King of Bots (Season 1)/Episode 7

Season 1 title card

**Episode 7 of *King of Bots* Season 1** aired on February 26 2018, two weeks after the previous episode due to Chinese New Year celebrations. It showed all four fights from the fourth round of the knockout competition, alongside two Tag Team battles.

A subtitled English version of Episode 7 was added to Mech+ on December 1 2023, available to watch on demand alongside the previous six episodes.

## Competing robots

* Chiyung Jinlun
* Great White
* Greedy Snake
* Megabyte
* Spectre
* Spin Doctor
* Thunder and Lightning
* Two BBQ

* *NOTE 1: Rust Boar was to compete in this episode, but withdrew from the competition, and was replaced by Greedy Snake.*
* *NOTE 2: Through the Tag Team battles, this episode also included Rust Boar, Saber, Tánshè, Vulcan, and Wild Beast.*

## Championship Battles

### Megabyte vs Spin Doctor

"*They do have a very strong robot. They also have weaknesses, and so it’s going to be Forrest’s job to get underneath that spinning disc… John [Mladenik], you’re a very good friend of mine. I love you, and I’m sorry in advance that we’re going to beat you!*"
— David Calkins prior to Spin Doctor’s battle against Megabyte

Having earlier taught Chiyung Jinlun's team how to defeat Megabyte in an earlier round, David Calkins was confident that Spin Doctor would be able to emulate the tactics that resulted in the Chinese machine’s victory. Meanwhile, John Mladenik of Robotic Death Company was adamant that the team would change their strategy to prevent a similar defeat from happening.

"*I think this will be a tough fight. I think… if they succeed in stopping us from spinning and getting us in the corner, they will be successful. But, you know, we’re gonna do everything we can so that won’t happen.*"
— John Mladenik anticipates a close battle with Spin Doctor

Immediately, Megabyte darted to the left of the blue square as Spin Doctor drove into and deflected it into the wall spikes. Upon impact, Megabyte was catapulted across the arena, sparks flying as it skittered into the red square - meanwhile, Spin Doctor shuffled back and forth across the arena, seemingly unable to turn left as a result of the collision. Megabyte approached Spin Doctor before evading and reversing into its left-hand side, tearing one of Spin Doctor’s panels clean off. It followed up on this attack by reversing, shuffling and hitting Spin Doctor’s rear armor as the latter retreated into the red square, circling around its American co-patriot before slamming into its left-front wheel and front wedge. Another head-on collision spun Spin Doctor away – seconds later, Spin Doctor reversed into Megabyte, sending it into another spin and causing its left-rear tire to be ripped off its axle. The same impact caused both robots to recoil into opposite sides of the arena – Megabyte, still spinning, slammed into the wall, breaking and getting its own cutting blades caught in the left-most panel. Realizing that the panel had been damaged, Robotic Death Company promptly told the Judges to stop the battle while repairs to the arena were carried out – during this time, Megabyte was also freed from the wall.
During the interval, one of the Judges asked the Spin Doctor team whether they would be able to and were willing to continue fighting. David Calkins immediately confirmed that they would, and so the battle was resumed with less than two minutes remaining.

"*There is always a glimmer of hope. The fight is never, ever over until it’s over.*"
— David Calkins expresses his reasoning for continuing the fight against Megabyte

Soon, the battle was restarted – upon the referee's whistle, Megabyte spun up again and steadily approached the badly-damaged Spin Doctor, itself rendered immobile on one side as a result of Megabyte's battle-stopping attack. Megabyte spent several seconds trying to position itself for another attack; Spin Doctor vented gas in an attempt to get its flamethrower weapon working. The former slammed into Spin Doctor’s front once more, and elected not to attack any further as Spin Doctor continued spinning around on one wheel in the red square. Spin Doctor was promptly counted out, with Megabyte emerging victorious by knockout once again.

