Mechanical Maelstrom Season 2.0

[kodster]

Re: Mechanical Maelstrom Season 2.0

The Zodiac vs. Hypertension Mk 3

I get the feeling that Hypo's gonna act mostly as a rammer this battle, so I'll just attack the sides as best as I can and not bother with attacking the flipper. I got me handy srimech to right me if need be.

I'll go with Sheer Heart Attack, Dantu, and Wedga Triton to win the other battles. Nice job Lewis and ta muchly for posting the battles here, Marti.

[corsair_lightning]

Re: Mechanical Maelstrom Season 2.0

Well, I guess I better post my predictions...

Sheer Heart Attack 2 (1) vs. Holepunch 2.0

Sorry about this, Leo: I see Holepunch's crusher stopping the drum from spinning, but I also see SHA2's superior traction shoving Holepunch into the pit.

The Zodiac vs. Hypertension MK3

How old is The Zodiac again?(Plans to make copy of it) Anyways, I don't think the elderly Hypertension is strong enough to ram The Zodiac into the pit or flip it OOTA. Kodebreaker for the win.

Gabriel IV (2) vs. Dantu

Joey isn't seeded for nothing... However I do see a judges' decision in the making, and seeing as Gabriel barely made it past Neo-Mecha, I believe Dantu will go through.

Traffic Warden vs. Wedga Triton

Are you serious? Wedga Triton to both immobilize and pit Traffic Warden.

[steven_mcg]

Re: Mechanical Maelstrom Season 2.0

Typical, isn't it? You wait and wait for a fight and then all of a sudden, six show up at once.

QUARTER-FINALS
TRAFFIC WARDEN VS Wedga Triton

Bugger. Not much to do here but aim for the sides or rear, clamp on tight and get it down the pit ASAP. I should be able to give it a run for its money in the traction department, so long as I stay away from the flipper.

As for the other fights, I'll take the two seeds and The Zodiac to advance to the semis.

Spiffy stuff thus far, Lewis. Let's hope Traffic Warden performs just as spiffily. :P

[andrewj]

Re: Mechanical Maelstrom Season 2.0

Traffic Warden vs. Wedga Triton

I think Traffic Warden will have a hard time getting hold of me. The sloping sides shouldn€™t be easy to grab and hopefully I€™ll be quick enough to avoid the clamps shutting anyway. Offensively, I think the best idea would be to try and stack it somewhere. It€™s a big target and with 10mm ground clearance getting under shouldn€™t be difficult. Push it towards the walls and try and get it OOTA. If I can€™t, I think stacking it up against the walls will work nicely. Good luck Mr. McG!

Great writing Lewis, I hope the posting problem gets fixed soon.

[joey_picus]

Re: Mechanical Maelstrom Season 2.0

Gabriel IV vs. Dantu

Keep ramming it and use the flipper to try and tip it up against the wall. It'll get off, but my aim is to try and dominate Dantu and win the judges' decision on aggression. I'll leave the skirts off as they'll just get chewed and lose me points and there's not a lot Dantu can do to get underneath me anyway.

Best of luck Alex, good work Lewis

[Guest]

Re: Mechanical Maelstrom Season 2.0

Guess who's back! :P

I never received an email telling me my new account was activated, so just random trying got me back here :P

fights will resume soon, this tournament will be finished quickly now that I'm back ! ;D

[Guest]

Re: Mechanical Maelstrom Season 2.0

And by soon I mean a few seconds later ;D
I wrote these fights ages ago, so any problems feel free to point them out.
It's QUARTER-FINALS TIME! ;D

Mechanical Maelstrom Season 2.0
Quarter-Final 1

Sheer Heart Attack 2 (1) vs. Holepunch 2.0

3...
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ACTIVATE!

Both machines head out of their starting squares at the beginning of the fight, with the vertical drum weapon of Sheer Heart Attack 2 getting up to speed as Holepunch 2.0 trundles along the arena courtesy of those wheelchair motors, pneumatic crusher poised to do some serious damage to the other robot.

