Little Devil (also known as FROG in earlier rounds) is a Chinese featherweight robot which competed in the 2018 King of Bots UK International Championships. Built by established King of Bots and This is Fighting Robots competitors Team Xiake, it finished second in its first two qualification rounds and won its third over Saber-X, scoring enough points to secure a place in the Top 20. From there, Little Devil reached the Round of 12 after ripping Orpheus’ grabbing arm off and immobilizing it, only to lose its next battle against Rocket after driving itself into the pit. Relegated to one of the Losers’ Melees, Little Devil fought Orpheus again along with Get Shrekt; however, it lost the Melee to the latter after getting itself stuck on the wall, and was eliminated.
Design
Little Devil with its statistics card; note the alternative name FROG
Little Devil is essentially a scaled-down version of Team Xiake’s titular heavyweight, being an invertible box-shaped robot with four outside wheels and a predominantly red color scheme. Its main weapon is a large front-mounted spinning drum, equipped with large teeth to flip and damage other competitors. Little Devil also features a set of interchangeable front wedges, including a broad wedge and a pair of hinged wedgelets, which could be fitted to the robot to suit different opponents.
Robot History
King of Bots UK 2018
Little Devil sustains a blow from Telekinesis as both robots chase Nigel Barrage into the wall
As one of four Chinese robots in the competition, Little Devil began its UK International Championship run in the second qualification round. There, it faced British spinners Telekinesis and Nigel Barrage in its first melee, equipped with the broad wedge. At the start, Little Devil waited to get its drum up to speed, before slowing moving forwards and positioning itself in front of an approaching Telekinesis. Eventually, it slammed into one of Telekinesis’ wheelguards, weathering a blow from the Team ARD machine’s undercutter as it charged across the arena. Turning round, Little Devil proceeded to remove Nigel Barrage’s remaining HDPE front panel off, and sustained another side-on attack from Telekinesis as all three competitors sped into the wall. The impact forced Nigel Barrage on top of Little Devil; Little Devil turned round and churned at Nigel Barrage’s underside before the latter was flipped by Telekinesis.
Little Devil shoves Telekinesis into the corner
Little Devil sends Telekinesis recoiling
Telekinesis attacks the side of Little Devil again
Little Devil's wedge is buckled following another head-on collision with Telekinesis
Pushing a now-immobile Nigel Barrage away, Little Devil resumed its duel with Telekinesis, shoving the black and yellow machine into the bottom-left corner. It darted back to the far wall as Telekinesis gave chase, before driving around and into the rear of Telekinesis. This charge briefly flicked Little Devil upwards; seconds later, Little Devil chased and pushed Telekinesis back, causing its opponent to recoil as both robots’ spinning weapons made contact. It pursued and circled round Telekinesis for some time, only to sustain a few more blows from Telekinesis’ spinner as it tried to push the latter around again. Little Devil retreated to the top-left corner, and turned; it took another rapid succession of hits from Telekinesis, which buckled its wedge and threw it back against the wall.
Little Devil is beached
Bumping over the pit, Little Devil rammed Telekinesis and darted into the bottom-left corner. At this point, it became clear that the robot was moving erratically across the arena, although Little Devil was still able to ram Telekinesis again as the two robots met once more near the pit release button. However, in doing so, it drove into and up the wall; this resulted in Little Devil getting stuck on a piece of debris, leaving it spinning around in circles until its wheels could no longer keep contact with the arena floor. With this, Little Devil was counted out and eliminated, finishing the battle second and scoring its first two points of the competition; afterwards, Zheng Jianfeng revealed that he had enjoyed the fight, despite Little Devil's loss.
Little Devil and Orpheus engage in a pushing match
Little Devil is counted out after getting stranded on the side rails
Next, Little Devil was drawn against Apex – a featherweight version of Team Danby’s Robot Wars competitor – and Orpheus. Prior to the start of the battle, Apex withdrew, reducing the melee to a one-on-one encounter. Equipped with the hinged wedgelets, Little Devil initially hesitated to leave its starting position, only turning side-to-side as Orpheus closed in. However, it promptly pushed Orpheus towards the pit release button, churning away at the front of the Team Driving Force machine as it did so. The two competitors pushed each other back and forth before breaking free; Little Devil proceeded to drive drum-first into the wall, getting itself stuck through the gap between the railings. As a result, Little Devil incurred its second consecutive knockout loss, finishing the battle second and picking up two more points. Zheng Jianfeng explained afterwards that the robot’s speed contributed to the control issues that lead to it being stranded.
