Welp, here we go. Last week of the prelims, or of the regular season, however you want to describe it. For some teams, it’s a chance to lock in seeding. For others, it’s win or go home. And for the last two, it’s the former, but the seed they’re looking to lock in is #1. So, one last time before the tournament, to the fights!

Lucky vs. Cobalt
Lucky: 3-0 (W, KO vs. Triton; W, JD 3-0 vs. Kraken; W, KO vs. Shreddit Bro)
Cobalt: 2-1 (W, KO vs. Death Roll; L, KO vs. Minotaur; W, KO vs. Overhaul)

First off, both these bots are in. Lucky, at 3-0, is a given, able to clean up on whoever they’ve faced, even if it’s possible that none of its opponents thus far make the tournament. Cobalt’s 2-1, but the loss is my current Fight of the Year winner, an instant classic against Minotaur. Otherwise the British-American bot’s been its usual dominant self.

And that was evident from the loud boom you heard at the beginning of the fight after Lucky went right up Cobalt’s wedge. Because that was the compressed air tank rupturing.

I can tell you that’s not great. Also not great because this has flipped Lucky over, and a battery’s been forced out of the robot. And yet, Lucky had enough air in the tank to self-right. This was probably a mistake as it meant Cobalt could hit it again, and you’re not winning this fight Lucky, just stay down. And it did.

Cobalt wins by KO. I’d have times but as of press time the BattleBots site isn’t working, so I can’t check.

Both bots are in, and I think Cobalt’s got a pretty good case for a top-8 seed. Top-12 is a definite, though. Lucky should be a top-16, though definitely below Cobalt.

Blip vs. Banshee
Blip: 1-2 (L, JD 3-0 vs. End Game; L, JD 3-0 vs. HUGE; W, JD 3-0 vs. Tantrum)
Banshee: 1-2 (L, JD 3-0 vs. Switchback; W, JD 3-0 vs. Valkyrie; L, JD 3-0 vs. Emulsifier)

Win and in fight? Definitely for Blip, probably for Banshee. Blip’s had a murderous schedule, of course, but this has to be Aren Hill’s gimme fight. For Banshee, it’s been an up and down first year. Unfortunately, the other robot hasn’t been the up and down nearly as often as they’d hope. You know, because it’s a flipper.

Weirdly enough for Blip, it’s got an attachment because there’s a gap between the flipper and the bottom of the wedge. The idea is that means there’ll be better contact between flipper and opponent. We’ll see if it works.

Blip was able to get under easily, as Banshee realized this and retreated, unable to get under Blip’s piano keys. Blip was able to get under again and we could see the attachment in action… except for the one minor detail that the attachment didn’t actually let Blip get the kind of purchase they wanted.

Blip could still ram and still run, and still just be able to manhandle this fight, but thanks to the attachment it wasn’t dialed in. A speed bump isn’t going to help a robot get caught in the flipper. So it took Banshee to go beyond that for Blip to get a real flip in, thanks to Blip running it into the wall. Banshee was on its head, and that could have very well been it. But another couple of Blip flips got Banshee back up and over for the last few seconds.

Blip wins by unanimous decision. Are they in? Sure. How high? Lower than last season.

Monsoon vs. Death Roll
Monsoon: 1-2 (L, KO vs. Black Dragon; W, KO vs. Horizon; L, JD 3-0 vs. Whiplash)
Death Roll: 2-1 (L, KO vs. Cobalt; W, KO vs. Switchback; W, KO vs. Mammoth)

First off, MonSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON. Good, that’s out of the way. Monsoon could very well be 2-1 or even 3-0, but the Black Dragon fight turned on a dime when Monsoon ran over a bolt, and the Whiplash fight was close, but was correctly called. And even on appeal went from a split to a unanimous decision. They’ll need a win for comfort here, while a loss could be fatal to their tourney hopes, considering the win is against Horizon.

Death Roll, on the other hand, should be fine. The loss was to Cobalt, and, like, it’s Cobalt. Meanwhile Switchback and Mammoth aren’t exactly world-beaters, but they’re wins and KOs.

