Robot Wars: 1997 US Championship

1997 US Championship
1994-1997 event logo
Event Information
Presenter(s)	Michael Meehan Joel Hodgson
Dates	August 15-17 1997
Venue	Fort Mason Center, San Francisco
Format	Face-Off (double elimination)/ Melee/ Exhibition battles
Champions
Heavyweight	BioHazard & Blendo (Face-Off & Melee)
Middleweight	Vicious-1 (Face-Off) Turtle Roadkiller (Melee)
Lightweight	Defiant (Face-Off & Melee)
Featherweight	Wedge of Doom (Face-Off & Melee)
Autonomous	Thumper (Middleweight)
History
Arena	1994-1997
Preceded By	1996 US Championship
Succeeded By	Robot Wars 1998 (canceled)

The 1997 US Robot Wars Championship, also known simply as Robot Wars 1997, Robot Wars '97 or the Fourth Annual Robot Wars, was the fourth and final running of the original US Robot Wars events organized by Marc Thorpe. It took place on August 15-17 1997 at the Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, featuring a total of 91 entries across multiple weight classes.

Similarly to the previous year, Face-Off and Melee tournaments were run for robots in the heavyweight, middleweight, lightweight and featherweight categories. A variety of combat and non-combat demonstration events also took place, including a battle between fully-autonomous robots.

Robots Competing

Heavyweights

	Ankle Biter
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Wedge/ramming force
	Defence	Aluminum armor/chassis
	From	Petaluma, California
Team: John McKenzie

	Badger
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Clawed wheel spokes; ramming power
	Defence	Unknown
	From	Fort Collins, Colorado
Team: James Bloeman

	BioHazard
	Weight	169.8lbs
	Weapons	Four-bar lifter
	Defence	Machined aluminum/ magnesium/ steel/titanium
	From	Belmont, California
Team: Carlo Bertocchini

	Blendo
	Weight	140lbs
	Weapons	5hp full-body spinner
	Defence	Industrial cooking wok shell
	From	San Francisco, California
Team: Jamie Hyneman & Adam Savage
Sponsors: M5 Industries

	Bubba
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Spinning hammer arm
	Defence	Steel chassis; aluminum dome shell
	From	Sacramento, California
Team: Alex Ramirez

	DooAll
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Abrasive/cutting disc
	Defence	Machined aluminum chassis
	From	Novato, California
Team: Scott LaValley
Sponsors: NewTek, Jet, Genuity, Belden

	frenZy
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Interchangeable axes/hammers
	Defence	Aluminum chassis & dome shell
	From	South San Francisco, California
Team: Patrick Campbell

	Gut Rip
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Milling saws
	Defence	Lexan armor; aluminum chassis
	From	Palo Alto, California
Team: Bob Schneeveis

	Hercules
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Lifter & cutting saws
	Defence	Aluminum/metal pipe chassis; stainless steel armor
	From	Navato, California
Team: Jim Smentowski, Erica Smentowski, Ken Corvino & Lydia Greenfield

	Kill-O-Amp
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Ramming force
	Defence	Aluminum & plate stock chassis
	From	San Jose, California
Team: Curt Meyers

	La Machine
	Weight	169.8lbs
	Weapons	Ramming scoop; pneumatic ram
	Defence	Aluminum shell; aluminum/wooden chassis
	From	San Francisco, California
Team: Trey Roski & Greg Munson
Sponsors: NewTek, Jet, Genuity, Belden

	Mash-N-Go
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Spring-powered axes
	Defence	Steel tube frame; sheetmetal & aluminum armor
	From	Parsippany, New Jersey
Team: Jim Anderson

	Metallithor
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Spinning hammer
	Defence	Unknown
	From	Glensdale, California
Team: Jay Smith

	Monster
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Ramming force
	Defence	Lexan armor; welded steel chassis
	From	Ventura, California
Team: Kevin Knoedler
Sponsors: C&H Sales, Teradyne

	Prometheus II
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Reciprocating "jackhammer" spike
	Defence	Square steel tube chassis; riveted aluminum sheets
	From	North Kansas City, Missouri
Team: Richard Brull

	Punjar
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Ramming blade
	Defence	Welded aluminum diamond plate
	From	San Francisco, California
Team: Ramiro Mallari

	Rhino
	Weight	171lbs
	Weapons	Spiked ramming 'points' & Halon extinguisher
	Defence	Kevlar, carbon & aluminum
	From	San Francisco, California
Team: Alex Rose

	Snake
	Weight	~300lbs
	Weapons	Front jaws & tail drill
	Defence	Welded steel sections; aluminum panels
	From	California
Team: Mark Setrakian, Paul Rivera, Peter Abrahamson & Robert Orr

	TallyWhacker
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Hydraulic flail
	Defence	Welded square steel tube frame; rubber "garbage can" armor
	From	Seattle, Washington
Team: Klaas Langhout

	Tazbot
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Turret-mounted lifting arm
	Defence	Square metal chassis; shock-mounted aluminum diamond plate
	From	San Diego, California
Team: Donald Hutson
Sponsors: Hitec RCD

	The Landshark
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Ramming force
	Defence	Welded steel tube chassis & aluminum diamond plate
	From	Fremont, California
Team: Willis Wong

	The Mauler
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Spinning maces
	Defence	Steel shell & chassis
	From	Portola Valley, California
Team: Charles Tilford

	The Scorpion
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Hydraulic jaws & tail/scoop
	Defence	Welded stainless steel
	From	California
Team: Raymond Washburn

	Vlad the Impaler
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Pneumatic lifting spears
	Defence	Aluminum shell; welded steel chassis
	From	Oakland, California
Team: Gage Cauchois

	Z
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Cartridge-powered metal spear
	Defence	Machined aluminum, diamond plate, stainless steel and Lexan
	From	Fort Collins, Colorado
Team: Vic Lang
Sponsors: Z Creative

Middleweights

	Alexander
	Weight	102lbs
	Weapons	Arm-mounted cutting saw & "air punch" spike
	Defence	Aluminum diamond plate armor; welded square tube steel chassis
	From	Orange, California
Team: Dan Danknick, Dave Johnson & Mike Bell
Sponsors: Silicon Connections, Grainer, Sony Computer Entertainment America

	Anubis
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Pneumatic flipper
	Defence	Aluminum frame & composite shell
	From	Sunnyvale, California
Team: Alexander Ko

	Bubba1
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	None
	Defence	Steel chassis;
	From	Sacramento, California
Team: Alex Ramirez

	Hyena
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Abrasive cutting discs
	Defence	Fiberglass armor; aluminum chassis
	From	Norfolk, Virginia
Team: Morgan Dunbar

	Peaches
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Spears and ramming force
	Defence	Welded steel shell
	From	Monrovia, California
Team: Bill Nicoloff

	Pokey
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Pneumatic lifter
	Defence	Aluminum
	From	San Jose, California
Team: Curt Meyers

	Satan's Revenge
	Weight	59.8lbs
	Weapons	Gas-powered chainsaw
	Defence	Steel and wood
	From	Norfolk, Virginia
Team: Ken Swenson

	Satoru Special IV
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Twin pickaxes
	Defence	Plywood
	From	Santa Barbara, California
Team: James Straus

	Stuffie
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Twin pickaxes
	Defence	Plastic toy "Jeep" shell
	From	Sebastopol, California
Team: Benjamin Chapman

	The Bishop
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Gas-powered abrasive saw
	Defence	Machined aluminum and steel
	From	Berkeley, California
Team: Stephen Gaudio

	Turtle Roadkiller
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	"Pneumatic flap"
	Defence	Steel shell
	From	San Anselmo, California
Team: Lawrence Tan

	Vicious-1
	Weight	98.4lbs
	Weapons	Spinning "spiked hammer arm" & twin milling saws
	Defence	Welded tube steel chassis; stainless steel armor
	From	Redondo Beach, California
Team: Mike Regan

¹ Rebuilt from the heavyweight Bubba; entered into the Middleweight Face-Off from the Loser's Bracket.

Lightweights

	Aggressor
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Ramming wedge
	Defence	Aluminum, steel & plastic
	From	San Francisco, California
Team: Colin Federle

	Black Widow
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Ramming wedge & side spikes
	Defence	Aluminum
	From	Glen Waverley, Australia
Team: Philip Hoskins

	Carnivore
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Electric drill
	Defence	Welded steel frame; 'thick metal armor'
	From	Unknown
Team: Ilya Polyakov & Mike Mass

	Cooks
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Ramming "spatula"
	Defence	Metal shell & plywood base
	From	San Jose, California
Team: Paul Bell

	Defiant
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Pneumatic 4-bar flipper
	Defence	Carbon fiber; 'aluminum structural bars'
	From	Rancho Santa Margarita, California
Team: James Underwood

	Finagler
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	'Spring-loaded' front ram & rear grinding wheel
	Defence	Plastic armor; aluminum & wood frame
	From	San Francisco, California
Team: Jack Buffington

	Gator
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Cutting saw
	Defence	Aluminum
	From	Salt Lake City, Utah
Team: Dennis Millard
Sponsors: Sigma-Tech Systems

	Mouser
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Abrasive cutting saws & pneumatic "flap"
	Defence	Composite shell; aluminum chassis
	From	Gilroy, California
Team: Fon Davis

	Penelope
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Sawblade wheels
	Defence	Aluminum box chassis
	From	Unknown
Team: Josh Byrne

	Pretty Hate Machine
	Weight	~100lbs
	Weapons	6x sawblades
	Defence	Machined aluminum legs
	From	North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Team: Christian Carlberg
Sponsors: C2 Robotics

	Razor Back
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Wedge shape & ramming force
	Defence	Plastic shell & chassis
	From	Palo Alto, California
Team: Bob Schneeveis

	Scrappy
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Wedge shape
	Defence	Wooden frame
	From	Brooklyn, New York
Team: Steven Schware

	The Ominous Brick of Havoc
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Ramming blades/spikes
	Defence	Wooden armor
	From	Orange, California
Team: Dan Danknick, Dave Johnson & Mike Bell

	Webster
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Front and rear cutting saws
	Defence	Aluminum
	From	Isla Vista, California
Team: Jesse Patterson & David Kohs
Sponsors: UC Santa Barbara (UCSB)

	X7
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Clusterbot; pneumatic lifting arm & thwacking blade
	Defence	Aluminum
	From	Monona, Wisconsin
Team: Michael Winter & Dennis Adams

	Ziggy
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Large abrasive saw
	Defence	Kevlar/foam composite shell; aluminum chassis
	From	Brisbane, California
Team: Jonathan Ridder

Featherweights

	Bad Monkey
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Interchangeable saw/flail/blade
	Defence	Aluminum
	From	Novato, California
Team: Gary Cline & Lauren Cline
Sponsors: Cline Works

	Bayou Bengle
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Wedge shape & ramming force
	Defence	Welded steel shell
	From	New Orleans, Louisiana
Team: Patrick Eskew

	Bob Smith
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	"Swinging hammer tail"
	Defence	Aluminum with foam covers
	From	Orinda, California
Team: Will Wright

	Bot Will Eat Itself
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Arm-mounted saw/flails
	Defence	Aluminum shell
	From	Goleta, California
Team: Jason Bardis
Sponsors: UC Santa Barbara (UCSB)

	Buzzcut
	Weight	~50lbs
	Weapons	8x gas-powered circular saws
	Defence	Steel & machined aluminum
	From	North Hollywood, California
Team: Christian Carlberg
Sponsors: C2 Robotics

	C3
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Spring-loaded ram
	Defence	Styrofoam/fiberglass shell; plywood baseplate
	From	Annedale, Virginia
Team: F.J. Crandell

	Destructomatic
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Chain flails
	Defence	Aluminum
	From	Houston, Texas
Team: Phil Putman

	Dough Boy
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Overhead spinning blade
	Defence	Aluminum
	From	Monona, Wisconsin
Team: Lisa Winter

	Fuzzy
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Swinging chain flails
	Defence	Aluminum mixing bowl; foam cover
	From	Orinda, California
Team: Cassidy Wright

	Gorange
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Wedge & ramming power
	Defence	Plastic
	From	Stockton, California
Team: Anthony DuRaine

	KMM
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Spring-loaded pickaxe & grabbing arms
	Defence	Kevlar/carbon-fiber/foam composite shell
	From	Oakland, California
Team: Rik Winter

	No Love
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Wedge shape
	Defence	Welded steel
	From	Texas City, Texas
Team: Kenneth C. Rose

	Red-Green
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Double-sided lifter/grabber
	Defence	Aluminum
	From	Oregon, Wisconsin
Team: Jim Sellers

	Red 2
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Ramming wedge shape; twin rear spikes
	Defence	Machined aluminum shell
	From	San Rafael, California
Team: John Knoll

	Sabotage
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Spinning & ramming blades
	Defence	Aluminum
	From	Greenwood, Indiana
Team: Matt Sabatino

	Slomo IV
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Ramming scoop
	Defence	Unknown
	From	Seattle, Washington
Team: Klaas Langhout

	Spike II
	Weight	23.9lbs
	Weapons	Lifting arm
	Defence	Aluminum & Lexan; mild steel chassis
	From	Old Bridge, New Jersey
Team: Andrew Lindsey, Ronnie Katz & Arthur Sanders
Sponsors: ECCS Inc., Jersey Precision, Motion Systems Corp

	Spiny Norman
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	"Hedgetrimmer ram"
	Defence	Baking pan & paint tray; nail 'spines'
	From	San Francisco, California
Team: Will Wright

	The Fishstick from Guam
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Overhead spinning hammers
	Defence	Aluminum square tube frame
	From	Los Angeles, California
Team: Keith Gould
Sponsors: Air Tronics, Bog

	The Grinch
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Static hammers
	Defence	Plastic Christmas tree stand
	From	Unknown
Team: Unknown

	The Little Green
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Electric diamond saw
	Defence	Welded steel frame; aluminum shell
	From	Hanover, New Hampshire
Team: David H.W. Koo
Sponsors: Dartmouth College

	The Rat
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Ramming wedge
	Defence	Aluminum frame & shell
	From	Littleton, Colorado
Team: Robert C. Orr

	Thwonkis Mobilis
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Cutting saw
	Defence	Foam shell
	From	Grand Rapids, Michigan
Team: Chris Ervine

	TKO
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Steel ramming edges
	Defence	Aluminum
	From	Corte Madera, California
Team: Terry Barker

	Wedge of Doom
	Weight	25.8lbs
	Weapons	Ramming scoop
	Defence	Galvanized steel, Lexan & aluminum shell; wooden frame
	From	California
Team: Tony Buchignani
Sponsors: Nolex

Autonomous

	Gladiator Rodney II
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Chainsaw
	Defence	Aluminum chassis
	From	Palo Alto, California
Team: Camp Peavy

	Thumper
	Weight	Unknown
	Weapons	Lifter
	Defence	Polypropylene, steel & aluminum
	From	Thousand Oaks, California
Team: Bob Gross

Event Summary

The 1997 event again featured Face-Off and Melee competitions for the heavyweight, middleweight, lightweight and featherweight categories. In a break from previous years, the Face-Off tournaments adopted a 'double elimination' format, in which defeated robots from earlier rounds would be placed into a Loser's Bracket. This bracket featured its own multi-round knockout format; the last-standing robot would usually be reinstated in the main bracket at the Quarter-Final or Semi-Final stages. The sole exception occurred in the Middleweight Face-Off, where the last-surviving robots from both the main and Loser's Brackets were to challenge each other in the overall final.

Schedule

Friday August 15

• 1-5pm: Press Day, "Meet and Greet" sessions
• 7-10pm: Opening party

Saturday August 16

• 10am-4pm: Face-Off Elimination Rounds (all weight classes) + Demonstrations
• 7pm-10pm: Face-Off Semi-Finals (all weight classes)

Sunday August 17

• 10am-4pm: Face-Off Losers' Brackets + Finals (all weight classes)
  • Demonstration battles (Featherweight and Autonomous)
• 7pm-10pm: Melee Competitions (all weight classes)

Prizes

The following information was published in an official souvenir programme for the 1997 competition:

Face-Off & Melee

Weight Class	Prize Money (Face-Off)	Prize Money (Melee)
Heavyweight	$1,000	$1,000
Middleweight	$500	$500
Lightweight	$300	$300
Featherweight	$200	$200

Autonomous

Weight Class	Prize Money
Heavyweight	$300
Middleweight	$200

Special Awards

Award	Prize Money
Best Design	$250
Best Engineering	$250
Strangest	$250

Rule Changes

The following rule changes were implemented over the 1996 event:

• Increased maximum heavyweight limit from 165lbs to 170lbs; some later captures of the US Robot Wars website mention a 175lb upper limit.
• Increased maximum weight for heavyweight walking robots, from 200lbs to 300lbs.
• The banning of all "fiber weaponry and construction" types, including nets, cloth and rope, in response to various instances of entanglement in the 1996 event.
• Reduction in power of permitted sighting/pointing lasers, from 5mw to 3mw.
• Stricter rules on wiring, including gasoline lines and insulation for exposed wires and terminals.
• Mandatory "return spring" on the throttle for internal combustion engines, acting as an early form of failsafe.
• Prohibition of wet-cell lead acid batteries.
• Prohibition of hardened steel blades "that may shatter".
• Recommendation for "easily-installed" safety covers to be placed on sharp and "cutting" surfaces.

Perhaps most significantly, the practice of pinning robots - either against walls/hazards or off the arena floor - was no longer considered a viable method of winning. Robots which did so would be asked to release their opponent by the Judges, with a maximum of one minute being permitted for sustained pins. In case both robots became locked together and were unable to separate - a situation often referred to as a 'deadly embrace' - the battle would be paused to allow for their separation by Robot Wars event staff.

Heavyweight Face-Off

Winner's Bracket: Round 1

NOTE: Rhino, The Landshark and Metallithor all received automatic byes from this stage.

BioHazard vs Monster

BioHazard lifts Monster

Both robots rammed each other in the opening moments, with a second ram from BioHazard flicking Monster onto its left wheels. The defending Heavyweight Face-Off champion pressured Monster into an arena flipper, before getting underneath, pinning and lifting it with its arm. The attack appeared to leave Monster still for a few seconds, until it jerked back and forth near the flipper and lost both of its right wheels in the process. According to Team Spike's Andrew Lindsey, the torque in Monster's motors was enough to cause the wheels to become dislodged from their axles.

BioHazard throws Monster out as its wheels fall off

Pinning Monster against the corner, BioHazard turned it end-over-end onto the wall bumper. Kevin Knoedler's machine attempted to escape, but got stranded between the corner bumpers with its left wheels suspended in mid-air. A knockout win was quickly declared for BioHazard, marking the start of Carlo Bertocchini's title defense.

Winner: BioHazard

Vlad the Impaler vs Prometheus II

Vlad the Impaler stabs its forks into Prometheus II

This battle - a rematch of both robots' 1996 Face-Off duel - began with Prometheus II prodding and rounding Vlad the Impaler up against the upper wall. However, its attempt to back out was blocked by the nearby spike trap, and a second ram allowed Vlad the Impaler to get underneath, lift and hold it off the arena floor for several seconds. With pins no longer an eligible method of scoring wins, the Judges twice requested Vlad the Impaler to release Prometheus II, though Gage Cauchois' machine did not initially respond. After the crowd started booing, Vlad the Impaler shuffled and surged forwards, turning the invertible Prometheus II over.

Vlad the Impaler rams Prometheus II into the arena spike

Prometheus II, in its retreat, drove into the upper-left wall, where it was again rammed and lifted by Vlad the Impaler. Vlad the Impaler's left fork became wedged in one of Prometheus II's wheelarches, allowing it to control its opponent into the arena center, against the wall, and under the spike trap. This immediately proved decisive as the spike repeatedly thrust down on one of Prometheus II's roller-like wheels, then pierced through its aluminum armor as Vlad the Impaler repositioned. In doing so, the hazard dislodged the radio battery inside Prometheus II, which hung from beneath the machine as Vlad the Impaler held it in place.

Though Richard Brull's machine was still fully functional, the battery caused it to be high-centered as soon as Vlad the Impaler placed it back on the arena floor. Vlad the Impaler rammed and lifted Prometheus II against the spike trap one last time as time on the battle ran out, and was ruled to have won on the subsequent Judges' decision.

Winner: Vlad the Impaler

The Scorpion vs Snake

The Scorpion jabs Snake

From the outset, the enormous and unusually-designed Snake displayed very little momentum as it lifted and turned its body over. The Scorpion tentatively approached Mark Setrakian's machine, first striking down on its tail with its own hydraulic weapon. Next, it hammered down multiple times behind Snake's 'head', which, to the amazement of the audience, opened up to showcase the reach of its three articulated jaws.

The Scorpion uses its jaws against the side of Snake

The Scorpion backed up and turned its attention on the center of Snake's body, as Snake turned and lifted its head in multiple directions. Snake, in an attempt to pin The Scorpion, wrapped its tail and head around Raymond Washburn's machine, while also blocking the latter's tail with its right-most jaws. The Scorpion kept clear as Snake then lifted its entire body upwards, though its onslaught had caused a weld in Snake's 'skeleton' to break. A few nudges from The Scorpion prompted Snake to turn and coil around its opponent, while weathering more of The Scorpion's overhead attacks.

Snake kept writhing in the right-most perimeter as The Scorpion shoved and hammered it a few times. A late attempt to constrict The Scorpion came to naught, with both robots going on to survive to a Judges' decision. Based on the damage it inflicted to Snake, the decision was given to The Scorpion.

Winner: The Scorpion

The Mauler vs Bubba

Mauler smashes into Bubba

The Mauler spent the opening moments getting its 'tuna can' spinner up to full speed. Meanwhile, Bubba struggled to move due to intermittent issues with its 'homemade control system', and could not get its spinning arms working as it spun around close to the upper-right flipper. The Mauler closed in, striking Bubba's weapon assembly, but was slow to follow as its opponent retreated to the bottom-right corner. Bubba drifted towards the nearby flipper and moving wall section, only to crash into The Mauler and take further damage.

This collision appeared to halt The Mauler's spinner for several seconds as both robots maneuvered into the center. There, the Tilford entry followed an increasingly jerky Bubba, landing a third series of damaging blows to its shell and arms. Bubba became immobilized as a result, leaving it vulnerable to a final attack from The Mauler which bent one of its arms even further.

Due to the damage inflicted, Bubba's shell and weaponry were discarded following this battle and the robot rebuilt to middleweight specifications. As a result, it would transfer into the Middleweight Face-Off tournament, starting its run there from the Loser's Bracket.

Winner: The Mauler

Mash-N-Go vs frenZy

frenZy and Mash-N-Go exchange blows with each other

For this battle, frenZy was equipped with a larger spiked axe to land more precise hits on its opponent, the first time Team Minus Zero had employed interchangeable weapons on their heavyweight hammer bot.

The match started tentatively for both machines, with neither able to make the most of their initial axe swings. Moments later, frenZy spiked the top of Mash-N-Go four times, but Mash-N-Go crept away towards the left-hand side of the arena. Another tentative phase followed, with frenZy again striking down on Mash-N-Go's front axe arm.

While building a sizeable damage advantage, problems were affecting Team Minus Zero's machine as its radio receiver switched off mid-bout. The problems were severe enough for frenZy to be left completely immobilized, allowing Mash-N-Go to slowly push it around in circles as Cambot closed in. Both robots became locked together, prompting Michael Meehan to ask their teams to show signs of mobility. Mash-N-Go jerked forwards a couple of times, fulfilling Meehan's request and taking victory by knockout.

Winner: Mash-N-Go

Z vs Badger

Z fires its weapon at Badger

Z pressures Badger in the arena corner

Z started the faster of the two heavyweights, while Badger struggled for traction on its treadless, clawed wheel spokes. A tentative early phase resulted in Badger nudging Vic Lang's machine from the front, prompting the latter to fire its cartridge-powered spear. The spear, however, was at the wrong angle to pierce through Badger's front armor, scraping it and bending on contact. With its weapon now unable to retract, Z resorted to pushing Badger into the upper spike trap, right flippers and wall using its wedge shape and powerful drive.

Badger is side-stranded

Badger, unable to resist, was turned onto its side following the collision with the lower-right flipper. It balanced on its left wheels as Z briefly pinned, then retreated to track its movements as it tried to keep driving. From that point, Z kept pushing Badger tentatively in order to re-right it; smoke occasionally bursting from behind its compromised spike mechanism. One push sent Badger towards the other side of the arena, close to an arena flipper. Z finally shoved Badger back into a fully driveable position while ramming it into the wall nearby.

Badger gets stuck on the arena flipper

Again, Badger struggled to escape, before two of its wheels got caught by the flipper paddle. Z charged in, but missed, after which it proceeded to gently nudge and push James Bloeman's entry across the nearby arena space. Despite some brief resistance, Z pinned Badger between the flipper and the wall. Following another shove, Badger stopped moving after taking another swipe from the flipper paddle, though its wheels tried to keep turning for a while. During the final moments, it briefly crept along the upper-left corner, by which time Z had become fully immobilized due to overheating batteries.

Though neither robot could properly drive by the end, the battle still went to a Judges' decision, ruling Z as the winner.

Winner: Z

La Machine vs Ankle Biter

La Machine topples Ankle Biter over

Ankle Biter entered this battle in a partially-complete state, minus its cutting saw weaponry. A malfunctioning control system left John McKenzie's entry spinning and coasting erratically into the lower-right corner, while La Machine closed in from the left-hand side. La Machine backed up against the nearby flipper and bulldozed Ankle Biter into the wall, turning it over in an instant. Greg Munson and Trey Roski's machine spun around in victory before pinning the defeated Ankle Biter against the same wall.

Winner: La Machine

Kill-O-Amp vs DooAll

DooAll in pieces after a single ramming attack from Kill-O-Amp

With its circular saw already up to speed, DooAll shuffled back and forth before the initial countdown, and proceeded to stand off against Kill-O-Amp in the center. Following a brief pause, Kill-O-Amp slammed into Scott LaValley's tracked entry, flinging the saw arm upwards and breaking the entire weapon off its mountings. Both of DooAll's tracks also split in this exchange, leaving it completely immobilized as it tried to drive away. While victorious, Kill-O-Amp lost a chain as well, forcing it to shuffle and spin on its left drive wheel. Upon pushing the discarded right track back into DooAll, Curt Meyers' rammer celebrated its victory with a few quick spins.

Winner: Kill-O-Amp

Tazbot vs TallyWhacker

Tazbot bends and tears the armour of TallyWhacker with its lifter

Having started moving before the end of the opening countdown, TallyWhacker parked in the center of the arena to lower and spin its mace arm around. Tazbot, the more cautious of the pair, initially held back as Klaas Langhout's new heavyweight swiped and briefly wrapped its mace around the upper spike trap. With the hazard disrupting TallyWhacker's tactics, Donald Hutson's machine began hitting its opponent with its own arm. One attack allowed Tazbot to pierce the green rubber shell of TallyWhacker, briefly locking both robots together.

