BattleBots (2015–…): Season 5, Episode 13 - Shock and Awe - full transcript

Welcome to battlebots.

Tonight the tournament action
continues in the round of 16,

as some of the field's
most terrifying robots

fight it out for a chance to
advance to the quarter finals.

I'm chris rose,
joined by the man I'm hoping can

protect me from all the
flying shrapnel tonight.

My "bot-e-guard" and my hero,

it's mma bad boy,
and our analyst, kenny florian.

Yeah. No, chris, uh,
this is my only suit, so...

Uh, right.

Historically,
the round of 16 has given us



some of the most memorable
moments and high stakes upsets

we have ever witnessed
inside the battlebox.

Whoa,
chomp landing a one-in-a-million shot.

And we expect more
of the same tonight,

as the world's top combat robots

continue their quest for the most
prestigious trophy in all of sports,

the giant nut!

The remaining
teams will have to win

four more fights

in order to stamp their name

in the history books.

And after a
merciless round of 32,

all six rookie teams have
already been eliminated.

And with eight of the top ten



seeded bots still in contention,
names like

hydra, bloodsport,

and uppercut,

this round promises to
be a clash of the titans.

While just making it to
the top 16 is an achievement,

across the bridge lies
the championship rounds.

And for teams like mammoth,
ribbot, tantrum, and shatter!,

who are still building their
reputations in the sport,

punching their
ticket to the final eight

would be a
life-changing experience.

Then there are established teams

such as whiplash, end game,

and valkyrie,
who are sitting on the cusp of greatness,

ready to grab the torch
from an older generation,

driven to win a championship
and achieve superstar status.

And there is no
bigger star left standing

than former
champion ray billings.

An unprecedented
21 seed this season,

ray told us he still
believes tombstone

is the most dangerous
bot in the field.

He'll get a chance to prove it when he
faces the number five seed black dragon

in the biggest match of the
young brazilian team's career.

We'll dive into
all of the matchups

as we go,

but we begin tonight
with a clash between

two veteran teams

eager to write the next
chapter in their violent

head-to-head story,

it's the seventh seed,
sawblaze, taking on

number 23, witch doctor.

A rematch from last season's
2019 world championship tournament

where witch doctor knocked
off sawblaze in the quarter finals.

We spoke with
jamison go earlier today,

he said, "listen,
I have replayed that fight in my head

thousands of times,

I've rewatched it
hundreds of times."

jamison go's dream
season comes to a violent end.

Sawblaze wants payback.

48 feet across the box,

witch doctor will
be lying in wait,

they're fueled by desire to
get back to the mountain top

after coming, oh, so close to victory
in last year's championship final,

falling all the way to
a 23 seed this season,

they look like the
witch doctor of old

in their first round
fight against skorpios.

Oh, what a shot by witch doctor!

And andrea and mike gellatly

are ready to rip
sawblaze to shreds

if it means another chance
at hoisting the giant nut.

Settle in,
it's gonna be a heck of a night.

Faruq,
let's hit that start button.

Ladies and gentlemen,

it's robot-fighting time!

Whoo!

In the blue square from cambridge,
massachusetts,

the boston massacrer,
it's sawblaze!

Well, there they are, sawblaze.

Always like checkin' out
the forks in front of the robot.

What have you got, kenny?

Well, as always,
jamison wants to

use those front forks

to play the bully,
scoop up witch doctor

and control the action.

But mike gellatly is
a world-class driver,

and sawblaze will have
to catch witch doctor

before they can
impose their will.

In the red square,
from miami, florida,

the bad joo joo concocter,
it's witch doctor.

Arguably,
the most dangerous 23 seed in history,

witch doctor is always a knockout
threat with that powerful vertical spinner.

What's their strategy against sawblaze,
kenny?

Well, andrea will probably

use their nasty weapon to
try and get a quick knockout,

but they need to be careful.

Jamison has the
edge when it comes

to controlling the ground game,

witch doctor doesn't really have much
protection against those forks on sawblaze.

So, the faster they can inflict damage,
the better.

We feel a lot more confident
about our chances this time around.

Winning the low game,
like every other fight,

is gonna be really important
for sawblaze's strategy.

A lot of the improvements have
been in the reliability of the machine

and the ability to keep
the front end down.

And so,
if we're able to win this one,

it's a huge validation to the
improvements we made to the machine.

Basically, whoever dominates the
fight first ends up winning the fight.

He knows that if the
match goes a long time,

the odd switches in our favor to get a hit,
and the same with him,

so he's trying to win
the match really fast.

We're gonna try to get in
really close quarters with him.

Sawblaze's weapon is no joke
and it could be a one-hit knockout.

So our priority is
to deactivate that

and then to knockout his drive.

Robots, activate.

Our bot whisperer,
pete, is checking in

with more on jamison
go's robot. Pete.

So, an amazing thing that the
team spent quite a bit of time

during the off season doing
is moving weight forward

within the bots. If they could
get a little more grip up front

and not do pop wheelies,

look for an attack by their
weapon into the center

between the two teeth of
which doctor to cut some belts.

Fight,
fight, fight, fight, fight!

Witch doctor knocked 'em
out of the tournament last season.

Can sawblaze exact some
revenge and return the favor?

Let's find out!

Fight, fight!

Let the bot battle begin.

Jamison go has got
ahold of witch doctor,

taking it into the rails,

that's a beautiful pin,
that, saw's all fired up.

Shot to the top of witch doctor.

Great shot there by sawblaze,

getting off to a
great start here.

Sawblaze winning
the low ground battle.

Witch doctor doesn't care...

- - big hit, and again.

Great comeback
shot by witch doctor,

as it tries to get around
the side of sawblaze.

Looks like it's goin' for those tires,
chris.

Yeah, it doesn't mind
stickin' its face in the grill.

Literally like that barbeque
grill that's coming out

of jamison go's bot.

Look at that.

But here comes
sawblaze on the counter attack.

- - Oh!

- Oh! Great use of the pulverizer.
- Oh!

And a huge hit by witch doctor,
too.

This is a back and forth war!

Now it's sawblaze's turn.

Oh, it takes witch doctor down.

And that was a huge part of
witch doctor which just came off.

Yeah,
that was that front wedge, chris.

- - oh!

Sawblaze has been aggressive
and is dictating the action here.

Witch doctor has
some serious work to do.

This is the most aggressive
we've seen jamison go so far, chris.

No question about it.

Aggression, one of the three huge
categories on the judges' score card.

Oh! Great job with
the hammer saw.

He's got witch doctor pinned.

- Huge shot!
- It's caught on those forks, too, kenny.

Yeah, the fork is jamming up
the primary weapon of witch doctor, chris.

We are halfway
through this match.

Witch doctor breaks free
and is able to spin back up.

Both weapons still
very much in play.

By the way, that hammer saw,
the tip speed has been increased

to max out at 250 miles an
hour this season on sawblaze.

And that is doing
some serious damage.

We haven't seen him utilize...

...In the competition,
but right now,

it's doing some serious work

on witch doctor.

Yeah,
it's gotten in a few nice rib shots.

Oh,
boy! Witch doctor's starting to smoke.

That's something you gotta keep
your eye on with under a minute to go.

Oh! Witch doctor takes a
rib shot from the pulverizer.

That's a 100-pound hammer
dropping right on its rib cage.

Sawblaze putting so much
pressure on witch doctor right now,

getting those forks
involved beautifully.

And since we saw that smoke,
it looks like

witch doctor lost
their primary weapon.

That disc has slowed to a creep.

Oh!

- witch doctor is in deep trouble.
- Whoo!

Last season's runner-up
is getting run into the screws.

- oh!
- 25 to go.

Witch doctor just taking blow for blow,
getting run around

the battlebox by
jamison go and sawblaze.

