Monsoon is a heavyweight robot hailing from the United Kingdom, which competed in Discovery Seasons 3 and 4 of the BattleBots reboot.
Team Monsoon were also accepted for the 2020 and 2021 seasons of BattleBots, but had to withdraw both times due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. The team have since confirmed their application for Discovery Season 7.[1]
It is a two-wheel drive, black and blue robot armed with a powerful vertical spinning weapon made from HARDOX 500 steel and spinning at upwards of 244mph.[2] For Discovery Season 3, Monsoon ran on a pair of NPC-T64 brushed motors and sported an asymmetric bar spinner, though more options were added as the bot's design evolved. The robot was uniquely designed in a way that its weapon module is designed to pivot so that it appears identical even if overturned, and its feeder forks at the front would remain on the floor. Monsoon impressed many in its debut season, reaching the quarter-finals of the competition before falling to eventual runner-up Minotaur. At the end of the season, Team Monsoon won the Founders Award for the 2018 season, presented by BattleBots co-founders Greg Munson and Trey Roski.
While Sam Griffin and Tim Rackley were absent from the team for Discovery Season 4, the latter joining forces with Jack Tweedy to compete with Ragnarök, Team Monsoon picked up several experienced builders to compensate. These included long-term competitor Rory Mangles, who previously paired up with Craig Danby and Predator in the previous season, as well as Alasdair Sutherland. The robot itself had largely retained its look, but had a handful of upgrades to improve its strength and reliability. Notably, Monsoon now had the option of a brushless motor powering its weapon, and it sported a stronger chassis constrution which was also wider than before. Additional angles bent into the front armor, with the team stating this was a tactical change to prevent it being a catching point for spinners, as was the case versus Son of Whyachi in the season prior.[3] However, the bot showed up to filming weighing 260lbs (118kg), so had to make compromises and last minute adjustments to adhere to the weight limit. This included swapping the brushless motor for the weapon back out, increasing their spinup time to eight seconds.[4] As such, the team were only ever able to keep the bot in weight Monsoon won just one battle in the Fight Night rounds, losing three times before winning a Tag Team battle which saw Tim Rackley and Tom Brewster reunited once more.
- "Buffed up chassis, brushless drive, tweaked armour shape. Mostly a case of “if it ain’t broke”, however almost everything broke."
- — Tom Brewster describes changes to Monsoon between the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

Monsoon's 2020 season reveal to Facebook Supporters.
Monsoon was accepted and completely rebuilt ahead of Discovery Season 5. The robot itself was now considerably smaller and each drive pods now articulated independently. Other improvements included but were not limited to fully brushless drive and weapon systems, a revised weapon mount, numerous armor configurations to suit horizontal spinners, and longer forks added the top and bottom to get underneath opponents more easily. Monsoon now has three main weapon options: the traditional 18kg bar spinner, a newly-cut 17kg bar and a 20kg disc. However, due to travel restrictions imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Monsoon had no choice but to withdraw their application despite being accepted in the initial roster for the 2020 season.

The size difference illustrated between the 2019 build of Monsoon (left) and the most recent version.

Monsoon in 2021.
Monsoon was accepted for Discovery Season 6 of Battlebots, however could not compete due to their NIE VISAs being turned down by the state department. Although the team's crate arrived in Las Vegas without trouble, the team were unable to travel and were forced to withdraw from the competition. This was an issue which affected all UK teams ahead of filming for the 2021 season.[5] Despite back-to-back seasons of being unable to attend, Team Monsoon confirmed they had applied for Discovery Season 7.
