how the weapon performs here.
[faruq] in the blue square,
From pomona, california,
He'll make a fancy feast out of your dead bot parts.
[hissing] it's madcatter.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[all] yeah!
[chris] professor of engineering by day,
The biggest showman in robot combat by night.
It's martin mason and madcatter and... [groans]
Look at his stare.
[kenny] amazing.
The team is going with their big weapon, bar jolt, for this one.
They tested it before the fight,
And it popped a full-sized car tire 40 feet in the air.
Martin said this is his knockout weapon.
And that claw viper's speed won't help it,
Once it's in a million pieces, scattered all over the battlebox.
Look out.
[martin] come on!
-Yeah! -[crowd cheering]
[kenny] ha, ha. I want it.
They're an extremely powerful vertical spinner.
They've been wrecking people all season long.
So, in order to fight them, we're putting a metal top jaw onto our robot.
Usually, we use a plastic one.
This time we're using a metal one,
To hope to snipe their belts with it.
If we can cut their belts, we can stop their weapon, then we got a chance.
They're also a very fast robot.
Their driver is very talented.
So I think they're gonna try to come at me hard and fast and try to corner me.
But, you can't corner claw viper.
Let me tell you our strategy for claw viper.
We're gonna go out fast.
We're gonna hit hard.
And they're gonna have to clean up the pieces.
They're gonna find out what it's like to face a tiger.
[robot] robots, activate!
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] and it looks like gassy cat will be making an appearance here.
[kenny] yeah, madcatter loves using its fiery minibot as a nuisance inside the box.
This squad is all about creating chaos.
[robot] red team, ready?
Make it happen.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[robot] blue team, ready?
[both] yeah.
[chris] that's driver calvin iba,
Who really doesn't get enough credit for this team's success, kenny.
[kenny] yeah, he's one of the most aggressive drivers in this sport.
Some say he's even crazier than martin when he's behind the controls.
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] claw viper and madcatter.
Winner advances to face hypershock.
Let the bot battle begin!
And here comes madcatter on a quick dash,
And right on top of claw viper.
[kenny] calvin iba able to get underneath
Claw viper with ease so far, chris.
Oh! What a hit to start this fight, my goodness.
[chris] that was more of a punt,
That thing covered about 60 yards on a football field.
[kenny] getting underneath claw viper again
And grinding away at the underbelly.
[chris] madcatter trying to take claw viper onto the upper deck.
And little gassy cat doing its part as well.
[in child's voice] don't forget about me, guys.
[kenny] claw viper's grappling jaws look to be split open.
And I'm not sure kevin is gonna be able to close those back up.
Big time damage caused by madcatter already.
[chris] yeah, and claw viper at this point,
Just, kind of, spinning in circles more than anything else.
And how about this? May I show you to your corner office?
[kenny] claw viper went with that steel snake head,
To try to protect it, but, uh, it's not doing a very good job right now.
[chris] and now claw viper facing the wrong direction to try and do any damage.
I don't know, it's insur-- [laughs]
Another big time shot from the mad side.
[kenny] yeah, I mean, this is what madcatter is all about.
Just creating chaos in the battlebox.
Fighting so impressively out there!
[chris] and then the 100-pound pulverizer
Drops on the noggin of claw viper too.
-[kenny] oh, my god. -[chris] oh!
[kenny] claw viper wanted to see if they're at the level of madcatter,
And right now, they can't get anything going here.
-[chris] including their wheels. -[referee] all right, I gotta
See some movement.
-[chris] you can hear... -[referee] gotta see some movement.
...Claw viper is getting a warning from the referee.
-"I've gotta see some movement." -[referee] nine...
-Eight, seven... -[chris] and now the countdown has started.
-...Six, five, four... -[kenny] dominant performance by madcatter.
-...Three, two, one. -[chris] is this the end?
-[referee] knockout! -[buzzer sounds]
-[crowd cheering] -[chris] madcatter is moving on to the next round,
Where it will face hypershock.
And perhaps a dream date
With the gatekeeper, gigabyte, at the end of the night.
Check out this bit of gamesmanship from madcatter at his start
Lining up sideways in the square, kenny.
[kenny] yeah, martin knew the box rush was coming
Sent gassy cat into the fra
And positioned madcatter to slide out of harm's way.
