It was a two-wheel drive robot armed with a 48lb drisk spinner at the front, and two curved feeder wedgelets either side of the primary weapon. Unlike many other belt-driven vertical spinners in the field, Wan Hoo had a single belt in the center of the drum measuring several inches in width, as opposed to multiple thinner belts for redundancy. As the season progressed, Team Gladiator fitted two additional smaller belts in case the main belt snapped during battle. Wan Hoo was primarily red and gold in color, two of the most common and traditional colors in Chinese culture, signalling celebration and prosperity respectively.
Wan Hoo during World Championship IV hero shots.
Although its drive was typically reliable during the season, its primary weapon was not, leading to Wan Hoo being relegated to a push bot in several of its fights. Wan Hoo was able to beat seasoned veteran Captain Shrederator and Mammoth during the season, but lost to Shatter! and fellow Chinese team Railgun MAX to finish the season 2-2. Wan Hoo was not selected to advance to the Top 32, ending their run for the Giant Nut.
The bot's etymology was confirmed by an introduction from ring announcer Faruq Tauheed during the season. Wan Hu (万户 or 万虎), a character of Chinese legend who supposedly became the first astronaut after being lifted by rockets into outer space. According to the legend, he could have lived any time between 2000BCE and the mid-1600s. The bot's spelling aligns with "Wan-Hoo", the lunar crater named after Wan Hu.
Team Gladiator expressed intent to return to BattleBots for future seasons. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, international teams were unable to compete in the 2020 season. The team are not known to have reapplied for any recent seasons.
Wan Hoo's BattleBots debut came against Brian Nave and Captain Shrederator. In response, Wan Hoo opted to remove its front wedgelets and add other defensive armor on the front to protect it from Captain Shrederator's attacks. As the match began, Wan Hoo took a barrage of hits from Captain Shrederator while struggling to dish out hits with its own spinning weapon. Additionally, they were struggling to drive around the BattleBox due to how grippy the floor was, at points becoming stuck. Struggling to power up their vertical spinner, Wan Hoo eventually lost some of its defensive additions and took more hits from Captain Shrederator as it hung on. All of a sudden, as Wan Hoo took yet another hit from Captain Shrederator, Team LOGICOM's bot stopped moving and was counted out. Still able to show translational movement, Wan Hoo celebrated with a victory dance and won by KO.
Wan Hoo vs. Shatter!
One of Shatter!'s many hammer blows on Wan Hoo's lid.
Wan Hoo post-fight.
Next for Wan Hoo was newcomer Shatter!. For this fight, Wan Hoo added heavier top armor to protect itself from Shatter's hammer, at the cost of one of its front wedgelet. When the match began, it was off to a good start for Wan Hoo as they were dishing out the hits, but not causing much damage. However, Wan Hoo soon started to take hits from Shatter!'s hammer and was unable to mount any counter-attacks when smoke began to pour out and its weapon belt snapped off and the speed controller died after it drove into Shatter's! wedge. With no weapon, Wan Hoo was forced to improvise and did its best to try and disable Shatter! another way. Wan Hoo was able to get under Shatter! a few times, but without its weapon, it couldn't really follow up with any damage. Wan Hoo continued to take blow after blow from Shatter! and both robots survived to the end of the fight and the judges awarded Shatter! a unanimous decision. It was revealed by the Shatter! team that they actually punctured some of Wan Hoo's wiring, leading to a battery short at a moment two sets of killsaws popped up, leading to a simultaneous spark that went through both bots and killsaws. As well as suffering damage to its weapon system, Wan Hoo had also lost a drive chain and suffered a bent frame.[1]
Wan Hoo vs. Mammoth
Wan Hoo approaches Mammoth.
