[faruq] in the 25-year history of the sport,
Excellence at battlebots has been measured in hardwar
The pride of the giant bolts
[chris] what a destructive robot.
[faruq] the glory of the desperado and bounty hunter.
[chris] they have run the gantlet.
[faruq] and the ultimate pri
For those seeking battlebot immortality, the giant nut.
[chris] world champion...
[faruq] now a new quest for greatness begins.
This is battlebots champions, the race for the golden bolt.
[robotic voice] robots, activate.
[dramatic music playing]
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] welcome to another night of battlebots champi
[crowd cheering and applauding]
I'm chris rose, joined as always by my better half,
The ufc legend combat robotics analyst extraordinaire,
Say hello to kenny florian.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
Chris, thank you very much.
Vegas, make some noise!
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[kenny] we are in week four of this incredible
New battlebots event.
And if our previous slugfest are any indication for tonight,
You'd better buckle up because it's gonna get wild.
[chris] we have already see hypershock, ribbot,
And the young guns on team glitch,
Punch their tickets to the golden bowl tournamen
Where they will be joined by giant nut winners,
Tombstone, end game and tantrum.
And now only two spots remain,
Which means we are just a few weeks awa
From that exclusive one-night royal rumble.
Where the world's most battle-hardened robots
Will compete for the shinies new status symbol
On the battlebots circui the golden bolt!
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] and tonight, we've got eight more teams
Looking to napalm their way
Into that tournament of champions.
And to do it, they'll have to get through
One of the most versatile bo in the world, skorpios.
[chris] after nearly two decades in combat robotics,
Zach lytle and diana karlsso
Have become one of the most formidable teams in this sport.
In 2020, they took down the former giant nut winner
And maybe the most feared bo on the planet, tombstone.
We beat the king of kinetic energy.
[chris] then they parlayed that success into winning the ice way bout.
[faruq] skorpios!
[chris] will skorpios be the first gatekeeper
To clinch a spot in the golden bolt tournamen
Or will it be another challenger that punches their ticket?
[crowd cheering and applauding]
Let's get it started and see who's stepping up tonight.
South korea's blade tries to slice and dice
The floridian behemoth krake
[kenny] who wins in a fight
The bot that pumps iron or the one that forges it?
We'll find out when deadlift steps up to blacksmith.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[kenny] it's a coin toss ove who comes out ahead
And who comes out headless as switchback battles lucky
[chris] but first, our opening fight,
The bot who's as cruel as a cucumber,
Big dill faces the devastating blades of bloodsport.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
All right, all right. Enough talk.
Let's get to the fights.
Faruq, do your thing.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[music playing]
[faruq] ladies and gentlemen, are you ready?
It's robot fighting time.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[dramatic music playing]
[faruq] in the red square, from seattle, washington.
It's not pickle rick,
It's the reason you're about to get pickle-wrecked.
It's big dill!
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[rock music playing]
[chris] it is quite the big dill
And that bot is led by emmanuel carrillo.
He was born without a right hand.
And kenny, he has told us countless times,
He is happy to be an inspiration in this sport.
[kenny] that's right.
He has a couple of career wins,
But they didn't get invited
To last year's world championship.
This is a huge opportunity to prove himself
And get some momentum going into next year.
The bot looks incredible.
And those 20-inch long arms make it a very effective lifter.
And don't forget about that mini bot.
[chris] yeah, spicy meatball
The mini bot has made its return.
My stomach always gets hungr when I call big dill bites, by the way.
[faruq] in the blue square, from cambridge, massachusetts.
Jean-claude van damme, this robot's scary,
It's bloodsport!
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[rock music playing]
[chris] here comes captain justin marple
Pushing that death machine out of the tunnel.
Bloodsport is fast, it is powerful, and it is deadly, kenny.
[kenny] yeah.
This is a team that rocketed up the battlebots
Totem pole over the course of its three seasons,
Was seeded number two overal in the 2020 tournament
But did get bounced in the round of 32 last year
If justin can use that spee to create space and spin up
That 48-inch long bar,
This bot could go toe to toe with anyone.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
So we've brought a lot of horizontal spinners in the past,
I send them with the mini bot.
Come in, grab them, and lift.
I know exactly where they hit.
I know how tall they are.
Our wedges are in the perfect height to counteract that.
So, unless they can grow a few inches,
I think we're gonna be pretty good.
It's essential that we win this fight
'cause I really want to get to the skorpios final,
Beat them and get into that golden bolt tournament.
My strategy is kind of similar to what we've done in the past,
What's worked in the past, aim for the edges of the wedge,
Try to get their wheels, try to get around them.
So, we're hoping that combination of being able to get around them,
Hit them really hard will get us that win.
So, if we can get through big dill,
I think we have a good shot going straight to the skorpios.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[robotic voice] robots, activate.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[dramatic music playing]
[chris] when you look at bloodsport,
You'll notice that that's not a garden hose on top.
That is a self-righter for when they get flipped over.
And for more on bloodsport's opponent,
Let's bring in the bot whisperer pete.
Gentlemen, I was talking to emmanuel before this fight.
And get this, you see those cute little green doorstops
On big dill's front wedges.
Well, those actually used to be a part
Of one of the most legendary lifter bots of all time.
Free shipping!
Driven, of course, by garry jim.
Now, garry worked with emmanuel to weld those doorstops
Right at the height of bloodsport's weapon.
So, when big dill does take some shots,
Its lifter arms should not g completely destroyed.
Just lifters helping lifters, guys.
Any time you got a little bit of garry jim hanging around,
That could be magical.
[robotic voice] red team, ready?
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[robotic voice] blue team, ready?
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] remember, these slugfests are single elimination.
Every fight tonight is win or go home.
Who's gonna move one step closer to a battle
With skorpios and a potential berth
In the golden bolt tournament?
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] let's the bot battle begin.
Big dill with a hard charge
[kenny] oh!
[chris] he lands a big shot.
[kenny] good defense there by big dill.
Those big front wedges already paying off.
[chris] bloodsport trying to attack
From the side to stuck in the front.
[kenny] well, the blade got awfully close to that weapon chain.
[chris] the chain broke.
[kenny] uh-oh.
[chris] big dill already lost its lifter.
Let's see if carrillo's bot can move.
Oh, gosh.
That's not the right direction.
[kenny] oh, bloodsport taking full advantage of that mistake.
[chris] big dill caught in the screw
Now those are gonna reverse if they can.
But is the bot wedged too tight in there?
I'm gonna have to count you out
If you're not moving.
[chris] bloodsport deliverin what might be the kill shot
[man] ten, nine...
[kenny] that is gonna be it
[chris] yeah, it is.
The countdown has started.
Big dill is stuck, and now bloodsport's going mini bot hunting.
[kenny] oh!
[music playing]
[chris laughing]
[kenny] did you want that spicy meatball cut in two?
[chris] yes, thank you.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] well, kenny, you talked about that devastating blade
That bloodsport has.
[kenny] yeah, this thing can take you out in the blink of an eye
If you're not careful.
Bloodsport, able to sever the weapon chain on big dill
With surgical precision.
[chris] big dill then got caught in the screws
And before it could break free bloodsport said, you,
You stay in your room.
And the exclamation point, a spicy meatball to go.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
Well, kenny, that is just one lap of the four lap journey for bloodsport.
I wouldn't bet against that bot, huh?
[kenny] yeah, absolutely.
They established themselves as an apex predator out ther
Had their spot, took advantage.
It was over.
Still two more fights for them to go until they square off against skorpios.
