BattleBots (2015–…): Season 6, Episode 1 - Slash and Burn! - full transcript

Under the brightest of lights,

on the world's biggest stage...

fight! Fight! Fight!

Where winners
claim glory and losers' names fade,

a wager is made with
each toll of the bell

as red faces blue
in the fires of hell.

Oh, no! It's in trouble.

Oh! We have liftoff.

Now that's my boy, baby.

Tonight, the deadliest
competition in robot combat returns.

And the action shifts to the fight
capital of the world, las vegas,



where 60 teams from around the globe
are ready to risk their mechanical marvels

in a battle of speed,

skill, and submission.

Oh!

- Spin to win.
- Whoo!

Will the sport's biggest
stars double down on their dominance

or does lady luck
have other ideas?

Can a new challenger
make a run at the title?

Or will sin city
swallow their dreams?

Gotta beat the
best to be the best.

Fortunes will rise.

Yes, yes, yes.

Legends will fall...

on the quest to lift the
most coveted trophy...



Let's go!

Of them all.

- Yeah!
- Yeah!

This is...

Oh!

You want another hit?

Battlebots.

Robots activate.

Hey!

Come on!

Whoo!

Hey, we are back.
The wait is finally over,

it's time for the world's premier
robot combat competition

to begin the newest and
most violent season yet.

It is time for battlebots!

I am chris rose, joined by the
dean martin to my frank sinatra.

Say hello to ufc
legend kenny florian.

Thank you. I always thought we
were more like siegfried and roy.

But the rat pack is
way better. I'll take it.

Season six of
battlebots. Here we are.

We're in our new home, las
vegas, the fight capital of the world.

And a killer field of
robots enter with one goal,

to win the battlebots
world championship

and become vegas'
newest signature act.

Move over celine dion.
This is tombstone's town now.

Last season,
new zealand's end game

did something that
no bot had ever done,

steal the championship
away from the united states.

That is it! That is it!

The american teams enter this
season in an unfamiliar position,

trying to reclaim that title

and hoist the most
prestigious trophy in the galaxy,

the giant nut!

Now, there are a couple of
exciting new changes this season,

and none is bigger than
the brand new upper deck.

That's right, as the sport of
robot combat continues to evolve,

the battlebox will now
be evolving along with it.

The upper deck completely
changes the geometry inside the box

and presents a whole
new set of challenges

for these teams to
adapt to or die trying.

Let's take a look at
tonight's fight card.

We have got a stacked lineup of
the world's most deadly combat robots,

all ready to take
las vegas by storm.

After a year away
from the carnage,

two legends make
their explosive returns.

As free shipping squares off with
the flaming hammer of blacksmith.

These two pyromaniacs
are back to remind the field

what a good old fashioned
robot slug-fest is all about.

Blacksmith going
for the knockout blow. Oh!

If that's not enough
firepower for you, take cover

because knockout artist uppercut

and tombstone

are here to bring the pain
alongside the two titans

in tonight's main event,

defending champs end game versus last
year's number one tournament seed, hydra.

But to kick things off tonight,

we've got a match up so
nasty it'll make sin city blush.

As jamison go and sawblaze,

stare down one of the
most intimidating machines

on planet earth, the
brazilian bull, minotaur.

Season six of battlebots starts
right now. Faruq, it's your world.

Ladies and gentleman,
are you ready?

It's robot fighting time!

In the red square,

his giant blade can chip
opponents down to a smaller height.

And what he's cooking up can give
you a buzz like his name was walter white.

We all have fun here on
battlebots, win, lose, or draw.

But if you want your
opponents to be breaking bad,

you better call "saw."

now, say his name.

Sawblaze!

It's sawblaze.

Here comes sawblaze,

led by mit madman jamison go.

Made the top eight in
last year's tournament.

This team has contender
written all over it,

kenny florian.

Sawblaze is just a
bully inside the battlebox, chris.

So dangerous, so well rounded.

Jamison go has spent thousands
of hours perfecting this robot.

He's put an emphasis
on durability this season,

and he expects to be
the one lifting the giant nut

when it's all said and
done here in 2021.

In the blue square,

this bot from greek mythology
kills from mykonos to acropolis.

He's the greatest
greek since john stamos.

Like a half bull
jesse katsopolis.

You've never seen
a bot this strong.

He could bring
apollo to his knees,

kill all of mount olympus, making
zeus call him, "hercules! Hercules!"

it's the oracle of you die,

minotaur!

After sitting out last
season, the 2018, runner up

out of rio de janeiro
has returned.

Only they're missing a
familiar face at the helm, kenny.

Yes, long time
captain, marco meggiolaro,

has passed the reins on to
junior de souza there on the right.

But marco is still watching
over the team from back home

and minotaur has its most
dangerous weapons back in the mix,

that horizontal drum spinner

and driver daniel
freitas. Look out.

Fight against sawblaze,
we're pretty sure it'll be really tough.

And jamison is a
really good driver,

and sawblaze is a
really well-made bot.

We know it'll always
be a box rushing fight.

They'll always try to keep us
on the corners, on the walls,

and we'll try to avoid this.

Minotaur is really strong.
We rely on that thing.

We have a really powerful
drum. If we're spinning,

sure we're gonna have a lot
of advantages against them.

We came here to...
To get the giant nut.

All the changes
we made to sawblaze this year

are focused around durability.

We have a new
design for the forks,

which will hopefully take hits
better and be easier to repair.

And we also worked on trying to
make a stronger arm mechanism

so that we could
take our own hits

and basically running
the entire match.

Minotaur is known for having a
massive weapon that spins incredibly fast.

It stores a lot of energy, and
when it delivers it to its opponent,

they just absolutely
tear them apart.

I think we're gonna see how this
fight will go in the first ten seconds.

Robots activate.

All right, fight fans,
you know, the drill by now.

Each battle will consist of
a single three-minute bout.

The goal is to completely
destroy or disable your opponent.

If you can't do that, our panel
of judges will declare a victor.

And don't forget, the
battlebox is alive with screws,

pulverizers, controlled
by the other team,

and kill saws that become active
in the final minute of the fight.

And here to provide us with the inside
scoop on these matchups as we go,

it's battlebots veteran and our
bot whisperer, pete abrahamson.

Hello.

I am so excited
to be back, guys.

These two teams have a combined
28 battlebots wins between them.

What a way to start the season.

I am on the edge of my seat.

Kenny, it's so cute
when pete gets this excited.

Don't forget to put
your seat belt on

before we take off
here, bot whisperer.

Okay, hold on. Where... wait.

There's no seat
belt in this car.

Red team, ready?

- You guys ready?
- Yeah!

Slash and burn, baby!

Blue team, ready?

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

We have been waiting
all off-season to say this.

Let the bot battle begin.

And here comes
sawblaze with a box rush.

Good job by minotaur to dodge it
and land a shot to the side of sawblaze.

Whoa!

Oh, daniel freitas is
head hunting here at the start.

Uh-oh. Oh!
Another big shot.

Both teams looking
to flank the other

so much experience here.
As sawblaze scoops up

minotaur with its fork and delivers
the brazilians into the corner.

That move
was ridiculous! Wow.

Minotaur's upside down now

and sawblaze is hovering
with the hammer-saw.

Oh, my god!

That was a huge
strike right there from sawblaze.

Minotaur's on fire.

Sawblaze taking him for a
ride now and putting the brazilian

onto the upper deck.
Are you kidding me?

Drove up to the
upper deck like it was nothing

unbelievable control
from sawblaze there.

The fire inside minotaur

continuing to grow, but
somehow it's still moving around.

This is unbelievable, kenny.

