BattleBots (2015–…): Season 6, Episode 7 - Edges, Wedges and Wheels - full transcript

Robots, activate.

Hey!

Hey, everybody,
and welcome to battlebots.

It is the most popular
television show

in the coveted 18 to 34
male robot demographic.

I'm chris rose, and
I'm joined by a man

who's an expert in
all types of combat.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay thai
kickboxing and total robot carnage.

Please say hello to ufc
legend, kenny florian!

Thanks, chris, and buckle up,

because at this
point in the season,



it's time to find out what
these robots are made of.

The winners tonight will
build some major momentum

as we head towards the world
championship tournament,

and the losers
will have to wonder

if their bot can be renovated
or if it's a total teardown.

That's right, and taking
a look at tonight's fight card,

we have several 1-0 teams with
a chance to separate themselves

from the pack here
in the qualifiers.

That includes the super
fly, flywheel flipper, blip,

a rookie bot, sporting some
game-changing new technology

and captained by
rising superstar, aren hill.

He'll be facing the ever-stout
overhaul and charles guan,

who's driving angry after
an opening loss to ribbot.

Also on the green
side of the 1-0 grass,



the slithery slayer copperhead

and its unstoppable
drum will attempt

to swallow whole the
wombo-combo warrior, fusion,

with its dual primary weapons.

We've got two bots, loaded
with three sticks of dynamite.

And in a main
event, I'm calling celestial,

because two stars
are about to collide.

It's whiplash
taking on skorpios.

Matty vasquez, one of
the greatest control drivers

in the history of the sport,

will need his evasive
maneuvers working overtime,

against the upgraded
stinger of skorpios,

led by the always
aggressive, zach lytle.

It's a chess match from hell

where bots don't get
checked, they get wrecked.

Oh-ho-ho!

But kicking
off the action tonight,

we've got a
cold-blooded matchup,

quite literally, as
bloodsport faces subzero.

It's the sanguine spinner
versus the frozen flipper,

a desperation matchup
destined for destruction.

Thank goodness the
battlebox is bulletproof.

Dude, it is going to
be a crazy, crazy night.

Are you ready to get it started?

- I am always ready for it.
- You guys ready to get it started?

We don't like
to disappoint our fans.

Faruq, do your thing.

Ladies and gentlemen,
are you ready?

It's robot fighting time!

In the red square,

this bot comes to us from massachusetts,
so you know what that means.

It's got a wicked
overhead spinner kit.

You can park your
car in harvard yard,

but this bot will leave
you marred and scarred.

It's bloodsport!

Captain justin marple
there, leading out his team.

Kenny, bloodsport went undefeated
in the qualifiers last season,

but took an unlikely knockout
loss to whiplash in their opener

this time around. Looks like
we're seeing a different weapon

on bloodsport tonight.

How you like them apples?

I like it, chris.

Bloodsport wants to get
back to its winning ways.

So they're going with their classic
tribar spinner from last season,

which has the most reach.

I love this one. This
one is just pure evil.

Look at that thing.

It's nasty.

In the blue
square, from dallas, texas,

think beating him
will be freeze-y?

Think again, there's snow way
you're going to make it out in one piece.

It's subzero!

Yeah!
Battlebots, chill.

Thanks to logan davis,
the man with the...

Tool chest over there,
escorting subzero to the box.

Its flipper was pretty
much a non-factor

in an unaired fight
against shatter.

Subzero got chewed
up in that match,

and we know from logan,
when his flipper doesn't get fed,

it starts getting angry!

Yeah, he's got
a new front wedge there.

They're hoping to deflect
that energy off of bloodsport

and hope that it
kind of kills itself.

The subzero is
a, is a good flipper,

but they have a lot of juicy
spots, they have exposed wheels.

They have exposed wedges, and I think
that's going to go really in our favor.

We spent two days
really tuning this thing in

so we feel better than ever
right now going into this fight.

For this matchup, we're going
to use our longest weapon

with the most
reach and most bite,

and we're hoping that'll
go into our advantage

for clipping edges or wedges and wheels
and whatever else we can hit on the robot.

There's no room for
error for this match.

We've got to win it.

We're definitely worried.

We think they're
also a bit worried.

We saw before in their
previous match against whiplash,

they were having some
self-righting issues.

Going up against
a flipper, that's...

That's got to have
them a bit spooked.

I feel like if we can take
a few hits on the chin,

we could possibly
win this match.

We're both 0-1 right now,

and this is so
important for each of us

to try to get this first
win of the season.

Either it's going
to be a bloodbath

or we're going to find
we got ice in our veins.

Robots, activate.

And parked behind subzero
on the ledge is the drone spitfire

that'll be run by logan
davis's dad, brady.

For more on logan's
opponent tonight,

we bring in the third member
of our broadcast team,

the bot whisperer,
pete abrahamson.

Pete, what do you got on
bloodsport's weapon choice?

Well, what I got is they decided
to go back to their og blade.

It creates a lot more engagement

and gives them
a much harder hit.

But what's really been important
is over the past couple of days,

they've been in the
test box over ten times,

really trying to work out any
of the bugs they were having.

And so they are ready to knock.

I probably shouldn't
have said that.

Red team, ready?

Blue team, ready?

Let's do it, let's do it.

Bloodsport and subzero,

so critical to
avoid that 0-2 hole.

We got a high stakes
matchup to kick off the night.

Let the bot battle begin!

Nice box rush by subzero,
but bloodsport is spun up.

Lands a shot to the wedge,

but subzero goes face
first into bloodsport

and bot parts
go flying all over.

Subzero able to
get underneath bloodsport.

You see logan davis
mistiming that flip right there.

Bloodsport speeding up.

Lands the shot to the front of
subzero with that heavy tribar spinner.

Subzero trying to
stay squared up to bloodsport

and protect its exposed wheels.

Here comes
bloodsport. Oh!

Subzero tries to flip and a huge
missed opportunity there, kenny.

Yeah. Had
him up on the flipper

and just couldn't
pull the trigger in time.

About 45 seconds in.

Subzero misses the
flip and misses again.

Bloodsport continuing
to stay aggressive here.

That's a good one.

He got the
timing right on that one.

And bloodsport trying to
get that weapon back to full speed

and do some damage.

Nice shot by bloodsport.

Subzero looking a little woozy.

Something you always have to keep your
eye on with subzero, their drive issues.

Yeah, and they're
slowing down big-time right now.

Bloodsport chipping
away bit by bit.

Yeah, there's
another shot to the front side.

Uh-oh.

Subzero triggers the flipper, but
it's bloodsport that's in control now.

Oh, this is not good here.

Uh-oh, we got some smoke here

in the first fight of the night.

Get that. Back wheel!

Subzero is trying
to work its way back,

but you can see that left back
tire is not hitting the surface.

Bloodsport daring
subzero to move.

Oh! Are you kidding me?

That tire went
right by your head!

Unbelievable!

Nice job, bloodsport.

- Watch out, chris.
- Yeah, thanks, kenny.

What is going on in here?

Oh, this is over, chris.

It is. The countdown
has started. Bloodsport.

- And now, what did we do to you, man?
- Yeah.

- What did chris do to you?
- Three, two, one.

Knockout!

- Yeah!
- Whoo!

Justin marple, all
smiles as he should be,

getting that first
win of the year.

Okay.

I think we lost a
motor pretty early on.

Well, kenny, logan
davis had a clear plan

that he simply
could not execute.

Yeah, logan stayed aggressive,

but he just couldn't
time that flipper correctly.

