Copperhead

* World Championship VII
* Discovery Season 6
* Discovery Season 5
* Discovery Season 4

## Overview

**Copperhead** is a heavyweight robot built by **Caustic Creations**, which has competed in every season of the *BattleBots* reboot since Discovery Season 4.

It is a two-wheel drive invertible robot armed with a single-toothed spinning drum made from S7 tool steel. The drum could reach speeds between 160-180mph, according to the team. The bot's chunky wheels are custom-molded from 5" thick rubber, providing solid grip and durability. With the majority of the team being from Texas, its name is based on a copperhead snake, as well as the copper coloring of the drum, leading to the scale-like paintwork. What makes it unique for testing is a special button on the back, which is "the pre-charge circuit," which charges the capacitors inside of Copperhead and prevents arcing when the team turn the drive and weapon switches on before a match. Copperhead struggled to live to up the hype in its debut year until it was too late, and ultimately failed to make the Top 16.

For Discovery Season 5, a lot of upgrades went into Copperhead. The pulleys inside the bot now allowed for the weapon to spin up considerably quicker, and a belt guard was added to protect the weapon belt. The weapon was now black in color too. Structurally, the top plate was now made from AR500 steel, and the pre-charge circuit now automatically turned on when the hex-key is put in. Copperhead now had space and weight for alternative options depending on their opponent. This included, but was not limited to: magnets for more downforce, an additional top section for hammers, and additions for horizontal spinners. Copperhead was also accompanied by two minibots, each with four wheels, rectangular orange bodies, and snake head and tail decorations. Copperhead's look was also different for this, having a controlled rust coat, described as "post-apocalyptic" to correspond with the 2020 pandemic alongside minor touchups with the usual orange and black paint and the snake head used on the teams shirts in one of the hexagons on the top plate. Copperhead performed considerably better in Discovery Season 5, being one of the few bots to finish the Fight Night rounds with a 3-0 record and qualified for the Championship Tournament as a result. However, it lost a controversial split judges' decision to Mammoth in the Round of 32, cutting its run for the Giant Nut early.

The team previously competed in the second season of the *BattleBots* reboot with Poison Arrow, which performed well as it reached the quarter-finals before losing to the eventual runner-up Bombshell.

The team also picked up Robert Cowan, responsible for creating the dangerous featherweight, **Crippling Depression** and the 12-wheel drive 3lb bot **Low Low Man**, which is just 20mm in height. On his YouTube channel, he went into depth on Copperhead's details and the fight recaps that followed each fight.

## Robot History

### BattleBots World Championship IV

Up first for Copperhead was a match against Skorpios. When the match began, Copperhead was having trouble getting their weapon up to top speed, which left them vulnerable. However, they quickly resolved the issue and started to attack Skorpios, sending them flying repeatedly and damaging their front forks. As the match continued, Copperhead was still in control until they started to have drive issues, after not noticing their sprocket on their left side, which came loose after slamming into the screws and left dishing out the big hit that flipped Skorpios over. With the team only being able to gyro around, this left them vulnerable to Skorpios, who got a lucky shot on their only working drive. The weapon disc was bigger than the gap, but it managed to snap the chain, disabling what was left of Copperhead's drive. Skorpios delivered a blow that dented their top plate quite a bit and flipped them over. With no drive left, Copperhead was counted out, kicking off a rough start to the season.

Copperhead next found itself up against newcomer Gruff, which had previously been fighting at RoboGames in previous years. Copperhead began the match by attacking Gruff's lifter, causing minor damage. Copperhead continued to attack and eventually its drum reached top speed. Copperhead was then shoved into the arena barrier by Gruff before causing more damage to Gruff's lifter in return. Copperhead then began to have drive issues due to the gyroscopic forces of its drum and one of its motors cutting out at times due to a faulty temperature sensor but was able to fight on, eventually getting nearly upended against the arena barrier but was able to escape. Both robots survived the battle to a judges decision but Copperhead was awarded a 2-1 split decision.

Copperhead next fought newcomer Chronos. Copperhead started off the match by chasing after the minibot, letting its drum get up to speed. Once it reached full speed, it darted over to Chronos, who was also up to full speed. When the two spinners came together, the first hit forced Copperhead to do a wheelie. The second hit proved to be a lethal one as it threw both robots backwards in opposite directions. Unfortunately for Copperhead, it had lost drive on one side and its drum had become dislodged, which were both tied to one of its side wedgelets being bent into the wheel and causing one bolt to come off. This impact had also disabled Chronos' spinning ring, but since Copperhead was unable to move well enough, it was counted out, giving Chronos the win by KO.

Copperhead was then given a fight with Rob Farrow and WAR Hawk. As the match got underway, Copperhead threw War Hawk into the air. After a second impact, Copperhead bent up one of WAR Hawk's front wedgelets. Copperhead continued to attack, eventually tearing off one of WAR Hawk's front wedgelets. Copperhead then threw WAR Hawk onto the screws but the screws were unable to get WAR Hawk off before it could be counted out, then Copperhead hits WAR Stop before the count out was finished, giving Copperhead the win by KO.

