The FLY
WAR Northwest Ant-Weight Competition
April 14th, 2002
The Fly at the end of the day.
Fight 1
vs. Hoser'd
There aren't any "before" shots, as I raced across the box to try and lift Hoser'd before its weapon got to full speed. You can see how that strategy worked out for me...
You may not believe this, but I honestly was considering whether or not I could continue about here.
I could not. The Fly was 0 and 1.
Fight 2
vs. Sandoth
After being beaten so badly in the first round, I obviously wanted to win now. I was truly concerned that I didn't match up well against the speedy Sandoth. It had steering problems in its first bout, I think, which was one a big reason it was in the losers bracket at all. I have to admit, I was hoping it would have more problems.
Sandoth had little holes drilled in its ramming plate. They allowed me to lift and hold with ease. Honestly, I spent a good portion of the fight trying to get it off me, but couldn't. At one point, I truly thought they'd stop the fight and separate us, but we broke apart just moments later.
Again, those holes were custom made for my lifting spike. In the end I won a decision. I was really happy with how I drove and the crowd (and there was a pretty good crowd) was on my side. As it turned out, the crowd would stick with me for the entire event.
Fight 3
vs. Nutcracker
Great, another super fast rammer-bot. Only this time, no holes or grabby bits. I didn't like my chances.
One of the few times I came out on top...er...under. Whatever.
This would be the other time. Usually it was too fast to catch, and it slammed me against the wall flipping me on my back a couple of times. I can self right, but while I'm doing it my lifter is useless (and I can't drive for beans.) The judges gave Nutcracker a well-earned decision. I was out until the Rumble.
The Rumble
The actual rumble was a big blur, though I thought I did well. Hoser'd lost its spinner so we all took turns lifting it up and pushing it around. Honestly, there were two thwack bots, I-Lash and Scoopy (who didn't start out a thwack bot, but that's how these things go sometimes) that I thought did much better than I. When the crowd was asked, I-Lash and I were the two favorites. It was agreed that we'd fight for another 2 minutes to see who was the true rumble winner. That fight began with I-Lash viciously slamming me around two or three times. I was on my back, I'd flip myself right, and it'd bash onto my back again. Apparently the last half of the match looked a lot better to the crowd than it did to me. I managed to grab I-Lash's thwacking arm and hold it several times. It must have been enough because the crowd cheered me the winner.
The Final
Hoser'd vs. Ripple.
This is how Ripple managed to be the only robot to survive 3 minutes against Hoser'd. By cleverly hanging out behind the saw where Hoser'd couldn't get him (his blade would hit the wall), he managed to almost lure Hoser'd into a vulnerable position. In the end, it didn't work, but I for one was impressed by the choice of strategy. Hoser'd by a decision and winner of the first Northwest Ant-Weight Competition!
Aftermath
The amount of destruction these little 1lbers can dish out was far more impressive than I was led to believe. You can see the debris, and this was taken BEFORE the rumble.
Washington Allied Robotics
Northwest Antweight Competition
April 14th, 2002