World Championship VII

World Championship VII (also known as Discovery Season 7 and the 2022 season) was the seventh season of BattleBots since its return to television in 2015, and the fifth season since the Discovery network picked the show up from ABC.
In August 2021, The Hollywood Reporter announced that BattleBots would remain on Discovery for at least another two seasons, following the success of Discovery Season 5.https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/battlebots-gets-two-season-pickup-at-discovery-channel-exclusive-1234992572/ Several teams who opted out of applying for, could not attend or were not selected for the 2021 season of the show expressed their desire to enter the seventh season, notably international teams who were largely absent from the previous two seasons as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Arguably the biggest of these is the 2019 season semi-finalist DeathRoll, who BattleBots co-founder Greg Munson confirmed to be accepted in September 2022.https://behindthebots.podbean.com/e/battlebots-season-7-reveal-with-battlebots-cofounder-greg-munson/ The competition was again filmed at Caesars Entertainment Studios in Las Vegas, Nevada, which became the new and permanent venue for BattleBots in 2021.
On August 26, 2022, the BattleBots Twitter account inferred "mid-October" as a filming date for BattleBots World Championship VII, responding to a tweet from a fan. This was later confirmed on the BattleBots website, specifically stating filming sessions running from October 18 until October 30.https://battlebots.com/tickets/ A trailer was also uploaded to their YouTube channel to promote ticket sales.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79pjdbswd9I Tickets were made available to Facebook Supporters on September 9, 2022 before being released to the general public on September 12, 2022 at 10am PT.BattleBots World Championship VII saw a total of 50 competing robots,https://youtu.be/aCrTfWl3BoM?t=375 including teams from the UK, Canada, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand and The Netherlands. Relaxation to international travel restrictions meant teams from those countries could make the journey without travel bans or NIE Visa restrictions which plagued teams in the last two seasons. The season once again featured several established BattleBots teams entering multiple bots, such as Bots FC with Emulsifier and Shatter!, Robotic Death Company with Cobalt and Gigabyte, Seems Reasonable Robotics with Tantrum and Blip, Team Whyachi with Hydra and Fusion, and the newly formed Omega Team with Starchild and RIPperoni. There were also notable absences from World Championship VII, however, including former Giant Nut winner Tombstone, veterans Icewave, Blacksmith, SubZero, Ghost Raptor, Yeti, DUCK! and fan favorite Deep Six.
The seventh season saw an increase from 40 to 54 total hours ordered by Discovery, which paved the way for BattleBots to be able to provide a builder stipend - a monetary amount set aside to financially support teams for their investment each season. This amount included space for several special episodes which aired alongside the main competition, two of which are due to air on January 5 and January 23. 
* BattleBots: Nastiest Knockouts
* BattleBots: Most Outrageous Moments
The Fight Night format returned to four fights per robot for the first time since the 2019 season, as confirmed by Greg Munson. Teams which are able to fulfill their four Fight Night battles are rewarded the full builder stipend, and were made aware of all four opponents in their schedule ahead of their opening battle. In spite of the change in the Fight Night format, the Top 32 single elimination Championship bracket remained.
While Chris Rose, Kenny Florian, Faruq Tauheed, Pete Abrahamson, judges Derek Young and Lisa Winter and referees John Remar and David Sanfilippo all returned to their respective roles, pit reporter Jenny Taft was again absent following the birth of her daughter in March 2022. Judge Jason Bardis, who had been present since the judging panel was made permanent in 2019, was also no longer present.Correspondence between Falco276 and Jason Bardis in September 2022. His replacement was later discovered to be former guest judge and Mouser Mecha-Catbot builder Fon Davis, who returned to the panel for the first time since the 2016 season. 
This season also saw the introduction of an official Match Steward, as confirmed in the 2022 season Tournament Rules, acting as a middleman between the judges and competing teams. The Match Steward was later revealed to be former Bombshell captain Mike Jeffries. In addition to this, a new female referee, Katheryn Godfrey, joined the team to further assist with the enforcement of rules before, during and after fights.Public message from Match Steward Mike Jeffries in the Out of the Arena Discord server. Additionally, former DUCK! captain Hal Rucker was hired by BattleBots for a secret project ahead of the season, the details of which have not yet been publicly confirmed. 
==Pre-Season Power Rankings ==
In the build-up to World Championship VII filming, BattleBots began their Pre-Season Power Rankings, counting their top robots to look out for during the season. With four robots revealed each day from October 6 until October 13, 2022, this also served to confirm returning robots such as Quantum, Monsoon, DeathRoll and Beta directly from the show's social media accounts.https://twitter.com/BattleBots/status/1577976983136395268 It also marked the official confirmation of Team Whyachi and Hydra, who had notably not even been unveiled to Facebook Supporters during the 2022 roster reveal.
