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Battlebots 2019 should be a 24-Seeded Tournament

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After the Battlebots’ 2019 season Desperado Tournament, there was a constant discussion between the hosts, Kenny and Chris, about whether a 2-2 bot could make it post-season.  The problem is, there are an incredible amount of bots that have scored this 2-2 record.  These bots have seen a variety of opponents and as such, no 2-2 bot has the same path.  So when the most recent episode, episode 13, ended the Battlebots’ main season, many people are wondering…who’s in and who’s out?

Unfortunately, we are not given the whole picture as there are a lot of bots who’s battles haven’t been televised.  So we have to work with what we know.  And the crazy thing is…we already have a rather clear idea which bots would be in a 16-seeded tournament.

First, Black Dragon is the automatic in as it won the Desperado Tournament.  Also, at the time of this writing, there are four bots with a 4-0 standing (Deathroll, Hydra, Biteforce, and Witch Doctor).  There are also 11 bots that have a 3-1 standing (Lockjaw, Sawblaze, Tombstone, Huge, Uppercut, Rail Gun Max, Skorpios, Son of Whyachi, Hypershock, Whiplash, and Yeti).  Automatically, we have 16 bots that we could easily pick and add to the tournament.  There might be some backlash but it wouldn’t be very controversial.

Deathroll of Team Deathroll

This poses a problem because there are sooooooo many good robots that have a 50% win record that are majorly missing out.  I’m talking Minotaur, Duck!, Cobalt, and Copperhead.  We’re missing some interesting bots that could upset the tournament.  Without these 2-2 bots, we’re losing some potential dark horses.  Something should be done that includes these prominent robots that got unlucky breaks.

It’s not surprising that we see a deluge of 3-1 bots for this season.  This season has the largest selection of robots yet for the competition clocking in to 68 robots (2017 had 55 robots, 2016 had 44, and 2015 had 28).  The increase of just 13 robots made the field incredibly competitive to the point that if you were not 3-1, you would be hard press to make it post-season unless you had some incredible wins.  Because of which, Battlebots should expand the 16-seed bracket into a 24-seeded tournament to include those incredible 2-2 robots.

A 24-seeded bracket actually works out really well when you do the math.  The first round would have 8 battles with 16 robots fighting each other.  Due to the 2-hour long episodes, you can easily squeeze these 8 battles in.  This also gives the top eight robots a free pass so they can sit back and relax while their opponents kick the crap out of each other.  There’s also about 17 robots that have a win record near or at 50% (Desperado robots like War Hawk have extra battles under their belt).  Eliminating those robots down to eight would be fun and exciting similar to the last-chance rumbles from last season.

So the next question should be.  Who deserves the top eight seeds, who will get in automatically for the middle eight seeds, and who should fight for the last eight seeds?  This is difficult to answer because, again, we don’t have answers to all the fights that happened this season.  But given what we have seen so far, we can have a pretty good idea where everyone would fall on this hypothetical 24-seeded bracket.

Hydra of Team Whyachi

The Top Eight

Obviously, the 4-0 bots are here; Deathroll, Biteforce, Hydra, and Witch Doctor.  Some fans argue that Deathroll doesn’t deserve a top four spot which, sure, the robots it defeated weren’t top tier but three of those matches were by KO which is impressive.  Even so, Deathroll more than qualifies for a top eight spot.  Hydra and Biteforce are interesting as who deserves the number 1 spot?  If we include Biteforce’s history then it should get the #1 spot.  However, in this season, Hydra has four KOs as opposed to Biteforce’s two!  True, Hydra fought more mid-tier robots but still, I’d have to give it to Hydra for #1.

The trickier question are the 3-1s.  Who to choose? Son of Whyachi and Hypershock should be an easy pick.  All three of their wins were by KOs and their only loss was by an equally good robot.  I would also pick Whiplash as a top eight bot due to being the only bot that KO’d SoW with its one loss to Witchdoctor, a 4-0 bot. Finally, Black Dragon, the Desperado winner, should be on here as the eight seed.  It has a 4-1 record which is pretty good.  One of those wins is against Minotaur who was back in his prime!  It also has three KOs which is fantastic.

Black Dragon of Team Uai!rrior

The Middle Eight

Most of the rest of the 3-1 bots will find their spots here.  Tombstone would probably be a 9 seed.  Despite its lackluster fight with Gruff and the surprise upset by Rotator, it easily KO’d Lockjaw and Sawblaze.  Unlike Bronco and Minotaur, this veteran is still packing punches!  The rest of the 3-1 bots, Lockjaw, Sawblaze, Huge, Uppercut, Rail Gun Max, Skorpios, and Yeti should be able to squeeze in.  However, if I were to pick one bot here that doesn’t deserve the middle eight it would probably be Sawblaze as none of its wins were by KO’s.

