Day 3
This is it, the last day of fighting. Still lots of bots left in competition, so let's see who will take home the championships.
ToothFairy vs That Yellow Mouse
Somehow, That Yellow Mouse has made it to the third day without fighting once. That's because it postponed its first match against Federal MT to day 2, then forfeited that match. It's a yellow robot armed with a front wedge and what appears to be Pikachu's face or something similar. It's fighting ToothFairy, who is exactly the same as last time we saw it. Hopefully its weapon works this time.
3, 2, 1, fight! ToothFairy is still having weapon issues. Yellow Mouse shoves ToothFairy into the pulverizer, and smoke is pouring out everywhere. It takes another hard hit from the hammer on its weapon, and after driving around a little bit fire starts pouring out of the top of the robot. It stops after driving around while on fire for a while, and ToothFairy taps out.
Touro Classic vs Witch Doctor
And up to the middleweights! Touro Classic and Witch Doctor are unchanged from yesterday. Winner moves on, loser goes home.
Fight! Both bots spin up to speed. There's some maneuvering, and Witch Doctor knocks Touro Classic out of the arena in one hit! That's the end!
Killa KT vs The Mutt
The Mutt took a forfeit from the absent Frankencat to get to this point. Both robots are unchanged, I have no clue if The Mutt's weapon works yet or not.
Fight! Doesnt look like The Mutt can spin. Killa KT immediately gets under and plows Mutt into the wall, and maneuvers The Mutt into the pulverizer several times. Mutt appears to have lost one side of its drive, and Killa KT easily gets The Mutt back under the hammer. The punishing blows of the Mutt appear to have knocked out The Mutt, and they tap out. Killa KT continues plowing through the loser's bracket.
Mrs. Plow vs Little Bill
Cortana forfeited to put Little Bill here. Mrs. Plow is a lot more promising as a wedge bot.
Fight! Both bots jockey for position. Mrs. Plow gets under and shoves Little Bill into the wall twice. Mrs. Plow manages to use its momentum to flip Little Bill on its back, and Little Bill stops moving. Mrs. Plow maneuvers Little Bill into the hammers, and there's some slight movement from Little Bill. One more slam from Mrs. Plow knocks Little Bill onto its back end, where it's stranded. Little Bill is counted out.
Ziegenkase vs Touro Maximus
The 120-lb The Big Cheese, after beating Polar Vortex on a split decision, is now in the heavyweight semis. His opponent it Touro Maximus, who has beaten Tanto and Shrederator in one hit so far in this bracket. Will the Cheese get the ultimate upset? It's time to find out.
3, 2, 1, fight!! Big Cheese zooms under Touro Maximus and immediately into the hammer. Touro escapes and two big hits from Touro warp the wedge of Big Cheese. Touro Maximus gets under the underside of Big Cheese, we see some parts go flying, and the Cheese taps out. It has no bottom protection, so when Touro Maximus got under it was chewing on exposed mechanics.
Electric Lawn Gnome Supremacy vs Aquiles
Two more undefeated drumbots in the lightweight class. Winner moves on to the winner's bracket finals. Loser moves down to the loser's bracket.
Fight! The two drive out at each other. Aquiles zooms behind Electric Gnome and knocks it onto its back, then punts it into the wall. A chunk of Aquiles' tooth is sent flying, and Electric Gnome is no longer moving. The Gnome taps out.
Touro Light vs Tetnis
More loser's bracket matchups. Tetnis and Touro are both very impressive spinners. Touro has beaten bar spinners before, Tetnis has a very powerful bar that totalled UBRuined yesterday. This match was postponed once because Tetnis had some weapon issues.
Fight! Touro zooms out and gets around the back end of Tetnis, causing sparks to fly. Touro lands hit after hit, loosening the top plate and eventually flipping Tetnis on its top and then its back. The belt of Tetnis is missing. Tetnis is counted out after this brutal onslaught and Touro does a series of impressive flips to celebrate.
And with that fight, we go to lunch break. Some bots are tested during the break.
General vs Touro
Middleweight semi final action time. The two biggest names in Brazil are about to fight each other for the first finals spot. Both bots have been absolutely dominant to get here. General's already beaten one Touro bot on its road to the semis, so let's see if it can do it again.
Fight! Both bots spin up. General gets under Touro, sparks fly, Touro is knocked up into the air. General;s weapon is stopped and there's some fork damage on General. A big slam from General knocks Touro into the air, and then Touro gets underneath. General's trying to use Touro's force against it, and it does work, as after a few more slams and more sparks, Touro is knocked out of the arena with the force of its own weapon. An impressive knockout victory for General.
Federal M.T. vs UnMakerBot
Now for an almost carbon copy of the last match in the lightweight division. Federal MT is a lightweight General. UnMakerBot is an American Touro.
Fight! Both robots spin up to speed. The first hit sents both bots backwards and Federal MT is sent on its back. Federal MT self-rights and there's another hit where UnMakerBot comes on top. A third hit is huge and sends Federal MT hurtling into the air, and there's some wedge damage on Federal MT. UnMakerBot is under again and grinds the underside of Federal MT, almost immobilizing it but with the Federal escaping at the last second. One last hit knocks Federal MT into the air and it's comboed with a brutal pulverizer hit. This wombo combo is too much for Federal MT to deal with, so it's counted out. UnMakerBot advances to the winner's bracket final.
Blue vs That Yellow Mouse
Oh wow, there's Eiffel 65 playing in the background before this match. Blue is using its green wedges. Yellow Mouse is unchanged.
Fight! Yellow Mouse is having some issues driving in a straight line. There isn't any contact for a long time. Blue is very slowly nudging Yellow Mouse into a hammer, but Yellow Mouse escapes. A big hit flips Yellow Mouse onto its back and it's slammed into the wall. That Yellow Mouse is pushed under a hammer, and several blows come down before That Yellow Mouse is counted out.
Mrs. Plow vs K2
This'll be interesting. Mrs Plow has shown to be a resilient wedge bot, but K2 has that hinged wedge on the front that's been absolutely devastating to every brick it's fought. However, K2 has had a tendency to explode in its matches, so maybe there'll be an upset.
Fight! K2 spins up again! Mrs Plow rides up the wedge, sparks fly, and a second hit flips Mrs Plow on its back. Some careful maneuvering from K2 gives Mrs Plow a pulverizer hit, but another hit knocks Mrs Plow right side up again. There's some good pushing from Mrs Plow and then K2 gets in some more strong hits which flip Mrs Plow end over end. Mrs Plow is flipped onto its back, and now panels are missing from Mrs Plow. One more hit from K2 beaches Mrs Plow on the arena bumper, and despite the Mrs Plow team's best effort to use the force of their pulverizer to unstick their robot, it's counted out and K2 wins the match.
Black and Blue vs Killa KT
Black and Blue are back from being trashed by Touro yesterday. Killa KT has been absolutely dominating this loser's bracket, let's see if it can do it again. Blue still has the wedges on from its match against That Yellow Mouse, Black has its steel plow.
Fight! Killa KT tries to dodge Blue and does a decent job of it. KT is able to shove both bots around at once, while Black and Blue have some issues doing so. Both clusterbots take a hammer shot, one intentional and one by accident. Killa KT reverses Black into the wall and then pins Blue to the wall. Killa KT almost scoops up both bots at once but is unable to. Black is stuck under the arena bumper by Killa KT and the match is stopped for an unstick. When the match restarts, Killa KT gets a good push on both robots, slamming Blue into the wall and also nearly getting Black into a pulverizer. The rest of the match consists of Killa KT playing the divide and conquer game, maneuvering the two clusterbots around. Time runs out with Killa KT pushing Blue into the wall. Killa KT takes the judge's decision, ending the clusterbot's run.
The Big Cheese vs Witch Doctor
Yep, these two again. Last time they met Big Cheese won after Witch Doctor blew up its weapon controller and took a split decision. With the weapon going, will Big Cheese be able to take it? Especially after its loss to Touro Maximus? We're about to find out. Brad has put the "In queso emergency, I praise to cheesus" meme in between the two driver cameras. The cheese jokes never get (m)old.
3, 2, 1, fight! The Big Cheese powers across the arena and charges at Witch Doctor. There's a pulverizer hit on the weapon, and another. Witch Doctor escapes and delivers some powerful hits to the Cheese, knocking The Big Cheese up and over and back again. The Big Cheese seems to have lost a drive motor. The Big Cheese takes a pulverizer hit and then stops moving. The count out goes down, and Witch Doctor has his revenge.
Blue vs Touro Light
And we're back in the lightweights! Blue has its plow back on, Touro Light is completely unchanged.
Fight! Blue powers across the arena and into the pulverizer, taking a shot. The first weapon hit sends Blue sky high. After a few more hits, Touro Light's weapon stops entirely. Touro is stuck under the bumper but frees itself. Now that Touro Light's weapon is stopped, this is Blue's fight. However, Touro is able to turn Blue around and give it a few whacks from the pulverizer. Blue then pins Touro to the wall, and again. The torque advantage here is really too much. Touro appears to be stuck again, and it's counted out. Blue is moving on.
Electric Lawn Gnome Supremacy vs K2
The longest name vs the shortest name in the lightweight loser's bracket. Spinning drum vs spinning disc. Who moves on? We're about to find out.
Fight! Both bots spin up. there's some big hits, and K2 is flipped onto its back within seconds! It takes a pulverizer shot to its belly and that's it for the #1 ranked lightweight. Electric Lawn Gnome Supremacy is moving on.
