Battlebots Season 7

    Due to recent controversies about the selection committee's part in rigging some of the matches (and abusing their scheduling powers), Battlebots has announced each robot's schedule before the competition began: 

https://battlebots.com/match-schedule/

Surprisingly, Tombstone is not competing this season. I guess the frustration built up in the last couple years convinced Ray Billings to take a season off (or maybe retire). It is kind of sad that old legends such as Bite Force, Bronco, Icewave, and now Tombstone have disappeared from the big leagues. 

I've Gone About This All Wrong

   All this time I've looked at the 50 greatest Battlebots relative to their perspective leagues and eras. I tended to choose the robots with the most successful track records. This method works well in the context of other sports, such as baseball. Coverage of the Baseball Hall of Fame is my main project, and there's no conclusive evidence as to whether Major League Baseball was of higher caliber 100 years ago than it is today or vice versa. On the contrary, most robots competing on Battlebots today would annihilate the champions of the 1990's and 2000's. As technology grows stronger, so do combat robots. As recently as three years ago, Tombstone (number 2 on this list) was considered the deadliest combat robot on Earth. Now, it's just middle of the pack. That's all I'm trying to say - win-loss records mean less when the competition is inferior, and more when the competition is superior. You need to put everything in perspective, and I now realize that I've gone about this all wrong. 

Battlebots Season 6 Summary

    The season six finale of Battlebots aired on Thursday. This year, we saw many surprises, upsets, newcomers, and disappointments. Let us now see some season highlights. 

-Aaron Hill, who piloted Tantrum to a semifinal run in season five, passed the reigns to new captains, while he debuted rookie flipper Blip. Blip did pretty well for itself, making it all the way to the quarterfinals, while Tantrum won the Giant Nut. 

-Zack Goff took a season off and gave Copperhead's controls to new captains, who went out in the round of 16. 

-DUCK!, Minotaur, and Yeti made returns after a season off. DUCK! went winless, Yeti lost out in the round of 32, but Minotaur made it to the quarterfinals and took out defending champion End Game. 

-Dave Moulds, owner of Cobalt (and legendary British robot Carbide) had a child in the offseason and decided to sell Cobalt to a group that included Matt Maxham (former captain of Stinger). Cobalt made it to the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion Tantrum. 

-9th tournament seed Glitch was forced to forfeit in the round of 32 since it couldn't get its weapon working in time, so the selection committee chose Mammoth to fight the 24th seed, Witch Doctor. It lost. 

-Tournament favorites Tombstone and Lock Jaw had disappointing seasons. Lock Jaw went 0-3 and missed the tournament, while Tombstone lost to JackPot in the round of 32 (although a case can be made that JackPot should have been counted out instead). 

-A very exciting rookie, Riptide, sported an egg beater drum spinner, using it to go all the way to the quarterfinals and take out the vaunted Uppercut in the round of 16. 

-HYDRA went 1-2 in the regular season, but got a freebie into the tournament as the 31st seed. It made it all the way to the final four, but only because the referee decided to count out Ribbot while it was still fully mobile in the round of 32. 

-Minotaur was eliminated from the tournament by Witch Doctor in the quarterfinals on one of the worst judges' decisions in history. Similarly, HyperShock went 2-0 in the regular season (certain impressive robots made it in after two fights), but fell to P1 in the round of 32 on another terrible judges' decision.  

That about does it. I might consider finishing the blog with this post, as I can't stand to watch Battlebots anymore (or, frankly, any other robot fighting competition). As for my top 50, Blip and Riptide would make it in if I were to redo it, and Tantrum would be featured much higher on the list. 

Number 1 - Bite Force

Bite Force is the dominant competitive fighting robot of all time. Its lifetime record of 26-1 (.963) in Battlebots, and its many top 50 victims (including Tombstone twice) are a testament to its dominance. In season 1, Bite Force sported clamping jaws, and it used them to go 5-0 and win the Giant Nut. It debuted in the next season with a vertical spinner, but lost in the third round to an ax swinging robot called Chomp. It won the consolation rumble at the end of the tournament, however, and was a favorite coming into season 3, when it started a streak of 16 straight tournament wins, capturing two more Giant Nuts in the process. It also went 2-0 in an exhibition tournament in Las Vegas. To the surprise of many, Bite Force did not return to defend its title in season 5, and another vertical spinner, End Game (which Bite Force knocked out in season 3), took the crown. Bite Force hopes to return next season and defend its reputation as the greatest combat robot of all time. 

Number 2 - Tombstone

Tombstone is probably the most feared combat robot of all time. Its devastating horizontal spinner has slaughtered the greatest Battlebots in the world. Its lifetime record is 21-8 with 18 knockouts. Its victims include top 50 members Witch Doctor, Bronco, Brutus, Beta, Yeti, Bombshell, Minotaur, GIGABYTE, Whiplash (twice), DUCK!, Tantrum, Lock Jaw, SawBlaze, Gruff, Quantum, Slap Box, and Mad Catter. It was the runner up in season 1 and the champion in season 2 (the above fight is the title match from that season, believe it or not). In season 3, it went 4-0 in contesting matches but lost a close one to Bombshell in the tournament. It went on in season 4 to make the quarterfinals, the Battlebot that took it out in season 1. In season 5, however, Tombstone went 1-2 in contesting matches, the result of the worst luck and seemingly simple mechanical problems. It made quick work of Mad Catter in the tournament but lost a judges' decision to Black Dragon in the next round. Because its design is so simple, and because more modern Battlebots are becoming more advanced (not to mention the fact that most everybody designs his robot specifically to contrast Tombstone's big spinning blade), the "undisputed master of disaster" has fallen out of fashion with a big number of fans. When it returns in season 6, I expect it to be one of the favorites to win the whole thing. It has proven itself capable many times in seasons past. 

