The ninth season of the American competitive television series BattleBots premiered on Discovery on June 7, 2019. This is the second season of Battlebots to premiere on Discovery Channel and the fourth season since the show was rebooted in 2015. Encore episodes debuted on Science Channel on June 12, 2019.
MLB/NFL Sportscaster Chris Rose and former UFC fighter Kenny Florian returned from the last three seasons to host this ninth season (and 20th year) of the BattleBots competition on Discovery. Also, Faruq Tauheed returned as the arena announcer. Taking over for Jessica Chobot as the behind the scenes and pit reporter was Jenny Taft.
Judges
This season the judges will score on a 7-point scale: 3 points for damage; 2 points for aggression; and also 2 points for control.
The current judges are former BattleBots contenders, Derek Young, Lisa Winter, and Jason Bardis.
Contestants This season marked the 20th year of the BattleBots competition. The largest field in the history of the show will feature 68 of the best heavyweight robots (weighing a maximum of 250 pounds) to fight head-to-head in the Battle Arena. Their goal is to earn a top 16 ranking and qualify for the post-season where there will be knockout rounds until a winner-take-all fight to crown the 2019 BattleBots World Champion. (The robot, Electric Ray, entered the BattleBots competition but did not participate after it failed to pass safety tests.)
The contestants hailed from all over the world from nine countries including: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, United Kingdom and the United States.
Contestants Robot Builder(s) Hometown Fight Record Axe Backwards*Kurt DurjanPalm City, FL 0–4 BattleSaw*Adam CoxWichita, KS 0–2 Bite ForcePaul VentimigliaMountain View, CA 8–0 Black DragonJoão Marcos Giacometti CavalheiroItajubá, Minas Gerais, Brazil 4–2 BlacksmithAl KindleEdison, NJ 3-3 BloodsportJustin MarpleSomerville, MA 3–1 BombshellMatthew Carroll &Dan HammerAtlanta, GA 0–4 Breaker BoxJim SmentowskiBradenton, FL 1–3 BroncoReason Bradley &Alexander RoseSausalito, CA 0–4 Captain ShrederatorBrian NaveOrmond Beach, FL 0–4 Chronos*Jerry SerafinCanoga Park, CA 1–2 CobaltSam SmithDerby, United Kingdom 2–3 CopperheadZach GoffLoveland, CO 2–3 Daisy Cutter*Bob GiradiHuntington Beach, CA 0–1 DeathRollSteven MartinBrisbane, Australia 6–1 Deep Six*Dustin EssweinNewton, WI 2–1 Double Jeopardy*Evan WoolleyIrvine, CA 0–1 DUCK!Hal RuckerHillsborough, CA 2–3 Electric RayLucas BuermeyerHerndon, VA End GameJack BarkerAuckland, New Zealand 2–3 Extinguisher*John Flaacke IVTampa, FL 1–2 Falcon*Clint EwertDorchester, WI 1–2 The Four Horsemen*Ian WattsBrighton, United Kingdom 1-1 Foxtrot*Craig DanbyRaleigh, NC 0–2 Free ShippingGary GinOakland, CA 2-2 Gemini*Ace ShelanderSanta Monica, CA 1–2 GigabyteBrent RiekerEscondido, CA 2-2 GruffSam McAmisHoliday, FL 1–3 HUGEJonathan SchultzSouth Windsor, CT 4–2 HydraJake EwertDorchester, WI 4–1 HyperShockWill BalesMiami, FL 3–2 Jasper*Tom LloydLondon, United Kingdom 0–2 Kingpin*Kevin HjeldenSacramento, CA 1-1 Kraken*Matt SpurkTitusville, FL 1–2 Lock-JawDonald HutsonSan Diego, CA 5–2 Lucky*Mark DemersOttawa, ON, Canada 1–2