Copperhead was initially done with the season, but was given one more chance after Gigabyte had to drop out of its play-in match. In order to make the Top 16, Copperhead had to face off against Son of Whyachi, a rematch from 2016. Things didn't start off well for Copperhead as they weren't moving right at the start, but managed to get going and took a hit from Son of Whyachi, sending both robots into opposite corners of the arena. However, Copperhead began to have drive issues due to a big hit knocking some small bits off a speed control, but with its weapon still working, it forged on anyway. Luckily, Son of Whyachi held back a bit, but this didn't favor Copperhead at all as they eventually took more damage before being thrown out of the arena on impact. With no way out, Copperhead was counted out, giving Son of Whyachi the win by KO and a place in the Top 16.

### BattleBots World Championship V

    Copperhead's first match of 2020 was against Gigabyte, the robot Copperhead was called in to substitute for the play-off with SOW. Before the match, Copperhead decided to weld in its AR500 bar on, making this version the bot for the horizontal spinners in the tournament. The fight started very well for Copperhead as the first hit was able to get rid of the self-righting stick on Gigabyte and keep the shell spinner in the corner. However, both Copperhead and Gigabyte had traction problems from the impact as both bots meet at the corner. After a few seconds of quiet driving, Copperhead landed a massive hit that resulted in Gigabyte's shell flying off while the main bot was flipped upside down. The shell flew to the very top of the BattleBox where it ended up breaking one of the lights. Needless to say, Gigabyte was counted out giving Copperhead the win by a horrific KO.

Copperhead's next match was against P1. This was over quickly as Copperhead's first hit kicked P1 into the air and left P1 temporarily immobile. However, P1 started moving again, so Copperhead went in and attacked, forcing P1 to do a full backflip in the air as a result. P1 was no longer moving and was counted out, meaning Copperhead won the match by KO in just two hits.

Copperhead was now 2-0 and faced 2019 Desperado Tournament winner Black Dragon. Copperhead opted to stay relatively still as they were hoping to bait their opponent in some form. It didn't pay off however as Copperhead was quickly taken advantage of but managed to recover and dish out two big hits, the latter flipping Black Dragon over. This exchange also favored Copperhead as Black Dragon's weapon belt snapped, forcing Black Dragon's weapon to spin down. Copperhead stayed on the attack, tossing Black Dragon around and delivering them hard into the screws. Black Dragon continued to work and eventually Copperhead began to slow down. With seconds left in the fight, both robots were now weaponless and not as quick as they were at the start but the judges ruled unanimously for Copperhead.

In the Top 32 as the No.3 seed, Zach Goff and his team met Mammoth, and painted their drum with a mammoth design on the tips. Copperhead started off well, taking pieces away from Mammoth, but quickly lost the use of their weapon and were then at the mercy of their opponent. Copperhead was flipped repeatedly by Mammoth's rotating arm, and the fight quickly turned. Copperhead was able to get its weapon going again with around 30 seconds left and raced to deliver as many shots as possible before time ran out. The judges gave Mammoth a 2-1 split decision victory and spot in the Top 16, eliminating Copperhead from the tournament.

### BattleBots: Bounty Hunters

In addition to the main competition, Copperhead competed in the Son of Whyachi Bounty Hunters bracket, which began with a rematch against Chronos. Copperhead began the fight by hunting Chronos down and landing a glancing hit to slow the ring spinner. Chronos then tried to escape, but Copperhead's next attack send its opponent flying across the length of the box, immobilizing it in the process. Chronos was counted out, and Copperhead advanced in the bracket.

Next up for Copperhead was fan favorite Rusty, who was still showing visible damage from previous fights. Copperhead attempted to attack head on in the opening moments, but Rusty fired its weapon, locking Copperhead's spinner in the process. Now free, Copperhead returned to the center of the box to spin up and attack Rusty's side, causing damage to its track protection. Rusty was now struggling to drive and Copperhead capitalized, landing a hit which overturned Rusty and sent it sliding towards the corner of the box. Copperhead backed off in anticipation of its opponent being counted out, but Rusty eventually managed to right itself, much to the delight of Chris and Kenny, as well as Pete Abrahamson. Despite this feat, Rusty was no longer able to drive and was deemed immobile. Copperhead won by KO and advanced in the bracket.

All that stood between Copperhead and the rematch with SOW was a rematch with Gigabyte, who they had previously deshelled earlier in the main season. The fight started with Copperhead landing a hit on Gigabyte before it could spin up to full speed, sending it across the box and overturning it in the process. Gigabyte was able to use its self-righting pole to great effect, as Copperhead appeared to struggle driving with the weapon spun up. Both machines were up to speed and Copperhead gave a few tentative hits, before a large impact sent both robots flying to either side of the arena. Gigabyte ricocheted to the corner and spun back up, while Copperhead stumbled back towards the shell spinner. Another big impact from Copperhead saw Gigabyte deflect into the middle of the box, but Copperhead appeared to be struggling. Gigabyte evaded any further impacts and several glancing blows were enough to immobilize Copperhead, which was then counted out.

