BattleBots: Bounty Hunters

BattleBots: Champions was the name given to the sequel spin-off series to BattleBots: Bounty Hunters. It premiered on August 4, 2022 at 8pm ET on Discovery and discovery+.
The five Bounty winners from 2020 returned in an attempt to defend their crowns in a similar knockout format to Bounty Hunters - Gigabyte, Lock-Jaw, ROTATOR, Skorpios and Witch Doctor. These made up five of the six confirmed episodes, dubbed Sin City Slugfest. In the final episode, the five winners of their respective qualifier episodes were joined by former Giant Nut winners Tantrum, End Game and Tombstone to form an eight robot tournament, with the overall winner taking home the Golden Bolt trophy.https://battlebots.com/event/battlebots-champions-episode-06-discovery/
In January 2022, the Perfect Phoenix team stated they would be exclusively competing in the spin-off competition due to conflicting schedule with team captain and driver Tyler Nguyen's school.https://www.facebook.com/TylerNguyen09/photos/a.1918548935112385/2774776459489624/ Notably, Big Dill and Double Jeopardy also returned for the spin-off, having been absent from the main season.In June 2022, BattleBots confirmed on social media that Sin City Slugfest episodes would begin airing in August that year.https://twitter.com/BattleBots/status/1541540919312121856 Each episode was two hours in length and will air immediately on the main Discovery network as well as its streaming service, discovery+. Gigabyte's episode kicked off the summer series, which concluded with the hunt for the Golden Bolt on September 8, 2022.https://battlebots.com/event/battlebots-champions-episode-01-discovery/ Its bracket was revealed to Facebook Supporters on June 28, and each subsequent bracket was revealed to Supporters each week.thumb|right|300 px|link=Special:FilePath/BBChampsTrailer.mp4The official 30 second trailer for BattleBots: Champions was revealed on July 20, 2022. It did not reveal any Sin City Slugfest fights, but showed past trophies preceding the Golden Bolt, with narration from Faruq Tauheed. This was followed by hits from various 2021 season battles and the BattleBots: Champions premiere date before the most recent Giant Nut winner Tantrum was shown with an animated face to end the trailer.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhIa7F4Ng1U
Unlike in BattleBots: Bounty Hunters, the following week's bracket was publicly revealed in the closing minutes of each episode. The final Golden Bolt tournament bracket was the only exception, which was instead revealed via social media soon after the episode had aired.https://twitter.com/BattleBots/status/1565519968925392896/photo/1
The Golden Bolt Tournament was ultimately won by OYES Robotics and End Game, who entered the final episode as a former Giant Nut winner from the 2020 season. Knocking out the second bracket winner Ribbot in Round 1, End Game handed a first loss to Tantrum since its 2021 season title win before getting the better of Witch Doctor in the final.
BattleBots: Champions also saw the best in show awards being handed out to teams from the 2021 season. Rookie of the Year was split between Riptide and Glitch, both of which had stellar debut seasons and took home retired pulverizer hammers as trophies. The Most Destructive Robot Award was given to HyperShock after its destructive campaign, which continued into its Sin City Slugfest episode win. The Founder's Award went to Jamison Go and SawBlaze, and the Grant Imahara Award for Best Design was won by Aren Hill's flywheel flipper Blip.
==Gigabyte Bracket==
====Episode #1: Let the Slugfest Begin!====
Sin City Slugfest Quarter-Finals
Triple Crown vs. MadCatter *
Claw Viper vs. Defender
DUCK! vs. HyperShock
SMEEEEEEEEEEEEE vs. Valkyrie
Sin City Slugfest Semi-Finals
HyperShock vs. Valkyrie
Claw Viper vs. MadCatter
Sin City Slugfest Final
HyperShock vs. MadCatter
Golden Bolt Qualifier
HyperShock vs. Gigabyte
* This fight was highlighted in the aired episode and revealed exclusively to Supporters on August 4, 2022. It was uploaded in full to YouTube on August 7, 2022.
==Lock-Jaw Bracket==
====Episode #2: The Slugfest Continues====
Sin City Slugfest Quarter-Finals
Double Jeopardy vs. Ribbot
Slammo! vs. Malice
Pain Train vs. Shatter!
Deep Six vs. HUGE
Sin City Slugfest Semi-Finals
Malice vs. Ribbot
Deep Six vs. Shatter!