For most of the match,
bloodsport was playing with fire,

going head first into subzero,

but logan only managed this one
flip here, just couldn't take advantage.

And then bloodsport started to
go to work, chipping away piece by piece.

Justin marple, eventually,

found the angle and landed
this crippling body shot,

and that seemed
to do in the drive.

And then to make matters worse,

they started picking off tires

and they were flying
right by your head, chris.

Yeah, I got a sneaking suspicion

I owe justin money or something.

There it was right there.

- Thanks, boys.
- Uh-huh.

Hi, justin. -Hey.

- Congratulations.
- Thank you.

Why the heck were you throwing
tires at the broadcast booth?

Oh, man, we were just going
out there, aiming for those tires.

Like I said before, we were...
Those are the tires we want.

When we get those
tires, they can't move, so.

I mean, we
accomplished our goal.

You went with the classic blade.

Are you happy you
made that choice?

Obviously, you guys caused
a lot of damage out there.

Yeah, that seem to do
exactly what we wanted it to do.

Were you feeling a
little bit of pressure?

Last season, an unbeaten regular
season, a number two overall seed,

you were in danger of
falling to 0-2 had you lost here.

Yeah, this was definitely
a must win for us.

You know, subzero isn't an
easy opponent by any measure.

So we were definitely nervous going
into this knowing we really had to win it.

All right. Congratulations,
justin and team bloodsport.

Thank you.

Well, kenny, after a
tough opening loss to whiplash,

this is the bloodsport
we saw a season ago.

Without a doubt.

They had great hits,
they were precise,

their driving was on point,

and they beat a really
tough bot in subzero,

who got off to a great start,
just couldn't finish the job.

All right, up next, will
ghost raptor haunt the earthly plane

with earthly pain
and get their first win?

Or will fellow 0-1 team cobalt
bring its elemental forces to bear

and bust ghost raptor?

Find out next on battlebots.

We are back on battlebots.

And up next, a pair of
veterans in dire need of a win

because both check in at 0-1,
it's cobalt versus ghost raptor.

We start with chuck
pitzer and ghost raptor.

Chuck earned some good
karma in his opening match.

You'll recall he helped team
glitch get ready for their fight,

even unstuck them in the fight,

but, kenny, karma ain't
the way into the top 32.

That's right. We'll never
speak ill of good sportsmanship,

but in the end, this
is a fighting sport,

and with a name
like ghost raptor,

you'll want to see
some killer instinct.

For a veteran, chuck made some
rookie driving errors against glitch,

and that's not going to fly against
a bot as dangerous as cobalt.

Brent rieker told us he was super
excited to take over cobalt this year,

and first fight out,

they lasted a minute and 15
seconds before fusion got him,

and I think it was kind of a
jarring experience for them.

Cobalt has left a trail of
destruction all over the world.

This team had to have been
expecting more out of this bot.

Well, I'm going to
cut this team a little slack

because there's a learning curve

when you're starting
out with a new bot.

Matt maxham is an
experienced, aggressive driver,

which should pair nicely
with a primarily offensive bot.

Last time out against fusion,

they tried to mix in a defensive
configuration with an elongated fork.

To me, that's not
what cobalt's about.

If I'm matt, I'm taking the
kids' gloves off this time around.

Yeah, in seasons
past, we've seen cobalt,

it can deliver with
a serious weapon.

Faruq, take it away.

In the red square, this jurassic
assassin's ready for the fight to start.

His team has spared no expense
and he'll turn you into spare parts.

Tears opponents asunder,
like prehistoric prey.

It might seem impossible,
but death finds a way.

It's ghost raptor!

There's chuck pitzer,
new hair and everything.

Yeah!

Kenny, this once-upon-a-time

semifinalist is looking to
recapture some of that early magic

and show the fans, "hey, there's
still some bite left in ghost raptor."

that's right. It feels like
ages ago when we saw chuck

dancing with the legend bite
force and taking out icewave.

This is put up or shut
up time for ghost raptor.

It's got the more powerful
head on for this fight,

which can top out
at 20 horsepower.

That'll give the horizontal a better shot
at dishing out damage against cobalt.

In the blue square,
you know a bot's a killer

when it's chemical element 27.

Twenty-seven is the very age all
those rock stars went to heaven.

Did this bot kill all
those musicians?

Is it one to blame? Of
course it did, you idiot.

It killed the
entire hall of fame.

It's cobalt!

And there it is, cobalt, a
bot synonymous with knockouts,

either it's going
down or you are.

And it has one of the most
entertaining drivers, matt maxham,

pushing that thing out,
that dude is uber-intense.

Oh, my gosh, he is so intense.

I like watching him almost
more than I do the bot.

Cobalt is rocking
its 45-pound disc

designed specifically
for horizontal spinners.

Matt maxham looking to make
this the first stop on his revenge tour.

One thing that's nerve-wracking
about cobalt is that it's a hard robot.

I mean, I'm not going
to crack that shell.

We have a sticky bar that
we're going to try to hit him with.

So we'll just stay up
close to him and just keep...

Keep pumping on the
bar as fast as we can

and just stay away
from his weapon,

just keep trying to
spin him if we can.

If we don't win this one, we're
not making it into the round of 32.

That's bottom line. We're
going to do everything we can.

We have the machine to do it.

We just have to set it
up right to make this win.

Chuck, he's a, he's a
formidable competitor.

He's... He's got a great bot

and we're going to try
to go in with some forks

and get up underneath him and
get him delivered to the weapon

and see if we
can't take him out.

I think matt, my driver,
probably resembles this bot a lot.

He's very intense, and they don't
call him plumbcrazy for nothing.

And I asked him about what
his strategy was going to be,

and he said he was going to
stop their weapon with his face.

So we're looking forward
to seeing that happen.

Cobalt, ghost raptor, their
seasons sit on a knife's edge.

One of these teams
is going to fall to 0-2.

Fight! Fight! Fight!

Let the bot battle begin!

- Oh!
- Oh, a nice shot there.

Ghost raptor. Cobalt,
near the upper deck.

Oh, ghost raptor
staying very aggressive.

- Whoa!
- Cobalt with a nice counter shot.

Oh, man! Ghost
raptor on its heels.

Cobalt goes face first into
the screws of the upper deck.

And you know what,
kenny? It might be stuck.

Yeah, and ghost
raptor has an open shot here.

Chuck pitzer chooses
to lay off, though,

and cobalt is back in business.

Ghost raptor
shows cobalt its back side.

Cobalt capitalizes.

Cobalt going right back to work.

Yeah, cobalt now,
knocking ghost raptor on its dome.

Matt maxham now
looking to finish the job.

Oh, scooped up ghost
raptor. Here we go!

Oh! - oh!

Oh, my
gosh! What a shot!

Ghost raptor's in raptor bits.

Oh, my goodness!

That is the cobalt
we've been waiting for.

And ghost raptor is in about, I
don't know, eleventeen parts.

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

Wow!

Un-be-lievable.

Whoo!

Kenny, ghost raptor
drew first blood in this match,

and much like in
his fight with glitch,

chuck pitzer was
given an opening,

but he chose to
keep the fight going,

and that ended up costing
him his robot in this one.

That's right. Once
matt maxham unstuck his bot,

the tiger was out of the cage

and ghost raptor was
basically a ball of yarn.

And then watch
him run the fast break

- like magic johnson back in the '80s going end-to-end.
- Oh!

Although I don't
think the phoenix suns

ended up like that
back in the day.