### BattleBots World Championship VI

Copperhead returned for the 2021 season, and its first fight was a Main Event against Lock-Jaw. As the battle commenced, Lock-Jaw led with its rear plow and approached Copperhead, who veered off to spin up. Lock-Jaw attempted to prevent this, but rode on top of its opponent and buckled one of its wheel hubs. In response, Donald Hutson opted to go weapon-to-weapon, which saw one of his own bot's front forks become bent inwards. Copperhead persisted and delivered small hits leading up a bigger impact which popped Lock-Jaw over. Lock-Jaw continued to tank the punishment, but forced Copperhead to flip over during these exchanges. Copperhead got underneath Lock-Jaw again and delivered a hit to its underside, though this caused it to pop into the air and land weapon-first on top of Copperhead and bounce right side up. This collision took out one of Copperhead's drive chains and a section of one tire. Both of Lock-Jaw's forks had become visibly damaged by this point, however, and its left-front tire was also threatening to come off. All of a sudden, a small fire erupted inside Lock-Jaw and soon after, it lost power to its primary weapon. Upside-down but still fighting on, Lock-Jaw was able to coerce its opponent into the screws with its superior drive power, though Copperhead continued to grind away with its drum. Lock-Jaw remained aggressive, pushing Copperhead into the corner, but only under the pulverizer controlled by the Cowans. With ten seconds to go, a final Copperhead attack saw Lock-Jaw beached on top of its opponent. The fight went the distance, and the judges deemed Copperhead the winner by a 2-1 split decision.

According to Luke Quintal, who drove Copperhead for this fight, they broke a drive chain thirty seconds into this fight, and suffered issues with their speed controllers throughout as well. This was also not initially intended to be a Main Event, but was promoted to one after filming. He also stated that Copperhead was suffering from issues concerning interference in this battle, as a result of sensor wires and power wires running parallel to each other.

Copperhead's second fight was against Fusion. This battle was postponed as Fusion's speed controllers caught fire in the starting square as the countdown began. However, it was eventually re-shot a day later. From the off, Copperhead box-rushed its opponent, who led with their drum spinner, landing several shots early on. Although Fusion's drum was not spinning, their horizontal spinner was. After losing wedgelets and finding the space to escape, Fusion turned to deliver a shot with its triangular disc. The two went weapon-to-weapon several more times before Fusion's horizontal weapon was no longer spinning either. Fusion eventually lost its mobility and was counted out, giving Copperhead the win by KO to go to 2-0.

Entering the Top 32 as the No.8 seed, Copperhead met surprise package Lucky in the first round of the bracket. Copperhead began by targeting the front of Lucky, popping it over but Lucky was able to self-right immediately. Lucky attempted to launch Copperhead, but missed its flip and handed Copperhead the opportunity to grind its drum against the front of the Canadian bot as it partially detached a side panel. Lucky was again flipped over, but righted itself and escaped the assault from its opponent. Copperhead continued to slam into the front of Lucky, but it showed no signs of dying as the fight progressed. With a minute to go, Lucky was flung into the air two more times, the latter leaving it upside-down. Lucky again recovered but lost a wheel as Copperhead honed in on its weakened side and remained aggressive as time ran out. Copperhead won by judges' decision and advanced in the bracket.

Now in the last sixteen, Copperhead met 2019 season runner-up Witch Doctor. Both robots veered to the sides of the BattleBox to spin up before turning to collide. Witch Doctor came out of this initial exchange worse as it was sent into a backflip by Copperhead's drum. As it stuck the landing, Witch Doctor landed on top of one of Copperhead's snake minibots, disabling it completely. Copperhead chased Witch Doctor around the arena as Mike Gellatly attempted to drive into space, but was knocked over by its opponent's weapon. Witch Doctor doubled down on this attack and threw Copperhead across the center of the BattleBox before dealing smaller hits near the blue square's screws. After one more hit to the rear, one of Witch Doctor's discs had chipped but Copperhead suddenly stopped moving. Though its drum continued to spin, Copperhead had lost drive and was counted out, eliminating it from the competition.

In the team's post-fight recap, Robert Cowan revealed that debris sticking itself to the magnets within the can of their motors caused its drive to seize up, and that there was no mechanical damage to Copperhead itself.

### BattleBots World Championship VII

Returning under the captaincy of Luke Quintal, Copperhead's first Fight Night opponent of World Championship VII was Justin Marple and a new-look Bloodsport.

In this fight, Copperhead quickly took care of Bloodsport, dealing one massive hit which did significant damage to their opponent.

This single impact caused Bloodsport's self-righting pole to detach from the robot and destroying the Nylon box containing the speed controllers for Bloodsport's weapon.

A fire began to erupt from within Bloodsport as it lay immobile and was counted out, sealing Copperhead's first win of the season.

Copperhead did not come out of this fight unscathed, however, as the entire frame rail on the right hand side had been warped out of shape and was rendered unusable for future fights.

