[narrator] in the 25 year history of the sport,
Excellence at battlebots h been measured in hardware.
[commentator] world champions!
[narrator] tonight, the ques for a brand new trophy
Culminates in an epic winner take all tournament.
Featuring eight of the deadliest robots
Ever assembled.
With a fanatical crowd packing the house
On this special night in las vegas.
[commentator] are you guys ready?
[narrator] who will become the first team
To hoist the golden bolt?
This is battlebots champio.
[automated voice speaking] robots activate.
[crowd cheering]
Whoo! Wow!
Love it!
Hey, everybody and welcome to battlebots champions.
This is the big one.
It's the golden bolt championship tournament!
[crowd cheering]
I am chris rose, I'm joined as always
By ufc legend and the goat
Of robot combat color commentary,
The one and only, kenny florian.
[crowd cheering]
Thank, chris. I love the energy in here tonight.
Are you guys ready for this?
[crowd cheering]
[chris] six weeks ago, we kicked off
Battlebots champions with the first sin city slugfest
Since then, 45 bots have gone to battle
In hopes of claiming a spot here tonight.
Oh, it's all over!
After five qualifying tournaments of
Weapon trashing, glass smashing,
Hope eroding, face exploding action.
Eight battle tested champion will put it all on the line
To reach the top of the mountain.
That's right, chris. We have the most
Deadly tournament lineup imaginable.
Three giant nut winners,
Tombstone, endgame,
And 2021 world champion, tantrum
Have been joined by the fiv sin city slugfest champions
For the most elite field ever assembled.
Short of taking home the giant nut
A flawless run here
Provides the ultimate bragging rights.
And that's why all eyes tonight
Are fixated on the newest trophy in this sport.
[both] the golden bolt!
[crowd cheering]
All right. I don't know about you kenny,
But I'm ready to get this thing started.
Let's take a look at the murderers' row
That will be competing tonight.
After being disqualified from last year's
World championship tournamen due to technical issues,
Glitch has a shot at redemption
Against its original round of 32 opponent,
Two-time giant nut runner-up, witch doctor.
[kenny] we'll see former world champ, ray billings and tombstone
Take on the current world champs,
Ginger schmidt, alex grant and tantrum.
[chris] and the bot with arguably the most momentum
Heading into this championship tournament,
Fan-favorite, hypershock
As an opening matchup with mister and missus plow
Zachary lytle, diana tarlso and skorpios.
But up first, the former champs from new zealand.
Nick mabey and jack barker are running a ponzi scheme
As end game plans its attac
On david jin and the mighty frog,
Ribbot.
[crowd cheering]
[kenny] after their giant nut win 2020,
This team had visions of becoming a dynasty.
But those dreams were bulldozed
By daniel freitas and minota
In last year's world championship tournament.
Now, they're refocused and bolstered by the knowled
That they have knocked out five of the seven robots in this field.
End game is a shark and the smell blood in the water.
[chris] well, I hope they have a taste for cold blood
Because that's all you can squeeze out
Of the amphibious phenom ribbot.
David jin was ruthless in his slugfest qualifier.
Literally flattening the gatekeeper lockjaw.
We'll see if the frog can ta a bite out of end game.
Or if the kiwi killers will grab it by the tongue.
[crowd cheering]
It's gonna be a brutal night in all the best ways possible.
-Are you ready my friend? -Chris, let's do this.
Are you guys ready?
[crowd cheering]
I thought so. Faruq, take it away.
[faruq] ladies and gentlemen!
Are you ready?
It's robot fighting time!
[crowd cheering]
[faruq] in the red square,
From worcester, massachusetts,
There's some blood on the hands of the frog
On the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea,
It's ribbot!
[crowd cheering]
-[chris] david jin. -[kenny] oh, look at the shades on ribbot!
[chris] yeah, kenny, somebody's enjoying vegas.
[kenny] yeah, the frog wore those same shades
When it knocked out end game back in 2019
To grab its first career win
The team used its vertical weapon for that fight.
They've been secretive abou what attachment they're gonn choose for this rematch.
You can see they're going with the undercutter.
David jin playing some mind games here.
I like it.
[faruq] in the blue square,
From auckland, new zealand,
These kiwis are ready to bring you the fight of the conchords
It's end game.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] here comes the pride of new zealand,
2020 winners of the giant nu
Nick mabey and jack barker, team end game.
Future's so bright, they got wear shades, kenny.
[kenny] right. As a former champion, end game is in
Automatic qualifier tonight
But after an early exit in last year's tournament,
They're coming in with a chip on their shoulder
And on a mission to remind the world
That this robot is one of the heaviest hitters
In the history of the sport
[crowd cheering]
Back in 2019, our rookie season,
We actually had our first ever battlebots win against end game.
So, this is kinda full circle for us.
The team is definitely ready to have three fights in a single day.
However, the tournament is kind of insane
Because all the bots in the tournament are so destructive.
Tombstone, hypershock, the bots all hit so hard.
The bots, all have the ability to fully retire our robot.
Luckily, we did bring a lot of spare,
So hopefully we'll be ready for each match that we have to fight.
But it's a big deal.
So, we're playing ribbot in our first fight today.
And they're modular robots, they could be running
A horizontal spinner or a vertical spinner.
We know what we want 'em to play
And we have kind of a back up plan for if we're not sure.
It's really important for us to win this golden bolt.
I think we've got the best robot in the world right now,
So we want the opportunity to show it.
[crowd cheering]
[automated voice speaking] robots activate.
[crowd cheering]
[chris and kenny exclaim]
[chris] end game just knocke their own forks off.
Are they the ones playing mind games here?
Talk to us, pete.
[pete] yeah, ribbot was keeping them on their toes
In the pits in terms of whic weapon they were going to us
Jack and nick were hoping they'd run the vertical.
Those forks were intended to counter that configuratio
Ribbot choosing to go with an undercutter here,
So end game says, "hey, no problem.
We'll just go to plan b and shed the forks." amazing
[chris] that of course was the third member of our team
The bot whisperer, pete abrahamson.
And like he always says, "pays to have a plan b."
[crowd cheering]
[chris] it's gonna take thre consecutive wins tonight
To take home the golden bolt
Do either of these two team have the juice to get it don
The war of attrition starts now.
[crowd] fight, fight, fight, fight, fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin.
Ribbot coming to end game from an angle.
[all exclaiming]
The glasses and head have been dismantled,
But what about the rest for ribbot.
[kenny] ribbot is inverted right now,
Taking big shots from end game.
[chris] the 2020 world champion's here and it looks angry.
-[kenny] yeah. -[chris laughs]
Oh, my god! Tapping that fro
Oh, man!
End game is smashing and crashing
And perhaps dashing the hope of ribbot here tonight.
[kenny] yeah, ribbot alread having issues and of course
End game attacking the tires now.
[chris] another big shot. Wo
End game, I wonder when they're gonna pull back and here it is.
Because once again, they're just not looking to win one fight,
They're looking to win three tonight.
And here is number one.
-The countdown is on. -[referee] five.
-Four, three. -[chris] ribbot is doa.
And end game is moving on to the semi-finals.
[buzzer sounds]
[chris] wow!
Well, tough day at the offic when your head lands
Five feet from your body after a collision.
[kenny] yeah, end game just kinda stalked them,
Like a great white shark, just bit down right on ribbot,
Sent him flying, you see th weapon belt came off of
That undercutter of ribbot immediately.
David jin, perhaps regretting that
Configuration choice right about now.
[chris] well, we now, few drivers are more
Aggressive when they smell weakness than jack barker.
Got the frog in the short corner.
That was it.
Time to back up. Give 'em one more shot.
And end game's moving on to the semis.
All right.
