During the first two BattleBots World Championships on ABC, the single-elimination tournament format introduced wildcards to give robots a second chance to impress. This allowed for robots which had been eliminated to advance in the tournament despite losing a battle.
Wildcards ran through World Championships I and II, but did not return with the introduction of the Fight Night format in 2018, as BattleBots moved to Discovery and expanded its field of competitors.
World Championship I[]
With the 2015 season being a 24-robot tournament, four robots which lost their opening battles were reinstated to form a Top 16. Wildcards did not make up the lowest four seeds of the last sixteen, with Witch Doctor notably returning to the bracket as the #9 seed. It would ultimately make the Top 8 alongside fellow wildcard Overhaul, but both were eliminated at this stage.
| Robot | Image | Seeding |
|---|---|---|
| Witch Doctor |  |
9 |
| Overhaul |  |
11 |
| Warhead |  |
12 |
| Chomp |  |
15 |
World Championship II[]
For the 2016 season, a total of eight robots were given wildcards, making up a quarter of what ultimately became the Round of 32. The most successful wildcard from this season was Bombshell, who was granted the #19 seed and made it to the Championship final despite losing its first ever battle against veteran Derek Young and Complete Control.
As before, the eight wildcards did not occupy the lowest eight seeds in the tournament, with Lock-Jaw being the highest seeded wildcard at #17.
| Robot | Image | Seeding |
|---|---|---|
| Lock-Jaw |  |
17 |
| Ghost Raptor |  |
18 |
| Bombshell |  |
19 |
| Lucky |  |
21 |
| Overhaul |  |
24 |
| Nightmare |  |
25 |
| Blacksmith |  |
26 |
| Mega Tento |  |
28 |
Trivia[]
- Overhaul's 2015 season wildcard after losing to Lock-Jaw saw it immediately face the same opponent in the Round of 32.
- Overhaul is also the only robot to have received a wildcard twice and in consecutive seasons.
- All four 2015 season wildcards were seeded higher than Radioactive, who won its opening battle against Sweet Revenge.
- Likewise, The Ringmaster, Red Devil, Chrome Fly and Escape Velocity were all seeded lower than the reinstated 2016 season wildcards, despite winning their respective qualifying fights.