Looking to go 2-0, Copperhead's second opponent was the new robot from Team Overboard, Triton. Luke Quintal's team welded Copperhead's front forks together to form a wedge-shaped plow underneath its primary weapon.

To start, Copperhead and Triton exchanged glancing blows with Copperhead delivering a hit to the right wheel. Triton then delivered a shot to Copperhead causing it to veer to the right. Copperhead recovered and delivered a strike to Triton which caused its internals to spill across the BattleBox floor.

In the chaos, however, Triton's bar managed to knock one of its own lithium polymer batteries underneath Copperhead, causing it to become high-centered and therefore also immobile.

This led to a count-out for both robots and a simultaneous knockout, meaning the fight went to the judges. They ruled unanimously in favor of Copperhead, moving them to 2-0.

Copperhead's penultimate Fight Night opponent was the totally redesigned Kraken. Pre-fight, Luke Quintal revealed his plan to spin the drum a little slower in order to retain more control of Copperhead's drive.

Immediately, both robots spun up and Kraken charged at Copperhead, with its arm lowered. However, it overshot its box-rush, allowing Copperhead to punt it against the screws. Copperhead then managed to get in underneath Kraken's front spikes and ram it against the rails, almost suffering a shot from the 100lb pulverizer. However, Luke Quintal's team accidentally hit their own robot and backed away.

Kraken escaped but unbalanced with its weapon spinning, lifting its front off the floor. Capitalizing on this mistake, Copperhead pushed its opponent across the length of the BattleBox before allowing it to slide into the screws. Though Kraken corrected itself, the 2-0 bot grazed its drum against the underside of Matt Spurk's bot.

"*Kraken's weapon is still active, Chris. But my goodness, Copperhead just has no fear. Luke Quintal in complete control.*"
— Kenny Florian as Copperhead continues its assault
Copperhead continued to attack, grinding the front and then the back panel of Kraken, pinning it against the housing of the screws. This attack appeared to knock Kraken out, as it lay dormant on the edge of the red starting square. Copperhead turned its attention to Wally, Kraken's minibot, before delivering a blow which overturned the main robot again. Kraken swung its arm in a desperate attempt to self-right. It finally did so, but was at the mercy of its opponent as Copperhead dealt a final shot to the head of Kraken.
Referee Kathryn Godfrey began a count and Copperhead took the win by knockout, continuing its unbeaten streak.

"*It has been all about power, precision and perfection from the little drum spinner here in World Championship VII.*"
— Chris Rose as Copperhead's 3-0 record is confirmed
Rounding out its Fight Night campaign, Copperhead faced Anna Zolnikov and RIPperoni in a Main Event, looking to finish with an elusive 4-0 record.

As Copperhead got its drum up to speed, it approached its opponent, who arced to the left to spin up its own weapon. This forced Copperhead to turn, but RIPperoni spun to cut off the angle, hunting the 3-0 robot down and ultimately forcing it into the rails.

In an impressive showing of control by Frederick Moore, RIPperoni slammed Copperhead into the wall, dislodging a drive chain in the process. Copperhead was now inverted but RIPperoni bounced disc-first into the BattleBox floor before landing back onto its wheels.

**Chris Rose**: "*RIPperoni sends Copperhead into the rails! Are you kidding me?!*"
**Kenny Florian**: "*Copperhead is inverted, and it's hurt, Chris!*"
— Chris and Kenny react to RIPperoni's early dominance
With its drive now compromised, Copperhead struggled to escape the corner. This offered RIPperoni the opportunity to continue attacking, and it capitalized, slamming its 68lb disc into the back of Luke Quintal's robot and punting it against the wall protection.

This attack righted Copperhead but appeared to have disabled its drive completely. Although its weapon was still functional, Copperhead could not move and referee John Remar counted it out, confirming a first Fight Night loss for Copperhead since its debut season. In spite of this, Team Caustic Creations rounded out their Fight Night with a 3-1 record.

In the Round of 32, Copperhead took the No.10 seed and met Victor Soto's No.23 seeded ROTATOR.

Leading with its forks, ROTATOR approached Copperhead as both robots got their high energy kinetic weapons up to speed immediately. However it was Copperhead who got the better of the early exchanges, sliding underneath Victor Soto's robot but balancing the weight of its opponent on its still drum. ROTATOR swung itself around to face its opponent before going weapon-to-weapon. This saw ROTATOR get popped into the air, but landing unharmed.

As Copperhead was slow to turn, ROTATOR slammed its horizontal spinner into its vulcanized rubber tire, tearing a small chunk away. This did not affect Copperhead's ability to drive, however, as it countered by striking ROTATOR's forks with its drum. ROTATOR attempted to swipe at Copperhead again, but the No.10 seed used the gyroscopic forces of its weapon to throw itself over and upright again, effectively evading ROTATOR's destructive spinner.

ROTATOR then drove at its opponent, but Copperhead turned before impact and forced another weapon-to-weapon collision. This again favored the vertically-spinning weapon as Victor Soto's robot was flung into the air - its wheelguard now partially detached. Copperhead honed in on this damaged side, peeling the armor away further as ROTATOR's left wheel was now exposed. As Copperhead drove up the forks of ROTATOR, the former Most Destructive Robot award winner struggled to capitalize as its drive and weapon both appeared sluggish.