The reigning champion has to be the favourite to win this first quarter-final, and Martijn certainly seems to have retained an extremely powerful weapon as he smacks into the front of Holepunch 2.0 with the spinning drum, flipping the HDPE armoured machine up and over as well as leaving a scar in the front wedge.

However due to the low centre of gravity Holepunch 2.0 rolls over sideways and rams under the side track of Sheer Heart Attack 2 and swiftly bites down with the pneumatic crusher weapon, digging into Sheer Heart Attack 2€™s locomotion and now dragging the reigning champion across the arena!

Martijn spins up the drum again, but Sheer Heart Attack 2 is still in Holepunch€™s grip and Leo bumps against the pit release button, activating both the siren and descent of the pit. The crowd roar with delight as an upset in this round seems almost certain, while Leo concentrates on delivering Sheer Heart Attack 2 to the pit of oblivion.

He drives side on to the pit and turns before retracting the crusher, but it€™s dug very deeply into the track of Sheer Heart Attack 2, who is lifted into the air with the pneumatic weaponry as it retracts! Leo curses silently and edges over the side of the pit, now slightly tipping with the weight of Sheer Heart Attack 2 on the end of the crusher!

Leo tries to reverse to stop both robots landing in the pit, unsure of who will go in first, but it€™s too late and the wheels of Holepunch 2.0 spin in the air as the weight of Sheer Heart Attack 2 on the crusher pulls the robot forwards and into the pit on top of Sheer Heart Attack 2!

CEASE!

The judges watch the replay footage of the match, and they give us the thumbs up now, as it is clear that Sheer Heart Attack 2 entered the pit before Holepunch 2.0, so Team RCC and Holepunch 2.0 advance to the semi-finals!

Quarter-Final 2

The Zodiac vs. Hypertension MK3

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Our second quarter-final gets underway quickly as The Zodiac spins up to speed and heads towards the arena at the heavily armoured Hypertension MK3. Will€™s robot powers forward to meet Kody and slides his wedge under the full body spinner, tilting it up enough for one of the blades to strike the steel arena floor and provide a smattering of sparks.

The Zodiac however manages to drive off the flipper before Will makes any more trouble and speeds away from Hypertension MK3 as the shell rapidly gets up to speed! Hypertension MK3 tails the full body spinning maniac closely, and Kody quickly drives back in on the attack, slamming into the side of the hardox wedge and putting a small dent in the armour as well as spinning Hypertension MK3 around.

Will drives forward to attack The Zodiac again, but thanks to a total of 4 magmotors powering the weapon The Zodiac is already spinning like a bloodthirsty spinning top again and drives into Hypertension MK3 again and knocking it away, but not really managing to damage the thick hardox armour that protects Hypertension MK3.

But this time Will is fast on the attack, ramming into The Zodiac€™s shell before it quite reaches full speed, but 1000rpm is still quick enough to knock Hypertension slightly away and we see another dent in the armour of Hypertension MK3.

But Will is resilient this time and powers in again, getting the wedge fully underneath and firing the strong flipper, sending The Zodiac high into the air! The shell spins up while The Zodiac is in flight, but it then crashes to the floor, sending sparks in all directions and causing The Zodiac to perform a crazy Mauler-esque dance across the Annihilation Stadium, slamming against the wall before it finally comes to a halt on its back.

Kody tries to self-right, but the Zodiac is stuck in the corner and the pneumatic srimech merely pushes The Zodiac up against the barrier before it falls down onto its back again. Kody spins to try and turn the srimech the other way, and this also gets The Zodiac away from the wall as it spins madly and bounces on its blades crazily.

However, this has given time for Will to rush along from across the arena and Hypertension MK3 rams in underneath the already overturned robot, ramming into the corner and firing the powerful gas flipper to send The Zodiac high into the air before it comes crashing down on the camera tracks!

CEASE!

The Zodiac is flipped up and out; Hypertension MK3 progresses to the semi-finals!

