This is Fighting Robots (Season 1.5)/Episode 7

This is Fighting Robots title card

"*Five world-famous robots join the competition, challenging the team leaders to fight for a spot on their team. Will sacrifices be made to fortify the teams, or will the new challengers be eliminated?*"
— Official Mech+ programme description

**Episode 7 of *This is Fighting Robots*** aired on May 25 2018. It introduced the five 'challengers', who fought five robots in a bid to take their places ahead of the main competition. An additional three-way melee - with robots controlled by team managers - also took place before the competition **1v1** fights began in the following episode.

A subtitled English version premiered on Mech+ on 30 December 2022.

## Competing robots

* 008
* Dragon King
* Great White
* Greedy Snake
* Formula
* Ninja
* Orby Blade
* Shrederator Tiger Claw
* South American Eagle God
* Vulcan
* White Tiger Guardian
* Wrecker
* Xiake

## Robot Reinstatement

"*The rules of this program are so cruel. But I just talked to the two members left on my team. They also hope that our team can be strengthened. Because we're really at a disadvantage. Taking this into consideration, I have to say sorry to my teammates who had fought with me. So, I'll have to choose from other teams. Hope you can understand...*"
— Zhang Yishan addresses the audience before ruling out his former Blue team members

The episode began by concluding the final process of the Alliance War stage, where Wu Chun and Zhang Yishan chose robots to be reinstated following victory in the manager battles. While Chun had already selected Xiake to return to the Red team, Yishan was initially hesitant in his decision. Upon speaking to roboteers Alan Gubiev and Wang Xi - representing the only two teams he had left - it was agreed that the Blue team needed to be 'strengthened' rather than have one of their previous members be reinstated.

Therefore, Yishan chose Vulcan - the British axe bot previously eliminated from the Green team - a matter surprising Alan Young and Team Robots Live! Yishan shook hands with and presented Young with a Blue team badge onscreen, with Zheng Jianfeng also delighted at his one-time teammate's return to the competition.

"*Real shock for us to get picked. I don't feel guilty about having to fight my old team - I know most of his machines quite well, so I do know where their weaknesses are. But, I guess they know mine as well, and [Zhang Yishan] thinks we can do a good job for his team.*"
— Alan Young, as Vulcan is chosen to join the Blue team

By the end of this stage of the competition, the remaining robots were allocated as follows; robots reinstated by manager battle winners are highlighted in bold:

## Challenger Round

"*Fighting only makes a strong man even stronger. A real strong man will not be intimidated by challenges. Now, five of the most formidable robots on this planet will challenge your teams. If one of them beats your robot, it will replace your robot and join your team. You can choose which of the five you want to fight. Whatever your decision, your team's fate will be changed forever.*"
— CH0329 introduces the 'challenger' robots

After this, five **Challenger** robots were introduced and displayed in the pits to be examined by team managers:

* **Great White** - Australian multibot comprising of a four-wheel drive vertical spinner and a smaller two-wheeled undercutter (**Remora**). Previously reached the top 8 in *King of Bots* Season 1; the team also built the similarly-designed DeathRoll for the ABC/Discovery *BattleBots* reboot. The *This is Fighting Robots* version of Remora - replacing the version built by Ellis Ware - also won the featherweight category at the 2013 *Australian Robowars Nationals*.
* **Dragon King** - American tracked robot with grabbing jaws and two arm-mounted cutting saws. Built as an improved derivative of ABC/Discovery *BattleBots* competitor Red Devil, which reached the Round of 16 and won the "Best Designer" award in the 2016 season.
* **Wrecker** - A 'multi-weapon modular' American robot, armed with a 360-degree lifter and flamethrowing minibot (**Hacker**). Built by *BattleBots* veterans Team Nightmare as a variation of their heavyweight Breaker Box, whose experience in North American live events was referenced along with the team's multiple championship wins and awards.
* **Formula** - British pneumatic flipper built by Team Precision, whose members previously reached the Grand Final of *Robot Wars*: Series 10 with the similarly-armed Rapid.
* **South American Eagle God** - Vertical spinner entered by Columbian university team UDITECH, who finished runner-up in the 2016 *International Robot Sumo* RC tournament with **Bot-Lee**.

All four managers had 'unlimited chances' to select one of these machines to potentially replace an existing robot in their line-up. However, they could only take part in two of the five head-to-head battles. The chosen manager would send one of their machines at their discretion; the winner of this battle would become part of their team for future rounds.

