- "The world's first daily robot-combat show, exclusive to Las Vegas and containing all the drama, action and destruction of the hit TV series. It's an intense, fast-moving fight fest featuring famous robots that have delighted millions of fans all over the world, including bots like Witch Doctor, Kraken, Mammoth, HyperShock, Bronco, Whiplash and more, as well as several new robots being specially created for this live experience. Some shows will even feature fights from rookie teams eager to try out for the next BattleBots World Championships, and existing BattleBots stars coming to test out their new robots ahead of the next TV taping."
- — The show's description
BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon is the official name given to the BattleBots live show which began on February 3, 2023, in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the first event of its kind, offering opportunities for teams to compete outside of a traditional televised season as part of the Proving Ground segment during select weekend shows.
The shows take place in front of a live audience, hosted by former Comedy Central BattleBots presenter Bil Dwyer and Las Vegas-based singer and voice teacher Steve Judkins. Tickets for the first four months' worth of shows went on sale on November 14, 2022, covering shows from February 3 until May 28. With the confirmation that World Championship VIII would not begin filming until 2024, shows during the Las Vegas F1 race in November 2023 were made available to purchase.
BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon takes place at Caesars Entertainment Studios, which has been the permanent home for BattleBots since World Championship VI. Show occur four days a week across an unconfirmed stint of time according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal article, which compares the concept to the world-renowned Cirque du Soleil shows. However, co-creators Greg Munson and Trey Roski state the 80-minute-long shows are not staged or scripted.
- "We know this live show will be an enormous hit. It will feature the most famous fighting robots on the planet, and they'll be fighting to the death every night... It's going to be the most violent show in Las Vegas where nobody ever gets hurt. The robot apocalypse starts soon!"
- — Trey Roski in a piece with the Las Vegas Review-Journal[1]
Format[]
Specially-designed builds of fan favorites HyperShock, Witch Doctor, Mammoth, Malice, Whiplash and the former design of Kraken are present for BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon, known as ShowBots. These will not, however, be controlled by their typical BattleBots teams due to logistical restraints, with a variety of actors and actresses hired in their place.[2] These actors and actresses were trained by BattleBots veterans, and swap teams between shows. These actors dress in costumes to match their robots and perform interviews, while experienced drivers operate the robots. They are joined by additional actors in either red or blue jumpsuits (befitting the square they fight out of) to make the teams appear larger.
Despite this, main season team captains were present for first few shows and various main season team members have since made appearances to drive different ShowBots. Various BattleBots competitors have also been on display for fans in attendance, including but not limited to JackPot, Triton, Tombstone, Skorpios, the main season version of Nightmare and an older Ginsu build. Not all of these are permanent displays, however.
Seating Options[]
The show currently offers four tiers for spectators:
Standard[]
Standard seating is the cheapest option and offers a view from the sides of the BattleBox, as well as access to the merchandise store as well as on-site snacks and drinks.
Premium[]
Premium seating allows for a better, more central view of the action, and all of the above.
VIP[]
The VIP seating offers the center-most seats, but specifically the front rows to get up close to the action. VIP audience members also get discounted merchandise, snacks and drinks, as well as early entry and an exclusive lanyard.
Platinum Club[]
The most expensive option, the platinum club offers the above, but with a dedicated viewing area in an exclusive club area with enhanced sound. This includes personal table service and complimentary snacks. Platinum Club members also get a unique backstage tour of the pit area where they can see the ShowBots after their fights.
The backstage tour can be purchased separately with any other seating tier.
Co-Pilot Pass[]
In mid-2024, BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon began allowing for audience members to join teams on-stage and control arena hazards such as the pulverizers during the show.
Team Members[]
- Patrick Bean[3]
- T.J. Blocker[3]
- Bella Hue[3]
- Cheryl Daro[3]
- Deonte Finch[3]
- Eve Gray[3]
- Ashlee Grubbs[3]
- Jeremy Ines[3]
- Ashleigh Johnson[3]
- Alexander Kuehn[3]
- Tom Kunzman[3]
- Michaeljoe Lombardo[3]
- Adriane McLean[3]
- Anthony Meyer[3]
- Tippy Morgan[3]
- Tyler Shackerford[3]
- Jason Snow[3]
- Sire Prince
- Zach "Kaos Kaz" Church
- Trey Roski
- Jeff Waters
- David Rush
Referees[]
Sean Bryan served as referee throughout the first year of shows, notably refereeing the first ever Proving Ground fights. However, he left the crew in December 2023.