Quarter-Final 3

Gabriel IV (2) vs. Dantu

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ACTIVATE!

The other seeded robot that made the quarters this season is Gabriel IV, and it€™s down to Joey now to carry on the name of the experienced machines, and clearly he intends to do just that as the elongated pyramid shape of Gabriel IV shoots across the arena swiftly, driving at Dantu, who drives slightly up the front nose before falling off the side and turning the spinning disc into the side of Gabriel IV, knocking the seeded robot up and over!

Joey self-rights, but it seems Gabriel IV is having trouble getting a proper attack in on Dantu, as the front area of attack is very narrow and the axlebot nature of Dantu is problematic enough for front hinged flippers already. This allows Alex to spin Dantu€™s disc up to speed once again and the deadly dance of robots begins a second time as the opposing machines both try and attack at once, but they both want to avoid an attack on themselves and so neither makes a foolish kamikaze-style break for violence.

It€™s Joey that breaks the stalemate, pushing forward and getting under the side of Dantu, firing the full pressure flipper and flipping Dantu sideways up onto its own wheel, where it spins crazily before landing back down the wrong way up, but Alex drives straight into the side of Gabriel IV again, making a small scar on the armour and flipping Dantu back the right way up.

But flipping itself leaves the rear of Dantu open to attack from Gabriel IV, who immediately obliges by turning and ramming underneath the back of Alex€™s machine, reaching the spike strip before the 2400psi flipper slams Dantu into the hazard, stopping the spinning disc in its tracks and putting some points on the board for the seeded machine should this go to a judge€™s decision.

And this seems quite likely, as Dantu is nowhere near finished yet and swiftly recovers from Gabriel€™s spike strip attack by driving away from both damaging objects while the disc spins up before wheeling around and ramming into the already damaged side of Gabriel IV, this time buffeting the seeded robot up into the air and leaving some more small scars on the side armour!

Gabriel IV topples over onto its back as a result of the attack, but is once again quick to self-right, turning on the spot quickly and whacking the side of Dantu with the front nose, also putting itself in position for another attack as it rams in underneath Alex€™s axlebot and flips again, this time sending Dantu in a full three hundred and sixty degree spin over its head!

CEASE!

The judge€™s call time on the match and both robots look pretty worn out after 3 minutes of robot carnage. Gabriel IV€™s shell is full of scars and scratches, while Dantu seems to have suffered some damage at the front.

Judge€™s Decision:
Damage:
Gabriel IV ~ 1.2 x 1 = 1.2pts
Dantu ~ 4.4 x 1 = 4.4pts
Aggression:
Gabriel IV ~ 3.6 x 0.75 = 2.7pts
Dantu ~ 3.3 x 0.75 = 2.475pts
Control:
Gabriel IV ~ 3.5 x 0.5 = 1.75pts
Dantu ~ 3.2 x 0.5 = 1.6pts
Dominance:
Gabriel IV ~ 4.1 x 0.25 = 1.025pts
Dantu ~ 3.8 x 0.25 = 0.95pts
Overall:
Gabriel IV: 6.675 - 9.425: Dantu

Gabriel IV (2) is down and out; Dantu advances to the semi-finals!

Quarter-Final 4

Traffic Warden vs. Wedga Triton

3...
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ACTIVATE!

The match begins and the two machines ram towards each other, meeting in the centre of the arena with Wedga Triton immediately running underneath the ground clearance of Traffic Warden and flipping the huge machine up into the air with that powerful pneumatic flipper, throwing Steven€™s machine over sideways, but the rigid U-shaped bot is invertible and rapidly turns back on the attack, pushing forward and swallowing up Wedga Triton as the clamps come into play!