Tazbot next attempted to lift the flailing TallyWhacker upwards, but could not find the strength to do so. As it began to turn around, it pulled the arm free, using it to hit TallyWhacker a few more times. The blows were eventually enough to damage a connector inside TallyWhacker's control box, immobilizing it at once. With its opponent no longer moving, Tazbot pushed it into the wall and kept whacking it until it was confirmed as the winner by knockout.

Winner: Tazbot

Blendo vs Hercules

"Well, this was the worst part of the whole event for 'ol Hercules. The day before, I must have jinxed myself, because after checking out the competitors, I told my crew that I would be OK against just about any of them, except for "Blendo"- the meanest robot there, built by Jamie Hyneman of M5 Industries. Well, guess who they picked to battle Hercules in his very first fight? That's right. The same robot that was disqualified two years prior for being too 'dangerous', the same robot that spins at 70mph with a steel flywheel and ominous blades, yes, they picked me to fight Blendo."

— Jim Smentowski on Hercules' draw against Blendo

Due to the nature of Blendo's shell spinner design, its weapon was activated before the fight's official start as in the 1995 event. Hercules' builder, Jim Smentowski, opted to equip his machine with a hammer in place of its regular sawblades. The hammer was intended to act as a battering ram against Blendo, with Smentowski also adding a 'spatula' lip to the lifting arm. Both modified weapons were used in tandem with a control-based strategy, to try and neutralize Blendo's fearsome weapon before lifting it.

Blendo smashes into Hercules

In the opening seconds, Hercules raised its lifter to get its newly-fitted attachment into use. It turned around and backed into the spinning Blendo, the hammer grazing the top of the wok-based shell. Sparks flew as Blendo clipped Hercules' wedge and ripped one of its stainless steel panels off. This attack did not occur without incident; the panel was flung into one of the surrounding Plexiglass wall sections, denting and leaving a '4 inch gash' within it. Adam Savage recollected in 2023 that the panel reached the audience stands and landed close to a lawyer associated with the event's production, though fortunately without injury.

A shard of metal embedded in the arena side wall after the match

Both competitors drove away from each other for a few moments. Hercules spun slowly while waving its lifter in the air, and tried to drive past the approaching Blendo. However, this proved costly as Blendo hit Hercules from the side, sending it spinning into the wall next to a spike trap hazard. As well as tearing into Hercules' more vulnerable aluminum panel, the impact caused major chassis and internal damage, including shorted motor wires and a destroyed Vantec speed controller. With its opponent immobilized as a result, Blendo was declared the winner to rapturous applause. However, as in the 1995 event, the safety risks posed by its spinner would not go unnoticed by the Robot Wars organizers.

Winner: Blendo

Punjar vs Gut Rip

Both heavyweights cautiously approached each other in the opening seconds, though Punjar picked up speed as it drove past Gut Rip in the arena center. A series of shoves was then initiated by Ramiro Mallari's machine, the third of which allowed it to shove Gut Rip into the side wall. Gut Rip was left perched on Punjar's front scoop blade as it was held, then continued to be rammed; its sloping sides briefly caused Punjar to drive over the top immediately after it was brought down.

Punjar rammed Gut Rip twice more, but drove up the right-hand side of Bob Schneeveis' entry again. As a direct consequence of Gut Rip's low torque, neither robot showed any movement, resulting in the battle being temporarily paused while a crewmember separated the pair. Upon being freed, Punjar reversed to the left-hand side of the arena, close to where it initially started. The match resumed shortly after, with Punjar again ramming Gut Rip multiple times while delivering it into the lower spike trap. By that stage, Gut Rip's already-sluggish movements were beginning to appear more limited.

As the spike began descending on Gut Rip, Punjar again drove up and got stuck on its side, this time from the left. This necessitated another stoppage and separation, though not before Gut Rip took additional hits from the spike trap. Both competitors then resumed fighting from the center; Punjar missed a high-speed charge at Gut Rip, instead slamming into the lower-left flipper. Recovering, it proceeded to shove Gut Rip into the wall, following this up with another ram.

Gut Rip struggled to drive away from the position Punjar left it in, and was subjected to another few rams from the latter. With just over ten seconds remaining, Punjar attempted one last shove, but instead launched up Gut Rip's left-hand side and got beached on the flipper paddle nearby. Even with this, both robots survived to a Judges' decision regardless. On the basis of scoring higher on damage and aggression, Punjar won the decision on points.

Winner: Punjar

Loser's Bracket: Round 1

NOTE: DooAll received an automatic bye from this stage.

Hercules vs Monster

In preparation for this fight, Jim Smentowski created a homemade speed controller to replace the one damaged by Blendo in Hercules' first battle. While enabling it to be ready with ten minutes to spare, the new arrangement provided Hercules with limited steering, while also forcing Smentowski to remove one of its batteries to provide space for the control box.

"This battle lasted no longer than the first. I wanted to keep Hercules' sides away from that spike on the Monster, to avoid getting rammed by that thing, but because I could barely steer, and was running at about half power, it didn't take long for the Monster to catch me off guard."

— Jim Smentowski

A tentative start saw Hercules dodging Monster's first charge, though the internal alterations meant that it could not keep up with Kevin Knoedler's machine. While both robots also narrowly avoided the spike traps, Monster gained the upper hand by spearing and pushing Hercules from the left-hand side. Monster smashed Hercules into the upper-left wall and flipper; the impact was enough to not only cut a wire powering the latter's lifting arm, but also shake one of its battery terminals loose. The latter immobilized Hercules as it tried to drive away and was whacked multiple times by the flipper paddle.

Following communications between Jim Smentowski and the Judges, Hercules was declared to have been eliminated by knockout. However, a miscommunication by Kevin Knoedler resulted in Monster driving up the front wedge shape of its defeated opponent. According to Smentowski, Knoedler believed that Hercules had merely become stranded, and attempted to free it so that the match could continue. While Monster's late attack was met with a negative audience response, Knoedler would apologize to Smentowski not long after.

Winner: Monster

Prometheus II vs Badger

Both competitors met in the center of the arena, where Badger briefly made contact with the side of a turning Prometheus II. Prometheus II, undeterred, rammed the front of its opponent, but with minimal effect. A driving error from Richard Brull's machine also saw it take a couple of stabs from the upper spike trap. In spite of this, Badger's 'claw wheels' again prevented it from getting enough traction to avoid a push from Prometheus II. The two heavyweights found themselves between the spike and the upper-right flipper; Prometheus II began firing its own 'jackhammer' spike, but without being able to cause any noticeable damage.

As before, Badger tried to push Prometheus II, this time from the left-hand side, but again could not find the traction to do so. In response, Prometheus II rammed and pinned it against the lower-left flipper, starting a tentative pushing match between the duo. Prometheus II, while initially struggling and crashing into the hazards, won out, eventually cornering Badger against the upper-left wall sections. The back-and-forth tussle continued from that side of the arena until time ran out. Prometheus II emerged as the winner on a Judges' decision.

Winner: Prometheus II

Gut Rip vs TallyWhacker

TallyWhacker knocks Gut Rip out

TallyWhacker drove into the center of the arena, lowered its arm and spun around. Gut Rip noisily approached and brushed past Klaas Langhout's machine, while taking a few swipes from its flails. In doing so, it allowed TallyWhacker to strike through a gap within its Lexan shell, hooking and destroying the wires connecting Gut Rip's batteries to its internals. Gut Rip was immobilized instantly; in response to audience calls, TallyWhacker struck it a few more times before it was declared the winner by knockout.

Winner: TallyWhacker

Winner's Bracket: Round 2

BioHazard vs Vlad the Impaler

BioHazard throws Vlad the Impaler over

Vlad the Impaler immediately self-rights

In a rematch of the 1996 Face-Off Semi-Final between both competitors, BioHazard approached Vlad the Impaler almost immediately, breaching the latter's ground clearance during the initial confrontation. This was followed by two attempted flips on Gage Cauchois' machine, the second following directly from a sideways push. During a highly tactical phase, BioHazard continued to shove and get underneath Vlad the Impaler multiple times. Vlad the Impaler, in its own attempts to breach BioHazard's clearance, could only climb over the top of the latter's titanium skirts.

Vlad the Impaler flicks BioHazard from the front

BioHazard eventually drove Vlad the Impaler against the lower wall, finally managing to turn it over. Demonstrating its newly-added self-righting piston, Vlad the Impaler quickly thrust itself back over, only to get stuck between the wall and the arena doors. BioHazard took advantage by hoisting its opponent against the left door; in doing so, it inadvertently allowed Vlad the Impaler to complete its self-righting motion. As the audience cheered, both robots rammed and locked lifters. Vlad the Impaler flicked BioHazard back, but soon found itself being pressured into the hazards during another back-and-forth tussle.

Later on, BioHazard cornered Vlad the Impaler again, using this opportunity to lift its opponent against the wall. Vlad the Impaler fired its forks helplessly as the fight entered its final minute, at which point BioHazard lowered it back onto the floor. More tactical driving was employed by both competitors, though again BioHazard's skirts and lower ground clearance proved difficult for Vlad the Impaler to exploit. BioHazard concluded the match by again lifting Vlad the Impaler next to the wall, and ramming it one last time before time ran out. As both competitors were still mobile and virtually intact, a Judges' decision was reached, ruling BioHazard to have won for the second time against Vlad the Impaler.

Winner: BioHazard

Rhino vs The Scorpion

The battle started with both robots ramming each other head-on following a tentative stand-off. Using its front jaws, The Scorpion impaled Rhino by the front-right corner, before opening a small hole within the Kevlar composite panel. Rhino dragged The Scorpion back while being hammered by the latter's tail, pulling free in the process. Rhino, spinning around due to burnt-out wiring, began spouting clouds of Halon gas, while The Scorpion again tentatively nudged its diamond-shaped opponent.

The earlier separation had 'twisted' The Scorpion's jaws beyond use, forcing it to try and push Rhino with its rear scoop. This proved unsuccessful, and Raymond Washburn's machine backed away just before it became enveloped in another Halon jet fired by Rhino. A few tentative moments ensued, with Rhino still spinning erratically close to the upper wall and spike trap. The Scorpion shoved Rhino further towards the wall, only for Rhino to position and fire its Halon jet close to its internal combustion powertrain.

Initially, The Scorpion was seemingly unaffected, pinning and lifting Rhino against the wall in a bid to get it stranded on the 'curb'. However, Rhino sharply turned around and got underneath The Scorpion from the back. The resulting Halon jet 'smothered' The Scorpion's engine, incapacitating the whole robot and giving Rhino an instant knockout win.

Winner: Rhino

The Mauler vs Mash-N-Go

The Mauler rips apart the back of Mash-N-Go

Both robots crept slowly towards each other; The Mauler spun its flails while Mash-N-Go - minus working weapons - resorted to 'taunting and insulting' it with its LED sign. The Mauler tore a chunk off Jim Anderson's machine with its first hit, also proceeding to attack Mash-N-Go's axes and remaining bodyshell. One blow caused both robots to lock together, enabling Mash-N-Go to push The Mauler back across the arena.

Mauler "decapitates" Mash-N-Go's decorative head

The 'deadly embrace' was momentarily broken when Charles Tilford's machine backed away. However, Mash-N-Go halted The Mauler's overhead spinner as it followed, engaged in another pushing match with it, and displayed more taunts through its sign. The Mauler dealt a series of lighter hits on the front of Mash-N-Go, only to find itself spinning by the chassis when Mash-N-Go caused the spinner to stop. Another pushing and grappling match ensued, with The Mauler steering Mash-N-Go towards and away from the lower wall. Once both robots broke free, The Mauler kept trying to spin up, but was continuously pressured by Mash-N-Go as the battle entered its final minute.

Yet another pushing match took place; The Mauler broke free with just over thirty seconds remaining, as Mash-N-Go appeared to be immobilized on one side. The Mauler delivered a final series of blows to Mash-N-Go, breaking the wooden handle of one of its pickaxes in the process, before the end bell rang. In their ruling, the Judges decided that The Mauler had won this battle.

Winner: The Mauler

Z vs The Landshark

Z headed towards the center in the opening seconds, while The Landshark moved towards and spun in the upper-left corner. Both smashed into each other, but without dealing any significant attacks at first. The Landshark drove dangerously into the upper-right flipper, before exchanging another heavy ram with Z. Z spun Willis Wong's entry around with a third shove, while also ejecting one of the latter's batteries. The purple machine found itself colliding with the lower-right walls, before The Landshark veered behind another flipper.

From there, the two robots continued to exchange light pushes, with Z also deploying its spike for the first time before spinning around. The Landshark, meanwhile, also spun before continuing to brush the wall and getting stuck on the lower-right flipper. Z, retracting its spike, pushed The Landshark around in a quarter-turn while trying to spear it a second time. It soon became clear that The Landshark's left wheel was no longer turning. Z pressed against and hooked its opponent by the tail as it struggled to move away, dragging and pushing The Landshark around in circles.

Once the duo separated, The Landshark's mobility issues became more evident. Z began 'poking holes' through its opponent's face, until the spike jammed open once more and forced it to resort to more ramming attacks. This lead to it pushing The Landshark against the right-most wall, where the latter was unable to drive away from at all. Despite a close encounter with the lower spike trap, Z was soon declared the winner by knockout.

Winner: Z

La Machine vs Kill-O-Amp

In this very short battle, La Machine collected the slower-starting Kill-O-Amp, before flipping it over with a sudden second charge. With no way of self-righting, Kill-O-Amp lay on its back as La Machine spun triumphantly and returned to its starting position.

Winner: La Machine

Tazbot vs Metallithor

Metallithor smokes as Tazbot lifts it

Both turret-wielding machines clashed with their arm-based weapons in the opening moments. Tazbot's spiked lifter jostled and hooked the exposed frame of Metallithor, which was suffering from multiple technical issues as a result of its 'low budget' and 'last-minute construction'. The two robots became locked together in this struggle. After spinning on the spot, Tazbot dragged its opponent around to the center of the arena. The belt powering Metallithor's swinging hammer began to slip; blue smoke rose from Metallithor itself as the weapon mechanism overheated.

Tazbot gingerly lifted Metallithor off the arena floor, holding it in place for several moments and overbalancing during further attempts to control Jay Smith's machine. The Judges requested Donald Hutson's machine to release as the pin lasted for the maximum sixty seconds. Hutson obliged, and Tazbot lowered Metallithor to enable both robots to be separated. Metallithor, smoking once more, retaliated with a simultaneous ram and hammer strike, but with very little effect on Tazbot as the weapon belt had already partially melted during the embrace.

A largely uneventful phase saw Metallithor continue to swing its arm around, before Tazbot began shoving and thwacking it multiple times. Metallithor displayed very little mobility thereafter, twitching back and forth as Tazbot kept attacking. More swipes from Tazbot's arm were enough to dislodge, then rip off the plastic panel attached to Metallithor's chassis during the final minute. It became abundantly clear that Metallithor's drive had been completely immobilized, as Tazbot continued its earlier attacks and proceeded to win the subsequent Judges' decision.

Winner: Tazbot

Blendo vs Punjar

Blendo sends Punjar spinning violently across the arena

Similarly to its previous match, Blendo was allowed to spin its shell up before the official start. Once the Face-Off properly commenced, it crept 'menacingly' towards the middle of the arena, with Punjar tentatively approaching from the left side. After a momentary pause, Punjar rammed Blendo at full speed. The force of Blendo's impact sent Ramiro Mallari's machine into a violent spin, while also briefly lifting it upwards and causing Blendo itself to recoil into the right-most wall. Punjar was immobilized by this collision, which caused similar chassis and internal damage to it as Hercules.

While Blendo again emerged as the match winner by knockout, the Judges deemed it too dangerous to continue fighting, likely as a result of the earlier wall breach against Hercules. As such, it was withdrawn entirely at the request of the Robot Wars organizers, in a mirror of its exit from the 1995 competition. In a ceremony conducted by host Joel Hodgson, a 'special award' - quoted by the Team Spike website to be the 'Best Engineering' award - was presented to the M5 Industries team in recognition of Blendo's design and capabilities. Additionally, Blendo was awarded co-champion status in both the 1997 Heavyweight Face-Off and Melee competitions.

Winner: Blendo

Loser's Bracket: Round 2

DooAll vs Monster

As part of the repairs carried out following its first battle, DooAll's abrasive disc was swapped for a diamond saw.

Monster, starting the faster of the two, charged into the front of DooAll while careering into the wall. Kevin Knoedler's machine missed its next ram, before taking a direct hit to its front-left wheel from DooAll's saw. Both robots exchanged several rams, shoves and weapon attacks, including two head-to-head collisions. The second collision immobilized Monster completely; DooAll shoved it into the wall while grinding and cutting into its front armor. A final attack from DooAll saw Scott LaValley's entry drive over the top of Monster, before grinding into it again and retreating as Michael Meehan declared it to have won.

Winner: DooAll

Prometheus II vs TallyWhacker

During preparations for this match, the internal combustion engine powering TallyWhacker could not be started in time. TallyWhacker forfeited, enabling Prometheus II to progress automatically.

Winner: Prometheus II (TallyWhacker forfeited)

Loser's Bracket: Round 3

DooAll vs Prometheus II

For this battle, DooAll exchanged its diamond saw mechanism for a large unpowered snowplow, converting it into a rammer.

Scott LaValley's modification instantly proved effective, as his machine effortlessly scooped Prometheus II up during the opening encounter. DooAll steered the helpless Prometheus II around into the upper-left corner, then the lower wall, while surviving hits from the nearby arena flipper. Prometheus II was released seconds later, though DooAll pressed it against the same wall almost immediately. DooAll dragged Richard Brull's machine back across the arena, turning and pushing it under the upper spike trap.

As in its battle against Vlad the Impaler, the spike repeatedly hit Prometheus II's rollers and top armor. While continuing to control its opponent, DooAll veered too close and was also spiked in between its main track modules. No serious damage was inflicted on either competitor as they again separated. DooAll backed up, then rammed Prometheus II again and chased it across the arena, while also shoving it into the upper-right flipper.

The final minute saw DooAll again nudging Prometheus II from behind, before Prometheus II briefly pushed DooAll from the left-hand side. The nearby spike trap briefly made contact with DooAll's right track, though again DooAll escaped without taking any major damage. Another tentative chase and pushing match followed, with neither robot gaining an advantage over each other. DooAll finished the match by slowly pushing Prometheus II into the flipper once again, though its movements had become sluggish enough for Prometheus II to ram it in retaliation as the end bell rang. The subsequent Judges' decision ruled in favor of the more dominant DooAll.

Winner: DooAll

Winner's Bracket: Quarter-Finals

NOTE: Due to safety issues, Blendo voluntarily withdrew prior to this stage.

BioHazard vs Rhino

BioHazard lifts Rhino up against the arena spike

Both heavyweights quickly met in the center, Rhino brushing the right-hand side of BioHazard as it spun. BioHazard quickly scooped up and pushed the Inertia Labs entry into the 'curb' beside the lower spike trap, almost turning it over onto its side. Rhino speared into the wall while trying to escape, leaving it vulnerable to a second lift from Carlo Bertocchini's machine. A few seconds later, the diamond-shaped robot shoved BioHazard back while careering into the flipper on the opposite side of the arena.

Another meeting between the two competitors led BioHazard to pin, then turn Rhino completely over against the upper spike trap 'curb'. Rhino was left propped up against the 'curb', securing yet another knockout for the defending Heavyweight Face-Off champion.

Winner: BioHazard

The Mauler vs Z

Z spikes The Mauler

Z immediately charged spike-first into the spinning Mauler. On impact, hydraulic fluid sprayed everywhere as The Mauler ruptured the upper dampener of its opponent's weapon with its own mace. Z pushed The Mauler back into the wall anyway while firing its spike, which stuck open as it retreated towards the center. More heavy rams by Vic Lang's machine followed, by which point the spike had started to bend out of shape once again. The Mauler was initially unable to build on its damaging start as it was pushed into the upper spike trap, the two heavyweights leaving skid marks behind over the now-oily surface.

With The Mauler initially slow to evade, Z repeatedly pushed it into the walls on both sides of the arena, before ramming it once again. Another couple of rams by the purple wedge-shaped machine followed, leading into an attack where Z got underneath and shoved The Mauler against the upper-left corner. Carrying The Mauler over its top, Z pushed its helpless opponent backwards into the wall near the lower spike trap. Z backed up and rammed The Mauler again, its spike getting increasingly bent with each successive attack.

As the match entered its final thirty seconds, The Mauler tried again to spin its flails up at full speed, only to be collected by Z. While pushing Charles Tilford's machine back, however, one of Z's batteries overheated and malfunctioned, immobilizing it on the spot. Though this occurred late enough for Z to potentially survive to a Judges' decision, it was confirmed shortly afterwards that it had lost the battle. Maces spinning, The Mauler closed back in on the lifeless Z as it was declared the winner by knockout.

Winner: The Mauler

La Machine vs Tazbot

Tazbot lifts La Machine with its arm

Another rematch from the 1996 event, this fight began with La Machine immediately scooping underneath Tazbot and pushing it into the lower-left flipper. Tazbot swung its arm and hooked La Machine from the front-left corner as this happened. Donald Hutson's machine began lifting the latter in an attempt to turn it onto its side, but began overbalancing against the 'curb' while doing so. The shift in weight distribution brought La Machine back down onto the floor, with Tazbot following the Impact Media team's entry across the corner. La Machine next shoved Tazbot into the 'curb' on the other side, briefly tipping it over against the back wall on impact.

La Machine topples Tazbot

Tazbot was unable to escape before being rammed into the left-most walls, then toppled over in the lower-left corner. In an attempt to self-right, it began levering itself using its arm, then turning its turret around as La Machine came in for another shove. While almost landing on its wheels, Tazbot struggled as the spiked ends of its lifter dug into the concrete floor, and the robot spun around on its side. La Machine rammed the flailing Tazbot twice more, at one point causing its lifting arm to get caught in the moving wall mechanism. Using its pneumatic spike, Greg Munson and Trey Roski's entry pierced a hole in Tazbot's baseplate, before Tazbot finally kicked itself back upright through the movement in its left wheel.

La Machine, however, was unrelenting, pushing Tazbot up against the wall again before heading back across the arena. Such was the damage inflicted by its opponent's rams that Tazbot's wheels now struggled to maintain contact with the arena floor. In spite of this, Tazbot swung its arm at a charging La Machine, briefly impaling it with around thirty seconds to go. La Machine finished the battle by pushing Tazbot back into the corner, while again deploying its front spike. Another series of rams - leaving Tazbot immobilized - concluded the battle, which La Machine won on the subsequent Judges' decision.

Winner: La Machine

Loser's Bracket: Round 4

DooAll vs The Scorpion

DooAll topples The Scorpion

Following a tentative few seconds, DooAll turned The Scorpion onto its side with its initial push. The Scorpion, trying to self-right, eventually lost all power as its four-stroke engine stopped functioning while in this position. DooAll then rammed its opponent multiple times against the lower-left wall getting it caught behind the flipper and taking down a sponsorship banner with it. A 'pool of oil' began spilling out onto the arena floor as The Scorpion lay in the corner, and DooAll spun around in celebration.

Winner: DooAll

Loser's Bracket: Round 5

DooAll vs Tazbot

DooAll pushes Tazbot into the arena spike

A tentative start for both machines resulted in DooAll shepherding Tazbot under the lower spike trap, then taking a swipe from the latter's arm. Tazbot briefly hooked Scott LaValley's machine from behind its snowplow, though this would nearly result in it being pulled over by DooAll as it reversed. Both robots separated, with Tazbot again attacking DooAll's plow and left track module while being pushed against the left-most wall. As in its previous fight, the arm of Tazbot got caught in the mechanism for the moving wall section as it swung about.

DooAll rams Tazbot into the arena side wall

Following another separation, DooAll collected and pressured Tazbot across the arena again, this time towards the lower-left flipper. Donald Hutson's machine was again forced up its opponent's plow, remaining there as it was dragged backwards towards the neighboring spike trap. There, Tazbot caught the 'curb' with its arm, which had the effect of leaving it suspended off the floor at an angle once DooAll pulled clear. DooAll rammed underneath Tazbot to free it, the two competitors continuing to bash each other as the fight entered its final minute.

Again, Tazbot swung its arm and hooked DooAll's plow twice more. DooAll shoved and pinned it off the floor, but as before seemed to gradually lose power and speed by this point. The match ended with Tazbot getting stuck on DooAll's plow, while its arm was caught by the descending spike nearby. Based on points, the Judges' decision ruled in favor of DooAll, allowing it to return to the main Heavyweight Face-Off bracket.

Winner: DooAll

Winner's Bracket: Semi-Finals

BioHazard vs The Mauler

BioHazard flips The Mauler onto the side wall

Both robots sized each other up in the center of the arena. BioHazard immediately proved too low for The Mauler's flails to deal any hits, as it pushed and pinned its opponent between the 'curb' and the upper-right flipper. Once The Mauler's weapon stopped spinning, BioHazard simply lifted it onto the 'curb' and against the side wall.

Winner: BioHazard

La Machine vs DooAll

La Machine rams an upside down DooAll

La Machine immediately flipped DooAll over with its first charge, nullifying the snowplow of Scott LaValley's machine. From there, DooAll was chased, rammed and eventually pushed into the right-most walls, though it attempted to respond by ramming La Machine head-on at one point. La Machine continued to push DooAll around in circles and into the lower spike trap, after which it momentarily backed out. More collisions were enough to immobilize DooAll entirely, with La Machine's victory being met by a chorus of audience members chanting its name.

Winner: La Machine

Final

BioHazard vs La Machine

BioHazard secures its second Face-Off championship by toppling La Machine over

In a re-run of the 1996 Face-Off final between both machines, La Machine immediately dodged BioHazard's charge across the center of the arena. This proved to be its undoing, however, as BioHazard - attacking from behind - got underneath, pushed and turned it onto its side just eight seconds into the battle. Smoke poured from around La Machine as BioHazard, for the second year running, was declared the Robot Wars Heavyweight Face-Off champion.

1997 Heavyweight Face-Off Co-Champions: BioHazard & Blendo

Middleweight Face-Off

Winner's Bracket: Round 1

NOTE: Satoru Special IV, Hyena, Satan's Revenge, Turtle Roadkiller and The Bishop all received automatic byes from this stage.

Alexander vs Stuffie

The Barbie doll on Stuffie is decapitated by Alexander

Stuffie - alarm blaring - charged directly into the side of an evading Alexander. Alexander, in turn, pushed Benjamin Chapman's novelty entry into the left wall, after which the latter struggled to escape the bumper or arena flipper. Stuffie eventually headed back into the center of the arena. Team Delta's machine slammed into the front of Stuffie, while pushing and cutting through the 'hood' of its opponent's plastic Jeep-styled body. The Barbie doll fixed to Stuffie's 'grill' was also decapitated by Alexander's milling cutter during this exchange.

Alexander almost topples Stuffie with a side on attack

Following a brief separation, Alexander again pushed into the side of Stuffie, though this had the effect of tangling both robots together for a few seconds. Having cut further into Stuffie's bodywork, it rammed the red machine again with its arm pointing sideways. Alexander repositioned the arm before pushing Stuffie into another arena flipper. Another series of rams followed, the latter resulting in Stuffie pushing Alexander's arm around to the side. This was sufficient to strip the gears within the arm's rotating mechanism, causing it to swing freely for the rest of the match.

