Will a clean sweep occur in Random Format Series 4?

Clean sweep is a phenomena on the Arena Forums where the eventual champion of a tournament is unanimously backed throughout its campaign. This is extraordinarily rare, because there is almost always at least one voter that will have disagreed with the eventual champion progessing at some point. Based on prior analysis, there may only actually be two clean sweep champions of a tournament's main competition: Chaos 2 in Redone Series 4, and Panzer Mk2 in Audited Extreme Warriors 1.

Chaos 2's clean sweep does make me wonder, though: Is it possible for the champion of Random Format Series 4 to achieve one of the most impressive accolades? Unlikely, but as Chaos 2 beforehand proved in the aforementioned Redone Series 4, not impossible. Henceforth, inspired in part because of Covid-19-induced boredom, I have decided to track machines based on whether or not they are on course for a clean sweep. The results may prove interesting as the tournament progresses.

Heats

• Legend: Bold indicates a machine still has the chance of becoming a clean sweep winner, italicized means a machine is on course to lose its status even if it wins its current battle, and strike means a robot cannot achieve the accolade even if they are still in the tournament.

Heat A

• The Creature (Round 1)
• Judge Shred 2 (Round 1)
• Behemoth (Heat Final, machine can still win the championship)
• Inverterbrat (Round 1)
• Knightmare (Round 1)
• Kater Killer (Round 1)

The Series 10 Redemption bracket format is a killer for any clean sweep hopeful. Indeed, by fighting in a three-way melee in Round 1, robots must prove to all voters that they are vastly superior to the others. Only Behemoth managed to prove this, with the other melee winner, Knightmare, being ranked second in some votes. Behemoth then beat Inverterbrat cleanly, but its run was ended in the Heat Final, thanks to a CrashBash vote for Knightmare.

Heat B

• Suicidal Tendencies 2 (Round 2)
• Eric (Round 2)
• Reactor (Round 1)
• Ghetto-bot (Round 1)
• MouseTrap (Round 1)
• Banshee (Round 1)
• Tornado (Round 2)
• Rambot (Round 2)
• Diotoir (Round 1)
• Oblivion 2 (Round 1)
• Killertron (Round 1)
• Plunderbird 4 (Round 1)
• Disc-O-Inferno (Round 1)
• Atomic (Round 1)
• X-Terminator 2 (Round 2, machine can still win the championship)
• The Morgue (Round 2, machine can still win the championship)

Heat B's Tag Team format is also a disaster for any clean sweep hopeful. You can only achieve so much when carrying a weaker partner, so you'd better hope for a competent tag partner or face some weak teams. Nonetheless, three of the four winning tag teams in Round 1 achieved a clean sweep, with only Killertron and Plunderbird 4 failing to do so after losing three votes to Diotoir and Oblivion 2. However, the four remaining teams were evenly matched, meaning none of them ultimately progressed with their clean sweep campaigns beyond Round 2. Suicidal Tendencies 2 and Eric vs The Morgue and X-Terminator 2 was a close affair. Tornado and Rambot almost got through on a clean sweep, but a sole Jimlaad vote for Killertron and Plunderbird 4 put pay to that. Not that it mattered, as Tornado and Rambot would lose to The Morgue and X-Terminator 2 in the Heat Final.

Heat C

• Wheely Big Cheese
• Kronic the Wedgehog
• Mazakari
• Millennium Bug
• Panic Attack (Machine can still win the championship)
• Mortis
• Prizephita Mk 2

The formats are not getting any easier, are they? The Pinball format is arguably one of the toughest to achieve a clean sweep from, because unless voters have seen your masterclass run (Gemini, I am talking to you), many will disagree with each other on what each robot will score. Heck, Panic Attack won but since Jimlaad scored higher for Mortis, its clean sweep run was over before it began.

Heat D

• Sir Chromalot (Round 1)
• Terror-Bull (Round 5, machine can still win the championship)
• Cerberus (Round 2)
• Reptirron (Round 1)
• Hammer & Tong (Round 1)
• Dreadnaut XP-1 (Round 3)

With the Annihilator, it depends greatly on a robot's durability more than anything, especially for the first few rounds. Henceforth, a robot can achieve quite the run providing the voters think there are multiple weaklinks competing against it. Indeed, Sir Chromalot, Reptirron and Hammer & Tong were all immediately deemed weaklinks by some. A CrashBash vote eliminated Cerberus in Round 2. Dreadnaut XP-1 was eliminated in Round 3, leaving Terror-Bull the only one left. It ultimately won the heat, but a Toast vote ended its clean sweep run in the last round of the heat.

