Discovery Season 3

Discovery Season 6 is the sixth season of BattleBots since its return to television in 2015, and the fourth season since the Discovery network picked the show up from ABC.
Like every other reboot era seasons, it exclusively featured heavyweight robots. The season was filmed at Caesar's Entertainment Studios in Las Vegas, Nevada across a two-week period spanning late August to early September 2021. To commemorate the new location, KONAMI developed a unique slot machine featuring a handful of iconic BattleBots competitors in their 2021 guise.https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210901005239/en/World%E2%80%99s-First-BattleBots-Slot-Machine-Lands-in-Las-Vegas-for-the-2021-World-Championship This slot machine was present during filming for the return of a live audience, as they were absent during the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Discovery Season 6 of BattleBots had 63 competing robots in total, with several established teams entering multiple robots, including but not limited to Seems Reasonable Robotics with Tantrum and Blip, and Team Fast Electronics with Whiplash and Defender.https://battlebots.com/2021-season-robots/ This season saw the return of former runners-up Team Riobotz and Minotaur, as well as fan favorites Icewave and Yeti returning to the main competition for the first time since Seasons 3 and 4 respectively.
The biggest change to the BattleBox ahead of the season concerns a brand new hazard at the top of the arena - a 16" x 8" raised platform with flat sides and a pair of screws protruding from the front unofficially called The Shelf, but later dubbed the Upper Deck. It sits a total of six inches above the BattleBox floor, with slightly taller walls surrounding some of the edges to make it harder for bots to escape from. Once a bot drives or is moved onto the Upper Deck, red lights will flash behind the wall to signal a 20 second count. If a robot is sat upon the hazard for more than 20 seconds, irrespective of its mobility, it loses the fight. Notable instances of the Upper Deck being used so far include SawBlaze carrying a burning Minotaur on top of it via the screws in Episode 1, and Whiplash managing to immobilize Bloodsport on top of the hazard in Episode 2's Main Event.
The out of the arena zones near the doors where robots enter and exit the BattleBox have also been removed, though Greg Munson states this was purely in the interest of safety to prevent these doors from being blocked by defeated bots. Notable competitors to have lost to these OOTA zones in previous seasons include Bombshell in Discovery Season 3 courtesy of Bronco and Bloodsport's freak exit from Discovery Season 4 during their play-in rumble with Railgun MAX and Uppercut. Surprisingly, Hydra was able to defeat Gruff by tossing it into the OOTA zone by the entrance to the BattleBox in Episode 5. 
Concerning the rulebook, the sole major change concerned corralling following a highly controversial encounter between Hydra and HUGE in the 2020 season. Hydra's "bike rack" attachment prevented HUGE's spinning bar from making contact with Jake Ewert's machine while simultaneously being able to keep HUGE in a corner for much of the fight. Though not previously forbidden, fans and builders alike voiced their opinions on the fight, and as such, similar instances of corralling are now punishable. The first instance of this ironically came in HUGE's first fight of the season, as newcomer Riptide was instructed to back away from Jonathan Schultz's bot during their fight in Episode 3.
The eleven-point judging system, which scored five points for damage and three points for both aggression and control, remained the same. The judges now uses a Matrix system to accurately determine the winners of fights that go the whole three minutes, in a more objective manner than before. Aggression and Control are now ranked "minimal", "moderate" or "significant" and in the case of Damage, "massive" is the uppermost category.https://www.facebook.com/battlebots/photos/a.10150179252701406/10158240389301406BattleBots Judging Guide for 2021
 	Damage 	Aggression	Control
Minimal 	"Doesn’t reduce the functionality or effectiveness of the Bot." 	"A Bot waits for its opponent to come to it, or else actively avoids contact with the
opponent (except when resetting or spinning up its active weapon)."	"Bot is rarely able (or unable) to initiate physical or weapon contact with, and also avoid
attacks from, its opponent. It also may inadvertently hit the guardrails or an Arena hazard."