With less than two minutes remaining, Alexander again tried to attack Stuffie from the side, though the earlier damage made it difficult for it to aim its milling cutter. Alexander next resorted to its rear pneumatic spike, twice using it to push Stuffie away and into a spin. A reverse drive from Stuffie pulled the spike turret back, after which the former nudged Alexander as it momentarily lay stationary. Raising its arm, Alexander backed away towards the other side of the arena, but could not inflict any more damaging blows with its saw.

More shoves and evasive driving prompted the audience to start booing loudly, until the two machines rammed each other in the lower-left corner. Alexander's saw again grazed Stuffie's 'hood' for a split-second, as it continued to exchange rams until time ran out. A 'very narrow margin' secured the Judges' decision for Alexander after a close battle.

Winner: Alexander

Anubis vs Peaches

In the opening moments, Peaches shuttled back and forth towards an approaching Anubis. The diminutive six-wheel drive machine spun around, then rammed and scratched the side of Alexander Ko's entry. Peaches survived a close encounter with one of the arena flippers, before charging at Anubis again and causing it to mistime a flip. Ironically, the former swiped Cambot, and found itself behind another flipper with Anubis in pursuit.

Peaches' speed controller suffered major issues during the early part of the match, due to an resistor inside it overheating. As a result, the robot drove erratically and briefly stopped upon colliding with a nearby spike trap. Smoke began pouring from the top of Peaches as Anubis closed in and flicked it onto its side against the trap barrier. Peaches tried to respond with a sluggish nudge, only for Anubis to flip it upside-down almost immediately after. Still smoking, it crawled across the arena floor, but missed its next charge and was disrupted by a spike trap.

Anubis shuttled around Peaches as it struggled to maintain mobility. Peaches then drove head-on into the wall, at which point its internals had completely malfunctioned and it began smoking more copiously. Anubis nudged its immobilized opponent again before backing away and being declared the winner.

Winner: Anubis

Hyena vs Satan's Revenge

Fifteen minutes before the start of this battle, Satan's Revenge builder Ken Swenson was unable to start its chainsaw weapon up. Faced with the prospect of forfeiting - upon requesting that the match be postponed - Swenson instead opted to enter his machine without a working weapon.

The larger Hyena quickly rammed and pushed Satan's Revenge into the moving wall in the opening moments. Backing off, Morgan Dunbar's entry drove into the nearby Cambot, and proceeded to turn around to get its abrasive saws into use. Hyena got underneath and pushed Satan's Revenge around a few more times, though its attempts to use the saws only resulted in one of them breaking entirely. As a result, it resumed its earlier ramming tactics, shoving Satan's Revenge into the bottom-right corner.

Hyena maintained this approach throughout the rest of the battle, pushing Satan's Revenge underneath the spike trap and left-most flipper on the lower perimeter. Following a few more pushes - one against the left side wall - both robots ended up surviving the full duration. The resulting Judges' decision ruled Hyena the winner on points.

Winner: Hyena

Vicious-1 vs Pokey

Multiple issues affected the returning Pokey before the battle was due to commence. In addition to receiving last-minute control adjustments - resulting in a delayed start - Curt Meyers' entry unintentionally drove into Vicious-1 the moment it was powered on in the arena. The latter left Pokey with damage caused by the collision with its opponent's 'spinning pipe'.

In spite of these problems, Pokey immediately drove into the front of Vicious-1 within seconds of the fight's official start. While only able to briefly flick the newcomer upwards, it had halted the 'spinning pipe' weapon, though Pokey ended up hesitating while firing its forklift into thin air. Vicious-1 took advantage by pushing Pokey backwards, and repeatedly scooping it up with its rear wedge shape. A tentative chase ensued. Pokey drove into one of the flippers, then managed to push Vicious-1 from the back towards the wall. Despite the robot itself having lost the use of its forklift, its shove was enough to force Vicious-1 against the 'curb' surrounding one of the spike traps.

Pokey kept ramming Vicious-1 as the latter tried to free itself, while surviving more blows from Vicious-1's still-spinning weaponry. None of these shoves were sufficient to free Vicious-1 from the wall, though it took over two minutes before it received a request to show mobility. Vicious-1 twitched, but could no longer power its spinner up; Pokey spun slowly in either direction as its knockout win was confirmed.

Winner: Pokey

Turtle Roadkiller vs The Bishop

The start of this battle was delayed, owing to multiple technical issues affecting The Bishop's functionality. Not only was the internal combustion engine powering its saw inactive - rendering it weaponless - but its 'drive controls' also had to be worked on in order for it to be ready to fight.

Both robots charged into each other in the opening seconds, with Turtle Roadkiller getting underneath, but not having enough weapon power to fully lift The Bishop upwards. As the pair separated, Turtle Roadkiller suddenly drove head-on into the wall, and collected The Bishop as it reversed. The pneumatic flap of the green and yellow machine fired repeatedly, as it and The Bishop kept nudging, bumping and attempting to out-drive each other, but with very little effect.

During a very tentative clash, Turtle Roadkiller again drove under and shoved The Bishop multiple times, while the two competitors made various encounters with the arena hazards. At one point, The Bishop was speared by a spike trap, though both robots remained mobile for the full match duration. The Judges' decision, based on points, was awarded to Turtle Roadkiller.

Winner: Turtle Roadkiller

Winner's Bracket: Round 2

Alexander vs Anubis

Alexander, the faster of the two robots, drove past Anubis in the opening seconds. Upon reaching the left-most wall, Team Delta's machine spun around, approached and tried to bring its arm-mounted milling cutter onto Anubis' sloped sides. Anubis tried to move clear, but was bumped and took direct damage from Alexander's weapon. Pieces of Anubis' composite shell flew up before Alexander backed up, with Anubis now moving under the spike trap on the left-hand side.

Following a tentative shuffle, Alexander rammed the side of Anubis, leaving another gash in its opponent's shell. However, the impact forced its front arm back, where it remained for the rest of the fight. Anubis, with its flipper raised, crept across to the bottom-left corner. Alexander gave chase and rammed Anubis once again; the impact was enough to break the actuator on top of its saw arm before it backed away for another charge. The perseverance of Dan Danknick's machine, however, almost proved to be its undoing; Alexander partially drove over the lip of Anubis' flipping arm, and was flicked up into the air.

However, Anubis could not turn Alexander over, and the arm was unable to fully retract moments after it briefly hooked a gap in Alexander's arm mechanism. More gentle nudges were exchanged by both robots, as Alexander took another swipe at Anubis' left-hand side. Alexander kept ramming and grazing Anubis from that point forward; a head-to-head collision eventually caused both to lock together and require separation, as Cambot moved in to obtain close-up footage.

Upon both robots being forced apart, Alexander was the only one of the two to show mobility. Even before the match was officially restarted, Anubis lay stationary due to its speed controllers burning out during the 'deadly embrace'. Alexander was quickly declared victorious as a result.

Winner: Alexander

Pokey vs Satoru Special IV

Satoru Special IV initially approached Pokey at a sluggish pace, the latter starting in reverse and twitching a short distance. Pokey backed up towards the lower wall, then unsuccessfully attempted to use its forklift weapon. Curt Meyers' entry resorted to nudging Satoru Special IV, whose own side-mounted pickaxes had minimal effect on its aluminum construction. Following an equally tentative exchange - marked by more shoves and rams - Pokey hoisted Satoru Special IV up from the side, before proceeding to push it again. Satoru Special IV's axes again proved to have little effect as it turned and tried to grab Pokey with them.

Control issues resulted in Pokey backing into the wall and taking swipes from a nearby flipper paddle. Again, Satoru Special IV could not capitalize, merely turning and bumping Pokey as it veered into each of the spike traps. One of these traps briefly speared Pokey through the exposed top, though without any apparent effect on Pokey's functionality. More tentative nudges ensued; Pokey flicked and pressured the increasingly unresponsive Satoru Special IV between the upper-right perimeter and arena center.

Satoru Special IV feebly swung its axes and kept crawling, as Pokey proceeded to flick, carry and push it against the side wall. More attempted lifts by Pokey proved unsuccessful, as they only caused the robot to briefly tip forwards. The second of these caused Pokey to lift itself against the plywood 'curb', as the nearby flipper pushed both robots lengthways across the perimeter. Pokey attempted to drive off, but got stranded in the process. Satoru Special IV, having taken the brunt of the flipper paddle's hits, continued to suffer with drive issues as it eventually turned into and was flicked away by Pokey.

Moments later, the match concluded, going to a Judges' decision. While Satoru Special IV had continued to show mobility during this late stage, the decision would ultimately rule in favor of Pokey.

Winner: Pokey

Hyena vs Turtle Roadkiller

A tentative opening exchange saw the faster Turtle Roadkiller dodging the approaching Hyena, only to drive into the upper-right flipper. Lawrence Tan's machine backed out and turned to face its opponent, which briefly rode up Turtle Roadkiller's front-right corner. More tentative nudging followed, during which Turtle Roadkiller briefly lifted Hyena upwards with its 'pneumatic flap'. Hyena, meanwhile, was unable to damage Turtle Roadkiller with its saws, which stalled upon making contact with Turtle Roadkiller's shell. Both robots took swipes from the arena flippers, before another head-to-head collision allowed Turtle Roadkiller to pop Hyena into the air.

Hyena rides on the slopes of Turtle Roadkiller

Turtle Roadkiller shoved Hyena again; Hyena began spinning on the spot as the green and yellow machine drove away. Neither robot engaged for some time, driving past each other as Turtle Roadkiller sped into the flipper and wall in the lower-left corner. The collision appeared to leave Turtle Roadkiller stuck in place. Hyena, driving under the spike trap, kept maneuvering across the arena until it drove over the top of Turtle Roadkiller. With Morgan Dunbar's machine now lodged in place, the match was paused to allow for a separation.

When both robots were pushed away from the wall, Turtle Roadkiller was sent coasting into the arena center. It soon became apparent that the robot could no longer move under its own power, as Hyena proceeded to push it around in circles. Turtle Roadkiller was left to take hits from the lower-left flipper and declared to have been immobile, after which Hyena performed a victory spin.

Winner: Hyena

Loser's Bracket: Round 1

The Bishop vs Bubba

The Bishop tears into the side of Bubba

Even following its rebuild, the rolling chassis of Bubba encountered major control issues from the start. Indeed, it did not move far from its starting position when The Bishop - billowing smoke from its internal combustion engine - charged into its side. Sparks and dust flew as The Bishop's abrasive cutter made contact. The Bishop erupted into smoke as it kept attacking, though a few more collisions with Bubba were enough to cause the disc to shatter.

Now virtually weaponless, The Bishop resorted to shoving Bubba multiple times. Smoke continued to rise from Stephen Gaudio's machine every time it tried to use the remains of its cutter. Bubba itself continued to demonstrate erratic control, lurching, turning and spinning. Sit-and-spin tactics allowed Bubba to deflect The Bishop away a few times, as the two competitors spent the rest of the fight bumping each other. Both survived to a Judges' decision, which was given to The Bishop on control and aggression.

Winner: The Bishop

Peaches vs Stuffie

Stuffie's shell falls off after a ramming attack from Peaches

Immediately, Stuffie drove into the upper spike trap, the collision knocking its toy Jeep shell loose. Peaches, itself suffering problems with its 'homemade control system', rammed Stuffie, which reversed and turned to face its much smaller opponent. After both robots drove past each other, Benjamin Chapman's entry twice drove into the wall on the opposite side of the arena, which allowed the shell to fall back into place. Neither robot made contact with each other during this phase, until Peaches removed Stuffie's shell entirely with another ram.

"Stuffie, without Stuffie, refuses to go down!"

— Michael Meehan, seconds after Stuffie begins to be dismantled

The plywood base of Stuffie kept driving on, bumping Peaches and the lower-left flipper. It too began encountering control problems, spinning around while taking another whack from the flipper paddle. Peaches, after a few moments' hesitation, rammed and pushed Stuffie's remains against the left wall. Stuffie, left in the top-right corner, struggled to regain its bearings as it circled around and got whacked by the nearby flipper. Peaches drove underneath and pinned Stuffie in place. This attack proved problematic for Bill Nicoloff's machine, however; not only did its front spikes become embedded in the wall, but the robot also lacked reverse drive, as a result of the relay-based control system installed for this battle.

Stuffie's wheels kept spinning during the 'embrace', but it was only able to turn around from the side while taking further hits from the flipper. With 49 seconds remaining, the battle was stopped to allow for a separation, performed by two separate Robot Wars crewmembers. The teddy bear from Stuffie's Jeep shell was retrieved and placed into its plywood frame, which was jettisoned as soon as it started circling around again. Peaches was turned around to face the left-hand side of the arena, and the match resumed.

Peaches, after being hit by the flipper, shot forwards and drove past the spinning Stuffie. It eventually rammed Benjamin Chapman's machine twice more before spearing itself into the left wall section. Stuffie gingerly approached, then bumped Peaches just before the end bell rang. The resulting Judges' decision quickly ruled Peaches as the winner.

Winner: Peaches

Vicious-1 vs Satan's Revenge

Both robots tentatively approached each other, with Satan's Revenge's chainsaw functioning and billowing blue smoke as they met in the center. Vicious-1's larger spinner whacked the front of Satan's Revenge a few times, as Satan's Revenge briefly got underneath it from the left-hand side. This, in turn, briefly causes Ken Swenson's machine to tip forwards, allowing Vicious-1 to briefly push it back with its wedge shape. During this exchange, Vicious-1 bent and tore the outer chain off Satan's Revenge's chainsaw, while also loosening a wire connected to the latter's radio receiver.

Satan's Revenge became fully immobilized as a result; Vicious-1 pushed it backwards a short distance before it was confirmed to have won by knockout.

Winner: Vicious-1

Loser's Bracket: Round 2

Peaches vs Vicious-1

In exchange for its pipe-based weapon, Vicious-1 was equipped with a set of spinning hammers. Peaches, meanwhile, had its ramming spikes removed altogether to prevent it from being beached on the side walls.

Peaches quickly weaved towards and around Vicious-1, driving up its opponent's wedge shape during a head-to-head exchange. This, however, allowed Vicious-1 to strike the underside of Bill Nicoloff's machine while pushing it back a short distance. Peaches, undamaged by the hammers, backed off to line up a second ram with similar results. A third similar attack allowed it to target, but not puncturing Vicious-1's right tire. This was followed by a series of slow pushing matches, again allowing Vicious-1 to control the faster Peaches in short bursts.

Dodging a spike trap, Peaches lured and darted around Vicious-1, before again driving into and up the front wedge shape of Mike Regan's entry. Using its own body spikes, Vicious-1 pushed Peaches around once more, before the two competitors separated again and Peaches scrambled to the upper-right wall. Another nudge prompted Vicious-1 to again steer Peaches back, towards the spike trap, as the latter began slowing down noticeably across the arena. The struggle allowed Peaches to steer Vicious-1 directly under the trap, which briefly struck behind the latter's right wheel.

Vicious-1 escaped; a malfunction left Peaches immobile on one side, smoke pouring from its top-right wheel as Vicious-1 repeatedly pushed it into and against the wall. This additional pressure caused Peaches to become fully immobilized just before the end bell rang. Vicious-1 was declared the winner on a subsequent Judges' decision.

Winner: Vicious-1

Loser's Bracket: Round 3

The Bishop vs Vicious-1

The Bishop grinds into the side of Vicious-1

Smoke erupted from the faster-starting Bishop as both robots approached each other in the opening seconds. Vicious-1 powered up its newly-refitted spinning pipe weapon as it nudged Stephen Gaudio's machine from the side. The Bishop turned away, billowing more clouds of smoke as it stopped short of bringing its front saw into Vicious-1. Vicious-1 started pushing The Bishop again, while attempting to strike the latter's right-rear corner with the flailing pipes. One impact caused the pipes to stop altogether, as Vicious-1 resorted to scooping and controlling The Bishop around once more.

More shoves and nudges ensued, with neither robot being able to aim their spinning weapons. While Vicious-1 kept pushing The Bishop, The Bishop attacked its main body a few times in response. Sparks flew during a number of head-to-head exchanges, where The Bishop's saw grazed Vicious-1's steel front wedge. In retaliation, Vicious-1 hit The Bishop with its spinning pipes multiple times, while still pushing it across the arena and into an arena flipper. One blow to The Bishop's weapon assembly caused the transmission for its saw to jam, and its engine to stall. Vicious-1 kept pushing The Bishop around until the end bell, winning the match on a Judges' decision.

Winner: Vicious-1

Loser's Bracket: Round 4

Satoru Special IV vs Vicious-1

Initially, Vicious-1 scooped under the faster-starting Satoru Special IV, pushing it into the upper-left wall. Satoru Special IV, armed with only one pickaxe, swung its weapon, which briefly caught Vicious-1's spinning pipes and right wheel as it was being pinned. Vicious-1 maneuvered James Straus' entry into the flipper paddle, while chipping off part of the latter's wooden armor. Satoru Special IV eventually escaped, only for Vicious-1 to start pushing it across the inner-left perimeter.

A few seconds later, Vicious-1 switched to attacking with its pipe weapon, smashing into Satoru Special IV's shell a few times. One attack tore open Satoru Special IV's axe mechanism, the motor for which was left dangling as Satoru Special IV turned around and bumped into Vicious-1 again. Vicious-1 continued to pressure Satoru Special IV, while also digging into its wooden sides. These attacks, however, caused a weld within the spinning pipes to break, causing one half of the weapon to fold and severely compromising its balance.

Vicious-1 landed one last blow on Satoru Special IV in the closing seconds, with both competitors bumping each other a few more times as they survived to a Judges' decision. Based on the damage it inflicted, Mike Regan's machine won the decision and its place in the overall Middleweight Face-Off final.

Winner: Vicious-1

Winner's Bracket: Semi-Finals

Alexander vs Hyena

A tentative opening exchange saw Alexander driving around the side of the spinning Hyena, as both robots met in the center. A few bumps lead the duo to drive side-by-side across the inner perimeter, before Alexander finally pressed Hyena against the wall and sliced into its fiberglass shell. By this point, a motor mount had come loose inside Hyena, leaving it immobilized on one side as Alexander kept attacking with its milling cutter. The two competitors twice rammed each other from the front, though Hyena could not use its own abrasive cutters to good effect.

Alexander tried to bring its saw down onto Hyena again, only to take a side-on ram from the latter. After ramming Hyena again in response, it suddenly stopped moving, and was unable to aim an attack with its rear spike. The spike ultimately proved too low to hit Hyena directly, prompting Team Delta's machine to bring its saw back into use. However, Alexander continued to display erratic movements, as it eventually pinned Hyena against the wall once more. After struggling to aim its saw, it backed out and headed across the inner-left perimeter; severe overheating in Alexander's drive motors noticeably hampered its performance by this point.

With Hyena still circling around on one wheel, Alexander eventually attacked it a few more times with its saw. Both competitors survived to a Judges' decision, which ruled in favor of Alexander. The damage sustained by Hyena's drive was sufficient for it to withdraw from the competition entirely.

Winner: Alexander

Alexander vs Pokey

Alexander started the quicker of the two middleweights, only for Pokey to approach it from the side as it negotiated the lower perimeter. Pokey fired its forklift into thin air as the Team Delta entry started attacking its shell with its milling cutter. Alexander targeted Pokey's weapon and sides with its next series of attacks, after which Pokey drove under and got caught by the lower spike trap. A tentative few moments resulted in both robots colliding head-on. After this, the Judges ordered the battle to be momentarily paused for unspecified reasons.

Once the match resumed, Alexander drove into and bent its arm against the front of Pokey. Similarly to its battle against Anubis, an actuator controlling Alexander's arm broke on impact; another head-to-head ram followed as Team Delta attempted to keep the saw running. The damage caused to Alexander lead to the saw motor stalling, then expiring in a cloud of smoke. Pokey rammed Alexander once again, only to drive into the upper-left flipper, and become jabbed from the front-left side by Alexander's rear spike.

While continuing to leave holes and dents in Pokey's aluminum shell, Alexander started encountering more severe issues with its drive. Due to pre-existing damage, the motors began overheating, reducing its torque and ability to turn. Pokey also struggled to line up a counter-attack as it veered towards Cambot, and appeared to be immobilized on its right wheels. Alexander shuttled back and forth as audience members began chanting in support of its opponent. The Team Delta machine rammed Pokey from the front, then the right-hand side as the match entered its final thirty seconds.

Taking a whack from the arena flipper, Alexander rammed Pokey three more times before the end bell rang, catching itself on the wall spikes during its last charge. The battle went to a Judges' decision, which lead to an audience vote being cast in support of Alexander.

Winner: Alexander

Final

Alexander vs Vicious-1

At the end of its previous match, Alexander was left with major internal damage, for which Team Delta requested extra time to repair prior to the final. This request was turned down by the Judges, resulting in Vicious-1 being declared the 1997 Middleweight Face-Off champion by default. A short arena demonstration was performed by Mike Regan's machine as its title victory was confirmed.

1997 Middleweight Face-Off Champion: Vicious-1 (Alexander forfeited)

Lightweight Face-Off

Winner's Bracket: Round 1

NOTE: The Ominous Brick of Havoc, Razor Back, Mouser, Black Widow, Cooks and Finagler all received automatic byes from this stage.

Pretty Hate Machine vs Ziggy

Both spinners clash

Smoke from Ziggy's weapon system filled the arena as both machines tentatively approached each other. Jonathan Ridder's entry then charged straight into the side of Pretty Hate Machine, attempting to damage the latter's right legs. Sparks flew as Ziggy's abrasive cutter made contact, though this early attack had no effect on Pretty Hate Machine's mobility. Ziggy tried to push Pretty Hate Machine back, but abruptly turned around on its right drive belt. Weapon-on-weapon contact allowed Pretty Hate Machine to lift Ziggy upwards using its own circular saws.

Pretty Hate Machine throws Ziggy upwards as it makes impact

The two competitors momentarily shoved each other, before Ziggy spun and hopped on its right belt. Hesitating, Ziggy turned to face Pretty Hate Machine again. Pretty Hate Machine lifted and pushed it back towards an arena flipper in response, though not without the engine for its front saws stalling. With Ziggy already partially immobilized, the purple and green walker turned around to bring its second set of saws into action. Small pieces of debris flew up as Pretty Hate Machine grazed the front of Ziggy's right skirt, itself already badly bent. Another series of head-to-head exchanges followed, with Pretty Hate Machine tearing small chunks out of its opponent's foam and Kevlar shell. After a few attempts, these saws stalled while trying to cut deeper.

Ziggy kept turning its larger weapon into Pretty Hate Machine, while being gingerly pushed back across the arena. Sparks and splinters flew, but these attacks were still not enough to disable Pretty Hate Machine. After quickly turning away from its opponent, Ziggy suddenly lost all mobility. Pretty Hate Machine positioned itself behind Ziggy, and slowly pushed it saw-first into the wall. This was enough to clog and disable Ziggy's weapon; the internal combustion engine for this stalled as Pretty Hate Machine began to straddle over its fallen opponent. With these movements, Pretty Hate Machine pushed Ziggy further into the corner, before backing out to an impressed crowd.

Winner: Pretty Hate Machine

Webster vs Aggressor

Webster started by dodging Aggressor's slow first charge, before spinning on the spot. Aggressor suddenly slowed, likely as a result of mechanical issues. Colin Federle's machine was scooped up and pushed in and out of the upper-left corner by Webster, which also pushed Cambot during these attacks. Both competitors separated in the lower perimeter, where Aggressor quickly lost more speed and maneuverability. Webster rammed Aggressor into the upper wall, where the latter appeared unable to move for several moments, and attempted to use its rear saws against it.

After a few tentative moments, Webster freed Aggressor from the wall, after which both competitors kept themselves away from each other. Webster again attacked with the saws while pushing Aggressor past Cambot. By this point, Aggressor had again stopped moving altogether; Webster proceeded to ram it against the side walls a few more times. At some point, the impacts with the wall had damaged the shaft for Webster's saws, causing the weapons to jam. After colliding with an arena flipper, Webster spun and paraded across the arena once it had been declared the winner. Aggressor's drive issues were severe enough for it to pull out of the Face-Off competition altogether.

Winner: Webster

Defiant vs Scrappy

Defiant immediately rushed towards and rammed Scrappy a few times from the front and right-hand side. Having missed with its four-bar flipper each time, James Underwood's machine darted behind Scrappy and pushed it along as it tried to evade. During this push, Defiant flicked Scrappy over into the lower-right corner, though Scrappy's invertible design allowed it to keep moving. Scrappy was unable to leave the corner, however, and was lifted twice more until Defiant got it stranded on the lower wall. Defiant spun and paraded across the arena as Michael Meehan confirmed its knockout win.

Winner: Defiant

X7 vs Gator

X3 flips Gator

Both competitors moved tentatively in the opening moments. It quickly became apparent that the newly-redesigned Gator was encountering control issues, as it shuffled and spun around in the right-hand side of the arena. Both segments of X7 split up - the smaller X4 was first to attack as it speared Gator's right wheel and initiated a pushing match. Gator weathered this and attacked the side of the approaching X3 with its cutting saw, but seemingly without inflicting major damage. X3 spun around as its counterpart shoved and speared underneath Gator with two more ramming attacks.

Both halves of X7 push Gator across the arena

Both halves of the Robot Action League clusterbot gathered around Gator, as X4 pushed and spun the latter around near the upper wall. X3 approached from the side and flicked Gator upwards, before pushing it towards the center and freeing both machines as a result. Within seconds, the combined X7 swarmed around Gator, shoving and lifting it. X4 used this chance to pin Gator in place, though its efforts were interrupted when X3 attempted to flick and clamp it with its own pneumatic arm. X3 pushed Gator forwards, but stopped short of the flipper paddle as Dennis Millard's machine turned gingerly away. X4 wasted no time in spearing and pushing Gator once more; this exchange culminated with X3 lifting Gator on top of it.

Several seconds passed before X3 broke free. As the crowd began chanting for the fight to continue, it proceeded to jostle Gator around a few times with its lifter, but initially without getting either robot to move. At last, X4 squirmed, prompting Gator to spin itself free. Gator fled from the clusterbots, while narrowly dodging the overhead spike nearby. However, it stopped moving again within a few seconds, allowing X7 to pressure it once again. Gator grazed the front of X3 with its saw, but was otherwise pressured into the left-most wall by the ever-aggressive X4. X4 hooked underneath Gator once again, though a nudge by X3 had minimal effect. Similarly to before, Gator squirmed free, only to turn and drive saw-first into the very same wall bumper.

The teeth of Gator's saw became embedded in the plywood surface. Without sufficient drive power to back away, it was now stuck in place as X4 rammed it multiple times. Despite requests from Michael Meehan, Gator could not free itself or show any further signs of movement. X7 was thus declared the winner by knockout; both halves spun around in celebration upon the result being announced.