Ziegenkase vs Polar Vortex
And to see who's facing Touro Maximus in the heavyweight final, we have a grudge match! The Big Cheese beat Polar Vortex by a split decision earlier, and in an attempt to remedy that, has opted for the solid wedge over the forks. The Big Cheese, hopefully, has been repaired from its second big beatdown today from Witch Doctor.
3, 2, 1, fight! The two bots charge at each other and Polar Vortex gets underneath. Some more maneuvering, and The Big Cheese is almost sent out of the arena with a big slam. Polar Vortex gets to the side and nearly hits itself with the pulverizer, but dodges it. There's another slam from Polar Vortex. The Big Cheese has stopped? Looks like those two big spinner matches took its toll. Polar Vortex wins and is moving on to the final.
Killa KT vs Witch Doctor
More middleweight loser's bracket action. Killa KT has come a long way from its first round loss, Witch Doctor is looking for some more dominant wins.
Fight! Killa KT tries to get around the front wedge of Witch Doctor and drives itself into the hammer doing so. Witch Doctor gets a few small hits, and then a bigger one which sends Killa KT into the air. Then, Witch Doctor gets underneath, charges across the arena, and sends Killa KT up into the air and across the arena bumper! Killa KT is out of the arena!
UnMakerBot vs Aquiles
Lightweight winner's bracket finals time. Two big drums, one from America, one from Brazil. Only one can take the first finals spot.
Fight! Both bots spin up to speed. The first hit knocks Aquiles into a corner and it takes some hammer shots. There's some maneuvering where Aquiles tries to get around UnMakerBot, but the silver drumbot does a great job keeping the drum facing Aquiles. The second hit sends a chunk flying from Aquiles' drum, and it stops spinning. Aquiles drives back over to its side of the arena and taps out. UnMakerBot advances to the final in its very first competition!
Polar Vortex vs Touro Maximus
This could be it folks. If Touro Maximus wins this match, it takes home the heavyweight title. If Polar Vortex wins they go to one more match to decide the championship. Polar Vortex is, of course, running the steel scoop.
This is the match we've all been waiting for, folks. 3, 2, 1, FIGHT! Polar Vortex charges right at Touro and does a great job avoiding the drum, pinning it to the wall. Touro gets to the side and knocks Vortex up but there's no damage. Polar Vortex gets under Touro Maximus, lifts it up, there's sparks as Touro Maximus' drum grinds up the bottom of Polar Vortex's wedge, and it's stuck on the bumper! Its wheels are spinning but it can't move! Touro Maximus is counted out! Polar Vortex wins!!!
Of course this means there will be one more fight to decide the heavyweight title. However' that's later on.
Federal MT vs Blue
Federal MT is currently unchanged. Blue is using its plow.
Fight! Blue comes charging out at Federal MT, and... Federal MT isn't moving? Oh there it is. The weapon is spinning, but Federal MT seems to be missing a drive motor. Blue flips it with a big charge, and so now it's just derping around and grinding on the floor. Blue charges across the arena again and plows Federal MT into the wall and under the pulverizer. A few hits flip Federal MT right side up, but the robot has stopped and is counted out. Blue continues its dominance in the loser's bracket.
Touro vs Witch Doctor
This is it everyone. The middleweight loser's bracket finals. The winner faces off against General for the title, the loser goes home.
Fight! Both bots spin up. Or are they? Touro is not spinning! However, Witch Doctor can't seem to get under the little wedge feet the Touro Team has added. The first hit knocks Touro up and over but that's about it. Touro takes a solid pulverizer shot as it attempts to dodge Witch Doctor. Witch Doctor has more torque and shoves Touro into the hammers, taking a few solid hits. It then pulls a reversal and force feeds Witch Doctor a pulverizer shot. Witch Doctor then pins Touro to the side wall. The match was paused for an unstick, but there seems to be no need as Witch Doctor drives away. Touro is still pulled from the wall. 1 minute left as the match resumes. More jockeying for position, and Witch Doctor finally starts landing hits, with him almost beaching Touro on its side. Witch Doctor tries to shove Touro under the hammer but misses and eats a direct shot from the pulverizer. This causes smoke to start pouring out the back, looks like the speed controller broke down again. Time runs out as the Touro team looks incredibly excited about disabling Witch Doctor's weapon. Unsurprisingly, Witch Doctor takes the unanimous judge's decision.
Electric Lawn Gnome Supremacy vs Blue
The lightweight bracket is finally winding down. In this fight we have Electric Gnome, who knocked out the dominating K2 in its last match, and Blue, who took out Federal MT in a grudge match. The winner of this match moves on to the final against UnMakerBot.
Fight! Gnome spins up while Blue charges out, then takes two hammer shots as it repositions. There's a small hit from the Gnome, but its weapon isnt as powerful as it was in its last few matches. It's able to pop around Blue a few times before Blue sticks itself on top of Gnome, stopping both robots entirely. The match is paused for an unstick. Blue immediately shoves Gnome into a hammer. The Gnome finally gets its drum back up to full speed, but takes some more hammer hits as it tries to reposition. Blue takes a few hammer hits as it tries to dodge around the drum. Blue finally goes at the drum, and Blue takes two big hits before we hear something break off of Gnome's drum, sounds like a tooth. Yeah the drum's definitely missing a tooth. Blue shoves it into the wall and it seems to have stopped moving. The drum is still going, but the wheels aren't. However, time runs out before Electric Lawn Gnome Supremacy can be counted out, but the decision easily goes to Blue.
Blue vs UnMakerBot
And right after that, Blue is back up for its shot at the finals! It's still got the plow from its previous fight. UnMakerBot barely seems to have a scratch on it.
3, 2, 1, Fight! UnMakerBot spins up. Blue comes out swinging. UnMakerBot pops Blue into the air once, then twice, then a third time which pops Blue over to the other side of the arena but flips UnMakerBot onto its back. UnMakerBot calls for an unstick, as it is able to drive upside down but was unable to move. UnMakerBot spins up but still not moving. Blue pushes it along the floor. UnMakerBot moves a little bit, and stays in the fight. The drumbot gets a big hit on Blue which knocks a big chunk out of the plow, but it's moving too slowly to stay in the fight and is counted out. One more fight between the two will decide the lightweight title.
Witch Doctor vs General
And now for the middleweight finals. Witch Doctor is coming up from the loser's bracket, beating all sorts of comers after burning out a weapon controller in its second fight. General brutalized the winner's bracket, defeating rival Touro in its last match to get here. If General wins, the middleweight bracket will be over. If Witch Doctor wins, they'll have to fight again.
3, 2, 1, fight! Both robots spin up. The first hit pops Witch Doctor into the air. Do does the second one. Witch Doctor gets General to a pulverizer, and you can hear grinding as General's weapon chews on the hammer. The next hit flips Witch Doctor onto its back, but it can still move. Or can it? It appears to have stopped. Witch Doctor taps out! Your champion is General!
Blue vs UnMakerBot
Lightweight finals time. Blue's already won once, but UnMakerBot got some big hits in and definitely didn't get here by a fluke.
3, 2, 1, fight! Blue charges out. UnMakerBot isn' spinning its drum. Oh, now it is. It flips Blue over onto its back, but it appears to be a little unbalanced. Blue pushes UnMakerBot across the arena and nearly takes a pulverizer hit. UnMakerBot flips Blue around a little more, but drives under the hammer and takes a few hits. Blue does a good job dodging UnMakerBot's drum and pushes it into the hammer again. UnMakerBot gets another hit in before being pushed into the wall again. And another small pop by UnMakerBot. And Blue gets another slam into a corner. UnMakerBot gets two more big hits in, and then time runs out. The judge's decision goes to...UnMakerBot?? The people in the stream seem to be mystified by this, but it was very very close.
Polar Vortex vs Touro Maximus
This is it. The last match in the tournament, and the last chance for a non-spinner to take home a trophy at this event. Polar Vortex is still using the steel scoop. Touro is still looking very very strong.
The box is locked, the lights are on, it's heavyweight finals fighting time! Touro Maximus spins up, makes contact, and causes sparks to fly. A hit damages Polar Vortex's tires, and there's more sparks before Polar Vortex gets under and beaches the drumbot onto the bumper again! Is that it?
Nope, the pulverizer comes down and frees Touro Maximus. The fight continues. Polar Vortex comes in and pushes Touro into the hammers for a shot. Then there's more sparks, and then Touro spins up to full speed. And more sparks. Touro Maximus gets underneath and starts tearing into Polar Vortex's linkage, and it pretty much is able to stay there and tear into the underside of Polar Vortex. When Vortex gets free we see chunks of rubber go flying. We see puffs of smoke coming from one of the bots, as Touro is being whaled on by the pulverizer during this onslaught, and we time runs out with more sparks flying. However, there's a controversial hit after the match ends where Touro hits Polar Vortex and sends it flying. What happened there?
The judges make their decision. The winner is Touro Maximus!!
Congratulations to all the winners down in Florida and good luck with whatever competitions you're going to next!
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Monday, May 5, 2014
USATL 2014: Day 2
And here's today's fights. Thanks again to Brad for having this livestream running so I can archive the matches here in text form.
Day 2
El Gran Rey Cholo vs Hurricane Cindy
Our first match of the day is a match in the 120lb loser's bracket. Cindy lost to Touro in a vicious knockout, Cholo broke down against Frankencat. For both of these robots, this is their last chance. If they lose they're out.