Pre-Season Power Rankings	Pre-Season Power Rankings	Pre-Season Power Rankings 	Pre-Season Power Rankings
#1 	End Game 	Team End Game 	
#2 	Tantrum 	Seems Reasonable Robotics 	
#3 	Witch Doctor 	Team Witch Doctor 	
#4 	SawBlaze 	Team SawBlaze 	
#5 	Hydra 	Team Whyachi 	
#6 	Minotaur 	Team RioBotz 	
#7 	Whiplash 	Team Fast Electric Robots 	
#8 	HyperShock 	Team HyperShock 	
#9 	Glitch 	Combat Robotics at Berkeley	
#10 	Blip 	Seems Reasonable Robotics 	
#11 	Ribbot 	Team Ribbot 	
#12 	Cobalt 	Robotic Death Company 	
#13 	Riptide 	Team Break32 	
#14 	ROTATOR 	Team Revolution 	
#15 	Skorpios 	Bot Bash Party Crew 	
#16 	Black Dragon 	Team Uai!rrior 	
#17 	Bloodsport 	Bots 'n' Stuff Robotics 	
#18 	Copperhead 	Caustic Creations 	
#19 	Shatter! 	Bots FC 	
#20 	MadCatter 	Team Bad Kitty 	
#21 	JackPot 	Vegas Combat Robotics 	
#22 	DeathRoll 	Team DeathRoll 	
#23 	Valkyrie 	Team VALKYRIE 	
#24 	Gigabyte 	Robotic Death Company 	
#25 	Lock-Jaw 	Mutant Robots 	
#26 	Monsoon 	Team Monsoon 	
#27 	HUGE 	Team HUGE 	
#28 	Malice 	Team Malice 	
#29 	Beta 	Team Hurtz 	
#30 	Quantum 	Team Robo Challenge 	
#31 	HiJinx 	Offbeat Robotics 	
#32 	Mammoth 	Team Mammoth 	
== Reveals and Trailers ==
thumb|left|300 px|link=Special:FilePath/S7_trailer_30s.mp4In anticipation of the new season, several key producers of BattleBots, namely Pete Abrahamson, Greg Munson, Chris Cowan and Aaron Catling, attended the LA Comic Con event on December 2, 2022 at 7pm to answer fan questions as well as provide a sneak peek for a few episodes of the upcoming season. In addition, Martin Mason and Matt Vasquez showcased their respective bots at the event.https://www.instagram.com/p/CljJc9arxGk/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=< Several robots had their full Fight Night schedule revealed with a view for every robot's schedule to be made public at a later date. The entire first episode's fight card was shown too, although this information is not yet public.thumb|right|300 px|link=Special:FilePath/S7_Trailer_2.mp4On December 15, 2022, three weeks before the season premiere, BattleBots released a thirty-second official trailer for the upcoming season on their Facebook account. https://fb.watch/hr3mqGUs5I/ The trailer featured shots of Las Vegas, followed by brief clips exclusively from 2021 season battles, all of which were narrated by Faruq. The trailer closed with Faruq saying his catchphrase "It's robot fighting time!" as the January premiere date was confirmed, with the same black and gold color scheme seen in the trailer for BattleBots: Champions.
Facebook Supporters then received another trailer on December 22, 2022 showcasing clips from World Championship VII, and every robot's Fight Night schedule was also shown to the Supporters on Christmas Day. The second trailer was released publicly on Christmas Day. Every robot's full Fight Night schedule will be publicly revealed on January 5, 2023 just hours the season premiere. https://www.facebook.com/100063488592790/posts/pfbid02bDkbYch6oEY7oFm2M3hjD1K9tpM1x9zDPMyxkwbaDUpLAjsZH53nxpkS4Ry7hCaml/?mibextid=Nif5oz
==Broadcasts==
The season was confirmed to be premiering in January 2023 by judge Lisa Winter on Instagram, as was estimated by Greg Munson in a Behind the Bots podcast previously.https://behindthebots.podbean.com/e/battlebots-season-7-reveal-with-battlebots-cofounder-greg-munson/ The premiere date was later confirmed to be 8pm EST on January 5, 2023 by Discovery on social media. For the first time also, episodes premiered simultaneously in the United States and Canada.
Facebook Supporters were also granted a sneak peak to BattleBots: Nastiest Knockouts on December 28, 2022, and it premiered on Discovery immediately following Episode 1 of World Championship VII. A second special episode titled BattleBots: Most Outrageous Moments is scheduled to air following the fourth episode of the main season.