Winner: X7

Winner's Bracket: Round 2

The Ominous Brick of Havoc vs Razor Back

Through a head-on collision, Razor Back immediately launched The Ominous Brick of Havoc into the air near the center. The Ominous Brick of Havoc proceeded to career into the right-most flippers and wall sections. Razor Back, while slow to pressure its opponent, also crashed into the wall, just as Team Delta's orange machine impaled itself on the plywood barrier.

Razor Back shuttled back, forth and across the arena, then parked near the center as The Ominous Brick of Havoc remained motionless in the bottom-right corner. After over a minute, it was decided to unstick The Ominous Brick of Havoc from the wall, after which Razor Back began moving again in a more erratic fashion.

According to Andrew Lindsey, the initial collision had loosened an internal component inside Bob Schneeveis' machine, resulting in the aforementioned control problems. As a consequence, Razor Back veered into the path of the top-right flipper, which instantly caught and pressed it against the wall on the other side. Razor Back became immobilized as a result.

With The Ominous Brick of Havoc also becoming stuck a second time, the match went to a Judges' decision. Despite its more prolonged immobility - and Razor Back having initiated the opening attack - The Ominous Brick of Havoc was deemed to have won on points.

Winner: The Ominous Brick of Havoc

Mouser vs Black Widow

Mouser - the original incarnation of future BattleBots competitor Mouser Mecha-Catbot - immediately charged past Black Widow, only to spin uncontrollably into the lower-right corner. A head-to-head collision resulted in Black Widow driving over the sloped shell of Fon Davis' entry, while Mouser got itself trapped and took hits from the nearby arena flipper. Another similar exchange caused Mouser to pin Black Widow off the arena floor, then push it into the moving wall bumper. Mouser darted away, but again put itself in danger upon getting underneath and caught by the upper spike trap.

Another bump between the two lightweights followed, after which Mouser flicked its side-hinged flipper twice. The pink machine turned slowly as Black Widow headed towards the wall near the lower spike trap; it was at that point that Mouser pinned Phillip Hoskins' machine in place. Both robots became high-centered as a result, prompting the Judges to stop the match and allow them to be separated.

Mouser fires its weapon as Black Widow rams the front

The match resumed as both robots continued moving. After a tentative few moments, Black Widow drove its front wedge underneath Mouser, again causing them to lock together and require manual separation. Upon the match resuming for the second time, a third 'deadly embrace' appeared to occur when Mouser backed into the side of Black Widow, and Black Widow was unable to maneuver away from it immediately. With its opponent by its side, Mouser was again lifted off the floor by Black Widow. An announcement by Michael Meehan stated that the Judges would stop the battle entirely and make a decision on points if neither robot could move apart on their own.

Mouser pressures Black Widow against the side wall

Mouser fired its flipper three times, each actuation allowing it to twitch sideways. These twitches were enough to allow Black Widow to turn away, and both competitors to ram each other again. During the final minute, Black Widow took swipes from the lower-left flipper, only to briefly pin an approaching Mouser against it. A sluggish Mouser fired its own flipper into thin air, again using it to escape from another 'deadly embrace' between the two lightweights. Mouser rammed Black Widow twice more and repeatedly demonstrated its pneumatic weapon, but slowed to a crawl as the battery charge on both robots depleted. Based on points, the Judges ruled Mouser as the winner.

Winner: Mouser

Cooks vs Finagler

Cooks immediately sped past Finagler, before the two robots turned around and rammed each other. The former dragged Finagler backwards; issues with Finagler's RC equipment caused it to stop moving immediately after it backed over Cooks' sloped side. After a few seconds, Finagler began crawling forwards, but stopped again as it tried to turn. Cooks initiated a few more rams, before gingerly pushing the malfunctioning Cooks across the arena.

A spurt of movement allowed Finagler to break free, though Cooks again pressured and pushed it against the spike trap. Jack Buffington's machine was unable to escape from the pocket. Cooks, meanwhile, brushed against one of the arena flippers, and accidentally veered under the trap itself while trying to ram Finagler again. This resulted in the trap denting the shell of Paul Bell's robot, before it retreated and lunged at Finagler. Cooks bumped into its partially-immobile opponent, but wedged itself under the plywood 'curb'.

With both robots now stuck in position, the Judges opted to stop the match to allow for a separation. This did not alleviate Finagler, the first to start moving again, of its mobility issues. Cooks, after heading into the center of the arena, turned around and rammed Finagler from the side before again jamming itself under the 'curb'. The latter error left Cooks under attack from the spike trap above. Both robots remained in their places until the match concluded; Cooks won the subsequent Judges' decision on points.

Winner: Cooks

Pretty Hate Machine vs Webster

Pretty Hate Machine tears apart the back of Webster

Initially, Webster rammed the lower-left wall, before scooping up and pushing Pretty Hate Machine into the moving wall section on the right. Zipping away from its eight-legged opponent, the UCSB-sponsored entry repeated this tactic seconds later. Pretty Hate Machine was steered around in circles and into the upper-right flipper, before being carried past the lower spike trap near the center. Webster kept pushing and spinning Pretty Hate Machine around, easily exploiting the ground clearance and slow speed of Christian Carlberg's walkerbot.

One set of Pretty Hate Machine's sawblades grazed the top of Webster, though initially without any major effect before Webster broke free. Webster briefly drove under a spike trap, then alongside a watching Cambot, while darting around Pretty Hate Machine in an attempt to line up its next attack. It proceeded to drive its own rear saw twice into Pretty Hate Machine; the resulting rocking motion caused Pretty Hate Machine's weaponry to dig into the concrete arena floor. Following another tentative phase, Webster resumed its initial strategy, driving under and holding Pretty Hate Machine in place.

During this exchange, the saws of Pretty Hate Machine continued to damage Webster's aluminum bodyshell while the latter turned around. Webster's spinning allowed it to break free, though Pretty Hate Machine was still in range and kept attacking its sides and front wedge shape. Following another swipe, Webster suddenly stopped moving; Pretty Hate Machine started pushing Webster forwards, while tearing its top-rear panels open and removing a small internal component. Instinctively, Webster spun and darted into the 'curb' near the upper spike trap, where it exhibited more control issues as it tried to drive under and ram Pretty Hate Machine twice more.

Having traversed across the arena to line up the second ram attempt, Webster drove wedge-first into the wall opposite the upper-right flipper. Immobilized, it took glancing swipes from the flipper paddle as Pretty Hate Machine crawled towards it. Pretty Hate Machine proceeded to land further attacks to Webster's rear armor and weaponry, while also gouging through the plywood 'curb', moments before it was officially announced to have won by knockout.

Winner: Pretty Hate Machine

Defiant vs X7

The X7 clusterbots approached a speeding Defiant together; Defiant separated the pair while it and X3 clashed with their pneumatic-powered weapons. This was quickly followed by Defiant throwing the invertible X4 onto its back, then twice flicking X3 onto its teammate. The second flip happened within close range of a spike trap; Defiant briefly clamped X4 before darting backwards across the arena. Again, James Underwood's machine threw X3 to the side, but without flipping the larger part of Robot Action League's clusterbot completely over.

More flipper attacks followed from Defiant, including one where it sent X3 cartwheeling and balancing on its side. As before, X3 landed on its wheels, and the three robots proceeded to dodge each other for a few moments. A few rams by Defiant were followed by another powerful flick on X3. Defiant smashed into an arena flipper during the latter attack, however, while also narrowly avoiding the 'robo-cam'. Defiant rammed and again nearly flipped X3 onto its side. During this charge, it drove straight into the wall, getting itself stuck with its flipper partially open.

Both parts of X7 ganged up on their now-stranded opponent, with X4 driving behind and pinning Defiant in place. X3 gingerly approached from the right-hand side, but did not fire its lifter. Defiant raised its own flipper a few times, but initially to no avail as it remained stuck for over a minute. X4 retreated to let X3 pin Defiant, at which point the crowd started booing at the resulting lack of action. X3 shoved Defiant a few times, before it and X4 again surrounded the latter. Defiant shuffled, then finally broke free just as Michael Meehan announced that the match would be paused to 'unwedge' it.

As soon as Defiant tried to back away, X3 pushed, lifted and trapped it against the wall once more. X4 circled around and tried to help its counterpart, while taking a few hits from the nearby flipper paddle. This remained the case for the next minute, during which X3 reversed and let Defiant go. Defiant, after being held by X3 for a few seconds, flung and pushed X4 into the opposite corner, though X4 drove out with assistance from the moving wall section. More flips on both X7 segments followed, one of which helped re-right X4. The match concluded with all three robots exchanging rams and receiving applause from the crowd, to which Defiant spun and fired its flipper one last time.

In their subsequent decision, the Judges considered both competitors to be 'too evenly matched'. A tie was declared, allowing Defiant and X7 to progress to the Face-Off Quarter-Finals together.

Winner: Draw (both robots progressed)

Loser's Bracket: Round 1

NOTE: Razor Back and Ziggy both received automatic byes from this stage.

Black Widow vs Carnivore

This match ended very quickly, as an instant burst of movement from Black Widow ended in it spontaneously losing mobility near the center of the arena. Carnivore, during its first battle of the event, rammed the immobilized Black Widow further towards the lower-left corner. At this point, the Judges asked for signs of mobility from both robots, though only Carnivore responded after parking itself next to Phillip Hoskins' machine. Carnivore was declared the winner by knockout on this basis.

According to Team Carnivore's Ilya Polyakov, the cause of Black Widow's immobilization was a torn drive belt. However, it is unclear whether the belt snapped as a result of its initial movements, or Carnivore's ramming attack.

Winner: Carnivore

Gator vs Scrappy

The faster Gator dodged and drove up the front wedge shape of Scrappy, momentarily balancing on its right wheel and wheelieing during the second exchange. Michael Meehan remarked on the tactical driving by both competitors as they initially avoided further contact. This was until Gator began attacking Scrappy with its front saw, sparks flying as the weapon made contact with the steel sides of Steven Schware's machine. A third hit caused Gator's saw to briefly become embedded in Scrappy's flat rear panel. Dennis Millard's entry capitalized by dragging Scrappy back with it towards the upper spike trap.

Gator continued to dish out blows to Scrappy's armor, while Scrappy drove underneath and destabilized it a few more times in its counter-strategy. On two occasions, the latter attacks almost resulted in Gator being tipped onto its side while riding up Scrappy's wedge shape. During the final minute, both robots took swipes from an arena flipper, after which Gator began grinding away at Scrappy again. Scrappy again tried to tip Gator over, moments before Gator coasted to a halt opposite Cambot.

With Gator seemingly becoming immobilized, Scrappy pushed it forwards one last time as the end bell rang. Notwithstanding its late predicament, Gator won the Judges' decision and the battle on points.

Winner: Gator

Loser's Bracket: Round 2

Carnivore vs Razor Back

Carnivore gets underneath Razor Back

Starting with its rear wedge shape facing forwards, Carnivore suffered drive issues from the outset, leaving it to move 'slowly and erratically' as Razor Back first drove up its rear-left corner. Razor Back shuffled between the wall and flipper, before backing into and pushing Carnivore around in a circle. While Bob Schneeveis' robot continued veering into the hazards, Carnivore was evidently struggling to drive on one wheel. Razor Back rammed Carnivore twice more, but took two hits from the nearest spike trap once it became stranded on Carnivore's rear 'ramp'.

With neither robot able to pull free, the match was briefly paused to separate them. Once this was completed, Razor Back again drove over the back of Carnivore. Carnivore gingerly steered Razor Back backwards under the spike trap, but was hit by the hazard which merely shook Razor Back off. Razor Back darted away, around, under and over Carnivore a few more times, eventually leading to a pushing match near the center. Both competitors reached a stalemate near the top-left flipper, at which point it became apparent that they needed separating once again.

Razor Back shot backwards and Carnivore spun on its left wheel, before driving close to each other to allow the match to resume. Ironically, neither robot moved again after Michael Meehan announced the restart, resulting in the battle going to a Judges' decision. On points, Razor Back was awarded the victory.

Winner: Razor Back

Ziggy vs Gator

During preparations for this match, Gator 'refused to move' after being placed into the arena. Ziggy was awarded the win by default.

Winner: Ziggy (Gator forfeited)

Loser's Bracket: Round 3

Razor Back vs Ziggy

Due to various circumstances, this battle was fought no fewer than three times:

Battle 1

Both robots moved tentatively towards each other, with Razor Back initially dodging, then ramming the smoking Ziggy a few times. As well as bending the front of Ziggy's left skirt, these resulted in Razor Back shoving Jonathan Ridder's machine against the upper-left wall. The force of this ram caused Razor Back to lodge itself into the wall, leaving the two competitors stuck together and prompting a temporary stoppage.

A Robot Wars crewmember dragged Ziggy, then Razor Back, away from the wall. However, this was not without further problems for Razor Back, which sat immobile after being yanked back towards the inner arena perimeter. While Ziggy was initially declared the winner, Bob Schneeveis later claimed that Razor Back's killswitch had been deactivated during the separation. This was confirmed during a subsequent inspection, as the crewmember had accidentally turned the switch off while grabbing Razor Back by the hole where it resided. A rematch was thus called by the Judges.

Battle 2

Razor Back first drove past Ziggy, then shuffled and continuously dodged it for several seconds. Bob Schneeveis' machine gently brushed, then rammed Ziggy from the right-hand corner, pushing it around in circles. The two competitors separated, before Ziggy was shoved into the upper-left flipper. While pushing its opponent away, Razor Back became immobilized by the swinging paddle. Ziggy, upon being freed from Razor Back's wedge shape, reversed and tried to line up a direct attack with its abrasive disc. However, it instead drove directly into the flipper and up the tip of Razor Back's body.

Ziggy flipped over as a result of the collision, and was left beached as the flipper kept swiping both of the now-immobile competitors. The bell rang to signal the end of the battle, which went to a Judges' decision. The Judges ultimately called for a second rematch.

Battle 3

Razor Back slammed into the front of Ziggy almost immediately, before circling around and pushing it from behind. A brief separation allowed it to control Ziggy into the lower-right corner, where the latter was flung upwards and again became stuck on Razor Back's wedge shape. Razor Back backed out, driving underneath Ziggy again as Jonathan Ridder's entry took hits from the nearby flipper. The flipper paddle broke part of Ziggy's blade, also flicking it onto its left-hand side. Ziggy finally escaped as Razor Back drove head-on into the wall, but hesitated to attack as its opponent became stuck for several seconds.

Michael Meehan announced that the battle would be paused to allow Razor Back to be freed. The unstick was performed without incident; as soon as it was pulled clear from the wall, Razor Back turned to face Ziggy, then rammed it head-on. This started another tentative phase, which lead into Razor Back controlling Ziggy several more times as the match entered the three-minute mark. One shove allowed Razor Back to pin Ziggy against the upper-right flipper, with Ziggy again slow to escape from the hazard. Once Ziggy did, Razor Back drove front-first into the flipper mount, then speared itself into the nearby wall with its rear wedge tip.

Ziggy proceeded to attack Razor Back from the front, though it only succeeded in beaching itself on the latter's wedge shape. The abrasive disc, now with a large chunk missing, could not cut deep into Razor Back's plastic armor. With less than two minutes to go, Ziggy persisted with its attacks, but could only scuff the front-right side of Razor Back before another pause was announced. Audience members began booing as the two competitors stood next to each other, then were pushed clear from the wall.

Razor Back slams Ziggy against the side wall

Upon the match officially restarting, Razor Back again proved the faster and more maneuverable robot. Ziggy, having seemingly been immobilized on one side, crawled towards Razor Back, which swerved out of the way at the last second. Razor Back jostled Ziggy around with a few more rams, with Ziggy taking another hit from the upper-right flipper as it struggled to escape the perimeter. During the final minute, Razor Back kept pushing Ziggy against the wall and flipper, only to back into the wall and get itself stuck yet again. A countdown was started by Michael Meehan, with Ziggy still struggling for mobility as the battle went to a Judges' decision.

In their deliberation, an audience vote was cast, ruling Razor Back as the victor.

Winner: Razor Back

Winner's Bracket: Quarter-Finals

NOTE: Cooks received an automatic bye from this stage.

The Ominous Brick of Havoc vs Mouser

Both competitors immediately rammed each other at high speed; The Ominous Brick of Havoc got its front blade underneath and began pushing Mouser back and forth across the arena. Mouser repeatedly fired its top flap, but could not prevent itself from being steered into the lower-right corner. While trying to escape, Fon Davis' machine was hit multiple times by the nearby flipper, as The Ominous Brick of Havoc tried to push it again from the side. The contact only caused Team Delta's entry to ride up the sloped shell of Mouser; Mouser flicked The Ominous Brick of Havoc off with its flap as the two robots headed for the upper-right corner.

There, The Ominous Brick of Havoc pinned Mouser against the wall. Both robots separated; several moments passed as The Ominous Brick of Havoc drove past Cambot, then into the right-hand side of Mouser. The right-front ramming spike of The Ominous Brick of Havoc became lodged in Mouser's shell, allowing it to drag and push Mouser back and forth into the lower-right flipper. Mouser tried to push The Ominous Brick of Havoc into the upper spike trap, but could not do so before a separation was ordered by the Judges. Cambot closed in just as the 'deadly embrace' was broken by Robot Wars crewmembers.

On the restart, Mouser briefly got its front sawblade under the side of The Ominous Brick of Havoc. The pink machine then bumped into Cambot, only to be rammed again by The Ominous Brick of Havoc at the start of the final two minutes. More bumping and shoving ensued, at which point Mouser appeared unable to avoid the wall or the flipper in the upper-left corner. The Ominous Brick of Havoc, missing its next ram, careered into the wall, then up alongside Mouser's shell as it drove away. Mouser became lodged in the wall, but was briefly freed by a further ram from The Ominous Brick of Havoc. However, this caused both robots to stick together again; Mouser fired its pneumatic flap repeatedly at reduced travel, as they squirmed and eventually pulled away from each other.

As the battle entered the final minute, The Ominous Brick of Havoc jabbed its spikes under Mouser once again, before riding on top of its shell with its next drive. By this point, Mouser was left with noticeable mobility issues, only able to turn on its right-hand drive. Both competitors dodged the descending spike trap, with Mouser turning into and unable to get away from the surrounding wall. The Ominous Brick of Havoc, having hesitated during this moment, pushed Mouser into the wall behind the upper-right flipper, though Mouser briefly responded by pushing The Ominous Brick of Havoc into the flipper paddle. Team Delta's machine finished the match by driving up and getting beached on Mouser's shell. Both robots survived to a Judges' decision, which ruled The Ominous Brick of Havoc the winner on points.

Winner: The Ominous Brick of Havoc

Pretty Hate Machine vs Defiant

During the opening moments, Defiant circled around, hooked and lifted Pretty Hate Machine from the right-hand side. Both competitors were locked together as a result, prompting James Underwood's machine to keep lifting and dragging its opponent until it broke loose. Defiant rammed and flicked Pretty Hate Machine upwards again shortly after, though not without being clipped by the latter's sawblades. A head-to-head exchange allowed Pretty Hate Machine to inflict further damage, as Defiant was again unable to flip it.

Defiant circled across the arena and into the side of Pretty Hate Machine once more, missing with its next lifting attempts. Its sustained rams, however, lead to it driving underneath and prising one side of Christian Carlberg's walkerbot off the floor. Pretty Hate Machine was carried around on top of Defiant for a few seconds. By this point, one row of its saws had become disabled after losing their belt, due to the chassis flexing inflicted by Defiant's earlier onslaught. The other row remained active, briefly churning into the top of Defiant as the latter freed itself and shot forwards towards the center.

Another tentative period ended with Defiant twice ramming Pretty Hate Machine head-on. In a small cloud of dust, Pretty Hate Machine's remaining saws grazed the front of Defiant both times, but without any significant effect. Eventually, Defiant repeated its initial tactic, lifting Pretty Hate Machine upwards and tipping itself forwards in the process. One of the racquet balls acting as Pretty Hate Machine's feet was left dangling in mid-air as it struggled to crawl away, during which time the remaining set of saws stopped turning.

With just under a minute remaining, Defiant repeatedly shoved and lifted Pretty Hate Machine against the moving wall section, causing the racquet ball foot to detach fully. Defiant proceeded to carry the purple and green walker towards a spike trap, but in doing so jammed its front end under the surrounding wall. Pretty Hate Machine crept to and fro from the center of the arena as its opponent lay motionless. As it did so, the match was paused to allow Defiant to be freed from the wall, with just seventeen seconds left on the clock.

Upon being pulled out and turned around, Defiant sped back into Pretty Hate Machine, lifting and steering it under the spike trap. The trap impaled and jabbed at Pretty Hate Machine multiple times, damaging a 'plastic shroud' protecting one of its engines. Defiant kept pushing and trying to lift Pretty Hate Machine from the side until the bell rang, at which point the battle went to a Judges' decision. James Underwood's entry was awarded the win on points.

Winner: Defiant

X7 vs Razor Back

The dual X7 segments separated near the center of the arena. X4 was the first to engage, ramming Razor Back with its blade and in turn getting pushed into the upper-left corner by Bob Schneeveis' machine. Razor Back was soon surrounded, and evidently began suffering mobility issues as it tried to ram both segments a few times, and got underneath X4 again. X3 tried to lift Razor Back from the rear, but missed, and found itself getting rammed a few more times alongside X4.

This pattern would be maintained throughout the rest of the fight; Razor Back took whacks from the upper-left flipper, before shoving X4 into the wall near the spike trap. X3 again missed with its lifter, as X4 proceeded to hook its front ramming blade through one of the holes in the back of Razor Back. X4 was pushed and dragged as the three machines shuttled across the arena, until Razor Back broke free to nudge X3 again. Both segments of the Robot Action League machine kept exchanging rams, with X4's blade again spearing through Razor Back's shell, itself still showing damage previously inflicted by Ziggy.

Razor Back circled around with X4 embedded in its side, as X3 again unsuccessfully tried to lift the former. Finally, Razor Back pulled free, only to be pressured by both X7 halves near the upper-left flipper. X4 controlled Razor Back into the paddle, only to be pushed back into the wall as X3 again tried to free its teammate. The end bell rang, with both competitors surviving to a Judges' decision. The decision ruled X7 the winner after a close and evenly-fought fight.

Winner: X7

Semi-Finals

Defiant vs X7

A rematch of the pair's Round 2 battle, this Semi-Final began with Defiant approaching X7 and pressuring X3 as the latter split up. This was followed up by a ram on X4, which Defiant pushed and tossed over the wall bumper in the lower-left corner. X3 brushed the flipper paddle on the same side, while James Underwood's machine pushed Cambot aside. During an attempt by X3 to free its teammate, Defiant pushed it against the flipper, then flicked it onto its back panel. X3 quickly drove forwards on its rear-most wheels, allowing it to be re-righted.

While the two flipper-wielding machines continued their strategic duel, X4 finally escaped from the top of the wall, rejoining the fight by nudging Defiant from the back. An attempted pincer movement by the Robot Action League entry resulted in X3 again being pushed away by Defiant, which proceeded to scoop up and flick X4 away. A similar attack on X3 almost allowed Defiant to turn it over against the wall, opposite the upper-left flipper. Arm raised, X3 landed on its wheels and quickly escaped. Defiant again concentrated on X4, pushing it into the upper-right wall with its rear end shape. Another head-to-head exchange resulted in X3 briefly lifting Defiant by the front-right corner, as X4 rushed in to ram Defiant from the same side.

Defiant flicks X3 away, as both halves of X7 try to pin it against a flipper paddle

At that moment, Defiant threw X3 over against the upper-right flipper. While nearly fully upside-down, X3 tumbled back onto its wheels through contact with the flipper paddle itself. X4 again tried to pin Defiant in place; Defiant flicked both clusterbots away as it was maneuvered into and held against the flipper. A few more flipper attacks allowed Defiant to toss X4 onto the wall in the upper-left corner. X4 got hooked on the top of the 'curb' as it was pulled back, but managed to escape once again. Near the center of the arena, Defiant flipped X3 completely over. Now inverted, X3 was pushed into its recovering teammate, but self-righted as Defiant crashed into the wall near the upper spike trap.

Defiant proceeded to push X3 directly under the trap, which speared, pinned and tried to lift the latter. X4 charged in to help its teammate, which missed a lift as the match entered its final minute. Defiant sped away and continued to flick both of the Robot Action League clusters with its larger pneumatic weapon. One attack turned X4 back upright; another pitched X3 vertically once again, with X3 re-righting itself using its back wheels. Further rams were exchanged between all three robots, until Defiant flipped X3 over against the spike trap wall. X3 struggled to self-right using its arm, even as X4 pushed it clear of the trap. Defiant smashed into both parts of X7 one last time, sending X3 cartwheeling into the wall just before time ran out.

After an energetic and close battle, both competitors survived to a Judges' decision, which ruled in favor of Defiant.

Winner: Defiant

The Ominous Brick of Havoc vs Cooks

Cooks gets underneath The Ominous Brick of Havoc

Both robots twice rammed each other in the opening moments, with Cooks being able to get underneath The Ominous Brick of Havoc on the second collision. The Ominous Brick of Havoc spent the next few seconds trying to dodge its opponent, though Paul Bell's machine caught up and rammed it from the front-right corner. A drive past The Ominous Brick of Havoc resulted in Cooks driving into the upper-left flipper and Cambot, after which another head-to-head collision ensued. The Ominous Brick of Havoc next attempted to push Cooks from the side, only for Cooks to push it into Cambot and the left wall bumper.

More tentative pushing followed, with The Ominous Brick of Havoc jamming its front spears under Cooks' rightmost skirts. The two competitors separated, after which the Team Delta entry drove head-on into the upper-left flipper. The Ominous Brick of Havoc turned, then collided with Cooks once again, forcing it back into the opposite flipper with its spears. Further rams by The Ominous Brick of Havoc followed, until Cooks eventually broke free and began pressuring it again. Cooks scooped up and pushed The Ominous Brick of Havoc again, the two robots separating just as the lower spike trap descended.

Cooks followed its opponent towards the left wall, smashing into it and the upper-left flipper with one minute remaining. Sluggishly, it turned into Cambot to avoid a charging Ominous Brick of Havoc. After this, it took a side-on ram from The Ominous Brick of Havoc, only to jam its 'spatula' under the wall surrounding the upper spike trap. Cooks remained stuck as it was pinned by both the trap and The Ominous Brick of Havoc; the match was eventually paused to allow for an unstick.

The final twenty seconds saw Cooks repeatedly pushing The Ominous Brick of Havoc, while ultimately pinning it against the lower-right corner. Despite the strong performance of Paul Bell's machine, the resulting Judges' decision deemed The Ominous Brick of Havoc to have won on points.

Winner: The Ominous Brick of Havoc

Final

The Ominous Brick of Havoc vs Defiant

Defiant flips The Ominous Brick of Havoc onto the wall and flipper

Both robots met in the center; Defiant turned right, allowing The Ominous Brick of Havoc to spear and dent it from the left-hand side with its front blades. Defiant, circling around, flicked The Ominous Brick of Havoc into the lower-right corner, where both robots drove into the nearby flipper. A ram from Defiant caused it to be speared again by The Ominous Brick of Havoc, as both competitors engaged in a back-and-forth pushing match.