Now at the halfway mark, Copperhead continued to bite at the forks of ROTATOR and even tore one off, but its right side of drive appeared to have seized up. Luke Quintal was forced to arc his way towards ROTATOR, showing damage but satisfying the new mobility rules for World Championship VII. ROTATOR itself was reduced to a pushbot with no signs of life in its horizontal spinner, but drove into the actively spinning drum of Copperhead and lost another of its forks.

As ROTATOR drove over the killsaws in the closing seconds, the fight went the distance. Copperhead took the win by a unanimous judges' decision to move into the Top 16.

In the Round of 16, Copperhead next fought the No.7 seed and reigning Golden Bolt champion End Game, who ended Tantrum's title defense in its last fight. Ahead of the fight, the Copperhead team made a tongue-in-cheek reference to End Game's ground game by equipping card forks to the outside of its frame.

As Copperhead drove straight at its opponent, End Game took a more tentative approach as it sought out which robot had the superior ground game. This was quickly answered as the disc of End Game kicked Copperhead upside-down. Now inverted, Copperhead faced the 2020 season champion again and drove up its wedges, sending itself twisting through the air but landing upright.

Undeterred by this, Copperhead again attacked the front of End Game, tearing away the front of its left-side fork but seeing itself punted again by the powerful vertical spinner as Luke Quintal's robot bounced across the BattleBox. It again landed upside-down, and End Game's disc made contact once again, throwing Copperhead near the entrance to the short corner.

**Chris Rose**: "*Copperhead starting to chip away at the front end of End Game, and Kenny, there's currently no life from End Game's weapon! The question - have they shut it down, or has Copperhead broken it?!*"
**Kenny Florian**: "*Hard to say, but it does not look good. You can see them trying to get it spun up... no luck. And here's Copperhead getting underneath End Game.*"
— Chris and Kenny react as the momentum shifts to Copperhead
This head-on impact appeared to seize the vertical spinner of End Game, whose entire front end was now vulnerable to attacks from Copperhead's own primary weapon. The No.10 seed took a noticeable chunk out of the narrower end of End Game's now-disabled asymmetrical disc before honing in on the wedgelets. As Copperhead continued to attack, more of End Game's wedgelets were torn from their mounts. Shortly after, the remaining fork on Jack Barker and Nick Mabey's robot was ripped away as damage began to mount up against the former Giant Nut winner. The entire row of wedgelets to the left of its primary weapon had gone, leaving a flat front.

Copperhead approached End Game again, getting underneath the side and spinning it around so it could get to its opponent's back before driving it into the rails. Although End Game was able to push back, proving its drive was still fully functional, the No.7 seed lost more of its front end as just three of its twelve wedgelets remained. Copperhead had managed to tear these off as well before long, before punting End Game into the shaft of the pulverizer and ripping one of the orange mounting plates from the front and exposing the robot's vulnerable billet frame.

End Game continued to face Copperhead and ram its front into its opponent, with the hope of breaking the weapon of Luke Quintal's machine and balancing the damage score with ninety seconds remaining. However, Copperhead was relentless with its attacks – its drum spinner showing no signs of slowing down. The drum caught End Game's front, tossing it over before Quintal drove the former champion back towards the Upper Deck.

With its disc out of commission, End Game was forced to use its self-righting mechanism for the very first time in order to remain in the fight. Though parts of End Game littered the BattleBox at this stage in the quarter-final match, it was still able to shove Copperhead back against the Upper Deck.

"*They just look like a rectangular box at this point. They started with [piano] keys; they started with forks; they started with an able weapon and they have none of that right now.*"
— Chris Rose as the fight enters its final minute
However, the snake-themed robot tore away the other mounting panel from End Game, stripping its front bare. This was followed up with an attack which spun End Game in the air horizontally, a move Copperhead's weapon operator Chad New cheered on in the final minute of the fight. As his bot's primary weapon continued to buffet End Game, the No.7 seed turned to escape but became caught on the floor and fell onto its face. End Game waved its fern-shaped self-righter in the closing seconds while Copperhead celebrated a likely victory.

The clock ticked down, however, denying Caustic Creations a win by knockout. In spite of this, Copperhead took the unanimous judges' decision and moved into Top 8.

Advancing to the quarter-finals for the first time in its career, Copperhead took on the No.2 seed Riptide, who had not yet been beaten this season. Ahead of this fight, it was revealed that Riptide captain and driver Ethan Kurtz had contracted COVID-19, and was forced to isolate at this late stage. Due to this, Copperhead's opponent was driven by 17-year-old Felix Jing.