Death Roll went for the rush, and Mammoth juked. And once Mammoth came in, something got bent up. See, Death Roll’s biggest weakness is a currently nonexistent ground game, so Mammoth got right under. A bottom plate bend and a few hits later to clean up, and yes, fight over.

Monsoon wins by KO. They’re now officially definitely in. Death Roll, at 2-2, should be fine as well, though with a bit of a drop. Monsoon should be one of those mid-16 seeds, and Death Roll probably on the bottom half.

Tantrum vs. Whiplash
Tantrum: 1-2 (L, KO vs. Minotaur; W, KO vs. Hydra; L, JD 3-0 vs. Blip)
Whiplash: 1-2 (L, KO vs. MadCatter; L, KO vs. HyperShock; W, JD 3-0 vs. Monsoon)

If I told you back in January that both of these bots were 1-2, you wouldn’t believe me. Whiplash is a perennial powerhouse, and Tantrum is only, you know, the reigning, defending Giant Nut holder. So, could the loser of this fight potentially be out of the tournament? I’d say they’re the highest-ranked 1-3 squad, so they’d set the bubble.

Tantrum looked to get around, but Whiplash got caught in a seam and Tantrum got the first punch in. Whiplash got in to respond and the spinner (yes, it still uses it!) and the lifter worked in tandem and popped Tantrum up and over, and… that was it. The srimech died as the chain snapped, as Alex Grant, Ginger Schmidt, and co. had to figure it out. Incidentally, had it gotten over, Matthew Vasquez had Whiplash right there for a backhand that Tantrum would have self-righted right into.

Whiplash wins by quick KO. …Could Tantrum not make the tournament? I mean, out of all the 1-3s you have to have the defending champ, right?

HiJinx vs. Switchback
HiJinx: 1-2 (W, KO vs. Big Dill; L, KO vs. Captain Shrederator; L, KO vs. Ripperoni)
Switchback: 2-1 (W, JD 3-0 vs. Banshee; L, KO vs. Death Roll; W, KO vs. Ominous)

This seems to be a win-and-in fight. HiJinx’s win over Big Dill was less than convincing, while Switchback’s wins are over Banshee and Ominous. So if a 2-2 squad is bumped off for 1-3 bots (like Tantrum), this seems like it could be one of them. But 3-1? That’s a lock. And hey, HiJinx has been the 29th seed two years in a row. A win here and… they could be the 29th seed again!

Switchback may have jumped the gun but immediately plowed, rushed, and flipped HiJinx. They came in for another hit and… whoa, I didn’t expect that.

HiJinx’s weapon came off, went flying, and ended up against the wall. Fight over, and okay, Switchback is in.

Switchback wins by KO.

Exhibition: Slammo! vs. Double Tap
Slammo!: 0-1 (L, KO vs. TerrorTops)
Double Tap: 1-0 (W, KO vs. Doomba)

The last exhibition, as both these bots’ll get two out of it. Poor Slammo!. It never seems to actually work nice for Craig Danby, except the time it wasn’t Team Danby because he was sponsored by a lawnmower company. And Double Tap fought Doomba. That doesn’t really count.

Slammo! went to box rush and was able to chase down and get the clamps on DT, but couldn’t yet get a lift. Craig Danby settled for the pulverizer, but no suplex, and that’s what we all want.

Double Tap again spun up and came in but couldn’t get enough of a handle. And… all of a sudden Slammo! wasn’t moving so hot, spinning around and crabwalking. Jeez, can this robot ever get a break?

This was the part where Kenny started breaking down his favorites to win the Giant Nut, as the killsaws came in on a crabwalking Slammo!. Double Tap’s weapon wasn’t really spinning, so it was going to go to the judges unless someone straight-up died., but it would go to the judges.

I mean, I did say “Kenny started breaking down his favorites to win the Giant Nut.”

And yeah, Double Tap wins by unanimous decision.

Main Event: Minotaur vs. Witch Doctor
Minotaur: 3-0
Witch Doctor: 3-0

So, here we fucking go. Winner gets the top seed (in all likelihood), and is the favorite to take the Giant Nut. Also, you know, all the stuff that changed in the rulebook as a result of this fight last year, like resetting the unstick rule, and “what is movement?” and having to engage your opponent unless they’re going to be counted out. Not “What is aggression?” though. That was from Hydra vs. Tantrum.