Below is a list of my top 16 bots in a hypothetical bracket.

1. Hydra
2. Biteforce
3. Witch Doctor
4. Deathroll
5. Hypershock
6. SoW
7. Whiplash
8. Black Dragon
9. Tombstone
10. Yeti
11. Skorpios
12. Lockjaw
13. Huge
14. Uppercut
15. Railgun Max
16. Sawblaze

Railgun Max of Team Atom

The Lower Eight (and what matches could be fought to determine this)

Okay, this is where the real fun begins!  Whereas the top 16 bots are basically shoe ins.  The lower eight is debatable on bot placement.  In order to determine who would be in the 17 to 24 seeds we’ll need to have some qualifying rounds and rumbles!

However, if there’s one bot we should include in the bracket it’s Minotaur, Minotaur started off reeeeeeeally rough this season but got better and better until he was back to his old self.  I think he deserves to be in the tournament after the hell he went through.

Okay, what about the rest?  Who to choose?  Ribbot, Rotator, Duck!, War Hawk, Cobalt, End Game, and Mammoth are robots who have KOs under their belt and fought some incredible matches.  Most of them lost to the robots listed above so their certainly not pitiful losses.  You even have the likes of Rotator upsetting Tombstone which was soooooooo goooooood.  Further down the tier, I think Valkyrie, Deep Six, Copperhead, Shatter, Wan Hoo, Blood Sport, Quantum, Blacksmith, and Free Shipping, should be given chances as well.  This gives us 16 robots to narrow down to 7.  Although we can pare down our list by randomly drawing bots to fight each other, there are a few matches I would like to see happen.

Mammoth vs Deep Six: A looooot of people want these giants to fight.  Having these two tangle would be a very satisfying match to watch.  With practically 95% of the competition sharing the same box-like design with a spinning weapon, it’s nice to see some variety and these guys deliver it!  Have them fight to determine who is the king of height!

Shatter vs Quantum: What happens when we have a bot whose gimmick is biting through armor fights a robot whose gimmick is peeling armor??  This match has the potential to be entertaining although both bots have had issues this season implementing their unique weapons.  This battle could be a shot at redemption for them.

Warhawk vs End Game vs Ribbot: Similar to last season’s three-way rumble, this battle would pit three vertical-spinning robots that have done well, but not great, this season.  We already have a lot of vertical spinners on the field so this battle could eliminate two of those robots.  These three robots have proven they can deliver KOs…they just weren’t able to consistently do that.  Of the three, I would put money on the kooky Ribbot to win.  Go Ribbot!

Quantum of Team Robo Challenge

It sounds like this next episode will mix things up according to the episode synopsis.  Good!  I was hoping they would pull the rug from us.  I would be surprised if they went this 24-seeded route but these past few seasons of Battlebots have given struggling robots a second chance which is great to see.  Here’s hoping for Duck! to win the tournament!

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Battlebots Season 2 Bracket Prediction

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The third episode of season 2 of Battlebots premieres tomorrow which kicks off the single elimination tournament. Luckily, ABC bestowed to us a bracket that we can fill out and post online. My bracket is below along with my reasoning why I picked Bronco to be the overall winner.

Battlebots Season 2 Bracket Prediction

So I had to deal with two big problems while filling out this bracket. The first of which was that a lot of the battles were relegated to just clips. Its thanks to the Battlebots Youtube channel that we even get to see a few of these in the first place. As such, a lot of the robots are basically unknowns. What’s their driver like? How powerful is the robot? Does the robot have any outstanding faults? Did the robot sustain serious damage during its last bout? These are questions that I had to deal with and it was quite frustrating.

This ties into my second problem, since Battlebots is a reality show, and not an actual sports program, what does ABC know that we don’t? Are the Battlebots that are relegated to the clips portion ones that won’t go far in the tournament? Normally I would say yes but last year, Stinger was only given a clip for its first battle yet it went far last year. So this makes choosing a winning robot frustrating.

As such, I couldn’t help but predict veteran robots as the Final Four. I know what these robots are capable of and I have seen them in action. It’s hard to pick upsets when you don’t know the competition very well. Even the people who seeded the robots favored veteran robots in the top seeds. Six out of the top eight seeds are returning robots; Son of Whyachi (6) and Minotaur (7) are the only new robots that break the top eight. This is incredibly bias as 16 out of the 32 robots this year are veterans from Season 1.