Defiant, getting the upper hand, thrust The Ominous Brick of Havoc off the floor, before continuing to chase it once both competitors were separated. James Underwood's machine, dodging a spike trap, shoved The Ominous Brick of Havoc from the side and flung it onto the upper wall. Team Delta's entry was beached on the 'curb' for several seconds, sustaining blows from a nearby flipper before managing to slip back onto the floor. Defiant rushed in, throwing and lifting The Ominous Brick of Havoc several more times before the latter found itself near the arena doors.

The Ominous Brick of Havoc drove into the flipper nearby; Defiant flipped it onto the 'curb', where it was wedged in place and unable to escape. Defiant, parading across the arena, emerged as the 1997 Lightweight Face-Off champion.

1997 Lightweight Face-Off Champion: Defiant

Featherweight Face-Off

Winner's Bracket: Round 1

NOTE: No Love automatically progressed as its opponent was not able to attend its first-round battle.

Red-Green vs Destructomatic

Red-Green pressures Destructomatic against the side wall

One of the first two battles to take place in the entire 1997 event - alongside Wedge of Doom vs Bob Smith - this head-to-head started tentatively for both machines. Red-Green was first to attempt an attack, trying to wedge underneath Destructomatic's spherical shell. Following another tentative spell, it rammed Destructomatic into the left-most wall, but could not lift it with its front jaws. Destructomatic retreated in a bid to get its chain flails up to speed, albeit with very little effect as it briefly came into contact with Bob Smith's tail.

Having stayed out of trouble during the next few moments, Red-Green charged, but largely missed Destructomatic, instead briefly getting itself wedged under the upper-left flipper. The two robots darted back out to the wall; Red-Green began pushing Destructomatic against and alongside it again while having to dodge Wedge of Doom's attacks on Bob Smith. More tentative driving and shoving followed, with Destructomatic demonstrating very little movements or weapon power. Red-Green itself struggled to mount a crucial attack, all while briefly being collected from the side by Wedge of Doom. However, it would momentarily pin Destructomatic against the upper-left flipper by backing it into the hazard.

As Destructomatic struggled to escape, Red-Green turned around and opened its upper jaw, but without any meaningful effect. Jim Sellers' machine sped into the center, then engaged in another tentative tussle while briefly trapping Wedge of Doom and Bob Smith in its corner. Destructomatic attempted to stay clear as both robots took hits from Bob Smith's swinging tail. Red-Green backed into Bob Smith as Wedge of Doom closed in on the pair. Again, Destructomatic could not get its flails up to a damaging speed, and was shoved a few times close to the center by Red-Green.

Red-Green flips Destructomatic

Red-Green opened its jaws twice more while shoving Destructomatic into the wall. Destructomatic took a powerful swipe from the nearby flipper paddle, though it caused Red-Green to mistime a charge and get itself wedged for several seconds. While seemingly on the verge of being eliminated, Red-Green opened its jaws and shot backwards, with Destructomatic now struggling to drive away from the perimeter. Red-Green rammed Phil Putman's machine as the battle entered its final thirty seconds, then flicked, clamped and dragged it out into the arena center. Moments later, it drove under and flipped Destructomatic completely over, securing a knockout with less than ten seconds to spare.

Winner: Red-Green

Wedge of Doom vs Bob Smith

Wedge of Doom rams Bob Smith across the arena

The second opening 'Dual Match' saw the redesigned Wedge of Doom immediately approach and brush the right-hand side of Bob Smith. Bob Smith swung its tail within reach of the returning Featherweight Face-Off champion, though it was quickly scooped up and rammed against the lower wall. Upon completing this powerful drive, Wedge of Doom slalomed across the arena as Bob Smith made its escape and briefly brushed with Destructomatic from the other pairing.

"As I quickly learned, this robot was one of the most difficult to disable because it could run upside down and had foam covering most of its exposed surfaces (even the wheels)."

— Tony Buchignani on Wedge of Doom fighting Bob Smith

Wedge of Doom maintained its ever-dominant form, repeatedly slamming Bob Smith into the walls and flipper hazards while trying to turn it completely over. With each impact, the hinged tail mechanism that formed Bob Smith's weaponry started to bend, compromising its shape and overall effectiveness as the match went on. Almost two minutes in, one of Bob Smith's wheels detached, halving its drive as Wedge of Doom continued to shove and chase it across the arena.

While generally overpowered by the rams of Tony Buchignani's machine, Bob Smith valiantly tried to swipe Wedge of Doom with the tail multiple times. After hitting both Red-Green and Destructomatic, it was shoved against the lower-left flipper, pinned, and finally immobilized. The crowed cheered as Wedge of Doom hassled its opponent; the cheers grew louder as the silver machine spun around in victory.

On his robot's official website, Tony Buchignani revealed that Bob Smith's attacks dented Wedge of Doom's shell multiple times and bent both of its side hinges. Additionally, the impacts with the tail briefly immobilized Wedge of Doom, as it stopped responding to Buchignani's transmitter inputs for a few seconds.

Winner: Wedge of Doom

Sabotage vs Gorange vs No Love

Originally scheduled as a 'Dual Match' alongside No Love vs The Little Green, this battle took place with three robots in the arena as The Little Green pulled out due to radio interference issues. The Little Green would later be rescheduled to fight The Fishstick from Guam instead (see below). While No Love automatically progressed as a result, it was kept in the arena and allowed to fight both Sabotage and Gorange in the rearranged 'three-way' melee.

As initially expected, No Love kept its distance in the lower-right corner, while Sabotage chased and eventually rammed Gorange within close range of a spike trap. At that moment, Kenneth C. Rose's machine drove into the side of and held Sabotage in place as it was being pushed back by Gorange. The impact was enough to dislodge a nut holding Sabotage's overhead spinner in place; after No Love released it, the blade fell off entirely while Sabotage tried to spin it up.

Gorange and Sabotage then took turns ramming the speedy No Love, though again, No Love retaliated by trying to push the latter from the side. Gorange pressured the duo, but gradually lost power and drive on one side. These problems allowed Sabotage to control Gorange into the moving wall on the left-hand side, where the latter lay completely immobilized. In the background, No Love rammed the same wall section at high speed, also becoming immobilized as a direct consequence. Sabotage pushed No Love closer to Gorange, before moving away and briefly spinning as it emerged as the clear winner.

Winner: Sabotage

Spiny Norman vs Fuzzy

This half of the third 'Dual Match' set began with Spiny Norman approaching and bumping Fuzzy, while the latter continuously attempted to spin its flails up in response to the former's rams. While able to whack Will Wright's machine multiple times, the flails proved highly ineffective at damaging Spiny Norman, itself also struggling to push Fuzzy around beyond a very short distance.

Constant collisions between the duo resulted in a plastic tube being detached from one of Fuzzy's flail chains. A further ram from Spiny Norman was enough to push the tube directly underneath Fuzzy, leaving it stranded on the spot. Spiny Norman proceeded to dart across the arena in apparent celebration. Following a request for movement by the Judges, Fuzzy eventually started twitching and regained mobility, with just over thirty seconds remaining. Spiny Norman finished the battle by ramming and scuffing the foam armor of Cassidy Wright's entry, and was considered the winner by knockout.

Winner: Spiny Norman

C3 vs Bad Monkey

Both robots met in their half of the center; C3 rammed, pushed and chased Bad Monkey towards the upper-right corner, standing up against the latter's electric cutter in the process. Seconds later, Bad Monkey collided with the upper wall, which was enough to dislodge 'an overheated solder joint' and immobilize Gary Cline's machine. The soon-to-be-victorious C3 took advantage of Bad Monkey's predicament by shoving and denting its back panel with its spear. Long after its opponent had been defeated, it kept moving across the arena while occasionally firing its spring-powered weapon.

As the winners of both 'Dual Matches' were being announced, C3's builder, F.J. Crandell, rushed over to inspect his machine. The same arena announcement described C3 as 'smoky', possibly suggesting that it had suffered a burnout or other similar internal damage.

Winner: C3

Spike II vs Slomo IV

Spike II flips Slomo IV over

Spike II started off the faster robot in this half of the fourth 'Dual Match', while Slomo IV struggled to avoid the upper-right flipper hazard. Klaas Langhout's updated machine was also slow to avoid a side-on ram from Spike II; Spike II pushed it against the flipper while also using the same hazard to turn it over.

"Slomo getting quite a spanking!"

— Arena announcement from Michael Meehan as the inverted Slomo IV takes hits from the flipper

Andrew Lindsey's machine, while victorious, also suffered damage as the flipper dislodged a group of set screws, immobilizing it on one side. Following prompts by Michael Meehan, Spike II was seen to have repositioned itself in front of the arena doors, proving that it could still move regardless. Andrew Lindsey's machine was ultimately declared the winner by the Judges, though not without requiring major drivetrain repairs.

Winner: Spike II

Dough Boy vs The Grinch

Dough Boy - the first robot entered by future UK Series competitor and BattleBots judge Lisa Winter - tentatively left its starting position, while The Grinch was also unable to assert itself in the opening moments. Both machines met in the lower-left corner, attempting to use their weapons against each other. The Grinch veered towards the nearby wall section and kept spinning on the spot, though Dough Boy was hesitant to attack and instead parked some distance away.

Following a period of inactivity, the crowd started booing loudly, until Dough Boy again spun its overhead blade up and charged into The Grinch. Dough Boy again hesitated after this, driving into the upper-left flipper before again stopping near the center of the arena. More boos and jeers from the audience followed, prompting Dough Boy to slam into The Grinch twice more. This exchange caused The Grinch to shed part of its Christmas-themed decorations from one of its static hammers. Dough Boy maintained a tentative, but measured approach from that point on, ripping off The Grinch's remaining weapon decorations with another hit.

As the battle went on, The Grinch appeared to lose drive on one side, and found itself unable to maneuver away from the wall. Though Dough Boy's long pauses again resulted in dissatisfaction from the audience, it proceeded to attack its opponent a few more times during the final minute. It became evident that The Grinch had become fully immobilized, leading to a victory spin and rounds of applause for Dough Boy.

Winner: Dough Boy

The Rat vs TKO

From the outset, TKO was immobilized on one side, resulting in it spinning and twitching from its corner. The Rat also experienced major control issues, almost collecting Bot Will Eat Itself as it crossed into the area occupied by the other 'Dual Match' pairing. The large wedge-shaped machine then smashed into the left wall, before reversing into Bayou Bengle and Bot Will Eat Itself with force.

"The Rat is angry, ladies and gentlemen!"

— Michael Meehan quips about The Rat inadvertently fighting Bayou Bengle and Bot Will Eat Itself

In between these moments, The Rat kept stopping and starting across the arena. No contact was made between either competitor as The Rat seemingly became immobilized, and TKO was still trying to drive on one wheel. Despite the latter's issues, the battle still went to a Judges' decision, which ruled The Rat to have won. Such were the issues experienced by The Rat, however, that it withdrew from the Face-Off competition before the next round.

Winner: The Rat

Bot Will Eat Itself vs Bayou Bengle

Having narrowly dodged The Rat's impromptu charge (see The Rat vs TKO), Bot Will Eat Itself jousted with Bayou Bengle in the opening seconds. Bayou Bengle backed up, trying to scoop and ram Bot Will Eat Itself up as the two featherweights met in the center. Bot Will Eat Itself attempted to chase and lure its opponent across the arena, only to be collected and held on its side by Bayou Bengle's front wedge shape. As a result, the front saw of Jason Bardis' machine locked up upon making contact with the floor, causing the motor to stall and the entire weapon system to malfunction under the increased load.

A few seconds later, both robots were separated by a push from the out-of-control Rat, allowing them to continue their pushing match. Each time, Bot Will Eat Itself found itself driving up the front of Bayou Bengle, and its attempt to deploy its now-inactive saw on the latter resulted in no damage. Drivetrain issues began affecting Bot Will Eat Itself, which Bayou Bengle pushed towards the left-most wall. More bumping followed, at which point Bayou Bengle began to drive noticeably slower across the arena. Bot Will Eat Itself momentarily stopped in the arena, before continuing to ram Bayou Bengle as the latter's batteries started to lose charge.

By the time the battle entered its final minute, it became clear that Bayou Bengle had become fully immobilized. After waiting behind its opponent for several seconds, Bot Will Eat Itself pushed it forward across the arena, only to momentarily become stationary near the wall once the two became separated again. As Michael Meehan asked Bayou Bengle to show signs of mobility, Bot Will Eat Itself backed up and grazed its side before the full five minutes had concluded. Based on Bayou Bengle's immobility, the Judges ruled Bot Will Eat Itself as the winner.

Winner: Bot Will Eat Itself

KMM vs Red 2

KMM approached from the right-hand side of the arena; meanwhile, the faster Red 2 suffered early control issues, slamming into the walls and taking a swipe from the flipper paddles. According to the Team Spike website, the torque in Red 2's drive was high enough to start shredding its own gear belts. KMM grasped and began hammering Red 2, while being pushed and dragged around in circles by the 1996 Featherweight Face-Off runner-up. One blow from Rik Winter's machine allowed its hammer to strike through a gap in front of Red 2's left wheel, causing both robots to lock together.

During the embrace, Red 2's belts continued to sustain damage, leaving it with significantly less drive power in its attempts to separate. After several seconds, KMM surged backwards and bumped the wall, finally allowing Red 2 to squeal away. The recovery of John Knoll's machine was to be short-lived, as it stopped moving near the same wall and lost speed while trying to avoid another chase from KMM. Though its hammer was now seemingly unable to retract, KMM rammed Red 2 into the lower wall, where Red 2 again lost mobility for several moments.

KMM shuttled across the arena center, continuing to ram its opponent while it again tried to burst back into life. A stoppage was called to allow Buzzcut and Thwonkis Mobilis to be separated (see below); it was clarified by Michael Meehan that both KMM and Red 2 were allowed to continue their own fight from the bottom-right side of the arena. By this point, Red 2 had been completely immobilized; KMM maneuvered across the arena once more as it was announced as the knockout victor.

Winner: KMM

Buzzcut vs Thwonkis Mobilis

Problems affected Buzzcut immediately as the drive on its right-hand side malfunctioned. The smoking walker tried to keep shuffling towards Thwonkis Mobilis, which, after a few tentative moments, rammed it from the side. Contact was made between Thwonkis Mobilis' foam shell and Buzzcut's rear saws, allowing the former to drive underneath Buzzcut. Buzzcut kept moving on its remaining legs, but Thwonkis Mobilis could not escape. A decision to pause both 'Dual Matches' was made after over one minute and 30 seconds, to allow both robots to be separated from their 'deadly embrace'.

Though Buzzcut was still partially mobile, its weight proved too much for Thwonkis Mobilis, whose remote control car internals had malfunctioned while being pinned under it. This was discovered by builder Chris Ervine while inspecting his machine. Buzzcut was declared the winner once the event organizers became aware of Thwonkis Mobilis' problem.

Winner: Buzzcut

The Fishstick from Guam vs The Little Green

The Little Green, smoking after taking a beating from The Fishstick from Guam

The Fishstick from Guam immediately spun up its overhead flails, but was momentarily destabilized when The Little Green approached and brushed past it. Colliding with the wall, The Little Green ponderously turned around and backed into Keith Gould's machine, recoiling into the bumper on impact. Though considerably slower than its opponent, The Fishstick from Guam proceeded to hit The Little Green multiple times, constantly disrupting the latter's ramming attempts.

One such exchange resulted in The Little Green backing into an arena flipper. Multiple strikes from the hazard were enough to lift and dislodge the cooling fan inside David H.W. Koo's entry, which again backed into The Fishstick from Guam, then another flipper. Another head-to-head exchange between both competitors followed. On this occasion, The Fishstick from Guam smashed The Little Green and bent its diamond saw out of shape. A lack of on-off switch meant that the saw, while stalled, was still active, causing it to overheat. Smoke began pouring from inside The Little Green as it circled around and kept driving backwards into The Fishstick from Guam.

Following another collision with The Fishstick of Guam, The Little Green stopped moving altogether and continued smoking, its electronics 'fried' as a direct result of the stalled saw. The Fishstick of Guam powered its weapon down and slowly drove around in circles, celebrating by waving its own 'victory flag'.

Winner: The Fishstick from Guam

Loser's Bracket: Round 1

TKO vs Bad Monkey

The smaller TKO immediately darted under the abrasive saw of Bad Monkey, pushing Gary Cline's machine around in circles. Bad Monkey started pushing back in response, as it became apparent that both robots had become locked together. The Judges opted to briefly pause the fight to allow the 'deadly embrace' to be broken. Once this was carried out, Bad Monkey retreated towards the left-hand side of the arena, turning to get its saw facing towards TKO again.

TKO rammed Bad Monkey once more. At that point, the left wheel on Bad Monkey detached from its axle, and the robot as a whole became partially immobilized opposite the moving wall section. The Cline Works-backed entry drove around in circles on its right wheel regardless, while TKO shuffled and spun close to Cambot. Hesitancy turned into aggression for Terry Barker's robot, which proceeded to ram the helpless Bad Monkey several more times. During the final thirty seconds, TKO immobilized Bad Monkey fully, while getting underneath its chassis and pushing it in circles from the side. In their decision, the Judges quickly ruled TKO as the victor of this match.

Winner: TKO

Bob Smith vs Gorange

Following irreparable damage sustained in its previous fight, Bob Smith's original 'jointed metal' tail was replaced by a 'lower-tech' equivalent utilizing a cable, foam and duct tape.

The battle started evenly between both competitors; while Bob Smith smashed its tail against Gorange, Gorange tried to scoop and push it in retaliation. Bob Smith proceeded to ram Gorange from the right-hand side, driving it towards a spike trap, only for Anthony DuRaine's orange machine to escape quickly. No sooner had Gorange tried to push it again, however, Bob Smith shoved it wedge-first into the left wall, getting underneath Gorange multiple times. A quick turn resulted in Gorange being flipped over, revealing its white baseplate and nullifying its front wedge shape.

"When threatened, Gorange is known to change its color!"

— Michael Meehan remarks on the inverted Gorange

Bob Smith continued to push Gorange across the perimeter, compelling the latter to drive behind the lower-left flipper. For several moments, it resumed its sit-and-spin tactics, whacking Gorange with the tail a few more times. With one minute remaining, Bob Smith again pushed Gorange into the wall, after which Gorange drove too close to the flipper in the lower-right corner. The flipper continuously smacked Gorange alongside Bob Smith's tail, and it would ultimately become partly immobilized by the time the match reached its full duration. Both robots survived to a Judges' decision regardless; based on control and aggression, Bob Smith was ruled as the winner.

Winner: Bob Smith

Bayou Bengle vs Destructomatic

Bayou Bengle quickly drove past Destructomatic as the latter's flails began to spin up. A few tentative moments followed, in which Patrick Eskew's machine circled around, dodged, then began shoving its opponent. Both robots bumped into the left wall; Destructomatic began hitting an approaching Bayou Bengle, but without causing any noticeable damage as Bayou Bengle then collided with the upper-left flipper. Bayou Bengle kept breaching Destructomatic's ground clearance multiple times, but did not have enough power to push it.

After unsuccessfully trying to strike the front of Bayou Bengle again, Destructomatic kept straying into the flipper and spike hazards with one minute and 30 seconds remaining. Both robots exchanged another series of head-to-head rams, while Bayou Bengle also drove into the wall. A double pin occurred in the final thirty seconds, during which time both robots were left 'barely moving' due to depleted batteries. On 'style', Bayou Bengle was ruled to have won the Judges' decision and the match.

Winner: Bayou Bengle

Fuzzy vs Slomo IV

To prevent a repeat of its earlier loss, the plastic tubes used for Fuzzy's chain flails were substituted for duct tape.

Undeterred by Fuzzy's weaponry, Slomo IV quickly began shoving Cassidy Wright's entry around. This early tactic was sustained throughout the early parts of this battle, with Slomo IV also getting underneath its opponent at various moments. However, a drive into the upper-left wall proved costly for Klaas Langhout's machine. The nearby flipper swung into Slomo IV as it crashed into the wall, causing chassis damage severe enough to immobilize it completely.

Fuzzy initially held back, then approached and battered Slomo IV with its flails and sit-and-spin approach. Seconds later, Slomo IV began twitching and circling around on its right-hand side, although it was not able to move clear of the side wall.

"He's up... he's down!"

— Michael Meehan as Slomo IV tries to keep moving

The arena flipper whacked Fuzzy as it tried to continue pressuring Slomo IV. Slomo IV, having jerked away from the scene, then became virtually immobilized again beside the spike trap. Fuzzy was soon declared the winner, spinning around one more time in celebration.

Winner: Fuzzy

Red 2 vs Thwonkis Mobilis

Following an initial joust between the two machines, Red 2 flipped Thwonkis Mobilis over with a quick shove, immobilizing the latter within only seven seconds.

Winner: Red 2

Winner's Bracket: Round 2

NOTE: The Rat withdrew from the competition at this stage.

Red-Green vs Bot Will Eat Itself

Red-Green started the faster of the two machines, meeting Bot Will Eat Itself in the right-hand side of the arena. Both were initially unable to line up an attack, until Red-Green reversed into Jason Bardis' machine and started pushing it from the left-hand side. Bot Will Eat Itself, struggling on 'badly abraded' casters, maneuvered into an arena flipper, only to attack Red-Green with its spinning flails. Red-Green, unaffected by this, tried to lift Bot Will Eat Itself, without success, before again aggressively reversing into it.

Both robots next met near the center; a forward drive and spin from Red-Green briefly lifted the shell of Bot Will Eat Itself off its mounting point. Following a few tentative nudges, Jim Sellers' machine again started attacking its opponent aggressively. Bot Will Eat Itself careered into another arena flipper, which, ironically, stopped Red-Green's attempt to follow it deeper into the lower-right corner. Red-Green proceeded to drive under and lift Bot Will Eat Itself against the wall, while also grabbing and pulling one of its drive assemblies outwards. Bot Will Eat Itself, now partially deshelled, was left immobilized, its saw also stalling upon making contact with the concrete floor.

Meanwhile, Red-Green turned itself over against the nearby arena flipper, entertaining the audience as it proceeded to crash into the wall. The weapon system on Bot Will Eat Itself 'melted down' as a consequence of the stalled saw; Red-Green nudged it one last time while Michael Meehan confirmed its immobility.

Winner: Red-Green

Sabotage vs Buzzcut

The quicker Sabotage first met Buzzcut in the right-most perimeter, circling around the walkerbot in an attempt to line up an attack. Matt Sabatino's machine charged in, causing the closest half of Buzzcut's weaponry to stall. From that point, Sabotage began ramming and pushing Buzzcut, though not without driving into the wall on one occasion. Eventually, it pushed Christian Carlberg's entry within reach of the upper-right arena flipper; the flipper whacked Buzzcut several times before catching two of its legs with Sabotage's assistance.

Though Sabotage found itself driving into wall again, the flipper trapped Buzzcut against the wall as it retracted. A period of inactivity prompted the crowd to start booing; Sabotage's front ramming blade had become lodged under the bumper directly beside the flipper. Neither robot was able to break free, resulting in the Judges calling for the battle to be paused. Both were separated from the flipper and wall respectively, and the match resumed.

However, while Sabotage darted across the arena, Buzzcut was left immobilized following a suspected drive malfunction. Sabotage brushed and bumped Buzzcut a few more times, then performed a victory spin seconds before the outcome of the battle was confirmed.

Winner: Sabotage

Spike II vs KMM

Immediately, both robots collided in the center of the arena. The force of Spike II's ram was enough to momentarily pop KMM into the air, allowing it to push and lift the latter sideways. KMM slipped off its opponent's lifter as the pair momentarily found themselves in the lower-right corner. Spike II reversed, then controlled KMM into the flipper.

KMM quickly escaped, briefly catching and hammering Andrew Lindsey's machine as it sped into its front pincers. Spike II, surviving with only a dent to its Lexan, again got underneath and lifted KMM until it was completely turned over. While its opponent performed a victory spin and parade, KMM rested on its hammer head and left pincer. An attempt to self-right left KMM lying on its back, with the hammer unable to retract while in this position.

Winner: Spike II

The Fishstick from Guam vs No Love

No Love quickly drove under the flailing Fishstick from Guam, sending the latter shaking into the right wall. Kenneth C. Rose's machine backed out, spun around and retreated, before ramming its opponent a second time. The Fishstick from Guam kept hitting No Love in response, and followed it to the center. Though No Love kept ramming The Fishstick from Guam, it evidently started suffering control issues as it turned into the right-most flipper and walls.

Following two collisions with Cambot - on the opposite side of the arena - No Love stopped and began smoking copiously. A spurt of forward movement lead to a thicker cloud of smoke, and No Love becoming completely immobilized. Powering its weapon down, The Fishstick from Guam was also suffering control issues of its own as it stood near the center. Blown speed controllers left Keith Gould's robot in 'an uncontrolled slow clockwise spin' as well as its own cloud of smoke. As Cambot recorded The Fishstick from Guam's movements, it became clear that neither robot was fully functional.

Though No Love had been immobile for over the maximum 30 seconds, no decision was initially reached on the battle's outcome. Eventually, after some apparent confusion, all other teams in attendance were instructed to switch off their radio devices, to prove whether interference was affecting both robots. This did not improve the state of No Love or The Fishstick from Guam, and a Judges' decision was ultimately called. Since No Love had become immobilized first, The Fishstick from Guam was declared the winner.

Winner: The Fishstick from Guam

Wedge of Doom vs C3

Ahead of this battle, the top shell of C3 was removed to allow an extra battery to be installed. This was so that F.J. Crandell could maximise the robot's speed against the reigning Featherweight Face-Off champion; Crandell felt that the shell had little purpose in this matchup.

Both robots weaved past each other in the opening seconds, though it did not take long before Wedge of Doom bumped, then rammed C3 at high speed against the wall. C3 was almost flipped over as a result, landing over the upper-right flipper, and struggled to escape before Wedge of Doom again pressed it against the 'curb'. However, it remained aggressive, and was able to dent and pierce the shell of Wedge of Doom multiple times with the spear.

In spite of the damage sustained, Wedge of Doom continued to exploit C3's ground clearance, ramming it against the walls and one of the flippers. A more significant issue would affect C3, however, as F.J. Crandell and his team had not secured its servo battery properly before the fight. As a consequence, the battery became dislodged, trailing and flailing from behind C3 during this exchange. Another shove from the upper-right flipper to the lower spike trap left C3 temporarily immobilized, and its internals vulnerable to multiple attacks from the spike hazard itself.

Wedge of Doom proceeded to collect and ram C3 into the flippers twice more, then into the left-most wall at high speed. C3 continued to be battered in the corner by Tony Buchignani's machine, until the battery was removed entirely. Wedge of Doom flipped its now-immobile opponent over onto the 'curb', to an ever-rapturous applause from the crowd.