Challengers chosen by a single manager would 'automatically' be assigned to fight on their behalf. In case more than one manager wanted to add a certain challenger, the challenger team would decide which manager to fight for. A 'counter decision' was also available to challenger teams to make in the event that their robot was not initially selected.

"*If we kept fighting with what he have now, it would be unsustainable for everyone. So, I think we must have new blood.*"
— Sa Beining

Wu Chun, mindful about the fact that this would eliminate one of his existing machines, was initially uncertain about whether or not to accept the challenge. Considering the previous elimination processes to be 'unsustainable', Sa Beining welcomed the opportunity to seek for 'new blood' to bolster his reduced line-up. Beining was especially taken by the design for Dragon King's weaponry, likening the saw arms to 'wings' and anticipating the inclusion of flamethrowers.

Zhang Yishan abandoned the 'blind' approach he previously adopted for robot selections, as clips of him and Zheng Shuang inspecting Formula were shown. Shuang took an added interest in Great White, as she revealed her intention to consider robot designs not already present in her existing roster.

### Great White (Challenger) vs White Tiger Guardian

#### Challenge

Immediately, Sa Beining and Wu Chun were both interested in obtaining Great White. Beining felt that it would be a like-for-like replacement for Two BBQ, citing the destructive potential of its vertical spinner design. Chun, meanwhile, believed that a machine like Great White would be an ideal counter to pneumatic flippers, which he felt he needed to add going forward.

The latter statement was further reinforced by Great White's previous victory against Tánshè in *King of Bots*. Gabriel Stroud stated that the Australian machine was the only opponent to give his team 'respect and fear' up to this point.

When Chun and Beining confirmed their interest, Zheng Jianfeng was hopeful that Great White would potentially give the Red team a strong chance to compete against the larger Green team. Great White captain Steven Martin admitted that he was surprised by Zheng Shuang and Zhang Yishan not offering a challenge, reiterating his experiences competing at *Robowars*, *RoboGames* and *BattleBots*. Nevertheless, he chose Chun's team as the side to mount a challenge against.

"*His team had has the best balance, but he also has lots of strong robots. So we wanted to join his team as well.*"
— Steven Martin, on selecting Wu Chun

Though he had '2 or 3' choices in mind for the counter-challenge, Chun considered his overall line-up to be 'balanced'. Shuang and Beining, however, both advised him to pick one of his 'relatively weaker' robots, a matter which Chun admitted would still make him feel 'guilty' if it lost. Not willing to sacrifice one of his more competitive machines, Chun opted for White Tiger Guardian, a decision which ironically pleased its captain Pan Feng, as he was anticipating its elimination anyway.

"*I was actually happy, because relatively speaking, we were among the weakest in the team. Given that this was actually a competition, I think it was reasonable to eliminate my robot. Of course, everyone wanted to go further in the game. To me, it was a good decision to eliminate me if our team could continue to fight.*"
— Pan Feng, captain of White Tiger Guardian, upon being chosen to fight Great White

#### Combat

Great White and Remora immediately separated; the latter darting to the bottom-left while the main robot waited to get its spinner up to full speed. White Tiger Guardian weaved into the front of Great White, but had its top-right panel bent upwards as Great White's weapon clipped it. Sparks flew as Remora started attacking White Tiger Guardian's right-hand side. As the Chinese machine retreated, Great White and Remora attacked its sides in a pincer attack, the former ripping the entire left panel clean off.

Seconds later, another hit from Great White flipped White Tiger Guardian over. Unable to self-right or drive inverted, White Tiger Guardian was counted out and eliminated following one of the quickest fights of the entire series.

"*I think we were the most united team. I had so much fun with everyone. Even though my robot is out, my heart is still with the team.*"
— Pan Feng

Great White thus successfully joined the Red team to strengthen Wu Chun's roster. While Chun still considered the process 'cruel', he nevertheless considered both machines to be 'teammates' in spirit. Pan Feng, none the worst for White Tiger Guardian's elimination, reflected on his positive experience with the Red team, including its three-minute match against Spectre.