"*Should thank him, because they exposed our weaknesses. By telling [Chiyung Jinlun] how to beat us and beaten us, we went back and looked at everything and we fixed our problem. We, we know how to stop that tactic from beating us.*"
— John Mladenik following Megabyte’s third knockout victory

Winner: **Megabyte**

### Two BBQ vs Spectre

Immediately, Spectre charged at an evading Two BBQ, sliding and turning round to get underneath its opponent from the front. Its crusher made contact with Two BBQ’s spinner, sending sparks and both of its teeth flying across the arena as it was being pushed back. Spectre reversed and rammed into Two BBQ, the collision causing Two BBQ to flip over and kick itself back upright with its own spinner. Again, it drove into the front of Two BBQ, ramming it at high speed into the wall spikes, the two robots momentarily pushing each other in the corner as Spectre withstood another blow. Eventually, they separated in the center of the arena, with Spectre proceeding to get underneath Two BBQ from the rear and drive it towards the grinder. However, it drove into and was thrown back by the grinder itself, sustaining damage to its wedge, but retreated to grapple with Two BBQ once again, pinning it against the corner.

Sustaining more damage to its crusher, Spectre drove Two BBQ alongside the wall, before repeatedly driving it back and forth against the nearby spikes. It pushed, chased and collided with Two BBQ yet again, losing one of its decorative eyes in the process, before grabbing Two BBQ by the right-rear wheelguard and repeatedly driving it into one of the grinders. This was enough to damage Two BBQ’s wedge mounts and polycarbonate walls; more shrapnel flew as Spectre pushed and tried to clamp Two BBQ by the spinner again, again successfully pinning the Chinese machine against the corner. Once more, it grabbed Two BBQ from the side and maneuvered it into the grinder, sending more pieces of the latter’s walls flying on contact.

Pushing Two BBQ from behind, Spectre continued dodging and trying to grab Two BBQ from the front – sustaining more damage to its crusher in the process. Eventually, after trying to push Two BBQ around from the front, it reversed, before suddenly driving underneath Two BBQ from the rear and slamming it into the wall spikes. With most of Two BBQ’s polycarbonate walls shattering upon impact, Spectre dragged, spun and rammed it into the grinders once again, causing even more damage. After several more rams, it finally released its grip and left Two BBQ by the grinders; the attacks finally immobilizing the Chinese machine. Knocking Two BBQ aside, Spectre shuffled back and forth before raising its srimech; as Two BBQ was being counted out, Team Robo Challenge celebrated their victory, with Spectre being declared victorious by knockout in the closing seconds.

"*We thought that they were the very top of the Chinese machines. Two BBQ has been the best so far – it’s been another step up from that. It’s been really good to beat them, but at the same time, we’d like to say huge congratulations to them. They’ve done an amazing job, and we really look forward to fighting them in the future.*"
— Grant Cooper praises Two BBQ and its team following Spectre’s fourth-round victory

Winner: **Spectre**

### Chiyung Jinlun vs Great White

For this battle, the Chiyung Jinlun team refitted the robot’s extra side panels, while also swapping its regular front wedge for a set of smaller ones. Meanwhile, the Great White team re-equipped their minibot Remora with its serrated disc, while Steven Martin expressed reservations about its chances of victory.

"*We’re not overly confident – we had a really tough fight against Spin Doctor, and [Chiyung Jinlun] is a similar design. It’ll be really another battle of who can get underneath the front of the robot and who drives the best. I think we’d probably – I’d give us a 60% chance, but this fight could go either way.*"
— Steven Martin

Chiyung Jinlun began tentatively, leaving the blue square before shuffling back and forth towards a stationary Great White. Despite sustaining an attack from Remora, it drove into and buffeted the main robot into the wall spikes – seconds later, its drum threw Great White back against the bulletproof screens, dislodging a few of the latter’s armor panels. At the same time, Remora slammed into the side of Chiyung Jinlun, causing it to ricochet across the arena. Seconds later, Great White charged head-on into Chiyung Jinlun, damaging its middle front wedge and causing it to get lodged under the latter's drum, preventing Chiyung Jinlun from being able to use its weapon for the remainder of the battle. Another set of head-on collisions ensued, with Great White continuing to damage Chiyung Jinlun’s front as the latter pushed it across the arena and into Remora.

