All right, let's get right to it!!!

Over the course of the dreaded Mini-Tournament of Death, many have fallen bloodstained...or simply turned into a heap of scrap metal. The first ever tournament saw Team ???'s PsycloniZer just barely manage to outlast Team Wet 'n Wild's Dolce and win the first crown...Team Wet 'n Wild's leader, Chezza, had the next laugh, however, when Dolce's brother Do Or Die met Team Insanity's Nitro-Gene 5.0 in battle and managed to pit it in the second tournament's final! Having claimed the crown at last, Chezza vanished, and new competitors took to the stage in the third tournament. In the end, Daniel Stickler and Team Britespark made the day as Monsoon Season managed to use its powerful flipping plate to eject Team Varying Every Day's Under Pressure from the arena floor and out, hereby the champion. But now that Dan has left, the crown is once again up for grabs...

The Crash & Burn Mini-Tournament of Death 4

Heat A
Melee 1
Venus Fly Trap II vs. S.O.T.A.R. vs. Gabriel V vs. Sauron

From Glasgow, Scotland...Venus Fly Trap II!
(created by Steven McGregor)
We start off with a very original machine in the form of a low truncated pyramid (ala pyRAMedroid) with two giant clamps on the sides to trap opponents should they ride over top and ensnare them, hereby effectively proving its name. It also has a flipper srimech which be used as a weapon. Despite this, having four wheels and high ground clearance means very little will actually drive up onto the front and rear wedges. On the plus-side, it has good armour and a nice torque-y drivetrain.

From Brooks, Canada...S.O.T.A.R.
(created by Tracy Farber)
Winner of the 2010 Best Horizontal Spinner award, and why not? It can put out amazing amounts of power in a very short spin-up time indeed, is invertible, and has enough drivetrain power to escape situations, or even be aggressive when need calls. It's not going to push worth a damn, however, but its overwhelming armour on the ring means nothing in the arena can likely even scratch it. The top and bottom zinc/aluminium alloy will withstand only a few hits though...

From Pontefract, England...Gabriel V!
(created by Joey McConnell)
And another original machine, taking shape as a low long tetrahedron with the front edge ending in a tool steel nose cone and two spikes to double it as a thwackbot. On the front edge is a front-hinged flipper capable of great force, and either side of it are two large UHMWPE 'ears' for stablility, beneath which are zinc/aluminium alloy skirts to protect the ground clearance. It also has decent 2 wheel drive, but its weak base armour is exposed if flipped.

From Northampton, England...Sauron!
A Lord of the Rings inspired name, but mainly a box on 4WD, and an A28-400 MagMotor to power each wheel. It uses interchangeable weaponry, but for this match it is using a front 10kg Hardox scoop and a pneumatic axe with a Terrorhurtz-style axehead, capable of 600kg of force. It can run either way up...so its mobility is quite exposed to weapons of the overhead variety. It also doesn't have the best armour.

Roboteers, stand by...

And the house robots this time around are Asterix Anarchius and Rorschach!

3...
2...
1...
ACTIVATE!

Let the mini-tournament begin!

It begins with a bang as Sauron roars straight at S.O.T.A.R., but Gabriel V gets in the way, and S.O.T.A.R. makes a gangway for Venus Fly Trap II! I smell a team up! Sauron tries to move around Gabriel, but the self-styled 'angel of death' manages to breach the Hardox scoop and get underneath! Sauron in a crazy fit brings its axe down, but the Dark Lord's weapon hardly even dents the Hardox shell of Gabriel! With a wide smile Joey gets fully 'neath the Ringmaster and with a simple flick sends him over! Despite this easy 1-up on his opponent, it is quickly negated as Sauron drives away and flicks itself back over with its axe! Gabriel is in hot pursuit, though, and goes head-to-head with Sauron once more! It's not so easy to get underneath a single point, learns Lian, as Gabriel gets underneath the scoop of Sauron again, inches further under and nearing the wall flips him into it! Sauron is flung sideways into the wall and tries to throw himself off with the axe, but is only shoved back onto Gabriel V, who pushes Sauron along the wall and into an empty CPZ! With another casual flick, Gabriel tosses Sauron against the corner and backs off as the house robots come near...and Asterix comes too near, too fast! WHAM!! 118kg of robotic gaul craters into Sauron's top armour, the 4mm titanium however holding up reasonably well. But as Rorschach nears, Sauron falls off the wall and onto his wheels...and facing right into Gabriel's line of direction! With another shove of Gabriel's, Sauron is pushed back into the corner and Rorschach enters, breaching the skirts and chowing down! The axe fires frantically, but the huge crusher does not let up and within seconds half of it is already inside of Sauron's main body! And there's smoke! I think a motor has been punctured!

