Check out this fight in BattleBots World Championship VII (marked “Season 8” on most platforms), Episode 8. Or check it out on Twitter and Facebook.
We’re 2-0 and feeling great, after wins over Shatter and Blip! HUGE’s next test comes in the form of the dual horizontal/vertical spinning weapons of Fusion. Horizontal spinning weapons in particular are a longtime nemesis of HUGE-style designs as they can chop down our wheels and disable us. Fusion is the spiritual successor to a robot named “Son of Whyachi”, who did just that during the 2019 season. Luckily we’ve learned a lot since that fight and our fingers are crossed that we can change our fortunes this time around. Fusion has been looking extremely strong so far this year, most notably splitting Witch Doctor’s entire weapon hub, which was held together with identical screws to the ones used in HUGE’s weapon hub. We’ll need to win quickly to avoid too much damage!
That previous fight with Son of Whyachi was the catalyst for a new era in HUGE’s wheels, as it inspired a tegris manufacturer to reach out to our team and inform us of this miracle material. We get a lot of suggestions about HUGE’s design, always consider them, yet generally hear them with an air of skepticism. But this suggestion was a game-changer, immediately entering service with Tiny Huge (the 3lb version of HUGE) and turning it into a top contender. A previous tegris design withstood Malice in 2020, and this newer mismatched version proved effective against Captain Shrederator in 2021. No design is impenetrable, so we still need to win quickly to keep from taking too much damage, but tegris wheels give us the time to be able to turn the fight in our favor.
While we wouldn’t normally run a wheel like this against a vertical spinning weapon, we expected Fusion to heavily prioritize their horizontal spinner and planned primarily for that. We also re-mounted the “S-Blade” seen last against Shatter, as it is our best-designed blade for dealing with vertical spinning weapons, as well as best for withstanding a fatal bend from a horizontal spinner. Plus, as our most aggressive weapon, it fits our strategy to win quickly, and avoid accumulating damage.
Fusion, on the other hand, took some more drastic steps in preparation for fighting HUGE. Not only was a very heavy top plate mounted to withstand downward blows, but Fusion also modified both weapon systems specifically for HUGE. Their standard tri-rotor was exchanged for a thinner, two-toothed traditional bar, while the vertical spinner had its teeth thinned out and sharpened (and a corresponding amount of weight removed from the backside). We don’t envy whoever had to grind those teeth.
And that’s the configs! Both robots are ready for each other, and both are looking stronger than they have in past years. This is geared up to be an explosive fight.
Following two days of preparations, our fight with Fusion was over in just seconds! And as the first fight of the day, this gave us an amazing opportunity to have an entire day to repair and prepare for our upcoming fight with Starchild who, chronologically, was scheduled to fight Gigabyte later on the same day.
A 3-0 start is a dream-come-true for Team HUGE, and an amazing reflection of the years of work put into this brushless iteration of HUGE. Everything we know now can be directly linked back to lessons learned during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. At 3-0 with two dominant KO’s, a trip to the playoffs is a certainty, but we were still in a position to control our fate. A good win over Starchild would be able to set up HUGE for a top seed, and an easier path through the bracket than in prior seasons. Conversely a loss would reflect poorly on us due to Starchild’s struggles to this point (although it wouldn’t concern us too deeply, as Starchild is so unique that it would have little bearing on our ability to defeat normal “meta” robots).
Most importantly, it’s a fight the whole Battlebots community wants to see!
Thanks to HUGE’s sponsors, Mouser Electronics and TTI, Inc. Whenever you need electronic components next, either for hobby or professionally, remember that Mouser and TTI make it possible for HUGE to compete at Battlebots. We couldn’t do it without them!
If you’re interested, also check out our merch store to pick up HUGE gear, or your own pair of angry eyes!
Photo Credits: Dan Longmire, JCRB Photography