The last MRCA qualifier is over, and the Finals are coming up fast. With 12 of the top 20 ranked bots on Robot Combat Events in attendance, this event is guaranteed to be the most intense antweight competition of the year. Let's check out who's competing!
Seed 32 - Team Guac -n- Queso & Karen
Bot Type: Horizontal Spinner (midcutter)
While Karen may have only just snuck its way into the finals, it has had impressive and destructive showings at more than one event. With its very dangerous horizontal spinner, Karen looks to upset the bracket in her first fight against Mudskipper.
Seed 31 - Team Guac -n- Queso & Depressant Meds
Bot Type: Horizontal Spinner (overhead)
Team Guac's second qualifying bot slots in just above Karen, and while weapon durability has plagued this overhead spinner, it will take more than a middling performance to KO this durable contender.
Seed 30 - Team Last Place & Lasty
Bot Type: Lifter
Lasty has been competing for awhile now and with each revision becomes more durable and competitive. It started its life as a Viper lifter kit but no longer resembles its origins in any way. With its own home brewed spicy 16mm motor setup, keep in eye on this top bot.
Seed 29 - Sneaky Tiger Robotics & Aardvark
Bot Type: Wedge
Aardvark uses its 4 grippy wheels and many wedglets to control every match! While not the fastest or most dangerous, this bot is among the most durable at the competition, and will always be a contender.
Seed 28 - Team 42 Robotics & Mostly Harmless
Bot Type: Drum Spinner
Mostly Harmless has suffered weapon durability issues many times throughout the season. Nevertheless, his placement here just goes to show the durability of all the other parts that make up this strong robot.
Seed 27 - Dead Batteries Robotics & Painkiller
Bot Type: Horizontal Spinner (undercutter)
PainKiller is a well known kit bot with an extremely destructive horizontal spinner, but it's often chaotic enough to do more damage to itself than its opponent. This will definitely lead to some entertaining matches!
Seed 26 - Barcode Robotics & Pulse
Bot Type: Horizontal Spinner (midcutter)
Pulse only fought at one MRCA qualifier event this season: the final one in Iowa. It managed to do well enough here to sneak into the finals, where we'll see how it stacks up against some more developed horizontal spinners.
Seed 25 - TobyTopia & HoriVertzical
Bot Type: Horizontal/Vertical Spinner (midcutter)
Horivertzical might just be the most innovative build in all the MRCA. Switching from horizontal to vertical spinner with just the press of a button gives this bot the double threat it needs to keep opponents guessing at all times.
Seed 24 - Team Crackhead Energy & Unicorn Death Blade
Bot Type: Horizontal Spinner (undercutter)
A bot that had disappointing performances for much of the 2022 season only to become a very serious threat after a total overhaul. This rotator-esq robot is now a true contender. TPU cutter blades are sure to strike fear into the hearts of many builders given its popularity in the MRCA.
Seed 23 - Mistakes Were Made & Disappointment
Bot Type: Horizontal Spinner (midcutter)
Disappointment appears to have been anything but a disappointment this season with its many impressive performances and destructive fights. While generally less flashy than other horizontal spinners, this one has proven to be extremely durable.
Seed 22 - Team Cringe & The Pit
Bot Type: Horizontal Spinner (overhead)
Nobody would have guessed a Tupperware container with a weapon strapped to it would place this highly, but here we are! The pit struggles with drive, but its powerful weapon has yet to stop even in its lost fights.
Seed 21 - Team Kwin-alt & Bunnicula
Bot Type: Horizonal Spinner (midcutter)
The extremely unorthodox robot, Bunnincula, fights with what amounts to a horizontal drum inspired by the Battlebot Malice. This weapon has proven quite effective at shredding foam wheels and leaving its opponents high and dry.
Seed 20 - Team Kwin-alt & Thumper
Bot Type: Wedge
Team Kwin-alt's second placing robot, Thumper, is a strong wedge to prepare for. It's primed and ready for some upsets in this horizontal-spinner-heavy field of competitors.
Seed 19 - y0 Robotics & Super Space Turtle
Bot Type: Wedge
With 3 robots attending the finals, y0 Robotics has more representation than any other team. Although Super Space Turtle may be the lowest ranked of their bots, it's still a force to be reckoned with.
Seed 18 - Team Experimental Designs & Doomed Experiment
Bot Type: Wedge
Here's another bot that only needed one performance to seal the deal. Doomed Experiment enters the MRCA Finals following up a strong 5th place finish at IRFC.
Seed 17 - Team Mashup & Nosferatu
Bot Type: Vertical Spinner
Without a second driver for CHOPSHOP, all of Team Mashup's hopes rest on Nosferatu. Regardless of the pressure, its speedy brushless drive and oversized weapon should carry them far in the finals.
Seed 16 - Sneaky Tiger Robotics & Antmine
Bot Type: Wedge
Antmine is Sneaky Tiger's second entry into the finals. This father-daughter team is well known for their impeccable control and indestructible robots. They have consistent top-10 finishes. Can they push it just that little bit further for a trophy at the finals?
Seed 15 - Team TORG & Chreig Jarviszion
Bot Type: Vertical Spinner
With one of the more difficult names to pronounce, this brutal vertical spinner has consistently done well at Michigan Mashup. With a rumored brushless upgrade being implemented for the finals, this will be one to watch.
Seed 14 - Killa Bees Robotics & Rules of Acquisition
Bot Type: Drum Spinner
At one time, this small, hard hitting drum spinner was ranked at the very top of the MRCA charts. While it has dropped a few spots since then, it's still a strong contender and one of only a few bots that have taken wins off Mudskipper, the current no.1 ranked robot in MRCA.