Always fun to watch when these teams play chess with each other in the box.
[chris] in the end, this was a one-sided affair
[kenny] yeah, it sure was. Madcatter was flat out dominant.
Claw viper thought they had the speed advantage, but it did not matter.
Here's madcatter sending the snake flying. What a shot.
Ultimately, they managed to disable claw viper and end its tournament run.
[chris] claw viper doa in the second round.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] martin mason, congratulations.
Another knockout for madcatter.
How are you getting it done here, man?
You know what? I'll tell you what.
After that, we're feeling hyper.
We're coming for hypershock next.
-[laughs] -that's what we're doing, folks.
[kenny] one fight away from gigabyte.
What would it mean for your team to get the golden bolt?
You know what? We're so happy to be here.
We're happy to be here in the slugfest.
You know what? And this time, we're all about foster animals.
I'll tell you what, folks.
We got a picture of a baby kitten on the robot.
You may never see it, 'cause it's on the bottom.
But it's there and it's in our hearts, man.
Take care.
[chris] great message. Don't forget to get your pets spayed and neutered.
And if not, he's gonna throw madcatter at your house.
Kenny, you talked about it before the fight.
You were worried about the weaponry, or the lack of weaponry,
That claw viper could bring to the party.
[kenny] yeah, it's a grappler bot,
So there's only so much it can do offensively.
But if kevin can improve the durability of claw viper
He may be able to finally start getting some quality wins
In the battlebox next season
[chris] and so with that, the martin mason squad advances
And will need to rush back to the pits
To get ready for a date with will bales and hypershock.
The winner will face gigabyte at the end of the night,
Where a berth in the exclusi golden bolt tournament will be on the line.
[man] yeah!
[chris] it's hypershock versus madcatter next.
You don't wanna miss it.
[chris] welcome back to battlebots champions, sin city slugfest.
And there you see a guy who's gonna be watching our next match very carefull
Tonight's gatekeeper, captain john mladenik,
And his full body spinner of death, gigabyte.
This slugfest tournament is, uh, very exclusive.
It's taken the best of the best.
We're talking the legend robots.
The best this sport has ever seen from the beginning of time.
And just to be a part of it I'm privileged.
It is just so exciting.
[chris] so let's find out who will move onto the golden bolt qualifier
To face gigabyte.
Boy, this should be a good one between two violent vertical weapons.
Madcatter and hypershock.
Yeah, that's right. Two vertical spinners going at it here.
And both these guys have been doing so well out there.
Everything has been on point from both of these teams.
[chris] I love what madcatter has done.
Obviously, its weapon is serious.
[kenny] yeah, madcatter has really launched itself
Up the battlebots totem p over the last few years.
But the team hasn't enjoyed much tournament success,
Getting bounced in the round of 32 with consecutive seasons.
So they're looking to prove a point tonight
That they could bring their a game,
When the lights are bright and the stakes are high.
[chris] and, kenny, hypershock is another bot
That hasn't celebrated a lot of wins come tournament time.
[kenny] yeah, never advanced past the round of 16.
Heartbreaking loss in the round of 32, last season.
But will said the bot is performing the best he's ever seen,
And he has his eyes set on breaking into that golden bolt tournament.
He needs two more wins to do it.
[chris] and when you take a look at the numbers, kenny
How do these two violent vertical spinners compare?
[kenny] well, as you can see madcatter is the more heavily armored bot,
Which gives the team a wider margin for error
And allows them to indulge in their aggressive driving style.
Obviously, hypershock has the advantage in terms of speed,
But will bales is going to need to win the battle for low ground
And stay squared up, if he's gonna win this fight
And madcatter will have its minibot, gassy cat, in the mix again.
Don't discount that little guy's ability to disrupt the action.
Winner will face gigabyte, the legendary robot, in the next round.
Let's find out which one it'll be. Faruq?
In the red square, from miami, florida,
This bot forgot to take its ritalin... Again.
It's hypershock!
[crowd cheering]
[will] ooh!
[chris] see what will bales' team has in store for us.
Oh, yeah! Oh, ha, ha, ha.
Yeah!
[laughs]
They're mocking mason. This is great.
-[chris and kenny] oh! -[kenny] he got hit with the chair.