Withstanding more attacks from Remora, Chiyung Jinlun rammed Great White and sent it skidding over the flame jets, and turned away as Great White inadvertently flung Remora into the wall with its own spinner, immobilizing the minibot. Despite this setback, Great White immediately drove into Chiyung Jinlun’s side, tearing one of its protective polycarbonate panels apart and ripping off one of the mounts for the other. Chiyung Jinlun continued dodging and driving head-on into Great White’s spinner once again, all while constantly nudging, deflecting and pushing the Australian machine further towards the arena perimeter. Despite Ellis Ware of the Great White team activating a smokescreen in the Xiake team’s control area, and Great White almost tearing its other side panel clean off, Chiyung Jinlun continued to pressure its opponent, eventually pushing Great White into and pinning it against the spikes.

Chiyung Jinlun held Great White in place for several seconds, after which the referee advised the Xiake team to release the latter. The two competitors separated, with Chiyung Jinlun being promptly tipped by one of the floor flippers, itself activated by the Great White team. Great White continued to cause damage to Chiyung Jinlun’s wedge, eventually tearing it open, but was again deflected and pushed back by the Chinese machine, and lifted itself onto its side after attempting to ram the latter’s exposed wheels. It dodged another ram from Chiyung Jinlun as both competitors maneuvered close to the grinders, before shredding Chiyung Jinlun’s right-front tire with another head-on attack. With only three wheels gripping the floor, Chiyung Jinlun pushed and deflected Great White back again; it briefly hesitated in the corner, before slamming into Great White and sending it sliding onto one of the floor flippers.

The flipper tipped Great White onto its spinner, which stopped working for the remainder of the fight. Chiyung Jinlun got underneath and threw Great White back upright at the same time, and bumped it again before briefly hesitating in the blue square. Great White drove away from Chiyung Jinlun for some time, but was pushed again by the latter, and was stopped by the floor rods before driving head-on into its opponent once more. Moments later, Chiyung Jinlun pushed Great White into one of the circular saws, which threw Great White over in a shower of sparks. Chiyung Jinlun followed this attack up by pushing the inverted Great White into the grinder; Great White self-righted, and twice attempted to push Chiyung Jinlun from the side in response. The Australian machine sped away, driving itself up another floor flipper in the process, but was soon pinned against one of the grinder mounts by Chiyung Jinlun. the latter self-righted. For the remainder of the battle, the two competitors pushed each to and from the grinder mount, ultimately surviving to a Judges' decision. After time ran out, Chiyung Jinlun immediately caught fire as a result of the damage inflicted by Great White, although this moment was not broadcast in the televised episode.

During the Judging process, it was revealed that the Great White team had fired one of their floor flippers on Chiyung Jinlun 77 seconds into the battle, breaching a rule which stated that teams were not permitted to use the flippers until 90 seconds had elapsed. Points were deducted from Great White’s score as a result, allowing Chiyung Jinlun to win the Judges' decision overall.

**Ling Zhou**: "*Hey guys! This is the last game – the last fight for you guys in this stage – what are the kind of things you want to deliver to the Chinese fans and Chinese audience?*"
**Ellis Ware**: "*Well, I want to say, I hope they’ve enjoyed the show. We’ve been really lucky – we’ve had four amazing fights, we’ve had some four amazing opponents and it’s been great fun coming to China. We both absolutely loved China… and we can’t wait to come back!*"
— Ling Zhou interviews Ellis Ware following Great White’s elimination from the main tournament

Winner: **Chiyung Jinlun**

### Greedy Snake vs Thunder and Lightning

Rust Boar was initially intended to battle Thunder and Lightning at this stage, but it withdrew due to a faulty weapon shaft. Thus, it was replaced with Snake, which suffered from a late knockout in the previous round.

Greedy Snake initially drove beyond Thunder (red), and rammed into Lightning (blue), the team also activating the smokescreen in front of the multibot drivers. Greedy Snake then edged Thunder backwards, and overturned Lightning with a powerful drive. Lightning quickly self-righted through gyro-dancing, but landed in the grip of Greedy Snake. Lightning was able to free, and delivered a direct blow to Greedy Snake's lifter, throwing it up. Greedy Snake drove into the front of Lightning again, swiftly turning it over, but Lightning righted itself within seconds. While trying to attack Snake, Thunder was deflected into the air by Greedy Snake's shape, and on its next attack, Greedy Snake rammed Thunder into the corner of the arena, stranding it on its side.