"*We are all teammates. [in English] We are one team, you know. We are one team. Come. Together... 1, 2, 3, Warrior!*"
— Wu Chun celebrates the handover between Pan Feng (White Tiger Guardian) and the Great White team

**Winner: Great White**

### Dragon King (Challenger) vs ORBY Blade

#### Challenge

Dragon King's design and *BattleBots* pedigree were supported by clips of the machine in the arena, spinning and demonstrating its individually-articulated weapon/track modules. Many Chinese roboteers - including Wang Xi and Zheng Jianfeng - quickly admired the design, the latter considering it to potentially be 'the "Prince Charming" of robots'.

Wu Chun and Zheng Shuang both opted to pick Dragon King. Shuang attempted to convince DT Robotics that Chun had a large line-up, and that she would not pit them against her strongest robots. Chun, on the other hand, felt that he would rather have Dragon King be added than see it compete on opposing teams, should it be able to win. Ultimately, Jerome Miles and his team decided to choose Chun, with the specific aim of being able to fight against Spectre later on.

"*So we chose Wu Chun's team, because we wanted to fight Spectre. If we're on Spectre's team, it's less likely that we'll get to fight it.*"
— Jerome Miles

Similarly to before, the other three managers - particularly Zhang Yishan - all attempted to convince Chun to pick one of his 'weaker' machines. Sa Beining mentioned Red River Hong and Earth Mover as examples, though both were set aside by Chun in favor of ORBY Blade.

"*I didn't choose my weakest one. I sent an average one. So, if Orby actually lost, it would prove that I should have the stronger one.*"
— Wu Chun explains his reasoning to pick ORBY Blade (Mech+ subtitles)

#### Combat

**Wang Tao**: "*The game starts now. Orby must be fleeing at first so that it can look for the chance to spin up.*"
**Xiao Cang**: "*A part of it is already hurt and it has hit the spikes.*"
— As ORBY Blade is pressured in the opening moments (Mech+ subtitles)

Charging out towards its opponent, Dragon King immediately approached and stopped ORBY Blade's bar spinner as the two machines made contact. ORBY Blade spun away as Dragon King tried to push it towards the corner, only to catch the nearby wall spikes. The two machines bumped each other, causing Dragon King to also get caught and allowing ORBY Blade to drive away. This allowed the South Korean machine enough time to get its bar spinner up to speed once more, as both competitors weaved in an attempt to dodge each other.

Moments later, ORBY Blade sniped the left track module of Dragon King, ripping it off entirely and leaving the American machine partially immobile.

"*Dragon King, broke into parts. Orby did a great job. It's fearless.*"
— Wang Tao, shortly after ORBY Blade rips off one of Dragon King's track modules (Mech+ subtitles)

At first, this attack did not prevent Dragon King from being able to drive, as it utilized three separate control systems. With this, it kept pursuing and drove head-on into ORBY Blade's weapon, the collision sending both robots into a violent spin. Three more collisions ensued, each leaving Dragon King with disabled weapons and - eventually - a completely immobilized right track. Exposed wires hung out of the left side of Dragon King as it was counted out, which were later likened by Wu Chun to enoki mushrooms.

"*The robots that we're most afraid of are the full-body spinners, and any horizontal spinner. It's very difficult for us to beat those.*"
— Jerome Miles, on Dragon King's vulnerability against machines like ORBY Blade

The 'average' ORBY Blade thus safeguarded its place on Wu Chun's team.

**Winner: ORBY Blade**

### Wrecker (Challenger) vs Ninja

#### Challenge

Zheng Shuang and Zhang Yishan both considered Wrecker's design to be 'powerful', while Wu Chun felt that it would work well at fighting powerful spinners. Sa Beining, himself fond of similar 'shovel-like' robots, maintained that the Challenger stage would be an ideal proving ground for his remaining competitors. Fellow American roboteer John Mladenik shared his appreciation for Wrecker's 'awesome' counterpart Breaker Box, along with unease surrounding a potential draw against Megabyte.

For the first time, all four team managers put themselves forward to challenge Wrecker, surprising and impressing builder Jim Smentowski in the process. In response to Yishan's 'reverse psychology' - where he left the decision-making up to the other three - Sa Beining boasted that he was a 'very expert manager'. Shuang mentioned her 'competitive' roster. Chun believed that the addition of Wrecker to the Green team would only cement their dominance, and asserted that he still needed 'someone strong' to help him win the championship.