However Traffic Warden drives up the side skirt of Wedga, who flips Traffic Warden up and over backwards, reversing now to ram the huge machine across the arena and into the pit release button! Steven spins away and tries to grab Wedga from behind now, with the clamps coming in, but failing to get a really good grip on the sloped sides of Wedga Triton. Steven tries to manoeuvre his machine so that Andy will fall into the pit, but Traffic Warden€™s two wheel drive struggles to turn the huge chassis of Traffic Warden this time because they€™re so close to the arena wall that the left side of Traffic Warden hits the arena wall if it tries to turn towards the pit, and it would seem that the extraordinary wideness of the machine is costing it here, and all this deliberation gives Wedga Triton the chance to utilise the four wheel drive and manages to turn ever so slightly and get the flipper under the right clamp of Traffic Warden, firing the flipper, and sending the clamping machine up and over onto the arena side wall!

With Traffic Warden beached on the wall, Wedga Triton takes its time to turn and slide the flipper arm slowly and carefully under the side of the machine before with a snort of carbon dioxide gas Traffic Warden is flipped over the barrier in the arena and onto the camera tracks, only just fitting into the space between the arena wall and the outer wall because it lands on its side and balances!

CEASE!

Traffic Warden gets stuck in more than just traffic; Wedga Triton advances to the semi-finals!

Mechanical Maelstrom Season 2.0:
Semi-Finals

Holepunch 2.0 vs. Hypertension MK3
Dantu vs. Wedga Triton

[Guest]

Re: Mechanical Maelstrom Season 2.0

Mechanical Maelstrom Season 2.0:
Semi-Final 1

Ladies and Gentlemen... Holepunch 2.0
Holepunch made it to this stage of the competition by crushing through Tira V, Black Panther, Hot Sauce and now ex-champion Sheer Heart Attack 2. He€™s proved his worth by taking out the top ranked machine, and his original pneumatic crusher makes him a favourite for the title.

Presenting... Hypertension MK3
Although arguably less impressive than its opponent in this round, Hypertension is a famously successful line of robots that has thrown robots far and wide so far this season. It was the only robot well armoured enough to even stand a chance against The Zodiac, and it€™s powerful pneumatic flipper has so far tossed 3 of its 4 opponents clean out of the arena with the 2000kg of flipping force!

3...
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ACTIVATE!

Both robots move off as soon as the match begins, with Holepunch being the immediate aggressor and coming out of the box speedily to dodge the front flipper of Hypo and turn to attack the side, but Will turns to counter the attack and Leo is forced to reverse away for fear of being thrown out of the arena by this powerful flipper. Will goes on the attack, pushing against the front of the slow Holepunch 2.0, but neither can get under the other robot. Holepunch reverses away and drives back on the attack, the extra speed allowing Leo to get under the front of Hypertension MK3 and the pneumatic crusher quickly snaps down onto the hardox armouring of Hypertension MK3, but the wedge shape means it can€™t really get a good grip on the robot and the thick armour isn€™t depressed too much by the attack.

Hypertension slips out of Holepunch€™s grasp as a result of this and reverses away from its boxy Razer-esque opponent before driving back on the attack and this time Will gets underneath the front of Holepunch 2.0, now driving towards the arena side wall to put Leo out of the arena, but Holepunch starts to drive up the wedge and Will realises he€™s not going to make it to the wall with Holepunch 2.0 on board and so is forced to fire the flipper in order to put a few points on the board, throwing Holepunch 2.0 over its head to go smashing down onto its nose behind Hypertension! Leo€™s machine balances on the point of its crusher for a split second before crashing down onto the self-righting hoop and rolling onto its wheels.

Leo drives at the rear of Hypertension MK3 now, as he was put there by the previous flip and this could prove to be a turning point as Leo gets underneath the rear of the wedge and crushes down with the powerful pneumatic crusher, making a slight dent in the top of the flipper, but the key point here is that Holepunch 2.0 now has control of Hypertension MK3! Matty fires the flipper in an attempt to free himself, but 2000kg versus 11 tonnes of force isn€™t much of a fight and the flipper barely seems to move, with Holepunch holding it down and now reversing across the arena and into the pit release button!