Seed 13 - Dead Batteries Robotics & CookieCutter
Bot Type: Vertical Spinner
CookieCutter is an experiment in how far a Fingertech Viper kit can be taken. Apparently, it worked out! A 3rd place finish at WRC quickly locked this robot into the finals. Since then, CookieCutter has failed to relive that same glory at any other point in the MRCA season, but maybe revisiting the arena where it all happened will bring something back!
Seed 12 - Head Through Keyboard & External Screaming
Bot Type: Horizontal Spinner (undercutter)
After kicking the season off with a violent ESC fire, this robot bounced back with unfaltering performances at a non MRCA event, HORD, and then a MRCA qualifier, WCS, earning it a high ranking seed for the finals.
Seed 11- Team Hazardous Robotics & Bit Error
Bot Type: Vertical Spinner
If any MRCA robot had a legendary status, it's Bit Error. Known across the midwest for its CIRC run from 2016-2019, builders were unsure if it would be outpaced by the post-pandemic builds, or if it would live up to its previous glory. Spoiler alert: it crushed its competition after essentially no changes or competitions during the current era. With losses to only top competitors Atoma and Specture, Bit Error is a robot to watch.
Seed 10 - Kill More Robots & Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Bot Type: Dual Horizontal Spinner (midcutter)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (or KKBB for short) is one of only a handful of bots in the MRCA currently taking advantage of the added weight bonus for unique mobility systems. Its bristle drive system may be slow and difficult to maneuver, but this allows KKBB to have two massive and absolutely devastating weapons. Despite holding the fastest KO in MRCA history (as seen below), its builder still decided to give KKBB a ground up rebuild before the finals. Time will tell (like the hours before its first fight) if that strategy pays off or not!
Seed 9 - Team Striped Might & Big Bill
Bot Type: Wedge
Team Striped Might may have only attended one MRCA event this year, but they certainly made an impression at that event. Their intimidating control bots Flippin' the Bird and Big Bill took 1st and 3rd place respectively. Unfortunately, they're only allowed to bring one of these bots to the finals due to driver rules, so they chose Big Bill.
Seed 8 - y0 Robotics & Weird Flex
Bot Type: Wedge
Weird Flex is a control bot that has been making waves in the Midwest for a little while now. It gets its name from a body made entirely out of TPU. This gives it an impressive durability that lets it go toe to toe with some of the nastiest robots in the league.
Seed 7 - Rochester Robotics & Specture
Bot Type: Horizontal Spinner (midcutter)
This is a robot that is almost elegant in its simplicity. It managed a 4th place finish at WRC, its first ever competition. This was followed by even more impressive showings at MNM (2nd Place) and the non-MRCA event RFC (1st Place). Through all of these competitions, few changes or even repairs were made to Specture.
Seed 6 - GBT Robotics & Theseus
Bot Type: Horizontal Spinner (midcutter)
Going into the start of the season, Theseus was the most feared bot on the MRCA circuit and already a favorite to win the finals. This was clearly justified, because with a 2nd place finish at WRC, Theseus qualified for the finals at its first event. GBT Robotics then decided to give this bot a break for the rest of the season and play around with their flipper, Pirithous. It's time for Theseus to come out of retirement and show everyone who's boss.
Seed 5 - Team Imminent Disaster & Necessary Evil
Bot Type: Wedge
Here's a control bot with a long history of success. So much success in fact, that Team Imminent Disaster has started to sell it as a kit bot. With a 7th place finish at WCS and a 2nd place finish at MM, this is one control bot to keep your eye out for.
Seed 4 - Fluffy Robotics & Garchomp
Bot Type: Wedge
Remember how Necessary Evil is a kit bot that took 2nd place at MM? Well, the only bot that beat it was a Necessary Evil kit called Garchomp. Fluffy Robotics managed to outdrive the creator of his bot in a nail-biting finals match. They are in the same quadrant of the finals bracket, so we may get to see this matchup again.
Seed 3 - Team Already Broke & FL!P
Bot Type: Lifter
FL!P is another competitor that only made it to one MRCA event this year, but Team Already Broke didn't leave much room to argue about its credibility after an astounding performance. FL!P managed to win WCS undefeated, a competition with the largest arena in MRCA, no pit, no hazards, and one of the most stacked fields throughout the season. With considerably better circumstances for a control bot at the MRCA Finals, FL!P will be a competitor to watch.
Seed 2 - Bots 'n' Stuff & Atoma
Bot Type: Vertical Spinner
Atoma has competed in 4 events this year. It managed a top 5 finish in every one of them. The combination of an extremely damaging weapon, fantastic durability, and the ability to control every match make this an opponent that nobody wants to face.
Seed 1 - y0 Robotics & Mudskipper
Bot Type: Horizontal Spinner (undercutter)
Mudskipper might resemble a wooden bench more than a robot, but maybe that's the key to its success. Mudskipper broke the meta between its excessive use of TPU, unique shuffling mechanism utilizing no bearings, and extremely wide stance that nearly doubles the width of most opponents. Accompanied by low expectations, its debut fight against Rules of Acquisition resulted in a loss. Little did anyone know that Mudskipper was a single component away from being the WRC champion. By using an old weapon hub design, Mudskipper found its stride and managed to win the next 9 fights with just one judges decision. That insane win streak even included back to back KOs on Theseus to dethrone them as the most feared horizontal spinner in MRCA. With plenty of other dominant performances since then, namely at the non MRCA event, Bot Supremacy, there is no question as to why they're the number one seed in this tournament.
Well, that's it! Who do you think will come out on top? Make your predictions on the Challonge here. Then make sure to check out the event here on October 22nd to find out!