Up next, ryan shulski tries flex on the competition whil
Al kindle looks to brand a capital b on his opponent
Deadlift, blacksmith going at it next on
Battlebots champions sin city slugfest.
[david] the golden bolt is a combination of all the giant nut winners
And all the slugfest winners.
So, these are literally the best bots that exist right now.
[will] tombstone, giant nut winner, you have end game,
Giant nut winner.
You have the slugfest winner
These are the people who have built the best robots here.
They're heavy hitters.
They can absolutely decimate your robot.
[chris] and they punch their ticket into the golden bolt tournament.
There are some serious contenders.
And they want that golden bolt.
We are the reigning champion of battlebots.
We took home the nut, now we're going for the golden bolt.
[kyle] the golden bolt for us is a chance at redemption.
[ray] I got a spot on my trophy shelf for it.
It's already ready.
[nick] I think it would be pretty amazing to add that
Golden bolt to our collectio
The golden bolt is gonna be ours.
[chris] who will be next?
[zach] skorpios is going to a legendary bot.
That's why I've continued with the design.
That's why we push it forwar every year.
We're going to the golden bolt tournament,
And I've got my eye on quite a few legends.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] the battle for the golden bolt is just two weeks away.
Do not miss what is sure to an incredible one-night even
Which one of tonight's team is gonna earn a berth in the field of champions?
We continue on with blacksmith taking on deadlift.
And, kenny, this is a fight between a battlebots' og versus
A, bro, come spot me.
Let's start with the yoked young'uns of deadlift led by ryan shulski
[kenny] love these dudes.
The grappler bot debuted in 2020,
And it's sitting on a 2-5 career record.
But don't let that or the meathead persona fool you.
This machine is well built and really tough to knock ou
Do not be surprised if this one goes the distanc
[chris] and on the other en of the spectrum,
Al kindle's bot, maybe one of the most recognizabl in this sport.
In fact, its 2016 fight vers minotaur has racked up
More than 25 million views on youtube.
This team is excited about the chance to fight for that golden bolt.
[kenny] yeah. But since tha minotaur match,
We've seen it go from a flaming hammer
To what they're calling a power hammer.
And al's team didn't qualify for the 2021 world championship tournamen
But in a single elimination night like tonight,
This crew has the talent and experience to really shine bright.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
You guys good?
All good?
Yep.
[chris] all right. Let's get you right into the action.
[robotic voice] red team, ready?
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] team deadlift showing off those muscles.
Kenny, what would it mean for them to get a win here?
[kenny] well, this is a young team.
All these guys were high school buddies.
They now have two seasons under their belt, though.
So, they're at a bit of a crossroads here.
They need to start finding some consistency with their robot
And a win against blacksmit would be a heck of a start.
[robotic voice] blue team, ready?
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] al kindle looking stone cold.
This ain't his first rodeo, kenny.
[kenny] yeah, but he's stil figuring out this new weapon
It's about ten times more complex than blacksmith old flaming hammer.
But it does have a much greater potential for damage
And against a bot with an iron chin like deadlift,
Look for al to use it early and often.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin.
With a nose to nose action to start.
Fire breathing dragon yeah!
Look at al kindle do his thing.
[kenny] this is why we love al kindle, goes right at deadlift.
[chris] the gym bros look a little dehydrated after that exchange.
Blacksmith's coming back for more.
Working the side.
Yep. Using the rails and the delivering the hammer saw.
[kenny] oh, they're in a good spot there
We'll see if they can fire off that hammer.
Fire.
Yeah!
[kenny] deadlift not able to get out of there.
And it looks hurt, chris.
Just sort of spinning out there now.
And blacksmith smells blood
[chris] oh, yes. The flame.
Very nice work, blacksmith.
Lining it up.
[kenny] now deadlift trying to fight fire with fire.
Literally trying to get tha flame thrower going.
It's been a little inconsistent. There it goes.
[chris] sit back and enjoy some quality vegas entertainment.
These dueling flamethrowers
[kenny] oh, big hit.
[chris] blacksmith brings th hammer down
Straight on the beak of deadlift.
Again working the side of deadlift and...
[kenny] oh. Oh-oh-oh.
[chris] oh, and almost taking him out of the box.
Impressive work by the veteran al kindle.
[kenny] yeah. Almost got him outside the battle box.
Team blacksmith playing with their food a little bit here,
Doing whatever they want with deadlift.
[chris] 100 seconds to go, deadlift's got to get going offensively,
Trying to put that lifter down,
But nope, not working.
[kenny] deadlift continues to struggle with its drive train.
[chris] al kindle's having no problem driving his opponent
Wherever he wants.
Taking him into the screws.
Dangerous territory for deadlift on several fronts,
But blacksmith resets and reengages.
Al kindle. Uh-oh.
Oh, no. Al kindle.
Oh, he gets out of the kill saw slot.
Nice work.
[kenny] deadlift barely hanging on now, chris.
[chris] lot of fire there.
Pretty pictures but not any damage done by deadlift
Which takes a shot from the hammer saw.
All right, deadlift.
I'm not seeing, I'm gonna let this go if he's interacting.
[chris] the ref letting team deadlif
Know he's gonna let the action continue
As long as al kindle continues to reengage.
And now trying to take deadlift for a ride.
Closing in on the 30-second mark.
And now he's taking deadlif over to the upper deck,
Trying to put him up the board.
[kenny] but deadlift slips away.
Chris, we've talked about the importance
Of getting efficient hits he in this one-night format.
But it looks to me like al kindle is just fine
Working the speedbag here against the gym bros
And putting blacksmith through its paces.
[chris] yep.
Blacksmith has barely had to break a sweat here in round number one.
The final seconds ticking aw as deadlift is gonna make I to the closing bell.
But now without collecting some stars,
Courtesy of the veteran, al kindle.
[man] four, three, two, one.
[buzzer blazers]
[chris] oh.
One final shot that did some damage and left a mark.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] so now this goes to the judges, lisa winter, jason bardis
And derek young, scoring on an 11-point system.
So 5 points to be awarded for damage, 3 for aggressio and 3 for control.
Kenny, this was al kindle and blacksmith start to finish.
[kenny] yeah, al just staye on him very aggressive,
Was attacking from the flank was utilizing that hammer very well,
Using the battle box to great effect.
Almost got him out of there
[chris] blacksmith just limbering up for what could be
A deep run tonight, did lose one of its weapon belts here at the buzzer.
Will that have any effect on the judges' scorecards?
Let's find out.
The results from the judges are in.
[dramatic music playing]
The winner by unanimous decision is...
Blacksmith.
[music playing]
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] al kindle, your weapon may not have delivered a knockout,
But you did exactly what you wanted in there.
How?
We're very happy with it.
We had some gremlins we'd been working through,
But everything worked the whole way.
We're hitting, doing some damage.
Everything's working great.
You guys are experts back in the pit.
It's not just about winning one fight tonight.
It's about winning four.
How do you get that done?
You really have to work hard. These guys are great.
They're hard workers.
They could outwork me any day, but we're gonna get it done.
We shouldn't have too much damage after this fight, so we should be ready.
All right. Congratulations. We'll see you in the next round, al.
Thanks.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] well, it was nice for al kindle and blacksmit to do exactly what it wanted
[kenny] this was a classic al kindle, blacksmith match.
To stay on him, he was aggressive the whole time,
Hammering away. Awesome fight.
[chris] and I asked al kindl about the challenge
Of keeping the bot working on a marathon night like tonight.
Well, we're gonna try and keep you updated on team
As they make rapid fire repairs.
In fact, there's bloodsport who we saw made quick work
Of big dill in tonight's opener.
They took virtually zero damage in that fight.