Well, sawblaze has
completely taken over this fight,

I think he's gonna get a knockout here,
chris.

- Ten, nine, eight...
- Witch doctor is getting counted down,

- seven, six, five...
- But which clock will expire first?

The game clock or
the ref's countdown?

...Three, two,
one. Witch doctor is knocked out.

Ooh! Wow!

Unbelievable!

With one second
left on the clock,

sawblaze has knocked
out witch doctor.

Jamison go and
sawblaze have gotten their revenge

as they're moving
on to the quarter final.

There's nothing
we could do better.

Feel that he
ripped the head out.

Boy, at the beginning of this
fight, mike gellatly and witch doctor,

I thought,
had the upper hand. Didn't you?

Kind of reminiscent
of their championship fight

last year with bite force,
right?

A strong start,
but they couldn't capitalize

on their early momentum.

Jamison go was just on point
controlling the battlebox floor,

and I think it's fair to say that
he out-drove mike gellatly tonight.

Yeah,
he took a couple of good shots, kept going,

jamison told us he was
gonna be very judicious

with the use of his hammer saw.

He used it at the perfect times,

when he would get
witch doctor in a corner,

he would drop the hammer saw.

And they were so confident in it,
they went weapon to weapon

with witch doctor
and came out ahead.

And here you see it
take out that front wedge,

from there. Jamison was a
master at using those forks

and controlling the fight,

witch doctor started to smoke,
and sawblaze just beats the clock

to earn a big-time knockout.

What a performance from
jamison go and sawblaze.

Jamison go,
you got your revenge.

So what worked for you tonight?

Well, uh,
we got the ground advantage early on,

I think that really helped.

The fork stayed low,
we got underneath them,

uh, we did take a little
damage on the front fork,

which worried me a little bit,

but we had two forks that were
still low enough to get underneath,

uh, where it counted, so...

And the weapon, uh,
did some pretty good damage there, I think.

You definitely utilized that
weapon way more in this fight

than previous fights, man.

You were absolutely on fire,
literally.

Uh,
what was the game plan for this one?

Game plan was always to keep close,
try to get underneath them,

uh,
stop their weapon as much as we can

and then land blows
wherever we could.

Witch doctor just got
the top armor on there,

but underneath,
we know there's some juicy, juicy bits.

So just kinda touched one,

and, uh, shut him down.

Jamison,
how much did last season's playoff loss

against this same team drive
you to be even better this season?

I think they taught us a
huge lesson last season,

in the design and some
of the other aspects.

This time,
we took everything we learned,

we put it into the robot,

and this win basically showing
that everything that we implemented,

it paid off well.

Jamison go and sawblaze,
we will see you guys in the next round.

So we say farewell to
andrea gellatly and team witch doctor.

Not the season
they were looking for,

but make no mistake,

they will be back to cast their
special brand of black magic

inside the battlebox
next season.

And for the seventh seed,

sawblaze,
they move on to the quarter finals

where they will face the winner

of bloodsport versus tantrum.

Up next, it's a good

old-fashioned college showdown.

Mit versus wpi.

The number four seed, uppercut.

The number 20, ribbot.

Sparks will fly
and a frog may die,

when the battlebots
championship tournament continues.

We are back on battlebots.

We continue on with the round of 16,
and up next,

we've got the battle
of massachusetts,

as the crew from mit,

the number four seed uppercut

look to send the
boys from wpi packin',

that would be the number 20 seed,
ribbot.

Let's start with uppercut
coming off a jaw-dropping

knockout of high
jinks in the round of 32.

Captain alex hattori
has let uppercut's

vertical spinner
do all the talking,

and it has spoken
volumes this year.

They may have the
most devastating weapon

in this tournament,
and they're ready to tear

through all challengers
on their way to the giant nut.

As for ribbot, david jin's team,

listen, they were very good
during the regular season,

and as we saw in their knockout

upset over beta last round...

These guys have no fear.

Yeah, chris,
the scrappy 20 seed is all offense,

and you're gonna
have to drive a stake

through this frog's
heart in order to kill it.

But they have yet to face
a weapon like uppercut's.

Their aggressive style may
just get them torn to pieces here

in the round of 16.
Going to be fun to find out.

We are gonna keep
this train rolling here tonight.

Both teams are already
set up behind the glass

and locked and
loaded in the battlebox.

Blue team. Ready.

David gin,
always with a smile on his face.

What's the strategy for this team tonight,
kenny?

Well, aggression is their game,

so they're going
to keep playing it.

David said he's
going to dive face first

into uppercut's weapon
and try to disable it.

Sounds like a death sentence,
but david thinks it could pay a dividend.

Red team. Ready.

So, let me guess. Same
plan as always for uppercut.

Point the weapon, smash, repeat.

Go with what works, chris.

Alex knows his
bot can take a hit.

He's not afraid to go
weapon-to-weapon.

This one may come down

to who can land
that first big blow.

Fight, fight, fight!

Let the bot battle begin.

Here comes
uppercut on the chase.

We're getting started. What a... Whoa...

- goodness.
- Holy smokes,

ribbot lost its left
front wheel already!

Yeah, and now it's
just uppercut standing still...

... ribbot
just ran right into it.

It has come off!

Oh, man.

Oh, disgusting.

I can't watch.

Frog parts everywhere, chris.

Oh, f or goodness sakes,
it doesn't have

either of its front tires,
it's lost its head,

and now what?

- - you're good, you're good.

It looks like
ribbot's trying to attack

those tires of
uppercut right now.

Looks like they might be stuck here,
chris.

Yeah, I mean,
this is really interesting.

...they're just going nose-dip.

Well,
there's no more nose on the frog,

but you understand
what I'm saying.

That undercutter
just underneath uppercut,

and uppercut can't
really go anywhere.

I mean,
is it doing anything to uppercut

other than holding it in place,
kenny?

Maybe trying to
burn out its motor?

Whoa! The
hammer has been dropped.

There was a massive explosion

and ribbot's saying,
"I'm coming for ya."

that was a great shot.

Look at that, chris. Oh!

Another huge part of ribbot!

Somehow it's still operating,
but the main weapon on it isn't.

Uppercut,
I'm not seeing you've got control.

Uppercut really isn't, chris.

- They're going around in circles.
- Oh, my gosh.

- this could be an insane, insane upset.
- Ten, nine...

the countdown has
started on the number four sheet...

- Seven, six... - ...Uppercut.

Has their magical
run come to an end?

...Three, two, one, knock out!

All here celebrating ribbot.

Holy!

Holy!

Does it seem like
a dead battery?

Watch...

...ribbot. Ribbot. Ribbot.

Jenny,
david jin told us before the fight,

he was going with
a face first strategy,

and the dude, he wasn't lying.

No, he wasn't.

And here's the result.

Uppercut shredded
ribbot's front two wheels

and ripped their face clean off.

But ribbot hung in there, chris.

A high stakes
pushing match ensued,

with both bots refusing
to surrender their ground.

And then the
moment of the match,

uppercut drops its pulverizer,

sending both bots
screaming across the box,

and what do you know?

The frog survived,
and the number four seed

lost half its drive and did not.

Unbelievable,
ribbot able to stay afloat

in this match with
only two wheels,

but once uppercut lost control
of one of theirs, it was game over.

Ribbot's
cinderella story continues.

What happened?

David jin,
did you just ask what happened?

Yeah, I absolutely did.

I have no idea what
happened in that match.

We're going... I mean,
our robot is all over the arena right now.

David, just as you planned, huh?

Uh, yeah...

sure, we'll go with that.

What... what... what happened?

What was the strategy?

Talk us through that fight.

So we wanted to hit
him directly on the disk.

But, uh, I mean,
some of the hits landed on the disk.

Some of them didn't.

We lost the weapon
pretty early on.

We lost both of
our front wheels.

