The extraordinary robot-fighting tournament "BattleBots" will kick things off with a two-hour season premiere on THURSDAY, JUNE 23 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT) on the ABC Television Network.The first round of next-generation robots will go head to head, as 32 teams converge in an arena full of hazards for the chance to advance out of the qualifying round in pursuit of the championship.
Each match will consist of a three-minute bout in which the goal is to completely destroy or disable the opponent. If there is no
KNOCKOUT during the three-minute battle, the panel of judges will declare a victor to move onto the next round. Judging the matches are former "BattleBots" competitor and special effects artist Fon Davis, the face of "Nerdist," Jessica Chobot, and special guest judge Adam Savage ("MythBusters").
48 builders representing four continents make up this year's field - double the size of last year's tournament. With them they bring an unprecedented arsenal, innovative designs, destructive new weapons and for the first time in the history of robot-fighting tournaments, the launch of drone warfare. The competitors range from NASA engineers to teenage students and everyone in between - each with one goal: to claim the ultimate title and walk away with the Giant Nut. Winners from the 24 matches in the qualifying round automatically advance, after which the selection committee picks eight wildcards from the losers to join them. Once the teams advance out of the qualifying round, it's single elimination all the way to the title.
ESPN's Samantha Ponder hosts season two, with expert play-by-play analysis from veteran sports broadcaster Chris Rose and color commentary from former UFC fighter Kenny Florian. Sideline reporter Alison Haislip covers every inch of the robot fighting mayhem, and ring announcer Faruq Tauheed presides as the bots go metal-a-metal.
The 32 teams slated to compete during the two-hour episode of the qualifying round are listed in alphabetical order below:
1. BETA: Team Captain - John Reid
(Hometown: United Kingdom)
2. Bite Force: Team Captain - Paul Ventimiglia
(Hometown: Montain View, CA)
3. Black Ice: Team Captain - Dan Barry
(Hometown: South Hadley, MA)
4. Blacksmith: Team Captain - Al Kindle
(Hometown: Edison, NJ)
5. Bombshell: Team Captain - Michael Jeffries
(Hometown: Norcross, GA)
6. Bucktooth Burl: Team Captain - Julia Chernushevich
(Hometown: Saskatoon, Canada)
7. Bronco: Team Captain - Alexander Rose and Reason Bradley
(Hometown: Sausalito, CA)
8. Captain Shrederator: Team Captain - Brian Nave
(Hometown: Ormond Beach, FL)
9. Chomp: Team Captain - Zoe Stephenson
(Hometown: Glendale, CA)
10. Chrome Fly: Team Captain - George Matus
(Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT)
11. Complete Control: Team Captain - Derek Young
(Hometown: San Francisco, CA)
12. Death Roll: Team Captain - Erica Hediger
(Hometown: Australia)
13. Disk O'Inferno: Team Captain - Jason Bardis
(Hometown: Irvine, CA)
14. Escape Velocity: Team Captain - Raymond Barsa
(Hometown: Manhattan Beach, CA)
15. Hypershock: Team Captain - Will Bales
(Hometown: Cambridge, MA)
16. Icewave: Team Captain - Marc DeVidts
(Hometown: Burlingame, CA)
17. Lucky: Team Captain - Rob Masek
(Hometown: Nashua, NH)
18. Minotaur: Team Captain - Marco Antonio Meggiolaro
(Hometown: Rio de Janeiro)
19. Mohawk: Team Captain - Korey Kline
(Hometown: Miami, FL)
20. Nightmare: Team Captain - Jim Smentowski
(Hometown: Bradenton, FL)
21. Obwalden Overlord: Team Captain - Rob Knight
(Hometown: France)
22. Overdrive: Team Captain - Christian & Carissa Carlberg
(Hometown: San Luis Obispo, CA)
23. Photon Storm: Team Captain - Ed Hoppitt
(Hometown: United Kingdom)
24. The Ringmaster: Team Captain - Hal Rucker
(Hometown: Hillsborough, CA)
25. Splatter: Team Captain - Jeff Vasquez
(Hometown: Newbury Park, CA)
26. Stinger: Team Captain - Matt Maxham
(Hometown: Sacramento, CA)
27. Subzero: Team Captain - Jerry Clarkin
(Hometown: Malvern, PA)
28. Tombstone: Team Captain - Ray Billings
(Hometown: Placerville, CA)
29. Ultimo Destructo: Team Captain - Sean J. Irvin
(Hometown: Valkaria, FL)
30. Ultraviolent: Team Captain - Andrew Peterson
(Hometown: Blacksburg, VA)
31. Warhead: Team Captain - Simon Scott and Ian Lewis
(Hometown: United Kingdom)
32. Warrior Clan: Team Captain - Clint & Jake Ewert
(Hometown: Dorchester, WI)
"BattleBots" is a reimagined take on the killer robot combat sport from Whalerock Industries and the creators of the original "BattleBots" franchise, Ed Roski and Greg Munson. The homemade robots will battle against each other in a single elimination tournament until there is one champion. The ten episode series will feature next generation robots - bigger, faster and stronger than ever before. The show will continue to emphasize the design and build elements of each robot, the bot builder backstories, their intense pursuit of the championship and the spectacle of the event. While there's only one weight-class, there are a huge variety of deadly weapons. Forty-eight robots will enter, but, in the end, only one will win the final trophy. Executive producers are Lloyd Braun, Chris Cowan, Edward P. Roski (Trey), Greg Munson and Aaron Catling.
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