The siren wails and the chasm descends, but Matty fired the flipper again just as Holepunch collided with the pit release button, and since the grip wasn€™t so great the wedge shaped robot just managed to wriggle free of his powerful opponent€™s grip and drives away, turning to meet the oncoming onslaught from Holepunch 2.0, driving on and dodging the front wedge, using its superior speed to turn and get underneath the side of Holepunch and charging towards the pit with Holepunch on board, but there€™s nothing to keep robots on the wedge and Holepunch drives off the side of the wedge. Cursing, Matty turns to get underneath Holepunch 2.0 and fires his flipper again, tossing the crushing robot high into the air a second time!

The wheelchair motor powered beast lands on top of Hypertension itself, resetting the flipper for another attack as Hypertension goes running across the arena and firing the flipper again, this time sending Holepunch 2.0 soaring up into the air and it somersaults as it comes crashing back down on its head, slamming onto the rails at the side of the arena and teetering their precariously for a moment before falling back into the arena. Hypertension is rushing across the arena again to finish the match, but Leo€™s own wedge is under one of the spikes on the spike strip, so that when Matty fires his flipper having gotten underneath Holepunch 2.0 again it doesn€™t go very high and merely turns over away from Hypo, managing to escape back to the safety in the centre of the arena and Leo turns to face yet another oncoming assault from the relentless Hypertension MK3.

He powers forward to meet the attack and this time gets underneath, bringing down his crusher and building upon his earlier attack, this time managing to put a decent sized dent in the flipper and holding on tight to this slightly flatter surface, driving Hypertension MK3 back across the arena and towards the open pit! They get to the side of the chasm, but Hypertension MK3 really doesn€™t want to go down the pit and one of his rear wheels remains on the ground due to the shape of the dent in his front wedge, so Matty revs said wheel in any direction he can to stay away from the pit, with Leo trying to do the opposite and dump his aggressive opponent into the pit! Leo seems to be winning the fight with two wheels on the ground, and finally with mere seconds remaining in the match a winner is determined as Holepunch 2.0 turns sideways and retracts its crusher, dumping Hypertension MK3 into the pit to disappear in a puff of smoke!

CEASE!

Hypertension MK3 is tense no longer; Holepunch 2.0 lives to punch another day!

[leorcc]

Re: Mechanical Maelstrom Season 2.0

Woohoo! And its not even my birthday.

Very well written fight, it was almost like I was there.

[Guest]

Re: Mechanical Maelstrom Season 2.0

Thanks Leo

Mechanical Maelstrom Season 2.0:
Semi-Final 2

Ladies and Gentlemen... Dantu!
This heavily armoured axlebot with a powerful vertical spinning disc has proved a surprise contender this season, getting through the first round melee with a bit of luck thanks to the tenacity of its fellow contender Visioned in said round. However, since then it has proved to have great staying power in matches and is able to inflict a lot of damage without sustaining much at all, having defeated two excellent flippers, Eternia and the number #2 ranked Gabriel IV, and both were dispatched after exceedingly close judge€™s decisions.

Presenting... Wedga Triton!
This box-wedge shaped flipper robot is nothing spectacular to look at in terms of originality, but effectiveness is a different story. This powerful rear hinged launching weapon has over 1600kg of force to throw the other robots around with, and this has proved to be more than powerful enough to toss robots over the barrier on two occasions, first against Pure Evil in round one and then in the quarter-finals when Traffic Warden was launched onto the camera tracks.

3...
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ACTIVATE!

The two machines get off to a very aggressive start as this match begins, the box wedge shaped robot of Wedga Triton speeding full force towards Dantu and getting underneath the front of the axlebot straight away before the disc is even up to speed, ramming Dantu against the wall and firing the flipper to try and end the match quickly by sending Dantu onto the camera tracks like Traffic Warden in the previous round, but Dantu with its high ground clearance design manages to drive halfway off the flipper before it was activated and so is merely flicked upside down.