3 2 1 Fight! Cholo seems to still have issues. Cindy comes out and gets some good hits on Cholo. Cholo spins up, still with drive issues, and Cindy is able to grind up the back end of Cholo. Cholo is still sluggishly moving around, and there's some noticable damage on Cholo's top. It's still moving only enough to not be counted out. Then Hurricane Cindy makes the decision to drive into the arena bumper at full speed and stops moving. A cheap win, but a win nonetheless for Cholo. Maybe next time they'll actually move out of their square.
Marvin vs The Mutt
Both bots are silver drum bots. Both lost their first match. Who moves on? We're about to find out.
Fight. Mutt's weapon isn't spinning, but he does a good job juking Marvin's initial charge. there's no contact made for a good half minute, and then Mutt takes the upper hand, shoving Marvin into the wall. Marvin narrowly misses the hammer, then gets maneuvered into it by The Mutt. One, two, three, four, FIVE solid hammer hits dent the top of Marvin, and it escapes. Mutt pins Marvin to the wall again. After this there's more boring maneuvering, neither bot seems to have their weapon working, and then Marvin stops entirely. Mutt wins by knockout.
General vs Touro Classic
Back up to the winner's bracket now. Touro and General are both big names from Brazil. Touro's attached a wedge to the front so it can attempt to stave off General's forks.
Fight. Both robots spin up. The first hit causes sparks and flips General on its back. General tries to self right, Touro gets another big hit and seems to have some driving issues afterwards. General hits Touro a few times while inverted, and Touro's drive is working again. Oh wait, now it's spinning in circles. Another big hit knocks General back on its top, and then sparks fly as General hits Touro hard, then sends it flying. Twice. Touro stops moving! General wins!
Touro Maxmimus vs Shrederator.
Ohhh boy. This is the match everyone's been waiting for. Touro Maximus, the most feared robot at this tournament after annihilating Tanto, is facing off against the fresh-out-of-retirement full body spinner Shrederator, formerly known as Phrizbee from BattleBots. Its internals have been upgraded from the last time it fought and it's ready to square down against the sleek bull from Brazil.
3, 2, 1, Fight! Both robots spin, Shrederator is kinda wobbly. Touro is up to full speed, there's a hit, sparks fly, and... Shrederator stops moving entirely?! That's it?? Touro wins by knockout and continues its one hit KO record. Post fight review shows that the battery connection was severed on that one hit, stopping the robot dead.
Black vs GLaDOS
Black is back from its close loss to Aquiles yesterday, and it seems GLaDOS has recovered from its beatdown yesterday courtesy of K2. Black is sporting its plow setup.
Fight. GlaDOS is up to speed fast and gets two good hits on Black, but after every hit GLaDOS has a chance to shove around the drumbot. There are some hits, but it seems that GLaDOS isn't spinning as fast as it was. Black takes advantage of this, slamming GLaDOS into the wall hard. GLaDOS has now stopped spinning entirely. There's a close pushing match in the back corner of the arena, then Black drives straight under the hammer, taking a solid hit. Black can't really get a good position to shove around GLaDOS. Black tries a sit and spin maneuver as the match ticks down. After the match ends we see a puff of smoke and apparently fire from GLaDOS. Black wins the judge's decision.
Aquiles vs K2
Two undefeated robots in the lightweight division. Aquiles never spun up in its first fight, so there's no idea as how powerful its drum is. There's no question, however, as to how powerful K2's weapon is, as it caused a massive lipo fire at the end of yesterday's fighting.
Fight. Both bots spin up and the first hit knocks Aquiles into the air. Aquiles answers with a massive uppercut that knocks K2 up, over and onto the wall, and there is smoke pouring out of K2's undercarriage. Aquiles is moving on.
Maelstrom vs Killa KT
And we're back down to the middleweight loser's bracket. Both these bots lost pretty fast, so it's a chance at redemption for these teams.
Fight. Maelstrom is still kinda shaky spinning up. Killa KT gives no craps and plows straight into it, stopping its spinning. Killa KT maneuvers Maelstrom into the hammers, and Maelstrom takes several hits. Maelstrom is no longer spinning. Killa KT takes a hit from the pulverizer. Killa KT has most of the control over this fight, wedging Maelstrom into the corner and keeping him there. And then the entire shell of Maelstrom breaks from the top bars! Maelstrom is shoved back under the hammers where it takes hit after hit and is eventually counted out. Wait, no that was the end of the match. The judge decision, unsurprisingly, goes to Killa KT.
And now we go to break. During the break, we see Shrederator being tested, and it looks functional. Excellent. Hope they've fixed that battery problem.
Tanto vs Polar Vortex
We're back with another heavyweight matchup! Tanto has recovered from its match yesterday and is ready to face off against the unique Polar Vortex, still in the fork setup it used against Ziegenkase yesterday. Tanto is sporting a Team Toad flag, thanks to the fact that they helped the British team get Tanto ready for this match.
Fight! Tanto still has some slight drive issues but wedges under Vortex first. Neither robot really takes the upper hand early as there is lots of jockeying for position. Both robots take a hammer hit. Polar Vortex is unfazes, Tanto's top has fallen off and it's stopped moving. Is that it? Yeah it is. Tanto is out of the competition.
Tetnis vs UBRuined
Tetnis made it to the second round of the loser's bracket after forfeiting to teammate GLaDOS in round 1 and then taking a forfeit from RIP in its first loser's bracket fight. Tetnis is a non-invertible box with a set of horizontal spinning hammers at the front. UBRuined has been repaired from yesterday's match against UnMakerBot, got a much-needed bye into this fight and still has an undercutter.
Fight. Tetnis spins up as soon as the fight starts. UBRuined is a little more hesitant but does get spun up. There's one tap between the two robots and then there's a big hit which sends UBRuined skidding away, and a wheel falls off. UBRuined is still skidding around on its weapon but can't really move. UBRuined's weapon then gives out, and that's the end for UBRuined.
Black and Blue vs Touro
Both Black and Blue have their plows on. Touro is unchanged. Only one of these 60lb bots needs to die for the match to end.
Fight. Black and Blue are pretty tentative, and they both eat a direct hit from Touro's weapon, the hit on Black actually causing the arena camera to bend lower and give us a worse perspective of the fight. Both clusters are still alive. Touro's weapon has stopped. There's a little infighting involving Black and Blue, and Touro spins back up. The next sends Black out of the arena, and that's the end of the fight. Touro wins.
Mrs. Plow vs Electric Lawn Gnome Supremacy
Mrs Plow and Electric Gnome both dominated their first matches to get here. Neither bot has changed.
Fight. Gnome spins up, Mrs Plow tries to stop it and gets a shower of sparks in return. The next hit flips Mrs Plow on its back, and the wedge won't work anymore. A third hit flips Mrs Plow back right side up, but they've stopped entirely. There's a count out, and your winner is Electric Lawn Gnome Supremacy.
UnMakerBot vs Touro Light
Both these bots are silver drums. Both beat horizontal spinners to get here. Who's the better bar killer? Let's find out.
Fight. Both robots are up to speed. They're kind of tentative to hit each other, and the first one sends Touro Light flying. So does the second. Smoke starts coming out, and a third hit sends sparks flying. There's smoke everywhere, the drum stops, so does a drive motor, and the last hit of the match props Touro Light in a way that it can't move. UnMakerBot is moving on.
Witch Doctor vs El Gran Rey Cholo
Both bots are very nasty vertical spinners from Florida. Witch Doctor's replaced the burnt weapon controller from yesterday.
Fight. Both bots spin up, Cholo is still fairly slow. Witch Doctor speeds behind Cholo and flips it over with one hit! El Gran Rey Cholo can't drive inverted, so that's the end for Cholo.
Blue vs Federal M.T.
Federal M.T. is the lightweight from Team Uai!rrior and is essentially the same as the team's middleweight General: A wedged robot with a vertical spinning disc. It got this far thanks to a forfeit. Blue's got the anti spinner plow on for this match.
Fight. Both robots move out and Federal MT gets the early upper hand, knocking around Blue all over the place and getting some good hits in. Eventually Blue is knocked under the hammer where it takes a few good hits. Federal MT is relentless with its hits, continuously knocking Blue into the air. Blue keeps coming at Federal MT, but each time he does he gets knocked a few feet into the air. Eventually Federal MT pins Blue against a side wall but is forced to let go. A few more hits from Federal MT and the match ends. Federal MT wins the judge's decision, although massive props are given to Blue for surviving the 3 minutes.
Touro Classic vs Octobot
Both bots are completely unchanged from their last matches. Touro Classic has already inverted a spinner once here, so let's see if it can do it again.
Fight. Both bots spin up. The first hit knocks a piece off of Octobot and sticks Touro on its side, while Octobot starts smoking. Touro sticks itself on the arena bumper, and we see Octobot still moving in its smoke screen. Touro gets off the arena wall and moves in to attack Octobot again, and then we see all sorts of fire coming from Octobot. That thing is seriously on fire. It gets counted out and the crewbots go in to put out the blazing Octobot.
Proton Shaker vs Killa KT
And after this latest lipo fire break, we have two school teams up against each other. Proton Shaker's still red and blue and has a spinning drum. Killa KT is still a paintless wedge.
