BattleBots

Robots activate.

[crowd cheering and applauding]

Hey, everybody.

And welcome to BattleBots.

I am Chris Rose,

joined as always by the one and only Mr. Kenny Florian.

[crowd cheering and applauding]

Thanks, Chris.

So far, this season has featured

some of our most heavy-duty action yet.

We've seen big hits, bigger surprises,

and we're getting closer and closer to the round of 32.

And week eight of the qualifying rounds

promises more of the same as tonight's fight card

is stacked with heavy hitters who are already jockeying

for top tournament seeds.

And that includes the metal breaking

monstrosity HUGE

who's looking to move to 3-0

against Reese Ewert and Fusion.

The last time Jonathan Schultz fought Team Whyachi,

it led to one of the most controversial fights in BattleBots history.

You might not see a cow catcher in this one,

but we should see some fireworks.

And how about a crusher bought

that could put the jaws of a great white shark to shame.

The UK's Quantum sports 35,000 pounds of crushing force,

and it'll be stepping into the box

to keep its perfect season intact

versus the unkillable Black Dragon.

And in our main event,

we have got a fight the fans

have had circled since the schedule

was first announced.

A sibling rivalry.

Two bots designed

by the same builder will collide

when the reigning champs Tantrum

enter the box to face their sister team,

the flywheel flipper, Blip.

You can't afford to miss that.

Blip is backed into a corner at 0-2

and Aren Hill's first born could effectively

end his latest creation season with a win here tonight.

But up first, it's flipper versus flamethrower.

As Hydra tries to deliver a win via airmail

against the redesigned Free Shipping.

Gary Gin is hoping to shore up his season's resume,

while Jake Ewert is out for blood

after a stinging loss to Tantrum.

It's two fan favorites looking to move to 2-1.

All right, let's not waste any more time.

Faruq, take it away.

[crowd cheering and applauding]

Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready?

It's robot fighting time.

In the red square,

an old wise man once said to me

that everything has its cost.

A drink comes with a tab and a win comes with a loss.

So don't trust the bot when it tells you

that there are no hidden fees.

Sure, it'll be there in two to three days,

but you have to take off both your knees.

It's Free Shipping!

[crowd cheering and applauding]

Kicked off the season with a win over Gigabyte,

then dropped one to Minotaur a few weeks back.

Gary Gin is bringing up the rear.

That's just how they drop 'em off at my house too, Kenny.

Come on, pick it up.

And a little history too.

Hydra actually scored its first career win

against Free Shipping back in 2019.

But this is a brand-new design.

Free Shipping couldn't self-right back then.

Now it can drive inverted,

and it has that new vertical spinner.

This is a much more competitive robot.

[crowd cheering and applauding]

In the blue square,

this bot is a mythical beast

like the monster from Loch Ness.

But you don't have to be Mothman to prophesize,

he's the best.

when you're flipped by this crypted.

It'll be legendary. Just watch!

Don't give him any sass,

or he'll kick you in the crotch.

It's Hydra!

Here is Hydra,

of course led by the bad boy of BattleBots Jake Ewert.

Kenny's he's 1-1, but you could see

he'll finish his season against SawBlaze.

So just how important is a win here tonight for him?

Well, making the tournament

is less about record

and more about overall performance.

Hydra might also have one of the toughest schedules

of any team this year,

which the selection committee takes into consideration

for seeding, though a dominant performance tonight

would certainly help his case.

Tonight, we're going against Hydra again.

So this time we actually have a weapon

to try to do some damage to him,

try to break his drive train or something like that.

As long as we stay away from that flipper,

you know, that's his only way

of doing any kind of damage to us.

We've got to try to get to the sides,

get to the back, possibly,

try to get under him, which will be tough.

But, you know, it's something we've got to give a shot.

Free Shipping and Gary Gin

are known for their ground game.

So it's gonna be a driving battle.

And his new little spinner underneath is small,

but it resembles Tantrum.

And Tantrum just got to my bottom side.

So we just have to win the ground war and then,

you know, just keep on pushing at them

and not letting them get at us.

I'm hoping to see him go up in the air and not win one

ground war engagement.

And I can just toss him where I want at will.

Robots activate.

[crowds cheering and applauding]

So the first time these two met,

Jake flipped Gary upside down for the knockout.

How can Free Shipping win the rematch?

Well, if Free Shipping can use its big front wedges

to get under Hydra, Gary's got a shot here.

But if Hydra gets around to those wide flanks

on Gary's bot, watch out.

Jake could have a field day.

All right, Kenny, I'm setting the over-under at 11.5 flips.

Which way are you going on this?

Coming off that loss to Tantrum, give me the over.

[crowd cheering and applauding]

Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!

Let the bot battle begin.

Instantaneous flip from Hydra.

Oh, boy. Gary Gin better get out of there.

That's two flips already.

We said the ground game

was the key for both of these teams.

So far, Hydra is the lower bot.

Oh!

It appears that way, Kenny Florian.

That's flip number three, four.

Hydra getting under Free Shipping with ease

and puts it on its head.

Oh, man.

How much can Gary Gin take is the question?

Oh, he's rocked.

We know it won't stop him

from driving like a mad man.

In fact, it may even make him crazier.

He's trying to ram into Hydra,

see if he can cause some damage that way.

Might not be a bad strategy

if he can attack from the side there.

Jake Ewert doing a nice job

of keeping that flipper pointed

directly at Free Shipping.

Hydra just so low to the ground, Chris.

And he's just kind of waiting for Free Shipping.

He's trying to use the aggressive

Gary Gin against him.

Ooh, that flip lands Free Shipping right side up.

All right.

There it is.

Big one.

I didn't think that Free Shipping

could get any flatter.

Wow!

Unreal.

Oh, onto the upper deck and off of the upper deck.

That is a massive shot.

How was Gary still able to drive that thing?

We've reached the halfway mark.

Free Shipping inverted,

missing one of its front wedges.

And we are sitting at nine flips for Hydra.

Kenny, if I remember correctly,

you took the over at 11.5.

Oh.

And I understand why.

Make that ten flips, Chris.

Add two more, you cover that

wager my man.

- Oh! - Oh, my God.

Approaching a minute remaining.

Kenny, talk to me.

What can Gary do at this point

to kind of switch up his strategy

and maybe even stop the bleeding here?

Oh!

This is gonna be tough, Chris,