And we're being told they're in great shape,
Just resetting the screws on that big old weapon.
All right. Coming up, our first round action continues
As canada's lucky takes on the swivel disc spinner of switchback.
That is next on battlebots champions.
Don't go anywhere.
[chris] I'm having a great time at the sin city slugfest.
Are you?
-Having a blast. Of course. Yeah. -Of course, you are.
[chris] all right. Up next, we got a fun one between the flipper bot luck
And one of the weirdest bot here switchback.
The winner will face blacksmith in the next round
And before we head to the box, let's check in on blacksmith,
Who we caught up with during the break.
We did a decent amount of damage.
There was lots of fire. It was a pretty exciting match.
And we got the decision.
We have some maintenance to do on the weapon arm
In between each fight, bushings get a little loose.
So we had to replace them every match, but no real damage.
But we went ahead and built the whole new front end out of spare parts, so.
[chris] very interesting.
Al saying they've preemptive built a new front end for blacksmith.
Must see something on one of these next two teams that they're about to fight
Let's find out who it'll be facing.
Kenny, tell us about mark demars and his bot, lucky.
[kenny] well, this is a veteran squad.
They impressed me last seaso and made it to the round of 32.
But as we found out, mark brought a secret weapo from canada driver matt olse
Who was one of the top rc car drivers in the world
This kid is a baby face kill and he's improved every seco he's had in the box.
So, he's not messing around.
Taking on a bot called switchback, captained by greg needel.
Very interesting guy.
Builds robot parts for nearl 10,000 schools in nearly 200 countries.
So, we know he can educate and build,
But can he build a winner inside of the box?
[kenny] yeah, 2021 was thei rookie season, and it was really a mixed ba
The bot is an interesting design.
The weapon can swivel 180 degrees,
But it hasn't quite worked like they've hoped.
This slugfest is exactly the type of event this team needs
To get more stick time, and I want to see
If they can compete with the big boys, chris.
[chris] all right. Well, let's take you straigh into the box
Where the teams are already set for their showdown.
[robotic voice] red team, ready?
[chris] team switchback.
Kenny, you're right.
This is such an interesting weapon.
[kenny] yeah.
And they can vary how much weight is on it, going with 60 pounds here.
Lots of energy.
[robotic voice] blue team, ready?
[chris] there's the young driver, matt olsen,
Hitting the button for lucky
He isn't just a good rc car driver.
He's won five straight canadian championships in his weight class.
You got this?
[electricity crackling]
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] it is texas versus canada.
The winner will meet blacksmith in the next round
Let the bot battle begin.
Lucky looking to get around the side of switchback.
Matt olsen now putting it into reverse.
-Oh! -Nice.
Side shot by switchback.
[kenny] hard shot there.
[chris] man, any shot that lucky takes,
You always get a little worried about their drive
And their lifter as well.
[kenny] and switchback having some issues as well.
[chris] now lucky's weapon looks to be locked up.
[kenny] a lot of times when you're having these kind of collisions,
This type of energy in the battlebox...
Oh, lucky is burning up.
[chris] he is really burning up.
How good was that shot?
[chris] there is smoke, there is no movement.
That is a lethal combination
-[kenny] oh, no. -Ten, nine...
[chris] matt olsen just shaking his head, saying,
"there's nothing I can do except get counted out."
-[man] five, four, three... -[chris] that will do it.
And switchback, one shot pony.
Knockout.
[chris] and moving on to the next ground.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] man, rough go for lucky.
Well, kenny in battlebots sometimes one shot is all it takes.
[kenny] that's right. In every season,
These bots get more and more powerful
And switchback showing that it's got one shot knockout power.
Just a beautiful shot there on the side by switchback.
[chris] yeah. That took out lucky's abilit to drive.
And then when it started smoking, it was finished.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] well, greg, did you know that
That weapon was gonna be that powerful?
I mean, we knew it packed a punch.
We weren't... We didn't know we had one hit ko,
But we knew it has a lot of power in there.
Well, that one fight mantra certainly works at times in battlebots.
But now you have to win four all in one night.
Do you have the ability to switch things up?
Look inside the robot and get ready?
Yeah. I mean, our...
My team is awesome and, you know,
We're gonna tear the robot down real quick, build it back up.
We're gonna go through every nut and bolt,
Figure out what happened here, and we'll fix the damage
And be ready for the next fight.
We look forward to seeing you.
Yeah, thanks.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] so, it may have bee a veteran versus a newbie.
But it just goes to show yo that any bot can win
On any given night here at battlebots.
I guarantee you, the rest of the robots right here
-Paying attention because that thing... -Seriously, yeah.
...Can definitely pack a punch.
Switchback is moving on.
All right. Coming up, we're gonna see one of the most powerful bot
Out of asia clash with a crusher that does not die.
It's blade taking on kraken
And remember to punch their ticket to our tournament of champions.
Tonight's slugfest goes through the gatekeeper skorpios,
And this team is chomping at the bit to get back in the battlebox.
[faruq] it's... It's skorpios.
[zach] diane and I are dying to get into the golden bolt competition.
I don't care who's coming through our bracket.
This is our spot.
And you're not getting through us.
[chris] skorpios having a field day, kenny.
Uh-oh. Here comes the pain.
[zach] skorpios loves a long match.
Plenty of endurance, plenty of energy to keep going.
[chris] scorpios pouring it out at the end of this fight.
[zach] skorpios has the same armor that took on tombstone.
We have the same drive to match witch doctor.
And now we have a weapon leaving holes
And gashes in our opponent.
[chris] it's skorpios refusing the let up kenny.
If the competitors aren't sweating...
[chris] huge hit!
...They should be.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] we continue on here, it is the sin city slugfest,
And we are down to our final fight in tonight's opening round.
In just a bit, we're gonna s the carbon crushing kraken
Take on a bot build as the south korean tombstone blade
Remember, whichever challenger goes undefeated in the
First three rounds is gonna take on skorpios at the end of the night
For a chance to punch its ticket to our tournament of champions
And have a shot at that beautiful new golden bolt trophy.
All right. Before we get to our next fight,
Let's get an update on switchback,
Who we caught up with after that one hit ko over lucky.
It was a shot that caused them damage and also us damage.
So, we're in the process of fixing that,
Trying to get ready for our next...
Our next fight.
We did a little bit of damage to one of our drive motors as well.
But part of our strategy was to be very, very serviceable.
And so, we are...
We're pretty good. We'll be... We'll be ready.
All right. This is ready to go then.
[chris] now it sounds like they got some serious work to do
Before their duel with blacksmith.
But right now, let's get yo back into the action,
Starting with the beautifull crafted blade led by cheoggyu hwang
And his wife, gyu sangeun ju who drives the robot.
[kenny] yeah. This team is well known overseas.
As you said, they call it the korean tombstone.
Now, it didn't quite live up to that moniker in its first appearance
Here at battlebots,
But I'm gonna chalk that up to jitters.
I've seen footage of it bein as powerful as it is pretty
And I'm hearing this team is confident.
We're going to see that tonight.
[chris] and we have brought out the welcome mat for blade,
As in matt spurk, the captain of kraken, certainly a fan favorite.
Everybody loves that fire breathing dragon, that huge head.
The question is, can it win four fights in a night?
[kenny] what's wrong with big heads?
[chris] nothing at all. Okay.
I am not staring at your oversize dome.
I don't know whether I'd rather have a million dollars
Or kenny's head full of quarters to be honest with you.
[kenny] well, listen, if an atomic bomb went off,
It would be the roaches and kraken that survive.