Winner: Wedge of Doom

Dough Boy vs Spiny Norman

Both robots exchanged several rams in the opening moments, with Dough Boy's spinning blade initially unable to cause lasting damage to the more aggressive Spiny Norman. This was until Lisa Winter's machine started to dislodge, then remove the tire from Spiny Norman's front-right wheel, which was sent rolling across the arena floor. Additional blows enabled Dough Boy to crack the front-left wheel of Spiny Norman, leaving it lopsided on its own axle. Spiny Norman persistently rammed Dough Boy regardless, while colliding with Cambot at one point.

The damage to Spiny Norman's wheel grew more severe as it kept slamming into Dough Boy. Eventually, it 'twisted' entirely around the axle, though without any effect on the robot's mobility as it was entirely rear-wheel drive. Meanwhile, the weapon motor on Dough Boy malfunctioned, disabling its spinning blade for the remainder of the battle. Both robots resumed their ramming match, with Spiny Norman again initiating most of the collisions. These aggressive performances were maintained to the end, though Dough Boy took a hit from the upper-left flipper before its final push on Spiny Norman. Both robots survived to a Judges' decision, which was given to Dough Boy on damage.

Winner: Dough Boy

Loser's Bracket: Round 2

Bob Smith vs Bayou Bengle

As both robots cautiously approached each other, Bob Smith twice swung its tail into Bayou Bengle and briefly lifted the former using it. Bayou Bengle, now sporting a plush tiger on top, received several more blows as it tried to control Will Wright's machine across the arena. Again, the RC car drivetrain of Patrick Eskew's entry proved underpowered, struggling to push Bob Smith around every time it got underneath.

After a few more hits, Bob Smith immobilized Bayou Bengel completely, before proceeding to whack and push it against a spike trap 'curb' until its victory was announced.

Winner: Bob Smith

Fuzzy vs Red 2

Red 2 rams Fuzzy

Within the opening seconds, Red 2 drove under and briefly threw Fuzzy into the air. Upon landing, Fuzzy weathered further rams from Jon Knoll's machine as it tried to make use of its flail weaponry. However, it lost the use of one of its drive motors shortly after, preventing it from driving beyond its own circumference as Red 2 again drove underneath. While trying to break free, Red 2 spun over one of Fuzzy's flails and got stuck, effectively causing both robots to be locked together.

The battle was paused to allow for a separation, after which Red 2 backed out towards the center. With Fuzzy still partially immobile, Red 2 scooped and rammed it into the wall on the right-hand side, where the former was unable to drive out of the corner. Red 2, while repeating this tactic a few moments later, briefly encountered trouble as it wedged itself in the plywood 'curb' nearby. Another stoppage was called to free Red 2 from the wall; Red 2 proceeded to ram Fuzzy and the nearby walls several more times.

Eventually, Fuzzy became completely immobilized following yet another high-speed shove from Red 2, and a swipe from the top-right flipper which briefly pushed both featherweights aside. Red 2, after another brush with the moving wall, maneuvered towards the center, shortly before it was declared the winner by knockout.

Winner: Red 2

Loser's Bracket: Round 3

Bob Smith vs Red 2

Red 2 rams Bob Smith from behind

Both competitors quickly rammed each other; Red 2's wedge shape allowed it to launch Bob Smith into the air as it careered into the upper spike trap. Bob Smith trundled around and began swinging its tail, using it to hit the sides of Red 2 before it got shoved against an arena flipper. Red 2 pushed Bob Smith backwards into the wall on the opposite side of the arena; seconds later, its drive began squealing as its belts began 'shearing apart' again.

As before, Bob Smith repeatedly whacked the slowing John Knoll entry, which struggled to line up another ramming attack. Following a short period of tactical driving, the two robots collided head-on. Red 2 was unable to push Bob Smith back, before Bob Smith reversed, out-drove, and eventually pushed it wedge-first into the upper-right corner. The invertible red machine backed out and spun near the arena center, hesitating as Bob Smith proceeded to ram it again. Red 2 broke free, driving towards and stopping alongside a flipper paddle, which tapped it multiple times as it struggled to maneuver away.

During a very tentative phase, Red 2 dodged one of the spike traps, and was subjected to more attempted tail attacks as it tried to reengage with, then forcefully rammed Bob Smith with its rear spikes. Neither robot attacked each other again for some time, until Bob Smith hit Red 2 three more times during the final fifteen seconds. Following a final head-to-head brush, both robots survived to a Judges' decision. Likely as a result of its attacks and Red 2's mobility issues, Bob Smith was declared the winner.

Winner: Bob Smith

Loser's Bracket: Round 4

TKO vs Bob Smith

Bob Smith thwacks TKO with its tail

Both robots rammed each other immediately; the larger Bob Smith pushed TKO back across the arena center before starting to whack it with the tail. TKO drove away and attempted to ram Bob Smith in response, but took more hits from Will Wright's machine in the process. A back-and-forth chase ended with TKO getting underneath Bob Smith with a head-on charge, though Terry Barker's machine struggled to maintain a consistent counter-strategy against the spinning Bob Smith.

Bob Smith lured TKO across the arena, dodging a spike trap as it did so. It continued to smack and push TKO, pressing the latter against the upper-left wall for several seconds. TKO was forced upwards during this attack, leaving it perched on the front-left corner of Bob Smith as it was pushed to the other side of the arena. Bob Smith briefly became stuck on top of TKO, which carried it around in circles for a few seconds. Once both robots separated, Bob Smith kept whacking, luring and ramming TKO, while dodging the other spike trap.

During another head-to-head 'embrace', TKO drove Bob Smith around in circles. This was followed by a moment where TKO lined up behind Bob Smith, hooking and pushing it in backward circles. After several seconds where both robots remained stuck together, TKO pulled clear and tried, without success, to push Bob Smith from the side. Bob Smith responded with another tail swipe, ramming and luring TKO into the center of the arena once again. Another series of pushing matches followed, as did another close call between Bob Smith and the upper spike trap.

Bob Smith finished the battle by whacking TKO a few more times, while also forcing the latter to drive within the vicinity of the spike trap. Another head-on collision and a final attempt by Bob Smith to push TKO concluded the match. The two competitors survived to a Judges' decision, which ruled Bob Smith the winner on points.

Winner: Bob Smith

Quarter-Finals

NOTE: As only seven robots progressed to this stage, Wedge of Doom received an automatic bye to the Semi-Finals.

Red-Green vs Sabotage

Sabotage immediately sped past Red-Green as the opening bell rang, then backed up across the arena to line up another drive. This gave Red-Green the opportunity to scoop its opponent up, almost turning it over from the left-hand side. An even pushing match ensued between both competitors. However, shortly after breaching Red-Green's ground clearance, Sabotage wedged itself into the lower wall. Red-Green again got underneath, pushed and tried to turn Sabotage over, though its attack only succeeded in freeing Matt Sabatino's machine as it backed up.

Red-Green spun and opened its dual-acting jaws, dodging attempts by Sabotage to make use of its overhead spinning blade. It could not, however, find opportunities to turn Sabotage over as the two robots continued to exchange rams. During a tactical phase, Red-Green also got itself stuck under the same wall. Sabotage rammed Red-Green as Michael Meehan asked it and captain Jim Sellers for signs of movement, taking a pre-emptive victory parade as the crowd started to boo and jeer at the resulting lack of action. Ironically, just as Sabotage drove into the wall for the second time, Red-Green finally managed to pull clear while surviving an encounter with the nearby arena flipper.

In a bid to free its opponent, Red-Green pushed, lifted and clamped down on Sabotage, before backing away as the match entered its final minute. With its jaws still open, it initially clamped Sabotage again, but Sabotage was still wedged in place. Two more rams and a lift finally allowed Sabotage to move along the arena perimeter, where it briefly shoved Red-Green against the flipper. More light shoves were exchanged before time ran out, culminating in a head-to-head collision and a further push from Red-Green. Red-Green subsequently won the Judges' decision to progress to the Semi-Finals.

Winner: Red-Green

Spike II vs The Fishstick from Guam

Spike II flips The Fishstick From Guam over

Early on, Spike II became stranded on debris left behind from a previous battle and needed unsticking. A temporary pause was carried out to free Andrew Lindsey's machine, after which it began an aggressive driving strategy to try and turn The Fishstick from Guam over. In response, The Fishstick from Guam hit Spike II multiple times, denting and disrupting the movements of its much smaller opponent.

As the battle ran its course, the sustained hits wore down the mechanism for The Fishstick from Guam's flails. With less than a minute remaining, Spike II finally drove underneath, lifted and pushed The Fishstick from Guam into the wall. Contact from a nearby arena flipper jolted Keith Gould's machine onto its back, where it was unable to self-right. Both robots took a battering from the flipper paddle, with Spike II - arm raised - pushing the inverted Fishstick from Guam out of the hazard's reach. The Fishstick from Guam spun around on its weapon assembly; a flash and a cloud of smoke rose from the machine as a wire shorted out and its batteries malfunctioned. Spike II, after taking another swipe from the flipper, spun around and whacked its defeated opponent in victory.

Winner: Spike II

Dough Boy vs Bob Smith

Dough Boy takes off Bob Smith's wheel

In one of the shortest battles of the entire event, both robots approached each other tentatively and met in the center. Bob Smith charged into Dough Boy from the front-left side, only for Dough Boy to rip its left wheel off and immobilize it within the first four seconds. Lisa Winter's machine powered its spinning blade down, moved forwards and spun triumphantly to overwhelming applause from the crowd.

Winner: Dough Boy

Semi-Finals

Red-Green vs Spike II

Both robots spent the opening moments driving into and around each other. Spike II, starting in reverse, rammed Red-Green near the center of the arena, only to get collected at high speed by Jim Sellers' entry a few seconds later. While trying to escape, Spike II accidentally drove forwards into Red-Green's opened weapon mechanism. Red-Green clamped down on Spike II's left tire, as Andrew Lindsey's machine began pushing it around in circles before the two competitors separated.

Spike II continued to ram and drive up the top jaw of Red-Green, while Red-Green briefly pushed Spike II back across the upper-right perimeter. Another exchange saw Red-Green opening its jaws again, but unable to clamp Spike II as the latter briefly tried to lift it from behind. Following a few close calls with the lower spike trap, Red-Green lured Spike II towards the surrounding wall, before proceeding to scoop underneath Cambot for a brief moment. Another tentative exchange saw Red-Green driving into the upper-left flipper, then reversing up and getting hoisted by Spike II's lifting arm.

Red-Green responded quickly, popping Spike II up into the air with a side-on push. It opened its jaws just as Spike II began swinging its arm, catching and biting down on the arm. While Red-Green was lifted up onto its left wheel, it succeeded in pulling Andrew Lindsey's machine over as the two featherweights spun around in circles. Spike II, now inverted, sped away and turned around; a reverse drive allowed it to self-right by performing a quick 'wheelie' with around a minute remaining.

Spike II quickly spun as Red-Green gave chase once again. However, a patch of fluid caused control issues for Jim Sellers' machine, as it found itself driving into and getting wedged under the wall near the lower spike trap. The Judges quickly paused the fight to allow Red-Green to be unstuck, after which the two competitors resumed their duel. Red-Green missed an attempted ram on Spike II and caught the right side wall. Spike II pinned Red-Green in place, starting a brief pushing match across the upper-right perimeter.

Not long after this exchange, Red-Green drove underneath Cambot, then was lifted onto its right wheel upon reversing onto Spike II's lifter. Spike II backed into Cambot, and both competitors dodged and nudged each other in the time leading to the final ten seconds. Red-Green opened its jaws again, but could not grasp Spike II with them before the end bell rang. Both robots lasted to a Judges' decision, which ruled in favor of Red-Green after a fast-paced and closely-fought fight.

Winner: Red-Green

Wedge of Doom vs Dough Boy

Dough Boy flies into the air following an impact against Wedge of Doom

A tentative early exchange saw Wedge of Doom buffeting and pushing Dough Boy into the upper-left corner, while weathering blows from its opponent's blade. Tony Buchignani's entry shoved and pinned Dough Boy into the wall near the upper spike trap. While trying to escape, Dough Boy drove up Wedge of Doom's front scoop and toppled over, unable to self-right.

Wedge of Doom turned away and performed a victory spin, before proceeding to repeatedly nudge Dough Boy into the wall immediately surrounding the trap. Surviving two attacks from the hazard itself, it caused Dough Boy's front plate to jam under the wall, leaving it suspended upwards at one point. More nudges and shoves followed, until Wedge of Doom steered Dough Boy into the right-most wall bumper. Another ram was enough to flip Lisa Winter's machine back over, the latter now stranded on the upper-right wall. Once it was pushed back onto the floor, it became clear that Dough Boy was now immobilized. Dough Boy was whacked by the nearby flipper, with Wedge of Doom continuing to pressure it until it was declared the winner.

Winner: Wedge of Doom

Final

Red-Green vs Wedge of Doom

"Like many of the other featherweight robots, Red-Green could run upside down and I knew that in order to win I would have to either ram it so hard that it broke, or throw it out of the arena. Red-Green also had a lifter that could potentially get under my robot and flip it over. So, when the match started, I carefully positioned the Wedge of Doom in order to ram Red-Green very hard."

— Tony Buchignani

Wedge of Doom throws Red-Green upwards with a ramming attack

A slow start by both competitors lead to them ramming each other in the center of the arena. The impact allowed Red-Green to send Wedge of Doom spinning, while also denting its front plate and inhibiting its maneuvrability for the rest of the battle. Red-Green opened its jaws, but could not find a suitable angle to attack as Wedge of Doom proceeded to nudge it a few times. Wedge of Doom collided with the lower-right flipper, before more light shoves were exchanged by the two robots. At one point, Red-Green was lifted onto one side as it drove up Wedge of Doom's front scoop.

Wedge of Doom capitalized, repeatedly pushing and following Red-Green as the latter strayed into the lower-left flipper and Cambot. One shove turned Jim Sellers' machine completely over, before Wedge of Doom slammed it into the flipper as it opened its jaws again. Red-Green backed into the spiked wall bumper nearby, then bumped into the lower wall. Wedge of Doom drove under and pinned Red-Green against the 'curb', before proceeding to ram it several more times. Red-Green briefly got its 'green' jaw under Wedge of Doom, but could not lift Tony Buchignani's machine in time, instead bashing into the wall again.

Continuing its assault, Wedge of Doom steered Red-Green into the spiked wall, before Red-Green pushed it back and again drove into the flipper. A similar pattern would be sustained as Wedge of Doom kept ramming and pinning its opponent, while Red-Green opened its jaws to no effect. Wedge of Doom scooped up and pushed the inverted Red-Green towards the upper spike trap, though Red-Green quickly escaped. Red-Green was then pushed around in circles during the closing moments; a last-second attempt to grab Wedge of Doom from the right-rear corner proved unsuccessful.

With both robots lasting the distance, the Final initially went to a Judges' decision. Deeming the battle to be 'too close to call', the Judges at first declared a draw, before an audience vote was subsequently cast. Wedge of Doom, receiving the loudest applause, was declared to have successfully defended its Featherweight Face-Off title.

1997 Featherweight Face-Off Champion: Wedge of Doom

Heavyweight Melee

Round 1

Vlad the Impaler vs Rhino vs The Scorpion

Attempt 1

Vlad the Impaler pushes Rhino towards the wall

This Melee was fought twice; during the first attempt, Vlad the Impaler immediately toppled The Scorpion over with a ram, causing The Scorpion's engine to stall. However, Rhino was unable to move at all as its radio receiver had not been activated. The latter was rammed and thrown against a wall bumper by Vlad the Impaler, by which point the Judges realized the circumstances behind Rhino's immobility. The Melee was thus restarted, with The Scorpion being re-righted and Rhino's receiver being turned on.

Attempt 2

Rhino, positioned in the middle, began spinning before the official start countdown was completed. Vlad the Impaler drove past to meet a tentative Scorpion, which tried to lift Gage Cauchois' machine from the front with its tail scoop. The Scorpion pinned itself onto the floor as the weapon retracted, allowing Vlad the Impaler to nudge and topple it onto its side. Vlad the Impaler proceeded to approach and raise its forks at Rhino, which got itself stuck on the left-most wall. A second attack turned Rhino over and left it stranded on the moving wall section for a few seconds.

Vlad the Impaler headed back across the center; Rhino rammed it moments after being released from the wall. The 1996 Semi-Finalist buffeted the Inertia Labs machine into the lower-right flipper, before creeping backwards into the upper-left corner. An overheated drive motor caused Vlad the Impaler to lose part of its forward control; it momentarily found itself trapped by the nearby flipper as Rhino proceeded to attack the already-overturned Scorpion. The Scorpion was rammed and pushed into the lower wall, its stalled engine leaking fuel which had formed a small slippery patch on the arena floor.

While trying to back out, Rhino hit the oily patch, leaving skid trails behind as it oversteered 180 degrees into the lower wall. Rhino rode up and became beached on the wall 'curb', seconds before Vlad the Impaler gradually steered itself free from the upper-left flipper. Vlad the Impaler's shuffling was enough for it to be recognized and announced as the winner.

Winner: Vlad the Impaler

Hercules vs Kill-O-Amp vs The Landshark vs Prometheus II

The Landshark slowly trundled from the lower-right corner, turning around to face the wall and its approaching opponents. Kill-O-Amp, under pressure from Prometheus II, launched over the wedge shape of Hercules, which became sandwiched between The Landshark and Prometheus II. The collision damaged the lifter of Jim Smentowski's machine sufficiently for it to be rendered 'useless' at this early stage. Kill-O-Amp drove around the side of and began pushing Richard Brull's machine around in circles, collecting both of their opponents in the process.

All competitors converged near the center. Hercules attacked Kill-O-Amp's left wheel with its twin saws. Kill-O-Amp surged forwards, still pushing Prometheus II around, and suddenly stopped moving. Curt Meyers' machine spun around under further attacks from Hercules, after which it again stopped, and became immobilized after ejecting its own drive chains. The three remaining robots pulled away one-by-one; Prometheus II, itself suffering from power supply issues, backed up and stopped between Kill-O-Amp and The Landshark, which turned into its side. Hercules attempted to lift the immobile Kill-O-Amp, managing to hook and drag it back across the arena while bumping into both of its mobile opponents.

Kill-O-Amp lays immobile as Prometheus II and Hercules gang up on The Landshark

Prometheus II bumped the lifeless Kill-O-Amp as Hercules began a second lift. The two machines proceeded to gang up on The Landshark, which also rammed Kill-O-Amp before being rammed itself by Jim Smentowski's machine. As Hercules tried to battle The Landshark, with one of its sawblades also shattered, Prometheus II nudged Kill-O-Amp forwards, while firing its spike repeatedly in thin air. A very tentative phase saw The Landshark retreating to the lower perimeter. Hercules, in pursuit, rammed the front of The Landshark just as the spike trap removed one of the latter's front panels.

The Landshark lay motionless for several seconds, before charging at Hercules and pirouetting in the upper-left corner. Hercules rammed and chased The Landshark a few more times, while Prometheus II still struggled for mobility with Kill-O-Amp by its side. At the start of their next duel, The Landshark whacked Hercules with its tail, though Willis Wong's machine was unable to cause any significant damage. Hercules dodged the spike trap as it began chasing The Landshark once more, only for both robots to get caught by the lower-left flipper. A head-to-head collision left Hercules and The Landshark in a temporary embrace as the Melee entered its final minute.

Following another tentative series of events, Hercules, The Landshark and Prometheus II all met again in the inner-right perimeter. All three were deemed to be still mobile, though Prometheus II was 'retired' following this match. Despite having become immobilized for a substantial portion of the Melee, Kill-O-Amp was still chosen to qualify for the next round alongside Hercules and The Landshark.

Winners: Hercules & The Landshark (Kill-O-Amp also qualified)

DooAll vs frenZy vs Monster vs Snake vs Tazbot

frenZy hammers away at Snake

Tazbot thwacks Snake

With Snake taking up most of the inner-left perimeter, frenZy - equipped with one of its bladed axe arms - drove around into the wall. Monster headed into the center, while DooAll and Tazbot engaged in their own separate duel. frenZy began attacking Snake, its axe managing to damage the armor and weapon wiring of Mark Setrakian's machine. Snake was left without a functioning set of jaws as a result, coiling inwards as DooAll proceeded to ram the pair. In the background, Monster sped into the wall, keeping out of the picture as Tazbot tried to force its lifting arm underneath DooAll's right track.

DooAll rams frenZy

frenZy self-rights after being toppled

Snake kept writhing and thrashing around its part of the arena, while lifting its head and tail up. An armor panel, which had been pulled open seconds earlier, exposed Snake's internals as it crashed onto its side under pressure from Tazbot. Meanwhile, DooAll bulldozed and turned frenZy onto its back, negating the 'anti-wedge skirts' that had been specially added to Team Minus Zero's machine. frenZy immediately levered back onto its wheels with its axe, becoming the first combat robot documented to self-right using an overhead weapon. Monster rammed Tazbot, just as frenZy began attempting to axe DooAll and was pushed into the back of Snake.

DooAll rams Tazbot into frenZy

Again, frenZy was toppled over through a combination of DooAll's pushing and the force of its own axe. Monster smashed into the tail of Snake, which frenZy hooked as it self-righted a second time. DooAll turned its attention towards fighting Tazbot, surviving attacks from Donald Hutson's machine while pushing it around. frenZy, after hesitating for a few seconds, briefly considered attacking Snake again, but backed out before it could be wrapped within Snake's coiling body. Instead, Patrick Campbell's entry started attacking DooAll and Tazbot, landing axe blows on each of its opponents' weapons.

Tazbot also succeeded in hooking and lifting DooAll by its plow, but started overbalancing as a consequence. Once both competitors separated, Tazbot exchanged swipes with frenZy; DooAll nudged frenZy once more as the Melee reached the two-minute mark. Monster shuttled back and forth between the left wall and upper-left flipper, again suffering from control and reliability-related issues. DooAll caught a charging Tazbot with its plow, holding it in place as frenZy landed another axe blow on the Donald Hutson entry. Tazbot became separated a few seconds later and engaged in a tussle with Snake, resulting in frenZy axing DooAll's front-right corner.

Having been unable to trap Tazbot, Snake found itself being pressured by both the former and Monster. Tazbot was the more aggressive, whacking, lifting and ramming Snake through multiple attacks, as more of the latter's armor panels started to come loose. By this point, Monster was crawling alongside the upper wall, and was pinned and lifted by Tazbot as DooAll took its turn at attacking Snake. Tazbot whacked and engaged in further combat against an approaching frenZy, hooking it with the lifter while surviving more axe blows. Direct damage to the weapon actuator, however, prevented the arm from being raised at all.

DooAll also began losing power at this point, sluggishly crawling away from its two sparring opponents. frenZy appeared to suddenly stop in the center of the arena, axe swinging, as a result of a malfunctioning speed controller. The latter issue prevented it from being able to drive in a straight line, as Snake tumbled into the fray and again tried to grab the ever-persistent Tazbot. With less than a minute remaining, Tazbot got itself speared by an arena spike trap, ramming frenZy again while being scooped up by DooAll. frenZy's axe hooked DooAll by the space between its track modules, causing it to be dragged by Scott LaValley's machine, which found itself stuck alongside the upper-left flipper.

Capitalizing on its opponents' woes, Tazbot swiped both of them with its arm, after which DooAll began crawling away from the flipper bumper. Snake rolled itself into the center of the arena, prompting Tazbot to attack it once again. In a final counter-attack, Snake fully wrapped itself around Tazbot, to a standing ovation; Tazbot eventually pulled away, while digging into Snake's ripped sheetmetal immediately before the fight's conclusion.

At the end of this Melee, Snake and Tazbot were the only remaining robots with full mobility. However, both were 'retired' by their teams, alongside frenZy, due to the damage they had sustained. DooAll, which had maintained limited mobility up to the closing moments, ultimately became the only robot chosen to qualify for the second round.

Winner: DooAll qualified

Badger vs Gut Rip vs La Machine vs TallyWhacker vs The Mauler

La Machine rams TallyWhacker

La Machine immediately scooped TallyWhacker up, while Badger initiated its own duel with Gut Rip. TallyWhacker lowered its arm in a bid to swipe the latter two, only for La Machine to push it around in circles. The Mauler, having initially hung back, began whacking TallyWhacker with its spinning flails. Badger pushed Gut Rip blade-first into Klaas Langhout's machine, which had become immobilized as a result of The Mauler tearing out its receiver battery pack.

La Machine bulldozes Gut Rip and Mauler

Badger stopped short, allowing Gut Rip to push The Mauler back and attempt to cut the shell of the South Bay Warriors entry. As this happened, La Machine rammed Badger into the upper-left flipper, then pushed the immobile TallyWhacker across the center. Trey Roski and Greg Munson's machine next separated Gut Rip and The Mauler with a violent slam. The force of the impact flipped Gut Rip over, leaving it vulnerable as La Machine pushed it into the upper-left flipper and left wall bumper.

La Machine rams Mauler across the arena

La Machine bulldozed The Mauler and Badger apart, steering and scooping Badger up against the bumper on the opposite side. Badger's clawed wheels proved an unlikely hazard, however, as one of them tore La Machine's top panel upwards from the front-right corner. The damaged La Machine backed out, with both robots taking turns to ram the otherwise-passive Mauler. These attacks slowed The Mauler's flails down to a crawl, eliminating the danger present to La Machine as it collected and almost threw it over with a ram. La Machine followed up with a second ram and push into the left-side wall bumper, but was again unable to turn The Mauler over.

La Machine rams Badger across the arena

Badger, meandering across the perimeter, caught the upper-left flipper as it drove towards The Mauler once again. At that moment, La Machine finally turned The Mauler onto its side against the wall, eliminating the Tilfords' machine from contention. La Machine resumed its earlier pushing attacks on Badger, eventually sending it over the left bumper. James Bloeman's machine, stuck in the bumper mechanism, was unable to escape, as the crowd began chanting the name of the victorious La Machine.

Winner: La Machine

Finals

Originally, it was planned that all eight surviving robots would fight this stage at once. As the competitors were brought into the arena to fight, it was discovered at the last minute that two robots (Vlad the Impaler and DooAll) were set up on the same radio frequency. To mitigate interference issues, it was decided to split the 'final' into two separate four-way battles.

BioHazard vs DooAll vs Hercules vs La Machine

Of the four competitors in this battle, BioHazard was the only one not to have fought in the first round, as its own six-way Round 1 battle was canceled due to multiple withdrawals.

DooAll immediately plowed into and pushed Hercules into the lower-right flipper. BioHazard shot forwards across the center as La Machine sped over its side skirts and flat chassis. This gave Carlo Bertocchini's machine the chance to slip underneath, pin and turn La Machine over against the wall. However, an early knockout was denied when BioHazard reversed and dragged the Impact Media heavyweight back onto its wheels. As this occurred, DooAll rode over the top of BioHazard, which continued to spar with Scott LaValley and Trey Roski's machines for some time.