Oh, my goodness!

Just brutality
there from cobalt.

Ghost raptor
is a well-built machine,

but now it looks
pretty much like legos.

Oh, my god. You
busted it in half.

Brent rieker, matt maxham.

Hey, matt, you
okay there, buddy?

Whoa!

And, matt, when you were dragging
ghost raptor from end-to-end,

is that the finishing
thought you had?

I wish I had a
camera from that view.

It was frickin' awesome.

I'm an old lifter guy, control
bot and having a weapon,

I'm so used to breaking
other people's fist with my face,

now I get to break someone
else's face with my fist.

So this is new. I
got some stick time.

Have you ever hit
another robot that hard?

- That was ridiculous.
- No, man.

My old bots were just, you know,

like to give people
hugs, lift them up,

throw them out of the arena
or get thrown out of the arena.

That was, dang!

I guess that's a yes.

- All right, matt, congratulations.
- Thank you.

- brent, congratulations.
- Thanks.

Kenny, I think we just
had our moment of the year.

That was just ridiculous.

You know, ghost raptor is a
beautiful robot, but not anymore.

Cobalt just, I mean,
split it in, what?

Fifths, fourths,
thirds? I don't...

I loved matt
maxham's intensity, too.

He's banging the glass
after the win with his hand.

It seems like
he took all his frustrations

- from his first fight onto ghost raptor.
- Oh, yeah.

That was an
impressive performance.

All right. Coming up, the
creatine-crushing deadlift

takes on the gas-guzzling break
icewave in a do-or-die match

where tournament dreams
hang in the balance.

That's next on battlebots.

We are back on battlebots,

and we've got
another pair of teams,

looking to jump-start their season
with a win, it's icewave versus deadlift.

And let's start with icewave.

Marc devidts has brought his
robot back into full-time competition

for the first time since 2018.

He used to be known
as the boy genius.

He's going to have to use
those brains to try and figure out

what is going on with his robot.

Well, icewave
came into this season,

revamped with a completely overhauled
engine, and it was a total bust.

So marc is actually subbing
in the version of icewave

from previous seasons
with its original motor.

Icewave is a legendary
striker who admittedly is fading,

and that makes this
fight even more critical.

If icewave can't chop
down a bot like deadlift,

it might be time to
throw in the towel.

As for deadlift,
you'll remember them

as the college bros
flexing their bis and tris.

This is a control bot that
struggled in its rookie season,

finishing with a
1-2 record last year.

And in their first
match in 2021,

they took the l
in an unaired fight

with the hometown team jackpot.

Well, deadlift will definitely
need to flex those muscles,

facing a deadly
horizontal like icewave.

Whether this bot is
grappling or lifting,

it's all about
controlling the action

and mitigating
those knockout blows.

Didn't go so well
in their first fight,

but they're still
trying to dial it in.

Somebody's picking up that
all-important first win of the season,

both are trying to avoid
the dreaded 0-2 start.

Faruq.

In the red square from
indianapolis, indiana,

when the pallbearers
lower you into your grave,

he'll be there
giving them a spot.

It's deadlift!

Oh, yeah, deadlift time!

Down with my
pre-workout, got my reps in,

did some complicated
math and engineering,

and now I'm yoked
for some robot combat.

I can maybe
relate to half of that.

Ryan shulski here
with team robogym.

And deadlift's got its
grappler fist this time around.

They're going to want to
jam up icewave's weapon

and toss it around
like a medicine ball.

Do you even grapple, bro?

In the blue square, from
burlingame, california,

the wizard of blizzards,
the boss of frost,

it's icewave!

Here is icewave, got knocked out

in just over a minute in
its first fight of the season.

And as you noted,
kenny, marc devidts

has gone with the
old bot this time,

albeit with a
nice new paint job.

Yeah, absolutely.

Again, you know, it
was a few seasons ago

where they were recognized

as one of the most devastating
horizontal spinners in the game.

This og icewave is deadly.

The bar's got a tip speed of
around 200 miles per hour.

Can they regain that same
sort of reputation tonight?

I'm not sure. We'll find out.

For icewave, we decided to
use our grappler configuration.

And this configuration will allow us to
grab icewave and flip him over on his back.

From there, we'll be able to use the
flame and hopefully win the match.

If icewave can get away from us

and spin up to full speed,
uh, it would be scary for us.

It might do a lot of damage
to specific parts of our robot.

We need this victory if we want
any chance against the round of 32.

And so we're coming out,
you know, as hard as we can.

In our last match,
we got beat pretty bad.

We had a lot of things go wrong.

We've been putting
together the old robot

that we've been using
for the past few seasons

and getting that
up to speed here.

If he stays on us, like a lot of these
robots have been doing more recently,

we won't have time to spin up

and then they can
grab us and pick us up

and bring us wherever they want.

This is definitely
a must win for us.

That's why we're putting
in the old trusty robot

that we've been using
for the last five seasons.

We know it works. I think
we're... we're pretty confident

that we can actually put
on a good show with this.

I feel much better putting in
the robot that I know and trust.

So I think we'll do all right.

Robots, activate.

And for those of
you that may have forgotten,

the ice in icewave stands for
internal combustion engine.

It is a gas-powered robot,
and when this thing fires up,

everyone from fremont
street to the strip

is going to know
who's inside the box.

Fight! Fight! Fight!

Let the bot battle begin!

Box rush by deadlift. Oh-ho!

Marc devidts with some
slick driving here to start.

Icewave getting some
space, getting up to full speed.

This is where deadlift
needs to be really careful.

Big hit by icewave.

Yeah, that would hurt.
Can the gym bros shake it off?

All right, another pop.

Uh-oh. Uh-oh.

That might be it, chris.

Is that it?

Icewave's just
waiting for it, saying,

"come on, bro,
what do you got?"

and once again,
it looks like deadlift

is putting its head down
and it's getting counted out.

Wow!

It was just two solid shots and icewave
is going to move into the win column.

Nice driving. Good job.

Icewave is back.

You know, kenny, in boxing,

it's not always the uppercut
that knocks you out.

Sometimes, it is a
perfectly placed body shot,

and that's what icewave
delivered right here.

That's exactly right.

These are complex machines,

and hits like this rattle
the internals so severely,

it's like a shot to
the kidney or liver.

And speaking of liver,

icewave's weapon ate up deadlift

with a side of fava
beans and a nice chianti.

Yeah, I can't...

That is a bar that is
spinning at 200 miles an hour.

That is no joke, and
I think it's important

to highlight the driving
of marc devidts as well.

There were very precise
shots in the right spot,

at the right time.

Marc, nice to get
that first win in three years?

Yeah, it feels good.
Feels good to be back.

How challenging has it
been for you to try and play catchup?

Yeah, I mean, it's been tough.

You know, the robots
here are so much better

than they were even
just a couple of years ago.

And, you know, we actually
just have the same robot,

but we keep trying to
upgrade it year after year,

but it's hard to know if we
can hang with these people.

So it's good to
know we're still in it

and we can still put on a
good show for everybody.

Marc, how important would it be
for you to make the round of 32?

I think, I think we have
to make the round of 32

if we want to still be a
contender in battlebots.

Otherwise, we're going
back to the drawing board.

Meaning you would retire
icewave if you don't make it?

Or maybe just
build something new

and, you know, send these
guys with icewave next time or...

Or form a second
team or something.

You know, as long as icewave
exists, I think we'll still compete.

But, you know,
if there's ever...

There's never a better time
to make something new, too.

