#Battlebots Season 6 Episode 7 Review (TV Series, 2022)
Editorial note: these Battlebots reviews contain spoilers.
Can knockouts be the theme of an episode? They feel like the theme of this episode. That sounds a whole lot better than “here’s a bunch of fights from teams that lost their first match.” It’s still possible to make the Round of 32 with a 1-2 record, but you need to get that first win to even have a chance of making it. A good showing in a loss can be worth more than a win that doesn’t seem particularly memorable. Let’s get into it.
Up first is Bloodsport, the powerful horizontal spinner with many interchangeable blades from Justin Marple and Team Bots ’n' Stuff Robotics, vs SubZero, the massive flipper from Logan Davis and Team XD. Bloodsport lost its first fight of the season to Whiplash in a knockout after being unable to self-right on the Upper Deck. Subzero lost its first of the season against Shatter! in a judges’ decision.
Bloodsport uses its original cross-shaped blade, which gives them more stability and reach than the design used in their first fight this season. It’s the right choice here. SubZero easily wins the box rush, but Bloodsport’s weapon hits SubZero’s flipper and refracts away before the flipper can work. SubZero slows down after the first few impacts, giving Bloodsport the angle it needs to cause massive internal damage and even rip off one of SubZero’s wheels before the countdown happens. Bloodsport wins in a KO.
Next up is Cobalt vs Ghost Raptor. Cobalt is the high-powered vertical spinner at the top of a strong wedge led by Brett Riecker from Team Robotic Death Company. It lost its first fight against Fusion in a knockout when it couldn’t self-right. Ghost Raptor is that beautifully engineered articulated horizontal spinner with a flamethrower from Chuck Pitzer and Team Raptor. It lost its first fight against Glitch in a unanimous judges’ decision.
Cobalt is running its vertical disc configuration designed specifically for horizontal spinners. Ghost Raptor wins the box rush, going with the announced strategy of rushing Cobalt’s weapon face first. After helping Glitch get unstuck and subsequently losing the match, Ghost Raptor opts not to hit Cobalt again when it gets caught up on the screws. Cobalt frees itself and smashes head first into its opponent. It catches Ghost Raptor on its wedge and splits Ghost Raptor in half after slamming it into the Arena walls. I…did not expect that.
The next fight is ICEwave, the gasoline-powered horizontal spinner from Mark DeVidts and Team ICEwave, vs Deadlift, the controlbot with grappling arm, lifter, and flamethrower from Ryan Shukski and Team RoboGym Robotics. ICEwave lost its first fight of the season against Black Dragon in a knockout. Deadlift lost its first fight of the season against JackPot in a unanimous judges’ decision.
ICEwave is actually using an older version of the robot this fight to have access to their older, more reliable motor. This version is definitely spinning up better than the new design for 2021. Deadlift misses the box rush, giving ICEwave all the opportunity it needs to get up to speed. Two shots later and ICEwave wins by knockout. ICEwave bounces around more on impact in its older version, but the weapon is so much more reliable.
Next up is Blip, the cutest flipper I’ve ever seen in my life from Aren Hill and Team Seems Reasonable Robotics, vs Overhaul, a control bot with a lifter and grabber from Charles Guan and Team Equals Zero Robotics. Blip won its debut fight in a decisive knockout against Rusty, the cutest hammerbot I’ve ever seen. Overhaul lost its first fight of the season against Ribbot, the cutest modular robot in the tournament, in a knockout.
Overhaul is sporting a new pair of expressive eyes right on its grappling arm, which now makes it the cutest grappler competing this season. I don’t make the rules; I just report on them.
Overhaul gets a nice lift against Blip right away. Blip circles back to the center of the arena and gets Overhaul caught in the corner by the Pulverizer, landing a great flip and knocking off one of Overhaul’s tires. This shifts the fight right away. Overhaul doesn’t have the maneuverability it needs after losing a tire to avoid Blip’s flipper. It reaches the point that Blip is causing more damage to itself than Overhaul can cause at all when Blip has to flip itself a few times in a row to self-right. Blip eventually wins in a knockout when Overhaul can’t self-right after landing on its side.