This is ridiculous. Jamison go
showing no signs of letting up either.

- Come on!
- Lock that!

Kenny, how long can the brazilian
survive with their bot on fire like this?

And sawblaze
continuing full out attack.

Well, it doesn't seem to
have slowed them down one bit so far,

chris, we still have an
active fight on our hands.

We're almost 90 seconds in

in what has been a mind-blowing
match to kick off the season.

And listen to that.

Minotaur's drum
is still functioning.

Kenny, listen to
the signature buzz.

Jamison go is doing everything
he can to put a nail in minotaur

but he can't do it.

Holy smokes. Oh!

Sawblaze could
not kill minotaur.

It looks like sawblaze just
snapped its weapon chain though, chris,

that may even things
up a bit down the stretch.

Could this be an
opening for minotaur?

Under a minute to go.

Can minotaur actually
make it another 50 seconds?

Oh, how about those
pulverizers getting involved?

Sawblaze just putting
it all together right now.

What a display by sawblaze,

but amazing durability
by the brazilian bot.

No question about
it, and they're trying to fight.

They're trying to do their best,
but they're stuck on those front forks

of sawblaze. Oh, jeez.

Look at this, delivering
minotaur into the screws

and again on the upper
deck for a second time.

This is just a masterclass
here from jamison go right now.

Both bots seemed to
have lost their primary weapons,

but minotaur has been on fire for
full two minutes and it's gasping for air

in hopes of pushing
this to a judges' decision.

This is unreal.

And they are gonna do it, chris.

What a performance by these
veteran teams here tonight.

Ladies and gentlemen, you
just witnessed an instant classic.

That's how we do
it? That's how we do it?

- Oh! Hell yeah!
- Come on!

How do you like that?-.

Two warriors giving
us three minutes of mayhem

to kick off the season
here in las vegas.

Team sawblaze is celebrating.
The fans, they're in a frenzy.

We got the replay,
we got the decision

and more robot
carnage when we return

on battlebots.

Welcome back to battlebots,

where sawblaze and
minotaur, just kicked off

- the 2021 season...
- good job, guys.

With an unbelievable
three-minute brawl.

The decision will now be
in the hands of the judges.

Lisa winter,

derek young, and jason bardis.

They'll be scoring
on an 11-point scale.

Five points can be
awarded for damage,

three apiece for
aggression and control.

How are they gonna
break this one down, kenny?

Well, minotaur came out
swinging and landed some impressive shots,

racking up points in the
aggression and damage categories.

But my goodness,

did sawblaze turn
the tables in a hurry?

And here's where things started

to get ugly for the brazilians.

Yeah, that hammer saw
cut right through to their batteries

and started a fire. Whoo.

That weapon from sawblaze,
I don't think we've ever seen it

this devastating.

I mean, 99% of the
bots out there would have been

finished at that point,

but somehow daniel freitas
actually kept minotaur going,

even though it was
completely on fire.

Just miraculous
stuff here for the brazilians.

And minotaur stuck around
long enough to see sawblaze

pop its weapon chain, which may have
evened out the scorecards a little bit.

I'm sure jamison go is
as shocked as we are.

This fight didn't
end in a knockout.

You never want to go to
the judges if you can avoid it.

Here's faruq with the decision.

The results from
the judges are in.

The winner by
unanimous decision is...

- sawblaze!
- Sawblaze!

Sawblaze!

Let's go.

Got it,
yeah! High-fives.

We are back! Whoo!

Jamison go, listen to that.

They are chanting your name after the first
fight of the year, how does that feel?

Uh, my name is jamison,
they're chanting sawblaze there.

Well, you certainly made a
name for yourself yet again.

- Jamison! Jamison! Jamison!
- There you go.

- Whoo.
- Jamison! Jamison!

Jamison, did you feel like you were
teaching a masterclass out there?

Uh, in the beginning,
did you see that?

We think we were on the, you
know, back foot there a little bit.

We weren't sure that our
plan was gonna hold up,

so a little bit nervous.

Team minotaur is one of the
most respected teams in the world.

What does this do for your team

getting a big win like that
over a very durable bot?

It's a huge confidence boost.

We built a brand new
robot for this season.

We worked on
durability, and it looks like

after those first two hits, we
were a little shaky, a little nervous,

but the robot got right back
up and back into the fight.

I think those upgrades paid off.

Jamison, congratulations.

You guys are off to a
fast start here in 2021.

Slash and burn,
baby! Slash and burn!

All right. The battlebots
season is now officially underway.

Great to see team
minotaur back in the mix.

Not exactly the start
they had in mind,

but the brazilians
prove they are durable.

And the driver, daniel freitas,
would sooner eat his own controller

than stop attacking
inside of the battlebox.

Not all bad news
for the brazilian team.

I think there's some positive
takeaways from that fight.

For team sawblaze, it is off to
the races with a win in their 2021 debut.

Every team in this
year's field will fight

up to three times here
in the qualifying rounds,

hoping to build a resume strong
enough to earn a spot in the top 32

and the winner take all
championship tournament.

May the deadliest bot win!

The opening night action continues
right now with another marquee matchup.

It's uppercut versus gigabyte.

And let's start with a bot so powerful
it could light up the las vegas strip.

Uppercut.

If you took a poll of which
team has the scariest weapon,

I guarantee you, you'd get a
lot of uppercuts as your answer.

Oh, my goodness!

That vertical spinner was handing
kos out like candy last season.

I can't wait to see what it
has in store this time around.

And they're going
up against team gigabyte,

led by electrical engineer and
battlebots og, john mladenik.

This full-body spinner is coming off
its most impressive year yet, kenny.

No doubt. Made it
to the round of 16 last year.

The robot looked durable. It was
able to consistently deliver damage,

and it solidified its reputation

as the most exciting
full-body spinner in the sport.

Oh! A master shot!

When gigabyte's in the
mix, you know, you're in for a show.

So let's get right to it.
The teams are on the driver's deck

and ready for
action inside the box.

Red team, ready?

Team uppercut from
mit, led by captain alex hattori,

made the top 16 in their first
two seasons here at battlebots.

They want to exceed
that mark this time, kenny.

Well, they won't be sneaking
up on anyone this year, chris,

but that won't affect
their fight strategy.

It goes something like this,

point that vertical spinner at
their opponent and smash away.

Blue team, ready?

You know team gigabyte
lost a key member this season,

matt maxim to team cobalt.

But they still feel really good
about their chances this season.

Yeah, matt will be missed
but john has a ton of faith in his bot.

He's added a 90 degree
lip to that shell of gigabyte,

in hopes of reducing recoil.

And those three new mini bots,

will be looking to high center uppercut
and tee it up for a knockout shot.

Uppercut, gigabyte, prepare
for weapon on weapon warfare.

Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!

Let the bot battle begin.

Gigabyte needs to keep the
action in the center of the box,

but uppercut's all over him,

delivers a clean shot there.

Oh!

And another. Uppercut has
him sealed off of that short corner now.

This is not
what gigabyte wanted.

Whoa! Uppercut with a
huge pop, but it's up on its dome.

Gigabyte's got to find a way to get
out of this corner, kenny, and now.

They sure do, but looks like

they may be trying to
box uppercut in now.

Probably should have used the
escape hatch while they had it.

Oh, big shot. Gigabyte's
on its head but self-rights.

My goodness!

Both bots seeing stars,
and here comes uppercut.

That weapon is devastating.

Gigabyte back on its head.

John mladenik is
not sure what hit him,

but the answer is
young alex hattori's

- vertical spinner, and here comes the countdown.
- Ten, nine, eight,

- seven, six...
- Wow. Both of these

bots are gonna need
some smelling salts

after this one, chris.