Moderate 	"Reduces the effectiveness of the drive, defensibility, or weapon system of the Bot." 	"Bot occasionally demonstrates boldness and/or intent by utilizing its active weapon or
ramming to attack the opponent."	"Bot can occasionally use its weapon or armor to attack its opponent and sometimes
avoids opponent attacks. Generally avoids the Arena hazards."
Significant	"Eliminates the functionality of the drive, defensibility, or weapon system, or reduces the effectiveness of two or more systems of the Bot"	"Bot shows frequent demonstrations of boldness and/or intent by utilizing its active
weapon and/or ramming to attack its opponent."	"Bot moves decisively and effectively and is consistently able to attack its opponent and
avoid hits by the opponent’s weapon or armor."
Massive 	"Eliminates the functionality of at least two systems of the Bot." 	N/A 	N/A
 
As a result of the primary weapon usage controversy during the 2020 season, teams will now only get a maximum of two points in both the aggression and control categories if they don't use the bot's functional primary weapon and are just pushing their opponents around the BattleBox. Self-inflicted damage is now considered when the judges determine the winners. 
Chris Rose, Kenny Florian, Faruq Tauheed, Pete Abrahamson, judges Derek Young, Lisa Winter and Jason Bardis, as well as referees John Remar and David Sanfilippo all retained their respective roles from the previous season, though pit reporter Jenny Taft did not return due to conflicting sporting commitments.https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/oz90jl/jenny_taft_not_returning_for_the_2021_season/
The competition structure remained the same from last season, with each bot getting three Fight Card matches for a chance to earn a spot in the Top 32 Championship Tournament. Each week, the Main Event and Fight Card are revealed to Facebook Supporters at 6am CT/PT and 2pm CT/PT on Mondays respectively. The Fight Card is then publicly revealed on Wednesday mornings via the podcast show Behind the Bots, with clothing released to commemorate Main Events throughout the 2021 season.
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The season trailer was publicly released on December 2 2021, showcasing snippets from several fights across the competition. It largely focuses around Faruq Tauheed, while also teasing the Giant Nut and panned shots of several robots' weapons. The editing style, actions of Faruq and mood of the trailer pays homage to Styx and the music video for their lead single "Mr. Roboto", which plays throughout. 
In the week leading up to the season premiere, BattleBots announced via Facebook that Supporters would get a bonus battle each Thursday morning at 7am ET/PT, with the battle going public on YouTube each Sunday. The first of these saw home team JackPot fight the redesigned Deadlift in a rematch from the Tombstone Bounty Hunters bracket. Discovery Season 6 premiered on January 6 2022 at 8pm ET/PT on the Discovery Channel, with episodes airing each subsequent Thursday at 8pm ET/PT, or available to stream from 3am ET/PT that morning on Discovery+.
BattleBots: Bounty Hunters will return for a second season in parallel with Discovery Season 6. Nothing else, including who the Bounty Holders are, is currently known as of January 2022. However, one robot is known to be an exclusive competitor, which turned out to be Perfect Phoenix.