That's an illegal move, chris.
Oh! This is brutal.
[chris] wait for the four set hits to the eye.
We're really going old school.
[kenny chuckles] they are something.
They're going back to their double disc
And fork configuration for this fight.
And they are clearly feeling good.
[man] thank you. Thank you.
[faruq] in the blue square,
From pomona, california,
It will ruin your furniture and your face.
It's madcatter!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] oh, yeah.
Well, they always say that the sequel's never as good as the original.
-And I think they're right. -[kenny laughs]
[chris] oh, yes.
[kenny] who's having more fun than martin mason?
[chris] nobody!
The bot is looking pretty clean after two fights,
Where it really didn't take any meaningful damage, kenny.
[kenny] that's right. We said earlier that durability would be the key
To winning this tournament.
And so far, the cat doesn't even have a scratch on it.
This fight will be tough.
We're not going with the wedge. We're going with the forks.
I think it's the only way we can go up against vertical spinners.
I think that our driving is still, um, I think we're doing the best.
And again, I feel like a broken record here.
Maintaining this pace that no one can keep up with.
And it's great for us.
It's terrible for everybody else.
And I'm just fine with that.
Tonight, we're fighting hypershock.
And I'll tell you what. Tick, tock. It's smash-o-clock.
One more fight and we get to face the legend, gigabyte,
In the sin city slugfest.
And I'll tell you what we're gonna do.
We're gonna do a full format on them.
Are you ready over there?
I don't think you're ready for the pounding.
[laughs]
[robot] robots, activate!
[chris] kenny, hypershock doesn't have a self-righting mechanism.
Seems, kind of, risky against a bot like madcatter,
That can turn your world upside down in a hurry.
[kenny] yeah, last season, will made the choice to ditch the self-righter
And redistribute that 25 pounds of weight
Into a larger, more powerful weapon system and heavier armor.
Been working for him so far.
He is gonna let it ride again here.
[chris] here we go. Hypershock.
Madcatter.
Winner moves on to face gigabyte
For a berth in the golden bolt championship tournament.
The loser eats a sad meal at the hotel buffet later tonight.
The fight! It's next!
[chris] welcome back to battlebots,
Where hypershock and madcatter are about to square off.
Winner will face gigabyte for a chance to advance to the golden bolt tournament.
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[chanting continues]
[chris] let the bot battle begin and oh!
Madcatter clenches another shot.
Nice shot by hypershock on the rebound.
Uh-oh.
Oh, will bales gets ahold of madcatter. Flips it over!
[kenny] those forks working beautifully for hypershock.
[chris] oh! What a great job by hypershock.
Wow. Oh, my gosh, madcatter!
-[kenny] oh! -[chris] it's on fire! It's on fire, kenny!
[kenny] hypershock does such a good job.
Once they get you hurt, they stay right on you.
-Look at this. -[chris] oh!
[kenny] madcatter went down. Lifter getting it done.
Now hypershock vulnerable.
[chris] hypershock inverted and this is bad news.
It doesn't have a self-righter.
Will bales lost a big one in last year's tournament
When hypershock got flipped, remember?
[chris and kenny] oh!
[kenny] madcatter self-righted it.
[chris] man, oh, man.
Oh, look at this.
Going weapon on weapon and now hypershock from behind.
[kenny] it's just brutal here.
Epic hits.
[chris] and he flipped back over. Look at that.
[kenny] what a move!
[chris] landed on top of madcatter. Takes another shot.
[kenny] this is just complete chaos in here.
[chris] and hypershock trying to get madcatter into the screws.
-[kenny] oh! -[chris] what's up with that? Wow!
[kenny] that was right on madcatter's weapon.
[chris] whoa, there goes gassy cat and there goes madcatter.
-[kenny] jeez. -[chris] and madcatter's back in the field of play.
-[kenny] oh, no! -[chris] and hypershock's there to greet him.
Says, "get your gassy cat back out there."
Oh, my gosh!
[kenny] poor gassy cat. Are you kidding me right now?
[chris] we're only at the halfway part of this fight.
And I might need a medic kitty.
-[kenny laughs] -[chris] hypershock still locked in the catter.
[kenny laughs] oh!
Are you kidding me?