Engineering Team[]
The engineering team are in charge of building, testing, fixing, and improving ShowBots.
- Alex Watson
- Arthur Wang
- Brayan Duran
- Brendan Mulcahy
- Elijah Neal
- Jimmy Doubek
- Lina Esteves
- Rob Bahr
- Zach "Kaos Kaz" Church
- "We can't wait to see what new ideas will be brought to the BattleBox. Every year the robots get more innovative and dangerous. Now Vegas audiences will get a chance to see some of them even before we feature them on TV."
- — Executive Producer Tom Gutteridge on the live show
In a January 2023 Green Square Talks BattleBots podcast episode with Greg Munson, he revealed a number of classic era fan favorites would join Nightmare, which itself was revealed in a World Championship VII newsletter email.[4] These included Tazbot, OverKill, Ginsu, and a new robot from Zack Bieber called Diablo. As well as fan favorites, the show offers the chance for rookie teams and robots to debut in front of a live audience, without the financial and logistical commitment of building for a televised BattleBots season.
On January 10, 2023, a 30 second announcement video was uploaded to YouTube and linked via the BattleBots website, advertising the availability of tickets for the first wave of shows.[5]
Schedule[]
- "Although this is a show designed for a great Las Vegas theater experience, this is not a pre-planned, rehearsed event. All the fights will be real, and no one, not even the drivers, will know what's going to happen each night. It will be full of shocks, surprises and carnage."
- — Greg Munson in an article from FOX5 Vegas[6]
The current live show schedule runs from Thursday to Sunday every week, with 6pm shows Thursday through Saturday, an additional 3pm show Saturday afternoon, and a noon show on Sunday.[7] Rather than hiring judges, fights which were not determined by knockout would instead go to a crowd vote, similar to the 2022 re:MARS all:STARS event. Each show runs for 80 minutes and contains a mix of fights and exhibitions. In the very first show on February 3, 2023, there were four fights as well as a Nightmare exhibition where it destroyed a slot machine.[8] Although there is no tournament format, the structure of each Destruct-A-Thon show allows for fans to see many of the ShowBots built for the event.
Select shows have also featured special guest appearances. For example, members of Team Whyachi and Hydra showed up to fight OverKill, and Rick Russ' jet-powered horizontal spinner named Jet Lag also made appearances beginning in February. In summer 2023, Bronco made its return to the BattleBox, fighting OverKill as part of the show. Bronco differs from other regular robots in the field, however, as it is not a ShowBot but instead the actual robot which competed most recently in World Championship IV and BattleBots: Bounty Hunters.
In June 2024, YouTube group AMP revealed they would guest star at the June 30 show.[9][10] The resulting video was uploaded on July 12 and hit #29 on the YouTube Trending page.[11]
Hiatus[]
An August 2024 article by Casino.org publicized plans for the Destruct-A-Thon live show to go into hiatus, which included a leaked memo from Trey Roski to the show's employees.[12] This article also stated that the "final" live show would be on August 10, 2024. However, the article contained multiple other accounts of misinformation which led to skepticism over its legitimacy, notably stating the televised show's previous network was Comedy Central rather than ABC. The memo was later confirmed to be true by Destruct-A-Thon crew members and the Skorpios team, though the idea that the live show would come to an end was false. In a September 2024 episode of the Behind the Bots podcast, Greg Munson stated that this ill-informed article directly cost them a potential sponsor for BattleBots FaceOffs.[13]
On August 18, 2024, a Las Vegas Review-Journal article revealed plans for a retooling of the Destruct-A-Thon format, in preparation for the show's resumption from September 6 the same year. No details on the proposed format were announced, though Trey Roski promised that the next iteration of the show would offer 'more intense battles, drama, and increased jeopardy'. While again confirming the legitimacy of the memo leaked by Casino.org, Roski clarified that the memo was not intended to signify a permanent closure. Additionally, he cited the need to refurbish the ShowBot fleet as a factor in Destruct-A-Thon going on hiatus.[14] Much of the information regarding the updated show format, return date and integration of Faceoffs mini-tournaments was reiterated in an official press release, shared by BattleBots social media feeds the following day.[15]
It was later announced that shows with a "revamped" format would resume from September 6, 2024. Ahead of this date, the arena was also repainted.