Minotaur’s drum spins up quicker now, by the way. But so is Witch Doctor, now with a single disk. And now throttling it from 50% to 75%. Kenny noted that Minotaur was winning all the engagements the last time these two fought, but when the gyro dance came Mike Gellatly was all over it, so driving will be a factor as well.

Minotaur got under with its chisels, working the side of the plow and tearing off the forks. Witch Doctor responded by sending Minotaur flying though couldn’t keep it up before re-righting. But another big shot by Witch Doctor sent the bull flying, but Witch Doctor was briefly stuck and having tire issues so it couldn’t press. Minotaur was able to push Witch Doctor to the rails and leave them until release, as Witch Doctor had a puff of some kind of smoke, maybe belt but it looked like their weapon was totally out. Minotaur was crabwalking however, as the last minute would be a pushing match.

Even crabwalking Minotaur was winning the pushes, or at least keeping level, thanks to that tire damage perhaps, as it went to the judges.

Damage: Crabwalking and weapon diminished vs. armor damage and weapon out. It’s close, but I’d say 3-2 Witch Doctor
Aggression: It’s close, but the pushes give me the advantage, 2-1 Minotaur
Control: 2-1 Minotaur

So I have Minotaur 6-5.

Minotaur wins by UD. And Marco Meggiolaro reminded everyone, there was nothing personal about last year, it was just the rulebook being weird. And to be honest? It was a little bit.

Well, one thing to do: Bracket time! (That’s the printable PDF version.) Here are some notes:

The 1-3 bots that are IN:
Tantrum (26), Ribbot (28), Shatter! (31), Fusion (32)

The 2-2 bots that are OUT:
Mammoth, Shreddit Bro, Triton, Valkyrie

Top 4 seeds (in order):
Minotaur, Riptide, Witch Doctor, Hydra

Hardest quadrant:
2 (Riptide): HyperShock, Copperhead, and the winner of End Game/Tantrum make this the toughest for the top seed IMO.

Easiest quadrant:
3 (Witch Doctor): This doesn’t mean Witch Doctor has the easiest path, because HUGE is increasingly becoming a favorite out of this group. But it should be one of those two, and they wouldn’t meet until the quarters.

Undefeated robots:
Minotaur (1), Riptide (2), Quantum (5), HUGE (6)

Highest-ranked 2-2 robot:
HyperShock (18)

Lowest-ranked 3-1 robot:
Malice (17)

Tonight covers the right side of the bracket, so let’s go over it:

(2) Riptide vs. (31) Shatter!: I’ll be honest, I don’t even think Shatter! is the best 1-3 bot by Bots FC. This is a rematch of last season, I’ll unfortunately take Riptide.
(15) Lucky vs. (18) HyperShock: This is tough, because if this turns into a driving match I’d actually go advantage Lucky. Also, if HyperShock gets flipped, advantage Lucky. But I’ll go with my heart and take HyperShock.
(7) End Game vs. (26) Tantrum: The two most recent champions square off… in the first round. I have to go End Game.
(10) Copperhead vs. (23) Rotator: Arguably two of the sturdiest spinners out there. I’ll take the vert in Copperhead.
(3) Witch Doctor vs. (30) Jackpot: Jackpot’s the lowest-ranked 2-2 bot, incidentally. I’ll take Witch Doctor, managing to beat its own 3-30 curse.
(14) Lock-Jaw vs. (19) Bloodsport: If Donald Hutson knows how to fight one robot, it’s big horizontals. I take Lock-Jaw.
(6) HUGE vs. (27) Skorpios: Skorpios is one of the few robots who can actually hit HUGE with the hammer-saw, but HUGE can also monster truck to the arm. I’ll take HUGE.
(11) Claw Viper vs. (22) MadCatter: It’s a feel-good story for Claw Viper, but I’ll take MadCatter.

With that, we’ll see how wrong we are! Next week!