Nick mabey, jack barker, congratulations.
-Wow! -Thank you, thank you.
Got another one of these.
Hey, jack.
Were you a little ticked off that ribbot came out
With the shades on their frog
And they were trying to get under your skin a bit?
Well, last time they came out with the shades,
They absolutely kicked our butts.
So, we just needed to make sure that, you know,
We keep the shades
And just smash them up even after the fight.
Yeah, that fight went pretty differently from last time.
You guys came out with those forks and then you didn't.
Talk about that a little bit.
So, like, we know what they can do.
They can either be a vert or a horizontal,
So we went for the wedges.
But if they were gonna go for the vert,
We put on a little contingency.
And, you know, we saw that they were running the horizontal,
So we don't need those anymore, we'll get rid of them.
And just gonna give them away and they're gonna count for damage,
So we'll smash 'em up before the fight starts.
[kenny] had fun watching you play chess out there.
All right guys, congratulations.
-Thanks. -Thank you.
[jin] nick! Nick!
One to one.
-One to one? -One to one.
[chris] so, the former champ end game
Move on to the second round in convincing fashion
Where they will await the winner of
Tombstone versus tantrum later tonight.
And kenny, we have to say goodbye
To david jin and team ribbot
They have a come an awfully long way the past few years
But end game was just too much for them tonight.
[kenny] yeah, no doubt we'll see this squad back
With an even stronger ribbo
In the 2022 world championship.
Where they will considered a top ten team
Straight out of the gate.
[chris] all right, coming up
Can the consummate showman, will bales
Keep his kill streak alive
Or will skorpios pump the brakes
On hypershock's remarkable tournament run?
The fight for the golden bolt continues,
Next.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] welcome back to battlebots champions
Where tonight a murderer's r of the best combat robots
Anywhere in the world are competing
For a brand new piece of battlebots hardware,
The golden bolt.
Up next, we got skorpios and hypershock.
And let's start with will bales' squad.
Hypershock was out of this world
In its slugfest qualifiers,
Tearing through the bracket
And decimating the gatekeeper, gigabyte.
Oh, are you kidding?
[exclaims]
[kenny] yeah, the amount of destruction it caused
That night was absolutely insane.
Everything is clicking for hypershock right now.
And in a very short time, it's gone from
One of the most entertainin bots in the competition
To one of the deadliest.
But it's a tough draw for 'em tonight
Because in their two matchups with skorpios,
They have dropped both of them.
[kenny] yes, zach lytle's robot was built
For a format like this.
Remember, it won four fight in a single night
At last year's bounty hunters event.
Skorpios is as durable as they come
And it was designed to defen against high energy weapons
Like hypershock's.
It's gonna be a fun one.
Faruq, take it away!
[faruq] in the red square,
From crockett, california,
Make way for the king of sting,
It's skorpios!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] there's skorpios, one of only two gatekeepers
To make it out of their sin city slugfest qualifiers alive.
The other being witch doctor
Kenny, zach lytle and diana tarlson
Don't back down from anyone
Can they stop the red hot hypershock?
[kenny] well, like everyone else, they were blown away
By what will bales did in his qualifier.
But skorpios has beaten hypershock twice before,
So don't expect them to be intimidated.
[chris] they've welded a series of ridges to the front of their bot
Prepared for this r-rating version of hypershock.
They're ready.
In the blue square, from miami, florida,
The bot from the 305
That fights like he's possessed by the 666.
It's hypershock!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] the always entertaining, will bales.
Oh, look at this.
They have stepped up their game.
We are in vegas. I see you, girl!
[kenny] amazing.
[chris] the robot's looking tip-top as well.
[kenny] yes, it is.
With virtually no damage in its qualifiers,
But the team tore it down
And inspected every nut and bolt regardless.
While winning the world championship
Is their ultimate goal,
Taking home the golden bolt would catapult this squad
Into elite territory here at battlebots.
They are not taking this opportunity for granted.
[crowd cheering]
So, originally when I got hypershock,
I was like, "dude, I've already done this twice.
The fans aren't gonna wanna see this."
But then I watched his footage from this season
And, oh, my god!
Will finally fixed it.
This is not the same hypershock I have fought.
And I'm gonna need a few new tactics.
My big goal is to get him upside down.
And I'm hoping if I just fling myself into the blade long enough,
He'll flip over, I'll flip over.
The difference is I can get back up.
They're the best wedge in the competition, bar none.
They have the best, you know, ground game upfront.
You know, in terms of armor,
They always have little attachments to put on.
We will not get under it, at least not from the front,
So I have to do a very good job
Of being incredibly patient
In getting our forks under his side.
Or under the back or under a wheel or something.
But that's the only way we can deliver a hit
And that's what we gotta do.
[crowd cheering]
[crowd] fight, fight, fight, fight, fight!
[chris] let the bot battle begin.
[kenny] will charges at skorpios.
[chris] nice shot though from hypershock.
Skorpios flipped over. Almost flipped out of the box.
It's over!
[all exclaiming]
[referee] nine, eight, seven,
-Six, five. -[chris] you broke it, will
-You broke it. -Four, three, two, one.
[buzzer sounds]
[chris] 24 seconds.
[laughs]
Wow!
24 seconds, kenny florian.
[kenny] yeah, I think the ke was those forks on the front
Hypershock was able to get underneath repeatedly.
Speed, power, aggression,
This was no fluke, this was domination.
[chris] boy, it was three shots,
Then finished the blue monst for the night.
As hypershock is moving on I the tournament of champions
[laughs]
[crowd] hypershock! Hypershock! Hypershock!
[chris] will bales.
This place is jumping. I don't know if you can hear me,
But this place went nuts on that shot.
Yeah.
[crowd cheering]
I was not aware scorpions could fly too.
[all chuckling]
I'm frankly a bit surprised that we got under the front
And got those hits in.
They are the definition of floor scraping
And perfect front end, so must be a lucky shot.
-And then we bent it up-- -[person in crowd] I love you, will!
Thank you.
So, I'm really sorry about picking this particular door,
It's like the door to throw people out in,
It's a nice door.
You've become the battlebots bouncer.
Congratulations, thanks for throwing everybody out of the club.
You're out of here!
-Great run so far. -Thanks, guys.
We'll see you in the next round hypershock.
So, skorpios falls in dramatic fashion.
And it's yet another victim of the seemingly unstoppabl
Hypershock, kenny.
[kenny] yeah, this marks five straight wins.
All of them violent and dominant, chris.
Hypershock could very well b the last one standing
When all is said and done tonight.
[chris] what an unbelievable run.
Hypershock moving on to the second round.
All right, coming up,
Is there a doctor in the house?
Can andrea and mike gellatl
Put an end to kyle miller's miraculous 7-0 career start
It's witch doctor facing glitch.
The golden bolt tournament continues
Next!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] we continue on. It is the chase for
The golden bolt at the end of the night.
We just saw team hypershock advance
To the second round in convincing fashion.
And we caught up with captain will bales
After his knockout victory over skorpios.
Win number five in a row. It's feeling good.
Feeling good.
That was much quicker than we anticipated it to be.
But once again, not a scratch.
Not a single blemish on the top armor or the side armor or anything.
It's just the weirdest event.
We've gone five for five now with some serious robots.
And no one has damaged any armor.
No one.
So, who's gonna do it?
[chris] another flawless victory from team hypershock
[kenny] yeah, the run they'r on has just been insane.
Will bales is a man on a mission.
The rest of the bracket better watch out.
[chris] and it continues on with witch doctor and glitc
And if I had told you an year ago
That glitch would have been in this tournament,
You would have said, "who's glitch?
-I don't know who they are? -[kenny chuckles]
[chris] they were a rookie bot in 2021.