Sin City Slugfest Final
Deep Six vs. Ribbot
Golden Bolt Qualifier
Ribbot vs. Lock-Jaw
==ROTATOR Bracket==
====Episode #3: The Slugfest Part 3====
Sin City Slugfest Quarter-Finals
Dragon Slayer vs. Uppercut
Icewave vs. Free Shipping
Gruff vs. Glitch
Retrograde vs. Mammoth *
Sin City Slugfest Semi-Finals
Free Shipping vs. Uppercut
Retrograde vs. Glitch
Sin City Slugfest Final
Glitch vs. Uppercut
Golden Bolt Qualifier
Glitch vs. ROTATOR
* This fight was highlighted in the aired episode and revealed exclusively to Supporters on August 18, 2022. It was uploaded in full to YouTube on August 21, 2022.
==Skorpios Bracket==
====Episode #4: The Slugfest Part 4====
Sin City Slugfest Quarter-Finals
Big Dill vs. Bloodsport
Blade vs. Kraken
Deadlift vs. Blacksmith
Switchback vs. Lucky
Sin City Slugfest Semi-Finals
Blade vs. Bloodsport
Switchback vs. Blacksmith
Sin City Slugfest Final
Blacksmith vs. Bloodsport
Golden Bolt Qualifier
Bloodsport vs. Skorpios
==Witch Doctor Bracket==
====Episode #5: The Final Slugfest====
Sin City Slugfest Quarter-Finals
Overhaul vs. Black Dragon
Perfect Phoenix vs. SubZero
Ghost Raptor vs. Captain Shrederator
HiJinx vs. Whiplash
Sin City Slugfest Semi-Finals
Perfect Phoenix vs. Black Dragon
Ghost Raptor vs. Whiplash
Sin City Slugfest Final
Whiplash vs. Black Dragon
Golden Bolt Qualifier
Whiplash vs. Witch Doctor
==Golden Bolt Tournament==
====Episode #6: The Golden Bolt====
Golden Bolt Quarter-Finals
Tombstone vs. Tantrum
Ribbot vs. End Game
Witch Doctor vs. Glitch
Skorpios vs. HyperShock
Golden Bolt Semi-Finals
Witch Doctor vs. HyperShock
Tantrum vs. End Game
Golden Bolt Final
HyperShock vs. End Game
==Trivia==
*Due to its status as a Giant Nut winner, Tombstone is the only Bounty Hunters winner who did not need to defend its title in a Sin City Slugfest episode, instead qualifying automatically for the Golden Bolt tournament.
*The spin-off marked the final appearances of Deep Six, DUCK!, Ghost Raptor, Pain Train, SMEEEEEEEEEEEEE and Triple Crown, who were confirmed by their respective builders to be retiring from competing in BattleBots following the conclusion of the 2021 season.
**Team Shreddit have, however, applied for the 2022 season with their new entry Shreddit Bro.
**BattleBots: Champions also marked the final appearance of Kraken in its current design, as the team confirmed their intention to redesign it for future competitions.https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0233pYaUGNeM6qgrHXUpwYeF2o3AJGhCdATWtcyYQvXCyEkPkCLdb24KcpEv45YUmdl&id=100063488592790
*Although the spin-off was aired as taking place after Discovery Season 6, it was actually filmed during the season.
*With five consecutive wins to its name, BattleBots: Champions marked HyperShock's career-best winning streak, dating all the way back to its 2015 debut.
*The spin-off is erroneously listed on discovery+, as well as other streaming services, as Season 7 of the BattleBots reboot.
*In winning its Sin City Slugfest episode, Glitch's unbeaten 7-0 record spanning the 2021 season and BattleBots: Champions matched the record for the longest unbeaten run of a debuting robot in the reboot era.
**This record is shared by Bite Force, who won seven consecutive battles across 2015 and 2016 before its Round of 16 loss to Chomp.
*Rusty, Fusion and Jäger all put their names down on the whiteboard for BattleBots: Champions consideration, but neither were selected.https://www.instagram.com/p/Ch56CiqPNS6/?hl=en-gb
**Rusty was originally set to compete in the ROTATOR Sin City Slugfest episode and fight Mammoth in Round 1. However, due to electronics and weight issues, Rusty had to withdraw on the day of filming. As such, Retrograde, who originally put their name down but were not initially chosen, was subbed in as a last minute replacement.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxdK4mBY4fc
**A five-way rumble between Overhaul, Claw Viper, Slammo!, Big Dill and Deadlift was also proposed, where each robot would be holding a steel chair in its grappling mechanism, but this was reduced to a 1v1 exhibition between Big Dill and Overhaul instead.
*America's Got Talent finalist Piff the Magic Dragon was present at filming of BattleBots: Champions, seen in costume in several audience shots.
**He was later referenced in one of Faruq Tauheed's introductions for Black Dragon, ahead of its fight against Whiplash.
==References==
Category:Competitions
Category:Reboot Era Competitions
Category:BattleBots Spinoff Series