King of Bots (Season 2)/Episode 4

Season 2 title card

The **fourth episode of *King of Bots* Season 2** aired on 4th August 2019. It introduced the redemption rounds, where every robot to have lost a battle so far would fight for survival, and either take the fourth/fifth places on the celebrity teams, or face permanent elimination from the tournament.

The end of the episode also featured *Robo Genius*, an educational segment exploring different aspects of robot building and combat.

## Competing robots

* Bullfighter
* Bullseye
* Button Lee
* Cat King
* Cracked Sword
* Doraemon
* Drill Dragon
* Excelsior
* Fat-Head Fish
* Giraffe
* Green Elf
* Hold Me Up
* Huntsman
* Iron Barbie
* Iron Rooster
* Little Qinglong
* Magic Windmill
* Medusa
* Mist Lion
* Monster
* Mr Hippo
* Ouch Ouch
* Po Feng
* Pot of Love
* Reaper
* Snake
* Silver Scorpion
* Stalker
* Storm Cut
* Tank
* The Doctor
* The Martian
* Thunder
* TUZI
* Twin Panthers
* Two BBQ
* White Tiger Guardian
* UFO
* Xiake
* Yesaji

## Setup

This episode was the first to eliminate robots from the competition, with all of the teams who had lost a fight (or failed to participate in a battle thus far) gathered in a central hall, with one robot being selected at random. The robot's captain would then choose their opponent from the other losing teams who volunteered to fight it, and they would fight head-to-head to earn a place on a celebrity team of their choice, joining the existing three robots on each team and increasing their roster. The loser of the battle would be eliminated from *King of Bots II* entirely. Some fights were broadcast in full, while others would be aired only as part of a montage.

During the episode, two particular celebrity teams became too large for the competition to progress, and both celebrities were required to whittle their teams down to five robots, by removing one/two of the robots that had just joined their team via the redemption rounds. Those robots would also be eliminated from the competition at this stage.

After this, a number of four-way rumbles took place between the remaining robots to determine the final spaces on each celebrity team, with each team containing five robots by the end of the episode.

## Head-to-Head Battles

*NOTE: Robots listed on the left were selected at random, and the robots listed on the right were selected to complete the line-up by the left-hand team.*

### Cat King vs Medusa

"*We chose Medusa because we wanted a STRONG opponent. Defeating them, we knew would prove our strength, prove it to the celebrities, that we are worth of being on their team.*"
— Martin Mason

Martin Mason of Cat King was the first roboteer to be drawn at random during the Redemption Round, and so he was able to choose his opponent from a multitude of volunteering opponents. Medusa's team were particularly enthusiastic to fight, and as Martin Mason deemed it to be a good machine, that could make for an impressive victory, Cat King fought against Medusa with the intention of impressing the celebrity captains.

"*Cat King has played one match and did not do well, their weapon did not work, at all! So I think Medusa will do very well, I hope this is her opportunity to come back with me, and we can all be a family, and we would all be very happy!*"
— Emma Dumont

After both robots quickly spun up their blades, Medusa made the more active charge, running head-first into Cat King for a collision which threw Medusa across the arena, also causing some damage to Cat King. Having bounced across the arena on its own blade, Medusa landed on top of the arena wall near the 'out of the arena' zone, with one tire suspended on the wall. With one lifting arm raised, and Emma Dumont pensive in fear, Cat King charged in to hit the stranded Medusa, throwing it into the air. Medusa landed with a crash, and although it was able to spin up its bar to dangerous speeds, the robot itself was mostly immobile, only twitching in place, and the referee counted Medusa out, awarding a quick win by knockout to Cat King, who then chose to join Emma Dumont's team.

"*Medusa lost from one hit from Cat King, the match was so short, which was pretty heartbreaking, that she didn't even get to show her stuff...*"
— Emma Dumont

**Winner: Cat King** (joins Emma Dumont's team)

"*One of you is worthy of my power! Who should have Cat King on their team? I choose Emma!!!*"
— Martin Mason

### TUZI vs Two BBQ

Two BBQ started more competently, accelerating its bar spinner up to full speed, while TUZI aimlessly crashed into the arena wall. TUZI mostly skirted along the sides until it was caught side-on by Two BBQ, which smacked TUZI into the wall, and then cut into its overhead weapon, visibly leaving a slice. Two BBQ then closed in from behind and hit TUZI into the air, which disoriented TUZI and caused its side panels to display at different angles.

