#Battlebots: Season 6, Episode 8 Review (TV Series, 2022)
Editorial note: these Battlebots reviews will contain spoilers.
Welcome back to another exciting episode of Battlebots. The theme for the episode is season-long narratives. The show is starting to bring up how the Selection Committee chooses the top 32 robots for the single elimination championship. They’re setting the stage for some robots with a losing 1-2 record for the season making it in over robots with a 2-1 record.
This is one of the stranger elements of Battlebots. The best example of this comes from last season. Somehow, P1 did not make it to the Round of 32 despite having a 2-1 record. The Selection Committee evaluates on track record and how difficult the fights were to shuffle some of these robots in or out of the tournament. A robot with a 1-2 record who has a great win and loses to two robots with a 3-0 record is going to sneak into the tournament over 2-1 robots with less impressive fights. Battlebots has to balance being a TV show with being a tournament and this is the only real grey area in how they run the tournament on Discovery Channel.
On to the matches.
The first fight of the night is Blacksmith vs Malice. Blacksmith, the power hammer robot with a flamethrower from from Al Kindle and Team Half Fast Astronaut, currently has a 1-1 record. They beat Free Shipping in their first fight, but lost to Shatter! in their second fight, both by unanimous judges’ decision. Malice, the horizontal spinner with multiple weapon configurations from Bunny Sauriol and Team Malice, has a 0-2 record. They lost their first fight against Tantrum in a unanimous judges’ decision and their second fight against JackPot in a knockout.
Malice is running it’s smaller horizontal bar spinner that they call the drumstick so they can add an extra layer of armor under their top plate. Meanwhile, Blacksmith attached a thicker plate to the front of their bot to protect against Malice’s hits.
The two bots go head on straight away. These are two of the best drivers in Battlebots and they quickly realize that neither will allow the other to get around to the side or back of their robot. They go weapon on weapon and Malice rips off the head of Blacksmith’s power hammer. Blacksmith catches on fire shortly after. The final two minutes of the fight consist of Malice delivering hit after hit while Blacksmith keeps its front armor facing towards the spinner.
Malice wins in a unanimous judges’ decision. I agree. Malice’s weapon lasted the whole match, while Blacksmith lost theirs about 30 seconds in. Both teams were aggressive, but Malice had control because their weapon defined all the action in the fight. Blacksmith had to drive away more often than usual to keep their bot angled the right way.
The show teases Malice having a chance at the Top 32 with a 1-2 record. The two opponents they lost two are poised to go 3-0 in the qualification rounds, which means Malice had a harder run in the early rounds than robots with a 2-1 record whose opponents maybe didn’t perform as well after. I’m not complaining. I’m a big fan of Malice.
Next up is Claw Viper vs Black Dragon. Claw Viper is the grappler from Kevin Liczewski and Team Bad Ideas. They currently have a 1-0 record after a knockout against Pardon My French. Black Dragon, the eggbeater spinner from João Marcos and Team Uailrrior, currently has a 1-1 record. They won their first fight against ICEwave in a knockout, but lost their second fight to Rotator in a unanimous judges’ decision.
Claw Viper gets a grab on Black Dragon right at the box rush. Black Dragon responds with a hit to Claw Viper’s underside. This is the rhythm of the battle at first. Claw Viper’s lifting forks are at just the right angle to grab Black Dragon without getting hit. Then Claw Viper has its back wheel guard damaged, reducing its mobility. About a minute later, Claw Viper gets counted out for not having controlled movement. Black Dragon wins in a knockout.
Both robots did well here. Claw Viper has so much more control and mastery of its weapon system this year. It’s not easy to be that aggressive as a controlbot and Claw Viper kept finding opportunities to keep attacking. Black Dragon has always had a super powerful eggbeater and the robot is incredibly durable. It can wait out its opponent to get the right shot to end a fight.
The next fight is SMEEE vs Gigabyte. SMEEE, the super long and flexible double undercutter from Joe Fabriani and Team SMEEE, is currently at 1-0. They won their first fight of the season in the YouTube exclusive against Deep Six in a knockout. Gigabyte, the full body spinner from John Mladenik and Team Robotic Death Company, is currently 1-1. They lost their first fight of the season against Uppercut in a knockout, but won their second fight against Captain Shrederator in a knockout.
