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"Select Destruct-A-Thon shows will include fights with robots trying to prove their worth to be on the BattleBots television show and next World Championship. We’re calling this BattleBots Proving Ground! Come watch as rookie bots battle to impress the Selection Committee; Established veterans try out new weapon systems, or bots on the bubble battle to stake their claim for a World Championship position. Don’t miss it!"
— Website description[1]

BattleBots Proving Ground, also known simply as Proving Ground or Proving Grounds, is the name given to a series of fights taking place at BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon shows.

Beginning in May 6, 2023, various live shows play host to fights between non-ShowBots looking to test their new designs against other non-ShowBots ahead of applying for a main competition. With no application process for the live shows, this allows teams an opportunity to impress outside of a regular season, typically fighting the same opponent twice over the course of a weekend's shows. Proving Ground fights typically take up the fourth fight in the Destruct-A-Thon schedule.

Teams use a portal known as the BattleBook to sign up for and schedule Proving Ground fights. Applications are monitored and, if deemed appropriate, accepted and cleared for teams to state their upcoming availability. Teams may then sign up for what become official Proving Ground battles listed on the BattleBots website. According to competitors, Proving Ground fights are expected to be filmed and uploaded to the BattleBots YouTube channel at an undetermined time.[2] As yet, they have only been made available to Facebook Supporters and select fights have been uploaded by team pages. The first Disarray vs. Pteradominator battle was uploaded for Facebook Supporters on June 6, 2023.

In a September 2023 episode of the Behind the Bots podcast, Greg Munson teased the idea of Proving Ground evolving to allow for knockout tournaments for the chance to qualify for future World Championships.[3] It was later confirmed that Proving Ground had a ranking system, with the top-ranked robots in the eyes of the Selection Committee qualifying for the next World Championship. It is not known exactly how many places will be allocated to Proving Ground competitors, though Craig Danby believed it to be six in a March 2024 episode of the Outside of the Box podcast.[4]

With the introduction of BattleBots FaceOffs, Proving Ground fights are on hold until further notice.

Proving Ground Schedule (2023)[]

Date Proving Ground Fights
May 6-7, 2023 Disarray vs. Pteradominator Disarray vs. Pteradominator
May 13-14, 2023 DOOM vs. Slammo! DOOM vs. Slammo!
DOOM vs. OverKill
May 27-28, 2023 Banshee vs. Snakebyte
Banshee vs. OverKill
Banshee vs. Snakebyte
Banshee vs. OverKill
June 3-4, 2023 Horizon vs. DOOM Horizon vs. DOOM
June 24-25, 2023 Manta vs. Atomic Pumpkin
Triton vs. Manta
Manta vs. Atomic Pumpkin
Triton vs. Manta
July 1-2, 2023 Maximum Paralysis vs. Traves T.
Maximum Paralysis vs. Banshee
Maximum Paralysis vs. Traves T.
Maximum Paralysis vs. Banshee
July 6, 2023 Gigabyte vs. DOOM
July 8, 2023 Gigabyte vs. Slammo!
OverKill vs. Slammo!
July 9, 2023 Gigabyte vs. JackPot
July 22-23, 2023 Mudhole Bullfrog vs. PinchPoint Mudhole Bullfrog vs. PinchPoint
August 5-6, 2023 Traves T. vs. Snakebyte
Traves T. vs. OverKill
Traves T. vs. Snakebyte
August 19-20, 2023 DOOM vs. Mortician & CatKong DOOM vs. Mortician & CatKong
August 26-27, 2023 Roundhouse vs. Orbitron Roundhouse vs. Orbitron
September 9-10, 2023 The Twins vs. Fireball The Twins vs. Fireball
Witch Doctor vs. Fireball
Bloodsport vs. JackPot Bloodsport vs. JackPot
Arachnophobia demonstration Arachnophobia demonstration
September 16-17, 2023 Disarray vs. Taco Tuesday Disarray vs. Taco Tuesday
September 23, 2023 Switchback vs. Swamp Thing
September 24, 2023 Switchback vs. Hellfire
Switchback vs. Swamp Thing
September 30-

October 1, 2023

Slammo! vs. Skorpios Slammo! vs. Skorpios
Arachnophobia demonstration Arachnophobia demonstration
October 14-15, 2023 Conquering Clown vs. Warthog Conquering Clown vs. Warthog
October 28-29, 2023 JackPot vs. Disarray JackPot vs. Disarray
December 9-10, 2023 Vertigo vs. Magnitude
HyperShock vs. Magnitude
Vertigo vs. Magnitude
HyperShock vs. Magnitude
December 16-17, 2023 Apex vs. Slammo! Apex vs. Slammo!

Proving Ground Schedule (2024)[]

Date Proving Ground Fights
January 27, 2024 Traves T. vs. Swamp Thing
January 28, 2024 Traves T. vs. Hellfire
OverKill vs. Hellfire
February 3-4, 2024 Traves T. vs. Apex Traves T. vs. Apex
Arachnophobia demonstration Arachnophobia demonstration
March 9-10, 2024 Disarray vs. Orbitron Disarray vs. Orbitron
March 16-17, 2024 Maximum Paralysis vs. Slammo! Maximum Paralysis vs. Slammo!
March 23-24, 2024 Magnitude vs. Taco Tuesday (draw) Magnitude vs. Taco Tuesday

All Star Week[]

In April 2024, a special week of fights took place, headlined by the return of Team RioBotz and Minotaur. The week saw the Brazilian team fight four times over the course of the week and win three of these, ending All Star Week with a 3-1 record and a Giant Washer award.

Dates Proving Ground Fights
April 11-12, 2024 Minotaur vs. Claw Viper Minotaur vs. Claw Viper
April 13, 2024 Claw Viper vs. Banshee Minotaur vs. Lucky
April 14, 2024 Lucky vs. Banshee Minotaur vs. Traves T.

BattleBots FaceOffs[]

In mid-2024, mini tournaments consisting of seven groups of four opponents were confirmed to take place towards the end of the year. These would follow a similar format to Proving Ground battles, but would introduce a round robin format rather than repeated battles across a weekend.

Main article: BattleBots FaceOffs

References[]

  1. https://battlebots.com/tickets/
  2. https://hypershock.tv/blogs/inside-the-bot/dat-faq
  3. Behind the Bots - BattleBots Champions II Preview with BattleBots Co-Creator Greg Munson!
  4. BattleBots Proving Grounds Discussion on Outside of the Box

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