Two, one. Knockout!

What an impressive
2021 debut for team uppercut.

All right, kenny,
break it all down for us.

Well, for the second
time in as many fights, chris,

we saw the upper deck
come into play here.

John mladenik needed to keep
gigabyte in the center of the box

and give himself
the space to spin up.

But uppercut was able
to back gigabyte down

into that new 16x8
foot short corner.

And that is a dangerous place
to be if you're a full-body spinner.

Yeah, you thought
maybe there was one opportunity

and he could have
pulled back to the center

and for some reason he didn't,
and that was a fatal mistake.

Yeah, once uppercut
boxed gigabyte into that corner

for the second time,

they just went nuclear
with that vertical spinner.

Gigabyte lost its self-righter
with that shot right there,

landed on its head
and it was lights out.

Uppercut, one scary robot.

Alex hattori, I imagine that's the way
you drew it up back in the pits, huh?

- No way, that was... That was very intense.
- No?

That was... Those were bigger
hits than we expected. That was...

It's a relief that it's over.

Why do you continue to surprise
yourself with the power of that weapon?

You know, we don't get to test
uppercut except for when we're here, so

this is the first time
we've been able to spin up

and hit anything with this
new version of uppercut, so.

What are you
saying, that you don't

just roll down the
street where you live and

just test uppercut
wherever on the sidewalk?

Sadly, no. Our neighbors
wouldn't really like that.

Can you win the giant
nut this year, alex?

We certainly hope
so, we'll do our best.

Alex, can you win the giant nut?

I think those hits speak for
themselves, so I don't have to.

Exactly. That is the
answer we're looking for.

- Alex hattori, team uppercut. Congratulations.
- Thank you.

Kenny, I imagine the
entire pitch back there,

you have been warned.
Uppercut was nasty in 2020.

They are scarier in 2021.

Okay, when we return,
a newcomer jumps into the mix

as switchback makes its debut against
the infamous flame thrower of gruff.

That's next on battlebots.

We are back on battlebots,
where sparks fly and robots die.

One of the great
joys of a new season

is introducing the
rookies in our field.

Could a future battlebots
champion be lurking among them?

You never know.

Let's meet the newcomer
in our next matchup,

switchback.

My name is greg needel, and
I'm team captain of team switchback.

It's our first year
on battlebots.

We're happy to be here,

and we're from dallas, texas.

Switchback is a

brand new robot, a
variable drum spinner

on a 180 degree
articulating arm.

We always wanna
do something different.

It was a lot of give and
take at the very beginning,

but the idea was, could we

take the heaviest drum,
the fastest it can go

and move that thing around,

but it's got that
same killer force

as some of the other biggest
drum spinners in the field

and switchback was born.

Switchback can run
a full 80-pound drum

up to the maximum
limit of battlebots

at 250 miles an hour tip speed,

that's our maximum
configuration.

We've still got some little
stuff we have to take care of,

but we feel pretty good.

Feels really amazing to
come in as a new team,

and then here in
the pit to see like,

so many of these veteran teams,

especially when you're like,

yeah, like I... I... I kind of
wanna smash that robot.

We went into
battlebots knowing that

success for us was kind
of defined by the journey.

A group of friends,
we got together,

we built this cool machine, we
wanted to come to battlebots.

I mean, this is a dream.

You know, making the leap

to the big leagues
here at battlebots

is no easy task, but greg needel

seems up for the challenge.

Kenny, we spoke with him,

I've never seen a rookie
team more prepared.

Absolutely. And it
seems like he has

the preparation of a veteran

but the humility of a rookie, you
know, I've been really impressed with

what he's been saying.

He's doing a bunch of studying,

a videotape, so he
is very well-prepared.

That's right. He has
watched each and every fight

of his opponent tonight, gruff.

Faruq, it's your world.

In the red square,
from dallas, texas,

don't mess with texas or
he'll eat you for breakfast.

Give it up for switchback.

Here's our first live look

at the rookie switchback.

Kenny, this thing is coming in
with a one-of-a-kind weapon.

That's right. Greg needel
calls it a sandwich drum spinner.

It features a
varying configuration

of 6.5 pounds of ar 500 discs,

all on a 180-degree
articulating arm

that allows it to attack
from above or head on.

In the blue square,

from palm harbor, florida,

it breathes fire
and has giant forks.

Now it's time for a barbecue.

Give it up for gruff!

And here comes the
fire spitting veterans from

team gruff.

Third year here at battlebots.

This robot might just be the
toughest one in the entire field.

Gruff is armored
like a tank, chris.

Plus, it features the
hottest burning flamethrower

in the competition.

They've shifted some
weight from the lifter

into a redesigned
drive train this season,

so look out for some improved
mobility from them here tonight.

We're taking every single
fight one at a time, right?

With a brand new concept
and a brand new robot,

we'd love to go far in the
tournament, but we've gotta

focus on the match
ahead of us right now.

We're preparing for gruff.

We're putting an armor
package on together

and a weapon package
that we think will be

good against them.

We're up to the challenge for
anything that anybody throws at us.

Last year, we struggled with
our drivetrain self-destructing.

This year,

uh, we've got these gearboxes,

that are designed to

basically bring back
our old reliability.

So going up against switchback,
we're a little bit nervous 'cause

we've got tons of armor
all around the sides,

uh, but our top and bottom
armor is pretty limited.

And so if they can bring that

blade down on top of us, we're
a little bit worried about that.

We run into them until something
breaks. Hopefully it's them.

Robots activate.

Uh-oh, there is
that flame from gruff.

And for more on
grump's opponent,

we welcome in our bot
whisperer, pete, who has props.

I do, guys.

Check this out. This is one
of the discs from switchback.

They plan on staggering
these at a certain distance

so that gruff's forks

do not get hung up in between
each one of these things,

that they can easily
slide off of the forks.

But it's like you said,
it's a brand new bot.

It's a completely different design
that we've never seen before,

and I'm super excited
to watch it happen.

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

I'm sure greg needel has
been thinking about this moment

for an awfully long time, folks.

Let's see what
switchback has to offer.

Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!

Let the bot
battle begin. And gruff

quick on the draw,

gets behind the
rookie switchback.

Oh, nice shot on the
reversal from greg needel.

Oh! Switchback's
weapon up to full speed

but there's mr. Durability
gruff backing it down.

Uh-oh, gruff under the
rookie, up against the rails.

Ohhh! Nice pop.

A bit of inexperience
from the rookies there, chris.

Not throttling that weapon
down when gruff had them pinned.

As you see switchback get
caught in the kill saw there.

They're staying aggressive. But they
need to be smart and pick their spots.

No question,
switchback's weapon,

very functional,
very impressive.

The question is, can it get
the angle on gruff it wants? Oh!

A one-two shot from switchback.

Switchback keeps
going nose to nose with gruff.

And that is not what you want to
do, especially against those forks.

A masterful job
by gruff of delivering

switchbacks into a pulverizer.

Incredible control there, kenny.

Absolutely, that should
play very well with the judges.

And now he's literally
got switchback cornered.

This is where gruff shines.

This is where he makes
his money right here,

just staying on his opponent.

Oh, another bit of
incredible control there by gruff,

landing another shot
with the pulverizer.

Look out, switchback's
weapon up to full speed again, chris.

Oh! - oh!

Huge impact there, and
now switchback is on its head.

Can it self-right?
Here comes gruff!

Oh! Switchback lining
up a knockout blow

and it knocked itself out.

And now greg needel's robot is
getting flambéed inside the box.