[chris] a minute 15 to go.
[kenny] will bales and martin mason had their coffee tonight.
My goodness.
[chris] oh, and madcatter is just losing piece by piece all over the box.
[kenny] how is madcatter surviving this?
[chris] oh, gosh! It's sickening!
Yes!
[chris] madcatter's weapon is down! Everything is down!
[kenny] oh!
[chris and kenny] wow!
[chris] I didn't know there were this many ways to skin a cat.
This is brutal!
Oh, this has gotta be it.
Up on the shelf.
Hypershock saying, "I am headed to the championship with gigabyte."
-Yeah! -What's up!
[kenny] is there anything left of madcatter?
Knockout!
[buzzer sounds]
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] and listen to the fans give it up for that performance.
-[man] whoo! -They wanted to play.
[chris laughs]
[chris] and we are witnessing one of the most incredible, most violent,
Most dominant one night runs in the history of battlebots
Yes!
I might just play this on a loop in my house, it was that good.
[kenny] ha, ha. This was violent. This was brutal.
This was a lot of fun.
[chris] well, you saw madcatter after it got flipped over once,
And then sent against the rails.
Then all of a sudden, it was, like,
"okay, I'm on fire, but I'm gonna start sending hypershock
Into trouble land."
[kenny] yeah, they say cats have nine lives.
It seemed like he died at least three times and came back to life.
That was crazy.
[chris] this is where it starts to get gnarly for madcatter.
Because bit by bit, or by kibbles and bits,
It just kept falling apart.
[kenny] yeah, but madcatter landed some great shots as well.
- Able to get hypershock inverted. -[chris] wow.
[kenny] will bales. Just unbelievable with the driving.
Stayed right on him.
I mean, hypershock's weapon just kept on spinning
Madcatter's fail ended out with the difference.
[chris] madcatter kept comin back for more though.
Got off the upper deck. Took another shot.
Brushed that off, and bales is like, "oh, you wanna play?"
[kenny] yeah, I mean, this was one of those fights
They were fighting to the death.
This fight was not gonna go the distance.
It was never gonna go the distance.
Both guys were looking for the knockout here.
[chris] if you need extra robot parts,
Please head inside the battlebox in the near future.
They are available for a very small fee.
-[chris] hey, will. -Yeah!
[both laugh]
I thought you were an animal lover. What happened here?
Uh, you know, when you're in his vicinity, weird things happen.
[chris and kenny laugh]
So, you know, you just, kind of, lose control, you know, man?
Is this the most destructive your bot has ever been?
Is this the most destructive anyone's ever been?
-[both laugh] -yeah.
[man] whoo!
[kenny] not only destructive, but durable, man.
I mean, you guys have really pulled it together.
I keep being amazed. It's incredible.
Uh, their fault.
[chris and kenny laugh]
Will, congratulations. We'll see you in a bit against gigabyte.
Thanks, guys.
-Oh, my god. -Yeah!
[indistinct conversation]
Well, martin. What did you see there?
I'll tell you what. Hey, doc. We've been hypershocked.
[laughs]
Martin, I notice what you put on the bottom of your robot there.
Was it sad to see it flip over?
You know what? That's alfie.
That's a kitten we lost this year.
But you know what? We remember all the kittens out there.
And you know what? We're so proud of what these kids did.
And, folks, there's so much you can do for foster animals out there.
Do what you can, folks.
Martin. Love your message.
We always do. Thanks so much for the entertainment.
Whoo!
[crowd cheering and applauding]
Whoo! Yeah!
Whoo!
[chris] man, was that fun.
-[kenny] whoo! -[chris] oh, my goodness.
[kenny] I'm still trying to catch my breath.
I mean, those guys.
-That's what battlebots is all about, right there. -Yep.
They really went for it. Two tremendous bots.
Um, and they were there to entertain.
I mean, thank you, gentlemen. Thank you.
[team cheering]
[chris] but we have to say goodbye
To possibly the sport's greatest showman
Martin mason.
The eyes of the robot combat world we
On team madcatter
For this impressive one-night run
And their stock in the battlebots univer
Should benefit because of it
[kenny] yeah, hats off to team madcatter
For always bringing it.