Fight. Proton Shaker is up to speed. Killa KT gets under, shoves Proton Shaker into the hammer and a belt is knocked off. The drum stops moments later, and Proton Shaker takes another hammer shot. Now it's pinned against the wall. The drum is not doing any damage whatsoever to Killa KT. Proton Shaker drives under the hammer itself and takes a hit. Proton Shaker is then driven under the hammer again by Killa KT and there's some noticeable damage to the back of the drumbot. Proton Shaker somehow gets to the back of Killa KT and is able to pin the wedge in a corner, but the match ends with Proton Shaker pinned against the wall. Killa KT takes another decision.
General vs The Big Cheese
General and Big Cheese are both coming off fairly tough matches against Touro Classic and Witch Doctor respectively.
Fight. The first hit inverts The Big Cheese, and so does the second one. Big Cheese is able to maneuver General into the hammers for a shot. The next hit from General is massive, sending The Big Cheese flying and killing it. General moves on.
K2 vs Black
And back into the lightweights for one more fight. K2's been repaired from blowing up earlier today, and Black is coming off of a fairly dominant victory over GLaDOS. Black has the plow setup once again.
Fight! K2 is not spinning up its weapon at all and is able to use its wedge to maneuver Black around the arena and into the hammers early. Black tries a sit and spin maneuver, but K2 gets Black to the hammers again. And again. There really isn't much Black can do against K2's wedge. And there's another hammer shot. K2 is absolutely dominating this match. K2 gets some more pins in. Black goes back to the sit and spin technique and it works for a short time, knocking K2 away, but K2 gets Black back to the pulverizer again. The match ends with Black being pushed around by K2. K2 wins by a judge's decision, even though it doesn't have its weapon.
Polar Vortex vs Shrederator
The last match of the day is the semi finals in the heavyweight loser's bracket. This is it for Shrederator. It lost in one hit against Touro Maximus earlier in the tournament, and so it's in the loser's bracket now. Polar Vortex is using the steel scoop for this match.
Fight. Shrederator spins up to speed and hits Vortex on the wedge, but bounces back and takes a hammer shot. Vortex pins Shrederator in the corner and lifts it up, but Shrederator is back to life. A chain is seen dangling from the bottom of Shrederator but it seems inconsequential. Shrederator spins up again and pinballs off Vortex's wedge, then comes in for another hit. This one damages one of Polar Vortex's wheel hubs. Vortex is tentative to hit Shrederator, but it pinballs off the wall anyway. There's more hits and more sparks, but Polar Vortex gets Shrederator stuck in the corner again and that seems to be it for Shrederator's spinning. It's stopped, and it doesn't spin up again. The rest of the match is Polar Vortex dominating with its wedge. The match ends with Polar Vortex rushing Shrederator and tipping Shrederator up against the wall right as time runs out. You probably don't need me to say this but the winner of the match is Polar Vortex.
That's the end of Day 2 fighting. Tomorrow is the last day of the event and there's still lots of bots in contention. Massive props to everyone still in the tournament and good luck to everyone tomorrow.
Day 2
El Gran Rey Cholo vs Hurricane Cindy
Our first match of the day is a match in the 120lb loser's bracket. Cindy lost to Touro in a vicious knockout, Cholo broke down against Frankencat. For both of these robots, this is their last chance. If they lose they're out.
3 2 1 Fight! Cholo seems to still have issues. Cindy comes out and gets some good hits on Cholo. Cholo spins up, still with drive issues, and Cindy is able to grind up the back end of Cholo. Cholo is still sluggishly moving around, and there's some noticable damage on Cholo's top. It's still moving only enough to not be counted out. Then Hurricane Cindy makes the decision to drive into the arena bumper at full speed and stops moving. A cheap win, but a win nonetheless for Cholo. Maybe next time they'll actually move out of their square.
Marvin vs The Mutt
Both bots are silver drum bots. Both lost their first match. Who moves on? We're about to find out.
Fight. Mutt's weapon isn't spinning, but he does a good job juking Marvin's initial charge. there's no contact made for a good half minute, and then Mutt takes the upper hand, shoving Marvin into the wall. Marvin narrowly misses the hammer, then gets maneuvered into it by The Mutt. One, two, three, four, FIVE solid hammer hits dent the top of Marvin, and it escapes. Mutt pins Marvin to the wall again. After this there's more boring maneuvering, neither bot seems to have their weapon working, and then Marvin stops entirely. Mutt wins by knockout.
General vs Touro Classic
Back up to the winner's bracket now. Touro and General are both big names from Brazil. Touro's attached a wedge to the front so it can attempt to stave off General's forks.
Fight. Both robots spin up. The first hit causes sparks and flips General on its back. General tries to self right, Touro gets another big hit and seems to have some driving issues afterwards. General hits Touro a few times while inverted, and Touro's drive is working again. Oh wait, now it's spinning in circles. Another big hit knocks General back on its top, and then sparks fly as General hits Touro hard, then sends it flying. Twice. Touro stops moving! General wins!
Touro Maxmimus vs Shrederator.
Ohhh boy. This is the match everyone's been waiting for. Touro Maximus, the most feared robot at this tournament after annihilating Tanto, is facing off against the fresh-out-of-retirement full body spinner Shrederator, formerly known as Phrizbee from BattleBots. Its internals have been upgraded from the last time it fought and it's ready to square down against the sleek bull from Brazil.
3, 2, 1, Fight! Both robots spin, Shrederator is kinda wobbly. Touro is up to full speed, there's a hit, sparks fly, and... Shrederator stops moving entirely?! That's it?? Touro wins by knockout and continues its one hit KO record. Post fight review shows that the battery connection was severed on that one hit, stopping the robot dead.
Black vs GLaDOS
Black is back from its close loss to Aquiles yesterday, and it seems GLaDOS has recovered from its beatdown yesterday courtesy of K2. Black is sporting its plow setup.
Fight. GlaDOS is up to speed fast and gets two good hits on Black, but after every hit GLaDOS has a chance to shove around the drumbot. There are some hits, but it seems that GLaDOS isn't spinning as fast as it was. Black takes advantage of this, slamming GLaDOS into the wall hard. GLaDOS has now stopped spinning entirely. There's a close pushing match in the back corner of the arena, then Black drives straight under the hammer, taking a solid hit. Black can't really get a good position to shove around GLaDOS. Black tries a sit and spin maneuver as the match ticks down. After the match ends we see a puff of smoke and apparently fire from GLaDOS. Black wins the judge's decision.
Aquiles vs K2
Two undefeated robots in the lightweight division. Aquiles never spun up in its first fight, so there's no idea as how powerful its drum is. There's no question, however, as to how powerful K2's weapon is, as it caused a massive lipo fire at the end of yesterday's fighting.
Fight. Both bots spin up and the first hit knocks Aquiles into the air. Aquiles answers with a massive uppercut that knocks K2 up, over and onto the wall, and there is smoke pouring out of K2's undercarriage. Aquiles is moving on.
Maelstrom vs Killa KT
And we're back down to the middleweight loser's bracket. Both these bots lost pretty fast, so it's a chance at redemption for these teams.
Fight. Maelstrom is still kinda shaky spinning up. Killa KT gives no craps and plows straight into it, stopping its spinning. Killa KT maneuvers Maelstrom into the hammers, and Maelstrom takes several hits. Maelstrom is no longer spinning. Killa KT takes a hit from the pulverizer. Killa KT has most of the control over this fight, wedging Maelstrom into the corner and keeping him there. And then the entire shell of Maelstrom breaks from the top bars! Maelstrom is shoved back under the hammers where it takes hit after hit and is eventually counted out. Wait, no that was the end of the match. The judge decision, unsurprisingly, goes to Killa KT.
And now we go to break. During the break, we see Shrederator being tested, and it looks functional. Excellent. Hope they've fixed that battery problem.
Tanto vs Polar Vortex
We're back with another heavyweight matchup! Tanto has recovered from its match yesterday and is ready to face off against the unique Polar Vortex, still in the fork setup it used against Ziegenkase yesterday. Tanto is sporting a Team Toad flag, thanks to the fact that they helped the British team get Tanto ready for this match.
Fight! Tanto still has some slight drive issues but wedges under Vortex first. Neither robot really takes the upper hand early as there is lots of jockeying for position. Both robots take a hammer hit. Polar Vortex is unfazes, Tanto's top has fallen off and it's stopped moving. Is that it? Yeah it is. Tanto is out of the competition.
Tetnis vs UBRuined
Tetnis made it to the second round of the loser's bracket after forfeiting to teammate GLaDOS in round 1 and then taking a forfeit from RIP in its first loser's bracket fight. Tetnis is a non-invertible box with a set of horizontal spinning hammers at the front. UBRuined has been repaired from yesterday's match against UnMakerBot, got a much-needed bye into this fight and still has an undercutter.
Fight. Tetnis spins up as soon as the fight starts. UBRuined is a little more hesitant but does get spun up. There's one tap between the two robots and then there's a big hit which sends UBRuined skidding away, and a wheel falls off. UBRuined is still skidding around on its weapon but can't really move. UBRuined's weapon then gives out, and that's the end for UBRuined.
Black and Blue vs Touro
Both Black and Blue have their plows on. Touro is unchanged. Only one of these 60lb bots needs to die for the match to end.
Fight. Black and Blue are pretty tentative, and they both eat a direct hit from Touro's weapon, the hit on Black actually causing the arena camera to bend lower and give us a worse perspective of the fight. Both clusters are still alive. Touro's weapon has stopped. There's a little infighting involving Black and Blue, and Touro spins back up. The next sends Black out of the arena, and that's the end of the fight. Touro wins.
