Robot Wars: Series 8/Heat 3

Episode 3 was the third of five qualification episodes which determined the Grand Finalists of the 2016 series of Robot Wars.


 * Despite the lack of seedings or reference to the previous series, all five heats of the 2016 series see a single robot/team which won a heat in the Seventh Wars compete. In Episode 3, it was Dantomkia.
 * This episode marks the third time within two series that Dantomkia and King Buxton fought in a first-round melee together, and the second time in a row that they qualified together in the main competition.
 * Episode 3 marked the first time in the series that the winner qualified without losing a battle, or without having a Judges' decision.
 * Half of the competing robots in Episode 3 are light enough to fit within Series 5-7's 100kg weight limit.
 * Shunt makes no appearance in any of the battles in this episode.
 * Monte and Turbulence from the pilot episode make cameo appearances.
 * Non qualifier Armakillo made a second appearance in two episodes.

Dantomkia vs Glitterbomb vs King B Remix vs Overdozer
Overdozer spun around to try and get its blade into action, but contact from Glitterbomb and King B Remix bend the arm it was on. Dantomkia got underneath Glitterbomb and pushed it away, but didn't attempt a flip and got hit by the axe of Glitterbomb as they escaped. King B Remix was attacking Overdozer, and as a piece of debris flew away, Overdozer ground to a halt. King B pushed the now immobilised Overdozer towards the edge of the arena and went to join Dantomkia and Glitterbomb, who had its axe stuck in the 'fired' position. King B Remix bounced off the side of Glitterbomb and flipped itself over before having another hit while Glitterbomb charged at the immobile Overdozer. Glitterbomb started spinning on the spot to use the axe as a rudimentary club, smacking King B Remix out of the way, but Dantomkia came in and flipped Glitterbomb over. With the axe returned to the upright position, it was able to fire again, and combined with a shove from King B Remix, was able to right itself. Dantomkia focused on attacking the immobile Overdozer, flipping it high into the air. King B Remix was still pushing Glitterbomb around, so Dantomkia drove in and flipped Glitterbomb over finally. In the dying seconds, Dantomkia used its flipper to rip the MDF armour of Overdozer off.

Qualified: Dantomkia & King B Remix

Big Nipper vs Or Te vs Supernova vs TR2
Or Te instantly drove into the disc of Supernova, hoping to stop it spinning up. Big Nipper came in and pushed Or Te slightly while Supernova stayed pointing the other way. It turned around, and a glancing blow on the front of Or Te sent the grey robot spinning across the Arena, knocking its link out and immobilising it. In the same impact, one of the teeth from Supernova's disc was sheared off, causing gyroscopic problems due to the high speed flywheel being imbalanced. Supernova charged across the arena and hit Big Nipper flywheel-to-flywheel, which sent Big Nipper spinning away. Supernova got caught on the wedge of TR2, who pushed it around the arena for a while, but didn't ever flip it. TR2 shoved Supernova into the pit release button, and as Supernova escaped, Big Nipper hit it disc-to-disc again. TR2 got underneath Supernova again and drove it towards the pit, but Supernova was balanced on its side and stayed out. Big Nipper came charging in, and mistimed a hit on TR2, which finally buckled its disc mounting and left it teetering on the edge of the pit, escaping by the smallest fraction. TR2 tipped Supernova onto its side again, and the disc gripped into the floor and drove Supernova into the pit, eliminating it from the competition.

Qualified: Big Nipper & TR2

Dantomkia vs King B Remix
The two robots evaded each others' weapons at the start, until King B Remix hit Dantomkia with a small charge. Dantomkia escaped but got caught on the Arena Spikes. King B Remix stayed back until Dantomkia was released, but struggled to get any form of meaningful attack in afterwards. Dantomkia managed to get underneath King B Remix a few times, but eventually got a good grip on it and drove it towards the pit release wall and flipped King B Remix up. King B Remix was wedged on the wall, and despite a few movements with the lifter, it was stuck there. Matilda came in and finished it off by flipping King B Remix out of the arena with her tusks.

Winner: Dantomkia via KO (3 points)

Big Nipper vs TR2
After sustaining damage to the disc in Round 1, Big Nipper swapped in its claw weapon. Big Nipper were initially able to get its claws in underneath TR2, but didn't manage to do anything with them. TR2 drove around the side of Big Nipper, got underneath it and drove towards the wall, flipping Big Nipper over. Big Nipper escaped, but TR2 again flipped Big Nipper, this time into the claws of Dead Metal. TR2 spent time around the side of Big Nipper, every so often flipping it back into the disc of Dead Metal when it escaped his clutches. Big Nipper evaded Dead Metal and tried to launch an attack on TR2, but after the pit was opened, Big Nipper misjudged a turn and was once again balanced on the edge of the pit. TR2 wasted no time at all in making sure it didn't escape again, pushing Big Nipper into the pit, scoring three points.

