Perfect Phoenix

Perfect Phoenix
Participation Information
Reboot Seasons	World Championship V World Championship VII (Withdrew)
Other Events	BattleBots: Bounty Hunters BattleBots: Champions I
Team Information
Team	Team Doom Robotics
Team Members	Tyler Nguyen (Captain) Juli Johnson Teri Billings (WC V) Scottie Riddle (BB: Champions I) Ray Billings Justin Billings (BB: Champions I)
From	Herndon, VA
Associated Robots	Bite Force (Paul Ventimiglia) Tombstone, Malice (Ray Billings)
Robot Statistics
Weight	~230lbs (BB: Champions I, Round 1) 169lbs (BB: Champions I, Round 2) 206lbs (WC V)
Drive	2x Long Magmotors
Weapons	Horizontal bar spinner
Statistics correct as of its most recent appearance on the show, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

Perfect Phoenix is a heavyweight robot entered by Team Doom Robotics which competed in BattleBots World Championship V, as well as the side series BattleBots: Bounty Hunters and BattleBots: Champions I.

It is a four-wheel drive robot armed with an overhead bar spinner, which originally started life as 2009 BattleBots champion Brutality, built and run by Paul Ventimiglia. It was restored and refurbished with help from team captain Tyler Nguyen's step-father, Ray Billings of Tombstone fame. Perfect Phoenix differs from Brutality as it's fully painted black and lacks the clear Lexan cover to show off all of its internals, and has a large red blade, which can be swapped out for a shorter blue or red blade. The team consists of Tyler Nguyen and his mother Juli Johnson, as well as Teri Billings in its debut season and Scottie Riddle in World Championship VI. Although they mentored throughout, Ray and Justin Billings were officially involved in 2021. Tyler is one of the youngest captains and drivers in the sport's history, aged 11 as of Perfect Phoenix's debut season. Despite this, he has won gold medals, a silver medal, and a bronze in various competitions such as RoboGames and Bugglebots. Perfect Phoenix's name derives from that of a defense type Beyblade released by Hasbro.

Perfect Phoenix during World Championship V hero shots.

Perfect Phoenix was stated by Tyler Nguyen to have a long battery life, using half the battery life Tombstone uses when spinning up, as the weapon is less powerful and smaller. The frame of Perfect Phoenix was also reinforced with steel in order to stand up to modern impacts better. The weapon and drive system remained mostly unchanged from 2009, and the bot itself entered its debut season under Tyler's controls 44lbs underweight.

Despite a good showing from Perfect Phoenix in its debut year, earning wins over Extinguisher and ATOM#94, it was eliminated in the Round of 32 by eventual champions End Game.

Perfect Phoenix failed to secure a win in BattleBots: Bounty Hunters after being flipped over by Big Dill with no way to self-right.

"For next season, my plans are to make a reinforced, bigger, thicker frame, I'm gonna change my weapon motors out from d-packs to mag motors. The wedge will be changed from a mild steel to AR500, and the drive motors will be replaced with more powerful motors."

— Tyler Nguyen on his plans for the following season

Perfect Phoenix during World Championship VI hero shots.

Returning for filming of World Championship VI, Tyler Nguyen outlined the upgrades for Perfect Phoenix. These consist of, but are not limited to new weapon and drive motors, as well as more resilient armor across the bot, bringing Perfect Phoenix closer to the modern 250lb weight limit. The frame has also been reworked after being damaged irreparably after its 2020 season loss to eventual champions End Game. However, due to Tyler Nguyen's school commitments, Perfect Phoenix only fought in BattleBots: Champions I and convincingly defeated SubZero before losing out to the experienced Black Dragon.

In September 2022, Perfect Phoenix was revealed to have withdrawn from World Championship VII, as Ray Billings was unable to compete due to scheduling clashes with surgery for a hand injury sustained the previous year. This would also mean the withdrawal of Tombstone, which has otherwise been present since the start of the 2015 season.

With the frame of Perfect Phoenix still damaged from its previous outing, it is unknown whether Perfect Phoenix will return for future seasons.

Tyler Nguyen and Ray Billings working on Perfect Phoenix during BattleBots: Champions I.

Perfect Phoenix in the red square during BattleBots: Champions I.

Perfect Phoenix in the Test Box.

An inside look at Perfect Phoenix.

Brutality in 2019, before being rebuilt as Perfect Phoenix.

Perfect Phoenix as Brutality, circa 2009.