They went 3-0 during the regular season.
Was the number nine overall seed in the round of 32,
But because of mechanical issues could not answer the bell.
And they were forced to bow out of the tournament
So, you know what?
They entered the golden bolt qualifier,
They ran through that.
Dismantled the legend in rotator,
Like we have never seen before.
And believe it or not, this crew
Of young college students
Now sit at 7-0 lifetime in their battlebots caree
Yeah, this team is easily the biggest surprise
In 2021 and here as well.
It hasn't been the smoothest journey.
They've battled significant mobility issues inside the box.
But there's something about this bot's
Unorthodox, low profile desi
That has left its opponents dumb founded
As to how to attack it.
And to say glitch's weapon hits hard,
Well, that would be a serious understatement.
[all exclaiming]
[kenny] they will finally get to face the team
They were slated to fight in the opening round
Of the 2021 world championsh tournament, witch doctor.
The fans are foaming at the mouth
To see how this shakes out.
[chris] and as for witch doctor,
Twice they've been within arms reach of the giant nut
Falling just short in 2019 against bite force.
Most recently finishing runner up
To the 2021 champion, tantru
And despite being one of the most popular teams
In the sports history, the only battlebots trophy
Mike and andrea gellatly have ever hoisted
Was a giant bolt in the 2019 all star vegas challenge, kenny.
[kenny] that's right, chris witch doctor is unquestionab
One of the best combat robots in the world.
But this team is still sitting just outside
That elite inner circle of battlebots champions
Winning the golden bolt tonight,
Would mean as much to this squad as anyone.
It starts with glitch.
Winner moves on to the semi-finals
And will have a date with hypershock.
Let's see what happens. Faruq!
[crowd cheering]
In the red square,
From miami springs, florida,
The lean, mean, purple and green machine,
Give it up for, witch doctor!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] no one quite like 'e
The voodoo children, witch doctor.
Led by the husband and wife duo
Of andrea and mike gellatly
You know they are definitel ready for the challenge.
[kenny] they sure are and check it out,
Underneath those mittens on the front of witch docto
Are ground scraping fork attachments.
Mike has avoided that trend for years
For fear of them inhibiting his driving.
But glitch is so low to the ground on all sides
The team feels it has no choice here
If it wants to find a way to catch an edge
And dish out meaningful damage.
[faruq] in the blue square, from berkeley, california,
This little rider is ready for war,
It's glitch!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] and now we get a look at the kids
From the university of california
And that deadly egg beater spinner
That has shocked the world, glitch!
They may keep their run alive, kenny florian.
[kenny] listen, I think kyle miller would tell you,
He's as surprised as anyone
To be sporting a 7-0 lifetime record.
But facing witch doctor,
He understands the symbolism of this match
What I'm looking for is whether or not
The team has addressed glitch's mobility issues.
There is very little room for error
Against a driver as skilled as mike gellatly.
[crowd cheering]
Their weapon is looking, like, very powerful,
But they seem to have pretty unreliable drive.
But the people that have lost to glitch,
Drive straight into their weapon.
We are gonna be very patient.
I know it's only three minutes and it feels like an eternity,
But we're gonna make them engage us if that's what it takes.
If you don't move, you get counted out,
So we're gonna take our time
And make sure that we land the hit we need.
We're doing our best that we can to get our drive working.
Not really been the case in a lot of fights,
But we really need it.
We're gonna do our best to keep our weapons pointed towards them
And try to hit them whenever we can.
It's kind of a chance to prove
That we could have gone farther in the round of 32.
That we would have had a great fight against witch doctor.
And we could have beat them.
So, this one's personal for us
And we really wanna take 'em down.
[automated voice speaking] robots activate.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] kenny, you mentione witch doctor going with thos
New fork attachments.
Looks like glitch has actual ditched their forks for this match.
[kenny] yeah, kyle miller told us before the fight,
He was tired of his fork's continuing to get hung up
On the battlebots' floor.
He's hoping scrapping them will improve glitch's mobility here.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] it's one of the biggest names in the sport,
Witch doctor,
Taking on a team that is making a name for itself
In glitch.
Winner moves on to the golden bolt semi-finals
To face hypershock.
[crowd] fight, fight, fight, fight, fight.
[chris] let the bot battle begin.
Oh, it's interesting to see how glitch is moving
On this floor, kenny.
[kenny] so far so good. Looks like they're waiting.
For witch doctor.
Just pointing their weapon at 'em
To say, "come on, what do you got?"
[chris] you can hear it.
Both of those powerful weapo up to full speed.
Witch doctor looking for an angle.
Uh-oh, gets caught up on the battlebots' floor
[kenny] yes, something to keep an eye on.
Witch doctor with those ground scraping attachments
On the front of the bot.
Will that affect its mobilit
[chris] so much of what mik does is based on his speed
And if he can't drive proper
It takes away a huge advantage for this team.
[kenny] and mike gellatly clearly vary of that
Nuclear weapon on the front of glitch.
We saw them send rotator 15 feet in the air in its last match.
[all] oh!
[kenny] glitch very close t a shot to the back side.
And witch doctor now--
Witch doctor going on the offensive here.
[chris] and one of those little forks got caught in the kill sauce.
Glitch is having trouble in the corner.
Just avoids disaster there
With a heart charging witch doctor.
[kenny] mike gellatly forcing glitch to work hard
And stay squared up.
[chris] oh, there's a big hi by witch doctor,
First of the match.
[kenny] glitch was moving well up to that point.
Witch doctor has a window here.
[chris] and now, witch doctor's gonna take advantage.
Oh, huge shot on the college kids.
Those front forks paying of right there, kenny.
[kenny] absolutely, sent glitch right into the weapon.
[chris] mike gellatly with a follow up shot.
Oh, another!
Oh, they're teasing and testing glitch
To see if it's still moving
I'm not seeing any movement.
[chris] witch doctor has to be careful here.
They cannot afford to take glitch off the hook
[kenny] they're done, are they done?
[chris] their weapon's too powerful.
There's a possibility--
They're stuck under the scre and so witch doctor
When back in for a shot.
[kenny] that's how you finish the job.
-[referee] nine, eight. -[chris] yup, here's the countdown.
Someone has finally caught up to glitch.
-[referee] five, four. -[chris] the veteran tandem
-Andrea and mike gellatly are on to the semi-finals. -[buzzer sounds]
[chris] that will do it.
Witch doctor is moving on.
[exclaims]
[chris] well, two dangerous robots
Playing the game of cat and mouse in this one, kenny
[kenny] yes, they were.
Glitch was actually moving much better
Than we're used to seeing to start this match,
Ditching those front forks.
Looks like it was the right call.
May have missed a few opportunities to attack
When witch doctor's forks got hung up
On the box floor though.
Eventually, witch doctor found an opening.
[chris] yeah, glitch did a good job
Of staying squared up to the veteran.
But mike gellatly, dude is so patient and surgical,
Landed a shot to the side of glitch.
Got underneath and laid it o
[kenny] no doubt. I thought mike made the right choice
In continuing to attack glitch.
Once he had it against the screws,
You cannot afford to give a bot as powerful as glitch
A second chance.
[chris] the cinderella run of kyle miller and team glitch
Comes to an end
At the hands of the voodoo children.
Andrea and mike.
-Hi. -Hi.
-Hey. -Congratulations.
-Thank you. -What was the idea behind
Being so patient there at the beginning?
So, I mean, glitch is a very innovative robot.
They have this really cool driver where they can
Translate and drive around.
They're 7-0 I think at this point,
So we did not wanna drive right into their weapon, obviously.
They had huge, huge hits this year.
And it looks like they actually were driving
Super well in this match.
Better than they have in any other match,
So we weren't sure how well they'd be able to translate.