"*There must be some robots in my team that they wanted to fight with. Once we have them both, I believe we'll go further in this journey.*"
— Sa Beining

Sa Beining ultimately proved successful in his bid, selecting the UK thwackbot Ninja in order to 'reserve the best' for subsequent rounds. This was to the benefit of Jim Smentowski, who considered Ninja to be the machine he wanted to face. Based on his experience seeing Breaker Box fight on the US circuit, Brian Nave felt that Wrecker was going to 'win handily'.

"*I thought [Wrecker] was going to win. I was up for the challenge. To be in a good team, you've got to prove yourself.*"
— Paul Streeter, on Ninja's draw against the experienced Wrecker

#### Combat

Prior to the fight, the flamethrower on Wrecker's minibot, Hacker, was demonstrated, further impressing Sa Beining. For certain moments, digital graphics representing the manga/anime character Naruto Uzumaki were superimposed onto Paul Streeter, highlighting his aggressive and persevering driving style.

Both robots came together, and Wrecker boasted the lower ground clearance, but lost grip on Ninja. Similarly, when Ninja slammed straight into the front of Wrecker, it was buffeted into the air, while Wrecker's minibot threw flames. Wrecker was being edged towards the arena corner, and Ninja still could not breach its scoop, and Wrecker threw it backwards, but not over. Wrecker held its ground in the center of the arena, and flipped itself over, but this allowed Ninja to drive straight under it, toppling the American machine. Ninja then sought out the back end of Wrecker, causing the American machine to flip itself over, and fire its scoop as though it were an axe, on the wedge of Ninja. Despite this, Ninja continued to push Wrecker back, towards the mace, and then landed the first blow of its weapon, straight onto the top surface of Wrecker. Afterwards, Ninja wedged under the back of Wrecker and landed a second overhead blow.

"*As soon as we started to hit them on top, we noticed that he just keeps going, keep going, keep moving away*"
— Paul Streeter of Ninja's team, on Wrecker's driving

Ninja again wedged under the back of Wrecker, although its tyre caught the scoop of Wrecker, and Ninja was momentarily lifted. Wrecker's minibot was now incapable of throwing fire, and could not leave its location in the center of the arena. Ninja drove the disadvantaged Wrecker towards the mace, and landed another hit. In the final ten seconds, Ninja used its wedge to stay under Wrecker, hitting it once again, impressing Zheng Shuang. Time expired on the match, and Ninja was declared to be the winner. As a result, Wrecker was not able to join Sa Beining's team, with Jim Smentowski reflecting on its control problems and his driving during the fight.

"*I think I lost the fight because my driving was terrible. Ninja had control during the whole fight, and I did not. I knew that I had not lived up to my expectations during that fight.*"
— Jim Smentowski

**Winner: Ninja**

### Formula (Challenger) vs 008

#### Challenge

Though Formula entered with prior pedigree from its *Robot Wars* counterpart, Zhang Yishan was hesitant to select it, asking Sa Beining for advice.

**Zhang Yishan**: "*Are you saying maybe I can trick them and give them a shot?*"
**Sa Beining**: "*They may not choose you even if you choose them. But you definitely have no chance if you don't.*"
— Zhang Yishan tries to receive advice on Formula

Beining warned of the potential of Team Precision rejecting Yishan's offer even if he chose them, and his team being left worse off if he abstained. As Yishan only had three robots available - all of which had collected a victory - he was generally reluctant to fight the challengers.

Nevertheless, Yishan, Beining and Shuang all accepted the challenge. Since the eliminations of Saber II and EarthShaker from his team, Beining had long hoped to gain a powerful flipper in the mould of Weber or Tánshè. Brian Nave believed Formula to be a 'perfect match' for the Yellow team, as it would enable them to fight against the aforementioned flippers, plus be armored well enough to counter powerful spinners.

Despite already having Tánshè available in the Green team, Shuang wanted to strengthen her team even further, bidding to use Formula to eliminate her weaker options. Yishan, meanwhile, wanted to directly pit Formula against Weber.

"*Tell him that if they choose me, I'll send Space Station. I want to see if they can win against my ejector robot. If they don't choose me, it means that they are not confident to defeat Space Station and it's only right for me to keep Space Station.*"
— Zhang Yishan (Mech+ subtitles)

When Team Precision remained deep in thought, Yishan assumed that should they decide against picking him, Weber would remain the 'strongest' of the two flippers. In any case, Andy Hibberd personally chose Beining, sharing his confidence in uniting with the latter's existing robots.