"*Riptide has been so dominant. I mean, they fought a bunch of amazing robots and the fight was over in a matter of seconds. At the same time, no one they've fought so far is as durable as Copperhead. So the safest option for us is just to go weapon-to-weapon, and don’t let them hit our backside, and our wheels and our chains, because that's where Copperhead's vulnerable. We don't think they're gonna break our weapon. We think on a mega impact, we're more likely to break their weapon. I wish I could be in the stands to watch this, because this is gonna be a real slugfest... you know, it's not going three minutes. It's going to be spectacular. It's going to be the perfect match for the fans.*"
— Luke Quintal
Copperhead moved tentatively out of the red square, turning right as Riptide sped and clattered sideways into its spinner. Flicking Team Break32's machine upwards, it quickly engaged in a series of weapon-on-weapon blows between itself and Riptide. At first, Copperhead bore the brunt of Riptide's eggbeater, whose third strike tossed it onto the Upper Deck. Having landed upside-down, it drove off and tumbled down into the top-left pocket, landing upright. Seconds later, Riptide charged in, throwing Copperhead into the nearby bumper through hitting its front-right corner. Copperhead was again flipped over as a result, but had succeeded in ripping off its opponent's inner-front fork during this attack.
As Riptide's eggbeater began spinning up faster, Copperhead dodged and twice sniped its right-hand side. A further bump from Riptide re-righted Caustic Creations' machine, which took three more hits from the former's eggbeater.

**Kenny Florian**: "*What a start for Felix Jing! These are knockout shots, Chris!*"
**Chris Rose**: "*Unreal! You can just hear the energy coming off these machines!*"
— As Copperhead takes an early pounding from Riptide's eggbeater
The second and third blows threw Copperhead into the wall bumper and Lexan; sparks flew from beneath Riptide as it shuffled back and forth within the pocket. Another spinner-on-spinner collision followed, resulting in Copperhead being thrown at an even greater height against the Lexan. Though Copperhead landed upside-down with a thump, and initially struggled to self-right, the exchange alone was sufficient to instantly disable Riptide's eggbeater and split one end of it in half. Once re-righted, Copperhead rammed and repeatedly churned away at the front of Riptide, while the latter proceeded to pin it against the Upper Deck screw mount.

While being pushed along the inner perimeter, Copperhead broke free and bumped Riptide along towards the center. In the resulting head-to-head engagement, it proceeded to rip two more of Riptide's front forks off, while again grinding away at its eggbeater. By then, it was gradually pushed back over the bottom-left killsaw slots, then the control booth bumper. Sparks flew as Copperhead broke free from Riptide, only for the two robots to lock forks again near the center. Riptide shoved Copperhead back into the control booth bumper; Copperhead's eggbeater again made contact, flipping Riptide over almost instantaneously.

Though its opponent was still able to drive in the inverted position – steering to and from the bottom-right paddle - Copperhead capitalized by hitting its eggbeater a few more times. Both robots locked together again over the nearby killsaw slots, with one minute and 30 seconds remaining.

Copperhead reversed, taking a brief nudge from Riptide before luring it across the BattleBox perimeter. When the two competitors met each other in the center once more, Luke Quintal's machine flicked Riptide upwards, then proceeded to turn, churn and push it under the bottom-left pulverizer. Backing away into a gyro-dance, Copperhead landed more hits to Riptide's back panel and weapon bulkhead. By that point, the damage was extensive enough to leave Riptide dragging its eggbeater along as Copperhead pursued it towards the Upper Deck. Copperhead inflicted extra blows to its opponent's eggbeater, a large blue chunk of which was ripped off and left on the BattleBox floor.

"*Just a little over a minute to go and... Copperhead just all over Riptide. Riptide... needs some kind of a miracle to pull this one off!*"
— Kenny Florian, as Copperhead pressures and keeps tearing chunks from Riptide's chassis and weapon
Another hit from Copperhead threw Riptide back upright. Seconds later, Copperhead was pushed back into the center red square screw mount by Riptide, though it continued to land damaging blows, and proceeded to throw Riptide into a 360-degree flip. This was also enough to completely remove Riptide's last-remaining fork. As it moved out of the red square, however, Copperhead's right axle broke, causing the wheel on that side to fall off.
Now incapacitated on one side, Copperhead turned into, and was pushed back across the arena by Riptide. Stopping short of the bottom-right pulverizer, Riptide shoved Copperhead underneath the hazard as it retracted, though Copperhead escaped by crab-walking across the front of the control booth. Copperhead turned its spinner into an oncoming Riptide; sparks flew as it was knocked back by the collision and rounded up by the Team Break32 machine once more.

"*All Copperhead has to do is get to that ten-second mark, and crab-walk around the arena, to get to a decision!*"
— Chris Rose, as a one-wheeled Copperhead tries to hold its ground in the final twenty seconds
Riptide kept pushing Copperhead across the BattleBox, steering and pressing it spinner-first against the middle mount for the blue square screws. With less than twenty seconds remaining, both robots quickly separated, with Copperhead again shuffling back and forth to maneuver out of the square. However, this was not enough to prevent it from being rammed, then pushed backwards over the bottom-left killsaws by Riptide. Copperhead grazed the front of Riptide one last time before the end buzzer sounded, which prompted the two competitors to separate almost instantly. Caustic Creations and Team Break32 quickly celebrated, with Chad New encouraging the audience to cheer and chant in support of Copperhead.