This bot has only not gone the distance once this decad
The problem, though, has been its inability to score damage points
In what's become an increasingly kinetic spor
This is the perfect opportunity to prove the design is still viable.
But if they lose, matt spur might have to do some soul searching.
Where do I put the quarters?
Is there a slot open back here?
I'll keep searching for it.
Faruq, take it away.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[faruq] in the red square from seoul, south korea.
He's here to k-pop a cap in the competition.
It's blade!
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] cheoggyu hwang, I wasn't joking
When I told you it was a beautiful bot.
[kenny] yeah, and one of the prettiest things
About it is that weapon.
This is a 60-pound hard ox bar.
Different than the one we saw snap against lucky last season.
But even if this bot is firing on all cylinders,
As we said, kraken is maybe the toughest bot
On the planet to knock out.
Big test here for team blade
[faruq] in the blue square from titusville, florida.
Sea serpent?
Nah, he's an a-plus serpent.
It's kraken.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] few people get more into battlebots
Than matt spurk and his entire family,
The outfits, the look of the robot.
[kenny] yeah, absolutely, a true family affair here.
Everybody has a role.
[chris] aw.
[kenny] well, you know,
The kids think they have a shot at winning this brack
And punching their ticket.
Matt spurk just can't let his opponent's
Spinner get up to full speed
Get in there and crush blad
With those teeth and they should move on.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[cheoggyu speaking]
We are not excited about this match at all.
This is not who we want to be facing
In the first round of the sin city slugfest.
They are a mean machine.
Just a big, super sharp blade.
He has a little maneuver
Where he tries to spin in place.
If he starts going into that tornado move,
We're just gonna back off and do our own little tornado move and see
If we can draw him into us.
We know it's not gonna be an easy match
By any stretch of the imagination.
[robotic voice] robots, activate.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] you mentioned kraken's teeth, kenny.
So that bot has 100,000 poun of crushing force.
That's more than what you'd feel
If all the weight from a fully loaded semi-tru
Was concentrated right on top of you.
[kenny] ooh, those jaws are not messing around.
[chris] will that be too muc for blade to handle?
Or will the team from south korea prove
They can dominate on two different continents
The answer when battlebots champion continues.
[theme music playing]
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] welcome back to battlebots champions sin city slugfest.
We are all set for our final first round
Matchup between blade and kraken.
Winner gets a date with bloodsport in the next round.
Yeah, everything looks great.
[crowd chanting] fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin.
Kraken on the attack.
Blade's weapon up to full speed.
Oh, my goodness.
[kenny] oh.
That thing hit so hard.
[chris] wow.
How are the teeth on kraken
[kenny] still there.
And that is saying a lot.
[chris] oh-oh.
Is blade stuck or is it just biding its tim
[kenny] seems to be okay,
But those were huge collisio to start.
[chris] whoa.
Just took care of the narwhal.
[kenny] oh, kraken backing u into that short corner now.
Trying to draw blade in.
Blade knows not to get too close
Because they don't want their blade to hit the wall
[chris] and also maybe kraken trying to...
Oh, that was impressive.
Kraken trying to get back over.
Let's see if he can use tha big old florian type dome.
[kenny] yes.
That big heads are good for something.
[chris] wow.
Kraken eating a ton of shots here.
Kraken now has blade by the tail.
And this is what it does.
Absorbing that punishment goes to town
With those crushing teeth.
A 100,000 pounds of pressur kraken has in that jaw line
[kenny] blade might want to shut that weapon down.
Kraken trying to drive them into the wall.
[chris] wide...
Oh!
Feeding him right into the screws...
[kenny] oh, look at that.
The blade is destroying kraken's wheel.
[chris] oh, my gosh.
It totally backfired on matt spurk's kraken.
[kenny] kraken, let go.
Let go!
[chris] oh, my gosh.
Let's see if kraken still has the ability to rig
Where it was after that.
[kenny] oh, this fight is so good.
[chris] whoa.
Kraken always knows how to make it a war.
Both bots stumbling around.
Do they have the controlled movement?
That is the big question
When it comes to avoiding a countdown.
[kenny] kraken having troubl with both of its wheels now
[chris] blade, though, trying to finish the job.
They're having some issues on the battlebox floor.
Now starting to move a little bit better
Under a minute to go.
That means the kill saws are active like...
Oh, my god.
Part of kraken's tongue just flew out.
[chris] I can't back out, my tongue is hurt.
Look at these two wiggle wobble,
Doing it all with 40 seconds to go.
[kenny] and now kraken's hea just got lowered
By blade's blade.
Oh, nice shot there.
That little spin move from blade.
Now kraken's in trouble now, chris.
[chris] under 30 to go.
Can matt spurk find a way to survive?
Beat blade's weapon and outlast the team from south korea.
What a fight.
Kraken is just tired.
How are they able to take these hits, I have no idea.
Incredible durability.
Whoa, there goes that.
Now it's tongueless.
Oh, here in the waning secon of a remarkable fight.
We're done. We're done.
That is cheoggyu's blade to show something special to the judges.
Wow.
[chris] kenny, what a fight
This was a much improved bla
From the one we saw in the 2021 season.
It was durable and it was dangerous.
[kenny] chris, this was an awesome fight back and forth.
Blade was just on fire here in this fight against kraken
Did some serious damage.
[chris] whoa.
[kenny] what a hit.
[chris] kraken absorbed the pain
And then went to work
Trying to sink those crushing teeth into blade
And actually finally got a bite.
[kenny] it did.
They were able to get ahold of the side of blade,
Tried to do some damage
And tried to run it into the bot.
But it kind of came back to bite them a little bit,
No pun intended.
Blade ended up shredding their tire,
Continued its onslaught after that,
Credit as always to kraken,
A bot that will go down in history
As one of the toughest ever built.
But it just ran into a buzzs in blade here tonight.
[chris] let's throw it out over to faruq.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
The results from the judges are in.
The winner by unanimous decision is...
Blade!
[cheering]
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] cheog.
Hi. Hi.
How happy are you with that victory?
It's so happy and exciting.
[chris] what was it like when your blade was doing
That much damage to kraken?
Ah, it was just awesome.
[chris] cheog, you're big winner.
Congratulations to you and blade.
[cheering]
Thank you so much.
[matt] great fight, guys. Great fight.
[chris] matt, once again, you go the full three minutes.
It felt like you just couldn't get enough bites
And control of blade.
Is that the way it went?
Yeah, I think so.
I mean, that's a tough robot.
They never stopped spinning.
We tried to get on 'em, and they would just launch us across the arena.
By the time we got back to 'em,
They're back up to speed.
So, I mean, that's just the way
It goes with that type of spinner.
On your way out of the tunnel today,
We saw the whole family give kraken a big old hug.
Is it still stable enough to keep that pet in the house?
Oh, so we love kraken.
Love the bot.
But no.
Uh, it's...
It's time to be done with kraken.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
Let's go, kraken!
[crowd cheering and applauding]
Matt, thank you to you and your entire family for giving us
So many great memories with kraken.
The good news is the spurk family
Will be back, correct?
The spurk family will not die.
We'll be back.
If we had a robot that could dish out
The damage like orby,
With the reliability of kraken,
We would have something that would take the giant nut.
So that's what we're gonna do next year.
Come back with something bigger and badder than ever.
Looking forward to it, matt. Thank you.
So matt spurk officially retiring,
A fan-favorite in kraken.
And as you could see,
Battlebots is a whole lot more than just
A robot competition for these teams.
You heard matt, though.
They will be back.
And with that, our second round of action is all set.
Blade will take on bloodsport,
And then it's gonna be blacksmith squaring off with switchback.