Heat E

• Gemini
• Humphrey
• The Mangulator
• Splinter
• Gravedigger
• Warhog
• Detonator
• Maverick
• Spikasaurus (Machine can still win the championship)
• Bolt from the Blue

Not much to say here, considering that the 10-Robot Rumble is no doubt the worst heat format to compete in if you want to win via a clean sweep. Even if there is a robot that is no doubt superior to the nine other machines, they can still gang up on it to prevent it from winning. The moment Jimlaad voted for Splinter, nine of the ten robots gained a blemished record. The moment CrashBash voted for Spikasaurus, Splinter lost its status too. So there we go, Spikasaurus wins but was not even close to achieving a clean sweep.

Heat F

• Clawed Hopper (Round 1)
• Centurion (Round 1)
• Firestorm 2 (Round 2
• Attila the Drum (Round 2)
• Saw Point (Round 1)
• Pussycat (Round 2, machine can still win the championship)
• Little Fly (Round 1)
• Robochicken (Round 1)

Now this format is more forgiving. Indeed, you don't have to be strongest to qualify from the four-way melee heat, just be a cut above the other two opponents or at least be the one most durable against the dominant foe. Firestorm 2 and Attila the Drum wiped out Clawed Hopper and Centurion, while Pussycat cleaned house in the other melee. Attila the Drum and Pussycat appeared to be dominating Saw Point and Firestorm 2 respectively, but a Toast and NJGW vote respectively ended their clean sweep runs. A shame, because Pussycat was certainly one of the favourites to achieve the accolade.

Heat G

• Dominator 2 (Heat Final, machine can still win the championship)
• The Steel Avenger (Round 2)
• Sump Thing (Round 1)
• Scar (Round 1)
• Iron-Awe (Round 1)
• Stinger (Round 2)

The original format is even more forgiving. Indeed, going back through both Audited Series 4 championships, one can notice there were a few clean sweep heat runs in each. Nonetheless, despite progressing, Scar immediately lost its clean sweep status thanks to Diotoir. Dominator 2 and The Steel Avenger meanwhile shutout poor Sump Thing. In Round 2, a fantastic tussle between The Steel Avenger and Stinger prevented Stinger from claiming the accolade. It did however, take the crown away from Dominator 2 in the Heat Final, thanks to a vote from Diotoir.

Heat H

• Velocirippa (Round 1)
• Overkill GTI (Heat Final)
• Small Torque (Round 1)
• Aggrobot 2 (Round 1)
• Steg 2 (Round 2, machine can still win the championship)
• The Predator (Round 1)

The Dutch Series 1 format is probably one of the best for any clean sweep hopeful, to be honest. Perhaps the best thing about it is a heat winner can face and beat the same opponent twice, making a run all the more easier should the first encounter be unanimous. Ultimately though, Overkill GTI and Steg 2 were the only two to escape Round 1 with their runs intact, before the latter lost its after Aggrobot 2 picked up some votes against it. Overkill GTI got the furthest, but ultimately did not even win the heat, losing to Steg 2, where the vote train was started by Jimlaad.

Heat I

• Bigger Brother (Round 1)
• Razer (Round 1)
• Destruct-A-Bubble (Round 1)
• Scorpion (Round 2)
• Henry 2 (Round 1)
• S.M.I.D.S.Y. (Round 2)
• 101 (Round 1)
• Killerhurtz (Round 1, machine can still win the championship)

Evil Weevil 2, where are you?! This is your heat to lose, and you are not even a part of it! Indeed, the Football heat, like the Pinball event proceeding it, is not exactly a great heat for a Clean Sweep hopeful, since it is difficult to determine who will score more than the other. Only Scorpion and S.M.I.D.S.Y. managed to keep a clean sweep run beyond Round 1, dominating Destruct-A-Bubble and Henry 2 respectively. Razer, a dark horse for some (including myself) beat Bigger Brother, but lost it status before it began. Nevertheless, it and eventual heat winner Killerhurtz ended the runs of S.M.I.D.S.Y. and Scorpion respectively.

Heat J

• Cronos (Round 1)
• Spawn of Scutter (Round 1)
• Bulldog Breed 2 (Round 1)
• King B3 (Round 1)
• Wild Thing (Round 2 First Round Robin match, machine can still win the championship).
• Wheelosaurus (Round 1)
• Raizer Blade (Round 1)
• Crusader 2 (Round 1)

The Round Robin format is an awful one for a clean sweep hopeful to compete in. Unlike Heat F and G, where a robot only needs to win three battles, Heat J hopefuls have to win five. To make matters worse, we had quite the bloodbath in the first melee, with Spawn of Scutter, Bulldog Breed 2 and King B3 almost being even-stevens in terms of votes. Wild Thing was the only machine to progress with its clean sweep status intact, but a vote from me prevented Crusader 2 from doing the same. I voted against Wild Thing in its first Round Robin match, ending its hopes.