Two BBQ struck hard in its next blow, ripping a protective plate from the side of TUZI, and bending its overhead weapon upon TUZI's landing. TUZI ambled about, with no offensive power left, although it had survived for nearly 90 seconds until it drove over the floor flipper and rolled towards the Grinder. Two BBQ then crept up on TUZI and blasted it into the air, bursting straight through its side armor, and leaving TUZI only capable of turning in circles in the corner of the arena. The referee deemed TUZI to be immobile and counted it out, with the victorious Two BBQ choosing to join Zhu Zheng Ting's team.

**Winner: Two BBQ** (joins Zhu Zheng Ting's team)

### Doraemon vs Giraffe

Fearing the horizontal spinner of Doraemon, Giraffe was instantaneous in charging across the arena to drive into Doraemon and attempt to stop its spinning weapon, although it was still smacked into the arena wall by a half-speed Doraemon, which successfully connected with Giraffe's long neck. After the two robots separated, a full-speed Doraemon hit the front of Giraffe powerfully, creating a shower of sparks. In its final move, Giraffe swerved into Doraemon's spinning frame backwards, which sent Doraemon into the air, and Giraffe spiralling across the arena. Although Giraffe was still somewhat mobile, moving back and forth in place, the referee counted it out, and Doraemon won the battle by knockout, subsequently choosing to join Emma Dumont's team, like Cat King before it.

**Winner: Doraemon** (joins Emma Dumont's team)

### Iron Barbie vs Monster

Iron Barbie used its axe instead of the rear-hinged flipper in this fight, the contents of which remain largely unknown, as the fight was only shown during a few seconds of a montage on the televised broadcast. Monster was seen driving poorly, and would soon crash into the corner of the arena, where the lip of its flipper became stuck under the arena wall, granting a seemingly effortless win by knockout to Iron Barbie, which was then added to Zhu Zheng Ting's team.

**Winner: Iron Barbie** (joins Zhu Zheng Ting's team)

### The Martian vs Excelsior

In another battle aired only during a montage with little footage shown, Excelsior was seen to get the quicker start over The Martian, which slowly drifted across the arena. After an unseen sequence of events, Excelsior drove The Martian into the arena wall, where the arena hammer came down on The Martian. The arena hazard stopping the momentum of its spinning flails, but also pressed the weapon into Excelsior. Nevertheless, The Martian came to a standstill here, and was counted out, granting the win to Excelsior. Ed Robinson elected to follow the lead of other robots in the same episode, and joined Emma Dumont's team.

**Winner: Excelsior** (joins Emma Dumont's team)

### Snake vs The Doctor

The first attack seen in the battle saw Snake wedge under The Doctor with its weapon already fired, and Snake pressed its lifter down on The Doctor and held it in place for the arena hammer, which smashed onto the top of The Doctor. Snake then drove The Doctor across the arena and rammed it into the Grinder, bending The Doctor's front forks. One of these front forks then caught on the arena floor during The Doctor's escape, popping the robot into the air briefly, and moments later, Snake wedged under The Doctor and delivered it to the Grinder again. Spinning at full speed, the Grinder peeled armor away from The Doctor, and then threw it over entirely, leaving The Doctor overturned and unable to self-right. Despite backing into the Grinder itself, Snake won the battle by knockout, and chose to join Zhu Zheng Ting's team as its reward.

**Winner: Snake** (joins Zhu Zheng Ting's team)

### Storm Cut vs Silver Scorpion

"*Where are you going?*"
— Emma Dumont on Silver Scorpion's driving

The battle between Storm Cut and Silver Scorpion was very quick and destructive, as Storm Cut was easily able to power its spinner up to full speeds, while Silver Scorpion slowly meandered around the arena, even showing its backside to Storm Cut. While Silver Scorpion aimlessly meandered around, Storm Cut used over twenty seconds to power up its blade before slamming into the back end of its opponent. The resulting impact was gigantic, ripping both of Silver Scorpion's ridged armor panels away, along with wiring that led to its weapon, and other critical parts of the machine. While pieces of Silver Scorpion landed across the arena, the main robot was immobile, and Storm Cut turned off its blade, having already won by knockout in order to join Emma Dumont's team.