Alex attacks with the disc now, putting a scar in the side of Wedga Triton but flipping itself back the right way up, putting its rear end towards Wedga, who jumps at the chance to attack and rams underneath the axlebot€™s behind, firing the flipper and sending Dantu head over heels again, this time with the spinner robot performing an odd dance on its side as it landed on its wheel, using that to right itself before it goes back on the attack again, this time hitting Wedga Triton just as the flipper resets and bending the front flipper plate up slightly so as to make it tougher for Wedga Triton to get underneath Dantu.

Undeterred, Andy drives in on the attack and slams Dantu into the spike strip with quite considerable force, putting a dent in the rear of Dantu before firing the flipper and tossing Dantu up onto the rails surrounding the arena! Dantu wobbles precariously before bouncing back down, and Andy curses as he realises that with an undamaged flipper plate Dantu most probably would have gone out of the arena! But it didn€™t and now Wedga Triton is paying for it as Dantu rams back in on the attack, slamming into the side of Wedga Triton, who is skirtless for this match because Dantu is a spinner and puts another scar in the hardox monocoque, flipping Wedga up and over as it does so!

Wedga Triton self-rights swiftly and goes back on the attack, driving underneath Dantu again and flipping it up against the pit release button, and Dantu seems to be having some trouble with the disc, which seems to be shorting out occasionally. This must be from connection knocked loose inside the machine earlier on, but at this moment in time the disc is spinning and Dantu is going back on the attack, ramming the front flipper of Wedga Triton and this time buckling the front of the flipper a bit more! Hardox isn€™t all it€™s cracked up to be it would seem and Wedga has taken some notable damage from that spinning disc.

Yet still Wedga Triton is aggressive, driving at Dantu again and pushing it over the killsaws with a shower of sparks on Dantu€™s hardox to show for it, but it€™s struggling to get underneath properly now and although it flips when Dantu€™s wheel goes up onto the side of the flipper plate which isn€™t damaged at all it isn€™t really enough to use to the full power of the flipper and so when Andy uses this weapon Dantu merely turns over once, not taking any damage, but failing to go back on the attack because this is one of the times when the disc isn€™t spinning. Nevertheless Alex attacks the open flipper of Wedga Triton, pushing against the blue robot with its spikes, but the flipper resets and pushes Dantu away, allowing Andy to push Dantu back across the arena with his superior drive and ram the axlebot against the spike strip.

Dantu escapes as Wedga Triton is forced to reverse away by the judges, and the disc is now spinning again as it goes back on the attack and bumps into the side of Wedga with a lot of force, throwing it up and over again, but this time there€™s no immediate self-righting! Andy looks worried and the crowd count Wedga Triton down and out of the fight as we now notice the removable link knocked out by that last blow, and the judges agree that this is a disappointing end to the back and forth fight seemingly dominated by Wedga Triton, who was prevented from taking out it€™s worthy adversary by tiny little damages here and there.

CEASE!

Wedga Triton is shell shocked; Dantu advances to the finals!

Play-off:
Hypertension MK3 vs. Wedga Triton

Grand Final:
Holepunch 2.0 vs. Dantu

Tactics/Predictions/Comments?

[corsair_lightning]

Re: Mechanical Maelstrom Season 2.0

Play-off:
Hypertension MK3 vs. Wedga Triton

I see Wedga Triton getting the upper hand on ol' Hypo.

Grand Final:
Holepunch 2.0 vs. Dantu

I'm gonna say Dantu, as Holepunch will have a very hard time trying to grab onto the axlebot.

[Guest]

Re: Mechanical Maelstrom Season 2.0

Play-off
Hypertension MK3 vs. Wedga Triton

3...
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ACTIVATE!

The play-off is the only fight in the tournament that won€™t bring you one step closer to the championship victory, but it will get you the bronze medal if you win, and both these robots deserve something after coming through 3 tough rounds to reach the semi-finals only to lose at the penultimate hurdle. However only one of these machines will clinch that last place on the podium, and Wedga Triton is the more aggressive machine at the beginning of this round as it rams towards Hypertension MK3 right from the buzzer, turning slightly away from the front of Hypertension to try and ram the corner of the wedge, but the opposing flipper-robot turns to meet the onslaught and the low front ground clearances cancel one another out. Wedga Triton prevails in the pushing match and starts moving Hypertension back across the arena floor and into the spike strip, but a slow impact like this one won€™t cause any damage.