Image from http://battlebots.com/robot/bronco-2/

It was very easy determining who would win in the first round but after that it got much tougher. Battlebots has so many upsets that I couldn’t help but throw a few of these in. The biggest upset I have planned is Lockjaw beating Tombstone in the second round. I honestly think, after that battle with Yeti, that Lockjaw is a strong and capable Battlebot, Lockjaw has incredibly agility and traction so I think it could easily swing around Tombstone and push him up to the deadly screws. Lockjaw would then get a face full of steel by Icewave in the following round and lose. I also had Overhaul beating Beta as Overhaul has won its fair share of battles and Beta looked pathetic in its qualifying round.

Biteforce and Stinger I feel will face each other and defeat their respective opponents. Both look so strong and durable that I honestly think they can bear the brute force that their opponents can dish out. Stinger will then upset Biteforce and go to the Final Four.

Bronco will win his division candidly even going up the likes of Minotaur. As such, the best battles to watch here will be the Minotaur ones has he is essentially an unknown. I also think Warhead is simply too big for Complete Control and will burn his opponent right up.

Son of Whyachi will also make his triumphant return here and drive forward to the final four. By far the trickiest spot in my bracket to fill in was if Witch Doctor or Cobalt would win. In the end, I gave it to Cobalt, more on guts than on anything else really, but on the manner that Cobalt seems strong and Witch Doctor has lost before. Cobalt may even be the dark horse in this race. That would be sweet.

I think Bronco will redeem himself last year and win the Giant Nut as such. With a simple extension to his flipper he will get underneath both SoW and Icewave and flip them onto their backs. All he needs to deliver is one blow. Icewave will also defeat Stinger I think because Icewave has a very strong horizontal spinner and I think that will be enough to defeat Stinger.

Alright, there’s my predictions, looking forward to the rest of the season and seeing how wrong I was!

Reaction to Battlebots Episode 6

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ABC has delivered a satisfying conclusion to this season of Battlebots.  An awesome semi-final match, a close final match, and a surprise rumble match ended the season on a high note.  Let’s dig in and talk about these matches!

Bronco vs. Tombstone

Kenny Florian was right, if you want to beat Tombstone you have to be aggressive and Bronco was not aggressive.  True, lining up your shot at the corner made Tombstone come to Bronco but Tombstone was still spinning that ferocious blade of his at full speed.  Even if Bronco landed a good shot, he would have gotten hurt badly.  Still though, this fight was pretty good and seeing Tombstone get flipped around out there along with Bronco was great.  Even though I predicted Bronco winning the match, I find it funny how I still predicted that Bronco could lose by Tombstone peeling away his wheel armor and then disabling one of his wheels and that’s exactly what happened.  Tough luck for Bronco but hopefully he’ll be back for the next season!

Biteforce vs. Ghost Raptor

Ghost Raptor’s ingenuity finally couldn’t save him and I’m not surprise that he lost here.  GR was made to be a horizontal spinner, not a lift bot.  He did not have the traction needed to push Biteforce around like he could with Icewave.  I admire GR’s builders though in coming up with strategies in fighting off Biteforce but they were ultimately futile.  Biteforce got an easy win that gave him a moment of relaxation before going on to the final match.

Robot Rumble

I’m sad that there weren’t more robots involved in the match like Stinger, Plan X, or Icewave but I still appreciate this nice tussle between three formidable opponents.  I also like how none of them have fought each other yet in the ring so it gave us a fresh match with fighters we thought were long gone.  I have to say though, I found it both hilarious and sad how WD just ended up being pounded by the Pulverizer while her minibot was doing its damnest to flip her over, better luck next time there….But I’m happy that Nightmare got a good win and gave Overhaul a nice uppercut to his jaw, that was satisfying.

Tombstone vs. Biteforce

Be aggressive, be aggressive, be aggressive.  Sure, Biteforce may no longer be the clamp bot that it once was but you can’t argue with that strategy.  Charge, charge, charge.  You have to admit at first, I thought Biteforce got it but then it became a little close near the end when Biteforce struggled to move and Tombstone was pushing him around.  Regardless, Biteforce eked out a win against the most formidable bot in the entire competition and take home the giant nut.  Biteforce will go down in Battlebots history as the winner of Season 6, sharing the mantle with other Battlebot legends like Hazard, Biohazard, Ziggo, and Dissector.

 

Sorry for the short article but I’ll be back next week when I look back at this season of Battlebots, how was it, what could be improved upon, and more! (Spoiler alert, this season was awesome!)