"*So being on Sa Beining's team, I believe the three robots that are remaining are very strong, and we can beat the majority of robots in the competition. We are very confident between us.*"
— Andy Hibberd

Yishan insisted that Team Precision were 'scared' to choose him. Shuang, on a more positive note, praised Hibberd for taking the 'safest path' to enter the competition, noting Beining's generally weaker roster at this point. Of Beining's own machines, fellow British machine 008 was selected, compelling its captain - and fellow *Robot Wars* alumni - Gary Cairns to admit that it was not as 'reliable' as others.

#### Combat

The two robots met each other in the middle of the arena, and sparks flew as 008's flywheel bounced off of Formula's flipper. Going on another attack, Formula then got underneath 008, but failed to flip it and had its decorative spoiler ripped away as 008 drove over it. Chasing after it some more, Formula finally managed to get its flipper into play as it threw 008 into the air, and 008 landed with a crash.

As the battle continued, 008 seemed to be slowing down with fire visibly bellowing from its insides. Approaching each other tentatively, Formula once again collided with 008's still working flywheel, sending shards of the machine flying across the arena. By now, the damage sustained to Formula was becoming apparent, it as only seemed capable of driving backwards and forwards, but 008 was clearly in not much better condition. As 008 limped forwards towards the heavily damaged Formula, it seemed to wedge itself onto its own flywheel, smoke now also rising from 008. The countdown started, and since Formula was at-least showing some movement, 008 was the one declared KO'ed, despite Formula losing mobility shortly afterwards. Formula was subsequently declared the winner of the match, and got to enter the competition as part of the yellow team.

**Winner: Formula**

### South American Eagle God (Challenger) vs Vulcan

#### Challenge

As Sa Beining and Wu Chun already had two challenges each, only Zheng Shuang and Zhang Yishan were permitted to accept this fifth and final challenge.

Compared to the previous four challengers, South American Eagle God received a muted response from both. Shuang observed that it was 'weak' and 'doesn't look very heavyweight', but praised its elaborate design. A visibly unimpressed Yishan immediately felt it would be inferior to 'any' his current robots. Wang Xi, captain of Greedy Snake, was equally surprised by South American Eagle God's place as a challenger, given its bulky exterior and the UDITECH team's apparent lack of robot combat experience.

Ultimately, neither manager selected South American Eagle God to begin with, a decision leaving UDITECH disappointed and uncertain. In response to Yishan's attempt to explain his decision - that he was content with his current line-up - Wu Chun suggested that Yishan pick one of his three robots to prove that it was 'strong enough' to keep its place.

On this basis - and with later rounds to consider - Yishan chose his newly-acquired Vulcan for South American Eagle God to defeat. The decision, however, was left open to UDITECH, leaving the possibility for them to fight one of Shuang's robots instead. Nevertheless, they agreed to fight Yishan and Vulcan, a challenge Yishan and Alan Young gladly accepted.

"*Yes, I'm very confident. It's great that he's got so much belief and faith in our robot, so any opportunity we can get to thank him and put on a good fight - and win a fight for him - we will do.*"
— Alan Young, as Vulcan is selected to fight South American Eagle God

#### Combat

South American Eagle God's wedge proved to be higher than that of Vulcan's, and it was immediately pushed back by the British machine. Afterwards, Vulcan edged its way up South American Eagle God's wedge, and the vertical disc threw Vulcan over. However, South American Eagle God's spinner stopped working soon after this. Vulcan then drove under South American Eagle God and slammed it into the arena wall at high speed. Vulcan was then able to land repeated axe blows, penetrating the armor of South American Eagle God,.

Vulcan also bent South American Eagle God's armor through purely ramming into the robot. Eventually, Vulcan landed a critical blow, and punctured South American Eagle God's lithium polymer battery, while Vulcan slammed South American Eagle God into the arena wall with its axe still buried in the robot. This caused South American Eagle God to catch fire, in an immediate knockout. As a result, South American Eagle God did not join Zhang Yishan's team.