Heat K

• V-Max
• Chaos 2
• Berserk 2
• Hypno-Disc
• Rammstein (Machine can still win the championship)
• Ming 2
• Milly-Ann Bug

Just like Pinball, the Sumo format is far too random for clean sweep hopefuls. Indeed, determining who could survive the most against, or even beat, Shunt, has too many variables. Put it this way, had Firestorm 2 never competed in Sumo in real-life, I would have considered it a favourite to win it. Alas, very few robots are designed to dominate the Sumo, preventing clean sweep favourites like Chaos 2 and Hypno-Disc from achieving the accolade. Rammstein won, but the vote variety easily prevented it from starting its run.

Heat L

• Evil Weevil 2 (Heat Final)
• Fat Boy Tin (Trial)
• Tiberius (Trial)
• Shadow of Napalm (Gauntlet)
• Onslaught (Arena)
• Vercingetorix (Arena, machine can still win the championship)

The Series 1-2 format is actually a good one to say the least. Considering that the Gauntlet and Trials take an Annihilator approach, some machines can probably achieve a clean sweep run unscathed because there is surely bound to be a robot unsuitible for these type of events. And with only two one-on-one battles, expect some good runs here. Indeed, because of Shadow of Napalm's poor run, the remaining five robots progressed with intact runs. In the Trial, Tiberius and Fat Boy Tin had their runs ended. Onslaught and Vercingetorix lost their runs following a great battle pitting the duo (Jimlaad and Adster being the objectors respectively), leaving only Evil Weevil 2 to carry on with an impressive run, dominating Fat Boy Tin in the Arena. However, its loss to Vercingetorix obviously killed its run, started by Jimlaad.

Heat M

• Darke Destroyer 2 (Round 2)
• Indefatigable (Round 1)
• Arnold, Arnold Terminegger (Round 2)
• Medusa 2000 (Round 1)
• Weld-Dor 2 (Round 1)
• frenZy (Round 2, machine can still win the championship)
• Major Tom (Round 1)
• Thermidor 2 (Heat Final)

Finally, Heat M is probably one of the easier heats to achieve a clean sweep... just achieve three one-on-one victories with no gimmicks attached! Things were going well in Round 1, with the winners (Darke Destroyer 2, Arnold, Arnold Terminegger, frenZy and Thermidor 2), all achieving shutouts against their opponents. However, frenZy lost its run after beating Arnold, Arnold Terminegger following a very contentious matchup. Thermidor 2's flip of doom victory on Darke Destroyer 2 meant it became the final robot to be on a clean sweep run for this tournament! Sadly, it easily lost to frenZy (objector being CombatWombat), to answer the question set by this blog... NO! No robot will achieve a clean sweep run in this tournament!

Leaderboard

In the likely case a clean sweep does not occur in this tournament, I have decided to track which robots progressed the furthest based upon not only what stage they ended up at, but also how many events they competed in. This I feel is balanced, because the 10-Robot Rumble only requires the winner to battle once to qualify from the heat, whereas for the Annihilator, one must win five. Only including machines that won two or more battles, or won their respective heats via a clean sweep if it only took one battle (10-Robot Rumble).

1. Terror-Bull (4, Heat D Annihilator Round 5, winner)
2. Evil Weevil 2 (3, Heat L Heat Final).
3. Behemoth (2, Heat A Heat Final, winner).
4. Dominator 2 (2, Heat G Heat Final, winner).
5. Overkill GTI (2, Heat H Heat Final).
6. Thermidor 2 (2, Heat M Heat Final).
7. Dreadnaut XP-1, (2, Heat D Annihilator Round 3).
8. Onslaught (2, Heat L Arena).
9. Vercingetorix (2, Heat L Arena, winner).

Umm... Yeah. So it turns out that Terror-Bull, of all robots, had the best run for this tournament, at four battles!

Objector Award

• The Objector Award is given to the voter who were the first to go against a clean sweep hopeful in the midsts of an impressive run. Only votes against robots on the leaderboard will be counted.

1. Jimlaad (4: Dreadnaut XP-1, Overkill GTI, Onslaught, Evil Weevil 2)
2. Toast (1: Terror-Bull)
3. CrashBash (1: Behemoth)
4. Diotoir (1: Dominator 2)
5. Adster (1: Vercingetorix)
6. CombatWombat (1: Thermidor 2).