Robot History

World Championship V
Perfect Phoenix vs. Extinguisher Perfect Phoenix hits Extinguisher for the first and final time. Perfect Phoenix's first match was against the heavily-upgraded Extinguisher. At the start of the match, Extinguisher box-rushed into Perfect Phoenix, but Perfect Phoenix moved out in time, leaving Extinguisher to head hard into the screws. This impact was enough to turn Extinguisher nearly 180 degrees, but Extinguisher was not moving as their speed controllers were poorly designed, causing a short in the electronics. Extinguisher took one final hit and was counted out, giving Perfect Phoenix the win by a quick knockout.
Perfect Phoenix vs. Skorpios Perfect Phoenix strikes Skorpios. Perfect Phoenix is struck by Skorpios' spinning disc. Perfect Phoenix's blade gets high centred on the screws. Perfect Phoenix's second match was against Skorpios. Perfect Phoenix faced a box rush, but quickly got out of the way and tried to get its weapon up to speed. After a few hits by Perfect Phoenix, Perfect Phoenix was brought to the arena barrier, where its weapon motor began to emit smoke, disabling its weapon. The hits proved critical and was revealed to have cracked Perfect Phoenix's frame support and gearbox, also resulting in having to change broken speed controllers and motors. With little offense, Perfect Phoenix was taken to the screws, where it was attacked repeatedly until its weapon was perched on top of the screws, lifting its drive wheels off the arena floor. With no way to get off and the screws unable to reverse, Perfect Phoenix was counted out, giving Skorpios the win by KO.
Perfect Phoenix vs. ATOM#94 Perfect Phoenix gets kicked up into the air by ATOM#94. Both weapons collide. Perfect Phoenix was one of many bots 1-1 this year and was given a match against newcomer ATOM#94 from India. Perfect Phoenix was armed with a blue bar and started off poorly as they were sent straight up into the air on the first impact before landing upright. Perfect Phoenix then took a big hit that nearly flipped it over in the corner. Perfect Phoenix recovered and managed to damage ATOM#94's weapon discs. After two more hits, Perfect Phoenix's weapon motor began smoking, forcing Perfect Phoenix to use its wedge in a pushing match. This favored Perfect Phoenix as they were able to control ATOM#94 before their drive began smoking as time ran out. The judges awarded Perfect Phoenix a unanimous 3-0 decision.
Perfect Phoenix vs. End Game Perfect Phoenix is sent flying by End Game. Perfect Phoenix after being knocked over by End Game. Perfect Phoenix fought End Game in the Round of 32 of the main tournament. As a result, it was armed with its traditional red bar. A few sparks flew as both robots met each other head on, but neither one's weapons were making full contact as both bots' wedgelets were preventing them from doing so. Sparks flew as Perfect Phoenix's blade clipped End Game's right wedge armor. The tide turned as Perfect Phoenix was pushed back by End Game and sent flying directly towards Chris Rose and Kenny Florian. Perfect Phoenix took another shot which sent it flying into the rails, then immediately sent doubling over, and finally receiving a hit which flipped it over on top of the screws. This was revealed to have caused irreparable damage to Perfect Phoenix's frame. The screws reversed but Perfect Phoenix was no closer to being upright and had no way to right itself. Perfect Phoenix was counted out, giving End Game the win by KO and eliminating Perfect Phoenix from the tournament.
BattleBots: Bounty Hunters
Perfect Phoenix vs. Big Dill Perfect Phoenix gets flipped over by Big Dill. After being eliminated from the Top 32, Perfect Phoenix participated in the Son of Whyachi Bounty Hunters bracket, where it fought against newcomer Big Dill. For this fight, Perfect Phoenix equipped its shorter blue blade to try and spin up quicker and cause more damage to its opponent. As the match got underway, Perfect Phoenix charged at Big Dill, but it's wedge was defied by Big Dill's forks and it found itself high-centered on minibot Spicy Meatball. However, Big Dill made an attempt to flip Perfect Phoenix over, but it displayed impressive stability and remained upright. Perfect Phoenix was almost lifted again by Big Dill, but escaped and landed shots to Big Dill's front forks and rear. Perfect Phoenix continued to go head-on with Big Dill and try to find an angle to attack. It was lifted once more by Big Dill but still slipped free again, allowing it to charge in and strike Big Dill's forks. Five times the charm, Perfect Phoenix was lifted by Big Dill and finally flipped over onto it's back. Big Dill attempted to right Perfect Phoenix opponent to keep the fight going, but was unable to. Perfect Phoenix was counted out, giving Big Dill the win by KO.
BattleBots: Champions I
Perfect Phoenix vs. SubZero Perfect Phoenix takes on SubZero. Having been absent from the main 2021 season, Perfect Phoenix returned for the summer series BattleBots: Champions I. First up in its Sin City Slugfest bracket was SubZero. Perfect Phoenix spun up instantly as the fight began. SubZero charged towards its opponent to try and flip it over, but opted against firing its weapon. SubZero then took advantage of Perfect Phoenix being still and launched it, but Tyler Nguyen's bot fell upright and spun again. SubZero tried another flip, but this Perfect Phoenix's bar bounced across its face and removed one of the flipper panels. It again landed on all four wheels and escaped to the center of the BattleBox. SubZero gave chase, throwing itself head-first into the weapon, but damaging its own wheel in the process. The drone Spitfire attempted to spew fire over Perfect Phoenix as SubZero fired its weapon straight into the path of the spinning horizontal, suffering further damage. The leading edge of SubZero's flipper was now skewed and one of its front wedges came away on the next exchange. As Perfect Phoenix continued its assault, it tore the tire off SubZero, followed by peeling its entire side armor panel away with the hub still attached. Despite the damage mounting up, SubZero continued to attack, knowing that a single successful flip could end the match. The two made contact again and SubZero was tipped over on impact, but managed to right itself and landed on top of its opponent's spinning blade. Perfect Phoenix then began to smoke, which gave the SubZero team second wind in the fight. However, it was Perfect Phoenix who remained on top, pushing SubZero around the arena in spite of one of its weapon motors burning up. The horizontal bar was no longer able to spin, but SubZero's deformed flipping arm meant its primary weapon was out of action too. SubZero attempted to pin its opponent in the corner, but Perfect Phoenix escaped to push Logan Davis' bot around too. SubZero then began smoking, but Tyler Nguyen was also struggling to show controlled movement, prompting referee John Remar to threaten a count. However, the match entered the final ten seconds and ultimately went the distance. Perfect Phoenix took the win by unanimous judges' decision, meaning SubZero fell at the first hurdle.
Perfect Phoenix vs. Black Dragon Black Dragon rams Perfect Phoenix into the wall. Black Dragon launches Perfect Phoenix. Perfect Phoenix lays immobile. Next up in the bracket was the Brazilian bot, Black Dragon. Due to damage sustained in the previous fight, Perfect Phoenix had to run just one weapon motor and a shorter, ultralight bar which saw it weighing just 169lbs. The weight difference was immediately noticeable as Perfect Phoenix struggled to make contact with its shorter blade despite immediately spinning up to speed. Black Dragon outwedged Perfect Phoenix and rammed it against the wall, tearing away its front plow with the first attack. Black Dragon then rammed Perfect Phoenix into the housing of the screws, which saw Tyler Nguyen's bot fly high into the air but land upright. Still spinning, the bar had now carved a circle into the top panel of Perfect Phoenix as Black Dragon threw it into the air once again. Perfect Phoenix was struggling to move as its right-side drive appeared damaged, but it escaped back to the center of the BattleBox. However, as Black Dragon charged it into the Upper Deck, Perfect Phoenix was launched and despite landing right-side up, was no longer able to move. Black Dragon backed away as Perfect Phoenix's blade was buckled upwards, and it was counted out. Black Dragon advanced and Perfect Phoenix was eliminated from the competition. The frame of Perfect Phoenix was bent as a result of this match/