**Winner: Vulcan**

### Updated Robot Tables

By the end of the Challenger round, the robots assigned to each team manager were as follows (**bold** denotes successful challenger robots):

## 1v1 Fights/Battle of Protection and Resurrection

### Preamble

"*Managers, one-on-one fights are the cruellest. Winners and losers will experience the two extremes of human emotions. Half of the teams will leave sadly. Faced with anxiety and intimidating opponents, only with courage can you conquer fear and face pain. Get ready to face the cruellest challenges.*"
— CH0329

Following the Challenger round, CH0329 introduced the **1v1** battle stage which was to begin in the next episode. As in Alliance War, each manager would allocate a robot to be spared and automatically promoted to the next stage of the competition. This formed a second stage in which the managers themselves would operate their chosen machines, now consisting of a single four-way melee dubbed the **Battle of Protection and Resurrection**. The winning manager from this would be able to reinstate one previously-eliminated robot to add to their team.

Wu Chun felt that this forthcoming battle did not matter as much to him now that Xiake was back in the Red team. Zhang Yishan and Sa Beining both welcomed the opportunity to 'replenish' and 'enrich' their team line-ups. As the manager with the largest number of robots to begin with, Zheng Shuang considered it 'cruel' to have her 'powerful' machines be brought to fight her opponents and each other once again.

### Robot Votes

The Yellow team (represented by Brian Nave plus the Ninja and Formula teams) quickly agreed to enter the fight, with Paul Streeter advocating for Shrederator Tiger Claw as their nominee.

As in Alliance War, Alan Young opposed the idea of a celebrity driving Vulcan, on the basis of its speed and difficult controls. Wang Xi, on the other hand, considered the UK machine a 'better choice' because of its overall effectiveness in combat, with Alan Gubiev alternatively proposing Greedy Snake as an equally 'capable' option.

Zheng Shuang, self-conscious about her prior defeat at the controls of Cat King, considered Megabyte as a potentially easier robot to handle. Meanwhile, a likely translation issue lead to Green team roboteers - including Gabriel Stroud and Adam Wrigley - fearing that the requirements of this battle could allow for other teams to poach one of Shuang's robots. Megabyte, nevertheless, was largely agreed on as their strongest choice according to John Mladenik.

"*We spent a lot of time and effort to build and fix our robot, and also the problems we were worried about [a] celebrity breaking a robot.*"
— Mark Liu

The latter decision would go on to generate friction amongst certain members of Robotic Destruction Company. Of those, Mark Liu was very hesitant to let Megabyte fight, based on the potential of it getting damaged by Shuang during the melee. Mladenik revealed that it took three days for the team to repair it following its Alliance War victory over Two BBQ. Emphasizing with Liu, Grant Cooper questioned whether the Green team necessarily needed to win the battle. This lead to the team unanimously deciding not to fight, for the sake of preserving their machines on their own terms.

However, disagreements still brewed between Liu and fellow RDC team member Richard Loehnig, who felt that Megabyte should still fight regardless and potentially win another robot from an opposing team. Mladenik attempted to begin negotiations between himself, Loehnig and other Green team roboteers, allowing Loehnig to potentially convince them to support his reasoning. However, this process was frequently interrupted by Liu, who wanted to listen, but vocally renounced Loehnig's view despite it garnering quiet interest from Team Spectre.

"*Richard was strongly in favor, and Mark was strongly against it. I mean, they were just head-to-head opposites, and I'm kind of in the middle.*"
— John Mladenik, trying to act as the mediator between his teammates over Megabyte's participation

Meanwhile, Red team roboteers came to a unanimous agreement to nominate Xiake, on the basis of its stability and Zheng Jianfeng's driving skills.

At the end of the time limit, all teams were required to hand their nominated choices over to their respective managers. Zhang Yishan was the first manager required to make a decision on which robot to send. Greedy Snake was confirmed for the melee, as were Xiake - reinforcing to Wu Chun that the Red team were fully 'united' - and Shrederator Tiger Claw.

"*There's no need for the 'dream team' to fight in this round. We don't need any 'bad' robots back. They're all blank. We can win this for you. You don't need to drive.*"
— Gabriel Stroud, relaying the Green team's decision to Zheng Shuang

When Zheng Shuang was due to announce her decision, Gabriel Stroud informed her that she did not need to participate. It was revealed at this point that the team - upon knowing about the correct victory conditions - had declined to accept any reinstated robots, with Stroud believing them to be 'bad' or too severely damaged to be competitive.

