Eruption

"Eruption is designed around the weapon - it's all about the flipper!"

- Michael Oates

Eruption is a heavyweight robot which competed in Series 8-9 of Robot Wars. Eruption entered the show with much experience from live events, where it has enjoyed huge success as a double FRA UK Heavyweight champion. Although it only reached the Head-to-Head stage of Series 8, it finished as the runner-up of Series 9, having flipped four robots out of the arena consecutively along the way. Eruption also went undefeated in the whiteboard matches of Series 8, and won its Heat Final against Cherub in under seven seconds.

Design
Eruption was a two-wheel drive, wedge-shaped robot painted black, yellow and red, armed with a combined full-pressure flipper and featuring two red LED 'eyes' behind the wedge. It used its steeply-backed wedge to enable the robot to recoil backwards when flipping, which also allowed it to self-right easier. A pair of long plates, called 'flyers', lined Eruption's back end for stability when flipping, and red anti-spinner plates were welded onto the sides to offer it extra protection against spinning weapons. The robot's armour consisted of 4mm HARDOX wear-resistant steel shell, with 10mm high-density polyethylene impact absorbers on top, and an extra layer of 3mm wear-resistant steel on its front. Eruption used a custom built control circuit to fire the flipper, which allowed the team to alter the amount of CO2 it used for each flip, in the hope that it will never run out of CO2 mid-battle. Interchangeable weapons can be mounted atop Eruption's wedge. The 'Claw of Doom' was a small pneumatic gripping claw, which could pin opponents onto the flipper and leave them on top of the wedge as Eruption drove towards an arena wall or the Pit. The team called this weapon combination a 'flipper and gripper'. The second weapon, the 'Drum of Death', was introduced in Series 9. It comprised three parallel discs capable of damaging 4mm HARDOX which the team hopes can damage the leading edge of opponents, enabling Eruption to more easily breach ground clearances.

"Fun fact: The claw actually has a whole second pneumatics system at 150psi, so it would actually be able to grab hold of another robot given the opportunity. Obviously we all know it's not the most effective weapons choice, but as long as it adds something interesting to the show then it's a success as far as we're concerned!"

- Michael Oates on the Unofficial Robot Wars Facebook Group

In Series 9, flame graphics were also added to Eruption's flipper and sides, as well as a new logo suggesting a volcano-inspired theme. Throughout both series it competed in, Eruption's add-on weapons, anti-spinner plates, 'flyers' and decorative spikes could be configured in several ways to suit certain opponents or removed from the robot entirely, which proved to be the team's preference, only using additional weaponry in two of their ten battles in Series 9.

Series 8
In the first round, Eruption was drawn against veterans Storm 2, Sabretooth and Terror Turtle. Eruption dominated the battle, avoiding the drum spinner of Sabretooth, before flipping it. Sabretooth landed on its wheels, but Eruption's second flip overturned the robot, which had already broken its srimech. Eruption then pushed Terror Turtle into a CPZ and held it there with assistance from Storm 2, also immobilising its clusterbot The Hatchling by wedging it onto the arena wall. Off-screen, Eruption flipped Terror Turtle several times, and also flipped Storm 2. After bringing Terror Turtle towards the arena trench, Eruption launched it out of the arena, becoming the first robot to do so in the new arena. "Our aim is always to throw them out of the arena, so we're really happy that we got to do that. That's always the prized moment."

- Michael Oates

Eruption and Storm 2 had both qualified for the next round, and then fought head-to-head in the second round. Both robots met in the centre of the arena, but unfortunately for Eruption, Storm 2 had the lower ground clearance. Eruption was unable to get underneath its opponent, and was pushed around the arena, including the floor flipper which threw Eruption. When Eruption self-righted, it somersaulted into the pit release button, activating the pit. Eruption narrowly avoided the clutches of Sir Killalot, and continued to run into Storm 2, but simply rode on top of the precision-milled wedge. Eruption eventually managed to flip Storm 2, though the flip was so powerful that Storm 2 turned right-side up before landing, and pinned Eruption against the arena trench. However, in the final twenty seconds of the match, Storm 2 broke down, and Eruption flipped it twice, and celebrated in the centre of the arena, although this was condensed in the edited battle.

The battle was sent to the Judges, and although one Judge voted in favour of Eruption, the split decision was ultimately in Storm 2's favour. "If we got another flip in, I think we might've had it!"