In the resulting split decision, judges Lisa Winter and Fon Davis both voted in favor of Copperhead, provisionally giving it the win and a place in the semi-finals. Both teams exchanged handshakes following the conclusion of post-match interviews, though Team Break32 later issued an appeal to contest the decision. Ultimately, Derek Young - who had initially scored in Riptide's favor – reassessed the Aggression points he had given out to both machines, awarding a 2-1 score in that category in favor of Copperhead. Copperhead's decision was thus converted into an unanimous one.

Caustic Creations' victory was met with unanimous support from other builders, who cheered and chanted Copperhead's name as it was being wheeled back into the pits.

**Kenny Florian**: "*Luke, Chad... congratulations, guys! You were one of the few teams brave enough to say "Hey, you know what? We want a shot at Riptide!" Why were you confident heading into this fight?*"
**Luke Quintal**: "*Yeah, I mean... Copperhead's drum is just a brick of metal. We don't think it's goin' anywhere. [Riptide's] weapon is crazy powerful, but it has some thin sections around it. You know, it's a beater bar, it stores a lot of energy, but it's just not as tough as Copperhead's.*"
— Post-match interview
Copperhead was now in the semi-finals, where it took on another unbeaten robot, No.6 seed HUGE. For its arena entrance, a pair of HUGE eyes and a red cap decoration were temporarily added to the robot, the eyes being fixed to two points on its eggbeater.

"*There's two robots in this competition I was most afraid of. One was End Game, the other one is HUGE. So after taking out End Game, I felt, you know, maybe we could go all the way. Copperhead has exposed chains on the top. It's really hard for us to cover those up, so that's a major vulnerability. Our strategy in this match is actually to... spin our weapon backwards, and just run into HUGE. When you spin down, while they're spinning up, you're actually multiplying that impact by two. And very few robots are designed to take that kind of impact. Our number one goal is disable their weapon, and if we can accomplish that, I think we can get the win.*"
— Luke Quintal
Initially, Copperhead crept out of the red square, but missed its attempt to target the right wheel of the faster-starting HUGE. Driving in between the wheels of Jonathan Schultz's axlebot, it took a direct hit from the side which briefly flicked both robots upwards. Copperhead initiated a series of weapon-on-weapon blows, pushing and deflecting HUGE backwards in the process.

"*That's the impact Luke was looking for... but he can't take too many of those overhead shots! Copperhead is exposed up there!*"
— Kenny Florian, as Copperhead tries to attack HUGE's bar and wheels
Gyro-dancing near the bottom-left killsaw slots, Luke Quintal and Chad New's machine again tried to attack HUGE's right wheel. This proved costly, however, as HUGE landed a direct hit to Copperhead's own right wheel, immobilizing it on one side.
Copperhead weaved and gyro-hopped on its left wheel for several seconds, though it was unable to stop HUGE from slamming into its eggbeater. This impact tore out one of its drive chains, proving one of Luke Quintal's concerns going into this match. HUGE was launched upwards in recoil, though Copperhead took another overhead blow as the former bounced back onto the BattleBox floor. Copperhead weaved across the center in pursuit of HUGE, but took more damaging blows from HUGE's bar spinner as the two competitors met once again. From that point, it struggled even more to maintain forward movement, only being able to drive around on its left wheel.

**Chris Rose**: "*And Copperhead definitely hurt! Just gotta crab-walk it now! HUGE continues to attack! His weapon is still spinning, but Luke Quintal has lost the drive of the right side!*"
**Kenny Florian**: "*We've sene this before from Copperhead. The weapon is virtually indestructible, but the drive has a tendency to die - and die quickly!*"
— As a limping Copperhead takes more blows from HUGE's spinning bar
Another weapon-to-weapon hit was exchanged, before Copperhead briefly clipped and bumped the right wheel of HUGE as initially planned. However, it again steered itself directly into the path of HUGE's bar spinner, which took a slice out of its left wheel. This pattern continued for some time, Copperhead taking several more blows from HUGE even as the latter gyro-danced on top of it. Copperhead proceeded to flip itself over through gyroscopic procession. However, while trying to self-right, it got itself stuck on its side, exposing its baseplate and front forks to more direct blows from HUGE.

**Chris Rose**: "*Woah, woah, woah, WOAH, woah - that's a terrible spot for Copperhead to be in! WOW!*"
**Kenny Florian**: "*Just so much gyroscopic action there from Copperhead. They have no control. HUGE looking to take advantage of it...*"
— As a gyro-dance from Copperhead leaves it in more peril
HUGE collected and turned Copperhead around in circles. Though the Caustic Creations machine managed to turn upright, it was steered and pummelled into the bottom-right corner while taking further blows from HUGE's weapon. Landing upside-down, Copperhead survived the nearby pulverizer and finally self-righted; another weapon-on-weapon exchange followed instantaneously. Copperhead, spinning back into the corner, began smoking, the blow from HUGE causing its eggbeater to stop rotating completely.
Weaving precariously close to the pulverizer, Copperhead took another hit from an approaching HUGE, which again completely drove over it. Pirouetting towards the control booth, it again found itself steering into its opponent's path as the match entered its second half. HUGE struck Copperhead's rear-left corner, the attack punting Copperhead back towards the booth. At once, Copperhead became fully incapacitated, a moment instantly prompting Team HUGE to celebrate.