Though the Green team's decision appeared to be met with confusion from the other managers, Zhang Yishan, Sa Beining and Wu Chun all praised it for allowing Shuang to 'protect' her robots. John Mladenik, however, was disappointed at Shuang not taking the chance to drive Megabyte, regretting not asking her beforehand. To try and make up for this, Mladenik offered Shuang a card and an offer to drive his team's machine, which she agreed.

However, this only succeeded in confusing and frustrating the other team managers. Zhang Yishan in particular felt that Shuang's acceptance of the offer was 'not appropriate' and 'not fair', given that it occurred after the other teams had already committed to the fight. In realization of Yishan's feelings, Shuang clarified to him that the decision to nominate Megabyte was made within the allotted time, thus confirming it was not done to purposefully 'target' the other robots. Similar amends were made with Wu Chun and Sa Beining, prompting Wang Xi to praise her as a 'responsible manager' in addressing and diffusing the controversy.

John Mladenik, himself feeling 'bad' for the confusion caused by his offer, apologized to Shuang and her interpreter over the Green team not choosing any robots. Shuang responded that it was a 'good thing' for the other teams if the Green team abstained anyway, which they concluded would be a preferable scenario for them.

### Greedy Snake (Zhang Yishan) vs Shrederator Tiger Claw (Sa Beining) vs Xiake (Wu Chun)

#### Practice

"*It spins so fast. As soon as it spins up, the centrifugal force will greatly affect its [movement] in straight lines. So, it felt totally different from what you'd expect controlling this type of robot.*"
— Sa Beining reveals his thoughts on handling Shrederator Tiger Claw (Mech+ subtitles, edited)

During practice, Sa Beining struggled at first to keep control of the fast-spinning Shrederator Tiger Claw, nearly causing the Team LOGICOM machine to hit the wall on two occasions. With guidance from Brian Nave, Beining got the American shell spinner to hit the tire, sending it bouncing towards the maces. He quickly felt that - despite his difficulties - Shrederator Tiger Claw was better than Ninja in this regard, believing that it was easier to land precise attacks with. Nave offered extra advice to 'keep away' from the walls and the front of their opponents.

"*During the practice, Wu Zun shared his ideas about how he would attack Tiger Claw. I think he has the mindset of a pro. But he just got it. It was smart of him to think like that.*"
— Zheng Jianfeng (Mech+ subtitles)

Wu Chun, watching from the arena side, used this opportunity to examine Shrederator Tiger Claw's movements in order to work out his own tactics. At first, he concluded that Xiake should not attack Shrederator Tiger Claw from the front, though Team Xiake quickly advised him against this as it would leave their machine vulnerable to side or rear-on attacks. Zheng Jianfeng reminded Chun and his teammates on the effects of recoil - a head-on collision would send Shrederator Tiger Claw spinning backwards.

Upon recommending that Xiake should repeatedly attack Shrederator Tiger Claw when it had the chance, Chun engaged in a tactical discussion with Jianfeng. It was agreed by the Red team to evaluate the situation based on which of the three robots was first to engage. Jianfeng addressed Greedy Snake's prior effectiveness against Xiake; Xiake's effectiveness at defeating machines like Shrederator Tiger Claw, and the latter's potential to defeat Greedy Snake.

"*What [Zheng Jianfeng] taught me was actually what I was thinking. We didn't need to show off. We needed essential skills. Once you master the essentials, you'll be confident, and that's enough.*"
— Wu Chun

Settling on this tactic, Chun and Team Xiake moved on to a driving test, which involved controlling Xiake in a 'figure-8' motion across the inner arena. Jianfeng added that this would add 'flexibility' to Chun's driving, but was merely optional, as their priority was to attack opponents head-on. Regardless, Chun's confidence grew immensely, his handling of Xiake being impressive enough to briefly convince Zhang Yishan and Wang Xi that Jianfeng was at the controls.

"*Practice is not real fights. I also thought I was good when practising with Space Station [Weber]. But I couldn't even get near the opponent. So, practice is totally different from real fights.*"
— Zhang Yishan

Recounting the difficulties faced at the helm of Weber, Yishan maintained that the practice sessions were not indicative of his real form in battle. He boasted - in an exchange with Jianfeng - that the Blue team were 'even better' prior to practice runs with Greedy Snake. Greedy Snake itself was brought into the arena without its usual 'snatch' weapon, convincing Jianfeng that it was making use of a new 'shovel' wedge and would be entering without any means of self-righting.

