Current Events > BattleBots: Championship Tournament discussion topic *spoilers*

(+) Yeah! (+)

Over 60 different robots entered the competition this year, and after 14 grueling weeks of brutal robotic combat and painstaking repair work by the teams, we've finally reached the big finale: the 2019 BattleBots Championship Tournament! The first of the final two episodes doesn't air until tomorrow, but I wanted to post this topic early to give us a chance to discuss the full bracket now that it's been publicly revealed. Without further ado:



(#1, 4-0) Bite Force vs. (#16, 4-1) Uppercut
(#8, 4-1) Black Dragon vs. (#9, 4-1) Lock-Jaw
(#4, 3-1) Tombstone vs. (#13, 3-2) Quantum
(#5, 3-1) Whiplash vs. (#12, 3-1) HUGE
(#2, 4-0) Witch Doctor vs. (#15, 3-2) Blacksmith
(#7, 3-1) Sawblaze vs. (#10, 4-1) Son Of Whyachi
(#3, 4-0) Hydra vs. (#14, 4-3) Minotaur
(#6, 4-0) Death Roll vs. (#11, 4-1) Yeti

The first round matchups include some highly tactical battles (HUGE vs. Whiplash looks very interesting), some highly explosive battles (the first weapon-on-weapon hit of Death Roll vs. Yeti is going to be brutal) and even a mercy killing (RIP Blacksmith) mixed in! We'll see all of these first-round battles on tomorrow's episode, and the tournament will conclude next Friday as we see a new champion crowned. If the incredible action from the play-in battles last week were any indication, things will only get even more intense!











So what do you think? Which first round matchups look the most interesting to you? Which potential matchups down the road do you most want to see? And most importantly, which bot is going to win it all and take the Giant Nut trophy home? Tune in tomorrow and next Friday at 8PM EST on Discovery Channel to watch all the metal-munching mayhem! Finally, the usual reminder tags:

@MJOLNRVII @Purple_Cheetah @El_Mexicano_Texano @DuneMan @powerman1426 @PiOverlord @monkeysRfunny @Typhon @unclekoolaid73 @MasterGakke
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I'll also give you guys a second reminder tomorrow, about an hour before the episode starts. Reminder tags part 2:
@MI4_REAL @LostForest @Compsognathus @Gheb @Krow_Incarnate
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My bracket:

Biteforce over Uppercut
Black Dragon over Lockjaw
Quantum over Tombstone
Huge over Whiplash
Witch Doctor over Blacksmith
SoW over Sawblaze
Minotaur over Hydra
Death Roll over Yeti

That's all for now.

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Lol, I kept thinking today was Friday so I wondering why they would delay this episode randomly to Saturday.

For me, the only two upsets I see are HUGE and SOW. It will be funny to see Blacksmith face Witch Doctor. I am trying to imagine a road to victory for it, but all I got is Witch Doctor malfunctions immediately.

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Krow_Incarnate posted...

Quantum over Tombstone

You have a lot of guts picking that upset. I just don't see them being tough enough to take hits from Tombstone. I saw what Quantum did to Valkyrie, and Team Valkyrie actually revealed in an AMA on r/BattleBots that Quantum's crusher without its tooth still had enough force to crumple Valkyrie's weapon motor. Quantum could probably do the same to Tombstone if it can survive a hit from Tombstone and get a grip on it... but I just don't see it being tough enough.

Minotaur over Hydra

That's an upset that I see a lot of people picking. I have no idea how to pick that because we have no idea what Hydra's durability against spinners is like. I can't bring myself to pick against Hydra, but at the same time, it's so unpredictable that I wouldn't be surprised if Minotaur won.

PiOverlord posted...

the only two upsets I see are HUGE and SOW

Those are the only two upsets that I would feel comfortable enough in picking. But like I said above, I think Minotaur could beat Hydra because of the uncertainty of Hydra's durability, and Death Roll vs. Yeti might be a crapshoot decided by who lands the first big hit.

