Sporkinok

Sporkinok
Participation Information
Reboot Seasons	World Championship V World Championship VI (Not selected)
Other Events	BattleBots: Bounty Hunters
Team Information
Team	Team PRIDE
Team Members	Lilith Specht (Captain) Andrew Rudolph Liz Chavarria Nick Polanoski
From	Orlando, FL
Associated Robots	Doomba (Liz Chavarria)
Robot Statistics
Weight	250lbs
Drive	4x 6474 Brushless motors
Weapons	Flipper Spork hammer
Statistics correct as of its most recent appearance on the show, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

Sporkinok is a heavyweight robot built by Team PRIDE which competed in BattleBots World Championship V.

It is a two-wheel drive robot armed with an overhead hammer, which features a large sharpened spork head attached to the end. The robot also featured a front-mounted lifting arm, though the weapon could be altered to work alone as just a lifter or a hammer. Sporkinok was an upscaled version of Team PRIDE's antweight of the same name, one of the many robots team captain Lilith Specht has operated since 2003.

"Sporkinok the Battlebot is a big version of Sporkinok the antweight! 10 or so years ago I needed a weapon for an overnight thwack bot build, and for some reason decided to cut tines into a kitchen spoon. Somehow the bot took 2nd place, and the rest is history! We wanted the robot to look more or less like a scorpion, and a friend suggested making it a low-polygon look. Much tinkering around in Fusion later, out came the design!"

— Team PRIDE explain Sporkinok's origin

Sporkinok during World Championship V hero shots.

The bot could adopt a 'Monster Truck' mode with four wheels, though this was not used to great effect in its sole BattleBots season. Sporkinok's unique color scheme reflects that of the Transgender Pride flag, as team captain Lilith Specht became the first transfeminine captain of a BattleBots team in the robot's debut season. Sporkinok was originally designed to have a flywheel-powered weapon, though due to time limitations, this had to be swapped out.

"We unfortunately had to drop the flywheel system for the weapon due to time constraints, but we replaced it with a dual weapon system!"

— Lilith Specht addresses a change in primary weaponry for Sporkinok

Sporkinok performed poorly in its debut, amassing two Fight Night losses to Rusty and SubZero. Throughout the season, Sporkinok suffered as its drive gearboxes had a tendency to break, and its weaponry proved largely ineffective.

Sporkinok briefly returned for BattleBots: Bounty Hunters, but lost its opening battle to HyperShock.

Team PRIDE applied for World Championship VI in April 2021 with an upgraded version of Sporkinok, including CNC-machined drive gearboxes manufactured by the team, though details of other upgrades are unknown. However, Lilith Specht announced in June 2021 that they had not been selected via the team's Facebook page.

"Whelp, we've been procrastinating long enough. Sadly, Sporkinok was not selected to compete in Battlebots 2021. Best of luck to all of the competitors and we can't wait to see what this season brings!"

— Team PRIDE announce their status via their Facebook page

It is not known whether Team PRIDE applied for World Championship VII, though team member Liz Chavarria joined Team Hot Mess and Doomba.

Sporkinok undergoing post-season repairs circa February 2021.

Early CAD of Sporkinok ahead of World Championship V.

Early CAD of Sporkinok ahead of World Championship V.

The machined flywheel parts which was originally planned to power Sporkinok's primary weaponry.

The original heavyweight Sporkinok in November 2019.