**Kenny Florian**: "*Jonathan Schultz is already cheering, Chris, with his team!*"
**Chris Rose**: "*Yes, Copperhead... the drum is dead! The wheels are dead! Their chances at a berth in the finals... dead!*"
— As Copperhead lays immobile following a final blow from HUGE
John Remar began the count-out, while Copperhead's snake-themed minibot was targeted and decimated by the soon-to-be-victorious HUGE. Copperhead as a whole was soon eliminated by knockout, marking the end of its World Championship VII run.

## Results

* Wins: 16
* Losses: 8

## Faruq Tauheed Introductions

"This bot will crack your back like a boa constrictor. Its hybrid drum is a pain inflictor. And it won't run away from a big fight. I-I-It can't, snakes don't have legs. It's COPPERHEAD!"

"This bot *sssslithers*  into the box. *It'ssss* savage and ready to *sssstrike*. *Sssstand* back, or *ssssuffer* its bite. *It'ssss* COPPERHEAD!"

"This bot is one vile reptile. It's got a bite with more poison than Bret Michaels. Every rose has its thorn, but this bot will leave you torn. It's COPPERHEAD!"

"It knows more about Poison than Bell Biv DeVoe. Trust me, you don't want to make this bot your foe. It's driving you out of your mind. One wrong move and you're dead. Never trust a big drum and a smile. It's COPPERHEAD!"

"Snakes? Why did it have to be snakes?! You don't want to hear Faruq scream! Good thing, it's only, a machine... WAHHHHHH! It's COPPERHEAD!"

"This bot's one of our best, but I know what you're thinking. The best copperhead's on the penny and his name is Abe Lincoln. Well let's grab a coin and play a game, you choose a side. Flip it up and catch it, heads he wins, tails you die. It's COPPERHEAD!"

"From Loveland, Colorado, first name Copper, last name Head. It's about to make you dead. It's COPPERHEAD!

"From Loveland, Colorado, don't *hiss* it off. Bringing its bite game to the fight game. It's COPPERHEAD!"

"From Loveland, Colorado, it only speaks one language. *Fang-*lish. It's COPPERHEAD!"

"This bot may be tiny but if it manages to land shots, you're going straight out of the park like that movie The Sandlot. Yeah, yeah. This little thing is a beast winning all of its brawls, so you better jet or you'll be screaming "You're killin' me, Smalls." Give it up for COPPERHEAD!"

"Muggsy Bogues, Yoda, and that dude Peter Dinklage, three total powerhouses despite their shrinkage. Don't be fooled by his size, he'll still rip you to tatters. He might not be big but he's huge where it matters... \*Audience boos\* What? I meant his motor... what do you all think? Man, you guys are nasty. Give it up for COPPERHEAD!"

"From Erie, Colorado, once bitten, twice you die. It's COPPERHEAD!"

"This snake is made of metal and has one in its name. It's a hardcore thrashing killer, bringing Megadeth and pain. It's more poisonous than Anthrax. It's disturbed and kills with quickness, so don't let it sink its teeth in you or you're sure to get down with the sickness. Oh, ow-ow-ow-ow-ow! It's COPPERHEAD!"

"From Denver, Colorado, the killer snake that can make you break, give it up for COPPERHEAD!"

"This bot's a real snake, he should be in Congress, except for the fact he's actually making progress. He'll crack you in the teapot dome, and the shock that he delivers, will lead you to one big crash, and drown you in the Chappaquiddick River. It's COPPERHEAD!" "There's no better sound in Vegas than the clack of rolling dice. But you'll be screaming, 'Oh, craps,' when you see this snake's eyes. He'll rattle for the Strat to Caesars. His fangs give seizures that make you die. Don't worry. He'll make it quick. He's got tickets for *Magic Mike Live*. It's COPPERHEAD!"

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to meet the true and perfect union of your backside and this bot's teeth. Its quick and fatal venom will go directly to your heart. There's no divorcing this serpent's fangs. It's till death do you part. It's COPPERHEAD!"

"From Aurora, Colorado. He'll put you in a Mile High vegetative state. It's COPPERHEAD!"

"Luke Quintal is a quick and accurate striker. Down in the pits, he's a real pit viper. This snake has a bite for which there's no cure. He doesn't shred his skin, but he will shred yours. It's COPPERHEAD!"

## Trivia

* During the auction for Son of Whyachi's 2019 season parts, team member Robert Cowan received one of the weapon's arms.
* Copperhead is the second bot to defeat and lose to the same opponent in the same season.
* Caustic Creations were the first team in *BattleBots* to bring a live snake to a competition.
* Zach Goff also designed a heavyweight robot for the *BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon* live shows, named Chopper.

## References

1. ↑ Public comment from Luke Quintal in the Out of the Arena Discord server