Wan Hoo next took on another newcomer in Mammoth. As a result, Wan Hoo opted for one of its traditional wedgelets and one of its more slender wedgelets. As the match got underway, Wan Hoo attacked Mammoth from the front, unable to get much purchase on the front forks of Mammoth. As the fight wore on, Wan Hoo's weapon belt broke courtesy of a Mammoth attack, leaving it without its drum once again. It then lost its right wedgelet to Mammoth's lifter. Wan Hoo then tried to use its speed to take control of Mammoth, but couldn't topple them over or push them around for very long. Wan Hoo continued to attack, occasionally getting underneath, but without their weapon, couldn't do much. By the later stages of the match, Wan Hoo had some smoke coming from its tire again as Mammoth was having a drive problem, but both made it to the end of the match. The judges awarded Wan Hoo a unanimous 3-0 decision, with all three going 4-3 on their scorecards.
Wan Hoo vs. Railgun MAX
Wan Hoo is thrown over by Railgun MAX.
The two bots try to outpush one another, with their primary weapons disabled.
Wan Hoo was next placed against newcomer and fellow Chinese representatives, Team Atom and Railgun MAX. In response, Wan Hoo kept its traditional wedgelets but as the match got underway, Wan Hoo was immediately tossed onto its back but righted itself. After a second hit, Wan Hoo was thrown completely over and had also lost its weapon belt, defenseless against further attacks. Fortunately for Wan Hoo, Railgun MAX's weapon also slowed down, resulting in a pushing match for the remainder of the fight. Time eventually ran out and the judges awarded Railgun MAX the unanimous 3-0 decision.
Wan Hoo vs. Kraken (Exhibition)
Wan Hoo is torched by Kraken as it tries to attack.
Wan Hoo also participated in several exhibition matches, the first of which coming against Kraken. Wan Hoo started off well, causing sparks and keeping Kraken from getting underneath, evening ripping up the wedge of Kraken. Wan Hoo continued to control the fight until its weapon belt broke, resulting in a pushing match. Wan Hoo was nearly grappled by Kraken, but because of the earlier damage, it made it difficult. In the end, both robots survived to a judges' decision, which ruled in favor of Wan Hoo.
Wan Hoo vs. WAR Hawk (Exhibition)
Wan Hoo takes on WAR Hawk.
Wan Hoo next fought WAR Hawk in an exhibition match. As the match got underway, Wan Hoo was quick to get the advantage, getting under War Hawk without causing much damage. Wan Hoo continued to show control and aggression as WAR Hawk's weapon was working only sporadically and not at top speed, but not much in the way of damage. Wan Hoo then threw WAR Hawk high into the air, but WAR Hawk landed upright. After getting under WAR Hawk and sending them into the screws, both robots seemed to stop working. Nevertheless, both were still able to drive with Wan Hoo taking minimal damage from the killsaws before time ran out. The judges voted in favor of Wan Hoo, who picked up another win.
"From Shanghai, it puts the pow in Kung Pow chicken. It's the cock of the wok. All that and dim sum, and your goose is about to be cooked right moa. Here's WAN HOO!"
"Here's a math test. You have four Hoos. How many would you have left if I took three of them from you? WAN HOO!"
"Stop what you're doing, cause he's about to ruin the BattleBox style that you're used to. And yo, it's not funny. From the Ming dynasty, I hope the world is ready to get beat by WAN HOO!"
"This bot will leave you in a cloud of smoke, I hope you don't choke. Get ready to eat its dust. You'll be sneezing like waa... waa... WAN HOO!"
"It could win by knockout or win by chance, it's still gonna do a victory dance. We won, we won! Hooo! It's WAN HOO!"
"If you're wondering, "What's up with the name of this bot?" It comes from a legend of the world's first astronaut. For him, it didn't go so hot, but maybe this team's got a better shot. They're good, it's true. It's WAN HOO!"
Trivia[]
According to its Facebook Supporter reveal CAD, Wan Hoo was originally designed to have twin vertical spinning disks, a different chassis shape and a stinging tail. The reasons for this design change are unknown.
Team Gladiator had never built a heavyweight combat robot prior to entering Wan Hoo into BattleBots.
Wan Hoo is one of just two Chinese representatives to compete in BattleBots, the other being fellow 2019 season competitor Railgun MAX.