Predictions for Battlebots Episode 6

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Tonight’s final Battlebots episode will have a hard time surpassing last week’s episode in terms of grandeur and setting. What’s more, with only three battles instead of the usual four, tonight’s episode will be unfortunately not-up-to-par unless ABC has a special trick up its sleeve that we do not know of yet. Nevertheless, we are guaranteed at least one good battle that will decide who will take home the giant nut. Of course, I’m talking about…

Image from http://battlebots.com/robot/bronco/

Bronco vs. Tombstone-Bronco wins by KO in two minutes

This semifinal match is going to be amazing considering both bots are now the highest seeds left in the tournament, have delivered some awesome KOs, and have both shown to be not fully invincible. A flipper vs. a spinner is a classic match up in Battlebots history as both kinds of bots are effective in delivering the KOs and bringing home the nut. They seem like archenemies in a way, like Montagues and Capulets, and Germany and France.

For this match, I give it to Bronco who has armor covering his vulnerable wheels from Tombstone and a simple extension on the flipping arm will allow Bronco to get under Tombstone and deliver a mighty flip. A few flips into the hazards, and maybe outside of the arena, will bring home the win needed for Bronco.

For Tombstone to win, he needs to be cautious, go around Bronco and not from the front. The wheels are where its at as one good hit can take care of the armor, which looks fragile to me, and another can incapacitate the wheels. However, I believe Bronco will be too quick for Tombstone and be able to toss him around like a ragdoll. Either way, this is the match to watch because not matter who wins here, I’m willing to bet they will win the nut.

Image from http://battlebots.com/robot/bite-force/

Biteforce vs. Ghost Raptor-Biteforce Wins by Judges Decision

Biteforce and Ghost Raptor’s road to the Final Four has been tough on the both of them but they have shown they are able to win their battles no matter what. Ghost Raptor has shown that ingenuity can save the day while Biteforce has shown that control will rake in the victories. Two different strategies will now come to this interesting battle. Biteforce, I think, has the better chance of winning because of his magnetic treads, his nice clamping arm, and great driving skills. It might be difficult to get under Ghost Raptor or control him but I think Ghost Raptor won’t be able to push back Biteforce and his strong traction. Ghost Raptor’s original forte of a horizontal spinner is gone leaving GR a mere figment of what he once was. He can’t push Biteforce around, he can try, but I doubt he will succeed. Biteforce will control the match and go on to the final four to meet Bronco.

Image from http://battlebots.com/robot/bronco/

Bronco vs. Biteforce-Bronco wins by KO in two minutes

As said before, no matter who wins the Tombstone/Bronco match, they will win the final round and bring home the nut. Tombstone can destroy Biteforce easily and, unless GR has another trick up its sleeve, will also finish off GR. But Bronco has that amazing flipping arm and he is also a big bot. I can’t really imagine Biteforce lifting up and taking Bronco for a ride because of how awkwardly big he is. Bronco will put in a few good flips, leave Biteforce incapacitated and take home the nut.

 

Now, as much as I would like to say that tonight’s matches will be predictable. I have been wrong many times before, so it’s safe to say that at least one of the three battles will not go as expected tonight and if that’s the case, I won’t be disappointed because it wouldn’t be Battlebots without a little excitement, can’t wait for tonight!

Reaction to Battlebots Episode 5

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Episode 5 was by far, the best episode of this ongoing season and is the very model of a great Battlebot episode. All the battles were brutal, vicious, and evenly matched. There were upsets, there was fire, and there was carnage. I was wrong that there was going to be one thrilling bout in my last article, there were four. Let’s take a look at this episode and understand why it’s the probably the best Battlebots episode ever.

Episode 5 wouldn’t be the stellar episode that it was if it wasn’t for the superb buildup to this point. By now, all these robots have won at least one battle and are qualified veterans in the Battlebox. The fact that favorites were fighting favorites had me on edge for the entire episode, something that Episodes 1 through 4 haven’t fully achieved. But four bots had to win and four bots had to lose, let’s check out these glorious, and at the same time bittersweet, fights.

Stinger the Killer Bee vs. Bronco

Ah! My heart! It weeps for Stinger. The builders were great people (you can’t help but love this couple) and their robot was spunky and fierce. Nonetheless! This battle was fantastic!

First off, I love that bit before the battle began where Stinger blew fire and Bronco flipped his massive arm. That was definitely like something from a wrestlers’ match where the fighters intimidated the opponents and please the crowd. Love it.

Then these rectangular bots inched their way around each other trying to find a good spot in. But once Bronco came in, the hits started flying and the robots were just going at each other. I thought Bronco was done for when it got on the screws but man, that was funny seeing him just ride those rails! Anyway, a nice strong and showy appearance by Stinger should be worth noted but it didn’t stop Bronco who flipped him out of the area. GOD! THAT WAS NUTS! Flames were everywhere! It looked like Stinger just exploded with fire! You couldn’t even see him when he got knocked out! It looked like Hell just opened up and swallowed Stinger whole!

Both of these bots came out relatively unscathed though by the looks of it which is great for Bronco cause he’s going to need that to fight Tombstone in the next round.