You guys, it's not moving,
guys. We're gonna have to count down.

The ref is issuing a warning.

- Ten, night eight...
- Switchback, can't it get itself right side up.

- And it's gonna be on the wrong side of the ledger...
- Seven, six, five...

- Here in its battlebots debut.
- Four, three, two...

One! That's a
knockout. Winner, gruff!

And that's what
you call baptism by fire.

Kenny, I gotta tell you

the rookie looked impressive
right out of the gate.

Listen, switchback
showed some promise in this fight.

That drum spinner is legit.

The question is whether
or not that articulating arm

is fast enough

to be effective in
attacking from above.

Something to look out for
in their coming matches.

And what a display
of control from gruff.

Gruff had it
all working in this fight.

They were durable enough
to take some punishment,

and they used that
improved drive train

to push switchback
around the box

and deliver it into the hazards.

And how about a
little flamage from gruff

to seal the deal.

So with that, sam
mcamis and team gruff

start their season
off with a victory.

And for rookie greg needel and
switchback, an excellent first showing.

They came in prepared,

but nothing can simulate

the ferocious flame of gruff

or the pressure
of the battlebox.

Coming up next,

the grim reaper
himself, mr. Ray billings,

marches tombstone into the
arena to face captain shrederator.

And make sure your tray tables

are in their upright
and locked position

because later tonight,

the defending champs,

end game, will dance with the
baddest flipper on the planet,

last year's number one
tournament seed hydra.

Don't go anywhere.

Welcome back to
battlebots, the world's premier

robot fighting competition.

We're only three matches

into the 2021 season,

and that's longer than we're
used to, waiting for the most

recognizable face
in all of robot combat,

the king of kinetic energy,

former champ ray
billings and tombstone.

Kenny, just how much fear does
ray still strike into his opponents?

I mean, I get chills
hearing you say that name,

so imagine what it feels like

going up against him.

Ray told us he was frustrated
with his up and down performance

in last year's qualifiers.

He let that anger fuel him,

and he's redesigned tombstone

to be the most powerful
version of the bot

the field has ever
seen. Truly terrifying.

Well, he'll be going
up against a bot we know

oh-so well.

Mr. Red, white,
and blue himself.

Brian nave and
captain shrederator.

Kenny, there's
never a dull moment

when this full-body
spinner is in the mix.

Absolutely. Brian
knows how to put on a show.

And coming into
tonight's matchup,

he's not only armed with an
improved captain shrederator,

but the drive to take it to one
of his oldest friends in the sport

in ray billings.

I know in my career I
always had an extra gear

for the fights
against competitors

I had a relationship with,

and I can guarantee
it's no different for brian

taking on ray here tonight.

It's gonna be fun.
Faruq, take it away

in the red square,

this bot is a captain
like james t. Kirk,

and he's setting his
phasers from stun

to murder.

When he takes the
helm and comes for you,

you'll want to hide and cower.

Wanna fight him?

That's illogical.

You don't have the power.

Boldly going into the battlebox,

it's captain shrederator.

One of the most
recognizable robots in the field,

representing the us of a.

Captain shrederator, in all
its full-body spinning glory.

What's new with the
shred this year, kenny?

Tell us about it.

Well,
shrederator's struggles with

weapon durability are well
documented, so brian and his team

have added a second weapon motor

for redundancy this season.

They're gonna get a shock
test right out of the gate here

against tombstone,

and they'll need to make
sure shred keep spinning

if they want any shot at
taking down the legend.

In the blue square,

prepare to die hard.

And if you're asking
who's the illest,

know this bot is unbreakable

like its name was bruce willis.

Remember the sixth sense?

Well, that ending applies

'cause after you
lose this fight,

you'll realize, "I was
dead the whole time."

spoiler alert!

Give it up

for tombstone!

Yeah, just listen to
that crowd, as team tombstone

makes its way to the box for
their highly anticipated debut.

Ray's son justin
billings on the left,

and longtime team technician,
rick russ, on the right.

You're looking
at one of the most

feared teams in
battlebots history.

Yeah, and the
most impressive part is

how they managed to
bring a contender to the box

year after year.

Ray and his team told us that

not only have they
installed a brand new

weldless unibody frame that
absorbs impacts better than ever,

they've also turbocharged
their punching power

with brand new weapon motors

that are sure to send even the
bravest of bots running for cover.

This year, tombstone's
been upgraded a lot.

We made some
changes to the... The...

The weapon motor itself,
and to the power system,

we have a lot more
power than we did before.

The only part that's
scary is we made a

whole bunch of
changes all at once,

so we gotta make sure that it's all
working when we get in the arena.

I like our chances.

I think it's a, it's a match
we're... We're going to win.

It's gonna be a good one.

There... There's a lot of energy
being unleashed in that arena this time.

You know, being back here,

the excitement
is just in the air

and just walking
into the building

just like, boom,
makes you excited.

And now, we get
to fight a legend.

I've been asking for a
tombstone fight for years.

You know, if he wins,
everybody is gonna go,

"oh, yeah, of
course, he'll win."

he loses, everybody is gonna go,

"you lost to captain
shrederator? Come on!"

the fights are, uh, rock,
paper, scissors, right?

Well, we're the
rock to his scissors.

Robots activate.

Tombstone.

Shrederator.

Judges, put those pencils
back in your trapper keeper

'cause this one's got
ko written all over it.

Listen to that laugh?

The sparks are about to fly,

next on battlebots.

Welcome back to opening night

of the battlebots, 2021 season,

where the pallbearer
of punishment,

tombstone

is ready to throw down
with captain shrederator.

Red team, ready?

- Spin to win.
- Spin to win, baby!

Blue team, ready?

Spin to win.

Fight!
Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!

Let the bot battle begin.

Both bots looking to spin up.

Shrederator gets
under tombstone,

tombstone at full speed now.

What the heck was that, kenny?

I think a tooth
just flew off of shrederator.

Wow. - a huge impact,

and don't look now, but
tombstone is wobbling.

Oh, it's leaking out of
the top of the robot as well.

Oh! What a shot.

Shrederator going weapon
to weapon with tombstone.

- Can you believe it?
- Whoa, he's on fire.

Oh!

A huge hit.

Oh, my goodness!

And tombstone's weapon
is no longer spinning, kenny.

Yeah, that blade
may be out of commission,

and ray billings is dealing with
a serious fire inside tombstone.

And now captain shrederator
is no longer spinning as well,

but, kenny, how long can the
former champ last on fire like this?

Well, remember,
we just saw minotaur

make it the full
three minutes on fire.

But, chris, no two robots
are designed the same.

This is gonna come down to
the way the electronics are laid out

inside of tombstone,

but a fire like this could kill
critical components at any moment.

This is unbelievable,

the complete backside of
tombstone totally engulfed in flames.

But let's remember, captain
shrederator has had its own

durability issues in the past.

Its weapon is down for the
count so this thing ain't over yet.

Can the former champ
find a way to survive?

Or do we have a monumental
upset in the making

here on the opening
night of the season?

Uh-oh.

Just under 90 seconds to go
and tombstone is not moving, kenny.

Team shrederator
thinks they have it.

Here comes the countdown.

The king tombstone
is gonna fall to a team

- with only three wins in its last 13 matches.
- Two, one.

That's a knockout!

And ray billings'
season just go up in smoke.

Wow, kenny, when two kinetic
weapons, collide inside the box,

anything can happen.

There's no question.
It was actually a piece of

tombstone's blade,
we felt ricochet

into the glass
early in this fight,

you can really see it
flying around right there.

And that shot was really
the beginning of the end

for ray billings'
bot in this one.