Robot History[]
Discovery Season 3[] |
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Monsoon vs. Red Devil ![]() Monsoon tosses Red Devil into the air in the opening seconds. ![]() Monsoon destroys Red Devil's saw. ![]() Both weaponless robots pushing each other in the second half of the match. |
Monsoon vs. Petunia Monsoon now found itself up against Petunia, whom was fresh off a win against Rotator.![]() Monsoon strikes Petunia and ruptures its hydraulics. ![]() Monsoon sends Petunia packing. ![]() Petunia burning while Monsoon is no longer moving. |
Monsoon vs. Son of Whyachi Monsoon's next opponent was Son of Whyachi, a former BattleBots champion of the Comedy Central era. Monsoon started strongly as they weren't taking any major damage from their opponent, however, that quickly changed as Monsoon took a hit from Son of Whyachi that flipped it over.![]() The first contact between the two bots. ![]() SOW rips off Monsoon's left-side armor panel. ![]() Monsoon smoking and immobile. |
Monsoon vs. Axe Backwards Monsoon hits Axe Backwards. Monsoon's next opponent was Axe Backwards, which was still striving for a win thus far. This match was off to an aggressive start as Monsoon delivered two big hits on Axe Backwards' wheels. Axe Backwards had lost all driving ability but its drum was still working. Axe Backwards was counted out and Monsoon showed no interest in taking a hit to the still-spinning drum of its opponent and took the win by KO. The selection committee determined that Monsoon did enough to make the Top 16 as No.12 seed. |
Monsoon vs. SawBlaze ![]() SawBlaze's wheel snaps off. ![]() Monsoon lands a powerful blow to SawBlaze's primary weapon. ![]() An immobilised SawBlaze, with one of its' dragon heads removed. |
Monsoon vs. Minotaur ![]() Monsoon is overwhelmed in the opening seconds. |
Discovery Season 4[] |
Monsoon vs. Ragnarök ![]() Monsoon and Ragnarök collide in the opening seconds. Monsoon returned for Discovery Season 4 and found themselves against former team member Tim Rackley, who had paired with Jack Tweedy and Ragnarök. In response, the team replaced Monsoon's 6mm front armor with 3mm, which gave them the spare weight to add HARDOX plates beneath the plastic top and bottom armor to protect their vital electronics from Ragnarök's weaponry. As the match began, Monsoon was able to pop Ragnarök into the air, but it landed upright after missing their first swing. Monsoon went in with another hit and smoke began to pour out of Ragnarök, now overturned and suffering from Monsoon's assault. They made an attempt to right their opponent to continue the fight, but Ragnarök was counted out, giving Monsoon its first win of the 2019 season. |
Monsoon vs. HyperShock ![]() Sparks fly as Monsoon and HyperShock's weapons come together. Next for Monsoon was veteran Will Bales and HyperShock. Team Monsoon opted to go with thicker front armor ahead of the fight to protect themselves from HyperShock's own vertical spinner. They faced early pressure from HyperShock as they got under Monsoon and started to tear away at their underbelly. Monsoon was released, but its weapon was now ineffective due to the weapon mount bolts coming loose and leaving the mount to dangle helplessly. This was due to the team using circlips instead of nuts to hold the weapon bulkheads in place, which came loose early in the battle. After the next attack from HyperShock, Monsoon had lost its weapon, the mounting for it, as well as the belt driving it. Monsoon was counted out, giving HyperShock the win by KO. Following this, Team Monsoon were helped by The Chaos Corps in order to prepare for their next matchup. |
Monsoon vs. Valkyrie ![]() Monsoon and Valkyrie do battle. Monsoon next found itself against Valkyrie, adding extra titanium to its weapon mount to reinforce it following damage caused by HyperShock. Monsoon did rather well to start as they met with Valkyrie's weapon but withstood the early impacts. However, first big hit between the two spinners disabled Monsoon's primary weapon, leaving them to try and push their opponent around for the second fight in a row. Monsoon found itself thrown across the arena by Valkyrie, as it was able to remain aggressive for the bulk of the fight. Monsoon remained mobile but suffered more damage as it kept fighting Valkyrie. They lost their makeshift front wedge and eventually, their weapon system came loose once again. This resulted in Monsoon lifting its underside up, allowing Valkyrie to grind its weapon mount, armor and some of its left tire. Still, Monsoon pressed on to a judges' decision, but they ruled unanimously for Valkyrie.
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Monsoon vs. Bite Force ![]() The initial collision that kicked Monsoon onto its back. |
Monsoon & Ragnarök vs. Chronos & MadCatter ![]() Tom Brewster and Tim Rackley reunited. ![]() Monsoon inflicts damage to Chronos as both parts of MadCatter try to attack. ![]() Team Monsoon in 2019 with their post-season award.