Number 3 - End Game

End Game has been around since season 3 with many ups and downs, but it reached the top of the Battlebots world in 2020 when it won the Giant Nut, the trophy awarded to the Battlebots champion each season. End Game may be a questionable number three pick, but the point of entering each season is to win the Giant Nut. If you do, mission accomplished; if you don't, you have failed to reach your goal. So End Game is number three. End Game's powerful vertical spinner may be the most potent weapon of all time, and it has laid waste to even the best Battlebots, such as Tombstone (seen above). End Game debuted in season 3 with two straight knockouts, including one over Lock Jaw (Number 10 on this list). After a dominant victory over a legendary robot, End Game's team said that they were ready to take on defending champion Tombstone. Instead, End Game faced Bite Force in its third fight, which was featured as the main event. End Game started out well and looked like it was going to knock Bite Force out, but Bite Force ended up on top. End Game then faced Son of Whyachi (13) and was robbed. The fight consisted of one gigantic hit in which End Game sent Son of Whyachi flying into the arena wall and incapacitating both robots. In the case of a double knockout, the fight would have gone to the judges, who almost certainly would have awarded End Game the victory. Instead, the referee decided to count End Game out, giving Son of Whyachi the luckiest win of its long career. Afer this, End Game fought SawBlaze (9) in a special exhibition fight. The battle went the distance, and the judges awarded SawBlaze one one of the worst decisions ever. With a tournament record of 2-2, End Game was bordering on the final 16 tournament, and it needed to win a play in fight to secure its spot in the bracket. It faced off against Brutus (36) and WAR Hawk (50) and started off by tearing Brutus's wedge. Unfortunately, WAR Hawk flipped End Game upside down, and with no way to right itself, End Game was finished. In season 4, End Game experienced many reliability issues. For example, its first two fights were against DeathRoll (6) and Ribbot (32), an in each battle, End Game started out with plenty of big hits before it conked out. At 0-2, End Game opted to enter a special Desperado Tournament to try and get into the top 16. End Game won its first fight of the event over Gruff (48), but fell to Minotaur (4) in its second. End Game then fought a 2-1 Cobalt (34) and knocked it out. Still, at 2-3, End Game did not perform well enough for the top 16. After the tournament, End Game fought an exhibition match against DUCK! (30), which it won in dominant fashion. In season 5, End Game finally fought against Tombstone in the season's first main event. End Game pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Battlebots history and took out the most feared robot on the planet in around 30 seconds. End Game did fall to Bloodsport (19) in its second fight (another fight lost due to durability), but won its next six fights in a row, five of them against established stars in HyperShock (33), Rotator (22), Shatter! (44), Tantrum (25), and Whiplash (5), while hardly breaking a sweat. Its fight with Whiplash was the championship match, and after a very lopsided and destructive fight, End Game claimed its reward. End Game's record is 12-8 (.600) with 11 knockouts. For a Giant Nut, a win over Tombstone, and a knockout in more than half of its fights, End Game is number 3 among the 50 greatest Battlebots of all time. 

Number 4 - Minotaur

Minotaur has been around since 2006, winning over 50 foreign championships. It has competed in three Battlebots tournaments so far - seasons 2, 3, and 4. During that time, it has established itself as one of the best in the sport, with a devastating weapon and almost impenetrable armor. In season 2, it debuted with four straight knockouts, taking down crusher Photon Storm, flaming hammer Blacksmith (number 45 on this list), horizontal spinner Warhead (31), and pneumatic flipper Bronco (8). These four victories put Minotaur in the semifinals, where it was finally beaten by Bombshell. Minotaur didn't go down without a fight, however, as it tore up Bombshell's side armor. In season 3, Minotaur's first opponent was reigning champion Tombstone in the main event. The two giants fought one of the greatest fights in history, but eventually Tombstone was too much for even Minotaur. Minotaur did win its next three fights, earning it the fourth seed in the top 16. Minotaur knocked out Witch Doctor (15), Monsoon (40), and Lock Jaw (10) in order for the chance to fight Bite Force in the championship. For a while it looked like Minotaur would come out on top, but its drum spinner malfunctioned and it took some nasty shots from Bite Force's spinner, ending its season. In season 4, Minotaur came in one of the favorites to win it all, but it lost its first two fights to Whiplash (5) and GIGABYTE (35) in close fashion, putting its back against the wall. However, team RioBotz was able to fix their robot's weapon problems, which helped them to win four of their next five regular season fights for the 13th seed in the tournament. Minotaur took out some ferocious robots during that time, such as End Game (3), Shatter! (44), and Cobalt (34). Its only loss was to fellow Brazilian drum spinner Black Dragon (7), which ended in a close (and in my opinion, incorrect) judges' decision. At any rate, Minotaur was back in the bracket, and it took out HYDRA (14) in the round of 16 in dominant fashion, as seen above. In the quarterfinals, Minotaur met its match against Death Roll, which ended its tournament run. Minotaur sat out for season 5. To this day, Minotaur remains unbeaten against any Battlebot that did not sport a spinning weapon. Minotaur is one of the greatest Battlebots of all time. Its record stands at 15-7 (.681) with 12 knockouts. For its amazing weapon, tough armor, and long list of superstars that it has taken out, Minotaur easily makes my list of the top 50 Battlebots of all time.