Also, huge shout out to Stinger, I love you guys, you’re the best and I hope to see you again next year!

Tombstone vs. Witch Doctor

Speaking of which, let’s talk about one of the most surprisingly matches in the evening. I got to say, I did not expect that from Witch Doctor even with her minibot out of commission. True, Witch Doctor took down Overdrive handily and that should be mentioned but damn that was something else! Witch Doctor has certainly proven one thing and that’s Tombstone is only a robot and not a god.

But I LOVE THIS BATTLE. Their first contact was a direct hit between their respective spinners and they just go flying and we just keep it up with that crazy energy for the rest of the battle even when Witch Doctor’s weapon went out of commission. Rewatching it again, I notice how Witch Doctor was being the more aggressive bot throughout most of that battle. What’s more, she didn’t get flung as far compared to Tombstone who got flipped upside down even. I don’t know how Witch Doctor, which to me did not look very sturdy or strong, was able to keep it up but she did thanks to that awesome weapon and her strong battery ram. God, seeing Tombstone get flung around like that was beautiful.

Unfortunately, that was it, Tombstone could afford to get flung around, but not Witch Doctor. One bad hit and whoops! Flipped onto her back and as helpless as a turtle. But god damn that one minute and forty seconds went by quick.

Also, it’s interesting to see Tombstone’s builder finally breaking his cold, confident exterior and have that nervous, ecstatic joy that he was clearly displaying in the post-match interview. Really goes to show how intense this match was for him.

Biteforce vs. Overhaul

But that intensity just didn’t hold a candle to the Biteforce/Overhaul match. You wouldn’t think that two clamp bots could make a thrilling match but god damn you can be wrong! Several times, I kept thinking how this match was like a battle between two ferocious kaiju with their jaws wide open and their unstoppable tenacity. God, I love those head-on collusions as it was like two monsters trying their damndest to kill the other.

And that match! Jesus, I first thought Biteforce got it but then Overhaul just made that amazing comeback that had even the judges scratching their heads. So why did Biteforce win it in the end despite the strong finish by Overhaul? Well, I think it comes down to one of the four categories; damage, control, strategy, and aggression. I think three of the four categories were fairly even but it was control that probably did it. Biteforce was deciding where Overhaul was going for the majority of the match thanks to those awesome magnetic treads of his. Biteforce was pushing Overhaul everywhere and even getting a few semilifts as well. Overhaul only took control less than a minute left in the match. Even though Overhaul lifted Biteforce entirely off of the ground, something that Biteforce couldn’t achieve, Biteforce still had some great control earlier in the match.  And it’s that control that gave Biteforce the ability to win.

Icewave vs. Ghost Raptor

The upset match for Episode 5 broke my heart but in return, Ghost Raptor finally earned my respect.  Ghost Raptor’s previous two matches were a bit wonky but he finally earned his credentials against the favored number 2 seed Icewave.  Ghost Raptor’s ingenuity and willingness to evolve out did Icewave’s standard, tried-and-true-method.  I had no idea that Ghost Raptor would win this battle, especially the way ABC was setting up this match.  That part where Ghost Raptor’s builders realized that their Deicer was making their bot a bit uncontrollable made me more confident that Ghost Raptor was going to lose.

 

So in the end, all these four battles were great and definitely made this episode fantastic.  It will be very challenging for episode 6 to live up to those kind of standards, especially with the match up between Bronco vs. Tombstone and Biteforce vs. Ghost Raptor.  But who knows!  Maybe we’ll have a Battlebot Rumble like during the CC days.  Now wouldn’t that be a surprise twist?

Predictions to Battlebots Episode 5

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With the quarterfinals underway, we are left with only robots that have won at least one battle.  All of the 8 robots left have proven themselves (well…with the exception of Ghost Raptor) in one form or another.  These four battles left should be wonderful and I’m looking forward to them.  We still have a variety of robots left so the rock-paper-scissors format is still going strong.  Without further ado, here’s who I think will win.

Image from http://battlebots.com/robot/tombstone/

Tombstone vs. Witch Doctor-Tombstone wins by KO in about two minutes

In what may be Tombstone’s first actual fight, we see him go up against the wildcard, multibot Witch Doctor. Witch Doctor proved herself to be a strong competitor in the last round where she dent, chip, and toss around Overdrive in a surprisingly one-sided match. I don’t think Tombstone will mess around anymore and will go out swinging against Witch Doctor. Small that Witch Doctor’s chances of winning are, she still has a greater probability of winning than either Radioactive or Counter Revolution. If Witch Doctor can get behind Tombstone quickly and chip away at its backside, the battle may swing in her favor.   However, all it takes for Tombstone to win is to swing around and whack Witch Doctor with one hit. Witch Doctor could easily go down in one hit and definitely after several. For Witch Doctor to win, she will need her flame bot to distract. Teamwork is essential here.