Thunder was a considerable distance from its partner, and so it was left idle while Lightning fought Greedy Snake alone, and the lighter robot was cast into the air. While Greedy Snake attempted to grab Lightning with its weaponry, the multibot landed a decisive blow, and ripped away one of Greedy Snake's forks using its discs. Greedy Snake was still able to hound Lightning into the wall, but Lightning used the entire arena to flee, and eventually draw Greedy Snake onto the floor flipper, where both robots were turned over together. While Lightning landed perfectly on its side, Greedy Snake was stuck on its side, and Lightning pressured it to prevent Greedy Snake from self-righting effectively.

Greedy Snake was able to wriggle onto its flat top, and used its lifter in an effort to self-right, but despite standing perfectly on its end, gravity forced Greedy Snake to toppled back onto its top armour. Lightning left Greedy Snake alone and finally righted its teammate, while the referee started to count Greedy Snake out of the battle. Greedy Snake continued to make attempts at self-righting, but was unable to turn itself over in time, and the battle was awarded to Thunder and Lightning via knockout.

Winner: **Thunder and Lightning**

## Tag Team Battles

### Greedy Snake & Saber vs Tánshè & Vulcan

While the four robots gathered, Greedy Snake backed into the arena wall, and a sandwiched Saber fired its flipper at thin air. Vulcan capitalized by striking the side of Saber, barely missing the main body. In this time, Tánshè launched Greedy Snake into the plexiglass wall, and then flipped Saber in the same manner. In doing so, Tánshè exposed its back end to Greedy Snake, which picked it up and held it aloft. Tánshè fired its flipper in an effort to escape, but Greedy Snake maintained its balance and carried Tánshè into a Grinder. Vulcan fought a private battle with Saber, while Greedy Snake turned Tánshè over and released it, forcing Tánshè to self-right powerfully.

Vulcan pressed into the back of Saber, but missed with its axe blow, also pressuring Greedy Snake without success. Tánshè then caught Saber from behind and threw it over, where it slid towards the wall. Greedy Snake charged in to assist it, but Tánshè and Vulcan both trapped the Chinese team there. Vulcan landed two axe blows on the chassis of Saber, while Greedy Snake once again grabbed Tánshè, prompting Vulcan to pound the top of Greedy Snake, including its weapon system, throwing sparks. Greedy Snake was able to pick up Tánshè and turn it over, but Vulcan prevented Saber's self-righting by trapping it under the spikes on the arena wall. Vulcan pinned Greedy Snake against the arena wall, but while Saber struggled its way out of its current position, Tánshè launched it into the corner of the arena.

From there, Tánshè flipped Saber onto the arena wall, under the hammer, before releasing it from the wall in a sportsmanlike move. While Tánshè flipped Saber again, Vulcan slammed into Greedy Snake, and the Chinese robot responded by driving it across the arena, towards the Grinder. Tánshè was still hounding Saber in the corner of the arena, but Saber eventually escaped, and Tánshè drove onto the floor flipper, which threw it over. Greedy Snake drove under Vulcan's wedge and edged it backwards, while Tánshè self-righted. In a head-to-head collision, Saber's wedge breached Tánshè's, but Tánshè pinned Saber against the wall, with Greedy Snake also making the same move on Vulcan. Saber lightly flicked Tánshè up, but Tánshè then threw Greedy Snake into the air powerfully.

All four robots bumped into one another, until Tánshè threw Saber over, this time leaving it idle, as Saber lacked the power to self-right. Vulcan drove over the arena saws, and Tánshè mistimed a flip to throw itself over, while the clock displayed the final ten seconds. Greedy Snake held Tánshè against the arena floor as the battle timer elapsed, and the battle was sent to a Judges' decision, while Vulcan rapidly spun in place. Despite a strong performance from Greedy Snake, the immobility of Saber at the very end of the battle proved costly, and the Judges awarded the win to Tánshè and Vulcan.