So if we, if we
can do that, we will.

All right, marc, congratulations
on getting that w.

Thanks.

Nice job, guys.

Well, you heard
it with marc devidts.

If they don't make it
into the round of 32,

they're going to have
to kind of zig or zag,

and they can't stay in the
straight line that they've been in.

- Well, that's why that fight was so important.
- Yeah.

Clearly, marc
made the right choice,

swapping in the old bot,
after a showing like that,

don't bury this legend just yet.

Coming up, can aren hill

make his flywheel flipper, blip,

the hottest attraction
in las vegas?

Or will charles guan and overhaul
tear them down like an old casino?

Find out when we
come back on battlebots.

We are back on battlebots,

and sin city is buzzing after three
straight knockouts to kick off the evening,

including the total decimation of
ghost raptor, courtesy of cobalt.

And I got to tell you,
no one is more fired up

than cobalt's white knuckle
driver, matt maxham.

Literally, I was looking
at my bot coming at me,

so I just went
full stick forward,

the robot just
drove right into me.

That is the best view I have
ever seen of a robot dying.

It was awesome.

This is why I've been
in this sport for 20 years.

I've never applied carnage
like that to another robot.

That was literally
a pile of parts.

Oh, that's got to hurt.

In the heat of the battle, I don't
remember all the turns and hits.

I want to look at that fight.

I want to look at that
fight in slow motion.

I want to study that fight
and do that every time.

And not many teams will be eager
to fight cobalt after that performance.

Okay. Up next, we've
got blip taking on overhaul,

and boy, is aren
hill feeling good.

He is living the
good battlebots life.

You'll remember he
was the captain of tantrum

when they went all the way
to the semifinals a season ago.

He is still the leader
of a 16-person pit crew

that splits time between tantrum
and aren hill's new bot, blip,

which is off to a great start
after they upended rusty.

That's right. In that
fight, we got a small taste of

what this new compact
flipper bot can do.

Aren looked like he was
having a lot of fun with it.

I don't think he has any regrets ceding
control of tantrum in favor of blip.

But listen, this is new tech,

and with that typically comes some
speed bumps and a bit of a learning curve.

It hasn't had a chance
to stretch its legs just yet.

Still, this is an
exciting rookie bot

with a great
captain in aren hill.

He's taking on overhaul

which is back in battlebots
full-time for the first time since 2018.

Captain charles guan
received a rude welcome back

from ribbot in his first fight.

Overhaul was looking
pretty maneuverable

but couldn't stand up to the damage
as it was ko'ed in under a minute.

Even so, overhaul is a
major step up from rusty,

and blip should have its hands,

or should I say,
flipper full, kenny?

Yeah. Overhaul is a
beautifully designed grappler,

and historically it's
been ultra-durable.

It's taken the best
shots from punishers

like beta and witch
doctor and hung in there.

Facing a flipper, charles won't have
to be as cautious, getting in close.

The trick will be to avoid
driving on top of blip,

or else it might do a mary
poppins over our heads.

That's it.

Faruq, take it away.

In the red square, from
mountain view, california,

by the time he shows up
on your radar, it's too late.

You're already dead. It's blip!

Kenny, aren
hill told us about blip,

that it's on par with
hydra for flipping power.

Rusty, I think, would
probably say yes.

Sounds about right.

Yeah, I mean,
everything went perfectly for blip

and it's going to try to do the
same thing here against overhaul.

If it can get underneath it, I think
we're going to see some beautiful flips.

In the blue square,
from atlanta, georgia,

what are you guana do when
charles guan runs wild on you?

It's overhaul!

Whoo!

Here comes overhaul,

led by its half-feline captain.

Nice ears, chump.

Kenny, what's the
plan here against blip?

Well, he's going
to try to clamp down on blip,

perhaps try to get him
up on the upper deck.

Maybe ram him into some screws.

I think he's going to
try to use the battlebox

and try to box rush
as quickly as possible,

but he needs to get
around to the side.

We're preparing a little bit by adding
some additional top armor there, a clamp...

Clamp type control bot,
and there's a chance

we might be grabbed by them

and then actually fire
our flipper into their claw

and see if that
breaks their claw open.

We feel like we've got
a pretty good drive train

and should be pretty nimble
with regards to getting to the sides

or getting around or
getting underneath him

to send him flying rather
than us getting clamped.

We really want to make blip
this year just as competitive

or more than
tantrum was last year,

and tantrum is also doing
great, so we got to catch up.

Overhaul is probably the
best it'll ever be at this point.

It's a lot more mobile
than past season,

it has these giant
bouncy wheels.

The lifter and clamper both
twice as powerful and twice as fast.

We have a little bit of a
different front support leg setup.

They have a little
roller tips for this match.

So ideally, we'll
be able to carry blip

and still have traction
to drive around.

So we should be able to give
him a little ride around the arena.

Or if not, I'm going to get a
little ride around the arena.

- Fun, fun, party time.
- Fun, fun, party time.

Robots, activate.

I don't like giving
predictions on fights.

I got the blue bot, though.
Put your bets in now.

Charles guan and aren hill,

two engineering wizards with a
healthy addiction to upending robots.

Blip's ready to flip,
overhaul's ready to brawl.

The fight when we
return on battlebots.

We are back on battlebots.

Aren hill's flipper, blip, and
veteran grappler, overhaul,

are inside the box and now moments
away from a mid-season clash.

Fight! Fight! Fight!

Let the bot battle begin!

Blip with a box rush.
Trying to find its...

oh!

Flips blip over, now
it's going to pin it.

Uh-oh, blip's
got to get out of there,

get back to the center
of the box, which it does.

Overhaul with a great
opportunity there, couldn't capitalize.

Trying to get under overhaul.

- He's underneath.
- Uh-oh.

Trying to ram it into
the rails, lost its grip.

Uh-oh, this is not
where overhaul wants to be.

- Nope.
- Come on, come on.

Short corner
is a rough place to go.

Oh!

Nice flip by blip, and there
goes one of the tires on overhaul.

The back right
tire is gone, kenny.

Sure is, and
charles guan is in trouble.

Blip trying to get
underneath overhaul.

He does!

Oh, that was impressive!

How about overhaul
taking those flips like a champ?

That is a sturdy bot.

How many more
can he take, though?

Overhaul has got to drive away,

get some distance, but it is really
struggling without that back right tire.

Oh!

Nice work by blip.

Oh, there's a fire
going on inside overhaul.

I don't mean the good kind.

Yeah, is there a good kind?

Goes up tight to...

oh!

Blip has figured out
it's the lower robot, chris,

and it is open season
on overhaul now.

This is nice.

Blip has got overhaul
pinned on the screws,

and overhaul is like,
"get me off. I want off."

oh, it landed on blip, though.

We know aren hill has
been looking for stick time with blip.

Well, he's got it.
This is a flip fest.

Overhaul is
hanging tough, though.

Yeah, I'm really
impressed with durability of overhaul.

Not all robots can take that kind
of punishment, and look at this.

Oh-ho!
Trying to self-right.

Unbelievable. Oh,
no. There you go.

And you got to get going, make
sure you can still drive and it can.

Oh! Wow!

Oh, that was nice,
that was the stick and move,

by going to flip and move,
I guess you could say.

Yeah, tony hawk would
have been very impressed.

What is that, a 720?

Whoa! What
are you doing?

Are you trying to show off now
as the countdown's going on?

You already got this
thing wrapped up.

They're trying
to crash test blip.

That's a knockout!