Robot Builder(s) Hometown Fight Record MadCatter*Martin MasonPomona, CA 1–2 Mammoth*Ricky WillemsBaltimore, MD 3-3 Marvin*Hannah RuckerHillsborough, CA 1–3 MinotaurMarco Antonio MeggiolaroRio de Janeiro, Brazil 5–4 MonsoonTom BrewsterTurvey, United Kingdom 2–3 Nelly the Ellybot*Sarah MalyanDerby, United Kingdom 0–2 P1*Luke BittenbinderClemson, SC 0–2 Petunia*Mischa de GraafAnna Paulowna, The Netherlands 1–2 QuantumJames CooperBirmingham, United Kingdom 3-3 Ragnarök*Tim RackleyKent, Isle of Sheppy, United Kingdom 1–3 RailGun MaxElaine WuShanghai, China 3–2 Rainbow*Petr KravchenkoSaint-Petersburg, Russia 2–1 RibbotDavid JinWorcester, MA 3–2 RotatorVictor SotoDoral, FL 2–3 SawBlazeJamison GoCambridge, MA 4–2 Sharkoprion*Edward D. RobinsonPoway, CA 0–1 Shatter!*Adam WrigleyBrooklyn, NY 3–2 Shellshock*George KirkmanRolling Hills Estates, CA 0–1 Sidewinder*Josh CoatesSalt Lake City, UT 1-1 SkorpiosOrion BeachSanta Rosa, CA 3–2 Son of WhyachiLuke EwertDorchester, WI 4–2 SubZero*Jerry ClarkinMalvern, PA 1–2 Tantrum*Aren HillMountain View, CA 2-2 Texas TwisterMichael "Fuzzy" MauldinLiberty Hill, TX 2-2 TombstoneRay BillingsPlacerville, CA 5–2 Uppercut*Alex HattoriCambridge, MA 5–3 Valkyrie*Leanne CushingCambridge, MA 2-2 WanHooWeidong QiShanghai, China 2-2 WAR HawkRob FarrowSeattle, WA 2–3 WhiplashJeff VasquezNewbury Park, CA 4–2 Witch DoctorAndrea Gellatly (née Suarez)Miami Springs, FL 7–1 YetiGreg GibsonWasilla, AK 4–2 * These bots participated in fights that were untelevised.
Desperado Tournament
Like the previous season, this season also featured the mid-season "Desperado Tournament", where eight bots who started the regular competition with a poor record had the opportunity regain their winning ways and get a second chance to battle it out tournament style in the battle box. The bot that won three fights in a row earned an automatic spot into the Top 16 and was the first entrant into the 2019 BattleBots Championship, and they also won the Desperado Tournament giant bolt trophy. The losing bots went back into the regular rotation to finish out their season.
Seeding Minotaur (0–2) WAR Hawk (1-1) Black Dragon (1-1) End Game (0–2) Gruff (1-1) Captain Shrederator (0–2) Ragnorök (0–2) Lucky (1-1)
Desperado Tournament Bracket
KO: Knockout UD: Unanimous Decision
Desperado Tournament Quarterfinals Episode Battle Winner Loser Method Time 8(July 26, 2019) 1 Minotaur Lucky KO 1:59 2 End Game Gruff KO 2:59 3 Black Dragon Captain Shrederator KO 1:18 4 WAR Hawk Ragnarök KO 2:45
The robot was the winner of the battle and moved on to the Semifinals. The robot was the loser of the battle and was eliminated. KO: Knockout
Desperado Tournament Semifinals Episode Battle Winner Loser Method Time 8(July 26, 2019) 1 Minotaur End Game KO 2:36 2 Black Dragon WAR Hawk KO 1:01
The robot was the winner of the battle and moved on to the Final. The robot was the loser of the battle and was eliminated. KO: Knockout
Desperado Tournament Final
Episode Battle Winner Loser Method Time 8(July 26, 2019) 1 Black Dragon Minotaur UD 3:00
The robot was the winner of the battle and moved on to the Top 16 Tournament Bracket. The robot was the loser of the battle and was eliminated. UD: Unanimous Decision
Top 16 Tournament
Seeding
Bite Force (4-0) Witch Doctor (4-0) Hydra (4-0) Tombstone (3-1) Whiplash (3-1) DeathRoll (4-0) SawBlaze (3-1) Black Dragon (4-1) Lock-Jaw (4-1) Son of Whyachi (4-1) Yeti (4-1) HUGE (4-1) Quantum (3-2) Minotaur (4-3) Blacksmith (3-2) Uppercut (4-1)