That impact eventually led

to a four-alarm fire
inside of tombstone.

Sure, it was able to hang
on for another minute or so,

but while we saw
minotaur surviving

similar inferno earlier tonight,

this one ended up taking
down the former champ.

Captain shrederator with a
shocking upset, here on night one.

Brian nave,

that is a way to
kick off a season,

- look how happy you are.
- Yeah!

Long time coming, baby! Yeah!

When you saw the flames engulf
tombstone, what were you thinking?

Well, I know he can
drive for a long time on fire,

so I was just kind of saying,

well, should we keep
hitting him? Should we wait?

You know, but we... You know, we
wanted to try to get him to the hammers

my team was
telling me, "stop it,

don't push him to the hammers."
but I wanted to hammer him.

Brian, before this fight,
you broke it down beautifully.

You pretty much executed
what you wanted to do.

Can you take us through
the fight a little bit?

Well, you know, he
hits so hard, you know,

once he hits you, it's like all the
plans are out the window and just

try to survive and
try to get in there and,

you know, he's got a new robot,
so he's gonna have to work out

some bugs, so, you know,
he'll be back and he'll be fine.

But you know what? We're gonna
take the nut this year, so look out.

Do you really feel
that way, brian?

Well, I think we got a better...
We got a better chance.

The crowd thinks so,
that's for sure. Yeah!

Usa!
Usa! Usa! Usa! Usa!

There you go, see.

Spin to win, baby. They love it.

Brian nave,

congratulations,
off to a 1-0 start.

Thanks.

So we have our first
giant upset of the 2021 season

as tombstone falls to
captain shrederator.

That was unreal.

Coming up,

the firestorm has
only just begun

as fan favorites,

free shipping and blacksmith

blaze their way
back into the box.

That's next on battlebots.

Welcome back to battlebots.

Coming your way from our
new home here in las vegas.

Tonight, we're kicking
off the qualifying rounds

of our 2021 season,

and the bots have already
made their mark here in sin city.

Sawblaze got the party started
by ripping through minotaur

in a three minute
instant classic matchup.

And to the victor go the spoils.

There you see sawblaze
captain jamieson go,

holding a signed piece
of minotaur's armor.

It's a tradition
here at battlebots

for teams to exchange
shrapnel after their fights.

So let's just hope he has
a big enough trophy shelf.

I'd say we hang this up, but
it'd probably take the whole shelf down.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You're going
to need a better shelf.

All right. Let's
keep this train rolling along.

Up next, we're
calling this matchup

the highly anticipated return of

two of the most beloved
teams in the sport,

and oh, my god,
there's fire everywhere.

I don't know if it's gonna fit
on a vegas marquee or not,

but work with me here.

We say hello once
again to al kindle and blacksmith,

one of the hardest working
guys in combat robotics.

And after sitting
out last season,

he admitted it was tough watching
his fellow builders from the couch,

so he strapped his
tool belt back on

and the fans, they
couldn't be any happier.

And when we asked him, "hey, are you
glad to be back?" he said, "absolutely."

until I started working on the bot
and realized how much work this was.

Al, he is always a
breath of fresh air.

It is. I... I mean,
it's so much work,

and this guy gives a 100% in

everything he does,
whether he's driving the bot

or building the bot.

He is excited to be back.
Can't wait to see him out there.

And also staging
his triumphant return

is the man,

the myth,

the legend himself,

gary gin, the fire starter
with free shipping.

We asked gary how important
is winning to you, and he said,

"it's not that important. I just love
putting on a great show for everybody."

that's what we love to hear.

Absolutely. Listen, both of these
guys really are cut from the same cloth.

So I expect a
very exciting fight.

He said it's gonna be three
minutes of absolute insanity, so

let's get to it.

What do you say to two old guys?

- Ogs, let's call 'em ogs.
- Ogs.

- Yeah.
- Cheers to you.

Faruq, take it away.

In the red square,

his special delivery
is always on time,

and it's a big box
of punishment.

Call him slamazon prime.

When he knocks on your door,

you know you don't
stand a chance.

He's the ups of making
you pee your pants.

Here comes free shipping!

And there he is, the man
with his mug on our mug. Gary gin,

a cult hero at battle bots, and
I'd say it's well-deserved, kenny.

Yeah, I mean, this guy isn't
just a great personality in the sport,

but he's also one of the most
respected drivers of all time.

Free shipping is a control
bot through and through,

and gary plays this
thing like a violin.

In the blue square,

a bot who's from jersey,

like kevin smith and jay,

who makes him enemies think,

"I'm not even supposed
to be here today."

when his hammer comes down,

the sound is quite violent

and the crowd gets so pumped,
not even bob can stay silent.

Snooze to the noose,

it's blacksmith.

Kenny, how lucky are we?

It's the return of one of the
most entertaining bots of all time

in blacksmith.

And if you don't believe me,

just check out the
24 million views

their 2016 fight
against minotaur

actually has online.

And how many of
those views were you, chris?

I'd say about half of
them. I really missed these guys.

Yeah, we've gotta
fight blacksmith tonight.

He's a little
different this season.

Now he has a... What do you... I
guess he's calling a power hammer?

But it kind of looks just
like a vertical disc to me.

Hopefully, he doesn't
cut through the top.

Hopefully, we can just push
him around, slam him around.

He's probably gonna
try to come right at us,

but, uh, we're just gonna
try to outmaneuver him,

stay underneath
him, push him around,

um, and try to stay in control.

We've made a rather
radical revision change

with this, uh,
version this season.

We're calling it a power hammer.

It's a spinner type weapon.

We did retain the fire,

so it still has the
fire hammer effect.

One of the reasons we
went with this revision

is 'cause in the past
it became clear that

we were having difficulty
with judges' decisions

because of our inability to do

visible damage.

So we felt this change
was the way we had to go

to, uh, go to the next level.

We're hoping it
all comes together.

We're back.

Robots activate.

We are ready
to fight fire with fire.

Blacksmith's showing off
already. So too is free shipping.

Believe it or not, these
two veterans are meeting

inside the battlebox
for the very first time.

Red team, ready?

Yes.

Yeah, gary gin is back.

Blue team, ready.

Al kindle, pumped up too.

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

Let the bot battle begin.

Oh, free shipping... Oh, yes.
We got big time flames already.

I missed you, boys.

Oh, gary gin.

Oh, yes!
Into the upper deck.

Oh, free shipping with some
evasive maneuvers there

and right on top of
blacksmith, kenny.

Big hit coming from al kindle

he said, "we have
knockout power now."

great control by free shipping.

Hitting blacksmith
with their pulverizer.

Oh. And then a
side shot from blacksmith.

Blacksmith has
been super aggressive so far.

- Oh.
- Another swing of hammer by blacksmith.

And look at the flame.

Oh. A beautiful
reversal from free shipping,

followed by some friendly
fire from the pulverizer.

Now, gary gin...
Gary got lifted...

oh, he does a nice job flipping blacksmith
over, and it rights itself nicely.

That was a beautiful
self-right there by team blacksmith.

A little weapon on weapon.

Now kindle said this will
be a battle for the ground game.

And so far, it looks like free shipping,
able to get underneath him here.

Free shipping
dodges another strike there.

But blacksmith
back on the attack.

And here's gary gin flipping
blacksmith on its backside

for the second time tonight.

This has been a
very close fight so far, chris.

Yeah, free shipping
has had the control.

Blacksmith with the aggression.

So who's gonna score those
all-important damage points?

Oh.

And gary gin taking
blacksmith into the ram.

Yeah, we're there.

Blacksmith landing shots at a very
high rate in this fight, though, chris.