==Rule Changes==
In response to several fights that were won under highly controversial circumstances during the 2021 season, BattleBots stated their intention to revise the rules regarding controlled movement as well as unsticks and avoidance of engagement for future seasons.https://twitter.com/BattleBots/status/1512234962228899840?t=et6lTnWmDSX4V5uzhaZmQA&s=19 This was confirmed by Greg Munson, who stated that "controlled movement" as a concept would no longer be enforced, and a count-out would only occur if a robot was totally immobile. This rule was first trialed at the 2022 re:MARS all:STARS event.
In addition to this, post-match functionality checks were now an option for teams who wished to prove to the judges that they could still function as intended ahead of a judges' decision. These were only done if deemed safe, and demonstrations were to last no more than ten seconds before the robots were removed from the BattleBox. This addition to the rules was added to clear up ambiguity over whether a primary weapon had been disabled during the course of the fight, or simply powered down to preserve it or for any other tactical reason. Similarly, big hits late in a fight could sometimes make it unclear how damaged the recipient's drive was in the closing seconds, so the post-match functionality option allows teams to prove or debunk this ahead of a decision.
Referees now also hold the right to warn teams who refuse to engage during battles with the possibility of fights being called and ending as a double knockout, instead going to the judges. Unsticks are only to occur if two or more robots are stuck to each other, as opposed to any part of the BattleBox.
The 11-point judging system (5 points for Damage, 3 points for Aggression and 3 points for Control) as well as the Matrix system introduced in Discovery Season 6 remained. In response to controversial fights such as the Season 6 semi-final match between Hydra and Tantrum, clarification was provided to ensure less ambiguity over what constituted a showing of aggression. The 2022 season Judges Guide states "actively moving around searching for an attack angle is considered more aggressive" than remaining largely stationary while keeping your weapon pointed towards the opponent.
As of this competition, teams now hold the right to dispute a judges' decision if they feel they have been wronged, as per the BattleBots judging criteria. It is the duty of the Match Steward to liaise with the teams, and then to present the dispute to the judges, who have the right to accept or deny the appeal. If a team loses their appeal, they cannot issue another appeal for the remainder of the tournament.
One notable rule change concerning robot design saw minibots weighing up to 20lbs no longer being allowed to use lithium polymer batteries, largely due to the tendency for LiPo fires when minibots had been hit by the primary weapon of its considerably larger opponent.
==Changes to the BattleBox==
The BattleBox itself remained largely the same as in 2021, with the Upper Deck returning for its second season, albeit with minor aesthetic changes.
As seen in panned shots of the BattleBox, the exit areas on either side leading into the short corners have now been painted red and blue. The out of the arena zones by the BattleBox doors are now guarded by Lexan doors, making OOTAs still possible but now a little harder to achieve.https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/y9s13m/from_daniel_freitas_instagram_looks_like_ootas/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
==BattleBots: Champions II==
Greg Munson also confirmed BattleBots: Champions would return for a second season, titled BattleBots: Champions II in keeping with the show's new nomenclature. As was the case in 2021, BattleBots: Champions II will span 12 hours in total, and 6 episodes which includes the Golden Bolt tournament. According to Munson, the sole change to the summer series from its inaugural season concerned the absence of gatekeeper rounds. Whether Sin City Slugfest winners from 2021 such as HyperShock, Ribbot and Glitch will simply be seeded higher in their respective episodes for BattleBots: Champions II remains unconfirmed.
As before, Giant Bolt awards for the Best Design and Most Destructive Robot will be presented, as well as the 2022 Founder's Award winner.