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Results[]
MONSOON - RESULTS | ||
Discovery Season 3 | ||
Fight Nights 3-1 | ||
Fight Night | vs. Red Devil | Won (Split JD) |
Fight Night | vs. Petunia | Won (KO) |
Fight Night | vs. Son of Whyachi | Lost (KO) |
Fight Night | vs. Axe Backwards | Won (KO) |
Top 16 12th seed | ||
Round of 16 | vs. SawBlaze (5) | Won (JD) |
Rund of 8 | vs. Minotaur (4) | Lost (KO) |
Discovery Season 4 | ||
Fight Nights 1-3 | ||
Fight Night | vs. Ragnarök | Won (KO) |
Fight Night | vs. HyperShock | Lost (KO) |
Fight Night | vs. Valkyrie | Lost (JD) |
Fight Night | vs. Bite Force | Lost (KO) |
Exhibition Matches | ||
Team Match (with Ragnarök) | vs. Chronos & MadCatter | Won (JD) |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 6
- Losses: 5
Competition | Wins | Losses |
---|---|---|
Discovery Season 3 |
Red Devil (Undercard Match) Petunia (Undercard Match) Axe Backwards (Undercard Match) |
Son of Whyachi (Undercard Match) |
Discovery Season 4 |
Ragnarök (Undercard Match) |
HyperShock (Undercard Match) Valkyrie (Undercard Match) Bite Force (Undercard Match) |
Faruq Tauheed Introductions[]
"This high-pressure fighter is gonna make it rain. The forecast, rowdy with a 100% chance... of pain. Seek shelter, it's MONSOON!"
"Coming across the pond like James Bond, ready to send you to double-o-heaven, and leave you shaken, not stirred, it's MONSOON"
"Hi. It's Faruq, your friendly weatherman here, and I'd just like to say... GET INSIDE YOUR DAMN HOUSE!!! HERE COMES A MONSOON!!!"
"It's a British invasion. I am the walrus. I am the A-man and this is the robot... MONSOON!"
"This bot will leave you washed up. Prepare to cower under its tidal wave of power. It's MONSOON!"
"ARR! A storm's a brewin' so batten down the hatches. This bot's forecast is to destroy all of its matches. It's the stormin' deformin' - I don't think it's Mormon - MONSOON!"
"If this bot was a lip-syncing pop duo, he'd be Milli Vakilli. When you feel his pain, blame it on the rain. Girl you know you're through, ooh ooh ooh. It's MONSOON!"
"Pain pain, go away. Kill again some other day. If you precipitate, then you'll seal your fate. Prepare to get soaked 'til you croak, by MONSOON!"
"From the UK, it smacks your bot with its spinner and totally wrecks it, and creates a disaster that's way worse than Brexit. What, too soon? It still don't care, it's MONSOON!"
"If this bot were a nanny, it would be Mary Choppins because it's Super-deadly-crash-and-twist-and-crush-you-alidocious. It's MONSOON!"
"It's the perfect storm. It brings the thunder, boom boom boom. It's MONSOON!"
See Also[]
- Team Monsoon's website
- Team Monsoon on Instagram
- Team Monsoon on Facebook
- Tauron (Robot Wars)
- Concussion (Robot Wars)
- The Alien (Robot Wars)
- Nuts (Robot Wars)
- Drizzle (Bugglebots)
Trivia[]
- Monsoon was one of just four robots of the 2018 season's Top 16 to not have any of its fights featured as a Main Event. The others were Son of Whyachi, Rotator, and WAR Hawk.
- In his build log, Tom Brewster confirmed Monsoon is essentially the design that would have fought as Tauron Mk. III if Robot Wars had been renewed for another series.
- During BattleBots Resurrection, it was revealed Team Monsoon were loaned a motor from Team HyperShock during Discovery Season 3. When offering to pay for it, the HyperShock team agreed they could have it for free.
References[]
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/ul66gk/comment/i7u2vl7/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
- ↑ http://teammonsoon.co.uk/monsoon1_about.html
- ↑ http://teammonsoon.co.uk/monsoon2_about.html
- ↑ Public messages in the Out of the Arena Discord server from Tom Brewster and Jack Tweedy
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/MonsoonRobot/posts/1453065078406119
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/MonsoonBattlebot/posts/610209999358302
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/MonsoonBattlebot/posts/629755347403767
- ↑ https://youtu.be/GfbW-_TfVss
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