This is the kind of fight that can still lead to a robot with a losing record making the Round of 32. Overhaul was still working after taking all those flips and kept trying to engage in the battle. If it landed better, this fight would’ve gone to a judge’s decision.
The next fight is HUGE vs Retrograde. HUGE is that massive asymmetrical vertical spinner balanced between two gigantic wheels from Jonathan Shultz and Team HUGE. Retrograde is the combination grappler/control bot and undercutter from Aaron Lucas and Team Bots ’n’ Stuff. HUGE lost its first fight of the season against Riptide in a knockout. Retrograde won its debut fight of the season against Rampage in one of the YouTube exclusive fights.
HUGE is also the angriest bot of the season, with its signature furrowed brow over its eyes. It’s just so angy.
HUGE switches to its shorter spinner and wheels to go for Retrograde’s top armor; Retrograde removes its undercutter to add more armor to the top of its frame. Huge quickly rips off the new top plates on Retrograde, then half of the lifting arm, then sets it on fire. HUGE wins in a quick knockout and drives onto the Upper Deck for a victory pose at the end.
This is the best HUGE has looked since season four and I'm so happy to see it. I love the wacky engineering bots. They keep Battlebots and other combat robotics events interesting. If they work well, they force the more conventional designs to adapt to their game; if they don’t, at least they’re a lot of fun to watch move.
Next up is Copperhead, the horizontal drum spinner from Robert Cowan, Kim Cowan, and Team Caustic Creations, vs Fusion, the dual-weaponed horizontal and dual-disc vertical spinner from Reese Ewert and Team Whyachi. Copperhead won its first fight of the season in a judges’ decision against Lock-Jaw. Fusion won its first fight of the season in a knockout against Cobalt.
Fusion leads with its vertical disc, which is unfortunately not working correctly from the start. Copperhead’s drumspinner is working, so it quickly racks up a lot of powerful hits. Fusion switches to its horizontal spinner and it also stops working. Another hit from Copperhead and Fusion stops moving at all. Copperhead wins in a KO.
The Main Event is Whiplash vs Skorpios. Whiplash is the lifter/vertical spinner hybrid from Matt Vazquez and Team Fast Electric Robots. It won its first fight of the season against Bloodsport in a knockout. Skorpios is the hammersaw from Zack Lytle, Diana Tarlson, and Team Bot Bash Party Crew. It won its first fight in a unanimous judges’ decision against Blade.
Whiplash added extra armor and took off its spinning disc to face Skorpios. Skorpios added long forks to the front of its bot to try to get under Whiplash’s forks. The forks are actually evenly matched, with the robots briefly getting entwined from the impact. Skorpios’ hammersaw isn't consistently spinning at first, which lets Whiplash grab without damage and send Skorpios into the screws. The forks on Skorpios are actually keeping Whiplash just out of reach of the hammersaw. That's not stopping either robot from trying to dominate with long rushes across the Battlebox. Whiplash is consistently able to make better use of its weapon in this fight.
Breaking the pattern of the night, the Main Event goes to a judges’ decision. Whiplash wins in a split decision. I agree. Whiplash had more control of itself and dominated the fight. Skorpios did keep attacking with its weapon more than Whiplash did (which explains Lisa’s decision), but I don’t think that was enough to tip the fight in its favor.
The YouTube exclusive fight this week is Switchback, the horizontal drumspinner on a fully articulating arm from Greg Needel and Team Midnight Invention, against Slammo!, the grappler/controlbot from Craig Danby and Team Danby. Members of the Battlebots Facebook page can see this fight already. For everyone else, it debuts this Sunday, 20 February, on the Battlebots YouTube page.
Battlebots premieres new episodes at 8PM EST on Thursdays Nights on Discovery Channel. Discovery+ releases the episodes earlier in the day.
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