That is going to play
well with the judges.

Yeah, that new power
hammer has been doing

work here in this fight.

But free shipping continuing
to take it on the chin.

That big ar 500 wedge out front.

- Uh-oh.
- Another big shot.

And you see
the back of free shipping,

a chain is broken on
the back side there.

Could that be the
first big damage points

scored by either
team in this one?

Oh, man, free
shipping trying to get

blacksmith up on the upper deck.

Can it happen?

Looks like free
shipping may have lost

function in their lifter.

Our front chains are broken.

You hear gary
gin confirming it there.

His weapon chains are toast.

But free shipping's front
wedge still very much intact

and continuing to push
blacksmith around the box.

30 seconds to go.

Looks like
blacksmith may be dealing

with some fire in their
internals now, chris.

Free shipping needs
to make a push here.

Al kindle continuing
to engage them.

15 seconds to go.

Blacksmith trying to
throw that hammer

even without the weapon
spinning at full strength.

And al kindle lands another
shot with the pulverizer,

a nice final impression
for the judges there.

What a show these
two veterans have put on

for the fans here
on opening night.

Oh!

This one is
going to the scorecards,

and it is going to be close.

Okay, kenny, three minutes of
madness to sort through here.

How are the judges
gonna break this one down?

These two teams definitely

played the hits for the
fans with free shipping

putting on a control clinic
with that big front wedge

and blacksmith bringing its
signature aggression and intensity.

And we got to see that
new power hammer of blacksmith

get in on the action and dole
out some serious damage.

No doubt. But
while most of the strikes

found the top of free
shipping's ar 500 armor,

blacksmith landed
them in bunches.

And that's gonna play
very well with the judges.

Gary gin showing
his skill by continuing

to push blacksmith around
the box and into the hazards.

But free shipping
popped its weapon chain

and couldn't use the
lifter down the stretch,

and that's where
things get interesting.

Blacksmith eventually lost
the ability to spin its weapon,

but it did keep swinging
that hammer arm

and it was dealing with a fire.

So, this may just
come down to which bot

made it to the closing
bell in better shape

and who the judges feel was
the more aggressive team.

Tough call.

Let's go to
faruq, with the decision.

The results from
the judges are in.

And the winner
by unanimous decision is...

Blacksmith.

Smash and burn.

Al kindle, welcome back.

Thanks, it's great to be back.

- Yeah, how nice is a w?
- Awesome.

Just a one-word answer.

Al, how about, "I'm
so excited to be back.

I can't believe it! I'm gonna
go win the giant nut!"?

You want me to do the
interview with myself here, al.

Hey, man, you can come down and
be the captain. You did a good job.

No, no, no. Were
you a little surprised

by the decision
because you were on fire

for the last 45 seconds or so?

Um, honestly, not really.

We did... I think we lost the weapon,
uh, the spinner's speed controller.

This is an entirely
new weapon system.

We had a lot of
concerns about it.

But other than that
little bit of fire at the end,

it worked awesomely,
we did a lot of damage

and that was our
goal this season

to actually do some visible
damage and be able to win decisions.

It seems like the difference was

you getting those hits in
with your primary weapon.

Do you think that's why the judges,
uh, went with team blacksmith?

Absolutely. I think
that's... Again,

that's why we made
these changes.

We had to be able
to do some damage.

We have the durability,
we have the drive train,

and now we have damage.

Al kindle, was this fun?

This was great. Gary's awesome.

That bot is a lot of fun.

He's a great driver. I
knew this was gonna be

three minutes of madness,
and that's what it was.

Al, smile for
everybody around the...

There you go, al kindle
and blacksmith with a win.

I knew it could happen.

Congratulations.

So, kenny, you heard al kindle.

He said he wasn't surprised
by the decision. Were you?

You know, it seems like
it was the control aspect

of free shipping
versus those hits

from al kindle and
team blacksmith.

The judges are gonna
weigh those strikes

more heavily than,
say, the control.

I think that was the difference.

It was an awesome
fight between two ogs,

east coast versus west coast.

East coast got it done.

- It's like biggie and tupac, right?
- Exactly, exactly.

Uh, cheers once again to gary
gin. I... I just love these things.

I'm gonna use this
the rest of my life.

All right. Coming up...

After dropping
20 lbs off its blade,

will deep six still feel
like 777s here in vegas?

Or will pain train and
its new ar 500 firewall

be enough to run 'em
out of town on a rail?

Find out when we
continue on battlebots.

Welcome back to battlebots,

where the fans are ready
for more robot on robot crime.

And what a ride
it's been so far.

2021's opening night fight card

has been a smorgasbord
of destruction,

and we've yet to serve up
the evening's main course.

That's gonna be an epic matchup
between hydra and end game.

And there is a live look at the
defending champions, end game,

making some last
minute adjustments

to their vertical
spinner back in the pits.

And there you see the
man who says his goal

is to flip a bot into the
ceiling lights this year,

jake ewert and hydra.

What a showdown
this is gonna be.

The main event is
just around the corner,

but first, we have a fascinating
clash of designs for you

as pain train takes on deep six.

And let's start with pain train,

captained by new york
city's very own evan arias.

His debut 2020 season
didn't go exactly as planned.

But you know what?

Evan is still as
enthusiastic as ever.

He's like, "dude, I cannot wait
to get back. I learned so much."

hopefully, one thing
he learned is not to have

his robot fall apart
inside the battlebox

'cause it happened a
few times a season ago.

That's right. He did
say he learned a lot.

He believes that he's
still the king of new york,

so he's coming
in very confident.

You know, some guys
coming in their second year,

they say, "you know, I just
wanna win a couple fights.

I want to be exciting."

not evan. He says, "I
want to win the giant nut."

so, he's got lofty goals there.

Tonight, he is
taking on deep six,

which certainly left
an indelible mark, uh,

two seasons ago,
when we last saw them.

Indelible as in they
shattered a light

and took a huge chunk
out of our floor with that

one hundred pound weapon.

By the way, dustin
esswein, the team captain,

you have yet to pay for that.

So, you know, the
interest on that thing

is just growing and
growing by the day.

As far as the weapon,
a little less weight on it.

I can't wait to see
what that means.

That's right. And
that should help them

fight physics a little bit more.

They were off balance. They
were completely out of control.

And of course, that's why they
took a chunk out of the floor.

Hopefully, they don't
do that this season.

All right. It should
be very interesting.

Let's see if either of these
bots improved. Faruq.

In the red square from
new york city, new york.

All aboard, next stop, montauk!

But the stop after
that... Pure agony.

It's pain train.

And check out this crew,

captained by evan
arias, there on the right

kenny, pain train has a
whole lot to prove this season,

don't you think?

No doubt about it. Raised
in the mean streets of new york city,

evan had to kick and
scrap to make his way

into the robotics community.

His three-pound bot shreddit bro

is a hall of fame machine
on the beetle weight circuit,

but he struggled badly here at
battlebots in his rookie season.

Evan is determined to right
the ship this time around.

In the blue square
from norfolk, virginia,

the six in its name
stands for six feet under.

Watch out for its spinner.
It will tear you asunder.

It's deep six!

Welcome back deep six.

Captained by the us
navy diver dustin esswein

pushing deep six in, this is a
totally new look team, kenny.

That's right. After
seeing the uphill battle

he faced with deep
six, dustin decided

to swap out his old navy pals

for some more robotics
familiar engineers this season.

And he says, "you'll
be able to see the results

once this oversized
vertical spinner fires up."

swapping out brawns for brains.

We'll see if it pays off for dustin
and this unpredictable robot.

So this year, I have
a point to prove.

