BattleBots: Bounty Hunters (2020)

BattleBots: Champions is 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 are due to return in an attempt to defend their crowns in a similar knockout format to Bounty Hunters - Gigabyte, Lock-Jaw, ROTATOR, Skorpios and Witch Doctor. These make up five of the six confirmed episodes, dubbed Sin City Slugfest. In the final episode, the five winners of their respective qualifier episodes will be 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 is two hours in length and will air immediately on the main Discovery network as well as its streaming service, discovery+. Gigabyte's episode will kick off the summer series, which concludes 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, followed by Lock-Jaw's bracket on July 8. ROTATOR's bracket was unveiled to Supporters on July 15 and a week later, the bracket for Skorpios was shown. The final bracket was revealed on July 29, 2022, concerning Witch Doctor.
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The 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.
==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
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
Sin City Slugfest Final
TBA vs. TBA
Golden Bolt Qualifier
TBA vs. Skorpios
==Witch Doctor Bracket ==
====Episode #5: The Final Slugfest====
Sin City Slugfest Quarter-Finals
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
Sin City Slugfest Semi-Finals
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
Sin City Slugfest Final
TBA vs. TBA
Golden Bolt Qualifier
TBA vs. Witch Doctor
==Golden Bolt Tournament==
====Episode #6: The Golden Bolt ====
Tombstone, End Game, Tantrum, HyperShock, Ribbot and Glitch are confirmed to be competing in this episode, though it is unknown who they'll be fighting against in Round 1.
Golden Bolt Quarter-Finals
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
Golden Bolt Semi-Finals
TBA vs. TBA
TBA vs. TBA
Golden Bolt Final
TBA vs. TBA
==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!, 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. 
*Although the spin-off was aired as taking place after Discovery Season 6, it was actually filmed during the season.
*With four consecutive wins to its name, the first Sin City Slugfest bracket marked HyperShock's career best winning streak, dating all the way back to its 2015 debut.
**This winning run is able to be extended, pending HyperShock's success in Episode 6's Golden Bolt tournament.
*The spin-off is erroneously listed on discovery+ 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. 
==References==
Category:Competitions
Category:Reboot Era Competitions
Category:BattleBots Spinoff Series