Riptide (BattleBots)

For the middleweight which competed in Seasons 4.0 and 5.0 of Comedy Central BattleBots, see RipTide.
Riptide is a heavyweight robot from Team Break32, which competed in Discovery Season 6 of the BattleBots reboot and are set to compete in World Championship VII.
It was built predominantly by Ethan Kurtz with guidance from Greg Gibson of Yeti fame, though he was not officially part of the Riptide team for this season.Riptide's application video for BattleBots 2021 Riptide is black and blue in color, featuring the robot's name and wave decals on the sides of its 6061 aluminum chassis.https://www.xometry.com/resources/case-studies/case-study-riptide/ Riptide's weaponry comes in the form of a large 55lb eggbeater weapon at the front, which is made from 4130 steel and can reach speeds of up to 188mph. It also sported a pair of lifting forks to impale opponents and feed them into the primary weapon, which can be removed if deemed necessary. A pair of "ears" protrude from the top, which allows the robot to drive inverted and still run its weapon. For facing dangerous spinners, Riptide has a wide titanium wedge to act as a defensive configuration, which was seen in its debut against HUGE. The name stems from a sudden change in current, which can sometimes catch swimmers unaware and in rare instances, lead to drowning. Strangely, Riptide did not use its lifting arms throughout its entire debut season, a decision explained by Sid Prabhakaran in Riptide's Reddit AMA.https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/tvvnyo/comment/i3f18ls/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
According to team captain Ethan Kurtz, Riptide turned up to BattleBots in an unfinished state, with wiring and aesthetic work completed on set.https://www.instagram.com/p/CXUKNo8Dtfc/ However, Riptide was able to defeat fan-favorite HUGE in their opening fight. After going the distance with Jason Vazquez and Defender, Riptide lost their second Fight Night battle. Riptide ended the qualifying rounds with a 2-1 record after defeating another veteran DUCK!, forcing it into retirement. Riptide's momentum continued as it breezed past Shatter! and overwhelmed Uppercut to reach the Top 8. However, its run ended at the hands of Sawblaze in the quarter-finals, who beached Riptide on its side. The team would end up winning the Rookie of the Year award, alongside fellow rookies, Glitch. The award was made from the hammerhead of a retired pulverizer.
In the same AMA, Ethan Kurtz confirmed the team's intention to apply for future seasons of BattleBots.https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/tvvnyo/comment/i3g0ihe/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 The team's participation in World Championship VII was confirmed when an Instagram user asked them about the subject.https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/xws6y9/so_riptide_is_going_to_vegas/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 BattleBots themselves later confirmed their acceptance via Facebook and were later revealed as #13 in the Pre-Season Power Rankings.https://twitter.com/BattleBots/status/1579426705478778880 According to the team, the eggbeater spinner spins 25% faster is 6lbs heavier than in their debut season thanks to weight saved by removing the lifting arms which were not seen outside of hero shots during the 2021 season. Riptide now also sports vulcanized rubber wheels known as "Brazil wheels" to help protect against hits to its drive.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCrTfWl3BoM
==Robot History==
===Discovery Season 6===
Riptide vs. HUGERiptide's BattleBots debut came against the returning HUGE. For this battle, Riptide entered with reinforced top armor and a front wedge, anticipating that HUGE would spin downwards. As the fight commenced, Riptide charged at HUGE and went weapon-to-weapon, knocking HUGE backwards into its own square as they opted to spin upwards. The second shot launched HUGE backwards and trapped one of its UMHW wheels behind the screws, but also broke a bearing in Riptide's weapon. Despite its best efforts, HUGE appeared stuck even despite the screws attempting to spit Jonathan Schultz’s bot back out. Riptide received a warning from referee David Sanfilippo about corralling as a count began on HUGE. Riptide ultimately won by KO, upsetting the veteran team.
Though cut from the final broadcast, Riptide initially committed a false start, leaving its box to rush HUGE on the orange light and popping it several feet into the air. Both teams reset their positions and the fight commenced for a second time, though the HUGE team opted out of checking for any potential damage their bot.https://hugebattlebots.com/team-huge-battlebots-blog/huge-vs-riptide-2021-fight-1
Riptide vs. DefenderChasing their second win in as many fights, Riptide's second fight was Jason Vazquez and Defender. Both robots evaded one other to begin with, Riptide landed a shot on Defender's reinforced forks. This impact sent Riptide bouncing into the corner of the BattleBox as Defender was upended. Defender took a moment to right itself and as Riptide drove into the barrier in an attempt to do the same, found itself beached on its side. In a showing of good sportsmanship, Jason Vazquez righted Riptide to allow the fight to continue. It then backed Riptide further into the corner with its flamethrower active. Still upside down, Riptide threw itself into the side of the Upper Deck to try and right itself, and in doing so, launched itself several meters into the air and onto the Upper Deck itself. Keen to escape before a count started, Riptide drove off the opposite side but Defender was able to smother Riptide and prevent it from spinning back up. However, when given the time and space to do so, it became clear Riptide's weapon had been hurt in its attempts to self-right earlier in the fight. It had also lost a tire during the fight, as was noticeable when Defender pressed Riptide into the corner late on. Riptide was unable to escape the corner in the closing moments, and the fight went the distance. A unanimous decision was made in favor of Defender, pegging Riptide back to 1-1.