We lost about the
first third of our robot.

Uh,
the back wheels are still turning though.

All right,
so now you're just a few wins away

from fighting for the giant nut.

Has that hit you yet?

Uh, not really,
because our robot is completely destroyed.

So there's a long
road ahead of us still.

Are you going to be able to rebuild,
david?

Absolutely. I got
the best team here.

David, congratulations.

Go enjoy that victory
with your teammates.

Thank you very much.

What a night so far,

the 20th seed, ribbot,
shocks the world,

and leaps its way
into the quarter finals

as uppercut heads back to mit

in a pile of makeup exams.

- Sounds fun.
- Coming up...

It's the tri-blade terror

taking on the
diabolical punching disk.

It's the number two seed,

bloodsport,
sets its sights on the hard to kill

number 18 seed tantrum,

when the 2020 championship
tournament continues.

We are back on battlebots

as we continue on
with the round of 16,

and up next,

we move to a match-up
in group number two.

It's the undefeated
second seed bloodsport,

taking on the 18th
seeded tantrum.

We saw bloodsport
go the distance

with gruff in the round of 32.

They were forced to do a control
battle after losing their weapon

early in that fight,
but managed to out-drive,

gruff the rest of the way

and pull off a miraculous
judges' decision.

Captain justin
marple has this team

believing they
could lift the giant nut

in this,
just their second season at battlebots.

Standing in their way tonight,
the surging tantrum.

That's right, chris,
tantrum is peaking at just the right time.

After being knocked
out by valkyrie

in their season opener,
they won three straight,

including taking out
fusion to join the top 16.

You'll be hard pressed to find a
more confident driver than aren hill.

Let's get right to it.

The teams are
on the driver's deck

and ready for
action inside the box.

Blue team. Ready.

Tantrum, captain, aren hill,

has been impressive.

Can he pull up
yet another upset?

That's the big question.

This is a tall task, chris.

He's reinforced
tantrum with thicker steel

to defend against
bloodsport's blade.

He has to be aggressive
and use tantrum's long forks

to feed bloodsport
into their weapon.

Red team. Ready.

Bloodsport damaged its
weapon in its match-up with gruff.

Have they made any
adjustments tonight?

Well,
they're going with their thicker

one-and-a-quarter
inch 76-pound blade,

crafted especially
for vertical spinners.

As we like to say, we'll see if

bloodsport's punch is
stronger than tantrum's face.

Fight, fight, fight!

Let the bots battle begin.

They're firin' up that weapon

and already a little
chunk of tantrum came off.

Tantrum trying to push
around bloodsport...

Trying to prevent that weapon...

Full board but nice little shot

- by bloodsport.
- Yeah, great shot by bloodsport.

Tantrum trying to pin
bloodsport up against the walls.

Uh-oh. Kenny,
it looks like bloodsport's

weapon might not be functioning.

Well, those wedge-lets

on the front of bloodsport, I think,
are jamming up the weapon

and it's actually... effectively...

...Stopping that weapon from spinning,
but now that wedge-let is gone.

Yeah, and so is the second one.

I think that's going to help it,
though.

Yeah,
we didn't need those things anyway.

There goes another wedge-let.

Look at the
driving by aren hill,

and tantrum just staying
right in bloodsport's grill.

This is exactly what he wanted,

but there's some
nice driving here

by team bloodsport.

Weapons on,
weapons on. Guys, look...

oh, nice little hit there,

as bloodsport pops in the air.

- - And now tantrum has got

bloodsport pinned
against the rail.

Somebody's trying to drop that
pulverizer to do a little damage.

He said he wanted to
pin and then hit them on the exit.

I'm not sure that primary weapon

is firing up for them right now,
chris.

Tantrum has got
bloodsport against the screws.

Bloodsport just cannot get away.

I'll tell you what,
those gruff bars are rough.

Stop both in the front of tantrum.

Whoa. Huge
shot and the pulverizer

drops down and does some damage,
too.

And that's gonna hit their
self-rider on top as well.

Oh,
he's kinda bending that thing.

Oh. Kenny,
I thought your nose was all jacked up.

My goodness.

Excellent job there by tantrum.

By the way, I was just joking.

We're still friends, right?

Yes, we are.

Look at that job by
tantrum pinning bloodsport.

Bloodsport has got to get away
as we approach a minute to go.

It has to start delivering
some pain with that weapon.

I tell you what,
the primary weapon

that tantrum isn't
firing up right now.

Aren hill has done some of
his best driving of this season,

but he's going to
have to keep it up

if he wants to overcome
the loss of that spinner.

Bloodsport's weapon seems
to be slowing down now as well.

They've taken some punishment in
this fight, lost those front wedge-lets,

and have to find a way
to keep scoring points

in this do-or-die match.

Tantrum has just kept the
pressure on these guys from the beginning.

Tantrum continues
to play the aggressor.

But a nice shot
there from bloodsport, chris.

- Oh.
- And another one.

So who will leave
the lasting impression

with the judges? Under 20 to go.

Oh, bloodsport sheds a wheel.

Tantrum not giving him an inch.

And drops the pulverizer
for good measure.

Tantrum in control
throughout this match.

Bloodsport trying
for one last hit.

And it whips.

... and
we are going to the scorecards.

This one's going to be close,
folks.

One of these teams
will be moving on

to the quarter
finals. The decision,

when we return.

We are right
back into the action

here on battlebots,
waiting to see if

bloodsport or tantrum will be
moving on to the quarter finals.

Our judges, derek young, lisa winter,
and jason bardis will be scoring

the teams on an 11-point scale.

Five points could be
awarded for damage

and three a piece for
aggression and control.

We can get aggression
points from using the weapon.

And we did damage. We took
out their weapon with our weapon.

Yeah.

All right, kenny,
as we take a look at what went on, tantrum

certainly aggressive
from the onset.

Just fantastic
driving by aren hill

in this match,
he brought the pressure and did his best

to keep bloodsport
from spinning up.

But check out this
exchange right here.

The weapons collided,

bloodsport lost its wedge-lets

and tantrum came away
with a broken disk spinner.

Bloodsport continued to
score points with its primary weapon,

but tantrum did an
amazing job of improvising

and using the hazards
to its advantage.

Look at that.

Yeah,
it's going to be interesting to see

how the judges award
damage points here.

Tantrum has to overcome
the loss of its weapon.

But bloodsport lost
those wedge-lets

and lost a wheel.

And to me,
tantrum controlled the pace of this fight.

Could the
number two overall seed

be headed home
in the second round?

Let's go to faruq for what
should be a very close decision.

The results from
the judges are in.

We have a split decision.

Judge lisa scored the
battle for bloodsport.

Judge derek scored
the battle for tantrum.

Judge jason scored the
battle for the winner...

Tantrum!

Yes! Yes!

Aren hill,
how excruciating is it when you are waiting

for the judges'
decision like that?

It's real bad.

Last three fights were
knockouts we had.

I liked that a lot more.

So why do you think this
one went the distance?

It went the distance, our weapon
died after that first big hit from them.

And after that, I had no choice

but to just use the arena,
smash 'em around,

keep the fight,
take it completely to them.

Aren, you showed some great driving,
though.

What was your
strategy for this flight?

To quote,
one of... One of my teammates,

strategy is easier when you're
comfortable taking the opponent's

weapon to your face repeatedly,
so that makes it a little easier.

The robot was
beefed up real good.

We actually copied some
stuff from gruff last fight,

and had some nice solid
bars welded on the front.

I'm excited to see what they
look like after that beating.

Aren, big picture here,
uh, the first few seasons,

you struggled on battlebots,
and you told us this much.

Why have things gone the
right direction this season?

We're finally making
up that learning curve.

And we've actually done
a lot of work at home,

and practice and development
on improving things.