Top 16 Tournament Bracket
KO: Knockout UD: Unanimous Decision SD: Split Decision
Round of 16 Episode Battle Winner Loser Method Time 15(September 20, 2019) 1 SawBlaze Son of Whyachi UD 3:00 2 Bite Force Uppercut KO 0:57 3 DeathRoll Yeti KO 1:26 4 Tombstone Quantum KO 0:32 5 Whiplash HUGE SD 3:00 6 Witch Doctor Blacksmith KO 2:24 7 Lock-Jaw Black Dragon SD 3:00 8 Minotaur Hydra KO 0:42
The robot was the winner of the battle and moved on to the Quarterfinals. The robot was the loser of the battle and was eliminated. KO: Knockout UD: Unanimous Decision SD: Split Decision
Quarterfinals Episode Battle Winner Loser Method Time 16(September 27, 2019) 1 DeathRoll Minotaur KO 2:04 2 Tombstone Whiplash KO 1:40 3 Witch Doctor SawBlaze KO 1:20 4 Bite Force Lock-Jaw KO 2:56
The robot was the winner of the battle and moved on to the Semifinals. The robot was the loser of the battle and was eliminated. KO: Knockout
Semi-finals Episode Battle Winner Loser Method Time 16(September 27, 2019) 1 Witch Doctor DeathRoll SD 3:00 2 Bite Force Tombstone KO 0:52
The robot was the winner of the battle. The robot was the loser of the battle. KO: Knockout SD: Split Decision
2019 World Championship Episode Battle Winner Loser Method Time 16(September 27, 2019) 1 Bite Force Witch Doctor KO 1:56
The robot was the winner of the battle and became the champion of BattleBots 2019. KO: Knockout
Standings As of Episode 13: +Current Scoreboard:Team NameTotal matchesWinsLossesKnockoutsLosses by knockoutAxe Backwards (2019) 4 0 4 0 3 BattleSaw (2019) 2 0 2 0 2 Bite Force (2019) 8 8 0 6 0 Black Dragon (2019) 6 4 2 3 0 Blacksmith (2019) 6 3 3 1 1 Bloodsport (2019) 3 2 1 1 1 Bombshell (2019) 4 0 4 0 4 Breaker Box (2019) 4 1 3 0 3 Bronco (2019) 4 0 4 0 2 Captain Shrederator (2019) 4 0 4 0 4 Chronos (2019) 2 1 1 1 1 Cobalt (2019) 4 2 2 2 2 Copperhead (2019) 4 2 2 1 3 Daisy Cutter (2019) 1 0 1 0 1 DeathRoll (2019) 7 6 1 5 0 Deep Six (2019) 3 2 1 1 1 Double Jeopardy (2019) 1 0 1 0 0 DUCK! (2019) 5 2 3 2 0 Electric Ray (2019) 0 0 0 0 0 End Game (2019) 5 2 3 2 3 Extinguisher (2019) 2 1 1 1 0 Falcon (2019) 3 1 2 0 1 The Four Horsemen (2019) 3 2 1 1 0 Foxtrot (2019) 2 0 2 0 2 Free Shipping (2019) 4 2 2 1 1 Gemini (2019) 3 1 2 1 0 Gigabyte (2019) 4 2 2 1 1 Gruff (2019) 4 1 3 0 1 HUGE (2019) 6 4 2 2 1 Hydra (2019) 5 4 1 4 1 HyperShock (2019) 5 3 2 3 1 Jasper (2019) 2 0 2 0 2 Kingpin (2019) 2 1 1 1 1 Kraken (2019) 3 1 2 0 1 Lock Jaw (2019) 7 5 2 3 2 Lucky (2019) 3 1 2 0 1 MadCatter (2019) 2 1 1 1 1 Mammoth (2019) 5 2 3 2 2 Marvin (2019) 4 1 3 0 0 Minotaur (2019) 9 5 4 4 1 Monsoon (2019) 4 1 3 1 2 Nelly the Ellybot (2019) 2 0 2 0 1 Nightmare (2019) 0 0 0 0 0 P1 (2019) 2 0 2 0 2 Petunia (2019) 3 1 2 0 2 Quantum (2019) 6 3 3 1 3 Ragnarök (2019) 3 0 3 0 3 RailGun Max (2019) 4 3 1 2 1 Rainbow (2019) 3 2 1 1 1 Ribbot (2019) 4 2 2 2 0 Rotator (2019) 5 2 3 2 0 SawBlaze (2019) 6 4 2 0 2 Sharkoprion (2019) 0 0 0 0 0 Shatter! (2019) 4 2 2 1 1 Shellshock (2019) 1 0 1 0 1 Sidewinder (2019) 2 1 1 1 1 Skorpios (2019) 5 3 2 2 2 Son of Whyachi (2019) 64241SubZero (2019) 3 1 2 1 2 Tantrum (2019) 4 2 2 1 1 Texas Twister (2019) 4 2 2 1 2 Tombstone (2019) 4 3 1 4 2 Uppercut (2019) 6 4 2 4 2 Valkyrie (2019) 4 2 2 1 2 WanHoo (2019) 4 2 2 1 0 WAR Hawk (2019) 5 2 3 2 3 Whiplash (2019) 6 4 2 2 1 Witch Doctor (2019) 8 7 1 4 1 Yeti (2019) 6 4 2 2 1
Episodes
References