It’s a small crowd tonight due to counterprogramming - this Bout has been scheduled at the same time as Dark Lord vs Hard Hat in the next Arena Hall over, and this match between CrowBot (with its slightly underwhelming win/loss ratio) and a new pilot of mysterious background seems to have been written off by many as the lesser attraction. This commentator, however, can’t help to be compelled by the mysterious Habanero - there they are now, in the operator pit, shrouded by a heavy poncho and a wide sombrero hat. Who are they, and where have they come from? How will they shake up this league?

We’re about to find out. CrowBot2000 has taken position 4, unchanged since its loss to Credit Score: F - still working with that flamethrower/axe combo.

Opposite it is our first look at CarolAIna Reaper. Its form factor is similar to a stumpy chilli pepper but it is covered in spikes - and under the spikes, thick ablative plating. This is an interesting loadout, and not one we’ve seen before; in this league we’ve seen spikes do some damage but there must be twice as many spikes on this Bot as we’ve seen before and that can only compound the potential for damage.

There’s the blue light - they’re off.

CrowBot is first to act, taking a cautious position at square 9, and Habanero - oh! Habanero moves decisively out to meet it, its chassis spinning as it does so, and it slams into CrowBot, and there it is! There are those spikes, tearing and smashing into CrowBot with incredible ferocity, a single bump rips CrowBot’s flamethrower clean off and throws it across the arena, and the double-spike loadout suddenly makes a load of sense!

CrowBot gets a swing in with its axe but that gets absorbed by the ablative plating on the Reaper, who pulled back a little to position 14 - CrowBot just sits there, stunned - but here’s the Reaper again, with its little run-up, smashing back into CrowBot and this time ripping the axe straight out of the chassis and sending it flying into the pit wall! This is stunning and the crowd are on their feet - what an incredible Bout - they’ve never seen anything like this before!

Once again Habanero pulls the Reaper backwards for a big run-up, and Raven is just looking at his controller - he has no idea what to do in the face of this!

Here it comes again - boom - those spikes shredding chassis now, and that’s that, one little bump and CrowBot is eviscerated. The Bout is swiftly called and I can guarantee that Habanero’s next Bout will be much more closely watched.

CarolAIna Reaper wins by TKO!