And the biggest one of
those is still the drive train

which has been doing fantastic.

Aren, congratulations.

You are now on
to the quarter finals.

Thank you, guys.

So, down goes

the number two seed bloodsport

in yet another massive upset,
and tantrum,

now moves on
to the quarterfinals

to face the surging

seven seed jamison
go and sawblaze.

All right,
don't blink because our round of 16

action continues right now

as we move to group number one,

where the top seeded
and undefeated hydra,

is ready to face the 17th seed,
gigabyte.

Let's start with hydra.

Jake ewert didn't just win his first
round match up against hypershock,

he sent them into orbit.
13 massive flips for hydra.

And if there was any question
about whether they are the best flipper

in the game right now, I think
that fight erased any doubts, kenny.

The question here. Can
gigabyte do anything to stop them?

Well, let me state the obvious.

They have to avoid
that flipper at all costs.

That will take some elite
driving against jake ewert,

who has been masterful on
the stick himself this season.

John told us he believes gigabyte is
durable enough to pull off the upset.

We'll see.

Whoo!

The teams are
in position in a spot,

and the top eight
is on the line.

You've got this. You've got it.

Go, gigabyte!

Robots, activate.

Here we go!

One of these teams will keep
their championship dreams alive.

Who will prevail?

Gigabyte... Hydra...

It's do or die!

And it's next.

The atmosphere is
electric here on battlebots,

as the tournament's
number one seed hydra

is ready for combat against
the 17th seed gigabyte.

A spot in the quarter
finals is on the line.

Blue team, ready.

Big hill to
climb here for gigabyte

against the number
one overall seed.

Kenny, what's their strategy?

Well,
they're gonna have to try and land

power shot and stun hydra.

To do that,
they have to target the corners

because if they
attack from the front,

they're going to slide right
over the top of the body.

Not to mention probably
get tossed 10 feet in the air.

Red team, ready.

I hope I'm ready.

And for hydra,

any adjustments
since their last fight?

They're going
with that full wedge.

Jake thinks it's the best way
to get underneath gigabyte

without sustaining much damage.

But with the way
they've been performing,

I don't know if it even matters

what they use, chris.

This bot has been absolutely
unstoppable this year.

Can gigabyte spin up and
upset over the number one seed hydra?

Let's find out.

Let the bot battle begin!

And a box rush from hydra!

Trying to get there before
gigabyte can spin up.

Uh-oh.

Oh! There's a nice hit.

Boy,
hydra not afraid to use that wedge.

- - whoa!

- You're kidding me.
- Our whole table just shook on that hit by hydra.

And look at gigabyte,
able to self-right,

but there here goes
the quick flip from hydra.

Baby flip.

Don't spin,
don't spin. I gotta drive.

Oh,
gigabyte is wobbling all over the place.

Uh-oh.

Oh, so tough for gigabyte,

which has to get some distance
in order to fire its weapon... instead,

hydra nearly knocks
it out of the box!

Gigabyte doing an
excellent job of self-righting, though.

Kenny, this is such a
difficult position for gigabyte.

Just can't fire up
that weapon at all.

Oh,
and I think gigabyte just lost a belt.

Hydra all over them,
pushing them into the corner,

maybe looking to get
them out of the box.

- Whoa!
- Oh, my goodness.

Unbelievable. Gigabyte
in the corner! Gets itself...

- oh! - Flipped again!

I mean,
how about gigabyte and its durability?

Wow, gigabyte never would have been
able to do is this in previous seasons.

- Please stay away from me.
- Oh, stop it.

I like both of you guys.

You're supposed to be
the tough guy in the relationship.

I can't do anything about 500
pounds metal coming at us.

A minute to go in this one.

And how flustering it
must be for team gigabyte.

They can't spin
up to full speed.

This is like one of the few
times they've been able to.

And look what happens.

They just get tossed in the air

like hydra's making pizza.

Oh.

John mladenik finally caught an edge there,
chris.

And hydra has to be careful.

Gigabyte can knock
you out in one shot

and they are in
desperation mode.

You do not want to let your
guard down if you are hydra.

Oh, and there it goes again!

And jake has told
us so many times

the most important
thing is when he hits,

he has to drive away.

He does not want his
opponent landing on top of him.

I'm really impressed
with the durability of gigabyte.

There's not a whole lot of bots

that can withstand these
shots and these flips from hydra.

Are you done yet?

It is amazing.

Somehow, gigabyte has
made it the entire three minutes

in the round of
sixteen against hydra.

Hydra's flipper is
stuck in the upright position,

but it's not going to matter,
chris.

13 flips
performed by jake ewert,

hydra and the number one
seed. And john mladenik,

it might not go his way
on the judge's scorecard,

but the fact that he was able to
survive is nothing short of amazing.

Kenny,
the flips are just simply sensational.

Yeah,
it's unbelievable what hydra can do.

Wow! Oh, my goodness.

Hydra is just amazing.

The consistency,
its ability to get underneath you.

The ease in which it throws
bots all over the battlebox,

it's just insane.

And gigabyte, to its credit...

Is one of the more durable
bots that we've seen.

Kudos to the guys over gigabyte
for making a far superior bot

than we've seen in
previous seasons.

Hydra's averaging 13 flips
per match in the tournament so far.

Let me repeat, 13 flips.

That's unbelievable.

They made a perfect adjustment

in adding that big front
wedge for this fight.

Jake ewert is on
fire at the controls,

and hydra is looking
every bit the favorite

to win this tournament.

The judges should have this is as a
sweep for hydra in almost every category.

Here's faruq.

The results from
the judges are in.

The winner by
unanimous decision is...

Hydra!

Jake ewert, you have got that
flipper bot tuned in, don't you?

Uh, yeah,
it's working pretty good, I guess.

Stop.

Don't... Don't give me that.

You have known the two
of us for five years now.

- Do not give us that answer.
- Hey, hey.

Technically, it's still not doing
what it's supposed to be doing.

So there's still
more to work on.

What the heck is it supposed
to do better than that?

That's thirteen flips.

That's supposed to
go higher than that yet.

We're still working
on higher than that.

Okay, jake ewert,
you are moving on to the quarterfinals.

Congratulations.

Thanks. No problem.

So, gigabyte powers
down for the final time this season.

But it was certainly great
to see a full-body spinner

make it this far
in the tournament.

Meanwhile,
jake ewert and the top seeded hydra

cruise into the quarterfinals and
wait to see who they can flip with next.

Coming up, the five seed,

black dragon, will have to strike
down the grim reaper himself,

ray billings in tombstone,

if it wants to carve a
path to the quarter finals...

As the battlebots championship
tournament continues.

Welcome back to the 2020
battlebots world championships

as we continue with
the round of sixteen.

Next up in group four,

we find ray billings and
tombstone in an unfamiliar spot

as the 21 seed taking on
the five seed black dragon.

And, kenny, I'm sick and
tired of talking to ray billings

before each one of this fights

'cause he keeps
saying the same thing.

He said, "first of all,
the seeding doesn't mean anything to me.

At the end of the day, you're
either number one or you're nothing."

well, right now, he's 21,
and that's a generous ranking

for a team that
went one and two.

But listen, we're talking about
the king of kinetic energy here.

He's coming off another
signature knockout of madcatter,

who many viewed as
a tournament darling.

Numbers don't
mean anything to him,

creating chaos and winning
his second giant nut does.

And as far as black dragon,
this is a huge matchup.

We talked to their
captain gabriel teles,

and he was very honest, he said,

"listen, this is the biggest fight
we've ever had in this robot's history."

well,
he knows tombstone is a monster.

Gabriel said they've
never faced anything like it

and aren't sure if black
dragon can hold up

against his
powerful bar spinner.

They are the number
five seed for a reason

and have a monster
weapon of their own.