Who's gonna run the gauntle and earn a match up with skorpios?
So far in these slugfests, we've seen gatekeepers get tortured,
Tossed and split into pieces
What kind of carnage does tonight's bracket have in store?
We're going to find out
When battlebots champion continues.
We continue on, here on battlebots champion, at sin city slugfest.
And we are just a few weeks away
From the golden bolt tournament,
Where one team of destiny will have a chance to hoist
The newest trophy on the battlebots circui the golden bolt.
Who will be the next to punch their ticket to that exclusive field?
Well, tonight it all goes through skorpios
Who we're getting a live look at right now.
And it looks like they've got two different
Chassis down there,
Trying to prepare for multiple scenarios.
And you know what?
That's probably a pretty good call
Because there's a wide rang of weapons
On the four robots that could potentially take them on.
And right now, we've got two highly kineti horizontal spinners
About to collide in the box
Let's start with bloodsport.
Earlier tonight, a ko against big dill,
And certainly reminiscent of the sort of style they showed
When they were the number tw overall seed.
[kenny] that's right. They're all about speed.
They're all about power.
Their driving was on point.
They're looking very strong right now.
Taking on blade and their captain, cheoggyu hwang.
How excited was he after winning a judge
Decision against kraken?
And let's remember, this is a team
That's had a lot of success overseas,
But it is so different when you come here to battlebots.
[kenny] and listen, they would have knocked out
Any other robot in the world except when they faced krake
Who's pretty much unkillable
Yeah.
[chris] the winner gets one step closer to skorpios
Let's find out who it will be.
Faruq?
In the red square from seoul, south korea,
The movie blade is rated 7.1 on imdb,
But this version is a perfect 10.
Give it up for blade!
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] now, kenny, we didn't have time
To check in with blade's pi after that kraken fight.
But what are you hearing from that team?
[kenny] well, one of the sho
They landed on kraken actual broke blade's weapon motor.
So they had to rip that out and replace it as quickly as possible.
But I'm hearing the bot is good to go now
And they are ready to land some more of those massive hits on bloodsport.
In the blue square from cambridge, massachusetts,
The movie bloodsport is rated 6.8 on imdb,
But this version is a perfect 10.
Give it up for bloodsport!
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] for the second time tonight it is team bloodspor
Looking to do some jean-claude van damage
To the squad from south korea.
That blade is nasty and a lot of bots
Have found that out the hard way, kenny.
[kenny] yeah.
And unlike their opponent,
Bloodsport took almost no damage
In their first fight.
But look for justin to get a hit in early here.
Blade likes to do that spin attack
That leaves its caboose open
I think justin can and will use that opportunit
To not go spinner to spinner
[cheoggyu speaking]
Orby is a really heavy hitter.
And they've had some success in the past in korea.
I think it's pretty 50/50.
We're going to have to take hits from each other.
Who breaks first, we'll find out.
It's very rare to see an overhead spinner like ours
And a mid-cutter like blade's to go against each other.
So I think it's going to be really exciting to see
Like a new style of bots fight each other.
[robotic voice] robots activate.
[chris] kenny, the key for blade her in this round is what?
[kenny] pretty simple, hit and hit hard.
That's a 72-pound blade
Spinning at around 210 miles an hour.
[chris] what sort of change did bloodsport make for this fight?
[kenny] they got rid of the wedgelets.
They just went with a strip of armor
There around their robot.
And they went with a slightly longer blade
[crowd cheering and applauding]
Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin.
Whoa!
Blade shows bloodsport his backside
And absorbs a jab.
Blade just taking a second blow.
Oh, no.
Blade's got something moving
Blade, the weapon's moving, the bot is not.
I'm not so sure bloodsport is gonna go in for another sniff.
We got to see some movement here.
[chris] no, it looks like they don't have to.
This is going to be heartbre for the south koreans.
Ten, nine, eight...
[chris] this is it. Countdown started.
Cheoggyu hwang is beside himself.
It is over.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
Blade is fini!
Well, kenny, not a lot to cover here.
[kenny] yeah.
You know what, felt like team blade wasn't really
Scheming to win this fight
As much as they were trying to not lose.
Never gave themselves a shot to deliver the weapon
They had success against kraken
With an aggressive offensive style.
Chose to go defensive here, and it cost them.
Well, justin, it looked like blade
Wanted to take the defensive approach,
And it ended up costing them the fight.
Yeah, man, that blade is so scary.
Like, I was looking at that, and I'm like, please, like,
Just stay high centered.
Like, I'm sure it would have been a much better show
If I kept hitting them, but oh, the blade is way too scary.
All right, justin, congratulations on winning that one.
Thank you.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] well, not to diminis the success it's had oversea
But team blade has come to find out
The world's premier robot competition
Is just a whole different ball game.
All right, so bloodsport moves one step closer
To a showdown with scorpios
Remember, those two actuall fought a few seasons ago.
Bloodsport did win that matc
But there's one more challenge to go
For justin marple squad before a potential rematch.
They're going to face the winner of switchback versus blacksmith,
Which is coming up next.
It's disc spinner taking on power hammer
When battlebots champion continues.
All right, we continue on at the end of the night,
Skorpios said, yeah, who wants a shot at my crown?
And there's one of the teams skorpios may have to face,
Bloodsport, just made quick work of blade.
Let's hear from captain justin marple.
No way it's a match where you expect to be destroyed
And torn apart.
We didn't take a scratch, which is remarkable.
So we're actually in a pretty good spot.
But hopefully we can not take too much damage
In our next couple of fights and get through.
[chris] so bloodsport comes out unscathed yet agai
Just looks like they're getting ready
To make a weapon change.
And they're doing that because they could see two
Wildly different weapons, blacksmith's flaming power hammer
Or switchback's swivel disc spinner.
Now, kenny, blacksmith is definitely the more experienced team here.
And al kindle's bot looked like
The old blacksmith in that first fight against deadlift
[kenny] yeah, definitely put that power hammer to good use.
He was able to penetrate deadlift's armor.
But I think if al wants to g all the way to skorpios,
We're gonna need to see him get a knockout at some point
[chris] switchback, on the other end,
Really did some good damage kenny.
[kenny] yeah. Again, that spinner when fully loaded
Is one of the heaviest at battlebots
And it made quick enough work of lucky.
We did hear that they had to replace a drive motor
After that fight though.
So this will really show
How their pit crew handles pressure.
Good battle here in round tw faruq?
In the red square, from coppell texas,
This deadly drum's about to play a solo all over your face.
Give it up for switchback!
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] captain greg needel on the left there.
How does he bring his team one step closer
To facing skorpios?
[kenny] you know, because the geometry of these two bots
Actually think switchback has a good chance
Of damaging blacksmith's weapon.
That would be huge in the judge's eyes.
So do that and go the distan and we can see it.
In the blue square from edison, new jersey.
He came from the garden state to make you a vegetable.
Give it up for blacksmith.
[chris] for the second time tonight it is team blacksmith against.
Switchback's weird swivel spinner.
What are they aiming for here, kenny?
[kenny] well, where their opponent needs to attack from the side,
Blacksmith needs to go straight down switchback's throat.
If that power hammer connect with any of the joint attach
To switchback's weapon, it could really do some damage.
Would love to see a knockout here,
But not sure al's bot has the power to do it.
[chris] shots fired, kenny.
[kenny] hey. I call it like I see it
Blacksmith is a great machine.
Al kindle has been doing this forever.
They do have a lot of area on top
That we can hit with the drum and,
You know, very flat sides.
So if we can drive around to the side.
We think we've got a pretty good shot.
