The twelfth season of the American competitive television series BattleBots premiered on Discovery Channel on January 5, 2023. This is the fifth main-line season of Battlebots to premiere on Discovery Channel and the seventh main-line season since the show was rebooted in 2015; official material markets this season as World Championship VII.
Returning for the 12 season as hosts and analysts are MLB/NFL Sportscaster Chris Rose and former UFC fighter Kenny Florian, as well as BattleBox announcer Faruq Tauheed.
The "Upper Deck" is now a main staple in the BattleBox, along with kill saws and rotating screws as returning arena hazards. This season each team faces four guaranteed fights in the qualifying matches, fighting for one of 32 spots in the seventh world championship tournament. Also new for this season, fans can go to BattleBots website to see every robot's complete schedule, allowing more transparency for both teams and viewers. Unlike previous seasons which posted extra fights to YouTube or gave short recaps, every match in the preseason and postseason is televised in its entirety.
New this season are special champion banners hanging up over the entranceway, representing the robots that "reached the pinnacle" of the sport of robot combat by winning the Giant Nut trophy. The banners feature a picture of the champion bot with a Roman numeral denoting the competition that they won. Last season's champion, Tantrum, was the first team to witness their own banner unveiling before their match began.
Judges The 11-point scale system returned where the judges award 5 points for damage; 3 points for aggression; and 3 points for control.
The current judges are: former BattleBots contenders, Derek Young, Lisa Winter, and Fon Davis.
Contestants This season marked the 23rd year of the BattleBots competition. The lineup features 56 of the best heavyweight robots to fight head-to-head in the Battle Arena.
Every team will fight four times in the qualifying rounds. Their goal is to earn a spot in the top 32 in the winner-take-all championship tournament and ultimately become the 2022 BattleBots World Champion. New to this season, teams may appeal a judge's decision that they do not agree with, prompting a closer look and potentially overturning the decision. If this appeal fails, that team loses the ability to challenge for the remainder of the tournament.
Contestants Robot Builder(s) Hometown Fight Record Banshee David Small Phoenix, Arizona 1–3 Beta John Reid Oxford, England, United Kingdom 3–1 Big Dill Emmanuel Carrillo Seattle, WA 1–3 Black Dragon Julio Cortez Itajubá, Minas Gerais, Brazil 2–2 Blip Aren Hill Mountain View, CA 2–2 Bloodsport Justin Marple Cambridge, MA 2–2 Captain Shrederator Brian Nave Ormond Beach, FL 1–3 Claw Viper Kevin Milczewski Seattle, WA 3–1 Cobalt John Mladenik & Dave Moulds Oceanside, CA 3–1 Copperhead Luke Quintal Denver, CO 3–1 DeathRoll Steven Martin Brisbane, Australia 2–2 Doom* Alejandro Pina Whittier, CA – Doomba* Brice Farrell Baltimore, MD 0–2 Double Tap* Jonathan Collazo San Jose, CA 2–0 Dragon King* Will Prater Birmingham, AL 1–1 Emulsifier Matt Bores Columbus, Ohio 1–3 End Game Jack Barker & Nick Mabey Auckland, New Zealand 3–1 Free Shipping Gary Gin San Leandro, CA 1–3 Fusion Reese Ewert Dorchester, WI 1–3 Gigabyte Derek Tran & Camden Walraff Oceanside, CA 1–3 Glitch Kyle Miller Berkeley, CA 0–4 Gruff Sam McAmis Palm Harbor, FL 1–3 HiJinx Jen Herchenroeder Oakland, CA 1–3 Horizon Joshua Kong Los Angeles, California 1–3 HUGE Jonathan Schultz South Windsor, CT 4–0 Hydra Jake Ewert Dorchester, WI 3–1 HyperShock Will Bales Miami, FL 2–2 JackPot Jeff Waters Las Vegas, NV 2–2 Kraken Matt Spurk Titusville, FL 0–4 Lock-Jaw Donald Hutson San Diego, California 3–1 Lucky Mark Demers Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 3–1
Robot Builder(s) Hometown Fight Record MadCatter Martin Mason Pomona, CA 2–2 Malice Adrian "Bunny" Sauriol San Jose, CA 3–1 Mammoth Ricky Willems Baltimore, MD 2–2 Minotaur Marco Antonio Meggiolaro Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 4–0 Monsoon Tom Brewster Coventry, United Kingdom 2–2 Ominous Tim Bouwens Tilburg, Netherlands 1–3 Overhaul Charles Guan Atlanta, GA 1–3 Quantum James & Grant Cooper Birmingham, United Kingdom 4–0 Ribbot David Jin Somerville, MA 1–3 RIPperoni Anna Zolnikov Cambridge, MA 3–1 Riptide Ethan Kurtz Tarzana, CA 4–0 Rotator Victor Soto Miami, FL 2–2 Rusty Jr.* David Eaton Antioch, IL – SawBlaze Jamison Go Cambridge, MA 3–1 Shatter! Adam Wrigley Brooklyn, NY 1–3 Shreddit Bro Evan Arias Staten Island, NY 2–2 Skorpios Zachary Lytle Moraga, CA 2–2 Slammo!* Craig Danby Raleigh, NC 0–2 Starchild Brandon Zalinsky Hudson, NH 0–4 Switchback Greg Needel Dallas, TX 2–1 Tantrum Alex Grant & Ginger Schmidt Mountain View, CA 1–3 Terrortops* Ben Burton Long Beach, CA 2–0 Triton Bradley Hanstad Las Vegas, NV 2–2 Valkyrie Lucy Du Somerville, MA 2–2 Whiplash Matthew Vasquez Thousand Oaks, CA 2–2 Witch Doctor Andrea Gellatly (née Suarez) Miami, FL 3–1 * Not competing in the main tournament.
Tournament bracket Knockout stage
Episodes
References