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 3
• Losses: 4

Competition	Wins	Losses
World Championship V	Extinguisher (Undercard Match) ATOM#94 (Undercard Match)	Skorpios (Undercard Match) End Game
BattleBots: Bounty Hunters	None	Big Dill
BattleBots: Champions I	SubZero	Black Dragon

Faruq Tauheed Introductions

"From Herndon, Virginia, the babyface thriller, PERFECT PHOENIX!"

"Bring them out, PERFECT PHOENIX!"

"From Herndon, Virginia the 11 year old who'll make you fold. It's PERFECT PHOENIX!"

"From Herndon, Virginia. This kid is giving up his perfect attendance record at school to be here, so please give it up for PERFECT PHOENIX!"

"From Herndon, Virginia. He might seem like a nice kid, but he's here to steal your robot's lunch money and make it eat dirt. It's PERFECT PHOENIX!"

Trivia

• With Brutality dating back to the early 2000s under Paul Ventimiglia, the robot is older than team captain and driver Tyler Nguyen.
• Perfect Phoenix was the lightest overall competitor during the 2020 season, 44lbs short of the 250lb heavyweight limit.
  • Perfect Phoenix's name was inspired by a Beyblade.
  • Its second round battle configuration against Black Dragon in BattleBots: Champions I saw it be the lightest competitor to enter the BattleBox in 2021 too, weighing in 81lbs under the upper limit.
• Perfect Phoenix was the only robot which exclusively fought in BattleBots: Champions I to win a fight, as Double Jeopardy and Big Dill failed to chalk up a competitive win.