I know martin's disappointe to miss out on a shot
At the golden bolt,
But we know that bot will be
Back and better than ever next season.
And what has gotten into will bales
Of team hypershock?
In years past, they're always scrambling
To make sure that everything is glued down
And into place.
Does anybody have any extra staples
Or rubber cement because we're fighting in about 60 seconds.
This year bitin' up.
They got their choreography all nailed down
On their walk out of the tunnel.
And that bot is amazing!
[kenny] yeah. The fact that hypershock's weapon kep
Spinning for that entire mat is just insane.
Whatever secret sauce this team has found
Back in the pits, it is a game changer.
If hypershock keeps hitting like this, there is no ceili
On how far it can go in this event.
[chris] team hypershock moves
Out of the final fight of the night
To do battle with our gatekeeper gigabyte
The winner will earn a bert in the golden bolt tournamen
And have a chance to hoist a brand-new trophy as well.
It's our main event of the evening
And it's next.
[crowd cheering]
[john] gigabyte is, by far, the best shell spinner
On the planet.
[faruq] gigabyte!
[john] not only the best shell spinner
On the planet, but the best shell spinner
That's ever existed.
[chris] ahhh! Gosh!
-This is amazing! -[kevin] they're a legend for a reason.
They hit the hardest of any full-body spinner here.
[chris] huge shot there!
[martin] you know that is an experienced team,
They build a great robot they hit incredibly hard.
[chris] oh, that's gotta be it!
We caught them before
And they completely destroyed our robot.
-[chris] there it goes! -[kenny] that's a knockout!
Gigabyte is actually a perfect robot
For a slugfest because of the big hits.
And a robot who can't handl those big hits is
In big trouble.
They won the bounty last year with authority.
[kenny] what a win!
They're all energy. They're all action.
[kenny] they live by the sword.
They die by the sword.
Gigabyte just too strong, too tough.
[john] if any of these bots wants to get to the golden bolt,
They gotta get through gigabyte.
Here we go. We are ready for the golden bolt qualifier
Between hypershock and gigabyte.
A berth in the first ever
Golden bolt tournament of champions is on the line.
Let's start with team hypershock.
What an electric run it's be for this crew.
The fans have been going nut watching will bales tear
His opponents apart tonight
But, kenny, this is fight number four on the evening
For this robot.
Can hypershock now finish the job here tonight?
[kenny] listen, we are in las vegas, baby.
And hypershock has been on a heater.
But this is the big one.
Gigabyte is as experienced as they come.
And john mladenik has watched
Every minute of will's fights tonight.
He's ready to go.
For me, the question here I a familiar one in sports.
Would you rather come into a big match like this o
With momentum in your corne like hypershock?
Or do you prefer the bot to 100% healthy and fresh
Like gigabyte?
My money is on the hot hit.
Somebody's gonna be a champ tonight,
Move on, and face other champions.
Who will it be? Hypershock or gigabyte?
Let's find out. Faruq!
[faruq] ladies and gentlemen, are you ready?
It's time for the main event!
[suspenseful music playing]
In the red square, this thing is from miami
Like that song by will smith.
And it'll toss you aside
Like jazzy jeff on the fresh prince.
He's a bad boy like ali,
So you better play it mellow
Or agent j will give you an "l".
Here comes the bot in black...
And yellow.
Prepare to die, robot.
It's hypershock!
[chris] what an impressive run tonight for will bales
And hypershock.
And for a team that's struggled with consistency in the past,
Kenny, they have looked rock solid.
[kenny] yeah, this team has been dialed in.
They're going back to their single disc
And wedge configuration here.
Obviously, full-body spinners here with a ton of power,
And will knows he needs
That big front attachment on hypershock
To deflect gigabytes energy
And try and keep it off balance.
[chris] I get it.
Full-body spinner.
[chuckles]
All right. Let's go. Let's go.
Not available at the battlebots team sho.
[laughs]
[faruq] in the blue square,
It's a game show of pain and he's the robo pat sajak.
Give him a spin
And he'll make your bones crack.
Makes other bots say, "ay, ay, ay!"
Like they just bought a vowel, he's the wheel of misfortune
And you just landed on disembowel.
It's gigabyte!
[chris] and there he is! Captain john mladenik
And the iconic full-body spinner gigabyte.