Mrs. Plow vs Electric Lawn Gnome Supremacy
Mrs Plow and Electric Gnome both dominated their first matches to get here. Neither bot has changed.
Fight. Gnome spins up, Mrs Plow tries to stop it and gets a shower of sparks in return. The next hit flips Mrs Plow on its back, and the wedge won't work anymore. A third hit flips Mrs Plow back right side up, but they've stopped entirely. There's a count out, and your winner is Electric Lawn Gnome Supremacy.
UnMakerBot vs Touro Light
Both these bots are silver drums. Both beat horizontal spinners to get here. Who's the better bar killer? Let's find out.
Fight. Both robots are up to speed. They're kind of tentative to hit each other, and the first one sends Touro Light flying. So does the second. Smoke starts coming out, and a third hit sends sparks flying. There's smoke everywhere, the drum stops, so does a drive motor, and the last hit of the match props Touro Light in a way that it can't move. UnMakerBot is moving on.
Witch Doctor vs El Gran Rey Cholo
Both bots are very nasty vertical spinners from Florida. Witch Doctor's replaced the burnt weapon controller from yesterday.
Fight. Both bots spin up, Cholo is still fairly slow. Witch Doctor speeds behind Cholo and flips it over with one hit! El Gran Rey Cholo can't drive inverted, so that's the end for Cholo.
Blue vs Federal M.T.
Federal M.T. is the lightweight from Team Uai!rrior and is essentially the same as the team's middleweight General: A wedged robot with a vertical spinning disc. It got this far thanks to a forfeit. Blue's got the anti spinner plow on for this match.
Fight. Both robots move out and Federal MT gets the early upper hand, knocking around Blue all over the place and getting some good hits in. Eventually Blue is knocked under the hammer where it takes a few good hits. Federal MT is relentless with its hits, continuously knocking Blue into the air. Blue keeps coming at Federal MT, but each time he does he gets knocked a few feet into the air. Eventually Federal MT pins Blue against a side wall but is forced to let go. A few more hits from Federal MT and the match ends. Federal MT wins the judge's decision, although massive props are given to Blue for surviving the 3 minutes.
Touro Classic vs Octobot
Both bots are completely unchanged from their last matches. Touro Classic has already inverted a spinner once here, so let's see if it can do it again.
Fight. Both bots spin up. The first hit knocks a piece off of Octobot and sticks Touro on its side, while Octobot starts smoking. Touro sticks itself on the arena bumper, and we see Octobot still moving in its smoke screen. Touro gets off the arena wall and moves in to attack Octobot again, and then we see all sorts of fire coming from Octobot. That thing is seriously on fire. It gets counted out and the crewbots go in to put out the blazing Octobot.
Proton Shaker vs Killa KT
And after this latest lipo fire break, we have two school teams up against each other. Proton Shaker's still red and blue and has a spinning drum. Killa KT is still a paintless wedge.
Fight. Proton Shaker is up to speed. Killa KT gets under, shoves Proton Shaker into the hammer and a belt is knocked off. The drum stops moments later, and Proton Shaker takes another hammer shot. Now it's pinned against the wall. The drum is not doing any damage whatsoever to Killa KT. Proton Shaker drives under the hammer itself and takes a hit. Proton Shaker is then driven under the hammer again by Killa KT and there's some noticeable damage to the back of the drumbot. Proton Shaker somehow gets to the back of Killa KT and is able to pin the wedge in a corner, but the match ends with Proton Shaker pinned against the wall. Killa KT takes another decision.
General vs The Big Cheese
General and Big Cheese are both coming off fairly tough matches against Touro Classic and Witch Doctor respectively.
Fight. The first hit inverts The Big Cheese, and so does the second one. Big Cheese is able to maneuver General into the hammers for a shot. The next hit from General is massive, sending The Big Cheese flying and killing it. General moves on.
K2 vs Black
And back into the lightweights for one more fight. K2's been repaired from blowing up earlier today, and Black is coming off of a fairly dominant victory over GLaDOS. Black has the plow setup once again.
Fight! K2 is not spinning up its weapon at all and is able to use its wedge to maneuver Black around the arena and into the hammers early. Black tries a sit and spin maneuver, but K2 gets Black to the hammers again. And again. There really isn't much Black can do against K2's wedge. And there's another hammer shot. K2 is absolutely dominating this match. K2 gets some more pins in. Black goes back to the sit and spin technique and it works for a short time, knocking K2 away, but K2 gets Black back to the pulverizer again. The match ends with Black being pushed around by K2. K2 wins by a judge's decision, even though it doesn't have its weapon.
Polar Vortex vs Shrederator
The last match of the day is the semi finals in the heavyweight loser's bracket. This is it for Shrederator. It lost in one hit against Touro Maximus earlier in the tournament, and so it's in the loser's bracket now. Polar Vortex is using the steel scoop for this match.
Fight. Shrederator spins up to speed and hits Vortex on the wedge, but bounces back and takes a hammer shot. Vortex pins Shrederator in the corner and lifts it up, but Shrederator is back to life. A chain is seen dangling from the bottom of Shrederator but it seems inconsequential. Shrederator spins up again and pinballs off Vortex's wedge, then comes in for another hit. This one damages one of Polar Vortex's wheel hubs. Vortex is tentative to hit Shrederator, but it pinballs off the wall anyway. There's more hits and more sparks, but Polar Vortex gets Shrederator stuck in the corner again and that seems to be it for Shrederator's spinning. It's stopped, and it doesn't spin up again. The rest of the match is Polar Vortex dominating with its wedge. The match ends with Polar Vortex rushing Shrederator and tipping Shrederator up against the wall right as time runs out. You probably don't need me to say this but the winner of the match is Polar Vortex.
That's the end of Day 2 fighting. Tomorrow is the last day of the event and there's still lots of bots in contention. Massive props to everyone still in the tournament and good luck to everyone tomorrow.
USATL 2014: Day 1
So I got bored, and decided to write up every match that was streamed this week down in Miami. Here's Day 1.
Touro vs Hurricane Cindy
Our first match of the day is a middleweight fight. Touro is the #1 ranked middleweight in the world, hails from Brazil, and is incredibly dense and compact. Its weapon is a vertical drum. Their opponent is Hurricane Cindy, a relatively new robot featuring a horizontal disc and a hinged wedge.
Fight! Touro spins up while Cindy comes in with the wedge. The first hit pretty much warps Cindy's wedge to the point of uselessness, but Touro isn't moving. Sandy takes this opportunity to land some blows on Touro's chassis, but can't seem to deal much damage. Eventually Touro starts moving, uses its drum to get under Hurricane Cindy and chew it up. One big hit removes Cindy's hinged wedge from one of its hinges, and the bot stops moving. Hurricane Cindy taps out.
Black vs Aquiles
Down to the lightweights for this one. Black is a wide rectangular machine with a thick steel plow in front. Aquiles is a small, sleek looking drumbot from Brazil.
Fight. Aquiles is not spinning its drum, surprisingly. Black moves out to ram Aquiles, but Aquiles has more torque and hangs Black up on one of the spiked bumpers. Black can't move but a well-placed pulverizer shot knocks it down. The rest of the fight is a very close and boring push match, with Black getting some pulverizer hits on Aquiles, but Aquiles winning most of the pushing matches. Aquiles wins a unanimous judge's decision at the end of the three minutes.
Touro Maximus vs Tanto
For the third match in a row we have a sleek Brazillian drumbot, this one's called Touro Maximus and is a heavyweight. Its opponent is Tanto, the only robot hailing from Britain at this event. It features two Hardox forks in front and is supposedly the most resilient robot in the UK. Let's see how it holds up.
Fight. Maximus spins up to speed, Tanto comes out at it, the two maneuver for a bit and the two collide... WHOA! Tanto is sent up into the air and over the arena boundary, parts flying! Touro Maximus wins! but what's this? Touro Maximus is on fire! Its batteries are on fire! The crewbots go in and put everything out, and the tournament is paused for about half an hour for the smoke in the arena to clear.
El Gran Rey Cholo vs Frankencat
El Gran Rey Cholo is a robot built by a high school team that won one of the 120-lb competitions last time BattleBots came to Miami. It features a spinning drum. Frankencat is a new middleweight with a very similar design, but is lower to the ground and is fully invertible.
Fight. Both robots spin up, Cholo tries to come out with the back end but seems to have drive issues. Frankencat tries to deliver some hits but can't really get a bite. Some sparks fly from Cholo's weapon, Frankencat's drum doesn't seem powerful enough to really do damage. Cholo's still trying to limp away from the wall, and more sparks fly from Frankencat's weapon. Cholo finally exits its square at a snail's pace, and Frankencat shoves him straight into the wall with its weapon at full trot. This slam seems to fix some of Cholo's drive issues as it's moving a little faster now. Frankencat gets to the side and keeps gnawing on it, but this is a really boring drum v drum match. Frankencat is doing a great job driving and maneuvering around Cholo's weapon, but it looks like that slam stopped the weapon entirely. Then Cholo stops dead. Frankencat tries to line up a hammer shot but pushes Cholo too far and almost hits itself. Cholo gets counted out in the last few seconds of the match.
And now we're going to lunch break. So many breaks...
Electric Lawn Gnome Supremacy vs Little Bill
Electric Lawn Gnome Supremacy, shortened to "Electric Gnome" for this competition, is another low, silver drum bot. Little Bill is a basic invertible wedge.