DuranOfForcena posted...

i feel bad for Whiplash. they are one of my favorite bots but i honestly don't see how they will be able to win against Huge.

I think HUGE does have an advantage, but due to Whiplash's disc being on the end of its lifting arm, it might be the only spinner capable of hitting HUGE directly on its fragile center body. I saw some people on r/BattleBots who were saying they felt bad for HUGE due to the matchup for that reason.

Or HUGE's bar could just rip that lifting arm clean off. Who knows? We'll find out tomorrow.
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Goddamn, I didn't know this was a thing. Pretty sick

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legendarylemur posted...

Goddamn, I didn't know this was a thing. Pretty sick

BattleBots has been back on TV for 4 seasons now, where have you been?
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I'm so proud of Witch Doctor! Look at them nabbing the #2 seed. I've always like the bot and their team, so it warms my heart seeing them so well this season.

I'd love to see HUGE make a run but, as much as I don't want it to, if Tombstone wins, HUGE would get fucking bodied in that Round 2 matchup lol.

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Calwings posted...

BattleBots has been back on TV for 4 seasons now, where have you been?

Not having TV for a decade or two is where I've been

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legendarylemur posted...

Not having TV for a decade or two is where I've been

D you have a cable subscription now? If so, then you can catch up by watching on the Discovery Channel website by logging in with your provider.

https://go.discovery.com/tv-shows/battlebots/

If you don't have a cable subscription, then the only legal way I can see for you to catch up is buying the seasons on Amazon Video.

https://www.amazon.com/Just-Keep-Spinning%EF%BF%BD/dp/B07DMBVMFL

Both sites only have seasons 3 and 4, but 1 and 2 weren't really that good anyways. That was when they were easing back into it and experimenting with what worked and what didn't. Season 3 is when they introduced the current format (with a regular season and postseason) that everyone loves.
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Sadly no cable for me any time soon lul. Nowadays there's not enough time to watch stuff, even anime.

The show looks cool as hell though. Probably something I'd like

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Hydra versus Minotaur should be a great test for Hydra. Minotaur has already shown that it can go airborne and still fight.

If Tombstone and Whiplash both win then those two bots will have a rematch. Last time Whiplash had Tombstone against the ropes for a bit before getting thrashed by the latter's spinner.

Deathroll against Yeti to me seems like it'll be a rough one for Yeti. Deathroll's spinner is on point with the transfer of kinetic energy, so Yeti's likely going to take to the skies in that match.

As for who takes the Giant Nut... I want to go with Biteforce. Other than Hydra flipping the bot onto its back, I don't see many bots being able to breach Biteforce's durability and relative weapon reliability.
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Honestly I just wanna see Huge make it far. It's very entertaining.
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TOMBSTONE! TOMBSTONE! TOMBSTONE! ToMBSTONE!
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I think Bite Force has this one. I think it's best odds of losing would be a match up with Huge, but Huge will get absolutely brutalized against Tombstone so that probably won't happen.
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Wait, that wack-ass gimmick bot with the huge wheels actually made it this far?

PokemonYoutube posted...

Wait, that wack-ass gimmick bot with the huge wheels actually made it this far?

That's right. HUGE is 4-1 with multiple knockouts, only losing to Son Of Whyachi. It's really difficult for most bots to hit the main central body of the robot because it's so high off the ground, and those giant wheels are really tough. Only the most devastatingly powerful spinners (Icewave in last season's tournament and Son Of Whyachi earlier this season) have managed to knock out HUGE by breaking one of its wheels so it couldn't move around. On top of its toughness, HUGE's weapon is strong, reliable, and can hit opponents on their (usually weaker) top armor. In general, HUGE is just a really awkward opponent to face, and some bots just can't do anything to it because of its awkward design. It looks ridiculous, but it's very effective.
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I fully expect Biteforce to take it all and Huge to make a deep run.

Biteforce has just seemed indestructible so far and it doesn't seem like anyone really has Huge figured out.