Winner: **Tánshè & Vulcan**

### Great White & Spin Doctor vs Rust Boar & Wild Beast

For this battle, the Great White team elected not to use their multibot, Remora, for the first time, with Ellis Ware taking over controls for the main robot. Meanwhile, Wild Beast reused the drone initially seen in its first-round battle, as well as its minibot, itself making its combat debut.

Both teams split up immediately, with Spin Doctor proceeding to scoop up Wild Beast, knock one of its sacrificial tires off and ram it into the wall. Meanwhile, Great White and Rust Boar tussled, exchanging blows and bumps while Spin Doctor carried Wild Beast backwards to the far side of the arena. One collision with Rust Boar temporarily knocked Great White off-balance – the Australian machine slammed head-on into a charging Spin Doctor, the two teammates ripping armor panels off of each other as a result. Wild Beast capitalized by ramming and deflecting Great White into the wall spikes, with Great White driving itself spinner-first into the wall seconds later. Spin Doctor – now with its left wheels exposed – drove into the side of Rust Boar, damaging it with its drum while simultaneously shooting flames and pushing it into Great White. At the same time, Wild Beast rammed into Great White again, throwing it towards the grinder, but briefly bumped into and flicked Rust Boar off the floor with its drum as it shuffled back and forth.

As Wild Beast’s drone hovered over the center of the arena, the four heavyweights split up – Wild Beast attacked Spin Doctor’s wheels and momentarily threw it off the floor, then lured the American drum spinner over the circular saws while Great White and Rust Boar slammed into each other. Rust Boar became immobilized as a result of the latter attack, and began smoking copiously as its batteries caught fire. At the same time, Wild Beast accidentally drove itself into the circular saws, and was carried over them, only to meet its opponents in the center of the arena as Spin Doctor pushed Rust Boar next to the grinders. Luring Great White towards the other set of grinders, Wild Beast drove itself into one of the grinder mounts – it withstood a blow from Great White, before throwing the latter onto its own spinner with one hit from the drum. Meanwhile, Spin Doctor appeared to be moving sluggishly, venting gas in an attempt to get its flamethrower working again. Wild Beast rammed Spin Doctor, throwing it into the grinders and flipping it over with two successive hits from the drum – the attack was enough to leave Spin Doctor completely immobilized, leaving Wild Beast and Great White to fight each other alone.

Great White caused damage to Wild Beast’s drone – itself struggling to take off again after landing next to Spin Doctor – but was in turn pushed and deflected into a grinder by Wild Beast. The grinder carried the Australian machine upwards and threw it into a somersault, before it was pushed back by Wild Beast once again. Great White darted away, spinning round beside the corner before charging head-on into Wild Beast, causing considerable damage to the latter’s front. Another succession of hits from Great White damaged Wild Beast’s side and ripped one of its front wedges off, although this was not enough to stop Wild Beast from pushing and throwing Great White into the air again almost immediately after. The two competitors rammed head-on into each other yet again before the referee’s whistle sounded – by this point, the smoke emitting from Rust Boar had filled a substantial part of the arena, severely reducing the teams’ visibility and preventing the remaining robots from continuing safely. The battle was stopped early as a result, and went to a Judges’ decision. With both teams having lost one robot each, the Judges awarded the decision – and victory - to Spin Doctor and the still-mobile Great White.

After the decision was announced, David Calkins of the Spin Doctor team explained why various teams had signed the T-shirt worn by Wild Beast’s captain, before presenting the latter with a signed panel which had been removed from Spin Doctor during the battle. In return, Wild Beast’s team captain presented Calkins with one of Wild Beast’s damaged wedges, itself signed by the team.

Winner: **Great White & Spin Doctor**

## Trivia

* This episode saw the only instance of a robot withdrawing from the competition.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/7y1f1d/king\_of\_bots\_episode\_7\_discussion\_thread/duvwirm/
2. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/7y1f1d/king\_of\_bots\_episode\_7\_discussion\_thread/duvw3ju/