Fight. Both bots come out, Gnome's weapon isn't spinning, after a nudge from Bill it gets up to speed and that thing sounds fierce. one big hit gets Little Bill stuck on the bumper. Another hit knocks Bill upside-down, and the wedge has stopped moving. A third hit knocks the front wedge panel loose. Little Bill taps out.
The Kombattan vs Black and Blue
The Kombattan is your basic double-wedge design. Black and Blue features the lightweight named Black from earlier, and its teammate Blue, who looks almost exactly the same. Blue has some green wedge prongs to help it get under things.
Fight. Black and Blue both look faster than The Kombattan, though neither can really get under it. The Kombattan tries a spin-in-place maneuver that looks fairly effective. Kombattan gets under Black and shoves it in the wall, but no harm seems to be done. The Kombattan keeps spinning, then tries to get under Blue from the side but misses and wedges itself under the bumper. Blue tries to free its opponent in an act of charity, but because it's only half the weight of the larger bot it fails to do much. The clusterbot moves back to its square and then the match stops for an unstick, but it looks like The Kombattan isn't stuck and just died when it hit the wall. Black and Blue advance.
Polar Vortex vs Ziegenkase
Polar Vortex is the latest robot from Team Toad. It features a 4-bar lifting scoop, but instead of the bars lifting an arm, the lifter lifts the entire chassis with the bar attached. Ziegenkase was supposed to be another multibot, but one of the two bots never came, so it's a 120 lb robot fighting in the heavyweight division. The one half of Ziegenkase that did show up is named The Big Cheese and is your basic cheese wedge-shaped robot. It's even painted yellow. Polar Vortex usually has a large steel scoop as its weapon but it seems to have swapped it out with a pair of forks to control its opponent better.
Fight. The two come out at each other, and there's a wedge stalemate. Cheese almost gets under but Polar Vortex knocks it aside and shoves it in the corner hard. Polar Vortex goes for the lift but Cheese gets away at the last second. After some maneuvering Cheese gets underneath and surprisingly is able to push Vortex as a pretty fast clip. Then Vortex slams Cheese and vice-versa. Despite the 100-pound weight difference this is a very balanced fight. Vortex gets to the side and tries to lift, but he only gets the wheel of Cheese and so can't do anything. Vortex very narrowly dodges a pulverizer shot. Polar Vortex does a nice wheelie as its weapon retracts and then inverts The Big Cheese. More maneuvering, with Vortex apparently trying to flatten Cheese's tires. Then The Big Cheese, with its motors exposed (there's no bottom plate on it, apparently) drives under the pulverizer and takes two or three very small and insignificant-looking hits. It still seems to be moving fine though. Then Vortex gets a good ram, lifts The Big Cheese on its side and keeps it there, all the while eating a blow from the pulverizer. Those things aren't as effective as they were 10 years ago. The Big Cheese gets down, but time runs out before anything else happens. Amazingly, Ziegenkase wins a split decision.
Cortana vs Mrs. Plow
Back down to the lightweights for this one. Cortana is an invertible 4-wheel drive box with a vertical spinning weapon. Mrs. Plow is a basic wedge.
Fight. Cortana seems to be the faster of the two and spins up its weapon then charges at Mrs. Plow. Mrs Plow gets under Cortana while avoiding the weapon and slams it into the wall. Cortana can't seem to get any purchase on Mrs Plow who shoves him into the wall across the arena without taking a single hit and tries to prop it on its side. Cortana is now making some grinding noises when it moves, it seems a chain got misaligned or something. Both bots have some traction issues and there isn't much contact. Mrs. Plow gets another impressive slam on Cortana, then lines it up for an impressive pulverizer shot. This is clearly Mrs. Plow's fight. Cortana rides up Mrs Plow's wedge again and there's a single spark, looks like Cortana's weapon finally did something. Another few rams from Mrs. Plow and Cortana starts smoking heavily. Cortana taps out during the count out.
Proton Shaker vs Octobot
Proton Shaker is another 2WD vertical drum. The only difference is this one isn't from Brazil. It's also painted blue and red, which helps distinguish it from the silver drums here. Octobot is an octagonal full-body spinner.
Fight. Both bots spin up to speed. The first hit stops Proton Shaker's weapon, but Octobot is driven into the wall and stops moving entirely. Octobot is counted out without moving anywhere else.
RIP vs Touro Light
RIP is essentially a lightweight Last Rites-a pentagonal robot with a massive spinning bar. Touro Light is yet another Brazilian drum. Actually, both of these robots are from Brazil.
Fight. Touro Light comes out flying, but misses RIP entirely and slams into the red square wall hard. RIP manages to get up to speed during this time. Touro spins up and knocks RIP into the corner, and RIP takes several pulverizer shots while trying to move. Actually, it never really moved at all. The top of RIP looks kinda bent, and RIP is counted out.
The Mutt vs Witch Doctor
The Mutt is a new robot with sloped sides and a wide drum at the front. It also proudly features its name on top, which seems to be a dying tradition of sorts. Not many bots with their names on them anymore. Witch Doctor competed last time BattleBots came to Miami and ended up taking home the professional championship. It's a low, wedgy box with a narrow vertical drum at the top of the wedge.
Fight. Witch Doctor does a no-nonsense rush over to Mutt while the drum spins up and knocks Mutt onto the bumper and eventually onto its back. Mutt's having some drive issues and a second hit sends some parts flying. You can see Mutt's wheels turning, but the wheels are just short enough to not touch the ground. Mutt gets counted out while Witch Doctor spins down.
UBRuined vs UnMakerBot
UBRuined looks a lot different from the last time I saw it. It's now a longish blue box with an undercutter blade, as opposed to the Moros-esque overcutter I saw it with last time. UnMakerBot is a brand new drumbot.
Fight. Both bots get up to speed almost instantly, and after a few light taps, a big hit causes UBRuined to be sent on its back and shrapnel to go flying. UBRuined stops moving entirely, while UnMakerBot is able to move around just barely with its drum, which is now unbalanced. UnMakerBot moves on.
Marvin vs The Big Cheese
Marvin is a boxy, 4WD drumbot not unlike Frankencat. The Big Cheese is back in its intended weight class and is exactly the same from the last time we saw it.
Fight. Marvin spins up but can't get a purchase on that very well-done wedge of Big Cheese. Marvin attempts to get to the sides but really can't, and The Big Cheese gets under. Marvin escapes but Cheese gets under again and makes a beeline for the pulverizer. Marvin takes several shots, and afterward has some driving issues. Big Cheese takes a hit from the other side pulverizer (remember, the hammers are controlled by the competitors, so one side's hammers are controlled by each team), but this is really The Big Cheese's fight. Marvin takes one more hammer shot before time runs out, and there's no surprise that the winner is Big Cheese.
K2 vs GLaDOS
K2 is the number one ranked lightweight in the country and sports a vertical spinning weapon on top of a wedge. GLaDOS is a new robot that was supposed to have fought once before, but its opponent forfeited. It's a low boxy robot with a low wedge and a vertical eggbeater. As you may have guessed, GLaDOS and Cortana are on the same team.
Fight. GlaDOS has some major issues spinning up its weapon, while K2 drives over with its weapon spinning at full speed. The first hit starts up GLaDOS' weapon, but knocks it onto its back. K2 goes in for another hit which knocks it back onto its wheels. The weapon is going now, but it isn't moving, and so K2 goes in again. Up and over it goes, and one more hit opens a battery and causes smoke to erupt from GLaDOS' chassis. That's the fight.
General vs Killa KT
And after the break for the lipo fire, it's time to go back to fighting. General is another Brazilian robot with two wedge forks in front. In between them is a thick, red, vertical spinning disc. Killa KT is the middleweight from the Mrs. Plow team and is essentially a middleweight edition of it, pretty much a 2WD wedge.
Fight. General spins up and charges at Killa KT, knocking it over in one big hit. Another few smaller blows from General, and Killa KT taps out. As General spins down, we see sparks and a chunk of something fly out from General, no clue what that was about. The count out goes anyway, but it doesn't matter.
Maelstrom vs Touro Classic
Maelstrom is a red and black full-body spinner with a pretty neat spiral paint scheme. Touro Classic is the last of four drum bots from Brazil. It's essentially a boxier version of Touro.
Fight. Both bots get up to speed, but Maelstrom is kind of shaky. Touro has some movement problems, but the first hit between the two knocks Maelstrom into the wall and stops its spinning. It doesn't spin up again. Touro spins up to full speed and after some grinding on the shell, knocks Maelstrom onto its back. It can't self right, so Touro Classic wins by knockout.
ToothFairy vs Blue
ToothFairy is another wedged vertical spinner in the vein of K2. Blue is the same as it was before, except it's swapped out the green wedge array with the plow Black was using in the middleweight fight.
Fight. Both robots come out at about equal speed. ToothFairy's weapon isn't moving, and it manages to beach Blue on its wedge before stopping entirely. Some smoke is seen from the top of the robot, and an unstick is called for. The match restarts and ToothFairy is very barely moving. Blue beaches itself on ToothFairy's wedge again, and ToothFairy taps out.
Octobot vs The Kombattan
We're now into the loser's bracket for the middleweights. You've already seen both these robots before, and neither have any changes from their previous bouts. Both of these bots lost their last matches from hitting the wall, so this'll be interesting to see if either of them can avoid wall-related fatalities.