And I knew I needed to stay out of the path of that
Monstrous weapon.
Mike, you went with the forks configuration there.
-Finally. -Are you happy you did that? Yeah.
Satisfied?
Yeah, I mean, we got hung up in some of the
Saw slots a few times there.
But glitch is so low, you know,
We figured this is like the perfect opportunity
To use 'em and I think they worked pretty all right.
Andrea and mike gellatly, team witch doctor, congratulations.
We'll see you in the semi-finals against hypershock.
Thank you.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] so, for team glitch their miracle run ends here
But kenny, kyle miller has p the battlebots world on notice.
He is one of the brightest young builders
In the entire sport.
[kenny] absolutely. Hats off to this entire squa
Now, 7-1 lifetime at battlebots.
That's more wins than some teams collect
In their entire career.
[chris] but it is witch doct that's moving on to the semi-finals
Of the golden bolt championship
Where they will square off with longtime friend,
Will bales and team hypershock.
All right, coming up.
How about this?
2016 giant nut winner, tombstone.
2021 title holder and reigni champions, tantrum.
You want the best of the bes
We got the best of the best
The mind blowing matchups
In tonight's golden bolt tournament continue
Next.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] we continue on here on battlebots champions,
The chase for the golden bol
And up next,
The champ is here.
In fact, the champs are here
2016 giant nut winner, tombstone
Is ready to enter the arena for a showdown
With the reigning champion, tantrum.
And what an amazing season for the brand new co-captains,
Alex grant and ginger schmidt.
They led the little puncher that could in its undefeated run
That culminated with winning the 2021 title
And taking home the giant nu
But kenny, all the way back in 2018,
Tantrum faced tombstone during its rookie season
And let's just say it was memorable,
But for all the wrong reason
[kenny] yeah, tombstone not only knocked tantrum out,
It ripped its fists off
And embedded it in the battle box.
Alex and ginger told us the whole thing
Was a little embarrassing
And that they've been waiting for a rematch
With ray billings ever since
[chris] well, they're finall gonna get it tonight,
But much like this is a vast different tantrum
Than the last time these two fought,
We may now be talking about a different version
Of tombstone as well.
Dare I say
That tombstone has a little something to prove to everyone tonight.
I think they do.
Ray billings is obviously a legend and a former champion
But tombstone 5-5 in its last ten fights
And the battlebots worl is starting to openly wonde
If the king of kinetic energy still has it.
Ray's made some significant changes to the weapon in the past few years,
Searching for even more knockout power.
I think that has led to some inconsistency,
But this is still one of th hardest hitting robots in the world.
I think that beefy armor on tantrum
Will be tested.
Ray billing says don't underestimate us.
Everybody should still be afraid.
Let's see for ourselves. Faruq.
[crowd cheering]
In the red square from placerville, california,
He likes his pizza with pepperoni, pineapple
And the blood of his victims.
I know, gross, right? Pineapple. [retches]
It's tombstone!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] here comes the grim reaper, ray billing
Son, justin on the right.
Longtime friend and grid chief rick russ on the left.
And of course, the star of the show
Has its own motorcade, if you know what I mean.
[kenny] yeah. Just robots helping robots, chris.
Tombstone still a sight to behold.
Ray going with the s7 steel blade here.
Told us that team spent hour sharpening their weapon
In anticipation of this showdown.
He wants to use it to cut directly into the armor of tantrum.
[faruq] in the blue square,
This crybaby will hit you so hard,
You'll have to call the whambulance,
It's tantrum!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] the reigning king and queen of battlebots,
Ginger schmidt and alex gran
Still beaming after winning the giant nut.
How have they setup tantrum to face a bot as powerful as tombstone, kenny?
[kenny] such a durable robot this thing is a little tank
You see that front wedge there,
That was designed specifical
To defend against horizontal spinners.
They wanna use it to jam up tombstone's blade,
Then drop it into attack mod with their fist,
That sliding vertical disc spin.
I believe that I can beat them in this match.
We're gonna be hitting 'em a little harder than
They've been hit up to this point in time.
He'll have some sort of big steel arrangement on the front
To try to stop the spinner,
So he can corner me and get his weapon into play.
So, my strategy is gonna be I'm gonna have to try to get
Away from the arena wall as quickly as possible
And try to just keep fighting in the center of the arena.
'cause if he gets me pushed into a corner, I'm gonna be in trouble.
It's gonna be a great tough match between two champions
And I'm looking forward to getting in the arena
And doing our thing.
I think this is a sort of an inflection point
For tantrum
To prove that we are part of the big leagues now.
Tantrum is not who we were three seasons ago
When we first fought tombstone.
And this is really, the difference in fight,
I think will show the world how far we've come.
To prepare tombstone, we added some gruff bars to the front of our robot.
Gruff bars are what we call really strong
Steel bars that we add to the front,
So that we can knock tombstone's blade in half.
All right, we got this. Let's go, tantrum.
[automated voice speaking] robots activate.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] all right, buckle up, folks.
Can ray billings make a monumental statement
And take down the reigning battlebots champion?
Or will ginger and alex power tantrum to even greater heights
And make a run at the golden bolt?
A fight you cannot afford to miss
When the golden bolt tournament continues.
[chris] welcome back to the golden bolt tournament
Here on battlebots
Where we have two champions ready to throw down.
It's tantrum versus tombston
Winner moves on, loser goes home.
[automated voice speaking] red team, ready?
-[buzzes] -[crowd cheering]
[automated voice speaking] blue team, ready?
[crowd cheering]
[buzzes]
Yeah, tantrum.
[crowd] fight, fight, fight, fight, fight.
[chris] let the bot battle begin.
Here comes tantrum.
-Takes a big shot. -[all exclaiming]
And tombstone with kinetic energy
Wielding it all over the box. Wow!
[kenny] watch for this whip here. Whoa!
[chris] this is where tantru wants tombstone,
They wanna try to get 'em in the corner.
Nice driving by ray billings
[kenny] nice shot to the side of tantrum.
Uh-oh, tombstone up on its wheels.
[all exclaiming]
[chris] ray billings' bot completely out of control
And flirting with disaster now,
Trying to avoid the rails.
[kenny] well, this is where needs to shut down that weapon.
It looks like he's having an issue with it.
[chris] yeah, it is pointing right at us.
Tantrum hanging back.
Watching, waiting to see
If the king of kinetic energ destroys itself.
That blade is still spinning
Oh, my goodness!
Oh!
[kenny] I'm not seeing a lot of control here.
[chris] tombstone is smoking
Tantrum is taking the 2016 champ into the rails.
The weapon is no longer functioning.
And ray billings is in a world of trouble now, kenny.
[kenny] yeah, tombstone is hurt badly, chris.
Just crab walking now.
Ray is gonna run out of rope here.
-[referee] ten, nine. -[chris] the countdown has started.
The reigning champions, tantrum brings it full circl
With a statement win over tombstone.
It's going to be moving on to the golden bolt tournamen
-[referee] countdown! -[buzzer sounds]
[chris] kenny, we have spen years watching tombstone
Destroy its opponents by delivering
The hardest shots in the gam
But tantrum can certainly take a punch.
[kenny] my goodness, it's ju so difficult to knock this robot out.
Combine that with well executed game plans
And world class driving,
That's why tantrum is your reigning champ.
[chris] able to deflect tombstone's energy here
And send it careening out of control
And that spelled disaster in the short corner.
Yeah, we had a front row sea as tombstone's blade
Slammed against the rails and the battle box floor.
That damaged the drive
And eventually, blew out the weapon.
Tough night for ray billings
[chris] tantrum hanging back saying,
"we're all grown up now, ray we don't shine shoes anymore."
