The term “Championship Sunday” is usually reserved for the NFL’s conference championship games and major golf tournaments. But this Sunday, a new champion will be revealed. The actual Giant Nut that designates the Battlebots Champion was awarded almost two months ago when the competition actually took place. Credit to all those involved for not spoiling the ending. As ABC’s 6-episode season will draw to a close this Sunday, we can only hope that this is the beginning of another epic run of Battlebots on television.
The season finale on Sunday night will feature four fights – two semi-final matchups, a “royal rumble” and the Championship fight. Here’s what’s on tap.
Semi-Final #1: 1. Tombstone vs 4. Bronco
Previous Matches
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgZgcg42Z2M]
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM68T2amLuA]
Analysis
This very well could be the fight of the night, if not the best fight of the whole tournament. In his quarterfinal fight against Witch Doctor, Tombstone looked mortal for the first time in the whole tournament. Witch Doctor’s reinforced plow was able to withstand Tombstone’s spinner and we would’ve seen a massive upset if Witch Doctor hadn’t been flipped over by the last collision. Tombstone was tossed around the box with each collision and the last one broke his blade. But the favorite escaped and now will face Bronco in the semi-finals. Bronco got here by being the first bot to successfully escape the dead zone on top of the screws. After using the power of its pneumatic flipper to get free, Bronco sent Stinger flying with some of the best flips in Battlebots history. Bronco does have armor around the front of the bot and protecting its tires but Tombstone will likely go back to it’s bigger, deadlier blade. This fight is literally a toss-up. If Bronco is able to get a few good flips in on Tombstone, he may have a chance to get Tombstone stuck on his side against the wall, which seems like the best chance to beat the favorite. That said, thin armor has derailed Inertia Bots in the past, like Toro’s CO2 tanks being punctured by Minion. If Bronco’s armor isn’t strong enough to stop Tombstone’s blade, there could be some serious carnage in this match. That said, Bronco has one of the best drivers left in the tournament, which could come in handy trying to avoid Tombstone’s blade.
Semi-Final #2: 3. Bite Force vs 10. Ghost Raptor
Previous Matches
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoATfCzTCGE]
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDvL8LahdyY]
Analysis
Another Battlebots tournament, another appearance by Team Raptor in the semi-finals. This might be the best story of the tournament as Chuck Pitzer has made modification after modification to his bot to give himself the best chance of winning. After Ghost Raptor’s blade was broken against Complete Control, many (including myself) counted him out. But Pitzer turned his bot into a wedge to defeat Warrior Clan then added the now-famous “De-Icer” arm to fend off Icewave and ultimately reach this point. Bite Force has been one of the best-driven bots all tournament and has reached this point by sheer perseverance. In the Round of 16, Hypershock had the better of the fight for the first minute before mechanical problems incapacitated it. In the quarterfinals, Bite Force dominated the first 2 minutes of the match against Overhaul but it’s tire was caught in Overhaul’s clamp in the last minute, allowing Overhaul to get in some good shots. Ultimately, the judges awarded the fight to Bite Force. It will be interesting to see if Bite Force’s driving system was damaged at all by Overhaul’s clamping jaw. Both of these bots have proven to be adaptable and have been very well-driven. It will be fascinating to see what type of weapon Ghost Raptor comes out with this time against the low profile of Bite Force. Bite Force would be smart to return to it’s flipping arm for this fight, as Ghost Raptor will likely have trouble righting itself if it is flipped.
Championship
Scenario 1: Tombstone vs Bite Force
Bite Force has a relatively low profile but is not low enough to escape Tombstone’s blade. Bite Force’s best chance to win would be to adopt a similar strategy to Witch Doctor and reinforce their front armor in the hopes of surviving a few collisions with Tombstone. For Tombstone, the strategy is simple – as long as the blade is spinning, he’ll be winning.
Scenario 2: Tombstone vs Ghost Raptor
This would be an absolutely fascinating matchup because it would mean that Ghost Raptor likely made another modification and found a way to get past Bite Force. Could Team Raptor pull the ultimate upset and engineer a way to reinforce their armor and defeat Tombstone? Team Raptor was rightfully scared of Icewave’s blade and Tombstone’s blade has proven to be just as powerful. Unfortunately for Team Raptor, Tombstone doesn’t have a bulb on top that can be “stiff-armed” to keep it’s blade away.
Scenario 3: Bronco vs Bite Force
If Bronco’s flipper finds a way to throw Tombstone around the rink and knock him out, this Championship matchup would be flip-tastic. Bite Force could go with either the lifter or the clamp against Bronco, but you have to like Bronco’s chances to flip Bite Force all over the battlebox. This would be a matchup between two of the best drivers in the tournament and their maneuvering for kill shots would provide a great championship match.
Scenario 4: Bronco vs Ghost Raptor
The most important piece of engineering Ghost Raptor would have to do for this matchup would be to design a way to right itself. Bronco’s flipper would easily be able to get under Ghost Raptor’s frame and their only hope to survive the match without a weapon would be to get into a shoving match with Bronco. If Bronco is able to survive Tombstone with it’s flipper in tact, you have to like the Inertia Labs bot in the Championship.
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