Image from http://battlebots.com/robot/icewave/

Icewave vs. Ghost Raptor-Icewave Wins by KO in less than a minute

Ghost Raptor limped through his victories by being slightly better than his struggling opponents. With a barely functioning lifting arm, Ghostraptor will be hard press to stop Icewave’s rotating blade without being heavily damaged in the process. Icewave won its last two rounds by KOs so we can expect a similar result here. Ghostraptor’s lucky streak ends now.

Image from http://battlebots.com/robot/bite-force/

Biteforce vs. Overhaul-Biteforce wins by Judges’ Decision

We have yet to see Overhaul fight another bot so this fight is harder to predict. However, I think Biteforce has the best chance of winning thanks to those awesome magnetic treads and fantastic clamping arm. Biteforce tossed Warhead around in its first bout and had a great battle in its second round against Hypershock that really cements how good its driver is. I even wrote in my previous article how Hypershock would win that battle but nope! Not a chance. Overhaul, although a respectable robot, I do not think has the dexterity needed to grab Biteforce but he does have a strong drive. Whether or not that drive is strong enough against Biteforce’s magnetic treads we’ll just have to wait and see…

Image from http://battlebots.com/robot/stinger/

Bronco vs. Stinger-Stinger wins by Judges’ Decision in a thrilling bout

Of all the battles for tonight’s episode to watch out for, this is the one. Whoever wins this battle will likely fight Tombstone in the next round and can deliver the upset needed against that monster. Both drivers have proven without a doubt that they have the strength, the drive, the tactics, and the balls to win their battles. Stinger the Killer Bee has really shown itself to be the rising star of Season 6 thanks to its fantastic driving ability, great design, and its resolve to win. Bronco, however, has upheld itself worthy of being Toro’s son thanks to that beautiful flip delivered against Plan X. The question to ask though is; What happens when a Flipping Robot fights an Unflippable Robot?

Stringer is by far the worse robot out of the eight competitors left for Bronco to fight. Some of them, like Biteforce or Overhaul, can flip themselves after a few tries but others, like Icewave and Tombstone, have no ability whatsoever to right themselves. But Stinger! Oh, Stinger! He can drive easily upside down and that great shovel arm can right himself like that! He’s so energetic like a bouncing prize fighter! I can easily imagine Stinger just pushing Bronco all over the place and maybe lift him up a few times as well.

It’s not all bad news for Bronco though. I call upon the middleweight fight between T-minus vs. T-wrecks as my example of how a flipping robot can defeat an unflippable robot. T-minus (who was also built by Bronco’s builders) just kept flipping T-wrecks around and kept showing him who was boss. He was aggressive, he was accurate, and he never let up even though there was no point in it. The crowds loved it and the judges gave it to the strong T-minus for its aggressive nature. If Bronco can call upon his uncle’s spirit and fight Stinger like that then he can win.

I give it to Stinger in the end though but either way, this battle is going to be awesome.

Prediction to Battlebots Episode 4

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Episode 3 of Battlebots was a return to form and more as we enter into Part 1 of the Sixteen Round. Most of everything that episode 2 did wrong or was lacking in was improved on drastically for this episode and will, hopefully, continue to achieve this level of quality from here on out. I dare even say that this episode was almost the quintessential episode of Battlebots.

First off, the filler in this episode was better managed as not only are we treated to a basic recap of the robot’s battles but we get a look into the builders’ strategies for their upcoming battles. Plus, a special bonus is given by the amount of time spent on the builders repairing their robots, something that the Comedy Central-era Battlebots often neglected. Although their repairs are briefly summarized, there is a sense of urgency, especially for Icewave and its overheated battery, for the builders to make sure their robot is properly working by their next round. I like it.

But of course, the battles are a great part of what makes this episode great so let’s talk about them.

Icewave vs. Chomp

Fire is not melting Icewave any time soon! But seriously, even when taking a face full of flame, Icewave came out of that battle relatively unscathed. That was another fun Icewave demolition and kudos for Chomp for hanging in there despite its losing battle.

Stinger vs. Warhead

I speak from the heart when I say this battle is what Battlebots is all about. No deceit or treachery like Complete Control vs. Ghost Raptor, no hard feelings or complaining like Lock Jaw vs. Overhaul, and it lasted the full three minutes unlike Bronco vs. Plan X. Even though Stinger had the battle right from the start, the fact that Stinger willingly flipped Warhead right side up just so they could fight some more is something very special. Warhead could have easily chipped or damaged Stinger some more but the builders didn’t care, they just wanted a fight! And the builders were so happy at the end and they shook hands and everything! Gosh, this battle was great!