==Competitors==
Competitor 	Hometown 	Builder(s) 	Win-Loss Record
Big Dill 	Seattle, WA 	Emmanuel Carrillo 	TBA
Black Dragon 	Itajuba, Minas Gerais, Brazil	Gabriel Gomes 	1-0
Blacksmith 	Edison, NJ 	Al Kindle 	1-1
Blade 	Seoul, South Korea 	Cheog Gyu Hwang 	0-1
Blip 	Mountainview, CA 	Aren Hill 	1-0
Bloodsport 	Cambridge, MA 	Justin Marple 	0-1
Captain Shrederator	Ormond Beach, FL 	Brian Nave 	1-1
Claw Viper 	Seattle, WA 	Kevin Milczewski 	1-0 •
Cobalt 	Oceanside, CA 	John Mladenik 	0-1
Copperhead 	Erie, CO 	Robert & Kimberly Cowan 	1-0
Deadlift 	Indianapolis, IN 	Ryan Shulski 	0-1 •
Deep Six 	Norfolk, VA 	Dustin Esswein 	1-0
Defender 	Thousand Oaks, CA 	Jason Vasquez 	0-1
Double Jeopardy 	Irvine, CA 	Evan Woolley 	TBA
Dragon Slayer 	Denton, TX 	Jordan Neal 	1-0
DUCK! 	Palo Alto, CA 	Hal Rucker 	0-2
End Game 	Auckland, New Zealand 	Nick Mabey 	2-0
Free Shipping 	San Leandro, CA 	Gary Gin 	0-2
Fusion 	Dorchester, WI 	Reese Ewert 	1-0
Ghost Raptor 	San Jose, CA 	Chuck Pitzer 	0-1
Gigabyte 	Oceanside, CA 	John Mladenik 	1-1
Glitch 	Roseville, CA 	Kyle Miller 	1-0
Gruff 	Palm Harbor, FL 	Sam McAmis 	1-1
HiJinx 	Oakland, CA 	Jen Herchenroeder 	0-1
HUGE 	South Windsor, CT 	Jonathan Schultz 	0-1
Hydra 	Dorchester, WI 	Jake Ewert 	1-1
HyperShock 	Miami, FL 	Will Bales 	1-1
Icewave 	Burlingame, CA 	Marc DeVidts 	0-1
JackPot 	Las Vegas, NV 	Robert Stehn & Jeff Waters 	2-0 •
Jäger 	Gemunden, Germany 	Ralf Schneider 	0-1
Kraken 	Titusville, FL 	Matt Spurk 	0-1
Lock-Jaw 	San Diego, CA 	Donald Hutson 	0-1
Lucky 	Ottawa, Canada 	Mark Demers 	0-1
Mad Catter 	Pomona, CA 	Martin Mason 	1-1
Malice 	San Jose, CA 	Adrian "Bunny" Sauriol 	0-2
Mammoth 	Baltimore, MD 	Ricky Willems 	1-1
Minotaur 	Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil 	Marco Antonio Meggiolaro 	0-1
Overhaul 	Atlanta, GA 	Charles Guan 	0-1
P1 	Hudson, NH 	Brandon Zalinsky 	2-0
Pain Train 	Staten Island, NY 	Evan Arias 	0-1
Pardon My French 	Riviere-du-Loup, Canada 	Philippe Voyer 	0-1 •
Perfect Phoenix 	Herndon, VA 	Tyler Nguyen 	TBA
Rampage 	Port St Joe, FL 	Melaina & Daniel Knox 	0-1 •
Retrograde 	Venice, CA 	Aaron Lucas 	1-0 •
Ribbot 	Worcester, MA 	David Jin 	2-0
Riptide 	Tarzana, CA 	Ethan Kurtz 	1-0
Rotator 	Miami, FL 	Victor Soto 	1-0
Rusty 	Antioch, IL 	David Eaton 	1-1
SawBlaze 	Cambridge, MA 	Jamison Go 	2-0
Shatter! 	Brooklyn, NY 	Adam Wrigley 	2-0 •
Skorpios 	Moraga, CA 	Zachary Lytle 	1-0
Slammo! 	Raleigh, NC 	Craig Danby 	0-1
SMEEEEEEEEEEEEE 	New York City, NY 	Joe Fabiani 	TBA
SubZero 	Dallas, TX 	Logan Davis 	0-1 •
Switchback 	Dallas, TX 	Greg Needel 	0-1
Tantrum 	San Diego, CA & Cambridge, MA	Alex Grant & Ginger Schmidt 	2-0
Tombstone 	Placerville, CA 	Ray Billings 	1-1
Triple Crown 	Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 	Todd Mendenhall 	0-1 •
Uppercut 	Cambridge, MA 	Alex Hattori 	2-0
Valkyrie 	Somerville, MA 	Leanne Cushing 	1-1 •
Whiplash 	Thousand Oaks, CA 	Matthew Vasquez 	1-0
Witch Doctor 	Miami, FL 	Andrea Gellatly 	1-1
Yeti 	San Luis Obispo, CA 	Greg Gibson & Christian Carlberg	0-1
• = This robot fought in an untelevised undercard fight.