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PokemonYoutube posted...

Wait, that wack-ass gimmick bot with the huge wheels actually made it this far?

Huge is the best vertical spinner and probably flipper counter in the competition. They are nearly powerless at hurting it.

On the other hand Huge is super vulnerable to Horizontal spinners which just rips its wheels to shreds.
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My thing with Bite Force is that I only see two bots in the field that I think stand a good chance to beat it, and those are HUGE (who was far from 100% when it lost to Bite Force in last year's tournament due to damage from the Icewave fight) and Hydra. Bite Force is so durable that I don't think anything else, even Tombstone, has the raw power to knock it out. But HUGE, with its weird attack angle, can possibly disable Bite Force's weapon with its own weapon, and Hydra can flip Bite Force over where I don't think it can self-right. The problem is those two bots making it far enough to get the chance.

HUGE would need to make it to the semifinals, and would most likely need to beat Whiplash and Tombstone to get there. Whiplash might be the only spinner whose weapon can hit HUGE's central body for a decent amount of damage, and if HUGE wins that, I'm not sure that their wheels are tough enough to survive the insane power of Tombstone's weapon without cracking like they did against Son Of Whyachi. The best chance HUGE has to go far in the tournament is dependent on Quantum scoring what might be the biggest upset of the entire tournament and beating Tombstone, and I just don't see that happening. As for Hydra... as I mentioned earlier, we've never seen it take hits from a spinner before, and it's on the same side of the bracket with five devastating spinners, including Minotaur right off the bat. We have no idea if Hydra is tough enough to run the gauntlet.

So for now, I have to tentatively pick Bite Force to win it all, but I would really like to be proven wrong so we see a new champion.
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Calwings posted...

That's right. HUGE is 4-1 with multiple knockouts, only losing to Son Of Whyachi. It's really difficult for most bots to hit the main central body of the robot because it's so high off the ground, and those giant wheels are really tough. Only the most devastatingly powerful spinners (Icewave in last season's tournament and Son Of Whyachi earlier this season) have managed to knock out HUGE by breaking one of its wheels so it couldn't move around. On top of its toughness, HUGE's weapon is strong, reliable, and can hit opponents on their (usually weaker) top armor. In general, HUGE is just a really awkward opponent to face, and some bots just can't do anything to it because of its awkward design. It looks ridiculous, but it's very effective.

I saw videos of its performance last year (IIRC?) where it just got chunks taken out of its wheels almost immediately and it eventually snapped itself in half during one of its fights. Guess the designers patched up some of the weaknesses.

PokemonYoutube posted...

I saw videos of its performance last year (IIRC?) where it just got chunks taken out of its wheels almost immediately and it eventually snapped itself in half during one of its fights. Guess the designers patched up some of the weaknesses.

That was either the Icewave fight (where Icewave's massive spinner hit HUGE so hard that it split in half) or the Bite Force fight (where it just fell in half because the nasty repairs from the aforementioned Icewave fight gave way). Based on its only losses (when coming into the fight at 100%) being to Icewave and Son Of Whyachi, high-energy horizontal spinners seem to be its downfall. But HUGE has a career record of 7-3 in its two seasons in BattleBots and made the postseason both times, so it has a proven track record that says it's a contender.
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Did Icewave sit out this year?

I've been watching matches on Youtube lately, and Icewave's weapon was insane.

Didn't catch the fight against Huge though. That sounds awesome.
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Krow_Incarnate posted...

Did Icewave sit out this year?

I've been watching matches on Youtube lately, and Icewave's weapon was insane.

Yes. The builder's wife was expecting the birth of their child around the time of the tapings back in April, so he decided to keep Icewave at home this season. Icewave did have one battle at a special event that happened (and was livestreamed online) in June, but was defeated by Bite Force.
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Oh, got it!

So these aren't live? I do know that some shows aren't aired, but I thought the televised matches all happen in real-time.
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Krow_Incarnate posted...

