| This article's name is a rough translation from Chinese, and the team have yet to specify the robot's official name. As such, the article's title may not be entirely accurate. |
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White Tiger Guardian was a heavyweight robot from Hubei that competed in Season 1.5, the debut of This is Fighting Robots. Competing as part of Wu Chun's Red team, it fought the reigning King of Bots champion Spectre in its first battle, and survived to a Judges' decision, but ultimately lost the battle. White Tiger Guardian also fought in a Tag Team battle, paired with Sandstorm, which both robots won on a Judges' decision against Zen Oh and Golden Hoops. However, White Tiger Guardian's place on the red team was taken by Great White, which obliterated White Tiger Guardian in combat.
White Tiger Guardian was the successor to Drought War Tiger, a robot which previously competed in Season 1 of King of Bots.
Design
White Tiger Guardian on its table
White Tiger Guardian was an invertible machine, driven by two large wheels. It was armed with a vertical spinning bar, alongside two front wedges to lead robots into the dangerous rotating weapon. The weapon had a high top speed, but ceased functionality from the recoil of its own impact in battle.
Robot History
This is Fighting Robots (Season 1.5)
Spectre turns into White Tiger Guardian's blade
White Tiger Guardian severs a drive belt from Spectre
White Tiger Guardian was chosen by Wu Chun during the initial selection process, and thus participated in the main competition as part of the Red team. Its first appearance in combat saw it fighting the reigning King of Bots champion Spectre in a head-to-head battle. At the start of the battle, Spectre charged straight out of its square, and drove under White Tiger Guardian, but turned into the spinning blade, throwing sparks across the arena. Another attack from White Tiger Guardian threw more sparks, and loosened one of Spectre's drive belts, which fell to the arena floor.
White Tiger Guardian throws Spectre over with an attack
White Tiger Guardian is trapped by the ram rods
On a direct hit to Spectre's front, White Tiger Guardian threw Spectre onto its back, also buckling its front wedge, in an attack which was broadcast much further into the battle, despite taking place near the beginning of the fight[1]. Although White Tiger Guardian had damaged Spectre, it also lost the use of its spinning weapon, and Spectre was able to quickly self-right, ramming into the front of White Tiger Guardian in a collision which brought both robots from the floor. With its wedge broken, Spectre rammed into White Tiger Guardian again but could no longer breach its ground clearance. White Tiger Guardian, with no weapon, drove away from Spectre and became trapped on the ram rods in the floor, also driving onto the arena saws, where sparks were thrown from White Tiger Guardian's surface, in spite of minimal pressure from Spectre. Although Spectre then tentatively rammed the front of White Tiger Guardian, the wedges of the Chinese robot were lower, briefly breaching Spectre.
Spectre pins White Tiger Guardian, but misses with its bite
Spectre proves unable to get under White Tiger Guardian
Still with its spinner powered down, White Tiger Guardian drove into the spikes on the arena wall, where Spectre pinned it in place. However, because Spectre's wedge was so heavily damaged, it could not drive under White Tiger Guardian, leaving Spectre unable to use its weapon on the pinned robot. After missing with its crushes, Spectre backed away, but White Tiger Guardian only backed itself further into the corner, where Spectre again attempted to crush, but failed to do so. When released, White Tiger Guardian drove straight into the Grinder on the side of the arena, where Spectre prevented it from escaping. Spectre held its ground, chasing White Tiger Guardian around the arena, which was making no offensive efforts while its spinner was ceased. Spectre drove into the side of White Tiger Guardian, and flared its self-righting mechanism while pushing its opponent in circles.