So, kenny, how did this team earn its spot
As a gatekeeper tonight?
[kenny] listen, john is a legend.
Twenty years' experience.
Over 100 career wins in robot combat events.
This is widely considered to be
The most dangerous full-body spinner in the world.
And it is more durable than ever.
Always puts on a good show.
And if you want a shot at that golden bolt,
You gotta get through gigabyte.
Gigabyte spins and hits hard.
Once they're up to speed, it's terrifying.
So, what we have to do is get on him, get on him quick,
And basically do what we did to valkyrie
And get him off-kilter from second number two.
If they get three, four seconds to spin up
That might be the ball game.
At the end of the day, this is all about getting
That golden bolt.
We want into that tournament.
We want into that bracket.
We wanna, you know, play with the big boys
And, uh, you know, just kick some bot.
Hypershock is a very fast, very tough robot.
And he is gonna try to get us up against the wall,
Stop us from spinning, and bully us around.
When the bell rings,
We gotta get moving and get up to speed.
If we can get into the center of the arena up to speed,
Hit him and bounce off walls,
But if we keep hittin' him and hittin' him and hittin' him,
I think we're gonna wear him down and break him
And win the fight by a, uh, knockout.
We really want the golden bolt.
And we want to be in amongst the elite
In fighting that golden bolt duel.
That is our whole goal for this fight.
[robot] robots, activate.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] and for more on hypershock here
In the golden bolt qualifier,
Let's bring in our bot whisperer
Pete abrahamson.
Pete, what do you got?
[pete] well, gentlemen, take a close look at that weapon.
It may look like it's a single disc in the middle,
But it's actually a sandwich.
They've got ar on both sides
Of a single piece of s7 in the middle.
So, the ar is gonna absorb the impact,
While the s7 in the middle is gonna do a lot more cutting.
But the other weapon to pay attention to is
Will's driving.
Look for will to charge across this arena,
Possibly put on the brakes right at the last second
To dive that nose down right underneath gigabyte
And get them to flip.
[chris] all right, pete. Here we go.
It is the golden bolt qualifier.
[robot] red team, ready?
-Let's go. -[man] whoo!
[robot] blue team, ready?
[man] whoo!
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] winner moves on to the field of champions.
Let the bot battle begin!
A box rush out of hyper--
[chris and kenny] oh!
Wow!
Oh, my gosh! That was insane!
[kenny] what a hit by hypershock!
[chris] oh!
Oh! Look at it continue to go after gigabyte in the corner.
[kenny] those are some of the biggest sparks
We've seen inside the battlebox.
My goodness!
[chris] somehow, hypershock's still running
And so too is gigabyte.
Whoa! Wow, that came right at one of our judges! Wow!
[kenny] hypershock picking up where it left off
With madcatter.
[chris] oh, my gosh!
-Oh! -[kenny] chris, are you okay?
[chris] I'm fine.
Look at the 100-pound pulverizer dropping
Outside of gigabyte, too.
[kenny] how tough is gigabyte?
And look at hypershock. Might be feeling it here, chris.
[chris] oh, have the big hits
Finally caught up with hypershock?
It's just kind of crab walking now.
Gigabyte hanging back there, kenny.
[kenny] gigabyte has an opening.
Weird. Oh! My transmitter got jammed.
[chris] will bales trying to work through the issue
And gigabyte content to lay off,
Perhaps looking for a countdown from the ref.
[kenny] I think will is having trouble
With his radio controls.
John mladenik may wanna think about attacking here!
[chris] gigabyte testing the waters.
And hypershock--
Oh! Oh! It's all over!
-[kenny] are you kidding? -[chris] it's all over!
What a comeback!
It looks like will is gonna be done for!
[teammate speaking inaudibly]
[chris] the head's on one end, the body's on the other!
-[referee] six, five... -[chris] the self-righter is robbed!
-...Four, three... -[chris] last second hypershock came back to life!
-...Two, one... -[chris] are you kidding me?
-[referee] knockout! -[chris] oh!
Look at team hypershock!
They cannot believe what just happened!
Wow!
[laughs exultantly]
Will bales has run the gauntlet!
He's taken out gigabyte
And punched his ticket to the golden bolt tournament!
-Listen to the crowd! -Whoo!
