Number 15 - Witch Doctor

Witch Doctor has been one of the most fearsome robots in each competition it's entered. It has good armor, fine speed, and a devastating weapon, but it has been plagued by reliability issues all the time. As long as Witch Doctor can make it through the entire three minute fight without any mechanical problems, it's almost surely winning. A fan favorite, it is also a Battlebots "pet", meaning that it gets all kinds of favors from the referees, judges, and selection committee. Witch Doctor has competed in all five modern seasons of Battlebots, starting with season 1 in 2015. That year it battled Bronco in the qualifying round and was knocked out in 27 seconds but, apparently, it impressed enough to earn a wildcard and the 9th seed in the round of 16. It next fought Overdrive, an opponent that it was able to knock out without much trouble. This win put Witch Doctor in the quarterfinals against the feared Tombstone. Most figured that Witch Doctor would be brutally shredded, but Witch Doctor battered Tombstone around for the entire match, even splitting its weapon bar in half, but in the end it lost, having been flipped over on the last impact. Witch Doctor participated in the traditional three team rumble before the championship and lost with fellow quarterfinalist Overhaul to a legend in Nightmare. In season 2, Witch Doctor upgraded its vertical spinner and used it to score the fastest knockout of the qualifying round over a tough opponent in Rotator. This performance earned it the third seed in the round of 32 (behind Tombstone and Bronco) and a matchup against 30th seed Red Devil. Witch Doctor played with their minibot, Shaman, a trade which cost them their front wedge. That choice allowed Red Devil to attack their batteries and earn a stunning upset. In the rumble, Witch Doctor lost again, this time with Wrecks to season 1 champion Bite Force. In season 3, Witch Doctor was first scheduled to fight returning semifinalist Yeti in a main event. Yeti won the fight by knockout, but Witch Doctor caused a lot of damage before getting counted out. After this, Witch Doctor won its next three fights in a row, but there is a lot of controversy surrounding its fight with Blacksmith. Witch Doctor was dominating the fight until the last 20 seconds, when Blacksmith shoved it onto the screw. Witch Doctor had no escape and was getting counted out when the screws "automatically" reversed for the first time, giving Witch Doctor second life and eventually the judges' decision. The screws have been reversing in similar situations ever since, and the incident is called screwgate. At any rate, at 3-1 Witch Doctor was selected to fight in the round of 16 as the 13th seed. Its opponent, fourth seed Minotaur, trashed Witch Doctor, eliminating it from the tournament. In season 4, Witch Doctor went 7-1, losing only in the championship against Bite Force. It took out such big names as Shatter!, Captain Shrederator, Whiplash, GIGABYTE, Blacksmith again, SawBlaze, and Death Roll. After the season, Witch Doctor entered a special event in Las Vegas, going 2-0 with its revenge over Tombstone and Bronco to win the giant bolt award. In season 5, Witch Doctor lost its first two fights by judges' decision to HYDRA (a bad decision to another Battlebots pet) and Kraken. At 0-2, Witch Doctor was given its last chance to make the round of 32 with a fight against SlamMow!, a 2-0 grappler that didn't impress that many persons in its victories. Witch Doctor promptly killed SlamMow! to earn the 23rd seed in the bracket and a fight with Skorpios. It beat Skorpios in a close judges' decision but lost to SawBlaze in the round of 16. Witch Doctor's record is 16-11 (.593) with eleven knockouts. For its statistics, finalist run, and victories over many of the best Battlebots of all time, Witch Doctor is number 15 among the top 50 Battlebots of all time.