Hercules, having lingered in the corner for several seconds, began driving towards BioHazard, only to be pushed aside by La Machine. BioHazard, DooAll and La Machine continued their tussle, with the former being shoved into the wall by DooAll. The lower ground clearance of BioHazard, however, allowed it to scoop up and carry DooAll backwards, before it drove into the side of Hercules. La Machine drove around the side of its three opponents, but could not find a suitable opportunity to attack before BioHazard pushed it close to both of the spike traps. BioHazard again lifted La Machine, as DooAll started pushing Hercules once more. DooAll interrupted a subsequent chase between La Machine and BioHazard, getting lifted up by the latter as a consequence.

BioHazard lifts Hercules onto the arena side

BioHazard next pushed Hercules into the upper-right flipper, with La Machine proceeding to shove the latter into the wall bumper. DooAll, meanwhile, had lost much of its mobility near the spike trap. As BioHazard approached, La Machine charged across the arena in pursuit, only to slam into the wall nearby. To this end, La Machine got behind BioHazard and attempted to push it into the upper-left flipper, but not without oversteering and again riding up over BioHazard's rear skirt. BioHazard backed La Machine towards the spike trap, which narrowly missed DooAll's left track. Hercules nudged DooAll, only to be rammed by La Machine as it backed across the arena center.

BioHazard turns La Machine over once again

In the background, BioHazard turned DooAll over the lower-left flipper, where Scott LaValley's machine remained immobile. La Machine exchanged more rams with Hercules and BioHazard, pushing the latter in circles by the left-hand side. BioHazard lifted and carried Hercules into the upper wall, as did La Machine. A few seconds later, BioHazard drove under the front of La Machine, again pushing, lifting and carrying it to and from the corner. This was followed by a sideways push, finally allowing BioHazard to turn La Machine over opposite the arena doors.

Having avenged its 1996 Melee defeat, BioHazard proceeded to lift and push Hercules into the corners. The second attack resulted in it turning Jim Smentowski's machine over onto the lower-left 'curb', though Hercules managed to self-right using its arm mechanism. BioHazard pushed and toppled Hercules a second time, against the upper wall, with Hercules again self-righting in response. A third lift by BioHazard left Hercules stuck against the lower wall. On this occasion, Hercules could not escape, awarding BioHazard the win by knockout.

Winner: BioHazard

Kill-O-Amp vs The Landshark vs Vlad the Impaler

Vlad the Impaler charged across the arena, lifting and stacking Kill-O-Amp against the entry/exit doors. The Landshark, meanwhile, spun on the spot in its corner, and was promptly flicked over by the forks of Gage Cauchois' machine. Vlad the Impaler backed away, turned and stopped near the center, marking an exceptionally quick knockout victory.

Winner: Vlad the Impaler

Aftermath

Following this battle, a head-to-head final was originally planned to take place between the winners of the fifth and sixth Melees - BioHazard and Vlad the Impaler. However, as there was not enough time to prepare both for the fight, an audience vote was instead cast to determine the overall event winner. BioHazard received the majority of the crowd cheers, becoming the 1997 Heavyweight Melee co-champion alongside Blendo.

1997 Heavyweight Melee Co-Champions: BioHazard & Blendo

Middleweight Melee

Round 1

Alexander vs Pokey vs Stuffie vs Vicious-1

Vicious-1 drives underneath Pokey

Vicious-1 and Pokey clashed in the opening seconds, as Alexander charged across the arena from the left-hand side. The Team Delta entry began attacking Pokey's tall back panel with its saw, while Stuffie meandered towards and away from the upper spike trap. All four robots gathered in the center and lower-right pocket, while Pokey and Stuffie rammed Alexander. Vicious-1, the furthest away from the wall, drove under and hit the base of Pokey with its spinning pipes. The newly-crowned Middleweight Face-Off champion gingerly pushed Curt Meyers' machine towards the right-side bumper, meeting Alexander and Stuffie again in the process.

Alexander proceeded to push Stuffie from the left-hand side, while damaging and trying to prise the toy "Jeep" shell off Benjamin Chapman's machine. After a few attempts, the shell began to fall off, while Vicious-1 pushed Pokey back into the now-dishevelled Stuffie, then towards the upper spike trap. Alexander rammed Stuffie once more, finally removing the "Jeep" shell from the latter's chassis. Pokey, meanwhile, was repeatedly pinned by the spike, before Vicious-1 pushed it into the flipper nearby. While trying to escape, the former got spiked through its unarmored top, allowing Alexander to ram and jostle it forwards.

Pokey, Alexander and Stuffie's chassis all piled into each other; the former briefly lifted both opponents and itself at once. Stuffie rammed an approaching Vicious-1, which responded by damaging the former's wooden framework with its spinning pipes. Alexander started attacking Pokey with the saw once again, as Vicious-1 tore an entire plywood panel off the front of Stuffie. Stuffie turned into Alexander, which pushed Stuffie back across the center while bringing its saw arm down. Vicious-1 resumed its pushing attacks on Pokey, pressing it against Alexander until the Team Delta machine drove away.

Following further encounters with Alexander and the flipper, Stuffie suddenly lost mobility altogether. Pokey twice lifted Stuffie from the right-hand side, while Alexander closed in and attacked Stuffie's exposed internals. All four robots converged once again opposite the lower-left flipper; Vicious-1 nudged Pokey aside, then scooped under it once more while chasing Alexander back. Pokey was boxed into the left-most wall by both of its remaining opponents, from which Vicious-1 continued pushing it across the arena. Both robots separated, only for Alexander to start ramming them individually, then push aside Stuffie's remains.

Vicious-1 pinned Pokey beneath the lower spike trap, with Pokey also getting rammed from the front-left corner by Alexander. Curt Meyers' entry lifted Vicious-1 off its wheels in response; Alexander again closed in and drove its broken saw arm into the back of Vicious-1. Alexander rammed both of its opponents again as Pokey finally escaped, again bringing its saw into the latter's side. Vicious-1 attempted to attack Alexander with its weapon, but with little effect. Alexander followed and drove over the top of Vicious-1's right wheel, leaving it vulnerable to a small lift from Pokey. All three robots kept bumping into each other during the final ten seconds; Vicious-1 finished the Melee by pressing Pokey against the upper wall.

Alexander, Pokey and Vicious-1 were all eligible to qualify for the Melee Final. However, the former would ultimately 'retire' from the competition after suffering extensive damage, including a blown speed controller in the closing moments.

Winners: Alexander, Pokey & Vicious-1 (Alexander retired)

Anubis vs Satan's Revenge vs Satoru Special IV vs The Bishop vs Turtle Roadkiller

Anubis flips Satan's Revenge

Turtle Roadkiller immediately sped into the upper spike trap, while Anubis began pressuring Satoru Special IV across the center. The latter drove into the front of The Bishop, which was running without the sawblade weapon due to damage sustained in its Face-Off run. Turtle Roadkiller and Anubis each attempted to lift The Bishop and Satoru Special IV respectively, but without success; Satoru Special IV drove into the upper-left flipper before striking Anubis from the side with its axe.

The Bishop, meanwhile, started duelling with the otherwise very tentative Satan's Revenge, only for Turtle Roadkiller to drive under and lift Stephen Gaudio's machine. Attempts by Satan's Revenge to attack Turtle Roadkiller with its chainsaw had minimal effect on the latter's armor, as The Bishop was released and later repeatedly backed into Satan's Revenge's chainsaw. Collisions with The Bishop's steel armor eventually broke the chain of Satan's Revenge's weapon, leaving it without its primary means of offense. Turtle Roadkiller, Anubis and Satoru Special IV all gathered in the center, the latter spearing under Anubis' flipper with its pickaxe. Turtle Roadkiller again drove into and got swatted by the upper-left flipper, during a very tentative phase by all five machines.

Satan's Revenge again tried to attack The Bishop, though without much effect. The Bishop drove up the front of Anubis, as Satoru Special IV drove into the side of both machines. Anubis backed up, collecting Satan's Revenge as it drove underneath the latter's chainsaw. Four of the five machines gathered, before Turtle Roadkiller rammed and pushed Satan's Revenge into the left-most wall. Anubis began pushing and trying to lift The Bishop, while Satoru Special IV collided with Turtle Roadkiller. Lawrence Tan's machine lifted Satoru Special IV up with its front flap, then pushed a returning Satan's Revenge back as all five competitors converged once more.

Turtle Roadkiller next pinned The Bishop against the side of Anubis, which crawled towards and flipped Satan's Revenge over with its arm. Satan's Revenge, now inverted, was flicked a second time as it drove over the weapon of Alexander Ko's machine. In the background, Satoru Special IV careered into the wall. Seconds later, The Bishop drove up the side of Anubis, only for Turtle Roadkiller to violently ram and flip it over. Satoru Special IV drove into the back of Turtle Roadkiller, before Anubis and Satan's Revenge separated. Turtle Roadkiller reversed in a half-circle, carrying, then releasing Satoru Special IV as it drove into the wall under the lower spike trap.

A tentative pushing match developed between Satan's Revenge and Satoru Special IV, with the pair being separated through another ram from Turtle Roadkiller. The Bishop twice drove front-first into the trio as they slowly separated. Satoru Special IV approached, but could not use its pickaxe effectively against Satan's Revenge, which again found itself being pinned by Turtle Roadkiller. The Bishop reared up near the upper-left flipper, while taking multiple hits from the swinging hazard. Turtle Roadkiller rammed Satan's Revenge and The Bishop simultaneously, with Satoru Special IV also re-engaging in the scrap.

With Anubis stationary next to the lower-left flipper, all four robots started separating again. Satoru Special IV crept around the back of The Bishop and hooked it with the pickaxe. The Bishop was also rammed once again by Turtle Roadkiller, which tried to lift it and Satan's Revenge at the same time. Once it drove under the front of Satan's Revenge, the green and yellow machine flicked it a short distance within the upper-left perimeter. A few more tentative moments passed. Turtle Roadkiller rammed The Bishop twice more, while Satoru Special IV briefly caught itself behind the upper-left flipper.

During the final thirty seconds, Satan's Revenge and Satoru Special IV ganged up on The Bishop yet again. Anubis moved sluggishly towards the center, and Turtle Roadkiller drove under both of its invertible opponents with another ram. Satoru Special IV and Anubis became locked together and were pushed apart by Turtle Roadkiller. Satan's Revenge began pushing The Bishop back, the two machines separating just before the end bell rang. All robots were still mobile, though Anubis would be the only one of the quintet not to appear in the Melee Final.

Winners: All robots mobile (Satan's Revenge, Satoru Special IV, The Bishop & Turtle Roadkiller qualified)

Final

Pokey vs Satan's Revenge vs Satoru Special IV vs The Bishop vs Turtle Roadkiller vs Vicious-1

Turtle Roadkiller, starting from the upper-left corner, immediately sped underneath Pokey, briefly popping it into the air. Meanwhile, Satoru Special IV, Vicious-1 and The Bishop all converged near the center, setting up an early duel in which Vicious-1 attacked the former's pickaxe and plywood side. While Pokey backed away, Turtle Roadkiller pressured the slow-starting Satan's Revenge, pushing it into the lower-right flipper. Vicious-1, having embedded its 'spinning pike' into Satoru Special IV, dragged James Straus' machine across the arena, only to be blocked, separated and flicked onto one wheel by Pokey.

In response, Vicious-1 began pushing Pokey a few times, resulting in the latter being impaled by the upper spike trap. Worse still, a further spinner attack tore off the lifting plate for Curt Meyers' machine, rendering its forklift useless. The Bishop whacked the left-hand side of Vicious-1 using sit-and-spin tactics, before Turtle Roadkiller pushed Satoru Special IV into the trio. Satan's Revenge closed in, only to come under attack from The Bishop, Turtle Roadkiller and Satoru Special IV. Turtle Roadkiller flicked Ken Swenson's machine upwards with its own pneumatic lifter, then drove under Pokey a second time while Vicious-1 began pushing The Bishop.

Turtle Roadkiller kept ramming multiple opponents in succession. Pokey pushed Satan's Revenge against the 'curb' for the lower spike trap, then reversed into Satoru Special IV. A train of four robots briefly developed as Vicious-1 pushed Satoru Special IV back, in turn pinning Pokey and Satan's Revenge against the wall. Turtle Roadkiller collected The Bishop while this happened, while Pokey recovered by pushing Satoru Special IV into the upper-right corner. Another ram from Turtle Roadkiller left Satan's Revenge stuck on the wall, directly underneath the lower spike. However, Lawerence Tan's machine lodged itself under the 'curb' in the process, prompting the match to be paused to allow both robots to be separated. Up until that point, Vicious-1 had resumed its duels with Satoru Special IV and Pokey; Satoru Special IV also drove into Satan's Revenge, but without freeing either of its opponents. The bell rang just as Pokey started pushing Satoru Special IV into the upper-left corner.

Once the separation had been carried out, Pokey reversed into The Bishop, pushing it back towards Vicious-1. Stephen Gaudio's machine spun out of the way just in time, resulting in Vicious-1 scooping Pokey up once again. On the opposite side, Turtle Roadkiller rammed and pushed Satan's Revenge once more, then into the lower-right flipper. The green and yellow-striped machine smashed into a pile-up also involving The Bishop, Vicious-1, Satoru Special IV and Satan's Revenge, with the latter two also taking damage from Vicious-1's spinning weapon. Pokey rushed into the pile-up as well, backing out seconds before Turtle Roadkiller carried The Bishop on its shell. After this, Pokey proceeded to push Satoru Special IV and Satan's Revenge forwards. Vicious-1 kept hitting The Bishop and Pokey with its spinner, while Turtle Roadkiller immobilized Satoru Special IV with a heavy push into the wall.

Pokey slowly pushed and pinned The Bishop into the left wall bumper, firing the remains of its lifter multiple times in the process. Turtle Roadkiller drove into and became wedged under the wall in the upper-left corner, prompting attacks by Vicious-1. Vicious-1 got around the side of and began pushing Pokey again, allowing The Bishop to escape. Pokey was freed and retaliated with a ram on Vicious-1 with just under a minute remaining. Vicious-1 began pushing both Pokey and The Bishop on various occasions.

With just twelve seconds remaining, the Melee Final was stopped again for Turtle Roadkiller to be freed from the wall, to the crowd's delight. Upon the battle restarting, Turtle Roadkiller launched The Bishop into the air with a fast ram, eventually pushing and flipping it over against the left wall. Vicious-1 also kept pushing Pokey around until the match reached its official conclusion.

Despite its immobility, Satoru Special IV was included in the subsequent audience vote, receiving a mostly unfavorable response from the crowd. Of the remaining four competitors, Turtle Roadkiller received the loudest applause, and was declared the 1997 Middleweight Melee champion.

1997 Middleweight Melee Champion: Turtle Roadkiller

Lightweight Melee

Round 1

Black Widow vs Defiant vs Penelope vs Pretty Hate Machine vs Webster vs X7

Webster and Black Widow collided almost immediately, with Defiant also flipping the Australian entry before throwing Penelope onto a wall 'curb'. Both halves of X7 swarmed around and rammed Pretty Hate Machine, though X3's arm lacked the size and power to lift Christian Carlberg's walkerbot. Defiant threw Black Widow completely over, before proceeding to catch, lift and push the spinning Webster towards the other squabbling trio. James Underwood's entry next lifted Pretty Hate Machine up from one end, and pressured X3 while X4 kept ramming the former.

Defiant flicked Black Widow back onto its wheels, with Philip Hoskins' machine being left largely immobile in the lower-left corner as a result. Another attack on Webster saw Defiant turning it over against one of Pretty Hate Machine's legs; Webster landed upside-down on a retreating X4 and was unable to self-right. X3 backed into Pretty Hate Machine again, only to encounter and be pushed by Defiant as it tried to drive away. Defiant chased and caused X3 to drive over the inverted Webster, which it then threw on top of Pretty Hate Machine's saws. Both parts of X7 rammed Pretty Hate Machine once more, while Defiant pushed and flicked Webster into the latter's saws again.

A few tentative moments passed, until Defiant threw X3 onto its side against Pretty Hate Machine. X3 was turned back over and re-righted, before X4 dodged Defiant and rammed Pretty Hate Machine. Defiant persisted, flicking X3, X4 and the barely mobile Black Widow in each of its successive attacks. A further attack on X4 saw the latter being thrown onto the top of the 'curb' next to the lower spike trap. X4 was beached as a result, and an attempt by X3 to free it was disrupted by a push from Defiant. Defiant threw X3 into a sideways roll, though Mike Winter's half of the Robot Action League clusterbot landed on its wheels once again.

Having incapacitated half of X7, Defiant pushed and turned Black Widow over into Pretty Hate Machine, whose saws began cutting into the immobile Australian entry. It then turned X3 over against the nearby wall, with X3 unable to self-right immediately, and lifted Pretty Hate Machine multiple times to the crowd's delight. Pretty Hate Machine dealt minor damage to Defiant in response, as the two competitors fought on into the final minute. The tip of Defiant briefly caught one of Pretty Hate Machine's legs, as X3 was finally able to right itself.

X3 approached and tried to free X4 from the wall. As it did so, Defiant rushed in to throw and lift the former twice, disrupting both of X3's unstick attempts. X3 was unable to prise X4 off the wall with its rams or lifting arm; Defiant rammed and took damage from Pretty Hate Machine's saws until the end bell rang. With X7 as a whole having been eliminated, Defiant and Pretty Hate Machine were both declared the joint winners of this Melee.

Winners: Defiant & Pretty Hate Machine

Cooks vs Finagler vs Gator vs Mouser vs Razor Back vs Scrappy vs The Ominous Brick of Havoc vs Ziggy

A pileup of the lightweights with Mouser riding on top

Gator is rammed by Cooks

Mouser immediately drove into the side of a wheelieing Gator, which turned into and immobilized Razor Back with an early ram. Finagler turned into the upper-left corner past The Ominous Brick of Havoc, then got trapped by the upper spike, while Cooks pushed Scrappy from the side and engaged in a duel with the slow-starting Ziggy. Cooks proceeded to immobilize Gator by ramming it, only to be rammed by Mouser as it backed out of the ensuing pile-up.

Mouser rams Cooks as Ziggy saws into the side of Cooks

Mouser and The Ominous Brick of Havoc became trapped behind the upper-left flipper, while Cooks pushed the immobile Gator with Scrappy nearby. The pink Fon Davis machine soon escaped, bumping into Finagler and in turn getting pushed aside by Cooks. Cooks charged back into Ziggy; sparks flew as Ziggy's abrasive disc began cutting into the shell of Paul Bell's machine. Mouser nudged the immobile Razor Back and Gator, the latter still with an active cutting saw. Near the left wall, Scrappy briefly dragged Finagler back before the two robots separated, and the latter was nudged from the right-hand side by Mouser. Cooks found itself behind the upper-left flipper, before proceeding to push Mouser, Gator and Scrappy on each side of the arena.

Ziggy, having kept out of the action, smashed into the side of Finagler, only to get pinned by the upper spike trap. Jonathan Ridder's machine kept pushing Finagler with its rear wedge shape, resulting in the latter being steered towards and riding up Mouser's dome-shaped shell. Finagler drove off just as Fon Davis' machine fired its pneumatic flap. A few seconds later, Cooks drove underneath Mouser, which in turn flicked Gator up with its side-facing weapon. The former two proceeded to attack Scrappy and the immobile Razor Back respectively. More sparks flew as Ziggy again attacked Cooks' shell, then weathered a head-to-head collision with the lumbering Finagler. A four-robot pile-up, involving Ziggy, Mouser, Scrappy and Cooks, developed soon after.

Mouser and Ziggy separated, allowing Cooks to push Scrappy across the inner perimeter. Finagler briefly fell afoul of the upper spike trap, while Mouser kept attacking Gator as Cooks again pressured Ziggy. Scrappy wedged underneath the passive Ominous Brick of Havoc, itself suffering from control issues, just as Ziggy again hit Cooks' bodyshell. Cooks rammed the former two competitors, while Finagler and The Ominous Brick of Havoc took turns at attacking Ziggy from the sides. The latter dug its front spears under Ziggy, after which Scrappy, Finagler and Cooks all closed in. Cooks pushed Scrappy aside, then helped The Ominous Brick of Havoc push Mouser into the left wall. The red and pink machines became stuck together, as all four of their active opponents again piled into each other.

A pin by the upper spike trap caused Finagler to be flipped over. Meanwhile, Cooks wedged Scrappy in place by the upper-right corner, as Ziggy tentatively approached Jack Buffington's machine with its rear wedge shape. At that point, the Melee was paused to allow for multiple unsticks; Cooks from Scrappy, The Ominous Brick of Havoc from Mouser, and Gator from Razor Back. Through its ram, The Ominous Brick of Havoc had directly hit one of Mouser's internal components, leaving Fon Davis' machine immobile upon the match restarting.

Cooks and Scrappy again teamed up against Ziggy, controlling the latter towards the lower spike trap. Scrappy was then pushed by Paul Bell's machine, which nudged Ziggy again as Finagler slowly closed in. Cooks sped around to push Ziggy from the back, brushing the side of Finagler as it did so. While Finagler again had a few close calls with the spike trap, Scrappy scooped under and pushed Ziggy into the lower-right flipper. Meanwhile, Cooks performed the same attack with The Ominous Brick of Havoc on the opposite side of the arena, only to speed directly into the lower spike trap.

Scrappy pushed Ziggy along the trap 'curb', at which point both robots broke free and Cooks rammed it from the left-hand side. Contact with Scrappy's armor caused the large abrasive saw on Ziggy to stall, rendering it inoperable as it attempted to attack the former from the back. The final minute saw Cooks continuing to push Scrappy and Ziggy around, and Finagler starting its own duel with Scrappy. The Ominous Brick of Havoc kept clear, only to be pushed into the upper-right flipper by Cooks. After Scrappy wedged underneath Ziggy again, Cooks finished the Melee by ramming the pair once again. Finagler parked by the trio just as the end bell rang. The five robots still mobile - Cooks, Finagler, Scrappy, The Ominous Brick of Havoc and Ziggy - were all selected to compete in the Final.

Winners: Cooks, Finagler, Scrappy, The Ominous Brick of Havoc & Ziggy qualified

Final

Cooks vs Defiant vs Finagler vs Pretty Hate Machine vs Scrappy vs The Ominous Brick of Havoc vs Ziggy

Defiant lifts Pretty Hate Machine

Ziggy, unable to use its cutting disc, immediately turned wedge-first into The Ominous Brick of Havoc. Defiant and Cooks rammed and pushed each other, the pair soon being joined and pinned against the lower-right flipper by The Ominous Brick of Havoc. Pretty Hate Machine slowly approached Ziggy, which drove into the side of Christian Carlberg's walker as Finagler closed in. Defiant, recovering, tossed Scrappy end-over-end, before using its flipper to flick The Ominous Brick of Havoc and Ziggy away. Finagler controlled Pretty Hate Machine into the upper-left flipper, while Cooks teamed up with Defiant to nearly turn Ziggy completely over.

Defiant flips Finagler as Cooks gets between them

Following an encounter with the lower-left flipper, The Ominous Brick of Havoc turned into Scrappy and stopped. Defiant closed in to flip the Team Delta entry over, though not without being sandwiched against it by a push from Cooks. Cooks next tried to steer the newly-crowned Lightweight Face-Off champion into the left wall, but not without both robots being pushed together by The Ominous Brick of Havoc. Near the inner perimeter, Ziggy rammed and pushed Scrappy into the retreating Cooks, which in turn pushed Steven Schware's machine several times across the arena. Defiant flipped Finagler, only to be forced away from it by an aggressive Ominous Brick of Havoc. This, however, allowed it the opportunity to flick and pin the latter against the lower-left flipper. As Ziggy closed in, Defiant threw The Ominous Brick of Havoc on top of the flipper.

Defiant flips both Finagler and The Ominous Brick of Havoc

The Ominous Brick of Havoc remained stuck for some time, and struggled to drive away from the wall while Ziggy pressured it further. Defiant nudged Cooks, helping Paul Bell's machine to break free from Scrappy, before proceeding to lift and flick Ziggy around with more flipper attacks. Following a brief interruption by Cooks, it eventually threw Ziggy onto its back, with Jonathan Ridder's machine being left unable to self-right. Elsewhere, Cooks wedged itself underneath Pretty Hate Machine, which ripped part of the former's lifting 'spatula' off with its saws. Defiant continued attacking Scrappy and a retreating Cooks, with Cooks bumping and chasing it in response.

Cooks rammed Pretty Hate Machine again, while Defiant lifted Finagler and The Ominous Brick of Havoc simultaneously against the upper-left flipper. James Underwood's machine next turned Scrappy back upright, then wedged it under the lower wall. The Ominous Brick of Havoc lunged at Defiant, only to spear itself into the wall. Cooks and Finagler each rammed Pretty Hate Machine again, as Defiant lifted and helped the Team Delta machine break free. The Ominous Brick of Havoc's reprieve was not to last, as a collision with Scrappy allowed Defiant to hoist it against the wall once more.

Scrappy drove under, turned and reversed away from The Ominous Brick of Havoc, passing Finagler as it did so. At that point, Defiant collected and flipped it against the wall. Wedged between the floor, 'curb' and sponsor banners, Scrappy was eliminated as a result. Defiant reengaged in battle with The Ominous Brick of Havoc and Cooks, which pinned it with a forceful ram. Finagler, meanwhile, bumped into the lower wall and got itself caught by the spike trap, as The Ominous Brick of Havoc rammed an increasingly sluggish Pretty Hate Machine.

After several moments, Cooks and Defiant were both separated by a ram from The Ominous Brick of Havoc. Defiant turned The Ominous Brick of Havoc over, and proceeded to stack it against the lower-right wall with a second flip. Again, James Underwood's machine engaged in a head-to-head duel with Cooks, but encountered problems as it wedged itself into the upper wall. In the center of the arena, Pretty Hate Machine appeared to be completely immobile alongside the upturned Ziggy, where Finagler also remained stationary for some time as the Melee entered its final minute.

Cooks pushed The Ominous Brick of Havoc into the lower-left corner, at which point the Melee was briefly paused to allow Defiant to be freed. With Finagler driving around in the lower-left corner, the remaining four machines battled on and met each other as Defiant found itself unable to breach Cooks' ground clearance. Upon separating, Defiant and Cooks rammed Finagler simultaneously, the former carrying it on its low box-shaped body. Another ram by Cooks left it stuck underneath Finagler, as Defiant proceeded to chase, ram and lift The Ominous Brick of Havoc against the left wall.

Defiant struggled to keep lifting its red-painted opponent, as the CO₂ supply in its weapon appeared to have greatly depleted. However, it kept controlling The Ominous Brick of Havoc into the walls and other already-defeated competitors. With less than thirty seconds remaining, the bell rang, signalling the abrupt end of the Melee Final.

In the subsequent audience vote, Pretty Hate Machine demonstrated that it could still turn slowly on its legs, seconds before Defiant received the loudest cheer. Defiant was thus declared the 1997 Lightweight Melee champion, adding to its earlier championship win in the Lightweight Face-Off.