Fight. Octobot spins up to full speed, and Kombattan is...also spinning? Octobot delivers a big hit to Kombattan and sparks fly, and Kombattan stops moving entirely. Octobot rides up Kombattan's wedge, causing sparks to fly, and The Kombattan is counted out.
Frankencat vs Touro
Now for a winner's bracket matchup in the 120 lb class. Both of these bots won their matches fairly handily, so we'll get to see who has the better robot here.
Fight. Both bots spin up but neither are really moving. Oh wait, there they go. Touro gets the better of the first exchange, and the second clash flips Frankencat on its back. Smoke starts coming out and Touro grinds on Frankencat's rear end with its drum. Frankencat stopped moving after the second big hit, and Touro moves on to the next round.
Proton Shaker vs Black and Blue
Two more robots you've seen before. Two more robots that have won their first matches. Both Black and Blue have their plow setups on. Proton Shaker is unchanged.
Fight. Blue plows straight into the wall while Black takes an early hit from Shaker's drum. The clusterbot pins Shaker to the wall early, and one of them takes a hit from Proton Shaker's drum. Black flanks Proton Shaker and shoves it into the hammers, but Blue pays for it with a big hit. The numbers game is really too strong for Proton Shaker to deal with, as they're able to get Proton Shaker into the hammers multiple times. Blue is pushing so much that there is smoke coming from its tires. The clusterbot is pretty much dominant so far, they're able to get around Proton Shaker most of the time and avoid the drum. The match ends with the two clusterbots pinning Proton Shaker between them. A unanimous judge's decision goes to Black and Blue.
The Big Cheese vs Witch Doctor
The last match for the day is the impressive Big Cheese, who's beaten both Polar Vortex and Marvin so far in 2 different weight classes, and Witch Doctor, who dominated its match against The Mutt earlier today.
Fight. Big Cheese is hesitant to attack Witch Doctor... Oh wait, the match needs to be restarted, as the pneumatics for the pulverizers weren't ready.
Once the match actually starts, Both robots come out and Witch Doctor goes right up and over Big Cheese. Smoke starts coming out from Witch Doctor's weapon, and we see fire shoot out from the back end. Witch Doctor is still driving OK though, looks like the weapon blew up. The Big Cheese gets Witch Doctor into the pulverizer, landing two shots. Early on this is Big Cheese's fight, but Witch Doctor gets Big Cheese on the wedge and manages to overturn it. Witch Doctor gets a few impressive slams in before Big Cheese gets under it again and gets it into the hammers, with the pulverizer landing squarely on Witch Doctor's chassis. Down, down, down comes the hammer, landing lots of hits. Witch Doctor seems unfazed though, as it comes back around and shoves The Big Cheese into a hammer as well. Big Cheese is then able to hang the hinged wedge of Witch Doctor on the lip of its wedge and uses this advantage to bring Witch Doctor to another pulverizer. There's a couple more good pushes from Witch Doctor, but The Big Cheese gets one more good run to the pulverizers in with the hammer landing squarely on Witch Doctor's back. Witch Doctor ends the match with another push, but Big Cheese wins the judge's decison, although it is a split decision.
Onto day 2!
Touro vs Hurricane Cindy
Our first match of the day is a middleweight fight. Touro is the #1 ranked middleweight in the world, hails from Brazil, and is incredibly dense and compact. Its weapon is a vertical drum. Their opponent is Hurricane Cindy, a relatively new robot featuring a horizontal disc and a hinged wedge.
Fight! Touro spins up while Cindy comes in with the wedge. The first hit pretty much warps Cindy's wedge to the point of uselessness, but Touro isn't moving. Sandy takes this opportunity to land some blows on Touro's chassis, but can't seem to deal much damage. Eventually Touro starts moving, uses its drum to get under Hurricane Cindy and chew it up. One big hit removes Cindy's hinged wedge from one of its hinges, and the bot stops moving. Hurricane Cindy taps out.
Black vs Aquiles
Down to the lightweights for this one. Black is a wide rectangular machine with a thick steel plow in front. Aquiles is a small, sleek looking drumbot from Brazil.
Fight. Aquiles is not spinning its drum, surprisingly. Black moves out to ram Aquiles, but Aquiles has more torque and hangs Black up on one of the spiked bumpers. Black can't move but a well-placed pulverizer shot knocks it down. The rest of the fight is a very close and boring push match, with Black getting some pulverizer hits on Aquiles, but Aquiles winning most of the pushing matches. Aquiles wins a unanimous judge's decision at the end of the three minutes.
Touro Maximus vs Tanto
For the third match in a row we have a sleek Brazillian drumbot, this one's called Touro Maximus and is a heavyweight. Its opponent is Tanto, the only robot hailing from Britain at this event. It features two Hardox forks in front and is supposedly the most resilient robot in the UK. Let's see how it holds up.
Fight. Maximus spins up to speed, Tanto comes out at it, the two maneuver for a bit and the two collide... WHOA! Tanto is sent up into the air and over the arena boundary, parts flying! Touro Maximus wins! but what's this? Touro Maximus is on fire! Its batteries are on fire! The crewbots go in and put everything out, and the tournament is paused for about half an hour for the smoke in the arena to clear.
El Gran Rey Cholo vs Frankencat
El Gran Rey Cholo is a robot built by a high school team that won one of the 120-lb competitions last time BattleBots came to Miami. It features a spinning drum. Frankencat is a new middleweight with a very similar design, but is lower to the ground and is fully invertible.
Fight. Both robots spin up, Cholo tries to come out with the back end but seems to have drive issues. Frankencat tries to deliver some hits but can't really get a bite. Some sparks fly from Cholo's weapon, Frankencat's drum doesn't seem powerful enough to really do damage. Cholo's still trying to limp away from the wall, and more sparks fly from Frankencat's weapon. Cholo finally exits its square at a snail's pace, and Frankencat shoves him straight into the wall with its weapon at full trot. This slam seems to fix some of Cholo's drive issues as it's moving a little faster now. Frankencat gets to the side and keeps gnawing on it, but this is a really boring drum v drum match. Frankencat is doing a great job driving and maneuvering around Cholo's weapon, but it looks like that slam stopped the weapon entirely. Then Cholo stops dead. Frankencat tries to line up a hammer shot but pushes Cholo too far and almost hits itself. Cholo gets counted out in the last few seconds of the match.
And now we're going to lunch break. So many breaks...
Electric Lawn Gnome Supremacy vs Little Bill
Electric Lawn Gnome Supremacy, shortened to "Electric Gnome" for this competition, is another low, silver drum bot. Little Bill is a basic invertible wedge.
Fight. Both bots come out, Gnome's weapon isn't spinning, after a nudge from Bill it gets up to speed and that thing sounds fierce. one big hit gets Little Bill stuck on the bumper. Another hit knocks Bill upside-down, and the wedge has stopped moving. A third hit knocks the front wedge panel loose. Little Bill taps out.
The Kombattan vs Black and Blue
The Kombattan is your basic double-wedge design. Black and Blue features the lightweight named Black from earlier, and its teammate Blue, who looks almost exactly the same. Blue has some green wedge prongs to help it get under things.
Fight. Black and Blue both look faster than The Kombattan, though neither can really get under it. The Kombattan tries a spin-in-place maneuver that looks fairly effective. Kombattan gets under Black and shoves it in the wall, but no harm seems to be done. The Kombattan keeps spinning, then tries to get under Blue from the side but misses and wedges itself under the bumper. Blue tries to free its opponent in an act of charity, but because it's only half the weight of the larger bot it fails to do much. The clusterbot moves back to its square and then the match stops for an unstick, but it looks like The Kombattan isn't stuck and just died when it hit the wall. Black and Blue advance.
Polar Vortex vs Ziegenkase
Polar Vortex is the latest robot from Team Toad. It features a 4-bar lifting scoop, but instead of the bars lifting an arm, the lifter lifts the entire chassis with the bar attached. Ziegenkase was supposed to be another multibot, but one of the two bots never came, so it's a 120 lb robot fighting in the heavyweight division. The one half of Ziegenkase that did show up is named The Big Cheese and is your basic cheese wedge-shaped robot. It's even painted yellow. Polar Vortex usually has a large steel scoop as its weapon but it seems to have swapped it out with a pair of forks to control its opponent better.
Fight. The two come out at each other, and there's a wedge stalemate. Cheese almost gets under but Polar Vortex knocks it aside and shoves it in the corner hard. Polar Vortex goes for the lift but Cheese gets away at the last second. After some maneuvering Cheese gets underneath and surprisingly is able to push Vortex as a pretty fast clip. Then Vortex slams Cheese and vice-versa. Despite the 100-pound weight difference this is a very balanced fight. Vortex gets to the side and tries to lift, but he only gets the wheel of Cheese and so can't do anything. Vortex very narrowly dodges a pulverizer shot. Polar Vortex does a nice wheelie as its weapon retracts and then inverts The Big Cheese. More maneuvering, with Vortex apparently trying to flatten Cheese's tires. Then The Big Cheese, with its motors exposed (there's no bottom plate on it, apparently) drives under the pulverizer and takes two or three very small and insignificant-looking hits. It still seems to be moving fine though. Then Vortex gets a good ram, lifts The Big Cheese on its side and keeps it there, all the while eating a blow from the pulverizer. Those things aren't as effective as they were 10 years ago. The Big Cheese gets down, but time runs out before anything else happens. Amazingly, Ziegenkase wins a split decision.
Cortana vs Mrs. Plow
Back down to the lightweights for this one. Cortana is an invertible 4-wheel drive box with a vertical spinning weapon. Mrs. Plow is a basic wedge.