Hypertension escapes and drives on the attack of Wedga Triton, dodging the front of the robot and managing to attack the side, pushing Wedga onto the killsaws, which pop it up into the air and allow Hypertension to drive underneath the raised skirts of Wedga Triton, now pushing it against the arena side wall and flipping it high above the barrier! But Wedga Triton was driving off the wedge and as a result is thrown sideways away from the wall and it crashes down onto its back a few feet away.

Andy self-rights and turns to meet another oncoming onslaught from Hypertension MK3, and this time gains the advantage, now driving Hypertension back across the arena and flipping it up into the air with a snort of a carbon dioxide gas, leaving Matty stacked up against the pit release button! Another blast of co2 and Hypertension stylishly somersaults back onto its wheels and drives back on the attack, ramming under Wedga Triton just as the flipper resets, allowing another pushing battle to take place. Wedga Triton again prevails and rams Hypertension MK3 back across the arena towards the pit, but Matty manages to spin away and out his wedge under the exposed ground clearance at the rear of Wedga Triton and powers forwards into the arena wall, firing the flipper and sending Wedga Triton high into the air to come crashing down onto the camera tracks.

CEASE!

Wedga Triton just misses out; Hypertension MK3 wins the bronze medal!

And now we have the awards, as we like to congratulate not only the most successful designs but also the most creative and innovative here at Mechanical Maelstrom.

First up is the award for the Best Engineered Robot, and this season several machines including The Zodiac, Hypertension MK3 and Supreme were considered for this award, but the winner is Holepunch 2.0, who was not only a very successful machine but also very well engineered with the powerful pneumatic crusher and thick armour in one.

Secondly we have the award for the Most Original Entry, and some of the excellent nominees were Visioned, Holepunch 2.0 and the season 1.0 champion Sheer Heart Attack 2, but the winner of this award is The May Tracks Has You, whose innovative weapon synergy proved damaging to Neo-Mecha early on.

The third award here goes to the Most Promising Newcomer, and as all 4 of our semi-finalists were newcomers they are the nominees - Wedga Triton, Hypertension MK3, Holepunch 2.0 and Dantu! The judges have selected Wedga Triton as the recipient of this award, because the only 2 battles it lose were down to chance and so it could very well go all the way next season.

The final award this season is for the Best Weapon, as weapons are perhaps the most exciting part of robot combat and we like to see a lot of damaging weapons. The nominees for this award were the powerful spinning shell of The Zodiac, the interesting weapon synergy of Nidhogg Evo and the powerful flipper of Hypertension MK3, but the most damaging by far was the mega-crusher of Holepunch 2.0, who has now taken home 2 awards and a nomination tonight, even before it enters the arena for the final!

Speaking of which...

Grand Final
Dantu vs. Holepunch 2.0

And so we are left with two machines who have battled furiously for these two places in the final. Both machines are not the ordinary type, with one being a nippy axlebot sporting a dangerous spinning disc and the other being a powerful pneumatic crusher. Let€™s see how they got this far...

In the first round Dantu was slightly lucky, with Visioned pitting both Monolith and 4th seed Leprosy Infection.
In the second round however it took on powerful flipper Eternia, taking a narrow judge€™s decision, 8.1 - 7.975.
In the quarter-finals it met second seed Gabriel IV, battling a tough round and winning another close decision, 9425 - 6.675, scoring the highest judge€™s decision score of the series so far!
In the semi-finals it came up against Wedga Triton, finally knocking out an opponent when Wedga€™s removable link was knocked loose by a bludgeoning attack from Dantu.