SMEEE is basically running the NHRL beetleweight build on a massive scale. SMEEE started as a long solid wedge, not a flexible noodle bot. It dominated fights with great driving and forcing its opponents to fight under unideal circumstances. The 83 1/3 scaled up model is running with the undercutters on top.
SMEEE is struggling to drive on the surface of the Battlebox in this configuration. Gigagbyte is not slowing down and is in charge of Control and Aggression the whole time. SMEEE’s wedge is still too flexible at this scale to corral Gigabyte. SMEEE finally gets Gigabyte to bounce off the walls, but it rips off the wheels on one side of the wedge. SMEEE is counted out and Gigabyte wins in a knockout.
What it looked like to me is the weight wasn’t as balanced on SMEEE in this configuration. The two bots on either end of its wedge seemed to keep catching the ground when it moved forward. The giant wedge made it front heavy and impaired mobility. The strategy can work, but the test run of this configuration didn’t land very well.
Gigabyte proved its durability and destructive power in this fight. I’m pretty sure if Captain Shrederator didn’t have the radio control issues in its fight against Gigabyte, both robots would’ve lasted until the three minute mark. Gigabyte looks pretty well set for a spot in the Top 32.
Up next is Hydra vs Glitch. Hydra, the flipper from Jake Ewert and Team Whyachi, is currently 1-1. They lost their first fight of the season against End Game in a knockout, but won their second fight against Gruff in a knockout. Glitch, the omni wheeled drum spinner from Kyle Miller and Team Combat Robotics at Berkeley, won their debut fight against Ghost Raptor in a unanimous judges’ decision.
This fight is incredible. Hydra almost launches Glitch into the ceiling. Glitch fully went outside of the range of the cameras in the box for a moment. So close. Hydra’s flipper is working at full power and it’s glorious. Then Hydra has trouble moving and starts smoking. Glitch gets in some great shots with its eggbeater and takes control. At this point, neither robot is moving great, but Hydra can’t really show controlled movement. Glitch can’t get under Hydra because its forks are bent, but Hydra gets counted out with about a minute left in the fight. Glitch wins in a KO, bringing them to a 2-0 record for the season so far.
Glitch is treating the tournament like a much more experienced competitor. They realized that their design was flawed—the forks were too low to the ground and catching when they drove—and spent the time to fix it. They know what their robot can and can’t do and fight accordingly.
The next fight is Free Shipping vs Tombstone. Free Shipping, the lifter and flamethrower from Gary Gin and Team Special Delivery, is currently 0-2. It lost its first fight against Blacksmith in a unanimous judges’ decision and its second fight against Uppercut in a knockout. Tombstone, the horizontal bar spinner from Ray Billings and Team Hardcore Robotics, is currently 1-1. They lost their fight against Captain Shrederator in a knockout, but won their fight against Mammoth in a unanimous judges’ decision.
I love a battle between Battlebots veterans. Gary Gin and Ray Billings have competed for decades. Ray Billings is more high profile now because Tombstone has done so well in the modern era, but Gary Gin’s Original Sin is one of the most successful heavyweight robots in the history of robot combat. Billings even points out that Gary Gin has beaten him at other events in the past. Neither of these builders or their current robots should ever be counted out. Very few other builders have this level of actual experience competing in the heavyweight division, and that means quite a lot.
Tombstone takes off three of Free Shipping’s wheels in the first minute. Free Shipping takes out Tombstone’s weapon with its very powerful wedge. For two minutes of the fight, Tombstone can drive but has no weapon; meanwhile, Free Shipping has minimal drive but a fully active pair of weapons. If Free Shipping still had a tire on either side, they would easily win a pushing match against Tombstone; sadly, one tire is not optimal for traction to maintain control.
This fight goes to a judges’ decision. Tombstone wins in a unanimous decision. I agree. Tombstone caused more visible Damage and had enough drive control to win on Aggression and Control. It makes me sad just because that leaves Free Shipping at 0-3 and all but officially out of the Top 32. I’m a big fan of controlbots and Free Shipping is just so much fun to watch fight. By nature of robot combat, all the robots can’t win, but I kind of wish they could somehow.
Up next is Ribbot vs P1. Ribbot, the cutest modular weapon robot in Battlebots from David Jin and Team Ribbot, currently has a 2-0 record. It won its fights against Defender and Overhaul in knockouts. P1, the super fast lifter from Bandon Zalinsky and Team Aberrant Robotics, is also 2-0 for the season. They won their first fight against Valkyrie in a unanimous judges’ decision and their second fight against Jäger in a knockout.