Half the battle,
in winning a fight like this,

it's overcoming the
intimidation factor.

Faruq, bring the noise.

In the blue square,
from placerville, california,

time to meet your maker.

Better atone, it's tombstone!

Ray billings and
tombstone always ready for a fight.

And if I'm not mistaken, kenny,

that nasty bar he has attached
is of a smaller size, right?

That's right. He's going with
the one he used against madcatter.

His shorter 72-pound blade.

He said this heavier
bar is tougher

and can withstand
a collision better

against a sturdy
bot like black dragon.

Ray needs to get
around their wedge

and deliver the pain to
the sides of gabriel's bot.

In the red square,
from itajuba, brazil...

It's brazil.

You know what that means.

He's nuts.

Black dragon!

It's black dragon,
and they brought their good luck duck.

Let's see if they need it.

Looks like they went with their egg
beater weapon for this one, kenny florian.

Yeah, this hefty drum is dense,

and gabriel feels
it could withstand

a few direct shots
from tombstone's bar

better than the lighter
double-disc spinner.

He also said he wanted to
make black dragon a tank

and added some extra
armor plating around his bot.

All right,
for more on this matchup,

let's bring in our bot whisperer,
pete.

What do you have?

Well, I've got a couple of
points about black dragon here.

Some of the things that you
might have noticed is, one,

they've lost the flamethrower so
they can make a little more weight

because they've used
it to add into that wedge.

That wedge they went and
welded specifically for tombstone.

They've also been rehearsing

an invert self-righting flip,

the dance that we've seen
minotaur do so many times.

That's what they think
they've got down pat now.

Interesting.

Fight, fight, fight.

Fight, fight, fight.

Fight, fight, fight.

Who will be off
to the quarter finals?

The five seed black dragon

or the 21 seed and the
former champion tombstone?

It is time to find out.

Let the bot battle begin!

And here comes tombstone.

On the attack. Ooh.

Nice little spin move.

- Yeah, a little...
- oh!

Oh,
that wedge. Already taking a pounding.

It's getting a test in
the first 15 seconds.

That wedge is doing a
great job at deflecting that weapon

of tombstone right now.

Ohh! Ray billings
gets thrown in the air,

thanks to the velocity
of its own weapon.

It looked like tombstone was
just trying to go weapon-on-weapon

against black dragon.

Oh,
there's another big shot... ohh!

There goes tombstone

flailing across the battlebox!

Black dragon
doing a great job of pointing

that wedge at the
weapon of tombstone.

And, kenny, tombstone's weapon,
not fired up right now.

That's something
to keep your eye on.

Yeah, ray usually
fires back up right away, chris.

There's a chance he may have
lost the weapon in that last exchange,

and that could mean
big trouble for the king.

That is a critical moment.

One minute into this match,

tombstone getting pushed
around by black dragon.

But it looks like black dragon's

weapon may also be out of commission,
chris.

We may have a pushing match on
our hands for the next two minutes.

Well, tombstone has
gotta get away from black dragon,

get back to the
center of the box.

But right now,
it's getting pushed around.

Tombstone is not
set up to score points like this.

And going into the screws,
courtesy of black dragon.

Yeah, it sure is.

Black dragon showing excellent
control and aggression right now.

We are halfway
through this match.

Pete, what do you think is
going on with tombstone?

So,
I think he's probably lost control

over the ability to spin his
weapon. His chain is still there.

But I think he may
have lost the contactor.

Black dragon,
who also lost their weapon,

has now the perfect wedge
to be able to defeat tombstone.

Unbelievable.

Tombstone getting
thrown into the corner by...

Black dragon.

Closing in on the
one-minute mark.

The 2016 champions on the ropes.

Hey, keep in mind,
the most heavily-weighted category,

in terms of scoring, is damaged.

Most importantly,
damage done with an active weapon.

Both these teams have
lost those weapons.

And so now the control
and aggression categories

take on extra importance as
these two battle to show the judges

that they're the ones dictating the action,
kenny.

That's exactly right.

And if you're watching
the same fight we are,

black dragon is just dominating
on both those fronts right now.

There's just not much tombstone
can do without that monster weapon.

Twenty-five seconds to go.

And no matter what
the seeding may say,

it's always shocking to see
tombstone on its heels in a fight.

This is perhaps the most
well-known robot in the entire sport.

The number five seed black dragon
continues to apply some serious pressure.

What an achievement
this would be for the brazilians.

Well, neither weapon worked,
but...

So after three full minutes,
we are going to the score cards.

Kenny, the early action in
this fight had the crowd in a frenzy.

No doubt,
both teams delivered some monster shots,

with tombstone testing
black dragon's wedge

and the brazilians popping
the former champ up into the air.

The fight was about
even to that point,

but it was this collision right
here that changed the game.

Both bots came away
with busted weapons,

and we had a pushing
match on our hands.

And, of course,
there's no real plan b

for tombstone if it
loses its weapon.

Black dragon took
advantage of that

and racked up some
serious control points

by using their wedge
to pin tombstone

against the rails
and the hazards.

Black dragon did a fantastic job

of parading tombstone
around the box

and basically
saying to the judges,

"hey,
we're the ones in charge here."

it's going to be tough for
tombstone to survive this decision.

I think ray knows it,

and I think the number five
seed will be moving on here.

Well,
let's see if the judges agree.

Here's faruq.

The results from
the judges are in.

And the winner by
unanimous decision is...

Black dragon!

- Very good, guys. Very good.
- Ray, you're the king.

- Thank you, ray.
- Thank you, ray.

- Thanks you. - Thank you, ray.

Gabriel.

Hey, chris. Hey, kenny.

Is this the greatest moment in the
history of brazilian robot competition?

Probably,
it's biggest moment for our team.

Uh,
we are so thrilled to have a fight

against the tombstone and coming
out with a win after three-minute fight,

uh, feels amazing.

Feels amazing. I love my team.

I love these guys,
they're great.

Gabriel, can you talk about this flight
and talk about what you were thinking

when tombstone's primary
weapon went down?

It was great to don't have
that giant spinning bar

hitting us all over again
during the three minutes.

So, it felt great. Felt great.

Gabriel,
how tough is that wedge that you built?

Oh, very,
very tough. It's our toughest wedge.

It's the heaviest
wedge that we have.

So our strategy went fine and,
uh, we had it, we had it.

Gabriel, who's happier? The rest
of your teammates or the duck?

- I think the duck is always the happiest person...
- he's shaking.

Yeah, he's shaking.

Gabriel teles, congratulations to
you and the entire black dragon team.

- Thank you.
- You are on to the quarterfinals.

Thank you.

A tough season for
ray billings and tombstone,

but knowing the king,
he will be back in his lab

and make some modifications and
unleash more destruction again next year.

So black dragon handles its
business and buries tombstone.

They will be moving
on to the quarterfinals

to face the 20 seed ribbot.

That should be a good one,
no doubt about it.

Coming up, it's a rematch of one of
the biggest slugfests of the season.

Whiplash and valkyrie are
set for another all-out brawl.

They'll remix it up,
next on battlebots.

Welcome back to the battlebots
world championship tournament.

Next up in group number one,
we have got an eight-versus-nine matchup

between whiplash and valkyrie.

This is the lone
round of 16 matchup

that is actually a rematch
from the regular season,

won by whiplash.

In a fight that whiplash basically
controlled from beginning to end.

So if it ain't broke,
don't fix it.

Matt vasquez doesn't see any reason
to deviate from the plan that worked

oh-so well last time, kenny.

And on the other side,
despite losing that first fight,

valkyrie kind of
feels the same way.

Leanne cushing thinks her bot is
more than capable of beating whiplash.

They just need to
be a bit more precise

with that powerful
horizontal spinner.

Should be a ton of fun. Faruq,

show them how it's done.