Riptide vs. DUCK!Riptide's third and final Fight Night opponent was Hal Rucker and DUCK!. From the off, Riptide charged at DUCK! who led with its plow for this fight, hoping to break the spinning weapon. However, Riptide's weapon tanked the first few hits and it sent DUCK! to the corner of the BattleBox. Riptide landed some uppercuts to DUCK! and shattered its beak, which proved to be brittle in its previous loss. In the time it took DUCK! to escape, Riptide's weapon got up to full speed and tore pieces away from Hal Rucker's bot. It then tore one of their front wheels away and took a bite out of the corner of DUCK!'s billet frame. Riptide continued to attack and threw DUCK! into the protection right in front of Team Black and Blue. Parts of DUCK! littered the arena floor as it struggled to escape the red square before driving under the pulverizer. Riptide landed yet another hit on the rear of DUCK!, sending it flying high into the air and landing beneath the pulverizer to take another hit from the hazard. DUCK! began smoking and as Riptide eventually showed mercy, a count began on Hal Rucker's bot. Although its weapon had gone down, Riptide took the win by knockout, advancing to 2-1 for the season.
Riptide vs. Shatter!Riptide progressed to the Round of 32 seeded No.21, and faced No.12 seed Shatter! in its first knockout battle, whose team fitted it with a new hammer specifically to nullify powerful spinning weapons. Riptide opted against the box rush this time as Shatter! strafed around it before taking a small hit from Riptide's eggbeater. This was enough to damage Shatter! however, as parts flew off the bot. Riptide coerced its opponent against the screws of the Upper Deck before throwing Shatter! on top of the BattleBox hazard. Adam Wrigley's bot was able to drive its way off, but was now deep in the short corner facing Riptide with its eggbeater back up to speed. Shatter! missed with their hammer shot and Riptide took advantage, punching Shatter! into the wall as it landed upside down. Shatter! was righted with help from its opponent, but Riptide backed up to deliver another hit which appeared to immobilize Shatter! completely. The hammer was able to land a blow on top of Riptide as the rookie team closed in again, but this caused them no issues as Shatter! was now smoking on the right side and unable to move. With less than a minute gone, Shatter! was counted out and Riptide progressed to the Top 16.
Riptide vs. UppercutAfter another statement win, Riptide matched Alex Hattori and the No.5 seed, Uppercut. Both bots charged to the center of the BattleBox, but it was Riptide who engaged first with its weapon, hitting the right side of Uppercut and throwing it around. Uppercut landed on its side against the wall and before it had a chance to recover, Riptide struck two more times and Uppercut bounced into the screws. Uppercut was stuck behind the screws for a moment before being spat out. Riptide sliced their foam-filled tire upon recovering, littering the BattleBox as Uppercut tried to escape. Alex Hattori's team attempted to use the gyroscopic forces from their weapon to maneuvre away, but lost a side pole in the process. Riptide continued to overwhelm its opponent and honed in on the exposed tires until Uppercut was no longer mobile. Uppercut was counted out and Riptide's impressive debut campaign continued.
Riptide vs. SawBlazeRiptide next faced the highest-seeded robot left in the field, Jamison Go and the No.4 seed SawBlaze. For this must-win fight, Riptide was again equipped with its hinged wedgelets and lacked its lifting forks. Both robots immediately drove at one another, causing Riptide to flip in the air and land inverted. SawBlaze then scooped it up and pinned Riptide against the wall, before shoving it towards the Upper Deck. Now upright but in the short corner, Riptide landed a weak hit to the front of SawBlaze before it found itself atop its opponent's forks again. SawBlaze positioned itself and landed its first serious shot of the match with the hammer saw weapon, but Riptide survived and escaped. The eggbeater weapon then collided with the front of SawBlaze, sending both robots flying backwards. Riptide was again popped up by the power of its own weapon before being pinned against the arena wall by Jamison Go's bot. Riptide was stuck on its side with no way of getting down and was counted out, ending a remarkable run for the rookie team.
To commemorate their success, the Riptide team were awarded a retired pulverizer to commemorate sharing the Rookie of the Year award for 2021 alongside Team CRB and Glitch.