==BattleBots: Fight Night==
Robots confirmed to fight in a specific episode may well be fighting one other if not specified otherwise, though this is not assumed for the purpose of this page.
===Episode 1: Slash and Burn===
SawBlaze vs. Minotaur
Uppercut vs. Gigabyte
Switchback vs. Gruff
Captain Shrederator vs. Tombstone
Free Shipping vs. Blacksmith
Pain Train vs. Deep Six
Hydra vs. End Game
YouTube Bonus Battle
Deadlift vs. JackPot
===Episode 2: I Like Big Bots (That Will Not Die)===
Yeti vs. Mad Catter
Defender vs. Ribbot
HiJinx vs. Mammoth
Kraken vs. Rotator
Rusty vs. Blip
Tantrum vs. Malice
Bloodsport vs. Whiplash
YouTube Bonus Battle
SubZero vs. Shatter!
===Episode 3: Ducks, Dragons, Killer Snakes - What a Zoo!===
HyperShock vs. Slammo!
Valkyrie vs. P1
HUGE vs. Riptide
Cobalt vs. Fusion
Black Dragon vs. Icewave
Witch Doctor vs. DUCK!
Copperhead vs. Lock-Jaw
YouTube Bonus Battle
Claw Viper vs. Pardon My French
===Episode 4: Out With the Old ===
Malice vs. JackPot
Ribbot vs. Overhaul
Blade vs. Skorpios
Tombstone vs. Mammoth
Lucky vs. Tantrum
Ghost Raptor vs. Glitch
SawBlaze vs. Mad Catter
YouTube Bonus Battle
Retrograde vs. Rampage
===Episode 5: Let's Uppercut to the Chase!===
Free Shipping vs. Uppercut
Blacksmith vs. Shatter!
Jäger vs. P1
Hydra vs. Gruff
Gigabyte vs. Captain Shrederator
Dragon Slayer vs. DUCK!
End Game vs. Witch Doctor
YouTube Bonus Battle
Valkyrie vs. Triple Crown
===Episode 6: Bigger Than Bots===
Minotaur vs. Dragon Slayer
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
HyperShock vs. Lock-Jaw
YouTube Bonus Battle
TBA vs. TBA
===Episode 7: Edges, Wedges and Wheels===
Overhaul vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
Main Event TBA
YouTube Bonus Battle
TBA vs. TBA
===Episode 8: Flip the Script===
Malice vs. Blacksmith
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
Main Event TBA
YouTube Bonus Battle
TBA vs. TBA
===Episode 9: Put Up or Shut Up===
SubZero vs. HiJinx
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
Yeti vs. Skorpios
YouTube Bonus Battle
TBA vs. TBA
===Episode 10: To The Victor, Go the Spoils===
Rusty vs. Hypershock
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
Main Event TBA
YouTube Bonus Battle
TBA vs. TBA
== Trivia ==
*Discovery Season 6 marks the reboot era of BattleBots being officially longer than its classic era on Comedy Central.
**With a seventh reboot season already announced, Discovery is also set to match Comedy Central for the network with the longest run of consecutive seasons of BattleBots.
*The entire first episode's fight card was revealed to Supporters on Facebook in October 2021, a whole three months before the episode would air on Discovery.
*This season marked the first since the expiry of Robot Wars contracts for a handful of European teams, hence why robots such as Sabretooth were allowed to apply under the same name.
==References==
Category:Competitions
Category:Reboot Era Competitions