Little Devil is thrown forwards by Saber-X
Little Devil rips a chunk out of Saber-X's side panel
In its final qualification battle, Little Devil was due to fight Saber-X and Aegis Mk II. Aegis Mk II withdrew before the battle began, leaving the two Chinese compatriots to fight each other alone. Both robots were initially hesitant to attack each other; after a few seconds, Little Devil lunged at the rear of Saber-X, before chasing and pushing the 2018 Beijing champion back. With its drum seemingly not spinning, Little Devil pushed Saber-X again, this time around the flame jet; Saber-X responded by getting underneath and throwing Little Devil across the arena with its flipper. Little Devil recovered by pursuing and dodging Saber-X for a few moments. Eventually, its drum spun up, allowing it to tear part of Saber-X’s left-hand side panel off as the two Chinese competitors met again.
Little Devil flicks Saber-X onto its rear
Little Devil is catapulted towards the wall by Saber-X
Little Devil beaches itself on top of Saber-X, shortly after the 2018 Beijing champion gets stranded on the wall
Another head-on collision resulted in Little Devil throwing Saber-X onto its rear end. Immediately, Saber-X retaliated, launching Little Devil into the wall and leaving it stranded against the railings once again. Inverted, Little Devil spun its wheels as its countdown began; however, it was quickly nudged back onto the arena floor by Saber-X, which proceeded to get itself stuck on the wall. Little Devil retreated towards the center of the arena, before attempting to push Saber-X away from the wall. In doing so, it got itself stranded up the side of Saber-X just as the latter was fully counted out. Due to both robots becoming immobilized, the Judges were required to make a decision, which ruled unanimously in favor of Little Devil as a result of Saber-X beaching itself first. The decision also considered Little Devil to have won via knockout, awarding it the full four points for the battle.
By the end of the qualification rounds, Little Devil scored a total of eight points, putting it joint-thirteenth on the leaderboard and securing itself a place in the Top 20. As a result, it automatically qualified for the knockout round, where it was initially due to face Telekinesis again. Damage inflicted to Telekinesis in earlier battles forced it to withdraw, resulting in Orpheus being drafted in to face Little Devil a second time.
Little Devil flicks Orpheus up with its drum
Another blow from Little Devil rips Orpheus' grabbing arm off
Immediately, Little Devil approached and drove around the side of Orpheus, clipping its body with its drum. It was briefly shepherded into the corner by Orpheus, which proceeded to push Little Devil alongside the arena wall. Quickly, Little Devil escaped, darting forwards and spinning round before attacking Orpheus head-on and flicking it upwards. The two robots proceeded to push each other around in circles; with another hit, Little Devil ripped Orpheus’ front wedge and grabbing arm off, which itself had already been bent in its previous attack. In doing so, it also ripped some of Orpheus’ wires out, immobilizing Connor McBride’s machine in the center. Little Devil spun round in celebration as it secured its second-consecutive knockout victory.
Little Devil is nudged by Rocket in the opening stages
Little Devil briefly gets underneath the front of Rocket
In the Round of 12, Little Devil faced Rocket, a scaled-down version of Robot Wars Series 8 champion Apollo entered by Team Robots Live! It began by moving out of its starting position and spinning around, driving away as Rocket briefly got underneath its side. Little Devil continued spinning and dodging Rocket for a few moments, eventually retreating towards the top wall. It soon became evident that the robot’s front-right wheel had locked up; despite being unable to drive in a straight line, Little Devil survived another nudge from Rocket, with the two robots proceeding to circle around each other for some time. As they did so, Little Devil twice got underneath and grazed the front of Rocket, while spinning round in repeated attempts to prevent Rocket from using its flipper to good effect.
