In both iterations, it was a four-wheel drive, rectangular-shaped robot armed with a ramming plate which used its pushing power and durability to defeat opponents. As Botulizer, it reached the Round of 16 before losing to Tazbot. Returning for a second season, Aces and Eights reached the semi-finals of Season 5.0 despite only having one televised appearance, ultimately losing out to BioHazard.
The team previous entered Season 3.0 with middleweight Count Botula, which failed to win a fight.
In poker, aces and eights also refers to the Dead Man's Hand, which was supposedly held by 19th century gunslinger Wild Bill Hickok at the time of his death - black aces and eights.
In October 2023, Aces and Eights made a surprise appearance as a static display at the University of Houston, still under the ownership of its original team.
Robot History[]
Season 4.0[]
Botulizer vs. Hazardous Waste of Time
Hazardous Waste of Time and its team post-fight.
Botulizer's debut fight was against Hazardous Waste of Time. This fight was over quickly, as Botulizer got underneath its opponent, and drove it into the spikestrip, where it got stuck and forced to tap out. Botulizer won the fight by knockout and advanced to the final preliminary round.
Botulizer vs. Scrap Daddy Persistor
Damage to Scrap Daddy Persistor post-fight.
Next up for Botulizer was Scrap Daddy Persistor. Both bots pushed each other, then took turns getting under each other and ramming them into the arena walls. Botulizer looked to have the pushing advantage however and shoved Scrap Daddy Persistor against the spikestrip. Scrap Daddy Persistor got free though and allowed the pushing to resume. Scrap Daddy Persistor got underneath Botulizer a few more times. Eventually, time was called and Botulizer won the fight on a 27-18 judges' decision.
Botulizer vs. I-Beam
Botulizer after fighting I-Beam - note the writing around its damage.
This win put Botulizer to the televised rounds, where it faced I-Beam. Despite taking damage to its armor, Botulizer won the fight by knockout and advanced to the Round of 16 as a result.
Botulizer vs. Tazbot
Botulizer gets lifted by Tazbot
In the Round of 16, Botulizer faced Donald Hutson and Tazbot. Botulizer came in and Tazbot latched on with its arm, only to be dragged around by Botulizer. After breaking free, Botulizer attacked Tazbot and in retaliation, Tazbot almost scooped Botulizer. Both took a slight hit from the killsaws before Botulizer rammed the Mutant Robots entry, but retreated when Tazbot tried to lift it. Botulizer rammed Tazbot again but then drove over the killsaws. Tazbot nearly got another lift on Botulizer and latched on again, only to get pushed into the killsaws. Tazbot surveyed Botulizer for an opening and nearly got another lift, but again struggled to take advantage. Tazbot tried and failed once more, so instead opted to drive Botulizer into the spikes and held it there for the remaining seconds. Tazbot won the fight on a 27-18 judges' decision and Botulizer was eliminated from the tournament.
Heavyweight Royal Rumble
Botulizer being ganged up by BattleRat and SlamJob in the rumble
Despite this loss, Botulizer was entered for the Heavyweight Royal Rumble at the end of the tournament. In this match, Botulizer immediately charged at Nightmare, but got thrown several feet in the air due to the impact from its blade. It was then ganged upon by BattleRat and SlamJob before getting free and eventually ramming MechaVore into the wall, where it cut through both layers of Lexan. At the end of the fight, Botulizer was one of few robots remaining, but lost the rumble to Little Sister.[1]
Season 5.0[]
Aces and Eights vs. Sharkbyte
Returning as a seeded robot for Season 5.0, the newly-named Aces and Eights was able to skip to the Round of 32, where it first fought Sharkbyte. Sharkbyte was knocked out in this match however, with Aces and Eights suffering only minor damage.
Aces and Eights vs. Surgeon General
Surgeon General hits Aces & Eights, sending sparks flying.
This win put Aces and Eights through to the Round of 16 against Season 4.0 semi-finalist Surgeon General. For this fight, Alan Martinson cut two gashes in the front panel of Aces and Eights, precisely where Surgeon General would land hits, preventing damage. At the start of the fight, Aces and Eights hit Surgeon General straight on, causing a shower of sparks. It did not cause much damage however, and Aces and Eights got behind Surgeon General and rammed it into the spikestrip, stopping its disc. Aces and Eights then held Surgeon General at the wall and kept pushing it, until eventually it pulled away from the wall.
Aces and Eights pushes Surgeon General under the pulverizer.
At this point, Surgeon General could not bring its disc back up to speed again and Aces and Eights pushed it over the killsaws, scoring points. Aces and Eights then continued to have its way with Surgeon General, ramming it into the spikestrip corner next to the pulverizer, which struck down and hit Surgeon General on its rear. As its drive motors began to burn out, Surgeon General looked dead as Aces and Eights charged at it once more, almost upending it against the Lexan. Aces and Eights had dominated this fight and won the fight on a 35-10 judges' decision.
Aces and Eights vs. HexaDecimator
Aces and Eights pushes HexaDecimator onto the killsaws.
The next fight for Aces and Eights in the quarter-finals came against HexaDecimator, which happened to be a televised round. Both robots drove across to meet each other, with Aces and Eights managing to get around HexaDecimator's side and push it across the arena. Hexadecimator was pushed into the spike strip, but managed to land a flip against Aces and Eights and escaped. Aces and Eights retaliated by tapping HexaDecimator twice, but became the victim of another flip by HexaDecimator, which rolled it several times into the air. HexaDecimator then nearly flipped Aces and Eights once more, but missed. Aces and Eights then drove up HexaDecimator's wedge, preventing its lifting arm from lowering down. This allowed Aces and Eights to push HexaDecimator into the killsaws before launching Aces and Eights into the air again, but got pushed around the arena once it landed. After a few more pushes, HexaDecimator's flipping mechanism broke, reducing it to just a wedge bot. It was able to get under Aces and Eights and carry it near the pulverizer, but was unable to capitalize on it. By the end of the fight, both robots were pushing each other but Aces and Eights won the fight on a close 23-22 judges' decision.
Aces and Eights vs. BioHazard
The forks added to the front of Aces and Eights to help get under BioHazard.
BioHazard gets underneath Aces and Eights.
Aces and Eights advanced to the semi-final, where it took on reigning champion BioHazard. Despite its builder fitting two forks to the front panel of Aces and Eights, during the fight the forks were found not low enough against BioHazard, driving over it multiple times and being lifted but not flipped. It lost on a 28-17 judges' decision to BioHazard, eliminating it from the tournament.
