Home BattleBots Battlebots Episode 8.2 Preview

Battlebots Episode 8.2 Preview

by Ian

The new season of Battlebots got off to a roaring start last Friday night. If you missed the action, check out my Episode 1 Recap. Battlebots has found its rightful home on the Discovery Channel, and it’s setting out to be a great season of robot fighting. The season will have 20 episodes with the first portion featuring a “regular season” where bots can fight up to 4 times before the Top 16 move into a bracketed knockout stage. This week’s episode will once again feature 5 fights, with plenty of potential for destruction.

Main Event

Yeti vs Witch Doctor

Yeti was one of the breakout stars of last season, making a run to the semifinals before running into Tombstone. Nevertheless, Yeti had an epic fight where both bots lost the use of their spinners. Witch Doctor saw their season come to a shocking end when an expertly-placed saw of Red Devil disabled their drivetrain. These are two of the most aggressive bots on the circuit, and neither will back down from a big-time clash of vertical spinners. In previous seasons, Witch Doctor had been done in by not being able to self-right, but they have fixed that this season which means both bots need not fear being inverted. The weak points for both are the wheels, as Witch Doctor’s front plow has proven to be able to withstand even the punishment of Tombstone.

Undercard Matches

Vanquish vs Icewave

Icewave was featured on the very first episode of the ABC Battlebots seasons and looked like one of the robots to beat with its viscious spinning blade, somewhat reminiscent of middleweight Hazard. However, Icewave continues to be plagued by the cardinal sin of Battlebots – not being able to self-right. This doomed his first season when Ghost Raptor attached a grappling arm that “de-Iced” the spinner. Last season, Icewave was victim of strange circumstances as it suffered from either radio interference or got high-centered on debris in the box and was counted out, even though it started moving right after the countdown ended. Vanquish is a fairly compact bot with a lifting/flipping wedge in the front. If Vanquish can get their wedge under Icewave, they will have a chance to win. Otherwise, Vanquish may suffer the same fate as SubZero did last year and be fodder for the spinning blade of Icewave.

Rotator vs Petunia

Rotator with it’s dual spinning discs looked like a dangerous bot entering last season. However, it only took one shot from Witch Doctor’s viscous spinning drum to send wheels flying and end Rotator’s season. Their draw this season is slightly easier against the clamping/crushing bot Petunia. Petunia is a modification of the Dutch champion bot PacifieR with a large clamping beak that makes it look like some kind of exotic jungle bird. This fight will be all about whether or not Petunia is able to withstand punishment from Rotator’s spinning discs and get a clamp down on the side of the bot.

Red Devil vs Brutus

These were two of the surprises of last season with Red Devil scoring a big upset of Witch Doctor and Brutus winning a controversial judge’s decision over Lock-Jaw. Both bots fell to competitors that eventually made the championship with Tombstone knocking out Brutus and Bombshell beating Red Devil. Red Devil features both a clamp and a saw, which can be effective if it can get around to the side. Unfortunately, we saw it get toppled by the vertical spinner of Bombshell last year and it may be in for a similar fate against the vertical spinner of Brutus. Brutus has gone without it’s guns this season but still has a deadly spinner that has easily delivered knockout punches in the past. Brutus was one of the bots that emerged from the breakup of the original Overhaul team.

End Game vs Captain Shrederator

Captain Shrederator is a full-body spinner with teeth around the outside of the bot that can slice and dice their opponents. Unfortunately, the Captain is not invertable and has been done in by wedges like Stinger that have been able to flip it over in the past. End Game is a rookie to robot fighting competition that hails from New Zealand. It has a front wedge and a toothed vertical disc spinner on the front. This will be a big clash of horizontal spinning bot against vertical disc spinner. May the best spinner win.

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