We're back. We're better.
More pain, more train.

I'm looking to claim the most
aggressive title in combat robotics,

and I'm gonna take
everyone face to face.

Everything's at stake
going into this first fight.

It's really gonna set
the tone for this season,

for the team and for the robot.

And I can't wait to put
deep six six feet deep.

The last time we were here,
we had a lot of reliability issues.

Uh, and basically the
main focus of this build was

to solve all those. So
I mean, it's designed

to hit as hard as
possible, and it'll do that.

The challenge is
surviving our own hits.

Pain train's strategy
is definitely gonna be

to try to get around the sides,

uh, get to the front.

He's a great driver and
he knows what he's doing,

so we're just gonna have
to keep up with all that.

Robots activate.

It's the tower of power

versus the little engine
that should. Deep six.

Pain train.

When battlebox continues.

Welcome back to battlebots.

We are right back
into the action.

Here's a clash of designs,
comes to a crescendo.

It's deep six versus pain train.

And it's right now.

Red team, ready?

Go.

Blue team, ready?

Yeah.

Deep six is going six deep.

Look at that thing, kenny.

Certainly hope you
got your will notarized.

Let the bot battle begin.

Pain train with a box
rush but a bit out of control

as it ends up in the corner.

In the meantime, deep six
trying to get out of its own square.

Oh, boy. Can't wait
for the first shot.

Will it be weapon on weapon?

Oh, deep six just made
itself vulnerable there on the flank.

Let's see if pain train
able to take advantage of it.

Both teams having an issue
trying to get in the right position.

Oh, look at that.

- that 80-pound weapon...
- oh.

Of deep six ends up
taking a chunk out of the floor again.

Big impact there, but pain train

took some damage to
that right wheel, chris,

and with their
two-wheel configuration,

that's gonna be a problem.

Well, it can get around still.

The question is, can it figure
out which direction to go?

Uh-oh, we got some
more rubber on the floor.

Oh, this is a real
problem now, kenny.

Yeah, and it's lost contact
with the floor on that right side.

- That's not good.
- Oh, no.

Oh! - oh!

Wow! Oh, my god.

Yeah! Oh, yeah! Whoo!

Pain train in some serious pain.

Look at that fire.

They say there's nothing
like an open flame, kenny.

Just makes the bot taste
so crispy and delicious.

Three, two,
one. That's a knockout.

Deep six! Deep six! Deep six!

Kenny, we wondered
which bot was gonna land

the first big time blow,
and it was indeed deep six.

Yeah, absolutely.
It looked like they were

gonna be in trouble there,
when their own weapon

rammed into the floor again,

but they were able to recover

and they showed
their reliability,

and they also
showed their power.

My goodness, that
thing packs a wallop.

And it also shows
you what having tires exposed

can do to you in
the case of pain train.

Yeah, that's
right. They took away

one of those wheels.
It was no longer

making contact with the floor.

It could not move, it was
a sitting duck right there.

Deep six took
full advantage of it,

and then the batteries went
on fire. That was amazing.

Yeah, and we
might have to recharge

those things in time
for the next fight,

or just buy some new ones.

Hey, dustin, it... It only took

two years, but that's the way

deep six was
supposed to work, right?

Man, that was wild, huh?

Yeah, this was the
idea from the get-go.

You know what? We're
somewhat reliable now.

We can take big hits

and we can give
big hits, you know?

This is everything
we've always wanted.

Take us through the fight.

Yeah, I mean so,
our plan is simple,

we just have to stay
spun-up and stay facing them.

If they run into our
weapon, that's great.

Yeah, it seemed
like you were kinda

waiting for them a little bit.

Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean,

we have no armor
at all, it's just the bar.

So, well, we're not
gonna come to you.

You're gonna come to us.

Hey, dustin, a
couple of years ago,

you took a big old
chunk out of the floor

and you still haven't
repaid us for it.

Do we have to have
kenny over there

and help you find your wallet?

Yeah, I'll... I'll get
you next time around.

All right, sounds good. We'll
see you in your next fight.

- Congratulations.
- Thank you.

So it's all pain, no gain,

for the team from the nyc,

as deep six impresses

with that incredibly
powerful weapon.

You gonna help 'em
find their wallet or not?

Because I'm
telling you that bill

is due for that floor from 2019.

You know, I got some
down trees in my backyard,

so I think they may chop
some firewood for me,

we'll call it even.

All right, up next, the moment
we've all been waiting for,

the defending champs
are ready to face

the most fearsome
flipper ever to hit the box.

Let's take a closer look
at tonight's main event.

Oh! Oh,
my god! That is it.

End game is taking the
giant nut back overseas.

Last year was
only our third year,

and we won the whole thing.

We won the giant nut.

People definitely pay a
lot more attention to us now.

End game!

That's gotta be the most brutal,

vertical spinner in the sport.

That's a knockout.

More confident than last year,

but there is definitely
a little bit of pressure.

People are expecting
us to do well,

and there's a
target on our back.

We gotta be prepared for that.

And we've come
prepared for that.

- Whoa!
- What a flip by hydra.

If you weren't scared last year,

you better be this year

because it's gonna
be better than ever.

Oh! Hydra
with another flip.

Everybody's gonna get sent up.

Last year...

jake ewert and hydra have looked

unstoppable here
in the tournament.

Every other match
was super dominant.

Whiplash barely beat us.

Oh! Oh! Oh!

Hydra is suffering
technical difficulty.

It's such a fluke, right?

Whiplash!

We did it.

We know how it
should have ended.

Nah, no way, shouldn't
have been in the final.

Whiplash beat
'em fair and square.

Beating end game, this
is the statement right here.

World champion.

If I beat the
last year's champion,

what's the rest of the
competition gonna think?

Hydra is a scary bot.

Hydra is coiled
and ready to strike.

Especially for us,
who in the past

have lost a lot, upside down.

Oh! A huge hit.

We don't like to
be flipped upside down

and hydra is so good at that.

Oh! Unbelievable
hydra again.

They know that
they better be scared.

I'm definitely looking for
him to gyro left around,

and that's gonna give me
my in to get underneath him.

- Oh!
- I think we're coming here

every year to win the giant nut.

If we want to start
off this season

the same way as we
finished last season,

we've gotta beat hydra.

Hydra!

They won the giant nut,

so they should be
confident that their bot works.

But they've also
seen my matches.

- Whoa!
- Oh, my goodness.

It's tombstone!

He hits you once
and it could be all over.

It's hydra.

Oh, there's no mercy from hydra.

- You ready for this?
- Jake ewert talking some trash.

Here it is. Here's
end game right there, buddy.

Do you like being
the villain of battlebots?

I mean, at this
point, I know I am.

So I might as well
keep playing it, right?

- I need you for a minute.
- Okay.

Throughout the first
couple of seasons,

- I was the bad guy, I was the villain of the show.
- Yeah.

And that sort of
morphed last season,

you were the
villain of the show.

So I want to commemorate
this passing of the torch.

And I made you a trophy.

Oh, my god. Look at that, guys.

When the day comes that you
think this course is passed on,

you make them a trophy.

- Gotcha. I can do that.
- Fair enough?

- All right.
- Thank you, sir.

We are back on battlebots

for our main event
of the evening

and the "champ is here."

that's right. End game, led
by jack barker and nick mabey,

and we asked 'em, "hey,
have your lives changed

since you claimed
the giant nut?"

and they said, "not really."

it seemed like they
were very stressed last season.

They put a lot of
pressure on themself

to go out there and get the win,

and they were
able to get it done,

which was just amazing.

So you think, well, now the
weight is off their shoulders, right?

