August 4 Fights

Minotaur vs Warhead: I thought that both bots would be able to make it to judge’s decision but I should have known there was no way it wouldn’t end in a KO. There is just too much power in both bots. Warhead starts to go in while Minotaur stayed back but then Warhead turns around giving Minotaur enough time to speed up its drum. I’m not sure how long it takes for Warhead’s shield to go to full speed but Minotaur’s drum takes a few seconds so Warhead should have gone in if its shield is faster. The first hit sends both bots back. They charge at each other again and Minotaur then gets under Warhead. It goes around and under again and then knocks Warhead's shield off. It hits the screws and sent clear across the arena. Minotaur doesn’t give Warhead any time to react and just keeps attacking cutting off more pieces. Warhead breaks free and to its credit goes back into the fight, maybe they thought the flames could do something or maybe they just don’t give up. Minotaur gets under Warhead again and leads it to the hammer. Then strikes again and cuts off another piece from Warhead. The piece flies right to team Warhead, there is a great shot of their reaction to what is going on if you pause it. At this point Warhead is on its side and either unable to right itself with its arm or they decided they had enough. This was a great fight, I wonder if Minotaur gets the shield as a trophy.

Poison Arrow vs Hypershock: The rake is back. Hypershock adds a wedge to its front to defend against Poison Arrow’s drum. They also replace metal top cover with a plastic cover which I assume is to keep them from going over weight limit. The Poison Arrow team driver mentions that their bot is solid aluminum while Hypershock is carbon fiber making it brittle and weaker. I’m not a metallurgy expert so I’ll have to assume he’s correct and maybe this is why the wedge was added to Hypershock. Both bots start out very aggressive but Hypershock out maneuvers Poison Arrow and its extra weight lets it push Poison Arrow around. Hypershock pushes Poison Arrow into the wall and does some damage. But Hypershock’s drum has stopped spinning. At this point if it no longer has a working primary weapon it doesn’t matters how aggressive it is; it will lose if it goes to the judges. Hypershock continues to push Poison Arrow around. Poison Arrow team does a count to know when their drum gets to full speed but they continue to get out maneuvered and never get a shot at the sides or rear of Hypershock. As for the rake, Poison Arrow’s drone controller knows to avoid it and whenever it gets close the rake starts swinging and they back off. They’re scared of the rake. Hypershock starts to smoke and they mention it might be the drivetrain. I’m assuming that’s part of what makes it go because Hypershock stops moving. Poison Arrow hits Hypershock from the back and front but does little damage. Poison Arrow finally hits it on the side and knocks off one of their wheels in the middle of them being counted out. This was an upset for me, I wanted Hypershock to win and knock out another drone with the rake. I don’t know if Hypershock’s problems were from damage in the previous fight or from Poison Arrow’s drum, but really disappointed their weapon failed so early.

Red Devil vs Bombshell: Bombshell changes their weapon again and goes with a vertical disk and wedge, Red Devil keeps their claw and saw blade. Before the fight starts the crowd is doing “the roof is on fire” chant and Faruq has a big grin. Not sure what happened but it looked like everyone was having a good time and ready for a fight. Both bots start out trying to out maneuver each other but Bombshell get the first hit and flips Red Devil but it lands right side up. However, Bombshell’s disk stops spinning. There seems to be a jinx on bots that added wedges tonight. The bots dance around each other for a while and then Red Devil goes in but just can’t get its bottom claws under Bombshell to grab it and bring down the saw. Bombshell then manages to flip Red Devil over which has the ability to right itself but is really slow in doing it. Not sure if it is normally this slow to right itself or there is some damage to its motors but this puts it at a big disadvantage even against a bot with a broken weapon. Red Devil finally rights itself but Bombshell keeps pushing it around. Red Devil just can’t get its claws on Bombshell to use its weapon. Red Devil gets flipped again and is never able to right itself fast enough. Bombshell continues to push Red Devil around which finally gets two minor hits with the saw before the fight ends. It comes down to judge’s decision and it’s unanimous for Bombshell. Despite losing its primary weapon it controlled the fight and Red Devil never used its weapon. They made the right call.

Bronco vs Razorback: They decide to do the intro and go to commercial right before the fight starts, I hate when they do that. I didn’t realize this until Kenny Florian mentioned it but Bronco had to give up its wheel armor to get the rear wedge so if Razorback can out maneuver Bronco and get the wheels, it could win. Bronco goes in wedge forward and keeps Razorback from going around to the side. Razorback hits the wedge but does little damage and then goes over Bronco and cuts off a few pieces. Bronco then uses it flipper and despite it only making contact from the back still manages to throw Razorback off. Its flipper from the rear is still more powerful than those of other bots. Bronco has some minor damage but Razorback can never get a direct hit on anything but Bronco’s rear wedge. Bronco flips Razorback two more times and on the second one it lands just right (or wrong depending on who you’re cheering for) on its side and can’t move. Razorback is stuck and they ask Bronco to knock it over to keep the fight going but Bronco doesn’t do it and Razorback is counted out. In the past and even last year you would see bots knock other bots back into the fight to keep it going. I think some are in it to win this year and take no chances. I’ve seen it a few times with Tombstone.

Overall four great fights with some great driving (I think I used maneuver too many times) and I think one of the better episodes this season. Even if we didn’t get to see the rake knock down another drone.

Oh and a drivetrain is the system in a bot that connects the transmission to the drive axle. I still don’t know what it is.