Leading up to the world championship, I was looking to make some radical Pinevictus changes. As with all things, testing is critical. One thing that I love about combat robotics is that testing can be done by going to events. Fighting the robot ultimately makes it better, and the cycle repeats because it is a lot of fun. I searched robotcombatevents for a beetleweight tournament near me, and came upon SWORD. I had been to the 2024 SWORD event, and was excited that I would get an opportunity to run the brand new robot.
SWORD: November 22
NHRL: December 6
There was not much time in between events if something were to go wrong. But I would rather find out at SWORD and give myself a chance to fix it.
My parts arrived ten days before the event. This ended up being enough time to only assemble one copy of the robot. As I worked through the wiring and electronics packaging, I spent more time trying to make sure that it would be perfect. I also took this time to organize my parts thoroughly. I did not want to lose because I couldn’t find something in the pits.
With a single copy and my spare parts, I set off for the event. 3 hours later, I was ready to get setup at my pit table and a long day of fights ahead.
Given the lack of hosting experience by the new club that was managing the event, it did not end up being as much of a rush as others. In fact, my first fight was not until after the lunch break! I wasn’t complaining however, as that time was enough for me to build a second copy while waiting in the pits. Now I was really ready to take on the day.
These fights are all on my Youtube channel BTW.
Fight 1: Harbinger of Darkness
My first fight was against an SSP kit. I have had some good luck in the past fighting this style of robot, and I was happy to have a non-kinetic first matchup to build up some confidence. It went pretty well as I introduced Harbinger of Darkness to the roof a couple of times. After ripping off a fork and getting them tipped against the wall, I had my first win via tap out.
Fight 2: Redshift
Ah. A rematch with fellow Leatherback Mitchell and his wide vertical spinner. I had an unfortunate loss earlier in the year to Redshift, which was a pretty crushing defeat. It is especially crushing because Mitchell had been reminding me of that loss ever since. This time, I was not playing any games. I boxed rushed the moment that the announcer began the fight, and did not let up. A numerous amount of roof shots and brutal combos later, and Redshift was laying dead in the corner. I’ll gladly take back my winning ways against Mitchell and his robot. Too easy. Heh.
Fight 3: Equinox
My third match was against Equinox, another Leatherbacks builder. Because I had a bye in the first round, this was also the winners final. I had seen Owen beat Lars and Impakt earlier in the year, and I was cautious of the machine that he had created. This match ended up being pretty short. I was able to get to his side and flip over the robot. With a few glancing blows, he fell into the pit. I would have liked to see the fight go on longer, but there wasn’t anything that I could do.
Grand Final: Deep Stone Lullaby
Deep Stone Lullaby is another scary beater bar robot. I was looking forwards to this match, but the builder decided to forfeit. Pinevictus wins the event with a 3-0 record.
I was also given the “Best Looking” robot award! It came in the form of a 3d printed skull. I also was swarmed by all of my fans.
Takeaways
Although a short event, I was glad to have made the trip. There were no issues with the robot, and I was very pleased with the performance. I now have a good confidence boost going into NHRL, and was ready to take on the world (foreshadowing).