"*We are at a disadvantage in this fight, but there's nothing we can do. Our goal now is to protect ourselves.*"
— Wang Xi, as Zhang Yishan is about to practice driving Greedy Snake

Yishan admitted at this point that he was still not confident about his overall driving skills. Thus, Xi guided him into making steady, but controlled pushing attacks on the supplied tire, which for the purpose of the session was interpreted as Shrederator Tiger Claw. Even gingerly driving into Shrederator Tiger Claw would be enough to destabilize and cause the American machine to recoil. Xi's counter to Xiake was to respond with a head-on attack in its direction; he also advised Yishan to monitor Shrederator Tiger Claw and dodge its movements to avoid damage to Greedy Snake's sides or rear.

#### Combat

As confirmed during robot introductions, Greedy Snake entered the battle with a new interchangeable lifter resembling a snake 'head'. The angled wedged plate was mostly raised up to act as a clamp, enabling the 'shovel' wedge to be used as a direct counter to Shrederator Tiger Claw.

Shrederator Tiger Claw, at the controls of Beining, immediately powered up its spinner while the other two robots held back, cautiously. Brian Nave suggested that Beining hit Greedy Snake from behind, prompting Beining to drive his robot straight into the arena wall. Greedy Snake edged towards it, and Shrederator Tiger Claw threw sparks from its opponent's wedge, before crashing back into the arena wall to rip away some of the decorative spikes. While Greedy Snake was distracted, Chun charged Xiake into the side of it, grinding at its underside while further destroying the spikes on the arena wall. Greedy Snake and Shrederator Tiger Claw squared each other up, and eventually Shrederator Tiger Claw drove into one of Greedy Snake's wedgelets, rebounding into the air after throwing sparks.

Greedy Snake edged towards the rotating Shrederator Tiger Claw, and completely resisted the spinning weapon, pressing it into the arena wall despite a constant shower of sparks being thrown from Greedy Snake's wedge. Xiake also capitalized by ramming into Shrederator Tiger Claw, throwing it from the floor and into the wall. However, Xiake drove onto Greedy Snake's wedge, and was pushed into the corner of the arena itself. Xiake had become stuck on debris which it had previously ripped from the wall, but it drove into the back of Greedy Snake and pushed it into the spinner of Shrederator Tiger Claw, also carrying it into the arena wall to slam Greedy Snake high into the air.

Greedy Snake slowly edged towards Shrederator Tiger Claw, which reversed away, but Greedy Snake eventually caught up to destablize the spinner. In response, Shrederator Tiger Claw hit the side of Greedy Snake, and also threw more sparks from its wedge. Shrederator Tiger Claw attacked the front of Greedy Snake again, but was cast aside by a forward push from Greedy Snake. Suddenly, Xiake charged in and clashed with the spinner of Shrederator Tiger Claw, throwing it into a Grinder, where it recoiled straight back into the side of Greedy Snake, and Xiake also drove under Greedy Snake to hit its base.

Greedy Snake shepherded Shrederator Tiger Claw back, damaging the arena wall again, but a hit from Xiake's drum threw the American machine into the air, and directly into Greedy Snake's grappling weapon, bending it. Xiake had become stuck on debris again, so Shrederator Tiger Claw hit the arena wall and bounced into Xiake, damaging the side of the machine. Greedy Snake closed in within the final ten seconds, and drove under Shrederator Tiger Claw, placing it atop Xiake's drum, and then gripped it using its snatch mechanism, when time expired on the match.

The battle was sent to a Judges' decision, and this episode revealed that Shrederator Tiger Claw had lost the battle, but the winner between Greedy Snake and Xiake was not revealed until the following episode. The winner was Greedy Snake.

"*Mr Sa Beining, I hope you enjoyed the driving, but you know, after the fun comes the bill. I'm gonna need a little bit of cash from you, perhaps a credit card, I'll take it. You'll get the invoice next week!*"
— Brian Nave

**Winner: Greedy Snake (Zhang Yishan)**

## Trivia

* This was the first episode where filming coincided with taping of the 2018 season of *BattleBots*, preventing most of the teams involved from competing at both events.

## References

1. ↑ https://twitter.com/Mech\_Plus/status/1608108790922235905
2. ↑ https://www.fsi.co.jp/sumo/history/record/28/alljapan/pdf/international\_result\_rc.pdf