- Adrian Oates

Eruption was then drawn against PP3D. The team planned ahead that they needed to defeat PP3D via KO, feeling confident that they could defeat Apollo in their next match. Team Eruption hoped to escape this battle with as little damage as possible in order to be capable of defeating Apollo afterwards. If Eruption lost this fight, it would be eliminated from the competition. Eruption kept close to PP3D throughout the opening stages, but could not get underneath the undercutter blade, and was sent recoiling away repeatedly. Eruption pressed the pit release, but its next contact with PP3D ripped away one of its anti-spinner plates, and immobilised Eruption's drive on one side. However, this impact had also immobilised half of PP3D's drive as well, and neither robot could make contact with the other. Eruption started to smoke, burning out a motor as it drove in circles, and fired its flipper in an attempt to display mobility, turning itself over and self-righting. However, it was in vain, and the Judges called a winner based on the first minute of the battle, which went in favour of PP3D. Eruption was eliminated from the competition at this stage, but regardless it fought Apollo. For the battle, Eruption removed its claw and decals, and entered the arena much like its live events appearance, as the team did not have time to bolt the weaponry back on after replacing its motor. Eruption fought wisely in this match, driving onto Apollo to lure it into flipping, and then attacking after Apollo missed. It did not fire its flipper until an opportunity was found, missing on its first effort, but launching the white flipper on the second and third flips. When Apollo retaliated with a flip, Eruption span on the surface of its flipper. "Oh look at the pirouette by Eruption!"

- Jonathan Pearce

Eruption threw Apollo towards the arena trench, which caused Apollo's flipper to jam open, and Apollo had also lost drive at this stage. Eruption attempted to throw Apollo out of the arena to the demands of the crowd, as the latter was counted out. Eruption was declared the winner as it threw Apollo towards Dead Metal, even though Apollo started moving again afterwards.

Because Eruption had defeated Apollo via KO, it earned three points, which put it ahead of PP3D in the league table, though this was still not enough for Eruption to qualify for the Heat Final. Invited to remain on-set for the duration of filming, Eruption fought in three untelevised whiteboard matches, to entertain the crowd. The first of these battles was a victory against Infernal Contraption. Eruption got underneath the axlebot and repeatedly threw it into the plexiglass. However, Eruption's wedge consisted of the hastily welded piece of RAEX it used against Apollo, which became stuck on the flame pit, and was dented by Infernal Contraption. Once freed, Eruption threw Infernal Contraption into the air more times, knocking out its weapon link, and eventually its drive link, immobilising it. A clip of the battle was shown in the opening sequence of the series.

The second whiteboard match saw Eruption take on Grand Finalist Shockwave, which the two teams agreed to due to their friendship. Eruption's wedge was lower than Shockwave's and it got underneath to throw Shockwave around the arena. In return, it was barged into the side wall of the arena. However, after Eruption flipped Shockwave a few more times, Shockwave lost a drive chain to a wheel, partially down to earlier damage from Carbide. Team Shock encouraged Team Eruption to keep attacking, so Eruption threw Shockwave out of the arena, the second time it had done so in this arena, winning the battle.

Eruption then fought Behemoth in its third and final whiteboard match, with the house robot being Shunt, with the arena spikes also being operated by an audience member. However, both Eruption and Behemoth kept away from the house robot and hazards, as both were due to appear in an upcoming live event. Eruption's ground clearance was superior, and it repeatedly got underneath Behemoth and threw it around the arena. It was flipped a few times in response by Behemoth. However, as the robots were mostly fighting near the flame pit, Eruption managed to flip Behemoth into the corner, and due to the fact that Behemoth had lost one of its srimechs, it could not self-right. However, Eruption kept on flipping, eventually ending the match with both robots still active. A large cheer went for up Eruption, but no winner was declared.

"Had this been a competition fight we would have left them, but this was just for fun and to put on a show, so we flipped Behemoth again and the fight continued!"

- Team Eruption

Series 9
"The team say this year, their plan is to flip robots out of the arena, and with a robot that can flip over 1,000kg, that's a real possibility!"

- Jonathan Pearce

Eruption competed in Episode 2, where in the first round, it was drawn against Belgian robot Cobra, 'egg beater' spinner Hobgoblin, and veteran Behemoth, which the team fought in their last battle in the Robot Wars arena. It entered the battle with its brand new 'Drum of Death'.