Alex and ginger,
What a run tantrum has been on.
It is a run.
You win the giant nut.
You take down a legend in tombstone.
What is going on here, ginger?
I mean, in tantrum's first season,
We had to actually go up against tombstone
And we were hobbling into that fight.
I mean, I think we only had half of our drive train working.
It was a rough year for us.
So, to be able to come back now
And be able to take tombstone out,
I mean, it is an incredible feeling.
Honestly, it's amazing.
[all applauding]
Well, guys, congratulations.
We will see you in the semi-final
In the chase for the golden bolt. Congrats.
Thank you.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] so, as team tantrum heads back to the pits
To prepare for their next match,
Let's take a step back.
It's been a while since ray billings has really left
His stamp on the sport,
-The way that he wants to. -Right.
[chris] can the legend find a way to turn things around
And return to form
At the upcoming world championship and beyond.
[kenny] listen, we've said it a lot lately,
The sport is evolving so fas
And getting younger every year.
Tombstone isn't anywhere nea as dominant as it used to be
But the fans want to see th grim reaper back in the box
And I have faith, ray will d what he needs to do
To answer the bell.
[chris] all right, and with that
Our first round action is complete
And we are down to just four contenders.
And check out this quartet of killers.
2020 giant nut winner, end game is gonna square of
With reigning battlebots champions, tantrum.
And coming up,
Two ferocious vertical spinners,
The red hot hypershock
Will collide with two-time runner up, witch doctor.
The golden bolt tournament continues
Next.
We are back on battlebots champions,
The chase for the golden bolt.
It is time for our first semi-final between
Hypershock and witch doctor
This is a dream matchup.
On one hand, you have will bales,
Who electrifies the crowds.
He's captained hypershock through one of the most
Insanely destructive winnin streaks in recent memory.
Then there's witch doctor,
Perennially in its prime.
Captained by the iconic duo of andrea and mike gellatly
These two squads actually share a shop together in florida,
So they're very familiar with each other, kenny.
And now, they're gonna destroy each other. I love it.
You know, witch doctor obviously has the pedigree
And they had no problems earlier with the rookie juggernaut, glitch.
But no one has been as hot as hypershock
Throughout this tournament.
In the first round they had skorpios out of the arena
In ten seconds flat.
Will bales has been a man on a mission.
This is a kind of fight you pay good money to see.
[chris] and now, one of these bots
Is just two wins away from hoisting the golden bolt.
Let's find out who's punching their ticket to the final.
Faruq!
[crowd cheering]
[faruq] in the red square,
She'll make you feel bad as hell
Like lizzo in reverse.
She'll make your death a reality
And you know that truth hurts.
Blame it on her juice,
So speedy when she throws the switch,
Just took a dna test,
Turns out she's 100 percent that witch.
It's witch doctor!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] for witch doctor,
A March to finals always feels like an inevitability
This team knows what it take to get to the finish line.
But they have yet to cross it, kenny.
[kenny] professional sports are littered with all-time greats
That simply couldn't break through to win a title.
And trust me, it drives the gellatlys crazy.
Of tonight's semi-finalists no team is as hungry
For the golden bolt as witch doctor.
In the blue square,
Ever had a case of the mondays where you're feeling out of whack?
Well, will bales will make you hate every day,
Like a boomtown rat with a broken bat.
The silicon chip inside his head
Has been switched to overload
And now you'll have that song in our head
When he runs you off the road.
I don't like mondays,
But I love hypershock!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] I look forward to their tunnel entrance
As much as their fight, k.
Will bales leading the crew out.
Let's see what he's got in store for the semi-final matchup.
[all exclaiming]
[chris] it is technical t-re
The unofficial mascot of team hypershock.
I suppose you can never have too much paleo in your pit crew.
[kenny] never. And unlike witch doctor,
It looks like they're sticki with their fork configuratio for this one.
Worked pretty well against skorpios earlier tonight.
We'll see whose ground game strategy pays off in this fight.
Hypershock!
[crowd cheering]
Hypershock is like one of the fastest robots here.
Will's one of the best drivers here.
But we're hoping he'll make a mistake,
You know, he's overconfident.
-[chuckles] will bales? -Yeah, he's pretty much the epitome of overconfidence.
Hypershock's gotten some huge ko hits and so have we.
So, it's going to be a huge slugfest between two robots.
It might not be a long fight,
But there's guarantee there'll be some crazy air-time.
We have these rally long forks
And we spent the whole off-season complaining with them
About how wedge lids are killing the sport
And forks are killing the sport
And they made some little ones, I'm like,
"rats, I need to make some too."
And we threw them on and they've been working like a charm.
So, guess what you're getting mike?
It's going to be a heck of a match.
My goal is to set a high fast paced,
You know, event here.
And do a good, solid drifting clinic on 'em.
[crowd cheering]
[automated voice speaking] red team, ready?
[buzzer sounds]
[chris] these teams may be friends,
But the fun and games are ov once that light turns green
[automated voice speaking] blue team, ready?
[buzzer sounds]
[kenny] chris, a true frien accepts you for who you are
Even after you try to rip their face off.
[chris] stove's on fire, let it burn.
You gotta pee, hold it.
This is can't miss robot combat matchup,
Witch doctor and hypershock
Winner takes the first spot in the golden bolt final.
[crowd] fight, fight, fight, fight, fight.
[chris] let the bot battle begin.
Both drivers moving well on the battlebots flo
Always a key in the early going.
[kenny] two fast robots here hard to tell who's chasing whom.
[chris] and the first hit goes to hypershock, and a second.
Hypershock able to get underneath
Witch doctor with those front forks.
Oh, but here comes witch doctor!
Oh, in front of hypershock!
A driving error by will bale uh-oh!
Witch doctor rips a tire off of hypershock.
And now it's lodged in witch doctor's spinner carry
-[andrea laughs] -oh. [beep]
[chris] a one in a million shot.
[kenny] are you kidding me?
Will bales down a tire
And mike gellatly down a primary weapon.
Hypershock perfectly capable of operating
On three wheels though, chri
This may be an advantage for will bales.
Mike has to be careful here
[chris] and talk about saving a souvenir.
Witch doctor tried to shed that tire.
Hypershock is out of control now.
Inverted but delivers a sho to the top of witch doctor.
[kenny] mike gellatly doing the math on just
How aggressive he wants to be now.
That spinner on hypershock, still active
And still dangerous, chris.
[chris] and still inverted hypershock trying to self-right.
[kenny] great job by will bales.
[chris] oh, you can see smok coming out of hypershock.
-Will asserting so much energy. -[all exclaiming]
[chris] and look at that.
[kenny] that's gonna free the weapon, the tire
Was just freed from the weap of witch doctor.
Now, they're spinning at full speed.
[chris] and mike gellatly has gotta be licking his jaw
He's gonna go in for the kill shot on hypershock
[kenny] that might be a risk
Both weapons spinning furiously here.
[chris] hypershock keeping that big weapon
Pointed at witch doctor saying,
"come on! Come at me, bro!"
[kenny] mike trying to thro hypershock off balance
And create an opening.
How long can will bales keep this up on three wheels
[all exclaiming]
[chris] what a shot by hypershock!
But witch doctor still movin
The weapon still operating at full speed as well.
An unreal first two minutes this golden bolt semi-final
[kenny] the stand-off continues.
Hypershock still commanding the center of the box.
[chris] oh, nice little kick shot.
-[kenny] uh-oh. -[chris] oh, no.
And hypershock back inverted
[all exclaiming]
[kenny] is that the kill shot from--
-[all exclaiming] -[chris] oh, trying to get I on the upper deck.
Mike gellatly trying to fini the job against hypershock.
[all exclaiming]
[chris] will bales wondering "can I still move?"