So these aren't live? I do know that some shows aren't aired, but I thought the televised matches all happen in real-time.

No, the televised tournaments are never live. They film the whole season in one big filming session that's about a week long, then they get it ready for TV and the teams (obviously) and fans are under a non-disclosure agreement until the episodes air.
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I think I'm going to root for HUGE just because it's a very unique bot and Witch Doctor just because I have been sort of against it, but it finally made a believer of me.

All in all, less than 24 hours to go! Cardinals/Cubs at 1:20 so I won't have to worry about juggling anything either, can just focus on BattleBots.

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Even with the NDA, I'm surprised this stuff doesn't get leaked.

That's crazy.
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Calwings posted...

So for now, I have to tentatively pick Bite Force to win it all, but I would really like to be proven wrong so we see a new champion.

This is basically how I feel. I like Paul Ventimiglia since he seems like a nice guy, but he's won twice now. I'd love to see a new champ but realistically don't know if we will lol.

Did Bite Force and Lockjaw already fight this season? I wanted to say "I feel like you need a really good driver to match Bite Force, like Donald Hudson" but I feel like we already saw that this season, and he got spanked lol.

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One hour until showtime! Reminder tags:

@MJOLNRVII @Purple_Cheetah @El_Mexicano_Texano @DuneMan @powerman1426 @PiOverlord @monkeysRfunny @Typhon @unclekoolaid73 @MasterGakke
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Reminder tags part 2:
@MI4_REAL @LostForest @Compsognathus @Gheb @Krow_Incarnate

LostForest posted...

Did Bite Force and Lockjaw already fight this season? I wanted to say "I feel like you need a really good driver to match Bite Force, like Donald Hudson" but I feel like we already saw that this season, and he got spanked lol.

No, Lock-Jaw and Bite Force have never faced each other. That "really good driver" that you mentioned from last season might have been the driver of Whiplash when Bite Force beat it in the tournament semifinals.
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As always, thanks for the tags.

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This looks like it's gonna be a great bunch of fights

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Reporting for duty.

So is tonight like the first 8 fights or something?
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Honestly, if anyone can take it to Biteforce, it'll be Witch Doctor.
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The episode is starting! Get your brackets ready, because it's IT'S POSTSEASON ROBOT FIGHTIN' TIME!
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Sawblaze did an awesome job of not letting SOW power up. I really underestimated Sawblaze. Can't believe SOW chugged along to the end.

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Well damn. Sawblaze pretty much destroyed it, I don't know how they don't win this.
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SoW is a lot more durable than I thought based on my first impressions.

Good fight, but it's Sawblaze all the way.
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WOW what a fight!

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PiOverlord posted...

I really underestimated Sawblaze.

Same here. They dictated that fight 100% and are hella durable.
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Krow_Incarnate posted...

So is tonight like the first 8 fights or something?

Yes, it's the entire first round tonight, then the rest of the tournament next week.

Krow_Incarnate posted...

SoW is a lot more durable than I thought based on my first impressions.

Good fight, but it's Sawblaze all the way.

Son Of Whyachi staying mobile and working for a full three minutes was impressive even in a loss. Most full-body spinners can't pull that off in this day and age. Either the opponent breaks them or (more often) they break themselves by then.
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Did they seriously put a Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm-Flailing Tube Man on top of a Roomba?
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Welp, all it took was two uppercuts in that fight to end it.

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Damn, I knew everyone expected Biteforce to take this, but I didn't expect Uppercut to be so outmatched.

Even in terms of sheer weapon power.

Uppercut played their game and still got owned. Ouch!
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That was a great intro, but the match was over quick :/
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LET'S GO DEATH ROLL

I'd love to see them take it all
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Krow_Incarnate posted...

LET'S GO DEATH ROLL

I'd love to see them take it all

I'd love to see either of these bots take it all. Or, to say my actual full thoughts: I'd love to see literally any bot besides Bite Force take it all.
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