Monday, May 5, 2014

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!

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