It is a two-wheel drive robot armed with a vertical spinner at the front, and feeder forks either side of the primary weapon. CatKong features a notably wide spinning disk, reminiscent of the 'drumette' term coined by Team Malice. CatKong competed in a unique 2v1 battle alongside Ray Billings' middleweight, Mortician. Both teamed up against a heavyweight opponent in DOOM across the weekend of August 18-19, 2023. The middleweight team were beaten twice by DOOM, however, first by judges' decision and then by knockout.
The original version of CatKong competed in the 2017 edition of RoboGames, where it won its debut battle against MANDiii. Despite this, Team Bad Kitty were forced to forfeit and fell into the loser's bracket as a result. From there, CatKong won five consecutive fights to advance to the loser's bracket final, but it ultimately lost at this stage to NIGHTHAWK.
After missing out on RoboGames 2018, CatKong returned for the event's comeback in 2023. It fought in a considerably smaller middleweight division, winning two fights en route to the winner's bracket final. It ultimately lost to Copyright Infringement and finished runner-up as a result.
CatKong being worked on in August 2023.
CatKong during RoboGames 2023.
CatKong fighting MANDiii during RoboGames 2017.
Robot History[]
BattleBots Proving Ground[]
CatKong & Mortician vs. DOOM (8/19/2023)
The promotional image used ahead of the fight.
CatKong was scheduled to be competing in BattleBots Proving Ground in a 2v1 battle against heavyweight DOOM. Driven by Ralph Hanson in the absence of Calvin Iba, it was partnered by a fellow middleweight in Mortician.
CatKong and Mortician take turns attacking DOOM.
CatKong immediately charged at DOOM while its teammate held back to spin up. DOOM struck CatKong in retaliation and flipped it over. However, it was able to self-right against the arena wall and then struck the front of DOOM, popping its heavyweight opponent into the air. Looking to capitalize, Mortician attacked with its bar spinner but was promptly deflected away. CatKong struck again and almost toppled DOOM before Alejandro Pina's bot landed right side up.
"It seems like they got a fight plan here and it's working pretty well here!"
— Bil Dwyer credits the tactics of CatKong and Mortician
CatKong tees DOOM up for Mortician.
Both middleweights then attacked each flank of DOOM simultaneously, but the sloped armor of DOOM held strong. CatKong chipped away at its side again before Mortician struck its front and threatened to hit its weapon mechanism as the horizontal spinner clambered up DOOM.
Just over a minute into the fight, it appeared CatKong's vertical spinner was no longer moving. It instead slid its front forks underneath DOOM's flank and pushed, trying to tee it up for a Mortician hit. However, Ray Billings' middleweight could only land glancing shots to DOOM, whose armor deflected Mortician away. In the chaos, Mortician accidentally struck the side of CatKong, much to the amusement of commentators Bil Dwyer and Steve Judkins.
"Hey... I think he hit his buddy, then."
— Steve Judkins as the fight enters the final minute
DOOM removes a wheel from Mortician.
Mortician then tried to attack, but suffered a direct hit from DOOM's hammer saw and lost its left side tire. A weapon belt was also now strewn across the BattleBox floor. Though its weapon was still a threat, Mortician's mobility was now seriously impaired and it could only edge its way towards DOOM. CatKong was shoving from the other side, looking to ram it into the blade of Mortician, but this proved ineffective.
DOOM attacks CatKong late on.
In the closing moments, DOOM led the weaponless CatKong into the wall and near the screws, slamming it into the wall as the feline-themed bot was reduced to twitching in place.
Post-fight damage to CatKong.
DOOM went after Mortician in the final ten seconds, but was unable to land a final blow against its middleweight opponents. With neither middleweight able to drive properly, DOOM took the win by crowd vote.
CatKong & Mortician vs. DOOM (8/20/2023)
CatKong and Mortician fought DOOM for a second time during the weekend.
CatKong misses its box rush.
This time, CatKong was quick out of the starting square, but crashed into the screws and flipped over. It played no further part in the fight, leaving Mortician to fight alone.
Steve Judkins: "Oh, he's done himself in!"
Bil Dwyer: "OH NO!!"
Steve Judkins: "That's a bit early..."
Bil Dwyer: "Oh no!"
Steve Judkins: "He's run himself straight into the wall, there!"
— Steve Judkins and Bil Dwyer react as CatKong immobilizes itself immediately
Mortician strikes DOOM's armor.
Mortician and DOOM tussled in the middle of the BattleBox, with the middleweight's horizontal spinner grazing the armor of DOOM, whose hammer saw swung over but only made slight contact. DOOM rammed into CatKong but was intercepted by Mortician, whose blade struck Alejandro Pina's robot and separated CatKong from the wall. However, the vertical spinner was still beached on its side with its weapon unable to right it.
Both remaining robots got their spinners up to speed, though DOOM kept its arm raised to allow it to feed its sloped armor into the blade of Mortician. CatKong was nudged again and almost returned to its wheels, but the screws instead stripped it of a fork before swallowing the middleweight.
Mortician attacks a distracted DOOM, but suffers damage to its wheel.
While DOOM's attention was with the immobile CatKong, Mortician looked to take advantage and land a big hit on its opponent, but mistimed its attack. The right-side wheel was driven into the path of DOOM's blade, ripping a chunk out of the tire.
"Could the little fella cause an upset here? Woah, ho ho, sparks are definitely flying. That armor of DOOM taking real punishment."
— Steve Judkins praising the power of Mortician's weapon
Mortician was still able to drive, albeit with a slight hobble, and continued to attack on behalf of its fallen teammate.
"This is like a sumo wrestler versus an eighth grader... and the eighth grader's hangin' in there!"
— Bil Dwyer
DOOM immobilizes Mortician.
DOOM again clipped the damaged tire of Mortician, which peeled away completely as the middleweight reversed from danger. With Mortician down a wheel, it could only arc around the arena, but still managed to keep its weapon pointed at DOOM. With the next attack, however, DOOM's blade tore away Mortician's remaining tire.
A count began on the middleweight team and DOOM again took the win, this time by knockout.