"*I'm actually really hoping Scorpion pulls through... ...They set their goal very high, making a hydraulic crusher is one of the hardest. I think they're very bold for trying this, and I think that's fantastic.*"
— Emma Dumont

**Winner: Storm Cut** (joins Emma Dumont's team)

### Mist Lion vs Bullfighter

Before the battle had even started, Mist Lion encountered major issues, as it drove its wedge into the arena floor and then started to suffer radio reception issues, crashing into the wall uncontrollably. Although it seemed as though Mist Lion may have lost the battle by default, the Bullfighter team assisted Mist Lion's team in repairing their robot in the center of the arena. The repairs were successful, and Mist Lion drove under control in its next test, allowing the fight to take place fairly.

"*I love this so much, this is what this is about.*"
— Emma Dumont on the sportsmanship of both teams

At the start of the fight, Bullfighter shot across the arena to tackle Mist Lion, which was not spinning its drum. This allowed Bullfighter to catch Mist Lion side-on, and used its four-bar flipper to throw Mist Lion into the wall. Mist Lion landed upside-down, and meandered over to Bullfighter on its back wheels, with Bullfighter missing its flip. Mist Lion finally powered up its spinning drum, although Bullfighter completed another lift on Mist Lion from a side-on attack, not quite turning it back over. Bullfighter followed this up by charging Mist Lion into the arena wall, where it briefly became stuck on one of its castors, although it managed to escape.

Mist Lion backed into Bullfighter again, posing no threat, and then drove into the Grinder in an effort to self-right, but was simply deflected by the arena hazard. Bullfighter responded by driving under the back of Mist Lion to launch it back into the Grinder, although this powerful flip did put Mist Lion back on its right-side up. Bullfighter's next flip was tentative, only propping Mist Lion up briefly, suggesting a decline in Bullfighter's flipper power. Mist Lion started to briefly suffer from radio reception issues again, outputting little movement and failing to spin its drum until Bullfighter caught up to it.

At the moment when the two robots reunited, Mist Lion's drum started spinning again, and Bullfighter fired its flipper randomly, allowing Mist Lion to take advantage and deliver a hit to Bullfighter's side using its drum. Bullfighter had also started lightly smoking due to an overheating drive motor, and as a result, Bullfighter ground to a halt near a Grinder. Smoke started pouring out of Bullfighter from a vent in the top, and the referee counted out the immobile machine while the suddenly victorious Mist Lion kept its distance. After winning the battle, Mist Lion rejoined its former celebrity captain, Di Yang.

"*From the video it said the gear reduction for drivetrain was a bit too high and overly stressed the motor, then it finally burnt out.*"
— Thomas Lau on Bullfighter's cause of immobility

**Winner: Mist Lion** (joins Di Yang's team)

## Team Removals

### Emma Dumont's choice

At this stage of the proceedings, it was revealed that Emma Dumont had too many robots on her team, and she was forced to remove two out of Cat King, Doraemon, Storm Cut and Excelsior. In order, she selected Storm Cut and Cat King to remain on her roster, while Excelsior and Doraemon lost their places on her team as a result, rejoining the list of robots which could be added to other teams.

**Removed: Doraemon and Excelsior** (Storm Cut and Cat King remain)

### Zhu Zheng Ting's choice

Zhu Zheng Ting also had a total of six robots, and needed to whittle his team down to five robots. Of these robots, Iron Barbie, Snake and Two BBQ were at risk. The Iron Barbie team instantly believed that they did not deserve a place on Zhu Zheng Ting's team over the experienced Snake and Two BBQ and so, with the team's consent, Zhu Zheng Ting removed Iron Barbie from his team, and Iron Barbie returned to the pool that other celebrities could choose from.