After starting the battle by free-roaming the arena, Eruption instantly took Hobgoblin out of the competition by flipping over, as that robot had no self-righting mechanism. Eruption was then turned over by Behemoth, but it self-righted and turned Cobra over, leading to a further sequence of flips from Eruption itself and the floor flipper. After lightly flicking Behemoth up, Eruption trapped Cobra over the floor spikes, flipped it, and dodged an attack from Behemoth. It was becoming clear that Eruption and Behemoth had seemingly allied, as Eruption continued to target Cobra and flip it, with little involvement from Behemoth, barring two late flips where Behemoth and Eruption turned each other over. Time expired, and the battle was sent to a Judges' decision, but Eruption safely qualified alongside Behemoth. "We saw Hobgoblin had a really really nasty spinner on it, so we wanted to take that out, so we just turned that over, and there was just three of us left"

- Michael Oates

In the start of the Head-to-Head round, Eruption faced Behemoth individually, so the team swapped Eruption's flipper for one with a wedge blade that is lower to the ground, and removed their additional weapons, using only the flipper. Behemoth landed the first attack, turning Eruption over, but on the second attempt, Eruption self-righted. Eruption's flipper was still failing to breach the front ground clearance of Behemoth as it rode up their scoop, being turned over once again. However, Eruption dominated the fight from this moment onwards, as it pinned Behemoth in the corner of the arena, out of the team's view, and launched it skyward. When both robots eventually left the corner, Behemoth made a crucial error, and fired its scoop without Eruption on top of it, and Eruption used this window to sneak under Behemoth, and somersault it out of the arena.

"Sensational stuff! That just lifted 108 and a half kilos there!"

- Jonathan Pearce

Already on three points, Eruption was then lined up to earn more points easily, as Cherub entered the arena with a broken drive train, leaving it unable to move freely in its battle with Eruption. The team equipped the gripping claw to Eruption, which would prove to be the last time they used a secondary weapon in the series. After 'activate' sounded, Eruption drove straight under Cherub and blasted it towards the arena wall. Knowing that its opponent was immobile, Eruption took its time to line up a second flip, making use of the gripper to hold it in place, and threw it upwards. Cherub happened to be exposing its raised ground clearance to Eruption, so Michael Oates turned Cherub around in front of the arena wall, and on the third flip, barrelled it into the trench. "Two fights in a row now, and that's what Eruption's built to do, so to see it all go perfectly, to exactly what you envisage in your head in the arena, that's a really good feeling!"

- Michael Oates

With six points, Eruption had already safely qualified for the Heat Final, but it first had to face PP3D for the second series in a row, and limit the damage that Eruption would take before its subsequent battle. In order to tackle PP3D safely, Eruption applied extra 9mm HARDOX to the front of its flipper, added thicker side panels, and used no interchangeable weapons on its flipper.

"If you want to set up a backstory or something, that is probably what you'd call our 'arch-enemy', as it took us out last time, and it's a devastating robot!"

- Michael Oates on PP3D

Confident in the extra armour added to Eruption, the team charged head-first into PP3D's disc, and knocked it upwards. Several follow-up charges seemingly took PP3D out of the running straight away, as it could only turn on one wheel, and PP3D Robotics turned off their weapon shortly afterwards. After flipping itself over, Eruption more carefully pushed PP3D onto the floor flipper, but this surprisingly allowed PP3D to run freely when inverted. However, Eruption easily exploited the new ground clearance of PP3D, and drove it straight towards the arena wall, and Team Eruption achieved vengeance for their past loss by flipping PP3D over the arena wall. "Three flips in a row, three cheers for Eruption!"

- Jonathan Pearce

With three flips out of the arena and nine points, Eruption qualified for the Heat Final unchallenged, where it would face the now fully functional Cherub, once again electing not to use any interchangeable weapons. Cherub's repaired drive ironically led to an even quicker defeat, as it rode straight up Eruption's flipper, and in just 6.5 seconds, a huge flip from Eruption threw Cherub out of the arena once again, putting a dominant Eruption into the Grand Final. This also marked the second-fastest battle in Robot Wars, and the fastest in the rebooted series' run.