He cannot.
-[referee] ten, nine. -[chris] he's been counted down.
-Hypershock will be done in by their good friends. -[referee] seven, six, five,
-Four, three. -[chris] and shop mates.
-As witch doctor is on to the golden bolt final. -[referee] one, knockout.
[buzzer sounds]
[chris] wow!
[all exclaiming]
[crowd cheering]
[chris] kenny, the phrase, back and forth
Just wouldn't do this unbelievable match justice.
[kenny] unreal action here.
Hypershock landed a big sho to start the match.
And we thought we were goin to see another epic
Will bales onslaught.
[chris] but witch doctor sai "I'll do you one better, will bales."
And tore the back right tir off hypershock.
And look at this,
I mean, talk about a hole in one.
The tire gets stuck in witch doctor's spinner.
[kenny] that is one of the craziest moments
I have ever seen in this sport.
I mean, how? What? Huh?
[chris] eventually, hypershock actually
Helped witch doctor out by dislodging that tire.
And allowing witch doctor's weapon to return to full speed.
[chris] big credit to hypershock
Staying squared up on only three wheels.
Even landing this massive shot,
But mike gellatly managed t create the opening he needed
[kenny] mike started drivin circles around his hobbled opponent.
And then, here the finishing shot
Right near the upper deck.
Hypershock gave an all-out effort.
But put 'em in the body bag.
Andrea!
What was it like watching your husband run roughshod
Over your good friend, will bales and hypershock?
I have to tell you, we did not think that match was gonna go that way.
Witch doctor has had so much damage.
We did not know how it was going to go.
And will bales is an incredible driver.
His robot's so fast.
I think we shocked ourselves as much as anybody else.
-Hyper shocked, you could say. -Hyper shocked.
[mike chuckles]
It was a crazy fight.
At one point, you took one of his tires off.
It actually got stuck.
It was jamming up your primary weapon.
How nervous were you guys at that point?
Well, I was trying to dislodge it with the weapon,
But the weapon's spins in a direction that lodges it further up,
So mike was trying with the self-righter.
We talked about going to the hammer
And try to see if the hammer could get it out.
But just hitting him, he took it out for us, I think.
[all chuckling]
Congratulations.
We'll see you in the final of the golden bolt.
Thank you.
[chris] hey, will.
How discouraging was it whe they popped your wheel off?
I'm fine.
You know, I'm happy someone finally gave us some damage
In this competition.
-We went-- -[crowd booing]
Hold on! Hold on! You boo.
We went all the way here without anyone touching
The side armor, the top, the bottom,
The back, anything.
They did! They deserve it! They won it!
[all applauding]
[chris] love to hear that.
An amazing run by you and your entire team.
-Congratulations, will. -Thanks, guys.
[all applauding]
[chris] so, witch doctor's moving on to the finals.
Familiar territory for them
But I think the story coming out of this fight
Is the recent success of team hypershock.
I applaud all of them.
I'm so happy for will bales and his team.
Their performance throughou this tournament
Is the stuff of legend.
I can't wait to see if they can recapture this magic next season
And finally make a run at the giant nut.
[chris] all right, coming up it's the semi-final matchup
Between the two most recent world champions,
End game and tantrum.
And on that note, it's gonn take a herculean effort
Not just in the battle box, but in the pits as well
For one of these bots to triumph.
And no team understands that more
Than the 2021 world champs,
Ginger schmidt, alex grant and team tantrum.
We just got out of our fight with tombstone,
We took some really massive hits from them.
We got a really fast turnaround.
We took massive hits, you can see here,
Chunks of our armor completely missing.
And our weapon is also not spinning.
So, we don't know why.
We're gonna take it all apart and look at it.
But we can't waste a single minute.
[chris] we continue on with the tournament of champions,
The chase for the golden bolt,
The semi-finals between the last two winners of the giant nut.
We got the 2021 champion, tantrum
Taking on the 2020 champion end game.
And let's start with the bo co-captained by
Ginger schmidt and alex gran
We said it earlier tonight,
This tournament is a war of attrition.
Kenny, tantrum is a bot that can take a beating
And keep on ticking.
[kenny] yeah, I mean, the first thing I think of
Is they are unkillable.
Doesn't matter what you throw at them,
They find a way to survive, keep going.
[chris] remember, back in the semi-finals
Of the 2020 championship tournament,
Tantrum was flipped by end game and counted out.
They've since added a self-righter,
So they're not gonna make anything easy
For the former world champs this time around.
Did you say that tantrum's unkillable?
Because I think that jack barker and nick mabey,
The co-captains of end game
Their ears kinda perked up a little bit
'cause they're like, "wait a second.
We got a great weapon that c kill just about anything."
-Including your dreams, kenny florian if it must. -[kenny laughs]
How's it gonna do against tantrum?
Well, what's the key here for end game?
Well, listen, if there's one weapon out there
That can do some serious damage to tantrum,
It's probably end game.
You know, if it wasn't for a vintage performance
From daniel freitas and minotaur,
We could very well be talking about end game
As a back-to-back champ.
It is still at the top of the food chain and believe m
They are already envisionin a championship battle
With witch doctor.
Somebody's moving on to the finals.
Let's find out which bot it is.
Faruq, take it away.
[crowd cheering]
In the red square,
Play this game of death
And you'll get popped in the chops.
He throws hands like bruce lee
And his fists of fury don't stop.
Jeet kune don't test him
Because he's earned his clout
And when he enters the box,
They'll be dragging you out.
It's tantrum!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] in a year we all agr featured the highest level
Of collective talent in the history of the sport
It was tantrum who climbed to the top of the mountain
And took home the giant nut
What would it mean for them to also bring home the golden bolt?
[kenny] oh, my goodness.
I mean, they would definitel go into that upper echelon
Of legendary robot teams.
Just really, wow with what they've been able to do here
They're going with their arm design for vertical spinners
They used it against cobalt in the quarterfinals
Of the 2021 championship tournament,
Worked out pretty well for them that night.
We'll see how it handles the mike tyson of battlebot,
End game.
[faruq] in the blue square,
Once upon a time in hollywood,
This team won the giant nut.
Now, these natural born killers are in sin city
And they're kicking butt.
They were death proof before
Winning battles from dusk till dawn,
Now it's the same story
Except they're dressed like the reservoir dogs.
By the way, did you know that in new zealand,
They call the golden bolt a royale with cheese.
Pretty crazy, huh?
Give it up for end game!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] the 2020 giant nut winner, end game,
A true knockout artist
As evidenced by their first round ko of ribbot.
This is unquestionably the most feared robot
In the sport, kenny.
So, how's it looking?
[kenny] well, they're going with their wedge lit
And fork combination to try and pop up tantrum.
When end game controls the low ground,
The forecast is deadly
With a 100 percent chance of pain.
[crowd cheering]
In our fight against tombstone,
We took some really serious damage to our weapon.
Usually, you have a bit of time
To fix the robot in between matches,
But we're flying by the seats of our pants
Just trying to get everything working
And we're really hoping we're kicking at full power
In the end game match.
End game is a beast. We're definitely scared of 'em.
They're a hard hitter and it's not gonna be an easy fight,
But we do think we have a chance.
We've noticed in the past, they like to circle their opponents,
Wait for them to make a mistake
And then get into the side.
We're gonna make sure that we don't let that happen.
We've got a big weapon up front.
They can't compete with that with theirs,
So they're not gonna wanna engage that,
But we're gonna make sure that it's always facing them.
Tantrum won the giant nut in 2021 and that's awesome.
But they didn't beat us along the way.
So, we wanna prove that if we had their run
And they had to play us along the way,
Then we would have an answer to them.
-[referee] you good? -Sorry?