Little Devil ends up on the side wall, shortly after being thrown into the bottom-left corner by Rocket
Rocket catapults Little Devil (top) across the arena
Little Devil falls into the pit as Rocket (foreground) watches on
Moments later, the two competitors approached each other front-first, before Little Devil was violently rammed from the side by Rocket. Both robots pushed each other round in circles, before Little Devil was catapulted into the corner by Rocket. Landing upright, Little Devil bumped and chipped Rocket’s wedge, dodging a second flip and briefly getting underneath its opponent entirely. It flicked Rocket upwards again as the two competitors maneuvered their way into the bottom-left corner. However, this allowed Rocket to get underneath and toss Little Devil into the air; Little Devil landed on its side, and attempted to reverse on top of the railings. With assistance from Rocket, it drove free from the wall, landing upside-down as it tried to dodge another attack from its British opponent. This was to no avail, as Rocket promptly scooped, pushed and threw Little Devil along the arena perimeter.
After a brief hesitation and another nudge from Rocket, Little Devil shot forward towards the edge of the pit, where it stayed for a few seconds. Reversing, it attempted to drive around the pit, but caught the edge with its right-hand wheels. Little Devil fell in as it tried to move further, and was instantly eliminated from the battle via knockout.
Little Devil comes under early pressure from Orpheus
Little Devil escapes as Get Shrekt throws Orpheus upwards
Little Devil pushes a damaged Orpheus around
Little Devil gets underneath Orpheus
As a result of its loss, Little Devil was relegated to one of two Losers’ Melees, which it was required to win in order to remain in the main competition. There, it fought Orpheus a third time, as well as Sam Price’s vertical spinner Get Shrekt. Little Devil tentatively shuffled in and out of its starting position, allowing Orpheus to ram and push it from the side. It came under further pressure from Orpheus and Get Shrekt, briefly being sandwiched between its British opponents – however, Little Devil escaped as Get Shrekt threw Orpheus into the wall. Little Devil proceeded to dodge Get Shrekt and push Orpheus towards the center of the arena, causing part of the latter’s internal padding to fall out. It followed this attack by hitting and getting underneath the rear of Orpheus, which left the Team Driving Force machine immobile on one side.
Little Devil survives a front-on blow from Get Shrekt
Little Devil attempts to push Get Shrekt towards the pit
At the same time, Get Shrekt approached Little Devil, compelling Little Devil to hit its front wedge before chasing and approaching the green machine. After a brief hesitation, Little Devil was knocked back by a blow from Get Shrekt’s flywheel, which caused one of its wedgelets to flick up. A second weapon-on-weapon slam spun Little Devil around and sent a drive belt flying out of the machine itself. Little Devil darted towards the edge of the pit, but escaped, approaching Get Shrekt again before chasing and nudging it from the rear. Another head-on collision ensued, with Little Devil sustaining a blow to its left wedgelet from Get Shrekt. It dodged Get Shrekt’s flywheel a few more times, briefly getting underneath Get Shrekt itself and pushing it towards the pit.
Little Devil is stranded yet again after attempting to ram Get Shrekt into the wall
As it tried to evade Get Shrekt again, Little Devil bumped the wall, before proceeding to chase Get Shrekt across the arena. The two competitors rammed each other head-on, entering a deadlock near the center. Eventually, Little Devil tried to ram Get Shrekt into the wall, only to drive itself up against the railings yet again. With its wheels suspended off the floor, Little Devil gently rocked up and down in an attempt to break free, but was counted out before it could do so. As a result, it lost the Losers’ Melee to Get Shrekt, and was eliminated from the 2018 UK International Championships, having reached the top twelve of the main competition.
Results
| LITTLE DEVIL - RESULTS | ||
| King of Bots UK 2018 (Insomnia 63) | ||
| Main Championsip Round of 12 | ||
| Rumble | vs. Telekinesis, Nigel Barrage | Lost (2 points) |
| Rumble | vs. Orpheus, Apex | Lost (2 points) |
| Rumble | vs. Saber-X, Aegis Mk II | Won via knockout (4 points) |
| Knockout | vs. Orpheus | Won |
| Round of 12 | vs. Rocket | Lost |
| Losers’ Melee | vs. Orpheus, Get Shrekt | Lost |
Wins/Losses
- Wins: 2
- Losses: 4
Outside King of Bots
An older version of Little Devil
Prior to their 2018 UK International Championship appearance, Little Devil competed in Fighting My Bots featherweight events (sometimes called Little Beezlebub from Impasse or Small Devil Jedi[1]). It made its debut at the inaugural FMB featherweight championship in 2016, finishing the championship as runner-up to Naughty Snake[2].
References
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||