I really think that just from a pure
Robot to robot standpoint,
It's a really good matchup, pretty evenly matched,
Probably is going to go the distance unless
One of us gets a really lucky hit.
Switchback is very unique.
It does present an interesting challenge for us
Because it can hit us high, which is always bad for us,
For our arm assembly, the belts and the chain.
So it's something we have to be careful of.
He seems to be a little bit slower than us,
So we're gonna try to get to the side
And maybe take out his weapon arm, so he can't hit us.
I'm feeling pretty good about our chances
To win this bracket.
Right now, blacksmith is running great, and we're ready.
[robotic voice]
Blacksmith does have the experience advantage here, though.
They have been doing this for 26 years.
Switchback just one.
[robotic voice] red team, ready?
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[robotic voice] blue team, ready?
Ready?
Yeah.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin.
Ooh, big whiff by both bots at the box rush.
Al kindle's bot looking great.
[kenny] nice shot from switchback, but here comes blacksmith,
Turning it around, chris.
[chris] oh, the veteran's got the rookie cornered.
And now using that hammer sa and dropping the pulverizer
It's a two for one special, kenny.
[kenny] al kindle is a maste at using the arena
To damage his opponent.
[chris] and now he has the team from texas on its back.
Can switchback get back on its feet?
[kenny] uh-oh.
Ah, big hit with giant hamme
Al kindle, just relentless here
In the early going, chris.
[chris] switchback looking a little dizzy after that on
And blacksmith has it pinned again.
Look at al kindle.
I never thought I would say
But he is so nimble out ther kenny.
[kenny] yeah.
Blacksmith moving really well, but switchback looks hurt, chris.
May have lost part of its drive
During one of those exchange
We're still good. Everything is operational.
[chris] switchback's weapon is operating at full speed,
But kind of taking some friendly fires
And takes its grill right into the upper deck.
[kenny] blacksmith landing another big shot there.
[chris] and, kenny, blacksmith has been able
To keep switchback trapped in that short corner,
Which is trouble for the texans.
Al kindle putting on a driving kind of gear.
And look at that shot.
Oh, another one, a huge sho of that hammer saw.
[kenny] yeah, they just cut through switchback's top armor, chris.
[chris] and now the pulverizer.
Those are just kind of love-ish taps.
[kenny] oh, no love right there, though
Again, the axles on switchback's weapon are its weakest point.
If blacksmith gets a clean shot there, it's ove
[chris] creeping up in a minute.
Al was willing to go the distance in round one.
Can he finish the job here?
Oh, now blacksmith is smokin
[kenny] I don't know, chris
Switchback is looking like it's on its last leg.
[chris] another shot.
Al kindle says, "I'm not done, kenny."
All right, I got to see movement.
I think we're done.
[chris] switchback and greg needel
Getting a warning from the referee.
And here comes the countdown
Blacksmith and al kindle has done an amazing job
And will now move on to the next round and face bloodsport.
Knockout!
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[kenny] that was by far the most powerful
We've seen this new version of blacksmith.
Wow!
[chris] kenny, al kindle's bot,
A little bit of a new look,
Thanks to a reconfiguration with the front.
And it certainly did its job
[kenny] yeah, this was just a dominant performance by blacksmith.
Al kindle showed off his bot's speed and agility
They were able to flip switchback
And then trap them in one of the short corners
And that's when their power hammer
Just went to work.
Al, never let up.
And it was really kind of a death
By a thousand cuts.
[chris] blacksmith dishing out the pain
And now moving on to round number three.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
Al kindle, team blacksmith, congratulations.
Big time knockout.
Where you trying to show off a little bit?
We've been doing little tweaks in between every fight,
And I think we just finally got everything worked out a little bit.
And we're...
Like I said, we were being very careful
In picking our shots with this one.
That overhead drum could really come in
And take out our weapon.
So we were being really careful.
[chris] all right.
Well, we'll let you get ready for bloodsport,
One step closer, al.
Can you get it done?
Absolutely.
All right, congratulations.
Thanks.
Great fight, man.
You too.
[chris] well, kenny, al kindle says,
Boys in the announce booth, you morons.
I told you I could do it, I could win by ko.
Shut up, florian. He was right.
[chris] rose you too.
[kenny] he was right.
That hammer was hitting and hitting hard.
It was doing damage.
So, great job, al.
I'm sorry.
All right. I'm not.
Kenny is sorry.
All right, coming up, our two remaining bots,
Blacksmith and bloodsport will slug it out
With a chance to face skorpios on the line
That's next on battlebots champions sin city slugfest.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
We got more battlebots champion sin city slugfest,
The quest to fight skorpios at the end of the night continues right here.
And it has come down
To blacksmith versus bloodsport.
The winner is gonna move on to the golden bolt qualifie
Where our gatekeeper awaits
And blacksmith showed off so impressive durability tonigh
In a couple of longer fights
While the knockout artist bloodsport
Has finished off both its opponents
In less than 60 seconds.
And, kenny, looking at the side by side
This could get interesting.
[kenny] yeah.
Well, bloodsport is going with a new disc-like weapon
We haven't seen yet today.
But look at this, it packs a punch roughly
10 times greater than blacksmith's power hammer.
Now, al kindle has been doing thi
A long time and he knows.
To win, he's got to control bloodsport
And stop it from spinning up
So while justin marple's tea
Does have the offensive advantage,
Do not be surprised
If this goes the full three minutes.
[chris] we're gonna get you right to the action.
Let's go inside the battlebox.
Are we clear?
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[robotic voice] red team, ready?
[chris] al kindle and weapons operator alan young there.
Twos wins away from punching their ticket
To the golden bolt tournamen kenny.
[kenny] would be so big for this squad.
They've always had the durability
To hang with the top-tier opponents
But now they're doing some serious damage too.
Take a look at that huge front wedge
They've added for this fight though.
With that attached, I'm expecting a box rush and constant pressure
To prevent a bloodsport spin-up.
[robotic voice] blue team, ready?
[crowd cheering and applauding].
[chris] and frantically hitting that button
Is bloodsport weapon designe nik buchholz.
He's the evil genius behind their seemingly
Infinite number of blades.
[kenny] yeah, their weapon versatili
Is part of what makes bloodsport so dangerous.
And this blade is evidence of that.
They call it the ferrous wheel,
A play on ferrous metals.
But you can see it completely covers
The top of the bot.
So in addition to being highly kinetic,
This blade acts as a perfect shield
Against an opponent that nee to strike from above.
[chris] genius is right.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] the veteran looking to start a new chapter,
The rising star is shooting for the moon.
A shot at skorpios is up for grabs.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
Let the bot battle begin.
Bloodsport, trying to circle around,
Find a way in.
Introduces himself to that wedge.
Oh, into the vortex.
Blacksmith has been flipped over.
[kenny] bloodsport hits righ on the inside of that wedge
That was a great hit.
Did lose one of those two front wedgelets in the process.
But justin marple still grinding away.
[chris] ah, look at bloodspo just shoot its way in.
[kenny] that wedge is holding up well, though.
[chris] sure is.
Oh, yes.
Oh, nice spin move.
[kenny] that's where blacksmith
Has to be careful on that backside.
[chris] yeah. Al kindle, nice move.
On the dance floor, a big shot!
Has yet to swing that flaming and hammer, kenny.
[kenny] yeah.
Looks like he's playing a patient game here,
Waiting for his opportunity to slow down that primary weapon
Of bloodsport because if he hits,
He might destroy his own weapon as well.
[chris] great point, kenny.
Oh, big shot there.
Oh, huge gash on the side of blacksmith.
