Whirlwind Cut

Whirlwind Cut
Participation Information
Series	S1 (King of Bots) S1.5 (This is Fighting Robots)
Team Information
Team	Shiny
Team Members	Wang Pengfei Shi Lei
Robot Statistics
Weight	110kg / 242lbs
Weapons	Overhead bar spinner

旋风斩 (translated as Whirlwind) was a robot from Zhengzhou, China, which competed in the first season of King of Bots, and Season 1.5, the debut of This is Fighting Robots. It progressed to the second round in its debut appearance, after immobilizing both parts of Stegodon α and Stegodon β in its first battle, only to be eliminated via knockout by Spectre. In Season 1.5, it was flipped over when trading blows with Cat King, and did not advance beyond the first round.

Team member Shi Lei would later captain Team Cybermark and compete in King of Bots II with Iron Rooster.

Versions of Whirlwind

Whirlwind (Season 1)

Whirlwind with its team

Whirlwind was a black and blue, octagonal box-shaped robot armed with an overhead horizontal spinner. This weapon consisted of three double-ended hammers connected together to form a triangular frame, which encircled the robot's body in a similar manner to a typical full-body spinner, and enabled Whirlwind to concuss and tear into opponents. In addition to this armament, Whirlwind also featured a front three-grooved wedge to lead opponents into its spinner and push them around if the spinner stopped rotating. The robot’s overall design gave it a striking resemblance to former BattleBots heavyweight champion Son of Whyachi, which also featured interconnected spinning hammers as its main weapon.

Whirlwind (Season 1.5)

Whirlwind at This is Fighting Robots

Whirlwind in Season 1.5 retained low profile, armed with a wedge at the front, bearing a face with an X for a mouth. The robot's primary weapon was now an overhead bar spinner, like that of the American machine Brutality, which was long in diameter and boasted good speed, but cost the robot of a self-righting mechanism. Whirlwind was seen to use an eight-wheel drive in this series.

Robot History

King of Bots (Season 1)

Whirlwind made its King of Bots debut in Episode 3, where it fought Stegodon α and Stegodon β in the first round.

Whirlwind tears Stegodon β's side open, resulting in the latter's immobilization

It initially avoided the multibot to get its spinner up to speed, before smashing into the side of Stegodon β, buckling part of the latter’s armor and causing several bolts to shear off. As both Stegodon segments drove slowly around in its vicinity, Whirlwind slammed into Stegodon β again, tearing its left-hand side clean open and causing it to stop moving seconds later. It left Stegodon β to smoke while it rammed into Stegodon α, immobilizing and causing the latter to roll into the grinders. With this, Stegodon α and Stegodon β forfeited the battle via tap-out, allowing Whirlwind to win by knockout and progress to the second round.

There, it faced British entry Spectre, the eventual champion of the series.

Whirlwind is dragged over the flame jets by Spectre

Whirlwind turned away in the opening seconds to try and get its weapon up to speed – however, Spectre immediately rammed, grabbed and pinned it against the wall spikes, before maneuvring it towards a nearby hammer. Despite breaking free, Whirlwind was pushed fully under the hammer by Spectre, sustaining damage to its weapon frame as a result. Seconds later, Spectre dragged it over the flame jets and rammed it into one of the grinders; several more slams into the grinders and walls resulted in Whirlwind’s weapon frame buckling. Whirlwind’s top armor was also pierced by Spectre; in response, the Shiny team activated a smokescreen in Team Robo Challenge’s control area, but to no avail as Spectre lifted and shuffled Whirlwind back and forth.

Spectre lifts Whirlwind off the floor

Whirlwind is left wedged between a grinder and the wall

Before Whirlwind could evade, Spectre grabbed it by the weapon frame and rammed it into the wall again. Seconds later, it was lifted off the floor by Spectre’s crusher and carried towards one of the grinders. The grinder made contact with Whirlwind’s underside, tearing its front wedge off and carrying it over onto the upper wall. Whirlwind fell into the gap between the grinder and its mount as a result, leaving it permanently wedged behind the hazard. With this, it instantly lost the battle and was eliminated from the competition, to the team’s dismay.

This is Fighting Robots (Season 1.5)

After not being selected by the celebrities to advance straight to the bracket, the robot fought in the second rumble of the series, in order to impress the celebrity captains. There, it fought Cat King, Greedy Snake, and Spike Head.

Whirlwind attacks the beaten Spike Head

Whirlwind delivers a blow to Cat King

Whirlwind immediately started spinning its blade, and was not drawn into the action until Spike Head was flipped and rendered immobile. Whirlwind then landed a light blow on Cat King, throwing sparks. Afterwards, Whirlwind landed a direct blow to the inverted Spike Head, sending it recoiling away, and Whirlwind also struck Cat King on its escape. Greedy Snake pushed Cat King back into the wall, and Cat King sustained another direct blow from Whirlwind, sending it straight back into Greedy Snake's grip.

Cat King overturns Whirlwind

Whirlwind continued to capitalise on Greedy Snake's attacks, striking Cat King after it was dropped by Greedy Snake. This time, Cat King retaliated, and used its vertical spinner to trade with Whirlwind's own spinner, throwing the Chinese robot onto its back. Whirlwind had no method of self-righting, and was deemed immobile. As no celebrity had picked Whirlwind for their team, it was eliminated at this stage, along with Spike Head, and later Cat King, with only Greedy Snake progressing.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 1
• Losses: 1

NOTE: Whirlwind's rumble in Season 1.5 is not considered a win or a loss

Series Record

Series	Whirlwind Series Record
Season 1	Round 2
Season 1.5	Not selected by celebrities
Season 2	Entered with Iron Rooster (Shi Lei)

External Links

• Whirlwind on the King of Bots website (Chinese)