A dominant Eruption entered the Grand Final to face another undefeated robot in Aftershock, and the reigning champion Apollo. However, Eruption was intentionally passive in this Group Battle, avoiding conflict. Its first involvement in the battle occurred when Apollo threw Aftershock directly onto Eruption's flipper, warping it out of alignment. Eruption continued its avoidance until it collided with a broken panel in the arena floor, requiring 'cease' to be called before Eruption drove under the wedged Apollo. After the arena was repaired, Eruption restarted the battle from a neutral position, but there was no further need for its involvement, as Aftershock immobilised Apollo with its next attack. The victorious Eruption cruised around the arena until the battle concluded.

Eruption's flipper had sustained damage from Aftershock's landing, but the team repaired this in time for the first of its three head-to-head battles. The first of these matches was against Ironside3. Although Team Eruption were fearful of the damaging bar spinner, they were aware that Ironside3 had to remove its self-righting mechanism, and were keen to win the battle without causing major damage to their opponent for tactical reasons. "As contradictory as it sounds, we don't want to cause much damage to Ironside, because we're also quite scared about Aftershock and Carbide, so if we can keep them spinning, they've then got to go in with the other two. If they can be spinning and deliver a big hit to them, that could help us out. So you've got to be really tactical at this stage and consider what your best chances are to take out all your opponents, even in the fights you're not in."

- Michael Oates

Eruption entered the arena with its anti-spinner plates, and used them to cushion the first blow from Ironside3, affording Eruption the chance to drive underneath it. However, Eruption's first flip missed, throwing the robot over. It self-righted quickly, and this time drove under Ironside3 to launch it high into the air, and charged it with a follow-up hit in the CPZ. Eruption's flipper was buckled but it deflected damage from Ironside3, and chased it into another CPZ, where Ironside3's bar struck Eruption and turned itself over. While Eruption fired its flipper, Ironside3 laid immobile, no longer possessing a self-righting mechanism, so the winner celebrated by spinning in the centre of the arena. Eruption had opened its second round campaign with a win by KO, earning it three points, although there was damage to repair. "As the flipper's gone up and thrown him into the air, the spinner has caught the side of the flipper and completely bent it over, out of shape."

- Michael Oates

Eruption's flipper was fixed, but it next had to face the reigning runner-up, Carbide. Eruption's extra panels were initially effective, allowing Eruption to charge into Carbide twice, sending it reeling into the air, but Carbide's attack on Eruption's wedge caused gas to immediately start venting from the flipper. Eruption's back end was struck by Carbide's bar spinner, immobilising it, and Eruption suffered another damaging blow when the countdown clock started. Eruption flipped itself over and self-righted onto the top of Carbide, taking more damage while the countdown expired. At the end of ten seconds, Eruption lost the battle to Carbide.

"8mm hardened steel, and Carbide's cut straight through it! I didn't think that was possible!"

- Adrian Oates

Although Eruption sustained significant damage from Carbide, it was repaired in time for its last head-to-head of the stage, after sacrificing its broken anti-spinner panel. In order to qualify for the final battle, Eruption had to defeat Aftershock or hold it off until a Judges' decision, otherwise it would be left in the position of a three-way points tie.

Eruption slowly approached Aftershock in the battle and breached its ground clearance. It manoeuvred its way to the back of Aftershock and threw it into the Arena Tyre, activating Rogue House Robot, also forcing Aftershock to self-right. However, the force of Aftershock's disc hitting the floor once again damaged the arena, causing the fight to be halted. Once again, Eruption and Aftershock were returned to a neutral position so the fight could be restarted.

The restarted match opened with the same tactics from both robots, although this time Eruption did not slip underneath, and the arena spike turned it over. Eruption sustained a blow while self-righting, but then pinned Aftershock in with Dead Metal. When Aftershock broke free, Eruption was smashed by the spinner, but then it slid underneath Aftershock to barrel it across the arena. Both robots traded blows, with Aftershock landing a light hit, and Eruption flipping Aftershock onto its back. When Aftershock finally recovered, it launched a series of attacks, so Eruption pressed the Arena Tyre to open the pit. However, at this point, Aftershock suddenly lost mobility, so Eruption instantaneously earned three points for a knockout. "I think that was the best fight of the series!"

- Dara Ó Briain

With a total of six points, Eruption had earned its place in the final battle of the series, where once again it would meet Carbide, the only robot to have defeated Eruption in the series. Angela Scanlon declared that a victory for Eruption would be the biggest upset in Robot Wars history. "Ever since I was two years old, and we used to sit down as father and son, we used to watch Robot Wars together. Since then it has consumed our entire life for the past twelve years, and so for me... ...it's my dream come true to come this far in Robot Wars."