That is it!

Whoo!

Aren hill's bot improves to 2-0.

Man, that is
one entertaining robot.

Very impressive.

Once aren hill got himself
righted after that early flip,

he did pretty much what
he wanted with overhaul.

He did.

But I tell you what,
overhaul is one tough bot.

They hung in there.

I was impressed
with their durability,

but this was a great
run for aren hill.

Getting in that stick
time with this new bot

and a real showcase
of blip's weapon,

which flipped overhaul
a half dozen times.

It's amazing because
you totally forget sometimes

when you're watching battlebots,

these are 250-pound
pieces of metal

that are flying
10-12 feet in the air.

Yeah, absolutely.

And they're flung up in the
air in like a half a second.

It's crazy how fast they
are, how powerful they are.

What a performance
here from team blip.

- That's a good match.
- Yeah, it was.

Hey, aren.

- We love you, blip.
- We love you, too!

Hey, guys.

Hey, aren, how much fun
is it having a flipper bot?

Oh, it's really fun, especially

when it's right in front of me.

So, this was kind of crazy.

You did great
damage to overhaul,

but, dude, you
were flipping yourself

it seemed like for
no reason at times.

There might have been a
broken controller in there.

We got some stuff to look into.

But yeah, we ended up right, did
some sweet breakdance moves.

2-0, man, how would you
rate your bot's performance?

We're doing great so far.

The really complicated
flipper thing,

still working, so I hope
that trend keeps going.

Are you...

I know you've only
had two fights so far

for a total of maybe three
and a half minutes so far.

Are you a better
flipper bot than hydra?

Do not say that.

I'm going to say there's four
flippers in this competition,

and we need to stick
together to some level.

Too many spinners.

That didn't answer my question.

That's... That's the
answer you're getting.

Aren, congratulations.

Thank you, guys.

Whoo!

Kenny, aren hill won't bite.

You have to answer the question.

Is that a better flipper bot
this season than hydra?

I mean, as far as results, yes.

It's still early, but for blip to
have the compact, durable

and drivable frame of tantrum,

blended with a seemingly inexhaustible
amount of flips in that mechanism,

this is a game-changer.

Tantrum and blip,
now a combined, 4-0, kenny,

this is a legit top five
program back there in the pits.

When we come back,
will huge fall to 0-2?

Or will they turn back the
clock against retrograde

and get back to
their winning ways?

And all roads lead
to our main event,

featuring two all-star drivers
in zach lytle and matty vasquez.

Whiplash and
skorpios, waging war,

that's later tonight
on battlebots.

Huge!

We are back on battlebots.

You can hear the
crowd chanting it already,

because they know, up
next is the return of huge.

Jonathan schultz admitted
2020 was a frustrating season,

2021 ain't off to
a great start either.

In a shocking upset, huge
lost to the rookie, riptide,

in a match you can actually
call a screw job, kenny.

Yeah, huge's big wheels

were they're undoing as it
got caught up in the screws.

This bot is nearing
a crossroads.

Whatever success
they're having in testing

isn't translating into wins,

and jonathan is growing
more and more frustrated.

That opening knockout
was a real gut shot for huge,

and another loss
to a rookie bot here,

and jonathan may need
to make some hard choices.

Well, let's take a moment to
introduce his rookie opponent, retrograde,

captained by aaron lucas.

Aaron is a member
of team bloodsport.

He's gaining a reputation
as a talented driver,

and he's off to a great
start after a convincing win

over rampage in
an unaired fight.

This, though, is
a big-time step up.

That's right, but also
a big opportunity for them

to nab a statement victory.

Retrograde has
a lot of versatility.

It can sport an undercutter
or a powerful lifter,

which we'll be
seeing in this fight.

Curious to see how the rookie
fares against a highly motivated huge.

Let's check it out.
Faruq, take it away.

In the red square,
from south windsor, connecticut,

the wheels on this bot go round
and round all over your face!

It's huge!

Oh, those menacing eyes,

I always feel like they're
staring kenny down,

they want him to
step inside the box.

Instead we'll let retrograde
do the damage today.

So, kenny, what's
the key for huge here?

Well, they went
with their shorter bar.

They believe they're going to
be able to strike from above.

They think that that lifter
mechanism on retrograde is vulnerable,

and they're rocking the darker

tegris wheels this match.

Huge is looking serious.

In the blue square,
from venice, california,

he's here to read
your horoscope!

It's retrograde!

There's aaron
lucas on the right,

holding the controls
for retrograde.

Kenny, this bot's giving
me batmobile vibes.

Yeah, definitely stealthy

and retrograde hugs the ground.

It's one of the reasons
it drives so well.

They've ditched the
undercutter in favor of the lifter

and added some top armor.

Smart move, if huge does
end up swinging down on him.

We've spent a lot more time
running the weapon in the test box,

it's running great.

Best that it's ever run.

In game planning for
retrograde, it's all new.

I don't think it's
going to break itself.

I think we need to break it.

And that kind of
changes our strategy

because with riptide, we
were fishing for that big hit,

to let them break themselves

and then go to town, in this
we just need to go all out.

We think that this
is an amazing huge

and one of the best
ones we've built.

It just needs that
opportunity to show it

'cause getting blown into
the screws in one hit is like...

It never got a chance
to stretch its legs.

We had a configuration planned
for them going into this competition.

We're adding extra top
armor to the top of the robot.

Their blade can hit from above,

but they can also spin it
upwards and hit it from below.

We have to be prepared
for both of those options.

The plan is to...

To head in straight and stop
their blade as quickly as possible

and just control
them around the box,

try to push them
up onto the screws

and get their wheel
jammed in sideways,

like they lost their first match

and potentially use the hammers to our
advantage to score those damage points.

Robots, activate.

The stakes for huge could not be
any higher, facing another rookie team.

This is still a bot with
title aspirations, kenny.

That's right.

Jonathan schultz does
not want to become

a steppingstone in this league.

He needs this win.

Red team, ready?

Whoo!

Blue team, ready?

Fight! Fight! Fight!

Let the bot battle begin!

Retrograde trying to figure
out a way to get into huge.

Get in line on that one.

Looks like huge
spinning its blade

in an upward motion
here against retrograde.

I love these

tegris wheels that
huge is running.

You typically see with... See
them with their uhmw wheels.

You'll see it on some f1 cars,

thousands of dollars
invested in them.

They're always stepping it up with
new materials, and huge now goes...

with their short
bar landed big shot!

Whoa!

Patience paying
off here for huge.

Oh, there goes the
armor. Oh, and the flames.

Huge!

Oh, huge is
off to a great start.

Forty-five seconds
into this fight.

Oh, huge trouble.

Oh, my goodness.

I think that is knockout shot.
Huge, already celebrating.

And listen to the crowd.

Oh, man!

Whoa, huge, where are you going?

On the upper deck.

I see you, bro. I see you.

Jonathan schultz is fired up.

And he should be.

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

Kenny, this is how the
big boy is supposed to work.

Yeah, listen,
he was very patient.

He was waiting for his moment
to get up above retrograde.

It's exactly what
he wanted to do.

Beautiful execution.

We saw that vulnerability there.

The top armor flew off of
retrograde, and it was all huge.

And just finishing
it up, just to make sure

that the rookie
doesn't go anywhere.

And then maybe my favorite
part of the entire match

wasn't huge scoring
the touchdown,

but rather the end zone
celebration afterward.

He goes and finds the
upper deck, and he says,

"you know what, I'm
going to be king of the hill.