Fight. Cortana seems to be the faster of the two and spins up its weapon then charges at Mrs. Plow. Mrs Plow gets under Cortana while avoiding the weapon and slams it into the wall. Cortana can't seem to get any purchase on Mrs Plow who shoves him into the wall across the arena without taking a single hit and tries to prop it on its side. Cortana is now making some grinding noises when it moves, it seems a chain got misaligned or something. Both bots have some traction issues and there isn't much contact. Mrs. Plow gets another impressive slam on Cortana, then lines it up for an impressive pulverizer shot. This is clearly Mrs. Plow's fight. Cortana rides up Mrs Plow's wedge again and there's a single spark, looks like Cortana's weapon finally did something. Another few rams from Mrs. Plow and Cortana starts smoking heavily. Cortana taps out during the count out.
Proton Shaker vs Octobot
Proton Shaker is another 2WD vertical drum. The only difference is this one isn't from Brazil. It's also painted blue and red, which helps distinguish it from the silver drums here. Octobot is an octagonal full-body spinner.
Fight. Both bots spin up to speed. The first hit stops Proton Shaker's weapon, but Octobot is driven into the wall and stops moving entirely. Octobot is counted out without moving anywhere else.
RIP vs Touro Light
RIP is essentially a lightweight Last Rites-a pentagonal robot with a massive spinning bar. Touro Light is yet another Brazilian drum. Actually, both of these robots are from Brazil.
Fight. Touro Light comes out flying, but misses RIP entirely and slams into the red square wall hard. RIP manages to get up to speed during this time. Touro spins up and knocks RIP into the corner, and RIP takes several pulverizer shots while trying to move. Actually, it never really moved at all. The top of RIP looks kinda bent, and RIP is counted out.
The Mutt vs Witch Doctor
The Mutt is a new robot with sloped sides and a wide drum at the front. It also proudly features its name on top, which seems to be a dying tradition of sorts. Not many bots with their names on them anymore. Witch Doctor competed last time BattleBots came to Miami and ended up taking home the professional championship. It's a low, wedgy box with a narrow vertical drum at the top of the wedge.
Fight. Witch Doctor does a no-nonsense rush over to Mutt while the drum spins up and knocks Mutt onto the bumper and eventually onto its back. Mutt's having some drive issues and a second hit sends some parts flying. You can see Mutt's wheels turning, but the wheels are just short enough to not touch the ground. Mutt gets counted out while Witch Doctor spins down.
UBRuined vs UnMakerBot
UBRuined looks a lot different from the last time I saw it. It's now a longish blue box with an undercutter blade, as opposed to the Moros-esque overcutter I saw it with last time. UnMakerBot is a brand new drumbot.
Fight. Both bots get up to speed almost instantly, and after a few light taps, a big hit causes UBRuined to be sent on its back and shrapnel to go flying. UBRuined stops moving entirely, while UnMakerBot is able to move around just barely with its drum, which is now unbalanced. UnMakerBot moves on.
Marvin vs The Big Cheese
Marvin is a boxy, 4WD drumbot not unlike Frankencat. The Big Cheese is back in its intended weight class and is exactly the same from the last time we saw it.
Fight. Marvin spins up but can't get a purchase on that very well-done wedge of Big Cheese. Marvin attempts to get to the sides but really can't, and The Big Cheese gets under. Marvin escapes but Cheese gets under again and makes a beeline for the pulverizer. Marvin takes several shots, and afterward has some driving issues. Big Cheese takes a hit from the other side pulverizer (remember, the hammers are controlled by the competitors, so one side's hammers are controlled by each team), but this is really The Big Cheese's fight. Marvin takes one more hammer shot before time runs out, and there's no surprise that the winner is Big Cheese.
K2 vs GLaDOS
K2 is the number one ranked lightweight in the country and sports a vertical spinning weapon on top of a wedge. GLaDOS is a new robot that was supposed to have fought once before, but its opponent forfeited. It's a low boxy robot with a low wedge and a vertical eggbeater. As you may have guessed, GLaDOS and Cortana are on the same team.
Fight. GlaDOS has some major issues spinning up its weapon, while K2 drives over with its weapon spinning at full speed. The first hit starts up GLaDOS' weapon, but knocks it onto its back. K2 goes in for another hit which knocks it back onto its wheels. The weapon is going now, but it isn't moving, and so K2 goes in again. Up and over it goes, and one more hit opens a battery and causes smoke to erupt from GLaDOS' chassis. That's the fight.
General vs Killa KT
And after the break for the lipo fire, it's time to go back to fighting. General is another Brazilian robot with two wedge forks in front. In between them is a thick, red, vertical spinning disc. Killa KT is the middleweight from the Mrs. Plow team and is essentially a middleweight edition of it, pretty much a 2WD wedge.
Fight. General spins up and charges at Killa KT, knocking it over in one big hit. Another few smaller blows from General, and Killa KT taps out. As General spins down, we see sparks and a chunk of something fly out from General, no clue what that was about. The count out goes anyway, but it doesn't matter.
Maelstrom vs Touro Classic
Maelstrom is a red and black full-body spinner with a pretty neat spiral paint scheme. Touro Classic is the last of four drum bots from Brazil. It's essentially a boxier version of Touro.
Fight. Both bots get up to speed, but Maelstrom is kind of shaky. Touro has some movement problems, but the first hit between the two knocks Maelstrom into the wall and stops its spinning. It doesn't spin up again. Touro spins up to full speed and after some grinding on the shell, knocks Maelstrom onto its back. It can't self right, so Touro Classic wins by knockout.
ToothFairy vs Blue
ToothFairy is another wedged vertical spinner in the vein of K2. Blue is the same as it was before, except it's swapped out the green wedge array with the plow Black was using in the middleweight fight.
Fight. Both robots come out at about equal speed. ToothFairy's weapon isn't moving, and it manages to beach Blue on its wedge before stopping entirely. Some smoke is seen from the top of the robot, and an unstick is called for. The match restarts and ToothFairy is very barely moving. Blue beaches itself on ToothFairy's wedge again, and ToothFairy taps out.
Octobot vs The Kombattan
We're now into the loser's bracket for the middleweights. You've already seen both these robots before, and neither have any changes from their previous bouts. Both of these bots lost their last matches from hitting the wall, so this'll be interesting to see if either of them can avoid wall-related fatalities.
Fight. Octobot spins up to full speed, and Kombattan is...also spinning? Octobot delivers a big hit to Kombattan and sparks fly, and Kombattan stops moving entirely. Octobot rides up Kombattan's wedge, causing sparks to fly, and The Kombattan is counted out.
Frankencat vs Touro
Now for a winner's bracket matchup in the 120 lb class. Both of these bots won their matches fairly handily, so we'll get to see who has the better robot here.
Fight. Both bots spin up but neither are really moving. Oh wait, there they go. Touro gets the better of the first exchange, and the second clash flips Frankencat on its back. Smoke starts coming out and Touro grinds on Frankencat's rear end with its drum. Frankencat stopped moving after the second big hit, and Touro moves on to the next round.
Proton Shaker vs Black and Blue
Two more robots you've seen before. Two more robots that have won their first matches. Both Black and Blue have their plow setups on. Proton Shaker is unchanged.
Fight. Blue plows straight into the wall while Black takes an early hit from Shaker's drum. The clusterbot pins Shaker to the wall early, and one of them takes a hit from Proton Shaker's drum. Black flanks Proton Shaker and shoves it into the hammers, but Blue pays for it with a big hit. The numbers game is really too strong for Proton Shaker to deal with, as they're able to get Proton Shaker into the hammers multiple times. Blue is pushing so much that there is smoke coming from its tires. The clusterbot is pretty much dominant so far, they're able to get around Proton Shaker most of the time and avoid the drum. The match ends with the two clusterbots pinning Proton Shaker between them. A unanimous judge's decision goes to Black and Blue.
The Big Cheese vs Witch Doctor
The last match for the day is the impressive Big Cheese, who's beaten both Polar Vortex and Marvin so far in 2 different weight classes, and Witch Doctor, who dominated its match against The Mutt earlier today.
Fight. Big Cheese is hesitant to attack Witch Doctor... Oh wait, the match needs to be restarted, as the pneumatics for the pulverizers weren't ready.
Once the match actually starts, Both robots come out and Witch Doctor goes right up and over Big Cheese. Smoke starts coming out from Witch Doctor's weapon, and we see fire shoot out from the back end. Witch Doctor is still driving OK though, looks like the weapon blew up. The Big Cheese gets Witch Doctor into the pulverizer, landing two shots. Early on this is Big Cheese's fight, but Witch Doctor gets Big Cheese on the wedge and manages to overturn it. Witch Doctor gets a few impressive slams in before Big Cheese gets under it again and gets it into the hammers, with the pulverizer landing squarely on Witch Doctor's chassis. Down, down, down comes the hammer, landing lots of hits. Witch Doctor seems unfazed though, as it comes back around and shoves The Big Cheese into a hammer as well. Big Cheese is then able to hang the hinged wedge of Witch Doctor on the lip of its wedge and uses this advantage to bring Witch Doctor to another pulverizer. There's a couple more good pushes from Witch Doctor, but The Big Cheese gets one more good run to the pulverizers in with the hammer landing squarely on Witch Doctor's back. Witch Doctor ends the match with another push, but Big Cheese wins the judge's decison, although it is a split decision.
Onto day 2!
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