Meanwhile, Venus Fly Trap II and S.O.T.A.R. have come to blows and the blows themselves are not in Steven's favour! The initial hit has torn a gash in the front of VFT2, but any indication that VFT2 would take control afterward is thwarted as S.O.T.A.R. spins up very quickly indeed, and another blow lands on the front with a massive CRASH!!!, tearing the said gash much wider and proving the strength of the 3.75mm Hardox little indeed! VFT2 tries to catch up to S.O.T.A.R. but both robots are at the same speed and Steven's pursuit is fruitless, while Tracy's continuous assault is wearing the Scottish clamper down! S.O.T.A.R. lands another blow, this time on the edge and ripping it open, and also sending VFT2 flying across the arena, to land directly on the arena saws, which cut its underside! BZZT! Using this time, Tracy spins S.O.T.A.R. up again and drives straight over to the battle-scarred VFT2! But Steve simply turns his machine around; the Scottish machine reverses into S.O.T.A.R., and receives a massive dent in the backside for its trouble, but finally it has the effect Steve wanted, and S.O.T.A.R. is deflected away, completely stopped! Quick as a snake VFT2 rushes its prey and manages to wedge underneath the 20mm ground clearance! There's little Team Alt can do in this instance, as VFT2 shoves the spinner up against the wall and further wedges it, and activates the clamps!

However, it didn't count on Gabriel V, fresh off its attacking Sauron, to barge in and slide underneath the other end! Joey tosses Steve's machine over before it can get a good hold on S.O.T.A.R., and pushes it along the wall, off it, and across the arena! Meanwhile Rorschach releases his victim and Sauron leaves the CPZ, weary and crippled but still alive, and ready to take advantage...or not! For here comes S.O.T.A.R. spinning again, freed from VFT2's clutches! Sauron rushes it, but veers off-course due to one side being less powered than the other, and its entire side is exposed, the same side of Sauron that Rorschach pierced from the top! With another massive CRASH!!! S.O.T.A.R. mashes Sauron two quick times and flings him like a rag doll across the arena, not only having the skirt ripped off, but also a gargantuan chunk of the 4mm titanium ripped away like nothing, and we can now clearly see the punctured A28-400 MagMotor! Amazingly, Sauron is still going as before, after that, but here comes S.O.T.A.R. to take care of that. Lian isn't totally oblivious, and this time carefully aims to point the scoop at S.O.T.A.R., but the Canadian ring spinner makes to move around the wounded machine, and with Sauron hurt this makes it far easier. Overturning a bit, Lian leaves Sauron's side open, and in an effort to back off unfortunately sends his robot spinning backwards! Tracy takes the golden opportunity and nails that same side again, hoping to wholly kill off Sauron. More armour is ripped away and the side seems wholly exposed now, but Sauron still doesn't seem like dying just yet. Amazed that her opponent is still keeping itself going, yet nonetheless annoyed, Tracy spins her machine's ring up again and moves in for the kill. Another massive twin blow is dealt, this time on the other side with the skirt ripped away, and then digging into the main side and ripping it to shreds! Finally, Sauron putters a bit, then ceases all movement...except the axe, which fires randomly. The Watcher moves forward, and pronounces Sauron's judgment:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10!

Sauron is out, and the house robots move back in...S.O.T.A.R. moves away to find what Gabriel's been doing...well, Venus Fly Trap managed to flip itself back over after Gabriel flipped it, but Gabriel kept flipping it, and the battered Scottish machine was helpless to do anything! Along the way they ventured into the pit release button, opening the pit, and now S.O.T.A.R. enters the fray! Gabriel backs off allowing his apparent teammate some killing room...and VFT2 charges straight into S.O.T.A.R.! With another almighty CRASH!!! VFT2 is flung into the wall, the front now looking as bad as Sauron's sides were, but S.O.T.A.R. is tossed backwards like a beer cap! And...seems unable to spin up! I say, have all the blows taken their toll on the Team Alt machine, the recoil too much? Maybe so! S.O.T.A.R. seems to be spouting smoke now as well, but unlike Sauron is fully mobile still! VFT2 tries to go after the helpless machine, but Gabriel V is there and scoops up VFT2 onto the nosecone! Oh no! S.O.T.A.R. indeed HAS stopped moving! What's happened?! Quickly Joey manoeuvres VFT2 towards the pit, but The Watcher is quickly on S.O.T.A.R.'s case!
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 -
But no, Gabriel manages to shunt VFT2 into the pit at the last second, and engulfed in smoke are three competitors...two in the arena, and one in the pit! But it's S.O.T.A.R. that moves on with Gabriel V!

CEASE!

Sauron is sent back into the shadows, while Venus Fly Trap II is fried by the looking glass...or should I say magnifying glass?
S.O.T.A.R. and Gabriel V advance to Round 2!

Next battle: BIACS By Popular Demand vs. Sheer Heart Attack 2 vs. Vertigo vs. O.I.D.

Tactics? Thoughts? Threats?