-[referee] you good? -Yup.
It's ours.
[chris] it's a semi-final wa between battlebots royalty.
Tantrum and end game,
One of these world champs is gonna move on to the fina
And battle witch doctor for the golden bolt.
[crowd] fight, fight, fight, fight, fight.
[chris] let the bot battle begin.
Tantrum, quick out of the square.
End game exposes its side momentarily.
Dillon carey unable to take advantage.
Now the bots locking horns,
The battle for low ground begins.
[kenny] both teams know from experience
Just how important it is to be the one that strikes first, chris.
They are jockeying for position.
[chris] end game backing tantrum down.
Who's gonna draw first blood
Okay, those forks get untangled now.
Tantrum resets.
Uh-oh.
End game gets hung up on the floor momentarily.
[kenny] always a risk when you're running
Ground scraping attachments, chris.
So far both robots going head-to-head.
-[all exclaiming] -[chris] big shot by end gam
That was a huge shot.
The pulverizer just missed tantrum as well.
[kenny] I think that was little sneak peek
Of what end game means. Clean attack to the sides.
[chris] quick turnover.
Tantrum rights itself.
Trying to get up again to face end game.
[kenny] considering tantrum came into this fight beat up
It's holding up very well.
-[all exclaiming] -[chris] oh, nice shot there
[kenny] tantrum is so well armored, but end game
Knocking it around the battle box right now.
[chris] yeah, dillon carey going in for more.
Kenny, tantrum just cannot g that disc where it wants to on end game.
[kenny] now, those forks on end game,
Those wedgelets are winning the ground war, so far.
Oh, nice shot there by end game.
[chris] oh, but the pulveriz just landed on the 2020 champs.
[kenny] tantrum's starting t slow down a bit here, chris it looks like.
[chris] yeah, that punching disc is starting to lose some steam
And the big shots are starti to catch up with tantrum.
[kenny] they're gonna need t find a way to close the gap
In the damage column, chris
[chris] whoa, look at that gyroscopic move.
[kenny] looks like tantrum is going into tank mode here, chris.
Their primary weapon is down they have no choice
But to try and break end game's weapon
And even things up.
[chris] now, end game loves having its opponent
Right against the rails.
We have bits and pieces of tantrum on the box.
We're approaching desperatio time here for tantrum.
Under a minute to go, you can see the killsaw very active.
[kenny] yeah, both forks are gone right now, chris.
This could be trouble for tantrum.
-[all exclaiming] -[chris] end game knows it. They smell a victory.
Goes in for a shot.
Try to follow it up with another.
[kenny] I think one of the weapon belts just came off
Of tantrum as well.
End game scoring some serious damage here.
[chris] under 30 to go,
But end game's weapon right now is down.
Don't know if that's by choice or not.
Looks like it is 'cause it's back spinning.
[kenny] chris, nick and jac are throttling that
Weapon down as a way of countering tantrum's strateg
If it's not spinning, tantrum can't break it.
And if they can't break it, they're gonna lose this matc
[chris] under ten seconds remaining,
Which means this one's gonna go the distance.
Tantrum, kicking and scrappi to the bitter end.
-[buzzer sounds] -[chris] but that's gonna do it.
Lot of energy.
Lot of physicality.
And a lot of fun.
So, now this goes to the judges
For the first time tonight.
We will see all former battlebots participants,
Lisa winter, jason bardis and derek young.
They are scoring on an 11 points system.
Up to five points could be awarded for damage.
Three for aggression.
And three for control.
[chris] kenny, end game got the first mammoth shot in this one.
[kenny] yeah, they sure did they were able to get underneath tantrum.
And if tantrum can't get underneath you,
They can't control you.
That's where tantrum has defeated all of its opponent
Is with its control.
And they just weren't able to do that here
Against end game.
[chris] and how about the quickness of end game here.
Able to use its speed and agility
To counter the lightning fast tantrum.
[kenny] it's a great point,
End game quick enough to get around the sides
And attack the flanks, as well as put together
Those deadly combination sho
That kept tantrum off-balanc and scrambling.
[chris] hey, you said tantrum was unkillable,
Certainly lived up to that billing.
But boy, end game just too good tonight.
Even powering down its weapo in the final seconds
To avoid unnecessary damage
What a performance.
Here's the decision.
[crowd cheering]
The results from the judges are in.
The winner by unanimous decision is
End game!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] jack and nick,
Congratulations.
Nick, how did you win that brutal battle tonight?
My god.
We were not expecting such a, like, brutal fight.
-My heart's pounding still. -[all chuckling]
This is a battle of attrition, guys, as you know.
That was a brutal fight.
Can you go in there and rebuild?
We gonna have to.
There's definitely some stuff broken, like,
You've probably damaged us most
This entire year.
So, we'll check it out and we'll get back in the box.
Sounds great. We'll see you in a little bit against witch doctor.
Thank you.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] hi, alex and ginger.
-Hi. -Hello.
First time that you guys have lost as co-captains.
Alex, this is weird.
[alex] it's a little weird but
To lose to end game, like, in that sort of a bout.
Like, tantrum just kept kicking.
Self-righter worked more than once.
-[all laughing] -mind you. Yeah.
And it's great. I'm excited. It was a good bout.
Ginger, what was the difference in that three minutes?
I mean, tantrum went all the way.
We were agile, we were running around the box
And, you know, we were even able to control end game
A little bit towards the end
When their weapon was slowing down.
It's okay. This is another lesson to us.
And we're gonna be, you know, that much better next year.
Congratulations on a remarkable run.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
[all cheering]
[chris] well, kenny, before start drooling over
This finals matchup,
Let's first say our farewells to tantrum.
It's alex and ginger's first loss as co-captains
And this one certainly sting
But you said it before the fight,
You cannot kill this bot.
They can be beat, but they cannot be killed.
Tantrum is no fluke.
And they still have the chan to do what end game couldn't
Win back-to-back-giant nuts
[chris] all right, folks,
The golden bolt championshi final is all set.
When we return, we're gonna break down
This unbelievable matchup.
Will it be end game?
Who once again takes home the prestigious hardware.
Or will witch doctor finally break on through
And become a champion?
Who will be the first team to hoist the golden bolt?
We will find out next
On battlebots champions.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] welcome back to battlebots champions
Where the conclusion of the golden bolt tournamen
Is just minutes away.
This incredible new one night event
Has given las vegas the bes action robot combat has to offer.
And now, it is down to just two teams
And they are true legends.
The 2020 winner of the giant nut,
End game is here.
And they are squaring off against the runner up
In 2019 and 2021,
Let's hear it for witch doctor as well.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] now, both these squads are coming off
Violent brawls in the second round.
And this was the scene in the pits
As they scramble to get their bots ready
For the golden bolt final.
It's our third fight of the day.
It's been a really, really intense day.
[mike] our last two fights have just been insane
With, like, all hands on dec
Working on the robot we're out of our spares.
We're putting spares, spares, spares
And frankenstein motors back together
Just to be able to get to the next fight.
[nick] this is grueling.
Like, having three fights in one day is insane.
Normally we like to spend a lot of time making sure
Everything is perfect.
Right now, we've just put together what we have.
And it's gonna have to be good enough.
And flipside.
Nothing.
Still nothing.
[jack] I guess, tantrum, we took a lot of damage.
We kinda smacked them about
But everytime we hit them, we take that force back into us.
So, in that fight, we sheared the bolts
That attached the weapons, the pulley.
And we also had an issue with weapon electronics.
One of our custom features on our control board
Has stopped working.
So, we've replaced them.
We are about to roll into the box and hopefully,
Everything goes right. We have no idea.
[chris] okay, kenny, both teams dealing with some uncertainty
At the end of this grueling push towards the golden bolt
So, what are you expecting to see tonight?
