Welcome back to the Beat! Last week, we had Will Bales gushing about how he had all the Diesector toys growing up, because Donald Hutson was the man. Well guess what? Now he’s got a toy of his very own robot! I am definitely interested in getting myself an RC HyperShock Hexbug to go with my pushable Tombstone and Bronco. I also kept saying I would get the Warhead buildable toy, but I never saw it in stores. I should check the Interwebs…

But yeah, HyperShock and everyone’s favorite lil’ guy, Rusty, available in stores eventually. Anyway, in terms of the robot fighting this week, we have the KO of the Year. Undoubtedly. Maybe in BattleBots history. Hell, it’s up there in robot combat history along with the two Icewave hits (Vanquish and HUGE), Nightmare’s hit on Slam Job, Son of Whyachi’s hit on Nightmare, Hazard destroying Complete Control (especially because that was the championship), or Tombstone vs. Killdozer (especially considering that was 340-lb. bots). It’s that impressive. Whodunnit and to whom? Let’s find out. Onto the fights!

Bloodsport vs. SubZero
Bloodsport: 0-1 (L, KO 2:59 vs. Whiplash)
SubZero: 0-1 (L, JD 3-0 vs. Shatter!)

Both bots are 0-1. Bloodsport got manhandled by Whiplash before they could finish chewing on the wedge and was the first (and so far only) casualty of the Upper Deck, while SubZero’s flipper didn’t work against Shatter! for about 2:59 of the 3-minute bout. They overpressured, and if you overpressure your pneumatics, you’re gonna have a bad time. And they did.

Bloodsport did not have their classic tri-bar spinner on (contrary to the commentators), but their take on a dual blade, which has the most reach. After the Whiplash fight, the state of the srimech would be important too. It took damage getting chewed up by the screws, and if SubZero got them up and over, they’d need it in working condition. SubZero had on their front wedge to try and tank Bloodsport, similar to what Whiplash did in its win over the overhead spinner. In terms of strategy, Bot Whisperer and former builder Peter Abrahamson made a swear describing Bloodsport’s plans. Quarter in the swear jar, Pete.

SubZero rushed but Bloodsport was quickly up to speed and taking chunks out of SubZero’s wedge. SubZero tried to time a flip but was late and the wedge was getting gashed as punishment.

But it was staying in front. Bloodsport doesn’t always spin up, instead selectively engaging, so it slowed to cool before re-engaging. And every time they came in SubZero was just late to pull the trigger. They finally did get a flip but Bloodsport just got airborne without being upended.

It looked like SubZero was slowing down as the attrition and accumulation was taking its toll, finally  coming to a stop as there was either smoke or CO2 pouring out.. Regardless the rear left wheel was stuck by the armor, locking it up.

Bloodsport took out the front right instead (towards Chris and Kenny). That didn’t free up SubZero, and a count was imminent.

Bloodsport by KO. Whatever Pete said, that’s indeed what they did. At 1-1, Bloodsport is back in business, while at 0-2 and with several other 0-2 bots ahead of them, SubZero might be on ice.

Ghost Raptor vs. Cobalt
Ghost Raptor: 0-1 (L, JD 3-0 vs. Glitch)
Cobalt: 0-1 (L, KO 1:15 vs. Fusion)

It’s another pair of 0-1 bots, which is going to be the theme for the early parts of this card, at least. Cobalt got out-Foxed by Fusion, while Ghost Raptor did a nice job and a nice thing, first with Chuck Pitzer helping out the Glitch squad undo their bolts, then unsticking Glitch in Box, but not as much actually fighting Glitch, leading to the loss by decision.

Ghost Raptor has a strong weapon for this one for Ghost Raptor—they’re opting for more power to combat the vertical spinner. Meanwhile, Cobalt has on their signature 45 lb. disk.