**Removed: Iron Barbie** (Snake and Two BBQ remain)

## Rumbles

### Mr Hippo vs Ouch Ouch vs Stalker vs White Tiger Guardian

The first collision of the match occurred in the first two seconds, with Ouch Ouch slamming into Mr Hippo before it could spin up its drum fully, although a second hit from Mr Hippo threw sparks from the flipper of Ouch Ouch, and Mr Hippo then pelted Ouch Ouch's smaller half into the arena wall at full speed. Stalker had also driven behind the back of Ouch Ouch and was using its lifter, but instead threw itself over, and Mr Hippo charged into it with its drum at full pelt, throwing sparks and flipping Stalker over, while White Tiger Guardian pursued Ouch Ouch.

Stalker's mobility seemed to be impaired by this hit, and it was left to use its lifter for any signs of movement, flipping itself over repeatedly until White Tiger Guardian closed in and struck it, which split one of the arms on Stalker's lifter, significant damage to the weaponry. Stalker was able to drift forwards, but White Tiger Guardian chased after it, slamming Stalker into the Ouch Ouch minibot, which was pushed into the Grinder as a result. Only one of the Ouch Ouch minibot's wheels was turning, and it was high-centered by this slam, leaving it immobile. Stalker was also further breaking its own lifter by trying to use it.

Stalker crept forwards a short distance further, and then ground to a complete halt, so the referee declared it to have been KO'ed, bringing the field down to three. Meanwhile, Ouch Ouch and White Tiger Guardian both rammed into Mr Hippo, pausing its drum spinner, but Mr Hippo then ground at the side of Ouch Ouch. The flipper of Ouch Ouch charged into Mr Hippo again, but Mr Hippo drove it towards the Grinder while throwing sparks. At this stage, White Tiger Guardian sped into both robots, knocking Ouch Ouch into the Grinder and connecting with its vertical spinner to chuck Ouch Ouch high into the air, and causing it to land next to some of its lost armor, upside-down.

Ouch Ouch fired its flipper in an attempt to self-right, but it lacked the power, and it became the second robot to be declared immobile by the referee. With only two robots left in the fight, Mr Hippo turned its drum into the side of White Tiger Guardian, tearing away its side panel in a shower of sparks, also grinding at its wedgelets - curiously, Stalker's entire wedge could also be seen lying loosely on the arena floor in this shot. A follow-up hit from Mr Hippo also knocked White Tiger Guardian backwards across the arena floor, although Mr Hippo carried on forwards and broke a spike off the arena wall, also slowly killing the momentum in its drum. White Tiger Guardian was slow to escape, and Mr Hippo hit its exposed side before both robots got away, albeit without any significant bite.

Upon separating, White Tiger Guardian delivered a weapon-to-weapon hit, but Mr Hippo's drum had already subsided, and White Tiger Guardian won the interaction. only for Mr Hippo to return and catch White Tiger Guardian side-on, driving it in circles by pushing at its side, until it could press White Tiger Guardian into the corner of the arena. The fight ended with Mr Hippo spinning in place to knock White Tiger Guardian aside, with White Tiger Guardian never escaping its corner of the arena due to a broken drive system. Mr Hippo moved to the center of the arena to display its mobility to the judges, who rewarded it with the victory. Mr Hippo would later join Tao Shen's team, thanks to this win.

**Winner: Mr Hippo**

### Fat-Head Fish vs Po Feng vs Pot of Love vs Twin Panthers

At the start of the battle, it became clear that Twin Panthers' drum spinner was not working, leaving it with no weapon, whilst the likes of Po Feng and Pot of Love accelerated their spinners. Twin Panthers still zoomed over to Pot of Love, which threw plenty of sparks off the wedge of Twin Panthers while disorienting its own spinning motion, but Pot of Love also turned into the side of Twin Panthers to deliver a well-placed attack.

Twin Panthers then delivered a head-on charge into Pot of Love, which sent it spinning through the air, but also cut the weapon belt of Twin Panthers' already broken drum spinner. This allowed Fat-Head Fish to make its first move of the battle, slowly swinging its hammer over and missing its target, but still brought its wedge into Pot of Love, which threw it against the arena wall and silenced its shell spinner. In general, Pot of Love took a long time to start moving again.

Once Pot of Love could finally move, Po Feng broke its absence from the proceedings, and with a single shot, used its vertical spinner to overturn Pot of Love, instantly securing a KO on the weaponless machine. The main body of Po Feng and its minibot then turned their attention to Fat-Head Fish, with a blow from Po Feng's vertical spinner throwing sparks off Fat-Head Fish's wedge. Although there was minimal external damage visible, Fat-Head Fish was immobilized by this attack, and the minibot of Twin Panthers drove into it until the referee eliminated it from the battle.