Robot History

World Championship V
Sporkinok vs. Rusty Sporkinok's top gets drilled by Rusty. Sporkinok's first fight of the season was against fellow newcomer Rusty. For the match, the team opted to remove the upper half of the weapon, running with just the lifting arm. When the match began, Sporkinok was first to make an attack, tipping Rusty over. However, Rusty was able to self-right, but neither robot was then able to make another attack as Sporkinok's weapon broke down. However, Sporkinok soon took minor damage to the rear from Rusty's weapon and was eventually brought to the screws, where it found itself high-centered on the lip of the screw casing. Sporkinok was unable to drive away and was counted out, giving Rusty the win by KO.
Sporkinok vs. SubZero Sporkinok approaches SubZero and its drone, Spitfire. Next for Sporkinok was veteran SubZero, for which it was armed with its traditional hammer and lifter configuration. This did not help Sporkinok as it was quickly flipped by its opponent. SubZero righted Sporkinok, but they could not escape before they were attacked again, even as SubZero ended up on the screws. By this point, Sporkinok's lifter was no longer functional and the drive appeared to be very limited. With Sporkinok practically disabled, it wase tossed into the air twice before being was counted out, giving SubZero the win by knockout. Sitting at 0-2, Sporkinok did not receive any more fights in the 2020 season.
BattleBots: Bounty Hunters
Sporkinok vs. HyperShock Sporkinok gets pushed against the screws by HyperShock. Sporkinok's hammer and rear wheel gets shredded by HyperShock. After the main tournament ended, Sporkinok opted to fight in a mini tournament to fight for the chance at $25,000 against Icewave, but this meant it had to face Will Bales and HyperShock. This fight was not shown in full during initial US broadcasts of Bounty Hunters, but was aired in its entirety in Italy (BLAZE) and the United Kingdom (ITV4). For this match, Sporkinok used its 'Monster Truck' configuration with a smaller blue lifter and hammer, while HyperShock used its standard front plates. As the fight began, HyperShock struggled to engage with Sporkinok, who itself could barely move outside its starting square. However, Will Bales would regain his composure and push Sporkinok into the wall, dodging an axe shot in the process. HyperShock continued to struggled with traction on the floor, but was able to ram Sporkinok into the screws, getting the Team PRIDE robots axe stuck in the process. "You might want to get a fork or a spoon, cause this one’s going to get dirty!" — Chris Rose as Sporkinok’s axe is jammed into the screws As the spork blade of the axe was freed, both HyperShock and Sporkinok continue to struggle for translational movement on the BattleBox floor, let alone interact with one another. Eventually, Hypershock collided with Lilith Specht’s machine, sending the lifter shooting up and granting the opportunity for an axe blow to HyperShock’s top. However, due to excessive tightness in the weapon chain, Sporkinok could only deliver a half-hearted shot to HyperShock’s front. As both bots once again struggled for mobility, HyperShock weapon finally fired up as Sporkinok suffered a shot from the Killsaws. "You think both these robots shopped at the same tire store?" — Chris Rose, as HyperShock and Sporkinok glide around the BattleBox Moving in on the Team PRIDE robot, HyperShock tore the spork off of Sporkinok’s axe and damaged the tires. Undeterred, Sporkinok sped over to HyperShock and delivered an additional sluggish strike to the top of Will Bales machine as time ran out. HyperShock would take the fight by unanimous decision, putting Team PRIDE’s $25,000 hopes to bed at the first hurdle. "it was a bad fight. our front wheels weren't touching the ground. had fitment issues that weren't apparent until we didn't have time to fix it. last minute swapped chassis and it was a bit tacoed. lce skated around. spork was having similar drive issues and their hammer wasn't quite there." — HyperShock's Kyle Awner describes the fight.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 0
• Losses: 3

Competition	Wins	Losses
World Championship V	None	Rusty (Undercard Match) SubZero (Undercard Match)
BattleBots: Bounty Hunters	None	HyperShock

Faruq Tauheed Introductions

"From Orlando, Florida, it's not a southpaw, it's a mouth claw. Here's SPORKINOK!"

Trivia

• Lilith Specht became the first transfemale builder to captain a BattleBots team in World Championship V.
• Sporkinok vs. HyperShock remains the only competitive fight never to have been shown in full on US television, even after the Basement Tapes were uploaded to YouTube.
  • It was, however, aired in full in Italy on BLAZE. Full fight footage was later uploaded to YouTube by user AmongArrow on February 26, 2023.
• Sporkinok was built in a one-month window, much like fellow 2020 season newcomers JackPot and Axolotl.
• A 12lb version of Sporkinok also fought at DragonCon.