Winner: TR2 via KO (3 points)

Dantomkia vs TR2
The two robots met in the middle of the arena, and scouted each other out, trying to work out which one was lowest. TR2 managed to get in under the side of Dantomkia, but the yellow robot managed to escape before TR2 flipped. Dantomkia traveled to the side, as TR2 drove in and flipped Dantomkia over. Dantomkia self-righted with it flipper and ran away again, but TR2 flipped Dantomkia a second time, hard into the wall, but Dantomkia quickly self-righted. The two robots met in the centre of the arena, and this time Dantomkia got underneath TR2, flipping the black robot, but it stayed on its wheels. TR2 chased Dantomkia and flipped it over again, but once again, Dantomkia was back on its wheels almost instantly. However, as TR2 started to push Dantomkia, it became apparent that Dantomkia had become immobilised, so when TR2 made the flip, Dantomkia stayed motionless upside down. TR2 backed up and attempted to use its axe. "It's the first time we've been able to use the bum axe on anybody"

- The TR2 team explain their reversing tactics at the end.

Winner: TR2 via KO (3 points)

Big Nipper vs King B Remix
Big Nipper reverted back to its spinning disc for this battle. King B Remix instantly went for the pit release button and turned to try and push Big Nipper straight into the pit. After evading the attack, Big Nipper circled the arena to get its disc up to speed, but got caught on an Arena spike. King B Remix was placed right underneath Big Nipper when it was dropped, and charged towards the pit, but Big Nipper again escaped before falling in. Big Nipper stayed away from the pit and started hitting King B Remix with the disc. King B Remix tried to push Big Nipper back, but chunks of the armour started flying high. King B Remix managed to push Big Nippr back, but it turned and a hit near the wheel flung King B Remix up. Big Nipper turned around and hit the same spot, throwing King B Remix higher and immobilising it.

Winner: Big Nipper via KO (3 points)

King B Remix vs TR2
King B Remix smashed into TR2 right from the start, but rode simply up the flipper. It drove off, but TR2 came back and drove it across the arena before flipping it into one of the corner walls. TR2 took two attempts to flip King B Remix over, before again getting underneath King B Remix and flipping it over. TR2 pushed King B Remix towards one of the low walls and tried to flip the invertible robot out, but it didn't go high enough, so it flipped King B Remix into Sir Killalot. Sir Killalot picked King B Remix up and dropped it over the flame pit while TR2 opened the pit. King B Remix's lifter was still moving, but its drive seemed to stop, so TR2 slowly edged it towards the pit, eventually flipping it down.

Winner: TR2 via KO (3 points)

Big Nipper vs Dantomkia
With both robots equal on points, the winner of the battle would advance to the Heat Final. Both robots avoided each other initially, but Dantomkia was first to strike, comfortably flipping the invertible Big Nipper up. Once settled on the ground, Big Nipper tried to get the disc in action, but was pushed back into Sir Killalot's CPZ by Dantomkia. Sir Killalot tried to grip Big Nipper, but it was too quick in escaping, and drove straight onto the flipper of Dantomkia, who flipped it over. Dantomkia managed to guide Big Nipper back into Sir Killalot's CPZ, and the House Robot wasted no time in getting a firm grasp of Big Nipper, and lifting it into the air. Once released, the two robots started circling each other all over the arena, until Dantomkia pushed Big Nipper into Sir Killalot again. Big Nipper got away and slammed into the front of Dantomkia, damaging the tip of its flipper. Dantomkia employed the same tactic, again pushing Big Nipper into Sir Killalot. However, in trying to pin Big Nipper to the wall, Sir Killalot's lance punched through the wall, trapping the House Robot in place. Big Nipper eventually freed itself, but became a prime target for Dantomkia, who slammed it into the wall and tossed it high into the air. Dantomkia shoved Big Nipper into the wall on the other side of the arena and nearly into the grasp of Dead Metal. Big Nipper escaped and slammed disc first into Dantomkia, ripping the base plate of the flipper off. The two robots circled each other for the last few seconds. The judges unanimously gave the victory to Dantomkia.

Winner: Dantomkia via Judges' decision (2 points)

TR2 vs Dantomkia
Winner: TR2