In the blue square,

from thousand oaks, california,

here to crash the
party and your face.

Ah, succotash! It's whiplash!

Here's the eigth seed,
whiplash and the vasquez family.

Anything less than that giant nut
will be a huge disappointment for them.

Kenny, what have they done
to prepare for valkyrie tonight?

Well,
they're using the same configuration

from their first
fight with valkyrie,

a big defensive wedge.
Matt plans to plow this thing

into valkyrie's blade
like a battering ram,

disable it and use their flipper
to toss them around the box.

Go with what works.

In the red square from somerville,
mass.,

she's a fly girl and a die girl.

It's valkyrie!

The ninth seed valkyrie, they're
going with the blade they call mr. Cavity.

It is the same blade that they used against
whiplash earlier this season. Kenny.

That's right,
leanne still feels this blade,

which is designed
to dig into thick armor.

It is the best tool for
taking out whiplash

as fast as possible.

Matty broke it last time around,
though,

so valkyrie has to pick its spot,
if you lose your weapon

against a control bot as athletic
as whiplash, you're in deep trouble.

Worst-case scenario,
going against whiplash,

is that the weapon that
we repaired from last time

we fought them,
brakes faster or easier.

We worked really hard the
last couple days to get it right.

And hopefully, by keeping that
weapon spinning the whole time,

we'll be able to get enough
fight that will disable them.

The harder they hit us,

the more likely they are
to break their own weapon.

Because we took those
shots like there were nothing,

pretty much. Our
wedge took damage,

but the robot itself was fine.

So we're going to try to
hit them as hard as we can

and try to get their weapon to
break. And once their weapon

stop spinning, we're gonna
use our lifter and flip them over.

Robots activate.

Now, chris, if you take a
look at whiplash, you'll see that

matt added two metal taps
to the top of their wedge.

That's to stop valkyrie from
climbing on top of their bot after a hit

and inflicting some serious
damage to their lifting mechanism.

Big matchup
because the winner will face

the number one overall seed in
the tournament, undefeated hydra.

Let the bot battle begin!

And a box rush from whiplash,

not allowing valkyrie
to spin up that blade.

Matty vasquez wants to play
the aggressor here to start.

Oh, nice shot there by whiplash.

- Oh! - oh, what a hit!

That's a nice hit.

And whiplash is all over
valkyrie in the opening stretch

of this fight,
going face-first with that wedge.

Whiplash gets out of the corner.

Valkyrie's blade, whoa!

As it is driving inverted,
takes a serious shot.

- Jeez.
- And it's up right in front of the driver's window.

Now whiplash gets underneath
valkyrie and delivers it into the corner.

Whiplash trying to
get valkyrie to destroy itself.

- And our border! And it's brand-new this season!
- Oh!

Come on!

Valkyrie's blade
no longer spinning.

I think they've just disabled
that primary weapon, chris.

And now,
matty vasquez isn't taking any chances.

He's trying to get valkyrie up
on the screws and out of the box.

This is what
whiplash does best...

But, oh, looks like that primary
weapon's back up and running.

And this is where it could
do some serious damage...

Get away from us, please!

- Oh!
- Oh, my goodness!

Valkyrie with a
back tuck off the high beam.

How much longer can
this weapon survive?

Wow.

Now it's right side up and it
takes another shot. Gets into the screws.

Vasquez has been
all over valkyrie.

Whiplash is
just so well-rounded.

It can be technical,
and it could also brawl.

And right now,
it's brawling with valkyrie.

Unbelievable, another huge shot at valkyrie
and it's up on the screws yet again.

Whiplash trying
to finish this thing

as we are in a
minute-fifteen to go.

Valkyrie is drowning, chris.

Come on, get away,
get away, get away. Center it.

Now let's keep an
eye on valkyrie's blade,

mr. Cavity. Does it have life?

Oh, look at this,
get in there. Get into the screws.

Have some of that.

I think valkyrie's blade
may be down for good this time, chris.

And the only shot leanne cushing

has to turn the tide here is to break
whiplash's weapon, or better yet,

burn out their drive motors. But whiplash
showing no signs of fatigue whatsoever.

Under a minute to go.

Whiplash really
putting valkyrie through

the washer machine right now.

I'm not even sure valkyrie

has much mobility
left at this point.

The number nine seed,
which was rock-solid this season,

conquering the durability issues
that have plagued it in years past,

but as you can see, it has run into
a brick wall here at the round of 16,

as whiplash and the vasquez clan,
they pretty much systematically

dismantled leanne
cushing's robot.

This has been a virtuoso
performance by matt vasquez.

The final seconds ticking away.

This one will go to the judges,

as whiplash dominated
from beginning to end.

Look at this,
whiplash with a plume of smoke

coming out of its robot.

I wonder what happened to it?

Square bolt probably,
'cause we were flying all over the place.

Yeah, we were.

Awesome job. Awesome job.

Kenny, whiplash made
it to the semifinals last season,

and they look prime to make another
deep tournament run this year as well.

Yeah,
what I saw was just superior control,

superior driving skill
from matty vasquez.

Just staying on
valkyrie the whole fight.

And you saw whiplash
using the battlebox to its advantage.

Getting valkyrie into the
corner and then valkyrie,

with that high-energy weapon
would just bounce around the floor

and ended up on the
screws several times as well.

Yeah, absolutely.

And you never saw whiplash
really take a big hit from valkyrie.

They were always able to
either deflect with their wedge

or attack at the proper
angle and get those lifts going.

Just amazing stuff
from matty vasquez.

The results from
the judges are in.

The winner by
unanimous decision is...

Whiplash!

Matt vasquez, congratulations
on reaching the quarter finals.

Thank you.

Did it feel like this was an even
more dominant performance

than your regular
season win over valkyrie?

Oh, definitely not.

Our first fight against them
went almost perfectly for us.

We, you know, stopped their weapon after,
like, three hits. This time,

their weapon went for, like,
two out of the three minutes,

which was, I mean... that's insane
for how big of hits they were giving us.

They definitely made
big improvements.

We made a couple of little improvements
that definitely really helped us.

We're just happy
to be moving on.

Matt, the good news is
you're on to the quarter finals

for the third straight year.

- Yeah.
- The bad news is you get the number one

- overall seed in this tournament...
- Yeah.

...Hydra. Are you
excited or concerned?

I think more excited
than anything.

I think we do have a
couple plans for hydra.

We're not sure
exactly which will go.

We kind of like
have a safe route,

and then, like, a more... a
little bit risky competitive route.

We'll see which we go.

But, yeah, we're excited.

Hopefully, we won't end up in
the ceiling like everyone else.

Well, matt,
it should be a great quarterfinal matchup.

Thanks so much for
the time and best of luck.

- Moving forward. - Thank you.

So whiplash stamps its passport

to the quarter finals,

where none other
than the top dog,

hydra, lies in wait.

Get your popcorn
ready for that one.

Coming up, fresh off their
bracket-busting upset of copperhead,

the 30th seed, mammoth,

looks to keep their cinderella story alive,
as they battle the 19th seed,

the hammer from hell, shatter!

That's next on battlebots.

We continue on here on battlebots,
the round of 16.

He is kenny florian.
I'm chris rose.

We now move to
group number three

for a matchup between the 30th seed,
mammoth,

and the 19th seed, shatter!

The lowest remaining
seed in the tournament,

captain ricky willems
and mammoth,

are looking to keep
their cinderella story alive,

fresh off their stunning upset
of the three seed, copperhead.

They will face the only
remaining hammer bot in the field,

adam wrigley's shatter!,
who beat the veteran lock-jaw to get here.

This is gonna be a
fascinating clash of designs.

One moves on,
the other powers down for the season.

So what do you say?

Let's get it going.

Blue team ready.

Mike, this one's all on you.