Yeah, absolutely, just to get here
Is a huge accomplishment.
And taking a look at the numbers,
You can see just how close this matchup really is
Both bots are quick and agil
Thanks to their impressive drive trains.
And while end game have significantly lighter armor
Let's talk about where that weight is distributed.
Witch doctor carries most of its ar 500 steel armor up front.
While end game spreads its hardox steel
Out over the entire frame.
And yes, end game has the bigger weapon,
But if these two discs collide head on
The only thing that's guaranteed is chaos.
These are two of the heavies hitters in the history of the sport.
Buckle up.
[chris] we can't wait.
Can you show 'em what they're gonna win?
-Let's go, muscles. Come on! -Of course, I have to pick this up.
Show this thing off.
-Here we go. Huh? -Look at that.
-The first ever. -[crowd cheering]
[chris] so, let's get to it
Witch doctor against end game.
Faruq! It's all yours.
[crowd cheering]
Ladies and gentlemen,
Are you ready?
[crowd cheering]
It's championship robot fighting time!
[crowd cheering]
[faruq] in the red square,
The winds whip wildly around this wicked witch of the east.
There's a big storm coming
And that's just fine for this vicious beast.
Because she's stronger than a tornado
And quicker than a twister.
So, you better show heart, brains and courage
Or she'll drop a house on your sister.
Dorothy, I don't think we're in the battle box anymore.
Give it up for witch doctor!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] what a run witch doctor has had.
The brutality they've already faced tonight
Between glitch and hypershoc
And after falling just shor of the giant nut
Last season, kenny,
I think they're looking at this
As their championship fight
[kenny] yeah, I mean, the giant nut is obviously
The top of the mountain here at battlebots.
But if that's 1a,
This golden bolt trophy is 1
They ditched the front fork for this match,
Meaning mike wants maximum mobility
In order to try and get arou to the flanks of end game.
[faruq] in the blue square,
This team of dreamers made a serious off-season glowup.
Started dressing extra spiffy,
While they made robots blowup.
They're gonna hoist the golden bolt
And watch it sparkle.
Going from suits to royalty,
Like meghan markle.
It's end game!
[crowd cheering]
[chris] end game made fast work of ribbot
Before going the full three minutes
And winning a decision against tantrum.
The bot looks pretty good, kenny.
[kenny] yeah, but it's what we can't see right now that matters.
The mechanical attrition end game is facing
Is the x-factor here.
They're going with their wed lifts and forks to the front
As always nick and jack believe that they can
Win the battle for low groun
That legendary weapon will b able to finish the job.
[crowd cheering]
We already faced end game once before in the fight card
And it didn't go our way.
We're gonna use the same strategy again
And I think we've fought a lot of robots now
That fight the way end game does
And kinda sits at the center and aims at you.
We're actually using our single disc configuration
That we've been using these last few fights.
So, which is different than our first fight against end game,
So maybe that will give us an advantage.
We'll have to see how it goes.
So, the tantrum fight was actually really hard.
We lost a couple of speed controllers,
So we had to, like, swap them out with entirely new ones.
Ones that we actually haven't run before.
So, it's a little unknown,
We're little nervous about the fight.
Mike is obviously a really good driver.
They made it to the finals of the 2021 giant nut tournament.
And, you know, we did beat them in the qualifying round there.
I think they're really on form at the moment.
Coming through this tournament,
It's gonna be real hard to try and avoid his attacks
And try and get under him.
[crowd cheering]
Here we go.
[automated voice speaking] robots activate.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] all right. This is I
The greatest 18 tournament field in battlebots history
Is down to just two contenders.
Will it be the former champions, end game?
Or the two-time runners up, witch doctor?
One of these teams is gonna hoist the golden bolt troph
When we return.
[kenny] at battlebots, no season is complete
Without our best in show awards ceremony.
In 2021,
The rookie of the year awar was split between
Two breakout teams,
Glitch and riptide.
Each receiving a retired pulverizer from the battle box.
Most destructive as voted by the judges
Went to will bales and hypershock.
The prestigious best design award named in honor
Of the late robotics legend grant imahara,
Went to aren hill's cutting edge flipper, blip.
And last but not least
Was the founders' award given to the team
That best embodies the spirit of battlebots
Inside and outside of the arena.
There's no better person than that who deserves this award this year,
Than jamison go from sawblaze.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] welcome back to battlebots champions
Where we are moments away from crowning the champion
Of tonight's golden bolt tournament.
-[referee] good to go? -Good to go.
[chris] we started with the best of the best,
So it's only fitting to finish things off
With a clash of the titans.
It's the 2020 giant nut winner, end game
Taking on the two-time giant nut runners up, witch doctor.
[automated voice speaking] red team, ready?
-[buzzer sounds] -this time.
[automated voice speaking] blue team, ready?
[buzzer sounds]
Here we go.
[crowd cheering]
[crowd] fight, fight, fight, fight, fight.
[chris] can end game add to their championship trophy case?
Or is it finally witch doctor's time?
Let the fight for the golden bolt begin.
Both bots exit their squares cautiously.
End game in pursuit.
[kenny] witch doctor trying shake 'em and get around the flanks.
-[chris] okay. -[kenny] oh!
[chris] great shot from witch doctor to get it going
[kenny] ripped the chunk of end game's wedge off.
Oh, wow!
[chris] nice shot there.
[kenny] witch doctor going t work on the front of end gam
[chris] oh, and witch docto goes flying through the air
[kenny] big hit. Witch doctor inverted.
[chris] can witch doctor work its way back right side
And, oh! End game's right on top of witch doctor.
[kenny] what a great reversa by mike gellatly.
[all exclaiming]
[chris] there comes part of the rib cage!
[all exclaiming]
[chris] another enormous shot!
Witch doctor is no longer moving.
[all exclaiming]
End game is about to go for the kill.
[kenny] this is going to be a knockout.
-Eight, seven, -[chris] the countdown has started.
Witch doctor can only watch as another chance
-At the trophy slips through their fingers. -[referee] four, three, two,
One, knockout!
[all exclaiming]
[chris] team end game will add the first ever
Golden bolt to its mantle.
Wow!
Kenny, we knew his fight could be over in a hurry
Given the destructive natur of these two weapons.
[kenny] listen, when it come to robots, this skilled
And this powerful,
The margin for error is jus razor thin out there.
[chris] after an impressive start by witch doctor
It seemed like end game just decided to throw
Caution to the wind and push its chips all in.
[kenny] I think that's exactly right, chris.
Once it lost those wedgelets end game went into kill mode
Threw everything it had at witch doctor,
Got underneath repeatedly
And proved why it's the mos feared robot in the world.
[kenny] mike gellatly did everything he could,
But to the victor go the spoils.
End game, your inaugural golden bolt champion.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] nick and jack, congratulations.
You are the winners of the first ever golden bolt.
[all applauding]
Nick, what's going through your heart and your mind right now.
Oh, I was pretty crushed when we went out of round of 16
Earlier in the year.
But, you know, this makes up for it.
I think the champion of the champions, it's pretty good.
[chris] all right, guys.
The co-creator of battlebots, trey roski
Has a little something special for you right now.
Thanks, trey.
[chris] there it is, the first ever golden bolt.
Congratulations, team end game.
[crowd cheering]
Nick and jack, you now have a golden bolt to go
With your giant nut.
Lift that thing up, guys.
Congratulations.
[crowd cheering]
[chris] a familiar sight. End game back on top.
For faruq, our bot whisperer, pete,
My man, kenny florian and our amazing staff and crew
Here at battlebots, I am chris rose.
Thank you so much for joining us.
We will see you next time here on battlebots.