Ghost Raptor came with the rush, hoping to use the lifter as Cobalt spun up. Ever the wily vet, Chuck Pitzer did a nice job staying on and pushing Cobalt around, but it was coming at a cost. Cobalt was absolutely shredding Ghost Raptor every exchange. Until it got stuck in the screws. New floor, new team, new driver, same Cobalt!

Ghost Raptor was either unable to capitalize, or wouldn’t capitalize during the stick (or according to Chuck Pitzer, due to all the armor wouldn’t have done anything). This lack of free hit meant Cobalt could freely unstuck itself. Not only that but it got around to the back of Cobalt and flipped it.

Cobalt could get the push now as Matt Maxham took Ghost Raptor across the Box face first into the wall and right into the disk.

And in pieces, splitting the pods. And then started to smoke.

Well, whether you call it Ghost Raptor or Sabertooth Cat, it’s extinct.

Cobalt by KO. And I’m just gonna say, that’s KO of the Year. Or top 5. The gif doesn’t do it justice. You don’t get to see the smoke. You can see the after though.

That’s not even a robot, that’s just a pile of metal and electronics. No way they don’t show that hit a million more times!

Here, have a meme that’s the reason of the title.

Deadlift vs. Icewave
Deadlift: 0-1 (L, JD 3-0 vs. Jackpot)
Icewave: 0-1 (L, KO 1:10 vs. Black Dragon)

Well, Icewave’s got company in the bot breaker category.

The new engine stalled against Black Dragon, because somewhere the engine spat out a belt rending the whole thing useless. So Marc DeVidts is going with the old motor from the first five seasons, which is a modified Husqvarna motor. Meanwhile, Deadlift lost to Jackpot in their first fight. They’re back with their beefy arm, which should be called their Trogdor setup but I know it isn’t.

Icewave evaded Deadlifts’s rush and spun up, drawing sparks on the wedge and getting to full speed. A hit with the bar at full bore took off some pieces of the wedge. A second  hit took out parts of the side armor, and also Deadlift’s drive. It’s no bot-breaker redux, but it’ll do.

Icewave wins by KO. They are not dead! Deadlift at 0-2 is.

Blip vs. Overhaul
Blip: 1-0 (W, KO 1:14 vs. Rusty)
Overhaul: 0-1 (L, KO 0:43 vs. Ribbot)

Finally a bot looking to go 2-0 with Blip, which sent Rusty flying repeatedly in its debut. Overhaul is definitely a step up in competition as a veteran bot that has at least beaten the likes of Lock-Jaw, but Blip looked really good in that first fight.

Overhaul is 0-1 after losing fairly quickly to Ribbot. Partially because Charles Guan forgot the rules of modular bots and that the two teams come to an agreement over the setup, so he had a half-assed setup. This time the forks are the way to go, no modular thoughts required against the flipper.

The two bots came together looking for leverage and surprising everyone was Overhaul with the early lift, almost accidentally. There was no clamp, no suplex. Blip recovered and got under but Overhaul was able to spin off. Blip was able to get Overhaul into the corner and finally got a flip, taking out Overhaul’s rear right wheel in the process. Blip had another flip bouncing Overhaul off the Upper Deck wall. A third solid flip by Blip, and Overhaul looked like there was an internal fire going on, and Blip could just control and pin Overhaul on the screws with a fourth, then fifth flip.

But Blip had stuck itself, gyroed itself over, nearly OOTA’d ITSELF, before dealing one more flip to have Overhaul overturned on itself, and a well-deserved victory gyro and self-right. Not chucking itself out of the arena.

Chris asked Aron if Blip is better than Hydra. Aron declined to answer.

Blip by KO for a total of 6 flips. Blip is definitely in and I look forward to its third fight against a top bot. Then we’ll see what the flywheel flipper’s really made of.