Kenny, we've been told

mammoth's launcher
can throw a refrigerator

like it's a snowball.

Yeah, it definitely has the
power to launch shatter! Out of the box,

but they want to focus on
winning the control game.

So watch for them
to use the launcher

the way a boxer uses a jab
to try and keep shatter! At bay.

Red team ready.

Go.

Kenny,
how does adam wrigley attack a bot as large

and as awkward as mammoth?

Well, honestly,

shatter! Is one of the only bots

that has a reach long enough to get to
mammoth's gearbox and weapon chain.

But in order to do that,
they'll have to get in close

and mix it up with the giant,
which will leave them vulnerable to damage.

So, this is gonna be fun.

Let the bot battle begin!

Mammoth trying to
swallow up shatter!,

swatting them away like
a fly. Look at that reach.

Well, so far,
that launcher doing a great job of

establishing the distance here,
chris.

Oh! A huge hit, wow!

Follow up, follow up!

Mammoth punched shatter!
Head over heels into the corner.

Shatter! Self-rights,

but mammoth is dominating the
opening stretch of this fight, kenny.

Ricky willems using
his weapon to perfection so far,

racking up points
against shatter!

Oh!

Shatter! Was
very close to getting to

those drive motors
there of mammoth.

Oh!

There it is! Fire, fire.

Mammoth has
lost its weapon chain.

Wow!

That chain is now dragging
at the feet of the bot.

And shatter! Has seriously
turned the tables in this fight.

Absolutely. This is gonna free shatter!
Up to get a lot more aggressive now.

Oh,
shatter! Is on its head here,

tangled up in the
frame of mammoth.

Mammoth just kind of hovering
over top adam wrigley's bot,

trying to smother it and keep
shatter! From doing any more damage.

Oh, look at this,
trying to go upstairs.

Really nice shot by shatter!

And how about mammoth
pushing shatter! Around the box?

- Wow. - uh-oh!

Mammoth has shatter!
Up against the screws now.

Leaning on him,
kind of like a heavyweight boxer.

Shatter!'s got to create some
space to land some shots here, kenny.

- Oh!
- That's a nice hit. And another one!

That was some
nice shots by shatter!

Yeah,
attacking the wheel of mammoth

and accumulating some
valuable damage points there.

- absolutely. - Oh!

Shatter! Should be ahead

of the damage category after
breaking mammoth's weapon.

This is a neck and neck fight,
chris.

Oh, he is hard to push.

Great driving by ricky
willems and team mammoth.

He's got shatter!
Right in his claw.

Oh!

Mammoth driving
shatter! Hammer-first into the rails.

Less than a minute
remaining in this fight.

And, kenny, don't look now, but
shatter!'s weapon has suddenly gone quiet.

Yeah, I think they may have
damaged it in that last collision, chris.

And you know what that means?

We got a pushing match on our hands down
the stretch in this round of 16 matchup.

Come on!

The 30th seed, mammoth,

has been sensational
from the opening bell,

who was facing a serious uphill
battle for the majority of this fight

after a brilliant strike from
shatter! Broke their weapon chain.

Now, they seem to have answered
back by stopping shatter!'s hammer.

But the question, will it be
enough in the eyes of the judges?

Their wheel came off.

Their wheel came off.

Peter, what did you think?

That was amazing.

I mean, I don't know if you just caught
what just happened at the very end.

The wheel fell off of mammoth
right there at the very end.

That could be some serious
points against them, but wow.

I mean, removing the chain
off of mammoth so early on

and keeping them from
being able to lift shatter!,

but mammoth would never let go.

So most of the control was
gonna end up on mammoth.

Remember,
mammoth scraped into this tournament

as the 30th seed,
took out the third overall seed

in copperhead just to get here.

And what a performance
tonight in the round of 16.

Unbelievable.

Mammoth, so effective with that
launcher at the start of this fight.

They were relentless,

and just overwhelmed shatter!.

But with one
swing of their hammer

shatter! Flipped the script and tore
mammoth's weapon chain clean off.

Yes, they did. And here's what
the judges are asking themselves right now.

Did mammoth do enough to
overcome the loss of their weapons

so early in this fight?

Yes,
they showed incredible control throughout

and eventually stopped
shatter!'s weapon,

but that was later in the match,

and shatter! Did have a
few nice flurries in between.

This is a very tough call.

And I want you
to take a look at this.

As time expired, one of
mammoth's tires fell off of the frame.

Could that be the final impression
the judges need to make a decision?

This is going to
be a nail-biter.

So now let's turn
it on over to faruq.

The results from
the judges are in.

We have a split decision.

Judge jason scored
the battle for mammoth.

Judge lisa scored
the battle for shatter!.

Judge derrick scored
the battle for the winner...

Shatter!

Adam wrigley.

Whoo!

Whoo!

You okay?

I'm okay.

I know that in seasons past,
you and the judges saw fights differently.

How worried were you that
was going to happen again?

I... That was...
I'm really happy.

I'm really happy,
is what I am right now.

That's a smart man who
might need those judges

sometime in the
near future as well.

All right,
it looks like your pit crew member,

I believe that's mary
standing next to you...

And she's all...
Why so emotional?

We've been working
on this for years now.

Ever since adam and I have been together,
it's been a dream of his

to get even farther
and get to the nut.

So it's just awesome
to see that paying off.

And I'm a very... I have no poker face,
so...

it's coming out.

Hey, guys. Congratulations.

We look forward to your
next fight in the quarterfinal.

Whoo!

- ...Guys. - Good job.

Some tough decisions
for the judges tonight.

I do not envy them at all.

However, adam rickley and shatter!
Punch their ticket to the quarter finals.

We will find out there who
their dance partner will be next.

In our final round
of 16 match-up,

it's the sixth seed endgame
taking on the 22-seed rotator.

Come on back as the battlebots world
championship tournament continues.

Congratulations!

- Thank you! - Oh!

- What a win for you guys!
- Yeah.

You're definitely
doing something right.

You guys took down
minotaur last season.

You just took down
tombstone and ray.

How does it feel?

Feels great to
beat ray billings.

It was a pleasure
for us to fight them.

Is this already a
win for you guys?

Taking down tombstone? Or
do you your eye on the giant nut?

We have our eyes
on the giant nut,

but right now we are
celebrating the moment.

We know that we did
something really big.

Okay. There was a little bit
of a dance going into the box.

Can you guys recreate the moment right now,
please.

Yes? Thank you. This is it!

- The celebratory dance. Congratulations...
- Yeah!

Welcome back to battlebots,

the world championship
tournament.

Right now, it's a showdown
for the final spot in the top eight.

It's the six-seed endgame,
taking on number 22-seed rotator.

And let's start with rotator.

Kenny, victor soto

told us before the season started, his
goal was to make the top eight with a win.

He does just that.

Yeah,
absolutely. And could go even further.

I mean, this is a very tough
matchup for him. He understands that.

He says the physics is such that, you know,
when you go against a vertical spinner,

they shoot you up in the air.

And he's hoping he'd
go to full three minutes.

He understands
he has to be patient,

and it's all about armor
and driving in this fight.

And what about endgame?

The weapon of rotator
isn't so concerning for them.

You know,
they don't really want to go to a decision.

Uh,
they've been happy with what they've done,

but a loss here
would be crushing,

and I think they have
to be aggressive here.

Try to land some shots and, uh,
take out rotator as quickly as possible.

Faruq, show us how it's done.

In the blue square... This
bot has destroyed all over.

From the cities
to the boondocks.

And he hasn't awesome disc
spinner like my very first boom box.

But just like old cds,
your time is about to be done.

So here comes "now-
that's-what-I-call-murder" volume one...

With rotator!

Rotator knocked out
jackpot in the round of 32.

Kenny, what configuration is victor
soto coming to work with tonight?