Enormous.
On the right side, there is a gaping hole.
Nice damage done by bloodsport's main weapon
Both teams foaming at the mouth to get a shot at skorpios.
Blacksmith staying patient, kenny.
[kenny] yeah, I mean, that horizontal spinner hasn't slowed down.
[chris] oh, it is now.
There he goes.
[kenny] this is the time.
[chris] one, two.
And now blacksmith taking bloodsport into the rails.
That ferrous wheel weapon is now back working.
[kenny] good patience shown there by al kindle
And team blacksmith.
[chris] blacksmith again taking his opponent into the rail,
But bloodsport sidesteps it
Blacksmith on the chase.
Bloodsport, with one real nice shot
To the right side of blacksmith.
Other than that, not much.
[kenny] blacksmith doing a good job of cutting off
The battlebox here but not able to slow down
That weapon for too long.
[chris] closing in on the one-minute mark.
In the final minute,
The kill saws will be activate
And jump out of the battlebox floor,
Big hit there and blacksmith is stunned.
[kenny] this has been a very close fight.
It may come down to which team can make
A push down the stretch.
[chris] oh, big hit.
Blacksmith taking bloodspor into the screws.
Now get up, chopping him up
And now dropping the hammer
It's a one-two punch for blacksmith.
This is what blacksmith does best,
Using the battlebox and using its primary weapon
And now backing up.
Can bloodsport get off those screws?
It does.
The question is, can it move
[kenny] this is a great fini to the fight here
For blacksmith and bloodspor might be stuck. Are they functional?
[chris] blacksmith's not gon let him find out.
He says get your ass back u there on the screws, my man
What a display of control and aggression from al kindl
But bloodsport's still spinning.
So close.
Ten seconds to go.
Blacksmith taking bloodspor into the rails.
Oh, my goodness.
Destroyed its weapon in the process, kenny.
[kenny] the guts of blacksmi all over the battlebox.
They lost their primary weap with just a few seconds to go.
Wow!
[chris] and will that be the turning point
In the eyes of the judges?
This third round of tonight' sin city slugfest qualifier
Goes the distance,
The right to face skorpios on the line.
Our judges will be scoring on an 11-point system.
Five points could be awarde for damage.
Three apiece in the aggression and control categories.
That was...
[chris] phenomenal back and forth action in this one, kenny,
Wire to wire.
[kenny] yeah, this was a ver technical fight.
Both teams showed a lot of patience here.
Bloodsport looking to try to jab their way,
Looking for their openings.
They found them.
There were some gashes on the side,
Some good attacks on the back side
Of blacksmith there.
And then once blacksmith was able to get that weapon to slow down,
They picked their moment to attack.
[chris] and they do such a phenomenal job,
Does blacksmith of utilizing the battlebox.
Look at the pin job next to the screws.
And this is where al kindle did his best work.
[kenny] no doubt blacksmith was really laying it on dow the stretch,
Controlling bloodsport and imposing its will.
[chris] but then in the final seconds,
Blacksmith driving bloodspor into the rail,
Dropping the hammer, but paying the ultimate price.
[kenny] oh, man, bloodsport shredding
Blacksmith's weapon there.
And that may just come back to haunt al
In the damage category.
[chris] winner moves on to face skorpios.
Here's faruq.
The results from the judges are in.
We have a split decision.
[crowd exclaiming]
Judge jason scored the battle for blacksmith.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
Judge lisa scored the battle for bloodsport.
[crowd cheering and applauding].
Judge derek scored the battle for the winner...
Bloodsport!
[crowd cheering and applauding]
Justin marple, congratulations.
Thank you.
How nerve-wracking is it when you hear we have a split decision?
Oh, yeah.
I mean, I wasn't really expecting that.
I thought we had a lot of the damage points.
You know, we had a lot of aggression.
You know, they had probably control.
But, you know, at the end of the day,
It was a great fight.
Al did an amazing job driving.
That was incredible.
And I hope it was a good show.
Three down, one to go.
You're going to square off against skorpios.
What's your first thought?
Well, we faced skorpios
In the previous battlebots season.
We were able to beat them.
We think we still have a really good chance.
We know they have a new configuration for us,
It's a bit secret,
But we're looking forward to it.
So it's going to be great fight.
Looking forward to it. Congratulations.
Thank you.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] all right.
Well, fantastic job from al kindle and blacksmit
They're going into next seas with a ton of momentum.
But our golden bolt qualifyi match-up is finally set.
And as you heard justin marple just say, it is indeed a rematch.
Will we see a repeat of that fight
From two seasons ago
Or will skorpios be the first gatekeeper
To punch its ticket to the tournament of champions?
I have no idea.
But I do know it's gonna be a wild ride.
The slugfest concludes next
Bloodsport is in a pretty rough shape right now.
We have a lot of broken motors.
Last fight really beat us up.
My team right now is just repairing them,
Trying to go as quickly as possible.
We're running out of spares at this point.
The war of attrition is something you hear about
A lot in battlebots, and we're definitely facing that right now.
It's just fight after fight after fight.
Very little time to prepare.
We're just hoping to just get through it,
Get through this last fight and just come out with a win.
In our last fight against skorpios,
It was a bit of a slugfest.
Took hits, went back and forth.
They had some good control.
We took... Delivered some good hits.
At the end, we were able to ko them,
Tear off their wedge, get them into a wall,
They couldn't move anymore.
It's going to be a much tougher fight this time around.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] welcome back to battlebots champions
And listen to that crowd
At caesars entertainment studios
Here in las vegas.
Kenny, they know what's on the line here in this fight.
It is time right now for the golden bolt qualifier
Between bloodsport and skorpios.
Whoever comes out victoriou
Will join some of the heaviest hitters on the planet
As they battle it out for the golden bolt
In our first-ever tournament of champions.
Now, again, skorpios was selected as gatekeeper tonight,
Because zach lytle and diana tarlson's bot
Is as tough as they come.
They beat tombstone two seasons ago.
They won a bounty tournament
They won roughly two-thirds of their career matches
And have become a staple in main events here.
They have certainly earned this.
[kenny] yeah.
This is a team that matches up well
With any opponent.
They're fast, they're durabl
And their hammer saw is allegedly
Eight times as powerful
As it was when they won tha bounty.
And guess what?
That bot is in pristine condition right now.
And they have an opportunity to get into the golden bolt tournament.
Amazing.
[chris] now I don't think we could say bloodsport's
In pristine condition.
They've had to win three fights tonight just to get here.
Yeah.
And they were doing fine
Until that last fight with blacksmith.
They took some big shots from that power hammer.
They had to replace some weapon motors after that match.
The attrition is definitely catching up to them,
But they've got some of the smartest people
At battlebots on that pit crew.
And I'm hearing they are ready to rock.
Let's find out who wins this baby.
Faruq?
[crowd cheering and applauding]
Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready?
[crowd cheering and applauding]
It's time for the main event.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
In the red square,
This bot shares a name with a comic book villain,
Who's gnarly like harley and always down for some killing?
Polka-dot man.
Nah, he's the broke your bot, man.
He's got the king shark.
He's got no equal.
The team's no suicide squad.
They're coming for you, and you won't get a sequel.
It's bloodsport!
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] bloodsport has been dominant tonight.
Knocked out big dill.
Knocked out blade.
Took care of blacksmith.
They are ferocious and hungry.
And they are going with a similar blade
To what we saw in their last match.
Should provide a lot of the same
Overhead protection their weapon gave them
Against blacksmith,
But this one has a little mo punch to it.
In the blue square,
He's got the name of a constellation
And he's a battlebots st.