HUGE vs. Retrograde
HUGE: 0-1 (L, KO 0:59 VS. Riptide)
Retrograde: 1-0 (W, KO 2:17 vs. Rampage)

HUGE got screwed by the screws really quickly. (Also a potential false start by Riptide, but let’s not say anything about that.) On one hand it was fluky thing, but on the other getting stuck on the arena side has quickly become one of HUGE’s Achilles heels. So, there’s new stiffer wheels on HUGE, made of a different plastic composite called Tegris. (And it’s color-coded, since unlike of the UHMW wheels, they’re black!)

Retrograde is the other potential weakness, a lifter that can control HUGE. (See Whiplash. And also Whiplash.) But on the other hand the lifter mechanism isn’t as beefy as Whiplash’s arm, so like HyperShock’s rakes, it could be vulnerable.

HUGE got a chance to spin up as instead of box rushing Retrograde tried to get the angle at HUGE’s wheels. HUGE was spinning upward, incidentally.

After a time, Retrograde came forward, but HUGE got a fork of the lifter. And then the top armor. Retrograde was on fire and HUGE took the entire lifter mechanism off with the next hit. Fight over, HUGE can climb onto the Upper Deck to do a victory spin now. So there’s one hazard it is okay with.

HUGE by KO. HUGE works right again, and Jonathan Schulz is very happy about it. And now, “It hits really hard.”

Neither bot is out of it as they’re both 1-1, but the third fights will be swing fights for both. More so for Retrograde.

Copperhead vs. Fusion
Copperhead: 1-0 (W, JD 2-1 vs. Lock-Jaw)
Fusion: 1-0 (W, KO 1:15 vs. Cobalt)

It’s a pair of very deadly spinners, where either could reasonably win the Giant Nut. Copperhead struggled a little against Lock-Jaw but got the split decision win. And Cuddles is best snek. Meanwhile, “Wombo Combo Warrior” (Kenny Florian’s actual words at the top of the show) Fusion had the tactical victory over Cobalt. Or, paying off a perceived typo from earlier, they out-Foxed Cobalt, cause THAT AIN’T FALCO.

(No items, Fox only, Final Destination.)

They only used the vertical weapon in that fight, but know they may need both.

Fusion led with the vert but had a slight gyro as just the horizontal was spinning. Something was up from the get-go with the vertical weapon. So Copperhead kept eating away at that side as Fusion tried to use its vertical weapon as its face, slow down or stop Copperhead’s weapon, and then turn around to nail Copperhead with the horizontal, which Reese Ewert claimed boasted Son of Whyachi levels of power.

It wasn’t doing anything. Copperhead’s drum was scoring all the hits, as soon enough both Fusion weapons seemed down. Copperhead was content to chip away, flipping Fusion multiple times and ending the fight early.

Copperhead wins by KO. I get Fusion’s strategy but this time it didn’t work. Copperhead is absolutely in now and that’s the Copperhead we saw getting the 3rd seed last year. Fusion’s 1-1 looks a lot better after what Cobalt did, but a second win would be nice.

YouTube Exclusive: Switchback vs. Slammo!
Switchback: 0-1 (L, KO 1:56 vs. Gruff)
Slammo!: 0-1 (L, KO 1:11 vs. HyperShock)

Switchback was one of my rookies of interest at the beginning of the season. A lot of that interest was lost with the opening loss to Gruff, where the cool articulated drum didn’t articulate and also didn’t drum. And then it flipped itself over to boot. Hopefully with the wedgelets in front they’ll have a chance to stay more composed in another fight against a control bot.

Slammo! came back with a new paintjob and a slightly (now sans sponsor) name! It got out-paintjobbed by HyperShock, and also outslugged. For which, the lucky gnome is now sporting a Will Bales Fathead. Because that’s apparently a thing!

Okay, apart from the clip of Retrograde-Rampage (did you catch it?)… it seems like Slammo! didn’t have much go from go. Neither bot was moving particularly well in this one.

Regardless, there’s a winner, and it’s Switchback by KO.

