After waiting two full weeks for an episode of Battlebots, we were rewarded with four of the best fights of the season. This week, the Round of 32 will conclude, which likely means we will see 4 of the 8 fights and get shortened highlights of the other four fights. So far in the bracket, the top two seeds in Tombstone and Bronco have advanced, but we have seen two major upsets. The #3 seed Witch Doctor went down in a pillar of smoke when a tactical error of removing the front plow allowed Red Devil to saw into their battery. In possibly the biggest upset of the tournament, 6th-seeded Son of Whyachi who was possibly the most destructive bot this side of Tombstone, was thrown for a ride by the vertical spinning drum of Poison Arrow. The obvious conclusion from the first four episodes is that Season 2 is shaping up to be the Season of the Vertical Drum Spinners after the success of Minotaur, Poison Arrow, Brutus, and Hypershock. If you want to re-live any of the fights so far, you can enjoy not only my recaps, but also the hilarious and NSFW recaps of Battlebots Update (which might be my new favorite site on the internet):
Episode 1 – My Recap / Battlebots Update
Episode 2 – My Recap / Battlebots Update
Episode 3 – My Recap / Battlebots Update
Episode 4 – My Recap / Battlebots Update
Moving forward, here’s a look at the 8 fights that will either be shown in full or in part tonight that will bring us to the Sweet 16 of the elimination bracket.
16. Brutus vs 17. Lock-Jaw
This might be one of the most intriguing matchups of the first round. Brutus is built by one of the MIT kids from last year’s Overhaul team (and was the only one of the MIT trio to win their first round match). This comes with the additional drama that the kid who built Brutus was the one who refused to shake Donald Hutson’s hand after the first Lock-Jaw/Overhaul matchup last season. In addition to a vertical spinner, Brutus has F***ING GUNS. That shoot! Lock-Jaw’s clamping jaw was disabled in the opening round, but if Donald Hutson is able to get it working again, it could make for an interesting match. Hutson is one of the best drivers in the tournament and Lock-Jaw features a powerful motor that was able to push Yeti around in its opening match. The hazards (Kill Saws and Pulverizers) have been nearly non-existent so far, and Lock-Jaw may need some assistance from them in order to move on. That said, either one of these bots could give Tombstone a run for its money in the Round of 16.
8. Icewave vs 25. Nightmare
Horizontal spinner vs Vertical spinner. Let’s just take a minute and remember what happened the last time Nightmare faced a horizontal spinner.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXC_uQeIhDs]
9. BETA vs 24. Overhaul
For the second straight season, Overhaul advanced to the Knockout Stage thanks to earning a Wild Card. Overhaul spent much of its qualifying round match taking blows from Cobalt that sent Cobalt flying on the rebound. However, Overhaul’s drivetrain broke down (or got stuck with some debris from the box, depending on who you believe) and it was incapacitated. BETA’s pounding hammer should be able to deliver some blows to the top of Overhaul and Beta’s angled skirt design will make it difficult for Overhaul’s pincher to find something to clamp down on. There’s a good chance this one goes the distance unless BETA is able to pound Overhaul’s drivetrain into breaking once again.
4. Bite Force vs 29. Ringmaster
Bite Force is the returning champion but got a bad draw, being seeded in the same half of the bracket as Tombstone (who it beat in the finals last year). Bite Force has two major changes this season – the replacement of its grappling arms with a vertical spinner and the elimination of its tank treads in favor of wheels. Ringmaster won its opening fight by decimating Ultimo Destructo. Bite Force showed superior driving abilities last season and it will be interesting to see whose weapon is able to survive multiple blows. If Ringmaster is able to get around to the side of Bite Force, the defending champion could be on upset alert.
13. Chomp vs 20. Captain Shrederator
Chomp defeated Disk O’ Inferno in the qualifying round on a split Judge’s Decision. Last season, Chomp drew a horizontal spinner in Icewave and got taken apart in the first round. However, Chomp is revamped this season with a vertical hammer. Chomp will likely need to be able to absorb a few shots from Captain Shrederator’s spinner, but if Chomp can survive, it will have a chance to deliver some blows with its hammer. Captain Shrederator’s main flaw is that it is not invertable so if Chomp can knock it off kilter or push it up against the wall, Chomp can walk away the victor. That said, like Death Roll, Chomp has a lot of surface area that could be prey for the Captain’s spinning teeth.
5. Stinger vs 29. Mega Tento
What an amazing draw for Stinger. The Killer Bee got the #5 seed after knocking out Nightmare in under a minute in the qualifying round. Stinger is one of the most aggressive bots in the tournament so expect it to go right after Mega Tento and toss the ladybug bot around. The rest of the bracket sets up very well for Stinger to make a deep run. Lisa Winter got to the knockout stage for the second straight year, this time with Mega Tento who earned a Wild Card after battling it out with Poison Arrow for a full 3 minutes. The winner of this fight will face Yeti.
14. Cobalt vs 19. Bombshell
Cobalt won its opening match against Overhaul by delivering several devastating blows that appeared to do more damage to Cobalt than to Overhaul. Cobalt was routinely sent flying across the battlebox as a result of the impacts and its spinning blade eventually came to a halt. However, Overhaul wound up worse for wear and one of the blows from Cobalt disabled its drivetrain (or Overhaul caught a piece of debris in their drivetrain), enabling Cobalt to win the match. Bombshell was a bit if a surprise Wild Card after it spent most of its match literally getting its face melted by Complete Control. Nevertheless, it received a fairly high seed despite not showing much in its opening fight. Bombshell is a “swiss army bot” that can sport several different weapons, depending on the opponent. Against Complete Control they went with an overhead axe, which was definitely the wrong choice. It will be interesting to see how they combat the spinning blade of Cobalt. The winner of this match will get Red Devil in the next round.
11. Hypershock vs 22. Warrior Clan
Hypershock came back this season looking for revenge after suffering a mechanical failure in a fight it dominated against eventual champion Bite Force. Hypershock decimated UltraViolent in its first fight (though to be honest that wasn’t too hard to do). UltraViolent was like a fish out of water, flopping around the battlebox until Hypershock swooped in like an osprey and ripped its guts out. Warrior Clan, the other Team Whyachi entrant, won its opening match with Splatter, simply by being lower to the ground. Splatter was unable to get its lifting arm underneath Warrior Clan and was eventually battered by Warrior Clan’s spinner then flipped by its lifting arm. It will be interesting to see if Hypershock’s powerful spinning drum is low enough to the ground to do serious damage against Warrior Clan. As an added layer of drama, the winner of this match gets Poison Arrow, which could be extra incentive for Team Whyachi to get another shot at the bot that knocked out their monster.
The Bracket
As for how the bracket sets up moving forward, most of the matchups in this episode will be on the left side of the bracket.
#1 seed Tombstone will face the winner of Brutus and Lock-Jaw.
The winner of Icewave and Nightmare will face the winner of BETA and Overhaul
The winner of Defending Champion Bite Force and Ringmaster will face the winner of Chomp and Captain Shrederator
Yeti has already advanced and will take on the winner of Stinger and Mega Tento
On the right side of the bracket, the top quadrant is already set. Bronco will face Razorback and Minotaur will face Warhead.
The bottom right quadrant has seen two major upsets and is now wide open. 30th-seeded Red Devil will face the winner of Cobalt and Bombshell while 27th-seeded Poison Arrow will face the winner of Hypershock and Warrior Clan.
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