BattleBots, the world’s premier robot combat competition, is about to become even bigger than before. Discovery announced it has picked up an additional two seasons of BattleBots, totaling an unprecedented order of 80 hours of robot-crunching action.
In another major move, BattleBots will stage its 2021 World Championships beginning next month in the fight capital of the world, Las Vegas. The iconic BattleBox fight arena has been completely reimagined for the new seasons with extra hazards for the robots – generating even more tension and excitement for viewers.
In addition, the 2022 Championships will also be held in Vegas during the summer of 2022. All the bot-breaking action will play out in front of a live audience of dedicated BattleBots fans from around the world at Caesars Entertainment Studios. The new season will air later this year on Discovery.
“I can’t wait to once again hear the iconic opening words, ‘It’s robot fighting time!’ as announced by Faruq across Discovery platforms,” said Scott Lewers, EVP Multiplatform Programming Discovery Factual & Head of Content, Science. “Vegas is one of the few places in the entire world that can match the adrenaline and fun of this competition and I’m thrilled it will be the backdrop to host these incredibly talented robot designers, builders, and fighters.”
“Standby Vegas! – the bots are on their way from all over the world,” said Trey Roski, BattleBots creator. “This is the most exciting development for the sport; to have a multi-year commitment from a broadcaster is what we’ve always wanted to enable our talented builders to have time to plan and design even more ferocious and imaginative robots for the future. It’s a great day for BattleBots, and we’re delighted to have such a supportive partner as Discovery. Since BattleBots started 21 years ago, I’ve always dreamed that Vegas would be the ideal permanent home for the sport. Now thanks to Discovery and Caesars we’re achieving that goal.”
“The best builders in the world, the best robot combat action, the most talented production and broadcast teams, the best platform partners in Discovery, and now the perfect host in Vegas – what’s not to love about this deal? Our fans will go bonkers! The most entertaining combat sport on the planet is thriving,” said Chris Cowan, Head of Unscripted TV at Whalerock Industries.
More than 65 teams will travel to Las Vegas with their fighting machines to slug it out in a series of battles to the death. The ultimate winner will take home the greatest prize in the sport: The Giant Nut, which is currently held by End Game from New Zealand.
The competition this year will be fierce. Teams from across America will compete against rivals from Europe, Asia and South America with the hope of bringing the Giant Nut back to the USA. Former title holder Tombstone will be in the field, along with current World Champion End Game. Fan favorites Witch Doctor, SawBlaze, Hydra, Whiplash and Valkyrie will also fight to hoist the Nut, while Backsmith, Minotaur, DUCK! and Icewave will hope for triumphant returns after missing the 2020 season.
Sportscaster Chris Rose and UFC fighter Kenny Florian will return once again to provide play-by-play commentary, along with expert contributions from Pete Abrahamson, a.k.a. The Bot Whisperer. Meanwhile, Faruq Tauheed returns to the BattleBox as Ring Announcer.
Audiences are invited to watch the robot fighting action from BattleBots’ new home in Las Vegas, where BattleBots will tape from August 23 – September 4 at Caesars Entertainment Studios.
Tickets are available now for the public ($40-$125) and can be purchased by visiting the BattleBots ticketing page.
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BattleBots remains the most popular robotic combat sport in the world, created by Ed Roski and Greg Munson and now seen in over 150 countries. It is produced by BattleBots, Inc. and Whalerock Industries. Executive producers are Chris Cowan, Edward (Trey) Roski, Greg Munson, Tom Gutteridge, Aaron Catling and Evan Gatica. For Discovery Channel, Scott Lewers, Joseph Boyle and Wyatt Channell are executive producers, and Paola Espinosa is associate producer.