1997 Lightweight Melee Champion: Defiant

Featherweight Melee

Round 1

Bayou Bengle vs Bot Will Eat Itself vs C3 vs Gorange vs TKO vs Wedge of Doom

Wedge of Doom and Bayou Bengle immediately rammed each other at high speed. Meanwhile, C3 damaged both the weapon and one of the 'drive units' for Bot Will Eat Itself, leaving Jason Bardis' machine at a severe disadvantage. Gorange, having followed Bayou Bengle at the start of the match, found itself near the lower spike trap, as Wedge of Doom proceeded to shove C3 into the right-most wall.

On the other side of the arena, Bayou Bengle engaged in a ramming match with TKO and Gorange. TKO drove away, eventually confronting Wedge of Doom as both robots entered a four-way tussle also involving Bayou Bengle and C3. Bot Will Eat Itself, having been propped up onto its side by its opponents' earlier attacks, resumed moving around on its only active 'drive unit'. Bayou Bengle rammed Gorange, C3 and TKO in quick succession, only to be shepherded and thrown against the upper wall by Wedge of Doom. An 'embrace' occurred in the center of the arena, as TKO violently slammed into and got stuck on one end of Bot Will Eat Itself. Gorange slowly pushed C3 towards the upper-left flipper; Wedge of Doom drove straight into the pair, spinning into the reach of the flipper on impact.

Wedge of Doom began pushing C3 again, past TKO and an increasingly inactive Bot Will Eat Itself. The pair separated, with C3 dodging another charge from Gorange as TKO rammed Bot Will Eat Itself again. While trying to pressure the latter two opponents, C3 was collected by Wedge of Doom once more, and rammed multiple times by Gorange as it retreated into the upper-right corner. Wedge of Doom scooped Gorange up, before pushing C3 into the lower-right flipper. Wedge of Doom spun around near the lower-right corner, bumping Gorange while TKO crashed into C3. C3 rammed a spinning Bot Will Eat Itself, with Gorange unsuccessfully trying to prise the two machines apart. TKO pushed Gorange away, with Wedge of Doom circling around its sparring opponents for some time.

C3 backed into Wedge of Doom, and was pushed into the lower wall once again. Wedge of Doom held F.J. Crandell's machine on its front scoop for several seconds, before letting it escape. With C3 having slowed down to a crawl due to electrical issues, Tony Buchignani's machine delivered it into the upper-left corner, where Gorange and TKO continued their ramming attacks on Bot Will Eat Itself. Wedge of Doom bumped into its remaining opponents as it again retreated, while Gorange pushed TKO into the wall and rammed Bot Will Eat Itself again. Bot Will Eat Itself, in turn, was then pushed and flipped onto its side against the same wall by Wedge of Doom.

For the remainder of the battle, Wedge of Doom kept chasing and ramming Gorange, with TKO initially staying away from the action until it got cornered by the former near the upper spike trap. All three robots exchanged rams until time ran out, progressing automatically to the Semi-Finals.

Winners: Gorange, TKO & Wedge of Doom

Bob Smith vs Destructomatic vs No Love vs Spike II vs The Grinch vs The Rat

Spike II lifts and rams The Rat

Spike II quickly plowed into and nudged The Grinch around, while No Love careered across the arena into and from the upper-right wall at high speed. Bob Smith swung its tail in an attempt to swipe the former two opponents, just as The Rat shoved Spike II towards the nearby spike trap. Andrew Lindsey's machine dodged the descending hazard while spinning uncontrollably into the wall and ramming The Grinch twice more. The Rat backed into the spinning Bob Smith, then rammed Destructomatic alongside Spike II.

No Love engaged in a brief pushing match with Bob Smith, only to take a few swipes from the latter's tail. While pressuring Destructomatic towards the upper spike trap, Spike II clipped the back of The Rat, which proceeded to shove Bob Smith towards the same hazard. Bob Smith narrowly avoided getting spiked, as it then pushed and tried to use its sit-and-spin tactics against Destructomatic. Spike II reversed across the arena to meet, then push and lift The Rat simultaneously. The lifting arm of Andrew Lindsey's machine hooked under The Rat's shell as the two robots became locked together opposite the lower-right flipper. Spike II took advantage by carrying and ramming The Rat into Bob Smith, with Destructomatic also driving into Robert Orr's helpless machine.

The Rat, still stuck on Spike II's lifter, was pushed into the wall, spun around and held in place in the inner-right corner. No Love and Destructomatic joined in as Spike II attempted to turn The Rat over, without success. Spike II controlled The Rat back and forth, reversing into and getting whacked by Bob Smith's tail in the process. As No Love closed in on the duo, the bell rang to indicate that a separation would be carried out for Spike II and The Rat. Bob Smith struck Destructomatic with the tail just before the match was officially paused.

Once Spike II was prised from its opponent, it immediately drove into and removed one of the chains from Destructomatic, while No Love spun around nearby. Bob Smith also began attacking Destructomatic again, stunning Phil Putman's machine for a few moments as it was then pushed by Spike II. The Rat, meanwhile, was left with mobility issues as a result of the chassis damage sustained during Spike II's 'deadly embrace'. In the lower-left corner, The Grinch drove around in circles, having been unable to attack any other robots with its side-facing hammers.

The hobbled Rat backed into No Love, only to take multiple swipes from Bob Smith's hammer tail. Spike II attempted to control Destructomatic into the lower spike trap, but without success, as No Love proceeded to slam into and take a few whacks from Bob Smith. The duels between Spike II and Destructomatic; and Bob Smith and The Rat continued. Upon being pushed towards the lower-right flipper, Destructomatic was swatted into the wall by the hazard. Spike II proceeded to pin, then turn Destructomatic over to eliminate it from the Melee. However, as Andrew Lindsey's machine retreated, it was 'flipped end over end' through a collision with the approaching No Love.

Spike II's chassis took damage during the collision, though it sped backwards across the arena to ram Bob Smith, which continued to attack The Rat. A swipe from Bob Smith's tail appeared to stop Spike II moving, though Spike II spun around and pushed No Love - also demonstrating mobility issues - with its lifting arm. Spike II and No Love came to rest alongside The Grinch, which could only turn around slowly on one side as its batteries became severely depleted. With The Rat seemingly immobilized, Bob Smith whacked The Grinch and No Love multiple times, though No Love darted away as the match entered the final minute.

A hit from Bob Smith's tail brought Spike II back to life, the red machine darting under the tail of Will Wright's machine and into No Love. Spike II and No Love again stopped moving, this time parked next to The Rat, then took turns at weathering more tail blows from Bob Smith. Bob Smith's tail folded down as its spikes caught the lifting arm of Spike II, though both robots quickly separated. Spike II lifted No Love and The Grinch, darting across the arena before it took more direct attacks from Bob Smith. The Melee finished with Spike II ramming, then lifting The Rat for one final time. Spike II, Bob Smith and No Love were announced as the last remaining machines still mobile.

Winners: Bob Smith, No Love & Spike II

Dough Boy vs Fuzzy vs KMM vs Red 2 vs Red-Green vs Sabotage

In the opening seconds, Sabotage charged past Dough Boy from the upper-left corner, while Fuzzy collected Red 2 with its right flail as it sped into the center. Cassidy Wright's machine began employing sit-and-spin tactics, hitting an approaching KMM as it did so. Meanwhile, Sabotage barged into the side of Red 2, which in turn scooped up, then rammed Fuzzy with its rear spikes. The latter attack also saw John Knoll's machine launching Dough Boy into the air with an equally forceful ram. Five of the six robots briefly converged in the center, as Dough Boy and Sabotage attempted to attack Fuzzy, and KMM unsuccessfully tried to grab Red 2 before it retreated to the lower-left corner.

Red-Green, having kept away from the early scramble, drove into and pushed Sabotage aside. Fuzzy again attempted to ward off KMM with its flails, as Red 2 darted back across the arena to meet Sabotage, then slam into Rik Winter's machine. Red 2 pushed Fuzzy during the same attack, after which the latter was collected by Sabotage. Fuzzy next found itself being shoved into KMM's claws by Red 2, which then scooped and forcefully rammed KMM into the left wall. Red 2 bumped into Sabotage as both robots backed away, then immobilized a flailing Fuzzy by ramming it into KMM once again. Meanwhile, Sabotage and Dough Boy began pushing and trying to use their overhead blades against each other.

Similarly to earlier battles, Red 2's drive belts began shredding by this point, sapping the robot of its speed across the arena. As Sabotage broke free from Dough Boy, KMM grabbed hold of it near the lower-left corner. Red-Green re-entered the fray by briefly pressuring Red 2, which proceeded to ram Dough Boy. Sabotage rammed KMM in retaliation, as Red 2, screeching and shuttling across the arena, drove under Red-Green. Red-Green, opening its jaws, briefly grabbed Red 2, only to be rammed by Sabotage after the latter was in turn rammed by Dough Boy.

While Red 2 briefly pushed Dough Boy by its blade, Red-Green reversed into the clutches of KMM, but escaped. KMM was then pitched into a spin by a ram from Sabotage, starting a back-and-forth duel which involved the pair pinning and pushing each other. Dough Boy drove in behind Red-Green, which exchanged nudges with and pressed Red 2 against KMM. Lisa Winter's machine blocked both of its wedge-shaped opponents, ultimately keeping Red 2 pinned and eventually pushing it into the wall in tandem with KMM. The three competitors separated, after which KMM lunged towards Red 2, then got rammed from the front-right corner by Sabotage.

Red-Green survived further rams from both Sabotage and Red 2, while KMM closed in on Dough Boy. Dough Boy found itself driving into Red-Green's opened jaws, but avoided a grab as Sabotage drove away and later pushed KMM towards the left wall. The latter put Matt Sabatino's machine in jeopardy, however, as KMM grabbed, axed and dragged it into the lower-left corner. While both robots continued grappling with each other, Dough Boy pushed Red 2 into the wall, almost flipping the 1996 Featherweight Face-Off runner-up in the process. Red-Green joined the Sabotage/KMM tussle, opening its jaws, but getting pushed upwards by the recovering Red 2.

A pincer movement by Red-Green and Sabotage caused KMM to be violently wedged on top of the former. After this, Red-Green turned into, lifted and clamped Red 2, dragging it back towards the inner-left perimeter and holding it in place for several seconds. Dough Boy and Sabotage tangled with each other again in the background, with Lisa Winter's machine pushing the former into the lower-left corner. KMM attempted to grab a retreating Sabotage once more, but without success, before briefly investigating Red-Green and Red 2. Sabotage chased KMM towards the upper perimeter, while Dough Boy tried pushing Red 2 away with less than a minute to go.

KMM again grabbed and axed Sabotage a few more times, as Red-Green finally pulled away from John Knoll's machine. Dough Boy and Red-Green each drove into the side of KMM during this late stage, though the former's blade had stopped spinning. More rams were exchanged between Red-Green and Dough Boy; and Sabotage and KMM, until time ran out. By that point, Red 2 lay stationary on the other side of the arena, and was considered, according to the Team Spike website, to have become fully immobilized. Dough Boy, KMM, Red-Green and Sabotage would all be chosen to advance to the Semi-Finals.

Winners: Dough Boy, KMM, Red-Green & Sabotage

Semi-Finals

Red-Green vs Spike II vs Spiny Norman vs Thwonkis Mobilis

Due to technical issues, TKO and Sabotage both withdrew from this Melee, having originally qualified from the first and third Round 1 bouts respectively.

Spike II rams Thwonkis Mobilis

Spiny Norman and Thwonkis Mobilis quickly rammed each other in the center, the pair also getting rammed by Red-Green as all four robots converged. Red-Green turned Spiny Norman over, while pushing it backwards into the lower wall. Upon being dragged away from the spike trap, Spiny Norman was released by Jim Sellers' machine, which turned it back over while the duo were pushed at high speed by Spike II. Thwonkis Mobilis ponderously rammed the trio as this occurred, with all robots finding themselves near the lower-left corner. The three-way tussle between Red-Green, Spike II and Spiny Norman continued for some time, until Spiny Norman retreated behind a now-stationary Thwonkis Mobilis.

Spike II attempted to lift Red-Green, without success, just as Spiny Norman drove into and started grappling with the latter again. Red-Green clamped down on Spiny Norman's front-right corner, including the exposed wheel, while Thwonkis Mobilis drove off while being shadowed by Spike II. Spike II rammed Chris Ervine's machine twice, then scooped under and pinned an approaching Spiny Norman under the lower spike trap. Another ram and lift from Spike II was sufficient to flip Thwonkis Mobilis completely over. Andrew Lindsey's machine crashed into the lower wall twice more, before it, Spiny Norman and Red-Green took turns at attacking - and ultimately re-righting - Thwonkis Mobilis.

Another duel between Spiny Norman and Red-Green soon developed; the former ramming Red-Green as it appeared to lose mobility for a few seconds. Meanwhile, Spike II chased Thwonkis Mobilis into the upper-left corner, ultimately collecting and ramming it into a pursuing Red-Green. Red-Green, jaws partially open, was pushed back by both Spike II and Spiny Norman, but attempted to lift the latter again in response. A head-to-head collision between Spike II and Spiny Norman followed, with Spike II pushing Will Wright's machine into the upper-left corner, then hooking and lifting it with its arm. Spike II proceeded to ram and flip Spiny Norman over against the wall, eliminating it, while Red-Green grappled with Thwonkis Mobilis.

As both of its remaining opponents drew closer to the wall, Spike II rammed them simultaneously at high speed. Further rams were enough to split Thownkis Mobilis' chassis in two, with Red-Green's jaws still holding a firm grip. Spike II distanced itself from its opponents, demonstrating its lifter, but in doing so became stranded after driving over 'an uneven spot' in the arena floor. The match was ultimately paused to allow all three robots to be unstuck. Once separated from Thwonkis Mobilis, Red-Green opened and closed its jaws before creeping into the side of Spike II. Spike II shot backwards across the arena, pushing and ramming Red-Green multiple times while the latter continued to suffer mobility issues.

During the tentative final minute, Spike II briefly hooked its arm under Red-Green's jaws, lifting Jim Sellers' entry as a result. More rams followed, until Andrew Lindsey's machine performed a final lift, this time while spearing through the gap between Red-Green's right wheel and jaws. Spike II paraded the helpless Red-Green around in a circle until the end bell rang; both qualified for the Melee Final as the last two robots standing.

Winners: Red-Green & Spike II

Bob Smith vs Dough Boy vs Gorange vs KMM vs Wedge of Doom

Wedge of Doom immediately turned into the side of Dough Boy and rammed it into the lower-left flipper. Meanwhile, KMM grabbed Gorange, which spun Rik Winter's machine around in circles, and Bob Smith started swinging its tail. After pushing Dough Boy into the opposite side of the arena, Wedge of Doom approached and began pressuring KMM, which drove into Bob Smith while Dough Boy and Gorange clashed. The former three machines closed in on each other; KMM trying to grasp Wedge of Doom from the side. Wedge of Doom proceeded to scoop under and ram Gorange into the upper-right corner, then push Bob Smith into the lower-right flipper as Gorange drove across the upper perimeter.

Seconds later, Dough Boy was sandwiched between KMM and a charging Wedge of Doom. While Lisa Winter's machine returned to the center to attack Gorange, KMM was pushed into Bob Smith's tail, then the former two machines by Wedge of Doom. Wedge of Doom held KMM in place for a few seconds, before flipping it over with another heavy ram. Bob Smith, spinning in place, whacked Wedge of Doom as it approached, only to be shoved across the arena. Upon being released, Will Wright's machine rammed Gorange a few times, all while both robots were again pressured by Wedge of Doom. Dough Boy, rejoining the fray, turned into Wedge of Doom's front scoop; Wedge of Doom pushed it into the upper-left flipper, only for both robots to be momentarily pinned by Gorange.

During the next series of attacks, the invertible Gorange was flipped and almost thrown over the left wall bumper by Wedge of Doom. Anthony DuRaine's machine survived, landing upright in the struggle, which also involved Bob Smith closing in to whack both robots with its tail. In response, Wedge of Doom again pushed Bob Smith across the arena and into Dough Boy. Bob Smith proceeded to hit Gorange, which in turn rammed and tried to push Dough Boy back into Wedge of Doom. Dough Boy and Gorange each took turns at attacking Bob Smith, bumping into each other in the process.

At that point, Wedge of Doom closed in on the trio, pushing Dough Boy into its opponents and towards the lower-right corner. The momentum of its shoves caused Dough Boy to turn over, eliminating the latter from the battle as it struggled to self-right. Wedge of Doom slammed into and began pushing Bob Smith around once again, while Gorange lingered in the upper-right corner, its batteries having become severely depleted by this point. Wedge of Doom shunted Gorange into the right-side wall bumper, collecting Dough Boy in the process, before resuming its pushing attacks on Bob Smith.

By the end of this battle, Gorange had become immobilized on one side. While continuing to push and slam Bob Smith around, Wedge of Doom also attacked less frequently in an effort to save battery life and preserve its drivetrain. Following a final shove on Bob Smith, the end bell rang; Wedge of Doom and Bob Smith were both fully mobile, thus qualifying for the Melee Final together.

Winners: Bob Smith & Wedge of Doom

Final

Bob Smith vs No Love vs Red-Green vs Spike II vs Wedge of Doom

No Love immediately darted across the arena from the lower-left corner, while Spike II and Red-Green collided near the center. The former's early start lead to problems, however, as Wedge of Doom pushed and flipped it over the lower-right flipper. No Love, wedged on top of the 'curb', played no further part during this initial phase of the Melee. Wedge of Doom next pushed Red-Green into the flipper, then shoved it against the lower spike trap wall in a separate attack. Bob Smith began whacking Spike II while this occurred, though Andrew Lindsey's machine pushed back at one point.

Wedge of Doom buffeted both of its remaining opponents aside, scooping and pushing Bob Smith into the upper-left corner with Spike II in pursuit. Bob Smith started hitting the stranded Red-Green with the tail, while Wedge of Doom duelled with Spike II. No Love, having managed to escape the wall during this time, charged past its opponents on its way into the upper-left corner. Wedge of Doom flipped Spike II over with a ram, before the pair again congregated with Bob Smith near the center. Spike II, having self-righted following this flip, turned over upon driving up Wedge of Doom's scoop, as Bob Smith whacked both machines at once.

The three machines continued their scraps past the two-minute mark, until the match was paused to allow Red-Green, now jammed jaw-first under the wall, to be freed. Red-Green opened its jaws, and began ramming Wedge of Doom alongside Spike II once the Melee restarted. In response, Wedge of Doom shoved Red-Green back into the lower-right corner, while also flipping Spike II over for the third time. Spike II self-righted through a reverse wheelie, barging into its remaining opponents.

Near the center, Red-Green lifted No Love up onto one side, before catching it in its lower jaw. Spike II, in turn, also began lifting Jim Sellers' machine, only to be pushed and almost toppled over upon driving over the front of Wedge of Doom. Wedge of Doom proceeded to flip Red-Green over, before ramming Bob Smith as the latter duelled with Spike II once again. During this time, Spike II was pushed and left stranded against the wall by Wedge of Doom, though its lifter enabled it to escape from that position. Wedge of Doom flipped Spike II back upright with another ram; Red-Green drove under the spinning Bob Smith, then Spike II, but could not get a lift or grab in with its jaws.

Wedge of Doom shoved Red-Green into the upper-left corner. Bob Smith repeatedly whacked Spike II until time ran out and the end bell rang, with No Love being the only robot of the quintet to have become immobilized. An audience vote was cast following the initial deliberation by the Judges. Wedge of Doom, receiving the loudest applause, was deemed to have won the 1997 Featherweight Melee championship.

1997 Featherweight Melee Champion: Wedge of Doom

Demonstration/Exhibition Battles

Autonomous

Gladiator Rodney II vs Thumper

Even as the battle started, the computer-derived motherboard of Gladiator Rodney II was still booting up, preventing it from moving in the opening seconds. Thumper approached, pushed and tipped the 1996 Autonomous champion onto its back end, before holding it in place as Gladiator Rodney II rocked back. After spinning and holding its opponent in place for a few more seconds, Thumper attempted to lift Gladiator Rodney II, but missed with its first two attempts. Another push and a third lift turned Gladiator Rodney II onto its side; Thumper spun jubilantly in circles as Michael Meehan immediately declared it the winner.

1997 Autonomous Champion: Thumper

Featherweight

Buzzcut vs KMM

KMM started the faster machine, driving around and into Buzzcut a few times as Christian Carlberg's featherweight walker scrambled around in circles. A head-to-head exchange resulted in Buzzcut losing one of its racquet ball 'feet', and KMM attempting to use both of its weapons against it, with limited success at first. Buzzcut was cornered and pushed into the left-most wall by KMM, which managed to hold Buzzcut up on one side as it tried to escape. Both competitors found themselves near the upper-left flipper; KMM axed and pushed Buzzcut back while sustaining a few hits from the paddle.

Within seconds, KMM began grasping and hammering Buzzcut even more, while steering it into the flipper. More racquet balls became detached from Buzzcut's legs, compromising its traction as the 1995 champion forced it against the flipper paddle behind. Taking another axe blow, Buzzcut was eventually hooked onto the flipper by one of its saws, and struggled to hop away before it could take further swipes. KMM rammed and resumed its axe attacks on Buzzcut, grasping and steering it towards the upper spike trap. The trap speared through one end of Buzzcut, which remained mobile, but now weaponless as the saws stopped turning.

KMM again grabbed, axed and forced Buzzcut under the spike trap, only to fall foul of the spike itself at one point. One side of Buzzcut's walking mechanism began to malfunction, preventing it from being able to avoid further strikes from the spike trap. KMM took advantage by again grabbing and hammering through Buzzcut's exposed internals. As it retreated, KMM's axe had malfunctioned, being left in the fired position by the time it next rammed Buzzcut against the spike trap wall. Buzzcut, now fully immobilized on one side, sustained more rams until time ran out. The match ended with KMM being declared the winner on a Judges' decision.

Winner: KMM

Multi-Class

Thumper (Autonomous) vs Hercules (Radio Control)

"... I was asked/challenged by one of the autonomous robot creators- "Thumper" if I would like to do battle against him (he had alredy beaten the tar out of the only other autonomous robots). By then, I was feeling a little more confident with my makeshift control system (we even got the mixing feature working again on my Radio transmitter, so steering wasn't nearly so hard as before), so I said sure!"

— Jim Smentowski, on the Grudge Match between Hercules and the autonomous Thumper

For this demonstration battle, Hercules was fitted with an infra-red beacon to allow Thumper to track its movements across the arena. The arm normally used for its saws was also equipped with a chain flail.

Thumper was the first robot to move, the opening moments being used to demonstrate its autonomous functions as it approached, gently nudged and lifted Hercules' flail arm. Hercules drove forwards, leading Thumper on as Michael Meehan initiated the official countdown to start the battle. Collisions between the two robots followed, as Hercules tried, without success, to damage the newly-crowned Autonomous class champion. Thumper pinned Hercules against the wall for a few seconds, continuing to follow the latter back across the center.

Both robots continued to exchange weapon attacks as Thumper pinned Hercules against the upper-left corner. Hercules raised its lifting arm to clamp down on Thumper's equivalent weapon, as Michael Meehan explained to audience members the process for separating robots in battle. On cue, a separation was called and carried out. After the two competitors were dragged out of the corner by a Robot Wars crewmember, Hercules turned and drove towards the center. Thumper twitched around in place, having seemingly lost the capability to move translationally across the arena.

Thumper is caught and carried by Hercules

Approaching Thumper with its lifter, Hercules nudged, then started tipping Bob Gross' machine onto its side. Smoke began pouring from beneath Thumper as it was hooked, lifted and carried across the arena in Hercules' arm, which became entangled in a rubber strap mounted to Thumper's front end. Hercules tried to shake its opponent free, but could not do so, so it resorted to pushing Thumper towards the upper-right corner. The battle was stopped a second time to allow both robots to be separated.

Hercules tips Thumper over

Once the fight restarted, Hercules drove Thumper against the wall and tipped it onto its right-hand side. A few seconds later, Thumper levered itself back onto its wheels with its rotating arm, only to be lifted a second time by Hercules. Thumper, left balancing on its other side arm, was toppled over and ultimately propped up against the side wall. Having nullified its opponent's self-righting capability, Hercules returned to the arena center to perform a victory spin.

Winner: Hercules

Non-Combat Demonstrations

During the morning sessions on Saturday 16th, three non-combat demonstrations were performed by a selection of robots from the heavyweight and middleweight categories. As the robots showed off their drive capabilities and weapons, Joel Hodgson would interview the participating roboteers over certain aspects of their designs and build processes.

Heavyweight

Snake

Snake performs for the audience

Following a brief introduction - and temporary audio issues - Mark Setrakian revealed that it took only twelve days to build Snake. At his controls, Snake, minus its armor panels, slithered and rolled across the arena in front of camera crews on either side of the arena. Setrakian mentioned both Snake's aluminum plating - removed to showcase its complex mechanisms - and snake-inspired 'armature' controller. It was concisely explained that movements or adjustments of the 'armature' would be 'mirrored' by the full-scale robot - a point demonstrated by Snake as it lifted its head and tail, opened its jaws and coiled itself up. The arena demonstration concluded with brief introductions of Setrakian's teammates Paul Rivera, Robert "Bob" Orr and Peter Abrahamson, all of whom were part of Team Sinister throughout their US Robot Wars career.

Following the main audience demonstration, Snake would showcase its unusual locomotion in additional demonstrations in the arena and the pits area.

Z

While being interviewed by Michael Meehan, Vic Lang drove and spun Z in different places across the arena before being lined up for its demonstration. Topics addressed included the robot's build time, cost, speed and invertible tracked design. Z's demonstration simply involved it punching through a plate steel panel with its cartridge-powered spike. The weapon also succeeded in bending the panel, which was shown to the audience as further proof of its effectiveness.

Middleweight

Alexander

Upon being asked about Alexander's cost and build time, Dan Danknick revealed that it took 'just over 1,200 hours' for Team Delta to complete it. Once the demonstration started proper, the robot's weight of 100.9lbs, arm-mounted milling cutter, six-wheel drive and 22mph top speed were mentioned. Alexander showed off the latter characteristic as it drove between both sides of the arena, and began pivoting its arm, as Danknick explained that it was an 'improved' version of the team's 1996 Middleweight Champion Agamemnon.

Attention soon switched to the complex weaponry of Alexander, which demonstrated the arm's movements and cutting disc. Danknick explained the statistics for the disc and the rear-mounted 'pneumatic air punch', which was also demonstrated in the arena. Alexander, after shuffling back and forth, paused for several seconds as Joel Hodgson walked around the machine, and members of the audience jokingly chanted for it to 'kill'. It moved forwards as Hodgson moved across the front of it, swinging its arm in either direction before lifting it to its maximum angle.

Awards

The following awards were given out to participating competitors:

• Best Design: Z
• Best Engineering: Blendo
• Strangest: Snake

Trivia

• Prior to the Loser's Brackets, the 'preliminary' match schedules for the Featherweight Face-Off originally listed Spike II to fight against Dough Boy in the Quarter-Finals. However, this was changed for unknown reasons, with the duo facing The Fishstick from Guam and Bob Smith respectively in the finalized draws.