No, they actually stepped
up their game yet again.

They said, they
have a much stronger

bot this time out.

Even as champions,
they learned a lot

and they did take some risks

to try to bring some
new technology

in here this time around.

So I'm really excited to see
what kind of bot they have here.

Well, tonight they're taking on

jake ewert and team
hydra. And we asked jake,

"hey, do you see end
game in a different light

now that they're the champs?"

and jake said, "nah,
they're the same old chumps

they were a season ago."

absolutely. He still has
that giant chip on his shoulder.

I think he has another
tremendous bot,

he says that this
is the best bot

that the ewert clan
has ever created.

Really curious to see,
who many people believe

are the two favorites here,

going at it this
early in the season.

Let's remember
that hydra didn't lose

last regular season,

was the number one overall seed

heading into the round of 32.

Right now, they're
taking on the team

that finished the
season, number one.

Faruq.

Ladies and
gentlemen, are you ready?

It's time for the main event.

In the red square, last
year, he had a buzz.

He wondered
would-he hit the ceiling.

He goes ham and he wrecks bots,

and that's how he's feeling.

Those were toy story references,
in case you didn't get their bar.

And now this bot will launch you

into infinity and beyond.

It's hydra!

Team hydra,
nice little paint job.

Jake was telling
us, he's getting

flipped up to almost 20 feet.

Yeah, just ridiculous.

This was already the
most powerful flipper

to ever get into the game.
It's even more powerful.

Every year these
guys step it up.

They want this giant nut.

If they don't get the giant nut,

it's not successful
in their eyes.

In the blue square,
he comes from the land

that kept peter
jackson inspired.

New zealand's still there,

but this bot burned
down the shire.

There's no fellowship, no
towers, no frodo, no ring,

we're fighting for a nut

and it's the return of the king.

It's end game!

The first ever
international champion

in battlebots history.

Whoa! Some serious forkage.

Easily the longest forks

we've ever seen
from them, chris.

Against a bot like hydra,

it all comes down
to the ground war.

And end game is
hoping those forks

can keep the flipper
out of striking range.

But should end game get flipped,

the only appendage
that really matters

is the upgraded
self-righting arm

on the back of the robot.

If you're not
making adjustments,

you're gonna get
stuck in neutral.

For more on the
champ, let's send it over

to the bot whisperer.

Pete, what do you
have on end game?

One of the things
that happened with them,

they changed almost
everything inside that bot,

all new electronics,
hardened everything.

One of the other things
is they're rolling deep.

They have eight discs,
one for every fight

to be able to make it
to the championship.

Also, across the way,

hydra's done some
massive changes inside,

they've added
some oil filtration

so that the hydraulic
system will not jam up

and have problems
with its valves,

and get sticking when
they're trying to flip.

And of course, that's
the issue hydra ran into

in last year's tournament.

Our bot whisperer,
always bringing the goods.

Robots activate.

Red team, ready?

Blue team, ready?

Fight!
Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!

Let the bot battle begin.

Those bots inching
carefully out of their squares.

End game's front forks
and hydra's wedge,

so low to the ground.

Hydra gets hung up.

Now looking to engage,
gets underneath end game.

Whoa! Whoa!

Look at that. Hydra airlines
is back in business, baby.

End game,
fortunate to land right side up

after that flip, chris.

Absolutely, but hydra
may actually be smokin'.

Look at that, that flipper

might be stuck
in the up position.

Ow, that could
be tragic for hydra,

which got one great flip in.

Oh! End game, bullying
hydra in the corner now.

Jake ewert has
to gather himself here.

Even if that flipper is stuck,

hydra is still the lower bot

and it can use that advantage
to stay in this match, chris.

That beak
doing a pretty good job

of holding end game at bay.

And there goes one of the
front forks of the end game.

- Try to escape.
- I'm trying.

Without that flipper,

hydra is gonna
have to find a way

to use its wedge
to upend end game.

Use that vertical spinner's
energy against itself.

But here come the champs.

Oh, what a shot!

- Whoo!
- Everything's smoking.

Was that a knockout shot?

Jake ewert's bot's
stunned and leaking smoke.

End game is celebrating.

Ten...

- and here comes the countdown.
- Nine...

- Eight, seven, six...
- And the opening night test for the defending champ

- five, four, three, two, one.
- Is gonna end with a victory over hydra.

That's it.
Winner, end game.

Wow!

Kenny, get
a good look at the flip

because it's the only one
that hydra was able to get.

Whoo! Well, it was
a beautiful one and hydra

looked to be the lower
bot out of the game,

which would have spelled
big trouble for end game,

if jake ewert's bot hadn't
lost function in its flipper.

Once that happened,
the defending champs

knew they could take their time,

they backed hydra down

with that powerful drive train

and delivered the death blow.

End game gets in the win column.

Whoo!

All right, champs, was that
a perfect first fight for you guys?

Actually, like, he seemed
to have problems at the...

At the beginning, it would
have been really nice to face 'em,

uh, you know,
properly fully working.

He gave that one big flip.

We got... Got some good air.

Yeah, that was a good flip.

But it was clearly, it was clearly
an issue from the beginning

that we didn't cause.
And I don't like that.

You guys came
out with eight forks,

we've never seen that
from team end game.

Was that just for this
match against hydra?

- Yeah.
- Or is this something you're gonna do going forward?

So I mean, hydra is all about
the ground game as well.

He has been, you know,
phenomenal in the past

about getting under opponents.

So, like we had to
pull out all the stops.

I... I like the
new outfits, guys.

Everyone has a suit here.

Is this all business
for end game?

Is this what this is about?

I mean, you've
gotta look the part.

All right, guys, you're
off to a nice 1-0 start,

I'm sure that is a
relief. Congratulations.

It is.

All right, jake, pretty
simple question here,

I don't know if it's
a simple answer,

but what happened to the robot?

Oh, the pump burned out

right after that first flip.

That's what the smoke was,

so the arm stays
up and then it's just

a driving battle after
that, and I can't win that.

He's eventually
gonna hit me, so...

It's nice to lose, at
least to the champion.

So the loss does
not matter as bad as,

you know, somebody else.

So, I'm okay with it.

And it looks like my
frame is still intact,

so it's... It's all
good right now.

So this is something in
your mind that you feel

that can be fixed, this
isn't a major concern

- for you at this point?
- It's the first failure we ever had like this,

so we'll have to go back
and look what actually broke.

But, I mean, we were
coming in pretty confident.

And maybe this keeled
me back just a little bit,

you know, it took that
chip off my shoulder.

But, uh, I mean, the next
guy better be ready for me.

Jake, did it really take
the chip off your shoulder?

No. Never will, never will.

All right, jake, I'm
sure you'll fix up hydra

and we will see you in
your next match. Thank you.

Well, you heard it from
jack barker and nick mabey

that they wanted to see hydra

all the way at 100%.

But rest assured, in a
competition this grueling,

they will take that win

and run to an all
important 1-0 start.

Big picture here tonight,
sawblaze off to a nice start

winning a unanimous decision.

But I got to tell you,
minotaur is back

and despite a loss, looks
absolutely determined.

Fan favorites free
shipping and blacksmith

made their triumphant,
not to mention

fiery, return to the
box after a year away.

What a show they
put on for the crowd.

And a shocker seeing
ray billings kick off

his season with an upset loss

at the hands of
captain shrederator.

Good luck to whichever team

draws an angry tombstone
in the next matchup.

Great first night. We
are off and running

in the 2021 season.

So for faruq and our
bot whisperer pete,

and my man, kenny
florian, I am chris rose.

We'll see you next
time, on battlebots.

Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.