3-0 robots are basically guaranteed spots in the Round of 32, so this fight is going to start filling out the tournament bracket. I’ll say right now I will be surprised if the Selection Committee passes on either of these robots after their first two fights. They’re both powerful contenders for the top prize that put on a great show and can adapt to a variety of competitors.
Ribbot is wearing P1 cosplay and I don't think I've ever seen a cuter heavyweight robot in my life. It's like when The Pokémon Company releases Halloween merchandise of the starter Pokémon and Pikachu wearing costumes of other Pokémon. I can't. So cute.
P1 and Ribbot are circling each other in the box. Neither wants to be the first to face the other's weapon. About a minute in, Ribbot finds a perch at the corner of P1's split wedge. P1 responds with a great drive into the Pulverizer. P1 has to release Ribbot per the rules and Ribbot finally tears up the front of P1's wedge. Ribbot flips P1 upside down, then launches it onto the Upper Deck while P1 is self-righting. P1 gets stuck on the Upper Deck and counted out. Ribbot wins in a knockout at 2:59.
This was a very balanced match between two great drivers. I can't imagine a Round of 32 without both of these robots in it. P1 is a flipper that got a knockout and Ribbot is the only bot so far to win three fights by knockout this season.
The Main Event is End Game vs SawBlaze. End Game, the powerful asymmetrical vertical spinner from Jack Barker, Nick Mabey, and Team OYES Robotics, is currently 2-0 for the season. The returning champions won their fights against Hydra and Witch Doctor in knockouts. SawBlaze, the hammersaw from Jamison Go and Team SawBlaze, is also 2-0 this season. They won their first fight against Minotaur in a unanimous judges’ decision and their second fight against MadCatter in a knockout.
One of these robots is basically guaranteed a spot in the Round of 32. These two seem to be fighting each other specifically to sort out who the top seed will be in the bracket. Battlebots does rank and seed their tournament, meaning the number one seed will face the number 32 seed at the Round of 32. This is another area where the Selection Committee has a bit more of a say in the tournament, sometimes ranking robots with a 2-1 record higher than robots with a 3-0 record based on the difficulty of their opponents. I expect that to happen to whoever loses this fight.
This is a blink and you'll miss it fight. End Game gets behind SawBlaze, makes contact with their weapon, and sends SawBlaze flying into that little gap between the walls and the doors to the BattleBox.
End Game is now the second bot of the season to win three fights by knockout. SawBlaze is at a solid 2-1 with decisive wins against their first two opponents. They're both in this Main Event for a reason. These teams would have to voluntarily leave the tournament to not have a spot in the Round of 32.
I’ve watched enough Battlebots and NHRL tournaments to know that Jamison Go will do whatever he can to never allow another robot to flip him out of the Arena like that ever again. He designs against failure and adapts as best as he can.
His 30lb version of SawBlaze, called MegatRON, made it to the Grand Finale of the NHRL 2021 double elimination tournament from the loser’s bracket. The loss that put them there was against Emulsifier, another robot from Team Bots FC, who compete at Battlebots with Shatter! Jamison Go took his lessons from that first loss and adjusted his strategy to beat Emulsifier in back to back fights and win the title.
Let’s just say if SawBlaze gets to face End Game again, it will be a very different fight. Just ask Witch Doctor how it goes after you beat SawBlaze in a knockout and face it again and again in future tournaments.
The YouTube Exclusive fight this week is Captain Shrederator vs Jäger. What’s more exciting than a full body spinner bouncing off of one robot? A full body spinner bouncing off of two robots. Members of the Battlebots Facebook group can already see this fight. Everyone else can watch when it’s released on the Battlebots’ YouTube channel this Sunday, 27 February.
Battlebots premieres new episodes at 8PM EST on Thursdays Nights on Discovery Channel. Discovery+ releases the episodes earlier in the day.
#31Days: A Collection of Horror Essays, vol. 2 is available to purchase at Ko-fi, Smashwords, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Kobo, and Amazon.
Read my serialized novel Extra Intent on Kindle Vella for free.
You can also buy Haunted: A Collection of Weird Fiction at my Ko-fi or where eBooks are sold.
Buy my books at Ko-fi or sign up for a monthly membership for exclusive articles and stories.