With only two robots still active, Po Feng drove into the back of Twin Panthers, and quickly landed a side-on attack, with Twin Panthers mainly running away and losing one side of drive to the second attack. The larger half of Twin Panthers did turn its wedge into Po Feng in a hard slam, moving only on one wheel, but this would prove to be its final attack, as it suddenly lost mobility altogether. The wedge-shaped minibot of Po Feng slid under the back of Twin Panthers, but this was ultimately not needed, as Po Feng had already won by KO, later joining the team of Tao Shen.

**Winner: Po Feng**

### Button Lee vs Cracked Sword vs Little Qinglong vs Tank

Cracked Sword exhibited the most movement in the opening seconds, quickly powering up its spinner while Little Qinglong and Button Lee held back. Tank launched the first offensive move and charged towards Cracked Sword, firing its flipper but completely missed the mark, causing its flipper to break in the process. Left without a weapon, Tank was struck side-on by Cracked Sword, lightly knocking it aside, and this was succeeded by another big hit from Cracked Sword, spinning Tank away from the flailing Button Lee in a shower of sparks.

Cracked Sword then started a combo attack, twice slashing at Tank to create a visible gash in its front armor, then swerving into Button Lee to clip its wheel and disable one of its flail spinners, with Little Qinglong also bumping into Button Lee at the same time. Button Lee would hardly move after this pincer attack, and the referee would eventually deem it to be immobile, counting it out. Little Qinglong finally launched its first direct attack of the match in the meantime, hitting Cracked Sword weapon-to-weapon, and Cracked Sword would also hit Tank again soon after. Tank brushed up to Little Qinglong, and the robots separated once again.

While turning, the gyroscopic forces of Cracked Sword brought it into the air, allowing Little Qinglong to hit it on the wheel directly, causing some damage before backing onto Tank. This reverse flattened Tank's flipper back into place, and Tank capitalized by turning Little Qinglong over with a delicate flip. Little Qinglong was also bumped by the floor flipper at the same time, although this did not affect the flip aside from causing the drum spinner of Little Qinglong to touch the lip of Tank's flipper for a minimal amount of damage.

With the robots separated once more, Cracked Sword closed in to land a heavy blow on the side of Little Qinglong, also colliding with Tank's flipper while recoiling, to throw more sparks. Button Lee was still seen spinning in the background while Cracked Sword delivered a powerful blow to Tank, although its bar spinner slowed to a crawl towards the end of the bout, with one more attack on Tank being enough to silence it. Nevertheless, time expired on the battle seconds later, and the three active robots survived to a Judges' decision, which was comfortably won by Cracked Sword.

**Winner: Cracked Sword**

### Bullseye vs Drill Dragon vs Iron Rooster vs Yesaji

At the start of the battle, many of the robots exhibited critical problems, with Yesaji and Bullseye's spinners not turning, and Drill Dragon showing no movement as a likely result of one of its magnets becoming dislodged. Only Iron Rooster could fight in full form, and after Yesaji briefly nudged Bullseye, Iron Rooster and Yesaji collided, with Iron Rooster's swinging mace clipping Yesaji as it drove past. Drill Dragon's immobility was highlighted, and it started to be counted out while Yesaji barged Bullseye into the arena wall, which seemed to remove half of its drive.

Iron Rooster rolled in for an attack but missed, and Yesaji collected Bullseye and rammed it right into the corner where Drill Dragon was parked, with Bullseye becoming immobile right next to it. Iron Rooster closed in to attack Yesaji but was disrupted by the floor flipper, and the two robots returned to the center of the arena, largely missing attacks. Iron Rooster swung violently while Yesaji bided its time, measuring up a good attack, and managed to carry Iron Rooster to the side of the arena, but sustained a glancing blow in the process. In a more successful charge, Yesaji knocked Iron Rooster onto one wheel briefly, disorienting it. Yesaji continued its offence, ramming into Iron Rooster's wheel to knock it into the wall, while avoiding several swings from Iron Rooster. Yesaji delivered Iron Rooster to the wall once more, and delivered another ram while narrowly avoiding Iron Rooster's hammer, when time expired on the battle. The judges favored the controlled rams of Yesaji, and declared it the winner.