Nobody's going to knock
me off that pedestal."

just drives
right over the screws.

"excuse me, get up there."

whoo!

Kenny, you're responsible
for putting olympic gold

around huge's neck.

- No, thanks.
- If you can find it.

Gotta shut
that weapon down first.

It finally works. It
finally works. You got it.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Jonathan schultz.

Jonathan, why were you
so emotional right then?

It's, I mean, like with everything
the last couple of years have been

and how hard last year was

and then to really have a good
feeling about it and the first fight,

just to end so
quick, to come out

and make a statement
like that, I am so relieved.

I'm so excited. Oh, my god!

That... That is how it has
been intended to work

since the day we walked
in here four years ago.

Jonathan, I know you
wanted to not only win,

but you also wanted to
learn a little bit about your bot.

What did you learn?

It hits really hard.

That's a good lesson.

So you sit at 1-1.

You know you got to get to 2-1 to
impress the selection committee.

How much pressure are
you feeling in that next fight?

Quite a bit. We
need to go make sure

everything is ten out of ten dialed for
our next fight 'cause it's a can't lose.

But I feel a fair bit better than I did before
this one, so I'm feeling excited for it.

Jonathan schultz, I can't
see ya because of the mask,

but I know you're
smiling. Congratula...

There you go, buddy.

Congratulations to
you and team huge.

Thank you, guys.

So, kenny, it's
always interesting,

we only get to see a couple
of minutes of a robot fight.

What we don't get to see
are the countless hours,

you know, the blood, the sweat,

the tears that come with
engineering a battle bot.

No question, and all the
frustration that they've experienced.

You know, again, so
many hours goes into it.

Jonathan and his team have been
working very hard since last season.

They really wanted
to redeem themselves.

That was his emotion
from last season.

And at 1-1, he is very
much alive for a berth

in the round of 32.

All right. Coming up, copperhead
slithers back into the battlebox

for a bout with reese ewert and
the ambidextrous assassin, fusion.

That's next on battlebots.

Welcome back to battlebots,

where we have seen
nothing but knockouts tonight.

And up next, it's another
pair of deadly strikers,

copperhead and fusion,
both checking in at 1-0.

And let's start with
reese ewert's bot, fusion,

which last year had
some good fights.

It had a bunch of fights
where it was on fire,

but it kicked off 2021 by absolutely
dominating a killer in cobalt,

who as we saw earlier tonight,
is ridiculously destructive.

And after being marred by so
many technical issues last season,

this bot is looking
very impressive.

Well, they're a
very complicated robot.

You know, they
have a vertical spinner,

they have a horizontal spinner.

And last season, I remember
how much you doubted them,

and this season
you were doubting...

no, no, it's wasn't
me. Oh, that's right, it was me.

But now I'm a believer, okay?

And now the ewert family has two very
devastating bots, so they're doing great.

Uh, tonight's going to
be a challenge, though,

they're taking on copperhead,

which you will remember was
actually the number three overall seed

heading into the
round of 32 in 2020.

Zach goff was the
captain back then.

It's now the merry tandem
of robert and kimberly cowan.

And they had to go all the way
to the judges against lock-jaw.

I thought they were really,
really impressive in that first fight.

Yeah, listen, they
know they have a great bot.

They believe they
can go all the way.

From what we've seen,
very devastating weapon.

They're durable.

They have the experience.
Watch out for these guys.

And do not talk
trash about them.

Because remember, kimberly
walked out of the tunnel

last time with a live snake.

Chris is... You're
scared of snakes.

I am. Because I keep
looking around every corner.

If y'all put a live
snake near me, I'm out.

- It's his kryptonite. Yes.
- I'm out.

Faruq, take it away.

In the red square, muggsy bogues,
yoda and that dude, peter dinklage,

three total powerhouses
despite their shrinkage.

Don't be fooled by his size.

He'll still rip you to tatters.

He might not be big, but
he's huge where it matters.

What?

I... I meant his motor.

What do you all think?
Man, you guys are nasty.

Give it up for copperhead!

There is team
copperhead, and there it is,

kimberly cowan holding
cuddles the snake.

Yeah, right, that snake's about

as cuddly as copperhead itself.

This is a vicious robot, kenny.

Yeah, this
is a serious contender

for the number one
overall tournament seed,

even with the decision
victory over lock-jaw.

So remember,
in that first fight,

their drum never stopped
spinning and it was hitting hard.

Fusion's gonna have its
hands full with copperhead.

In the blue square...

Welcome back, class.

Today, we'll be discussing the
difference between fission and fusion.

The first is the
splitting of atoms.

The second delivers
a nuclear contusion.

Fusion is a pro. It has no cons.

There's no confusion,
no illusion as to

who is giving you a
radioactive bruisin'.

Until your life comes to
an unnatural conclusion.

Thank you. Class deceased.

It's fusion!

Oh, yeah.

Reese ewert, nobody quite
like him pushing out fusion.

It seems like this team has finally
moved on from those flameouts

and we can get back to focusing
on its deadly dual primary weapons.

Yeah, and in
that first fight with cobalt,

reese only used
the vertical spinner.

When that horizontal comes
into play, it can be even deadlier.

It's tough for opponents
to game plan for fusion.

Kind of a pick your
poison scenario.

I think we're going to exchange a lot
of heavy blows in the beginning there.

Um, I think we're going
to probably have to,

you know, recalculate
sometime after that.

I think around that
two-minute mark,

we're going to
start to see who...

Who comes out the victor.

So we actually sat down
and talked with cuddles here,

and cuddles had some
really good insight.

She noticed that every time
their weapons come up to speed,

then slow down and
come up to speed again,

that's where they
have issues with fire.

So what we're going to try and do
is use the weapon on copperhead

to jam them up as
much as possible,

hoping to create that
classic fusion fire scenario.

This bot has potential because
it has a vertical weapon,

which is not huge by any
means compared to other people.

My horizontal has three
times the energy of it.

It compares directly
with son of whyachi.

It can do a lot of damage.

Luckily, in the last fight,
I didn't have to use it,

so it's still in mint condition.

Best of luck to copperhead.
They have a big, beefy drum.

It's going to be a slugfest.

I... I hope I come out on top.

That's about it.

Ooh!

- We got it.
- We got it.

Robots, activate.

It's about to be
raining sparks in las vegas.

Will it be copperhead or
fusion that weathers the storm?

Find out when
battlebots continues.

We are right back into
the action here on battlebots.

Fusion and copperhead putting
their perfect records on the line

in what could be a
season-defining fight.

For fusion, a
chance to fast track its path

to the tournament.

Copperhead ready to
say, "s-s-sorry, rees-s-se."

let the bot battle begin!

Oh, nice strike by copperhead.

It sends tiny bits of fusion
flying across the box.

No action from fusion's
vertical spinner so far, chris.

Fusion trying to
figure out which way to go.

Oh, a big shot!

Yeah, fusion's
vertical disc is down.

Oh!

They're gonna have to engage

with their horizontal spinner
for the rest of this fight.

Copperhead on the
attack in the first 30 seconds,

including with that
little mini snake bot.

There's just no
slowing down that drum spinner

on the copperhead, as
much as fusion is trying.

Oh, that thing is terrifying.

That's why it was a top three seed
heading into the tournament a season ago.

Let's see if fusion is
able to attack those tires, chris.

Can reese ewert turn
the tide with only one weapon.

Oh, that one got a little air.

Copperhead really
starting to pull ahead now.

Fusion's feeling it.
Still two minutes remaining.