The Grinder throws White Tiger Guardian onto Spectre's wedge
Spectre clamps down on the internally damaged White Tiger Guardian
Spectre also collided with the ram rods, while White Tiger Guardian was clipped by the floor flipper. However, in the final moments of the match, White Tiger Guardian made a critical mistake and drove into a Grinder, which flung the robot directly onto the wedge of Spectre. Taking its opportunity, Spectre bit down onto the flat top of White Tiger Guardian, and caused significant internal damage, as sparks flew from the insides of White Tiger Guardian after the crushing damage, while Spectre also rammed White Tiger Guardian back into the Grinder. Spectre continued to hold White Tiger Guardian in the center of the arena, as it poured out sparks, and drove it into the arena saws. White Tiger Guardian initially appeared to be immobilized by this attack, but after a period of inactivity, White Tiger Guardian made a final movement to show its competitiveness, as time expired on the match. Despite a strong performance from White Tiger Guardian, the Judges' decision was ultimately awarded to Spectre.
- "It's actually damaged the front wedge on the robot, and it had folded under the front. We thought it would be an easy fight, and it turned out to be the hardest one yet."
- — Grant Cooper of Team Spectre
White Tiger Guardian sustains damage from Zen Oh's initial attack
White Tiger Guardian (top-center) tussles with Golden Hoops as Zen Oh rams Sandstorm into the spikes
In its next appearance, White Tiger Guardian was paired with another British entry from the Green team, Sandstorm, for a Tag Team battle. There, both robots faced Zen Oh from the Blue team and Golden Hoops of the Yellow team. White Tiger Guardian turned round in the opening seconds, seemingly unable to get its bar spinner working. In doing so, it exposed its rear panel to a charging Zen Oh, which tore the panel open with the first blow of its bar spinner. This attack exposed White Tiger Guardian’s internals, causing it to shed several pieces of debris. White Tiger Guardian survived a second blow from Zen Oh, this time to its own spinner, and briefly helped Sandstorm shepherd the Portuguese machine into the wall spikes. Reversing, White Tiger Guardian lingered near the grinders, before bumping into Sandstorm and Golden Hoops.
White Tiger Guardian is rammed by Zen Oh
White Tiger Guardian avoided its opponents for some time, only to be briefly bumped by Sandstorm. It continued to stay out of action while Sandstorm rammed and deflected Golden Hoops. Unable to drive properly, White Tiger Guardian eventually retreated and hesitated over the circular saws, just as the pit descended. White Tiger Guardian dodged and survived rams from a rejoining Zen Oh, and was still mobile when time ran out. Although White Tiger Guardian played a limited part in the battle, it and Sandstorm won the subsequent Judges’ decision, securing the last Tag Team victory for Wu Chun and Zheng Shaung.
Great White rips a side panel from White Tiger Guardian
Great White sends White Tiger Guardian flying
White Tiger Guardian's position on the red team was then directly challenged by the Australian entry Great White, intending to join Wu Chun's team. In the head-to-head battle between the two, White Tiger Guardian made the first strike by hitting Great White head-on with its vertical spinner, although the impact didn't seem to cause that much visible damage to Great White. As the Chinese machine backed away for another assault, driving over Remora in the process, Great White made its first attack by smashing into the side of White Tiger Guardian, ripping its entire side panel off. Turning around, Great White then made another attack this time to the back of its opponent, the impact causing the entire machine to fly into the air and land upside down. With seemingly no way of self-righting, the Chinese machine was counted out and declared immobile. As a result, White Tiger Guardian lost its place in the competition.
Results
| WHITE TIGER GUARDIAN - RESULTS | ||
| This is Fighting Robots (Season 1.5) | ||
| Main Championship | ||
| Head-to-Head, Round 2 | vs. Spectre | Lost |
| Tag Team (with Sandstorm) | vs. Golden Hoops, Zen Oh) | Won |
| Challenger Round | vs. Great White | Lost |
Wins/Losses
- Wins: 1
- Losses: 2
Series Record
| Series | White Tiger Guardian Series Record |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | Entered with Drought War Tiger |
| Season 1.5 | Selected by celebrity, one win |
| Season 2 | Did not enter |
References
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