==World Championship VII Competitors==
Robot 	Robot	Fight Night Record	Fight Night Opponents	Fight Night Opponents	Fight Night Opponents	Fight Night Opponents
Banshee 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Beta 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Big Dill ** 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Black Dragon 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Blip 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Bloodsport 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Captain Shrederator	 	0-1 	 	 	 	
Claw Viper 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Cobalt 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Copperhead 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
DeathRoll 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
DOOM ** 	 	0-0 	TBA 	TBA 	TBA 	TBA
Doomba * 	 	0-0 	TBA 	TBA 	TBA 	TBA
Double Tap * 	 	0-0 	TBA 	TBA 	TBA 	TBA
Emulsifier 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
End Game 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Free Shipping 	 	1-0 	 	 	 	
Fusion 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Gigabyte 	 	0-1 	 	 	 	
Glitch 	 	0-1 	 	 	 	
Gruff 	 	1-0 	 	 	 	
HiJinx 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Horizon 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
HUGE 	 	1-0 	 	 	 	
Hydra 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
HyperShock 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
JackPot 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Kraken 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Lock-Jaw 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Lucky 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
MadCatter 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Malice 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Mammoth 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Minotaur 	 	1-0 	 	 	 	
Monsoon 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Ominous 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Overhaul 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Quantum 	 	1-0 	 	 	 	
Ribbot 	 	0-1 	 	 	 	
RIPperoni 	 	0-1 	 	 	 	
Riptide 	 	1-0 	 	 	 	
ROTATOR 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Rusty * 	 	0-0 	TBA 	TBA 	TBA 	TBA
SawBlaze 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Shatter! 	 	0-1 	 	 	 	
SHREDDIT BRO! 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Skorpios 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Slammo! * 	 	0-0 	TBA 	TBA 	TBA 	TBA
Starchild 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Switchback 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Tantrum 	 	0-1 	 	 	 	
Terrortops * 	 	0-0 	TBA 	TBA 	TBA 	TBA
Triton 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Valkyrie 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Whiplash 	 	0-0 	 	 	 	
Witch Doctor 	 	1-0 	 	 	 	
* These robots were alternates for the competition, and as such, did not receive the full four Fight Night battles.
** DOOM was forced to withdraw from the main season. It was replaced by Big Dill and adopted its Fight Night schedule.
==BattleBots: Fight Night==
===Episode 1: ROBOTS, READY!!!===
Ribbot vs. Witch Doctor
Quantum vs. Captain Shrederator
RIPperoni vs. Gruff
HUGE vs. Shatter!
Riptide vs. Glitch
Free Shipping vs. Gigabyte
Tantrum vs. Minotaur
===Episode 2: WHAT THE FLIP?!===
Emulsifier vs. Fusion
HyperShock vs. SawBlaze
Valkyrie vs. Mammoth
MadCatter vs. Whiplash
Banshee vs. Switchback
Big Dill vs. HiJinx
End Game vs. Blip
===Episode 3: Strike While the Bot's Hot===
JackPot vs. Skorpios
DeathRoll vs. Cobalt
Triton vs. Lucky
Lock-Jaw vs. Malice
Claw Viper vs. Ominous
Copperhead vs. Bloodsport
Hydra vs. ROTATOR
=== Episode 4: 0-2. Am I Through? ===
Overhaul vs. Starchild
Kraken vs. Beta
Malice vs. Emulsifier
Gruff vs. Quantum
HyperShock vs. Whiplash
Black Dragon vs. Monsoon
SHREDDIT BRO! vs. Horizon
===Episode 5: Bad Blood Boiling?===
Fusion vs. Witch Doctor
Minotaur vs. Free Shipping
TBC vs. TBC
TBC vs. TBC
TBC vs. TBC
TBC vs. TBC
TBC vs. TBC
===Episode 6: TBC===
=== Episode 7: TBC ===
===Episode 8: TBC===
===Episode 9: TBC===
===Episode 10: TBC===
===Episode 11: TBC===
===Episode 12: TBC===
===Episode 13: TBC===
===Episode 14: TBC===
===Episode 15: TBC ===
===Episode 16: TBC===
=== Episode 17: TBC===
===Episode 18: TBC===
=== Episode 19: TBC===
==See Also==
*https://battlebots.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/BattleBots-Design-Rules.2022.0.pdf
*https://battlebots.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/BattleBots-Tournament-Rules.2022.1.pdf
*https://battlebots.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Judges-Guide.2022.0.pdf
*https://behindthebots.podbean.com/e/battlebots-season-7-reveal-with-battlebots-cofounder-greg-munson/
==Trivia==
*World Championship VII was the first competition to have been announced more than a season in advance, as it was confirmed alongside Discovery Season 6.
*BattleBots: Champions was erroneously referred to as "Season 7" on multiple platforms, including YouTube and Amazon.
*World Championship VII marks the first BattleBots competition Tombstone would not participate in since the show's revival in 2015.
*World Championship VII is the first BattleBots competition since the 2015 season to not feature multibot competitors.
*Gruff vs. RIPperoni was teased on December 26, 2022, making it the first publicly-confirmed fight of the season.https://www.instagram.com/reel/CmoneJQPuy0/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D
**This was followed by snippets of Gigabyte vs. Free Shipping and Shatter! vs. HUGE ahead of the first episode's premiere.https://www.instagram.com/p/CmtflBmBVZT/https://www.instagram.com/p/CmypKgVpZgT/
*World Championship VII is the first season since the introduction of the Fight Night format in 2018 where every robot's full Fight Night schedule is revealed ahead of the airing of a BattleBots season.
==References==
Category:Competitions
Category:Reboot Era Competitions