Kenny, I think both of fusion's
weapons have been shut down.

Yeah. I mean,
there's been some massive...

oh! - oh, no!

Speaking of which... oh, another!

And now, a plume of
smoke coming out of fusion.

How much life is left
in this bot, kenny?

Copperhead just bullying
fusion here in the battlebox.

Reese ewert's bot is
lifeless, and it's on its head.

Won't spin up.

Fusion's weapons aren't
working, its drive isn't working.

And I can smell a
countdown coming.

Ten, nine...

there you go, chris rose.

This is going to be
curtains for fusion.

Copperhead is going to
improve to 2-0 after dismantling fusion.

- Knockout!
- Whoo!

It was looking great.

Him up.

Kenny, talk about
dominant start to finish.

Yeah, absolutely.

And again, reese
might be upset that

he didn't get the win here,
but man, it was a great fight.

He had some good
licks on copperhead.

That horizontal spinner went
head-to-head with copperhead,

but durability for me
was the difference here.

Copperhead just
wouldn't stop spinning.

It was hitting in the right
spots at the right time.

Kenny, there's a lot of weapons

that can do damage, but
maybe it's for 15 or 20 seconds,

it's not for a straight 90.

And that's the
key for copperhead.

They stayed spinning,
they stayed aggressive.

I mean, I don't really see
many vulnerabilities there,

maybe the tires, but even then
those things held up really well.

Some huge shots at the end.

They were patient, and once they
saw weakness, they really went for it.

Robert and kimberly
cowan, congratulations.

Thank you!

So, robert, I imagine
that's the way

the copperhead is
supposed to work, right?

That's how copperhead
is supposed to work.

Smash, smash, smash.

What impressed you
most about your robot

against a really tough opponent?

We were actually able to
drive it where we needed to.

This year, we got
traction, we got control.

So we were happy.

Congrats to the team for
getting everything ready.

And, guys, I was blown
away by the durability as well.

Where do you think this puts
you as far as the top teams?

I think we're
similar to last year.

I think we're, you know,
maybe top five seed,

somewhere around
there, hopefully.

Hoping.

Kimberly, does she like, you
know, when copperhead does well?

I... I think she
really likes it.

She's going over to
give robert a little kiss.

Oh, that is...

I don't want to break
up the family love here.

So you guys go about your way.

Congratulations on
improving to 2-0 with the ko.

- Thank you.
- Thanks.

Copperhead!
Copperhead! Copperhead!

Kenny, copperhead had
such a great run in 2020,

a perfect regular season
and number three overall seed.

So what's this team's
ceiling this year?

Blessed with a weapon
this powerful and consistent,

I don't think it's a stretch
to say copperhead

is a legit contender
for the giant nut.

And for reese ewert,

sometimes you get unlucky and
sometimes you just get your bot kicked.

This was a serious
beat down, kenny.

We've talked about
all the weight on his shoulders,

the stresses of living
up to the family name

of performing at a
championship level.

Reese is now looking at a pivotal
must win scenario in his third fight.

A lot of pressure on this kid.

All right, up next,
last year's runner-up,

whiplash continues its quest for championship
redemption in a bout with skorpios

and its savage stinger.

We'll see if zach lytle can
outdrive matty vasquez,

who year after year leads one
of the most successful teams

in battlebots' history.

Let's take a closer look at
the main event of the evening.

Oh, my goodness!

What a dominant
performance by matty vasquez!

Record-wise, whiplash is
one of the most winning bots

in the history of battlebots.

Whiplash!

We did it! We did it!

We had made the
quarterfinals, we had made the semifinals.

Last year, we
made it to the finals.

The only place to go after
that is winning the giant nut.

My level of confidence this
year is higher than it's ever been.

There's not a single robot here

that I don't think we
have a chance against.

I know skorpios has
really wanted to fight us.

I'm just going to take what I've
learned in all of our past fights

and, you know, get
the win, hopefully.

Oh!

Whiplash says,
"is that all you got?"

it's skorpios!

Last year, we really proved
our armor could take anything.

We fought tombstone.

Skorpios bearing
down on the legend

and delivers another body blow.

We fought witch doctor.

And skorpios
right back on the attack.

And these are
real legend robots.

And at the end of the
bounty tournament,

chris and kenny even said
skorpios is a new legend.

It's a new era, chris.

To live up to this
title, we came back

with a whole lot
more weapon power.

The blade is two pounds heavier.

It's four times faster, and hits
with eight times the power...

oh! That's amazing.

Leaving holes and
gashes in our opponents.

Skorpios's saw
is stuck in blade's skull.

Chris, that is medieval.

If the competitors
aren't sweating, they should be.

This fight against skorpios
will really be a battle of drivers

and a battle of strategy.

We have very
similar driving styles.

Really good instincts for
feeling out an opponent

and finding the weak point
for us to take advantage.

Skorpios totally
dictating the pace of this fight.

I think we're
going to win this fight

because skorpios is better
suited to fight the big spinners.

That's not who we are.
We're a control robot.

We're more experienced,
we're more prepared.

I don't think they know
what's coming in this match.

What a sequence from whiplash!

I'm about to lay the
pain on whiplash.

He's going to get a taste
of skorpios's new stinger.

Get back here!
And stop running away!

I want to just
plunge the blade in,

throw him on my back
and huck him onto the deck.

- Oh!
- Skorpios' digging in.

I'm hungrier now
than ever to get that giant nut.

Skorpios, if you
go up against us,

the odds are
you'll probably lose.

As it comes down
to the giant nut,

I think the vasquezes
have a great chance to get it,

but they're going to have to
go through me if they want it.

Football has the end zone.

Boxing's got the top rope, but
battlebots has more refined sensibilities.

I present to you
the winners' waltz.

Oh!

Wow!

Uh-oh!

Oh!

I see you,
bro. I see you. Yeah!

Oh!

Oh, yeah!

It is time right now for
tonight's main event.

A pair of undefeated teams.

It is whiplash, it is skorpios.

And let's start with
last season's runner-up.

Engineered by
the vasquez family,

in his first fight back at
the controls of whiplash,

matty vasquez
took on bloodsport,

a bot that went undefeated
in the qualifiers last year,

and he pretty much
just picked them up

and planted them
in the loss column.

Yeah, it was an upper
deck knockout for whiplash,

which is actually
amazing considering

they didn't knock out a
single opponent all of 2020.

He'll have a tough time
managing back-to-back kos

against the likes of skorpios.

And zach lytle, boy, he
had a great run in 2020.

He upended tombstone,
he won a bounty as well,

and it became crystal clear to
us that he and his bot, skorpios,

they're a real threat
to win this giant nut.

They made quick work of south
korea's blade in their first fight.

A win over whiplash, though,

would be something
else entirely, kenny.

Well, zach says his weapon is at least
eight times as powerful as last year.

Skorpios has the ability
to make these matches

feel less like a fight
and more like a sacrifice.

Zach had that stinger on
full display against blade.

His bot looks very
destructive right now.

This should be a
fantastic main event.

Oh, this is a good
one. Faruq, get it going.

Ladies and
gentlemen, are you ready?

It's time for the main event!

In the red square, that
sly "I'll kill you" stare,

that driver that
lures them there.

He'll rip all your circuits
bare and you'll crash.

Now you're dead,
there's no defense for it.

Saws you in half and
you're past tense for it.

What good when
making amends for it do?

It's whiplash!

Here we go, whiplash!

Starring in yet
another main event.

