Battlebots Quarterfinals Preview

We are down to the last two episodes of Battlebots. Hopefully this is not the end and ABC will bring it back for another (longer) season next summer. Ideally, they’d even bring back some of the other weight classes. That said, there are 8 robots left in the competition vying for the Giant Nut. There are veteran builders and rookies new to the scene and graduates of the Battlebots Academy High School Program. The quarterfinals will drop on Sunday night at 9pm with the final episode next week featuring the semi-finals and finals.

If you’ve missed any of the Robot Fighting action so far, you can catch up with my episode recaps:

• Episode 1: First Qualifiers
• Episode 2: Remaining Qualifiers
• Episode 3: Round of 16 Part 1
• Episode 4: Round of 16 Part 2

Here’s what to look forward to in the quarterfinals.

1. Tombstone vs 9. Witch Doctor

Round of 16 Fights:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05NwqmT2jZ8]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJNtncatMLM]

Preview

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – horizontal spinners tend to do very well in Battlebots competitions. Tombstone has an excellent design with it’s massive spinning blade that has shredded the competition to date. But Witch Doctor (and it’s supplementary bot Shaman) present a unique challenge. If the two bots try to divide and conquer, will Shaman’s low profile and powerful flamethrower be able to get under or around Tombstone’s blade? Or will Tombstone treat Shaman much like Nightmare treated one of Warrior Clan’s sub-bots? In the quarterfinal, Witch Doctor showed the power of it’s spinning drum and it’s willingness to be aggressive. That said, Tombstone is an absolute wrecking force and my hunch is that Tombstone’s blade will dispose of Shaman before moving on to Witch Doctor.

Prediction: Tombstone by KO in under 2 minutes.

4. Bronco vs 5. Stinger

Round of 16 Fights:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXfIXhdUPhE]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhEGhRGN374]

Preview

This one has all the makings of a fight for the ages. Remember the epic battle between Toro and Vladiator back in the day? This could be a re-hashing of that.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KSGFVocp1M]

Bronco is built by Inertia Labs (the same team who made Toro, T-Minus and Matador) and has a similarly powerful flipping arm. Stinger’s builders are new to the circuit but as one of my Facebook friends pointed out, his design and driving style is similar to Vladiator’s. Stinger is an aggressive bot with a wedge that is capable of pushing and flipping other bots around. So far, Stinger has had it’s way with two spinners – Captain Shredderator and Warhead. Bronco had a solid fight with Witch Doctor and easily KO’d Plan X. This fight has so much hype, Nerdist released a preview of the fight with the first minute of action. Just based on this, it’s already one of the best fights of the season, including the greatest flip in Battlebots history.

Also of note here – WE FINALLY SEE THE KILL SAWS!!

Prediction: The Nerdist column says “you’ll never believe who wins” which leads me to believe that Stinger somehow pulls the upset here. I love the Intertia Labs bots but I’m a bit wary of picking Bronco because of that byline. I’ll go with Stinger in an upset judge’s decision. It wouldn’t be Battlebots if there wasn’t one controversial judge’s decision along the way.

2. IceWave vs 10. Ghost Raptor

Round of 16 Fights:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHJXR03VA6Q]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SBNFOCI0lU]

Preview

IceWave’s spinning blade has been the second-most effective weapon of the tournament, behind only Tombstone’s blade. Icewave has a good design with a wedge on the front that lifts bots into it’s spinner. Ghost Raptor lost it’s spinning blade in an opening match with Complete Control and was converted into a wedge/lifting bot for its elimination match with Warrior Clan. The match with Warrior Clan devolved into a shoving match before Ghost Raptor emerged victorious when Warrior Clan was incapacitated. Icewave has been chopping other bots apart after slicing and dicing Chomp in the elimination round. The only way Icewave can be beaten is if someone is able to stop it’s spinning blade and get close enough to lift or flip him. Ghost Raptor has a very good builder who has experience trying to slow down spinners after trying unsuccessfully to thwart Ziggo in the Season 2 semi-final.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8-yN_5gDEg]

Aside from Tombstone’s fight with Witch Doctor, this fight has the highest potential for carnage and Icewave’s blade looks to be strong enough to absolutely tear Ghost Raptor apart.

Prediction: Icewave by KO in a minute and a half.

3. Bite Force vs 11. Overhaul

Round of 16 Fights:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3X1nyWXUm0]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZP1tMW5uY8]

Preview

On paper, this might be the least exciting quarterfinal matchup. Bite Force has a low-profile wedge and lifting arms while Overhaul is a clamping bot. Both bots are from first-time builders. Bite Force got here by tossing around Warhead in the prelims then rebounding from a rough start against Hypershock to win with superior driving and mechanical failure. Overhaul got a wild card after a controversial fight with Lock-Jaw in the prelims then defeated Lock-Jaw in a disappointing Round of 16 affair. Overhaul defeated Lock-Jaw by clamping onto its wheel and letting Lock-Jaw’s drivetrain burn itself out as he tried to get free. Not overly thrilling. For this match, Bite Force would appear to have the edge as it is very well-driven and can right itself when flipped over. Overhaul could not self-right in the opening round, which spelled its demise. Overhaul has a low wedge in the front, but with Bite Force’s superior driving skill, I like their chances to get around the side and topple Overhaul.

Prediction: Bite Force by KO in just under 3 minutes.