The BattleBots World Championship VII tournament recently concluded, and a new reigning champ has been crowned. Unfortunately for Minotaur fans, team Minotaur came up just short of the Giant Nut trophy after suffering their first loss of the season. Despite losing in the quarterfinals battle against SawBlaze, Minotaur had an outstanding run this season. Minotaur faced ferocious competitors and fearlessly knocked out almost every bot in its path.
READ MORE: Take a Look Back at Minotaur’s Performance This Season
In a spectacular undefeated regular season, Minotaur not only overthrew the previous reigning champion in the very first battle of the season, but was also able to clinch the #1 seed in the tournament. It appeared as though nothing could get in Minotaur’s way on its path to destruction and total knockouts.
Proud of our @RioBotz team and their mighty robot Minotaur! Solid season! 👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/zvKrjJAqWA
— Perficient (@Perficient) May 26, 2023
The winning streak continued into the tournament when in the round of 32 Minotaur defeated the #32 seed, Fusion. The match was short, but intense, with Perficient’s Minotaur dominating in the fiery battle. Minotaur debuted a new two-toothed drum with a goal to cut directly into Fusion early on. Rising to the challenge, Minotaur collided with Fusion within the first few seconds of the match and made impact. After a final blow from Minotaur, Fusion could not handle the heat and went down in flames. In only a matter of seconds, Minotaur won the match and moved on to the next round.
In the sweet 16 round, what began as a tough battle for Minotaur resulted in a surprising twist of redemption. A spot in the quarterfinals was on the line, and Minotaur was up against #17 seed, Malice. Within the first 30 seconds, Malice took the upper hand through repeated blows to Minotaur. However, Minotaur remained persistent and swiftly recovered with a counterblow. Minotaur started to turn the battle around in its favor, displaying strategy, control, and aggression through expert moves by the daring driver behind Minotaur, Daniel Freitas. Minotaur dominated the second half of the match which lasted the full three minutes, turning it over to the judges’ hands. The judges unanimously proclaimed Minotaur as the winner of the match, cementing the raging bull as a top contender.
Minotaur skillfully powered through the competition and had audiences captivated by its every move. Team Minotaur has made it to the quarterfinals every year they have competed in BattleBots, and this year was no different by continuing to prove Minotaur can overpower and outlast other bots. Perficient colleagues voiced their support every week in our Team Minotaur Fans Microsoft Teams channel, especially after the nail-biting tournament battles and in the lead up to the finale.
“That was like a Muhammad Ali knockout punch. Go Minotaur.” Ashutosh Parekh, Lead Business Consultant
“I suspect that Team RioBotz was bolstered by my loud screaming and cheering through the TV. You’re welcome, everyone.” Randy Roosekrans, Senior Project Manager
“Any given match can go unexpectedly – one well-placed hit can put anyone out of commission. But from the season so far, it feels like Riptide is the only true competition. Minotaur has taken some hard hits but has looked awesome at every step. Let’s do this! Go RioBotz!” Brandon Luhring, Project Manager
It all led up to this point in the competition – the quarterfinals battle – and Minotaur and Team RioBotz had the full-fledged support of Perficient colleagues and fans around the world. The quarterfinals round was when Minotaur was knocked out of the tournament last year due to a controversial judges’ decision that left BattleBots fans divided.
This year, Minotaur fought for a vengeance against #8 seed, SawBlaze. Minotaur suffered hard hits from SawBlaze that resulted in Minotaur catching fire. Daniel Freitas pushed Minotaur and fought through the flames to begin making a comeback before the damage proved to be too much. Minotaur went out in a blaze of glory losing with only 10 seconds left. SawBlaze went on to win the whole competition, proving that only the world champion could take down the bull!
Minotaur is on fire! 💥 #Battlebots pic.twitter.com/nqb8S11xDz
— Discovery (@Discovery) May 26, 2023
Perficient colleagues commiserated with each other on the unfortunate ending to Minotaur’s epic season while also celebrating the amazing run and thrilling battles all season long.
“HOLY COW, what a fight! Sad they lost, but what a way to go! Great season, Minotaur!” Amanda Stickford, Billing Supervisor
“It was excellent, but fire was too much in the end.” Kevin Walters, Senior Technical Consultant
“What an incredible fight! Go Minotaur Go!” Patrick Bindy, Software Developer
“Couldn’t have scripted a better fight. One for the history books.” Cole D’Alfonso, Technical Consultant
“That was fun to watch.” Peter Conzelman, Lead Technical Consultant
— Perficient (@Perficient) May 26, 2023
Even though Minotaur couldn’t quite take it all the way to the Giant Nut trophy, this season was fraught with intense battles full of strategic moves, powerful hits, expert driving, and even the occasional fire. Perficient is proud to partner with a fierce competitor like Minotaur and the passionate team of people behind Minotaur, Team RioBotz. Thank you for an unforgettable season, and we can’t wait to see Minotaur win it all next year!
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