Gallery[]
BattleBots Proving Ground[]
- "It's going to be the proving ground for people who want to build a bot… if you're awesome, you'll probably get on the show."
- — Greg Munson on Episode 52 of the Outside of the Box podcast[16]
BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon also serves to host fights between brand new robots, as well as robots from teams looking to gain experience of fighting inside the BattleBox.
Main Article: BattleBots Proving Ground
List of ShowBots[]
| Robot | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| HyperShock |  |
Witch Doctor |  |
| Kraken |  |
Tazbot |  |
| Malice |  |
Chopper |  |
| Mammoth |  |
Whiplash |  |
| Diablo |  |
OverKill | 
|
| Ginsu |  |
Nightmare |  |
See Also[]
Trivia[]
- BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon shares its name with a promotional piece by Comedy Central where the entirety of Season 2.0 was aired back-to-back in a marathon.[18]
- In a March 2023 livestream with Team Whyachi, Ray Billings revealed he was approached by Trey Roski regarding making Tombstone ShowBots. However, due to recovering from his hand injury at the time, he had to decline.[19]
- In the instance of a Proving Ground competitor being unable to fight, OverKill has been drafted in to fight numerous times in their place, including against DOOM, Slammo!, Banshee and Hellfire.
- Banshee itself then filled in for the ill-fated Traves T. ahead of its fights against Maximum Paralysis.
- Witch Doctor was subbed in against Fireball after The Twins suffered too much damage.
- BattleBots held their 100th Destruct-A-Thon show on July 29, 2023.
- Their 300th show was held in July 2024.
- BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon won bronze for Best New Show in the Best of Las Vegas 2023 awards.
- In May 2024, former NFL player Darin Jordan attended a Destruct-A-Thon show.[20]
References[]
- ↑ https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/entertainment-columns/kats/battlebots-plan-a-smash-hit-in-las-vegas-2666867/
- ↑ https://www.teamwitchdoctor.com/post/battlebots-destruct-a-thon
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/entertainment-columns/kats/battlebots-on-a-collision-course-as-new-las-vegas-show-2740733/
- ↑ Reddit post detailing newsletter sent by BattleBots ahead of the World Championship VII premiere
- ↑ BattleBots Destruct-A-Thon Tickets On Sale Now
- ↑ https://www.fox5vegas.com/2022/11/01/battlebots-announces-new-live-show-las-vegas-strip/
- ↑ https://www.ticketmaster.com/battlebots-las-vegas-tickets/artist/2929055
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/10t8j7e/destruct_a_thon_report/
- ↑ https://x.com/AMPexclusive/status/1806024647760044443
- ↑ https://x.com/BattleBots/status/1806028505635041730
- ↑ AMP BATTLE BOTS
- ↑ https://www.casino.org/vitalvegas/battlebots-destruct-a-thon-to-close-per-internal-memo/
- ↑ https://behindthebots.podbean.com/e/battlebots-fall-faceoffs-preview-with-greg-munson/
- ↑ https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/entertainment-columns/kats/time-to-evolve-battlebots-hits-rough-patch-in-las-vegas-3142838/
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/battlebots/posts/pfbid07CiuS41vbumWVLLBwEUXXU1kgjbap4aVSVi3RgEBRneXSuWQCZ3UAsruiT2j8eaGl
- ↑ Battlebots Co-Creator Greg Munson on Outside of the Box (Ep. 52)
- ↑ https://battlebots.com/tickets/
- ↑ Comedy Central Battlebots Season 2.0 Destructathon Promo (HD 60 FPS)
- ↑ Whyachi Rumble #1 aka THE LOST AMA? #BattleBots #Robots Hydra / Fusion
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/C7dGAM5NQxk/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
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