User blog:SpaceManiac888/Ragnabot 3: My Opinions and Awards

For those who haven't, strap yourselves in, because Ragnabot 3 is going to be one hell of a ride! Indeed, with the inclusion of the Series 9 and 10 machines, plus the non-heavyweights and some US 1996 machines, expect some titanic clashes and huge underdog stories throughout. I will be adding my thoughts on each heat, as well as my thoughts on how far the finalists can realistically go. In addition, I have several awards to give out in each heat, including:


 * Overkill GTI Award: For the machine that stunned us by punching well above its weight. It depends on the robot and how far it made it into the tournament. For example, Overkill GTI winning one battle does not mean it overachieved; but its appearance in the Quarter-Finals of Ragnabot 2.
 * Kat 3 Award: For the robot that achieved well below expectations going into the tournament. Again, it depends on the robot, this time on how early it exited the tournament.
 * Rusty Spanner Award: For the robot that disappointed us by exiting anticlimatically. To win this award, the robot must have lost a battle that just deflated me, since it had potential to put on great matches with most other machines. Good example would be a great pre-weight increase machine losing to a reboot flipper via a flip of doom.
 * Steg 2 Award: For the robot I personally disagree with making it so far into the tournament, regardless of who they are and whether they have "overachieved" or not. To be eligible for this award, I must have disagreed with the outcome of at least two of its battles in the heat, or one in later stages.
 * Typhoon Award: Awarded to the most successful non-heavyweight machine in each heat. Superheavyweights are counted, because of the disadvantages they face due being Series 2 era machines.
 * Razer vs Hypno-Disc Award: For the biggest dream match made possible in Ragnabot 3.
 * Storm 2 vs Firestorm 5 Award: For the battle that was hugely contested, where only a difference of two votes or fewer decided the outcome. All battles that end in a judges' decision are eligible here.

Without further ado, let's see what my thoughts are regarding each heat of this series.

Heat A
Well, what can I say, a truly explosive start to Ragnabot 3 proper. Starting with a battle between two Classic Era semi-finalists, the star power continued from there. When Firestorm 5 is not even in the top three for its heat, you know this is a Heat of Death. And not only did we get an early clash of titans, with Magnetar sending Aftershock home, we also got our first underdog story, with Spawn of Scutter becoming the first (and hopefully not last) pre-weight increase finalist for Ragnabot 3.

Really, the only problem with the opening heat is that it lacked close battles. Really, Dragbot vs Spawn of Scutter was the only contentious matchup. Still, this is only the first heat; there will be plenty of battles up for debate, I'm sure of it.

Awards

 * Overkill GTI: Spawn of Scutter, no question. Pretty much, any pre-weight increase robot that escapes the heats is a shoo-in for the award. Honourable mention to Raizer Blade for also putting in a very respectable performance.
 * Kat 3: Aftershock. Considering how close it came to becoming Audited Series 10 champion, Aftershock not even reaching Round 3 of the heats must be quite the shock. Still, losing to Magnetar is nothing to be too ashamed of, I suppose. Atomic meanwhile suffered a great fall, seeing as it finished fourth in Ragnabot 2.
 * Rusty Spanner: Steg-O-Saw-Us. The only Jurassic Park machine I actually rate, and it goes out via single flip of doom from M2 in Round 1. Massive shame. Argh! also deserves a mention, seeing that as a Featherweight champion, we might have seen some huge upsets if it wasn't paired against Concussion.
 * Steg 2: Nobody gets the award here. In fact, the only outcome I disagreed with was Magnetar beating Aftershock, but I accept that it could have gone either way.
 * Typhoon: Steel Sandwich, for dominating Mr Punch before understandably beating flipped out of the arena by Atomic.
 * Razer vs Hypno-Disc: Controversial, but Firestorm 5 vs Atomic. Honestly, while Magnetar vs Aftershock would have been great, I fear that match would have been decided in only a few blows. Firestorm 5 vs Atomic would have been a true nailbiter, and I argue that while Atomic would win in the Series 7 Arena, Firestorm 5 would have overcome its opponent in the Reboot Arena.
 * Storm 2 vs Firestorm 5: No fight earns the award here.

Thoughts on the Finalists

 * Concussion: Could be a dark horse for this tournament, considering its design is highly effective against some of the favourites. However, I would argue that its exposed tyres are its main downfall, as even key Classic Era machines can exploit them.
 * Magnetar: Has to be one of the favourites for Ragnabot 3. The only true opposition it faces are elites like Carbide and powerful flippers that can fully exploit Magnetar's self-righting issues.
 * Spawn of Scutter: Just based on who else has made it past Round 3, an additional victory may be the best that Spawn of Scutter can achieve.
 * Firestorm 5: Can it make the top four? Well, it must certainly be one of the great hopes for any Classic Era machine making it that far. Seeing that at least one user thinks that it might actually beat Concussion and even Magnetar, Firestorm 5 is certainly one to watch.