Well,
he's working with that nasty undercutter,

which is designed to get
underneath bots and take out the tires.

So he hopes to disable
endgame that way.

He said he's approaching
this fight like it's the final

because if you could
get by endgame,

he feels like he could
take the whole thing.

In red square...

"battlebots assemble!"

this bot has no equal.

After knocking out tombstone,
we green lit a sequel.

Like j.A.R.V.I.S. It's made
by a genius programmer.

It's the coolest thing since
the cap lifted thor's hammer.

Trust me, you're going to want to stay
till the end frame, but, shh, no spoilers.

You're about to watch endgame!

Endgame took care of 11-year old tyler
and perfect phoenix in the round of 32.

These guys,
this is the most confident they've been

in their three
seasons on battlebots.

Yeah,
they're on top of their game right now.

Their weapon is
firing insanely well.

Jack barker has been an
absolute beast on the stick,

and they've been killing
good bots with relative ease.

This should be
a fantastic fight.

They're interesting as they
have a gap in the middle

where the weapon's exposed,
and I just have to be careful

that I don't feed my
armor into their weapon.

This is one of those fights where I
really can't make any driving mistakes

because it could be very
costly with how hard they hit.

And I have to be careful that they
don't shoot me outside of the arena.

They've been doing
that pretty often.

So we've got obviously
the big wedges on the front,

and really, the idea is just to keep
him in front of those the whole time.

If we can drive properly, we can hopefully
make sure he doesn't get under them.

We're not terribly
scared of his weapon.

What we're really scared of is him
getting around to our more squishy areas

like our wheels or just
the back of the robot

because he's very good at that.

Fight! Fight! Fight!

All right, the last spot
in the quarterfinals on the line.

Endgame...

Rotator...

Only one can
advance. Here we go.

Fight! Fight!
Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!

Let the bot battle begin!

Rotator turn around
a nice little smash.

Oh, no! Endgame nearly
popped rotator out of the box!

Endgame has to be careful
with the wheels on the backside.

Can't let rotator get
that undercutter to them.

There goes one of
the wedges of rotator.

That's going to make things
a little easier for endgame.

Endgame trying to get control
of its bot, driven by jack, on the attack

and nice shot on rotator!

Uh-oh! You just saw a
belt come off endgame, chris.

You can see the weapon
has slowed down significantly.

Whoa!

Yeah!

Now the weapon
has actually stopped.

That is a huge deal.

Not even 45
seconds into this fight.

Is endgame relegated
to push-bot duties?

I believe they are, chris.

Without that belt,
primary weapon is going to be done.

Not a good start for endgame,
but they certainly got some great hits off.

Rotator's blades
spinning at full speed.

Oh! There's a big shot!
Endgame still moving around.

And that is part of
the name of the game.

Keep moving.

What sort of strategy is jack
barker have up his sleeve?

Well,
he's got to get underneath rotator.

Can't let that weapon
get around to the side.

They'll need to
protect their wheels.

That was a concern of theirs.

It looks like... Whoa! That's
a great shot by endgame!

Unbelievable!

Massive as rotator went into the driver's
glass right in front of victor soto,

oh!

Now rotator's driving inverted,
which it can do.

Uh-oh,
endgame having some driving issues...

oh! Another huge shot.

Whoa!

Pete, how dangerous is
rotator when it's driving inverted?

For this
configuration of endgame,

the worst case scenario
because they can hit high

and take out the whole weapon
set creating a lot of damage.

But may not matter, chris.

Rotator's blades looks
to be slowing down.

Ah! Endgame's gonna be able to
take advantage of this with their wedge.

It's gonna be a full 55 seconds
of just pushing and shoving.

This is the kind of
match that rotator wanted though.

They wanted to go the distance

to give themselves a chance
here with these judges.

Right now! Yeah!

Nice shot to the
pulverizer landed by rotator.

What a fight.

Rotator took
out endgame's weapon.

Endgame has returned the favor.

Now closing in on
the 30-second mark.

This, I think,
is the part of the fight...

It's really going to favor
endgame with that wedge.

They're going to be able
to get underneath rotator

and push them
around the battlebox.

See if they can get
the hazards involved.

There they go. They're
underneath rotator.

See if they're gonna bring
him over towards the hammer.

Rotator trying to wiggle free!

Oh! Endgame lands a shot
with a 100-pound pulverizer.

Finding a way to score
points here in the home stretch.

It is a wire to wire war between two
veteran teams here in the round of 16.

Whoo!

Wow! Oh, that was a good fight.

Don't know
what we would've done.

So much to unpack. The judges,
they have their hands full with this one.

So kenny florian,
break it down for us.

Yeah,
I tell you what. This was just a brawl.

Full stop. I mean endgame
got off to a great start,

getting underneath rotator and landing
some amazing shots with that vertical disc.

But rotator,
tough as nails, answered back.

They took the fight to endgame.

Broke their disk spinner and
grabbed control of this match.

That's right. But give the...
A ton of credit for not panicking.

They stayed right on top of rotator
and found a way to score points.

Look at this shot as endgame
punches rotator into the driver's window.

Wow!

So how are the judges
gonna sort this one out, kenny?

It may come down to aggression,
chris.

I mean,
endgame never stopped attacking.

Even when their
weapon went down,

they did a great job of
getting underneath them.

They landed some great
shots with that wedge

and ultimately got rid of
their primary weapon as well.

Will it be enough to send
endgame to the quarterfinals?

Let's find out.

The results from
the judges are in.

We have a split decision.

Oh!

Judge lisa scores
the battle for endgame.

Judge jason scored
the battle for rotator.

Judge derrick scored
the battle for the winner...

Endgame!

Yes!

Nick, jack, get over here.

You are on to the quarterfinals.

Can you exhale, nick?

I just have to breathe in first.

Rotator just doesn't die.

That was one... That was
probably our best fight ever.

We never got three minutes
in a big slug fest like that.

And, man, it gives me so much
confidence that our robot isn't gonna die.

Just randomly now.

I mean,
we lost the weapon, but...

I really think we should
add some belt guards.

Yeah, maybe, um, because there's
a belt on the floor in case you need.

There's four of them.

So how nervous were you when
you lose your primary weapon

45 seconds into a playoff fight?

Um,
we were pretty scared about that.

But it looked like
from the beginning

that we had the
advantage on drive.

We were getting under him,
were able to push him around.

So we weren't too worried.

We knew that we could
have control and aggression.

So I think it's really lucky that
his weapon died on us as well.

We hit it a bunch of times with
our face and that ended up killing it.

And I think that's
what got us the win.

Jack and nick. Congratulations
to you and all of the entire team.

We will see you in
the round of eight.

- Congratulations.
- Thank you, chris. Thank you, kenny.

Well done.

So for only the
second time in three seasons,

endgame goes the distance and
grabs the last spot in the quarter finals,

and now the top
eight is all set.

And look at these matchups.

In group number one...

The last of our top four
seeds still in contention.

Hydra will meet the
number eight whiplash.

Manny vasquez tells us he's
got something in store for hydra.

Can't wait.

Over in group two,
18-seed tantrum's magical season

could literally be cut short
by the seventh-seed sawblaze.

In group three,
we just saw endgame

finding ways to win without
actually using it's weapon.

Kind of a frightening
thought for the competition

and especially for the
19th-seeded shatter!

Who they take on
in the final eight.

And finally, in group four,
the lowest seed left in the tournament,

20th-seed ribbot takes
on fifth-seed black dragon.

All right,
so that'll do it for us.

For jenny taft and faruq and our
bot-whisperer pete and my man kenny florian,

I'm chris rose.

Next time we see ya,
we have got the quarter finals,

the semis,
and somebody is walking out of here

with the giant nut.

We'll see you next
time on battlebots.

Think you have what it takes to
be the next battlebots world champion?