**Winner: Yesaji**

### Hold Me Up vs Huntsman vs Magic Windmill vs Thunder

Hold Me Up displayed the most movement in the opening seconds, swerving around the arena while Magic Windmill attempted to power up its spinner, although the disc was not working. Both Thunder and Hold Me Up swarmed around Huntsman, which fired its hammer into the eggbeater spinner of Hold Me Up, and was thrown over in the process. Thunder slid the overturned Huntsman across the arena, although it quickly self-righted. Thunder quietly drove Magic Windmill into the wall, while Hold Me Up tossed Huntsman over again, and clipped one of its tires in the process. Huntsman bounced back onto its right-side up after colliding with the Grinder, but with a wheel missing, it could not move and was counted out.

Thunder pushed past the meandering target of Magic Windmill, when Hold Me Up drove over the arena saws. This proved a costly mistake for Hold Me Up, as one of its front forks wedged itself in a slot for the saws, and the robot itself could not break free. As a result, Hold Me Up ended up being counted out as none of its remaining opponents had attempted to free or attack it. Magic Windmill had also lost drive on one side, and while trying to regain movement, it backed onto the floor flipper which turned it over. Magic Windmill drove into a Grinder in an attempt to self-right, but had no momentum without its spinning disc, and bumped away.

Magic Windmill then drove onto the wedge of Thunder which carried it across the arena, and the two collided again in the center of the arena when the vertical flywheel of Magic Windmill started turning again. Thunder still delivered Magic Windmill into the corner, where its one working wheel became high-centered, leaving it stuck in place. With all three of its opponents immobilized, Thunder crept away as the stealthy winner of the battle, joining Huang Jian Xiang's team for its efforts.

**Winner: Thunder**

### Green Elf vs Reaper vs UFO vs Xiake

All four robots spent the opening period of the match spinning up their weapons, although Green Elf's disc soon gave out and stalled. Reaper delivered the first attack of the match, driving its way around to Xiake's back tire while Xiake was spinning in place, and Reaper ripped the tire away entirely. However, on the next collision between the two, Reaper's undercutting blade deflected off Xiake's thick wedge, and threw Reaper over, causing it to drive into the arena wall.

Reaper started exuding smoke after this violent drive, and only turned in place while Xiake focused on Green Elf, which had hardly been involved. Soon after, Reaper stopped moving altogether, and was the first to be counted out in the rumble. Xiake then barged into Green Elf, knocking its disc out of place and tearing small chunks out of its tires and armor, also flipping Green Elf over.

Having completely avoided the action up until now to focus on reaching top spinning speeds and waiting for other robots to fall, UFO cruised in and delivered a significant blow to the side of Green Elf, tearing one of its tires away, while Xiake closed in and hit the same area of Green Elf. While Xiake was pushing Green Elf back, UFO hit Xiake from behind, causing minor damage. At an unclear point in the battle, UFO also landed a more significant blow on Xiake, sending it spinning away. Towards the end of the fight, UFO ripped another wheel away from Green Elf, but Xiake caught up and launched it into the air for a rough landing. Time expired on the battle, and the Judges declared Xiake victorious in the final rumble of the redemption round.

**Winner: Xiake**

## Final selections

Out of the six robots that had won a rumble, and the three robots that had been removed from Emma Dumont's and Zhu Zheng Ting's teams, each of the remaining robots bar two would then be added to one of the unfilled celebrity teams. Tao Shen chose Po Feng and Mr Hippo, Di Yang chose Cracked Sword, Huang Jian Xiang chose Xiake and Thunder, and Tu Ziya chose Yesaji and Doraemon. As a result, Excelsior and Iron Barbie no longer had a team to join, and they were eliminated here despite their victories.

**Eliminated: Excelsior and Iron Barbie**

## References

1. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/100013035614671/videos/695955277515653/
2. ↑ Private correspondence between Zassa2 and Bunny Sauriol, July 2021.

## External Links

* The episode on Youko
* The episode on YouTube