In the opening melees Holepunch 2.0 was very impressive, destroying both Tira V€™s weapons while Dendroaspis dealt with Black Panther.
In the round of 16 Hot Sauce€™s thick hardox armour wasn€™t enough to stop it being mutilated by the pneumatic crusher weapon before it was dumped in the pit.
The quarter-finals went brilliantly for Holepunch 2.0, as it shockingly took out the reigning champion Sheer Heart Attack 2!
The semi-finals also went well as Hypertension MK3 was dumped in the pit after a tough fight.

3...
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ACTIVATE!

The match begins and Dantu€™s spinning disc immediately starts whirring up to speed, the blades seemingly vanishing as the dangerous lynch motor powered weapon gets going while Holepunch attacks from the other side of the arena, but the wheelchair motors don€™t give it much speed and compared to the 22mph top speed of Dantu Holepunch is literally a snail! Nevertheless, Leo keeps the front of Holepunch facing Dantu so that Alex can€™t avoid the dangerous front of Holepunch. However the speedy Dantu makes a run for the side of Holepunch and the slow speed of Holepunch is only enough to turn the corner of the wedge towards Dantu€™s spinning disc in time, meaning Holepunch is thrown over by the attack of the disc. A chunk of HDPE flies away and Dantu attacks again rapidly, striking before Holepunch self-rights and flipping it over again, also buckling the self-righting hoop with that hit! However it€™s so thick that it will still self-right easily should Holepunch be flipped again.

Leo now drives on the attack of Dantu who reverses away with its superior speed, but finds itself trapped in the corner! The killsaws pop up and in a smattering of sparks Dantu is tossed onto its side, allowing Holepunch 2.0 to drive in and trap Dantu on the wedge, swiftly biting down with the crusher, which snags one of the gaps in the hardox frame of Dantu, being it very slightly and holding on tight, but not really managing to any serious damage due to the strength of Dantu€™s armour. However it has a weak grip and now Leo drives Dantu across the arena, slamming it into the pit release button!

The grip wasn€™t strong enough to survive the impact and Dantu escapes, albeit with a bend in the frame. Alex turns now as the disc spins up again and runs around Holepunch again, this time successfully knocking into the rear of the machine, leaving a hefty scar in the HDPE and flipping Holepunch up onto the point of the crusher! The crusher snaps shut, allowing Holepunch to self-right, but carving a big scratch in the arena floor. As the crusher resets Dantu strikes again though, this time flipping Holepunch flat on its back and ripping off the rear armour panel! Holepunch rolls right over and drives away, but Dantu attacks again and slams the exposed rear with the disc, throwing Holepunch over again and ripping out some cabling!!

Holepunch self-rights and tries to drive back at Dantu, but turns in a complete circle! That cabling must have been the connection to one of the drive motors and now Holepunch can only move in a circle! Dantu spins up the disc again and attacks one last time, throwing Holepunch over again as the defeated machine gives up on trying to get away as the crowd count it down and out of the match.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!
Holepunch is immobilised, meaning we€™re spared a close final this season as Dantu€™s far superior speed just meant Holepunch couldn€™t get hold of Alex€™s slippery axlebot often enough to take the win.

CEASE!

Holepunch 2.0 is punched; DANTU WINS MECHANICAL MAELSTROM SEASON 2.0!

I€™d like to thank everyone that entered this competition, and I hope to see you back next time!
You may not see Mechanical Maelstrom Season 3.0 for a while, maybe as late as 2011, but I have a fun spin-off in mind that will open very soon... Maybe even tonight!

Any complaints about the final battles, don€™t hesitate to say, I don€™t feel they€™re the best fights I€™ve ever written!

But for now at least...
Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeee!

[leorcc]

Re: Mechanical Maelstrom Season 2.0

Booooooo!!

Just kidding.

Great fight, no complaints from me. Well done to Alex and Dantu.

[samuel3764]

Re: Mechanical Maelstrom Season 2.0

Well done to Alex for winning, and an equally good job to Lewis for making such a wonderful tournament; I will definitely enter if you make Mechanical Maelstrom 3.0