Ghost Raptor vs. Warrior Clan

Sometimes, the worst enemy in the battlebox is yourself.

What a sad, sad, battle. Warrior Clan not being able to flip and Ghost Raptor rigged into a lifting bot. Once again, Ghost Raptor limps through another victory. I’m not going to lie, I’m looking forward to Icewave demolishing Ghost Raptor in the next round.

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Bronco vs. Plan X

Wow, my prediction of two minutes was way too high, it took ten seconds. My search terms for my last article were mainly about “Bronco” or “Bronco Flip.” God, that was probably the most beautiful flip in Battlebots history. So graceful, so elegant, so perfect. One Flip.

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EPISODE 4 PREDICTIONS

Episode 4 has some interesting battles coming out; we have a rematch, we’ll probably have a one-sided battle, and we have some battles that could really determine who gets the nut. Let’s check them out.

  Image from http://battlebots.com/robot/tombstone/

Tombstone vs. Radioactive-Tombstone wins by KO in less than a minute

Radioactive won because the other robot wasn’t working. Tombstone won because it utterly dismantled its opponent. Unless Tombstone faces some unforeseen mechanical error, it will win against Radioactive and its pitiful hammer, sorry Radioactive, at least you seem like a bot that will be fun to watch getting destroyed.

Image from http://battlebots.com/robot/22898/

Overhaul vs. Lockjaw-Overhaul wins by split judges’ decision

As unfortunate as it is to see these two robots battle each other again, at least Overhaul will have a chance at some clamping revenge. I think Overhaul is the stronger robot and will be able to fix its strategy from last time to take control of the fight. Still, it will be difficult for it considering how agile and durable Lockjaw is. Lockjaw will win if its aggressive, Overhaul will win if it can throw Lockjaw a bit. Either way, it should be a close battle.

Image from http://battlebots.com/robot/hypershock/

Hypershock vs. Biteforce-Hypershock wins by judges’ decision

We only saw a glimpse of Hypershock and its rotating drum. I feel like it will have a leg up over Biteforce and be able to really give it some damage unlike Warhead which seemed to have only nicked it. Still though, Biteforce looks like a competent robot so I wouldn’t be surprised if it won. In all honesty, since we have seen very little of Biteforce it’s hard to predict this battle so we’ll just have to wait and see what he brings to the battlebox.

Image from http://battlebots.com/robot/overdrive/

Overdrive vs. Witch Doctor-Overdrive wins by judges’ decision

My friends! THIS is the battle to watch! I guarantee it! Why?? Because whoever wins this battle will (very likely) face Tombstone in the next round. Now, in my heart, I think Witch Doctor can actually win against Overdrive but I really, really, want Overdrive to win simply because he is probably the most agile and speedy robot in the competition. If Overdrive can just keep out-maneuvering Witch Doctor and her minibot, and keep shoving them against the screws, he’ll win. However, Witch Doctor has that spinning drum that looks like it can do some serious damage.

HERE’S THE THING. If Witch Doctor wins, she will lose the next round against Tombstone. BUT, if Overdrive wins, then we can have an interesting battle. Overdrive would be the first, serious, contender against Tombstone. Overdrive has the agility and the capability to take him down. I seriously hope he faces Tombstone because that will be awesome. This will be a good battle either way even not factoring in Tombstone.

 

Can’t wait for tonight!

Initial Reaction to ABC Battlebots (2015) Episode 1

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Holy Crap.

Battlebots has returned this year on ABC and it’s as ridiculous and amazing as it was more than ten years ago on Comedy Central.  To begin with, I want to say I felt like my ten year old self again while watching this first episode.  The hype, the out-of-place suave commentators, the flashy stage, and the killer robots threw me back to my parents’ couch years ago.  It was fun, stupid, and most importantly, robots fought each other for the glorious nut!

First, few things I was disappointed about before I gushed about everything else.

-No original theme?  That makes me sad.  The original Battlebots referee Mark Beiro was also not there but considering his long and great career, I’m totally fine with that.

-They didn’t say “The box is locked, the lights are on, it’s robot fighting time!”  Come on!  That was basically their slogan!

-As mentioned before the main three commentators seem out of place but given the nature of Battlebots history, that’s typical.  At least they’re not as annoying as the original ones!

Okay!  Onto the good stuff!

This season of Battlebots (season 6) has made some good choices in order to both highlight the builders and televise the battles.  Instead of a huge assortment of robots we get just 24 robots in one weight class.  This cuts down the shallow coverage of the robots and gives us a more in-depth look into each of them.  This is great!  We learn why we should care for each of the robots, it makes us root for them more, and it gives us the opportunity to connect to them and remember them better.