Riptide vs. Bloodsport (Exhibition)
Following the conclusion of the 2021 season, Riptide competed in several exhibition matches, shown as part of Vengeance in Vegas. The first of these matches was against Bloodsport. Both bots spun up as Riptide dealt the first attack of the match - a glancing blow which saw Bloodsport deflect towards the wall. Bloodsport showed its back end to Riptide and reversed into it, but caused no noticeable damage. Bloodsport then reversed and allowed Riptide to drive into it, which threw Ethan Kurtz's bot over. Riptide lined up and drove at its opponent. Now inverted, Riptide was spinning downwards and the impact sent Riptide twisting into the Upper Deck and landing upside-down again. The rookie bot had lost one of its ears in this attack, and the eggbeater drum now made contact with the floor as it tried to escape to safety and eventually self-righted. Bloodsport spun up again, but slammed its blade into the arena paddle as it tried to deliver a shot, giving Riptide the time to spin its weapon back up to speed. Riptide escaped the short corner and dished out another glancing blow. The next attack flipped both robots over and sent them to opposite ends of the BattleBox. Although Riptide was able to right itself, it lost its other ear. But it was Bloodsport who came out of the exchange worse, as it was now upended and against the drivers' booths. Bloodsport did not have the torque in its weapon to right itself, so encouraged Riptide to attack. Team Break32 obliged, slamming its weapon into Bloodsport, but now neither robot appeared healthy as their weapons slowed to a halt. Both robots engaged in a pushing match in the short corner, which resulted in smoke coming from Bloodsport's motors. Its weapon sprung back to life momentarily, but Riptide smothered Bloodsport and pinned against the BattleBox before pushing it around at will. Bloodsport attempted to spin up again, but Riptide drove into its weapon, which cost Bloodsport one of their forks. Later in the fight, Riptide pinned Bloodsport again and a brief fire began inside Justin Marple's bot before smoke began to show again. Bloodsport got its weapon back up to speed in the final ten seconds of the fight, but both robots were mobile at the end. Riptide took the win by way of a split judges' decision.
Riptide vs. JackPot (Exhibition)
Riptide took part in a second exhibition fight, this time against JackPot, dubbed the Main Event for Vengeance in Vegas. Both robots collided in the middle of the BattleBox with Riptide spinning up immediately and JackPot taking a little longer to get its Die-mond discs up to speed. Riptide delivered the first hit of the fight, sending JackPot backwards and into the screws of the Upper Deck. The follow-up shot threw JackPot through the air, but it landed upright. However, it struggled to escape as Riptide dished out a third attack in quick succession, throwing Jeff Waters’ robot into the short corner and forcing it to land on its face. Riptide had also lost a weapon belt in these exchanges, but thanks to its redundancy, this did not affect the power of its eggbeater drum. As JackPot did not have the torque in its weapon to self-right, Riptide turned its attention to Ace before attempting to right JackPot in an act of sportsmanship. Although it was now out of the short corner, JackPot was upside-down and its self-righting arms were seemingly no longer working. Riptide delivered one final blow which sent JackPot flailing across the BattleBox. Two of its lithium polymer batteries came loose and lay next to the defeated bot as a count mercifully began on JackPot. Riptide took the win by knockout.
==Results==
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===Competitive Wins/Losses === 
*Wins: 5
*Losses: 2
===Exhibition Wins/Losses ===
*Wins: 2
*Losses: 0
===Total Wins/Losses===
*Wins: 7
*Losses: 2
Season 	Wins 	Losses
Discovery Season 6 	HUGE (Undercard Match)
DUCK! (Undercard Match)
Shatter!
Uppercut
Bloodsport (Exhibition Match)
JackPot (Exhibition Match, Main Event)	Defender (Undercard Match)
SawBlaze
World Championship VII	Claw Viper	TBA
==Honors==
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==Faruq Tauheed Introductions==
“From Tarzana, California, keep out! This water is not fine at all, it’s RIPTIDE!”
"When this Riptide takes over the BattleBox, no lifeguard can save you. Not even Hasselhoff. No Pam Anderson or Carmen Electra running in slow motion. Just you getting devoured by a murderous ocean. It's RIPTIDE!"
"From Tarzana, California, shore, he'll drag you to your doom, but there's no use fighting it so you might as well just go with the flow. It's RIPTIDE!"
"The water's not warm, the water's just scary. You don't need a plot when the ocean's your cemetery. Swimming parallel to the beach will still get you dead because if the water doesn't kill you, you'll get a hole in the head from RIPTIDE!" 
"Going up against this team, captained by Ethan Kurtz, chances are you're gonna scream "Ow, that freakin' hurts!". The fight will just be getting started and the next thing you know, he'll be standing over your bot's dead body screaming "LETS GOOO! LET'S GOOOO! AHHHHHH!!". Seriously, man, this dude is insane... anyway, give it up for RIPTIDE!" 
"From Tarzana, California, stay out of the water against RIPTIDE!" 
"From Tarzana, California, fork and shred water from the beach with RIPTIDE!"
==Trivia==
*As Riptide progressed through the competition, Team Break32 updated the left-side graphic which typically bore their own name. Break32 became Break16 ahead of their win over Uppercut and Break8 prior to fighting SawBlaze.
*Riptide was the only bot in the 2021 season's Top 8 to have both a rookie robot and team captain.
*Riptide's 2021 season Rookie of the Year win was the first time a best in show award had been shared among multiple teams.
==References==
Category:BattleBots Competitors
Category:Heavyweight Robots
Category:Robots from California
Category:Robots armed with Eggbeaters
Category:Reboot competitors
Category:Robots which debuted in Discovery Season 6
Category:Robots that fought on television