And when he lifts that big ripper,
You'll get a giant scar.
He'll whip you with orion's belt.
And if you look up at the sky,
Connect the stars on this constellation,
And they spell prepare to die.
Give it up for skorpios.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] zach lytle the right
His wife diana tarlson on the left.
Kenny, this team always brings the noise.
[kenny] yeah.
They are confident in their engineering.
Skorpios is so durable.
That huge wedge on the front should help the
Deflect bloodsport's blade.
But they're an over-the-top hammer saw,
Just like blacksmith.
So they're going to need to pin bloodsport,
Stop its weapon from moving and then fire away.
The strategy going into this match
Is going to be the same as the last time
We faced them, which is going to be aim for those wheels,
Aim for the edges of the wedge,
Try to tear something apart, damage something.
Skorpios can deliver damage.
We have our protective disc armor
And I think it's gonna be really tough thing for them
To get damage points.
Tonight, we're punching our ticket.
Bloodsport's known for being able to deliver big hits,
But he does it by running away.
With the deck in there now, he's got nowhere to run.
Bloodsport still hits really hard,
So we hit harder than we did
With our first fight with them.
It's going to be a slugfest.
I want to go to the golden bolt.
There's a lot of bots there I want to beat.
This is the only way for me to get my ticket,
And it's going through bloodsport.
It seems good.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[robotic voice] robots, activate.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
So after that last fight, we heard justin marple
Of bloodsport say skorpios
Had a secret configuration ready for them.
Let's bring in our bot whisperer to clarify.
Pete?
[pete] yeah.
He's referencing that armor configuration
Skorpios calls the shield.
It's taller, and you can see it
Has those little sloped ear at the top.
When skorpios takes a shot from bloodsport's tri-bar,
And it will, this should prevent their weapon arm
From getting completely destroyed.
[chris] great intel as always.
Thanks, pete
[robotic voice] red team, ready?
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[robotic voice] blue team, ready?
[chris] oh, yes.
Excellent choreography, diana.
Excellent.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
[chris] so far, all three golden bolt qualifiers
Have seen our gatekeepers fall.
Can skorpios buck that tren and punch its ticket?
[crowd cheering and applauding]
Let the bot battle begin.
Skorpios on the charge,
Delivering a hard shot to bloodsport.
Justin marple resets,
Looking for space to spin u their deadly blade.
Skorpios right on top of him
[kenny] yes.
Skorpios immediately trying to get under bloodsport,
Trying to slow down that very dangerous
Try again blade from bloodsport.
[chris] just like that and they use their hammer sa
Sticking it in, fired it up
Don't know much damage it's doing but at least
He's preventing bloodsport from firing up its weapon.
[kenny] if they can bend that blade
That will send bloodsport completely out of balance.
And this is when they want to strike
When that blade is not spinning
And they haven't stuck up against the wall here.
This is when they want to strike down.
[chris] now, skorpios can pin bloodsport
For 10 seconds before releasing,
Just like that.
Nice timing on the 100-pound pulverizer
[kenny] yeah, they're reall trying to go to town
On top of bloodsport here.
And skorpios is pushing bloodsport up into the screw
Not much offense out of bloodsport.
[kenny] yeah, but we saw tha
In the last fight against blacksmith just
How durable this weapon of bloodsport is.
Justin's going to take his time
And continue to look for the right angle to attac
[chris] kenny, it looks lik bloodsport is really trying to go around back,
Maybe take a bite out of those wheels.
[kenny] that's exactly what they are trying to do I
Skorpios is trying to keep that
Nose pointed at them at all times.
[chris] skorpios is so fast
Elite driving by zach lytle
[kenny] yeah.
But I tell you what, that primary weapon of skorpios is not hitting..
[chris] nope.
[kenny] ...Like they had hoped.
[chris] zach lytle is continuing
To tout that new weapon on skorpios
And its ability to do some damage.
But it looks compromised here.
Will that prevent it from clinching a spot
In the golden bolt tournamen
[kenny] yeah.
I think those hits on the top of bloodsport
Can actually get them in.
Yeah. You can actually see it's completely bent.
Looks like it's about to fall off.
[chris] yeah.
But skorpios still very muc in control of this fight,
Hitting his opponent.
He'll do that for 10 seconds
But the question is how will the judges
See this whole thing,
If it does indeed go to scorecard.
[kenny] skorpios is a little beat up
But it has dictated the pace so far.
Bloodsport needs to make a push here down the stretch
[chris] under a minute to go. Oh.
[kenny] well, there's some great shots there from bloodsport.
[chris] that is a great one
Yeah, you can really see how much that hammer saw is curved, kenny.
[kenny] yeah. And the judges are definitel going to take that
Into consideration, as bloodsport again,
Looking to get that space to get up to full speed.
But skorpios staying right on him.
Zach lytle, a tremendous driver.
[chris] under 30 to go.
Oh, skorpios driving bloodsport
Into the rails yet again.
Bloodsport trying to get one more.
Good shot in there.
Oh, bloodsport gets forced into the upper deck.
Nice work by skorpios.
[kenny] great control by skorpios.
[chris] bloodsport gets back out of the field of play.
It's under 10 to go.
So this one is going to go to the judges.
The fans treated to a very close contest.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
As the golden bolt qualifier goes the distance.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
A trip to the tournament of champions is on the line here, kenny.
How are the judges going to break this one down
[kenny] well, give credit to skorpios for executing its game plan,
Got underneath bloodsport, jammed up that blade
And pushed it around the battlebox,
Notched some valuable aggression points
With that hammer saw as well
[chris] eventually, bloodsport found some space
And got that tri-bar rolling
And skorpios' weapon ended u taking some meaningful damage.
[kenny] that's right.
And this may just come down
To how heavily the judges weighed that damage.
You can see skorpios' saw blade bent sideways there,
And it looked to lose function down the stretch.
For my money, skorpios was the aggressor in this fight
And controlled the pace.
But you never want to leave it in the hands of the judges.
Bloodsport never backed down
This is going to be interesting.
[chris] here is faruq with the decision.
The results from the judges are in.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
We have a split decision.
Judge jason scored the battle for bloodsport.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
Judge derek scored the battle for skorpios.
Judge lisa scored the battle for the winner...
Skorpios!
[crowd cheering and applauding]
Oh, my god!
[crowd cheering and applauding].
Skorpios! Skorpios! Skorpios!
Hey, diana, it's your moment.
[chris] zach and diana.
Hello.
[chris] wow.
Last year you won a bounty,
And now you guys have just
Become the first gatekeeper to punch a ticket
Into the golden bolt tournament.
Whoo!
Zach, I know that the 2021 regular season
Did not go the way that that you wanted.
But now you have a chance to hoist the golden bolt,
Taking on other champions from this great sport.
How excited are you?
We couldn't to be more pumped.
We're going into the golden bolt.
We're taking on tombstone.
We're taking on end game.
We're taking on the best of the best.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[chris] guys, congratulations.
We'll see you in the golden bolt.
So skorpios becomes the first gatekeepe to claim a spot.
And kenny, wow,
Just look at how this golden bolt tournament
Field is shaping up between the slugfest champs
And the giant nut winners.
This is looking like the mount rushmore
Of today's top bots.
[kenny] yeah, only two weeks before
What is going to be an absolutely
Insane royal rumble.
That sure is a lot of dead presidents, chris.
[chris] join us next time
When another band of marquee 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?
It'll be fun to see how it all shakes out.
So that'll do it for us for this evening.
For faruq, our bot whisperer pete,
My man kenny florian.
I am chris rose.
We'll see you next time here on battlebots.