Front row tickets
for mom and pop.

That's jeff and debbie vasquez.

Matty's feeling incredibly
confident this season.

So what is his path
to victory for tonight?

Well, priority one is avoiding
that nasty weapon on skorpios.

Whiplash wants to
get around at the sides,

use its lifter to put skorpios up
onto the screws, onto the upper deck.

Matty has taken off his disc
spinner and added some extra armor.

We'll see if that
was the right move.

In the blue square, this next bot
has a weapon that I find very spooky,

because it's a saw like
all those scary movies.

So if you hear "I
want to play a game,"

your life is at stake and
you're not going to live

no matter what choice you make.

It's skorpios!

Zach lytle, first out of
the tunnel for team skorpios.

His wife and co-captain,
diana, there on the left,

hyping up the crowd,
and there we see skorpios

with a completely new
configuration, kenny.

Yeah, some
pretty severe looking forks

added to the front on skorpios,

as though this bot didn't
look scary enough already.

Clearly, zach wants to
get underneath whiplash

and put that hammer saw to work.

Let's do it!

Kenny, have you noticed,

it's been kos up and
down the fight card tonight.

Are we about to
get a clean sweep?

Well, listen, whiplash
is typically all about control,

but hey, maybe matty's
got a taste for the knockout

after shutting down bloodsport.

And of course, we know skorpios

and that hammer saw
can bring the sting.

Robots, activate.

Let us gingerly touch our tips.

Red team, ready?

Blue team, ready?

Ahh!

Two of the best heavyweight
robot drivers in the world.

The winner moves to 2-0.

Let the bot battle begin!

Quick draw by skorpios, trying
to get right in whiplash's grill.

Oh, we got a tugging match here.

And look at the
strength of whiplash,

setting skorpios on its head.

And puts it right in...

Oh, no!

Oh, my goodness. Are they going
to get stuck behind the screws?

Wow! Those
things will reverse.

They will.

And look at whiplash, right
there to try and push him back.

Amazing control
by matt vasquez here to start.

And skorpios now
sitting on top of the rails.

Can zach lytle get his robot
back into the field of play?

Will matty vasquez
let him escape is the question.

Whiplash bearing down like
a hungry predator here, chris,

but zach lytle
is off the screws.

But not out of harm's way,

because whiplash has got him,

it's going to take
him for a ride.

Skorpios breaks free.

He's got to get all
the way, out of there.

Nice work by zach lytle.

Keep an eye on
the battle for low ground here

and which bot can get underneath
the other and wrestle away control.

Whiplash ticking
that box right there.

And here it is again, using
those front forks to upend skorpios.

And now skorpios takes whiplash into
the screws, right near the upper deck.

How about taste of
your own medicine?

Skorpios trying
to drop that hammer saw

and score some
damage points, chris,

but those long front forks may actually
be hurting them in that department.

Yeah, skorpios can't get
close enough to use the weapon.

Ah, there's whiplash
with a nice lift.

Matty vasquez,
so quick with that lifter.

Gets ready to go.

Remember, the
winner of this match

will be on the fast
track to the tournament.

The loser will have
some serious work to do.

Heck, can skorpios
even the scorecards here

after being dominated in
the control department to start.

Whiplash still giving chase.

Once again,
skorpios spinning out

and whipping at full speed, but unable
to land any sort of damaging blow.

Yeah, it just can't
get in close enough, chris.

But here's a nice opportunity
for skorpios to attack from behind.

Oh! But that hammer
saw suddenly no longer spinning.

That is some terrible timing there
for skorpios, a real missed opportunity.

You saw some smoke rising out
of skorpios during that exchange, chris.

It may have burned
out a weapon motor.

Zach lytle takes
whiplash into the rails.

Matty vasquez, though, with a nice
counter, as whiplash regains control.

Yeah, matt just smothering

with that driving
style, very oppressive.

Skorpios, trying to counter
here, getting underneath whiplash

this is a good
opportunity for him,

but they just haven't
been able to capitalize.

Closing in on
ten seconds left to go.

These two behemoths
are going the distance.

Skorpios underneath whiplash,

now showing the judges a nice stretch
of control to finish out this match.

Well, matty
vasquez clearly thinks

he's done enough,
but nothing is final

until the judges
render their decision.

They are...

Lisa winter, jason
bardis and derek young,

scoring on an 11 point system.

Five points for damage, three points
apiece for aggression and control.

Kenny, you
said before the fight,

it was going to come down to the
driving skills of vasquez and lytle.

I mean, matt has so
much experience with this platform.

He knows how to get it done and
get it done against a variety of robots,

and he was just on
fire to start this match.

That opening exchange really
set the tone for the rest of this fight.

You know, both bots
went with their long forks,

but skorpios' setup
seemed to hinder its weapon.

Zach was able to regain
some control down the stretch,

but just couldn't deliver any meaningful
shots with that upgraded hammer saw.

That's right, and
skorpios had a great opportunity

late in the fight, but its
weapon motor gave out

and zach couldn't get that
new stinger up to full speed.

Even so, he bounced
back from a rough start

and did all he could
to make matt sweat.

Meanwhile, matty vasquez
cool as ever under pressure,

but was it enough?

Here's faruq with the decision.

The results from
the judges are in.

We have a split decision.

Oh!

Judge lisa scored
the battle for skorpios!

Judge derek scored the
battle in favor of whiplash.

Judge jason scored
the battle for the winner...

come on!

Whiplash!

Matt vasquez...

When you heard it was a split
decision, how nervous were you?

Uh, I was definitely
pretty nervous

when I heard it
was a split decision.

I mean, they did a
great job, you know,

getting us pinned a
couple of times in this fight.

But I felt like, you know, we got
them into the screws a couple of times.

We got, I don't know,
more flips than I remember.

So I felt like we got the
win, but it was pretty close.

We were definitely damaged.

So I'm sure that's
why, you know,

one of the judges
scored in their favor.

But yeah, I'm just
happy we pulled it out.

Yeah. Matt, you got
off to a great start.

It seems like you
controlled most of the match.

Do you think that
was the difference?

That was definitely
the difference.

I mean, we had some issues.

I know in our bloodsport
fight, one of our wheel,

we broke like a
chain super early.

We were on three wheels, and
this fight, the same thing happened.

We were on like two or
three wheels most of the fight,

and I was barely able to push
him when I was under him.

So I mean, it's... it's good we're
getting these problems out of the way

and the fight cards,
and I would hope

we're in the tournament
after two wins.

So we're going to fix the
problems we had in this fight,

fix the problems we
had in bloodsport,

and hopefully have
another deep run.

Matt, congratulations.
You're off to a 2-0 start.

Great.

I know we talk about
it a lot around here,

but every time matt vasquez
and whiplash gets inside that box,

I just got to watch that dude
drive because he is so darn special.

He put on a clinic out there.

I mean, listen, zach lytle
is a tremendous driver,

but I think matty vasquez showed

he's at a completely
different level.

That was unbelievable.

And speaking of unbelievable,

how about six knockouts
in seven fights tonight?

And congratulations to
jonathan schultz and huge

for their emotional
victory over retrograde.

Icewave, also with a
sigh of relief in its win,

but no question, the
biggest hit of the night

was delivered by matt
maxham and team cobalt.

They might have some cops
waiting for them after that one.

I mean, that was crazy.

Just straight out
assault there by cobalt.

So for faruq,
our bot whisperer, pete,

my man, kenny florian,
I am chris rose.

We'll see you next time
here on battlebots.