Some people complain about the coverage on the builders but that’s typical Battlebots!  They love to focus on the builders!  It humanizes them!  It gets the audience to know them better and why we should root for them!  It also shows how anyone can build robots and compete in the tournament!  It’s pretty funny too when you get this juxtaposition of these cool, suave announcers interviewing the dorky and sometimes rigid builders.

At first I thought when they were focusing on the builders they were only showing the winners of each battle.  Thankfully, I was wrong with that as evidence by the Warhead vs. Biteforce battle.  Good!  I don’t want things to become predictive!

Okay, now onto the battles!

First off, Razorback vs. Icewave.  Nice, good battle to start on!  Razorback is interesting; I never have seen a Battlebot design like that before.  What were they trying to accomplish there?  Anyway, Icewave was definitely the highlight for this battle.  I liked the builder, Marc DeVidts, he reminds me of me a little.  He saw Battlebots around my age and wanted to build his own Battlebot because of which.  That’s awesome.  Icewave actually reminded me of the former Middleweight Champion, Hazard thanks to its spinning blade.  Icewave was just tearing apart Razorback and it was greeeeeat.  I look forward to Icewave’s next battle!

Next, Wrecks vs. Plan X.  Anyone recall the Middleweight T-Wrecks here?  Hm, maybe me.  Regardless, Wrecks is nothing like T-Wrecks.  God, this robot is so funky!  I freaking love this guy!  Team Captain Micah “Chewy” Leibowitz explained that he came up with this robot after waking up from a dream and I can tell!  Then there’s Plan X which is also freaky thanks to its glowing brain.  Former Battlebot competitor Lisa Winter built this robot and I was pleased to see her return.  Female representation in a male dominated sport is always a plus especially when the builder is young and confident in herself.

This battle was probably the most entertaining out of the four thanks to these two weird, weird, robots.  It looked like Plan X was going to win it at first then Wrecks started shuffling back like a determined terrier ready to take down a german shepherd!  I was laughing my ass off during the entire fight.  Part of me was hoping Wrecks would win this one due to its comeback in the last ten seconds and the huge damage it was inflicting on Plan X.  Definitely a favorite.  I was disappointed by Plan X’s spinning weapon but hopefully it will do more damage in the next round.

Next we get the upset battle Warhead vs. Biteforce.  Ah, Warhead, one of the few veteran robots that unfortunately couldn’t seal a win against his opponent.  And to be fair, it was a bad matchup.  Biteforce had a strong drive and a highly defensive ram.  That drum spinner barely dent Biteforce and the arms and tail were useless.  Biteforce had this battle right from the get-go by pushing Warhead all over the place and into two different pulverizers (which made me laughed hard)!  Biteforce reminded me of Complete Control thanks to its unique design and ability to handle dangerous opponents.  Good work Biteforce!

Finally, we get the amazing battle between Nightmare and Warrior Clan.  Man, ABC missed their chance to talk about how Team Nightmare and Team Whyachi had fought each other before in Season 3 for Nightmare vs. Son of Whyachi where Son of Whyachi won hands down.  They should have mentioned that!  Anyway, great battle even though my favorite, Nightmare, got flipped over (again, another bad matchup for a veteran robot).  To be fair though, whether done intentionally or not, the new Nightmare design kind of helped Nightmare in its dire situation.  I’m sure Jim Smentowski was trying his damndest to flip his terrorizing robot over.  Regardless, DID YOU SEE WHAT NIGHTMARE DID TO THAT BITTY FLAME BOT!  That was hilarious.

We still have more qualifying rounds to go through so I’ll withhold my judgement of flame and multi-bots until then but so far they seem to be working out well.

As for wildcard…there are 24 robots and 12 battles which means 12 losers.  Only four of the twelve losers will be picked to fight in the second round (if I’m interpreting the rules correctly).  The show briefly mentioned that the judges will pick the four robots that did the best in their respective matches (which is a great idea).  If I were to pick a robot or two from this episode it would be Wrecks or Nightmare.  Both did a great job fighting their opponent and I can’t decide who deserves it more.  I guess I lean towards Wrecks cause I want to see more of him!  He’s so funky and hilarious (but also he lasted the full three minutes as well)!

My Pick to Win the Nut: I think Icewave might have the best chance.  Battlebots has had a history of vertical rotator robots (e.g., Hazard and Son of Whyachi) winning the Nut.  Icewave’s blade was just wailing on Razorback showing that he is both a good defensive and offensive robot.  However, Icewave was smoking by the end of his match which isn’t good and he’ll have to worry about flipping robots like Warrior Clan (who might even be too low for the swinging blade).

Overall, the episode was great and I look forward to seeing more episodes of Battlebots!  Woo!