[chris] kenny, the collision in this fight were
Flat-out insane.
[kenny] it really was just craziness
Inside the battlebox here.
Gigabyte and hypershock with some of the most epic hits
We've ever seen.
[chris] I mean, hypershock just right on top of gigabyte.
Look at the power of that weapon.
[kenny] sparks everywhere. Hypershock aggressive.
-[chris] and how about this -[kenny] oh!
[chris] what the heck?
[kenny] fireworks display right in front of us.
[chris] but gigabyte, tough as nails,
Took the punishment, kept on spinning.
And, kenny, john mladenik may have missed
A golden opportunity to turn the tide.
[kenny] yeah. Will bales wa having radio control issues
And the bot was a sitting duck.
Gigabyte hung back
And would quickly come to regret that decision.
[chris] here it is.
- The shot heard round the battlebots universe. -[kenny] oh!
- Shell goes one way, the bot goes the other. -[chris laughing]
[kenny] is that what you were gonna say?
-[chris] that's exactly what I was gonna say! -[kenny laughing]
[chris] so exciting!
Y'all good? You safe?
-[kenny laughs] -there's a lot of stuff flying around.
-I wanna make sure you're okay. -Yeah!
-Just a bit. -Yeah, we're fine.
-Okay. -Uh, derek young might want a word with you.
-[laughs heartily] -but, yeah, everybody else is here.
And in one piece we think. How are you?
[kenny laughs]
Dog, um, okay, so...
Great.
Um, okay, so you know how all of a sudden
We were stuck in the corner? I was like, "oh, what's going on?"
I don't know what I did.
It was probably a button or something.
But all of a sudden, my steering turned
Into throttle, and my throttle turned into steering.
[kenny laughs]
And, uh, and whoo! That was very exciting.
-[sighs wearily] -dude, what about the last hit, though?
It looked like you might have been down for the count,
And somehow you split that into two pieces!
Um, uh, it takes a lot of energy to do those hits,
And, uh, so thank you for driving at us.
-[faint laughter] -and, um, uh, but wow!
[chuckling]
[chris] we'll see you in the fight for the golden bolt.
Congratulations, will bales and team hypershock!
[all cheering]
[chris] hey, john mladenik.
Dude, that was crazy!
Yeah. I made a driver mistake at the end.
I drove into his weapon.
-[john laughs] -[all laugh]
I know you wanted to win, but in 15 seconds,
Was it kind of cool seeing your bot destroyed?
Well, I don't mind losing
If it's an exciting, good fight.
I didn't want him to push us in the corner,
And stop us from spinning and not getting any hits.
-You know, it's a boring fight then. Right? -[chris laughs]
John, it's always a pleasure.
This definitely wasn't boring. Thanks, john.
Absolutely incredible.
Will bales and team hypershock
Putting on a performance for the ages, kenny.
Just crazy.
I mean, putting it together as far as his bot.
It was phenomenal heading into this,
And he delivered an amazing performance
Here against gigabyte.
-And, again, we gotta give credit to gigabyte as well. - [chris] totally.
[kenny] the durability of that bot.
Not a whole lot of bots woul survive two of those shots,
Let alone the eleventeen sho that were in there.
Yeah, I don't think john lost this fight
Due to lack of preparation.
He just ran into a bot with a ton of momentum.
This is an experienced team
And we will see them again very soon, I have no doubt.
[chris] but listen, for year uh, the narrative surroundin
Hypershock and will bales is,
Yeah, they're cute, they got their skit down,
They got the cool uniforms, the bot looks awesome.
But just inside the arena, they were like,
"yeah, they're fine."
This year, though, they are way up here.
No, this is a whole different bot,
A whole different team.
[chris] certainly appears that way
As hypershock is officially headed
To the golden bolt tournamen
Where tantrum, tombstone, and end game await.
What a story it would be if will bales could make
Some noise in that elite gro of champions.
Join us next time
When another band of marquis bots
Will put it all on the line for their shot at glory.
Who will be the first ever team
To take home the golden bolt?
Gonna be fun to see how it all shakes out.
So, for faruq, and our bot whisperer pete,
And my man kenny florian, I am chris rose.
We'll see you next time here on battlebots champions,
The sin city slugfest.