Main Event
Whiplash vs. Skorpios
Whiplash: 1-0 (W, KO 2:59 vs. Bloodsport)
Skorpios: 1-0 (W, JD 3-0 vs. Blade)

Whiplash is on that level of best bots to have not won the Nut yet. (Granted, only three bots have won in five seasons.) But Whiplash’s first loss last year was to a hammer-saw in SawBlaze, so if they don’t win the ground game, there’s so much Matthew Vasquez can do. Zach Lytle’s no slouch on the sticks, either.

Skorpios’s blade is 2 times heavier and 4 times faster, and we saw the damage it did to Blade. It’s a defensive bot that’s been the spinner-killer over the last few years. Last year they beat Tombstone and Icewave (though lost to Witch Doctor). But they don’t get to fight control bots such as Whiplash too often, so how does that work for them?

It was long inner forks for Whiplash (they have fork configurations now, plural!), and no spinner in favor for extra top armor. Skorpios also featured some crazy long forks, so this’ll be a fork battle in addition to the driving battle.

The two bots booped lifters (gingerly) before battle. Hell, that’s a driving feat because if the bodies bumped they’d have to redo everything in case. Again, I’m sure the producers loved that.

Skorpios rushed but Whiplash got under, clamping and sticking Skorpios in the screws. Skorpios was stuck there for a while, but the screws reversed, while Whiplash continued to push them in.

Skorpios was able to get down eventually, but right into Whiplash’s makeshift clamp, which seems like a new favorite move of Matthew Vasquez, but a spin move got Skorpios out of the way. It seemed that Whiplash’s forks were winning, but an angle got Skorpios a chance to finally start pushing and clawing back points. But in one of the accidental tactical errors, Skorpios’s forks were so long that they couldn’t bring the weapon down on Whiplash.

So the bots continued to jostle for positioning as the two bots spin.  Skorpios got Whiplash stuck in the killsaw slot giving them a chance for a backhand strike, but the weapon wasn’t really spinning, rendering it all but useless. But Skorpios was clawing back control and aggression points as in the last minute they were the ones getting under, even if they couldn’t capitalize.

For the first and only time this card, it went to the judges.

Damage: Not a ton of damage, but the hammer-saw losing effectiveness is the big thing in this. Whiplash, 3-2.
Aggression: Back and forth, but the majority to Whiplash, and using the weapon. 2-1 Whiplash.
Control: The last minute gives Skorpios a point. 2-1 Whiplash.

So with that, I have 7-4 Whiplash. Not all the judges agreed with me, as it was a split decision. Lisa Winter went for Skorpios, but the majority Derek Young and Jason Bardis had it for Whiplash.

Whiplash by split decision. I’m surprised, but that last minute by Skorpios definitely made it very close. And apparently Whiplash was on two wheels for most of it which is why the pushes were neutral or Skorpios with most of the pushing power. Astute observation, but then at most that in my eyes would shift damage 3-2 Skorpios, and I still have Whiplash winning in that case. Regardless, at 2-0 Whiplash is very in. And at 1-1 but with that loss, Skorpios is pretty much guaranteed in as well. At least averting major catastrophe in their third fight.

With that, we think there are three Fight Cards left. For the upcoming one:

Two bots on the bubble square off as 0-2 Malice takes on 1-1 Blacksmith.
The 1-1 Black Dragon takes on 1-0 Claw Viper.
1-1 Gigabyte looks to punch through the 1-0 SMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
A fight I’ve been looking forward to, 1-0 Glitch takes on 1-1 Hydra.
In a fight harkening back to the RoboGames era of the Big Three, Last Rites Tombstone takes on Original Sin Free Shipping. (If you’re inclined for the upset special, Gary Gin’s bot normally won these fights en route to its many titles.)
A battle of 2-0 bots, Ribbot looks to make a case for a top 4 seed against P1.
In the YouTube Exclusive, 1-1 Captain Shrederator takes on 0-1 Jäger.
In the Main Event, it’s End Game and SawBlaze. Winner probably gets the top seed.

With that, we’ll once again see you next week!