- Michael Oates

Eruption challenged Carbide head-on, but it could not slip under the bar spinner, and was repeatedly knocked aside, showering sparks. Eruption attemted to flip Carbide twice, but missed on both occasions, throwing itself over. Before this, Carbide had struck the vulnerable side of Eruption, causing it to lose mobility on one side. Eruption's self-righting positioned behind Carbide to try and attack, but the ascendant Carbide smashed Eruption away and onto the floor flipper, which lifted Eruption up. Carbide's assault continued, but Eruption launched its own attack, managing to flip Carbide into the air. After this, the paralysed Eruption had to absorb more blows from the deadly spinner and could not respond, sustaining significant damage to the flipper and armour. Gas vented, wiring hung loose, and after another slam, Eruption was finally immobilised. It still fired its flipper to show signs of life, but this only led Carbide to land further attacks. Eruption was counted out and 'cease' was called on its campaign for the title. Sir Killalot closed in to pick up Eruption, but the new champion Carbide defended it by challenging the House Robots. Nevertheless, Eruption finished in second place overall.



Results

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Wins/Losses

 * Wins: 10
 * Losses: 4

NOTE: Whiteboard matches are not included

Robot Wars Live Events
Prior to its appearance on television, Eruption has seen much success at Robot Wars live events, and other live robotic events, winning several shows, throwing many competitors out of the arena, and twice earning the title of Fighting Robots Association UK champion.

Eruption first appeared at Robot Wars live events in 2013, winning its debut event at Portsmouth and going on to attend several more events throughout the year. In doing so, it became the first ever Robot Wars live events champion at Newport, after defeating Behemoth in the final round. Eruption would go on to attend several more Robot Wars live events between 2014 and 2016.

In 2015, Eruption also fought at the Robot Wars World Championships, held in Colchester. Eruption performed well in the first round, where Tomahawk broke down, allowing Eruption to throw Behemoth out of the arena. Eruption qualified alongside Cherub, which Eruption also flipped out of the arena in the same battle. In the second round, Eruption faced TR2 and Thor. Eruption immobilised TR2, flipping it over while it was low on gas, so could not self-right. Despite this, Eruption lost the Judges’ decision to Thor, having sustained too many axe blows. Eruption was given a second chance to qualify, through a battle against Tiberius and Tough as Nails. Eruption immobilised Tiberius in the opening seconds, stranding it on the arena wall. Eruption then fought Tough as Nails head-to-head, with Tough as Nails gaining the upper hand, grabbing Eruption from behind while it was self-righting. Later into the battle, Eruption pitted Tough as Nails, although the Dutch robot was able to drive back out. Surprisingly, the defeated Tiberius proved to be Eruption's undoing, as once Tiberius was freed, it gained revenge by pushing Eruption into the pit, eliminating it.

Eruption had a succesful year in 2016, the final year of Robot Wars live events. It won the first event of the year in Manchester, defeating Ripper on a Judges' decision despite losing to it twice in succession in the first show. It also won the Colchester event, defeating Manta to take home an Extreme Robots trophy. In its final appearance at the events, it fought Manta and The Saint in Gloucester.

Outside Robot Wars
Prior to Roaming Robots' acquisition of the Robot Wars brand, Eruption participated in the 2012 Winter Roaming Robots tour, where it finished second overall, behind Ripper.

In 2013, the same year where Eruption won the Robot Wars live title, Eruption also won the FRA UK Heavyweight Championship, hosted by Robots Live!, defeating Manta in the final round. It successfully defended its title in the 2014 UK Championships in Stevenage, before finishing runner-up in the 2015 championship to TR2 at the same venue. Eruption did not return for the 2016 FRA UK Heavyweight Championships, as they were held on the same weekend that Michael Oates was moving into university.

In addition to the FRA UK Championships, Eruption also makes frequent appearances at regular Robots Live! events. Its 2016 campaign ended with a third place finish at their 2016 Reading event, as well as winning a Challenge Nut battle against Manta at the same event. In 2017, Eruption won the Burgess Hill event over Meggamouse. Team Eruption have also competed in live events with several featherweights. They have fought with Explosion, which has enjoyed similar success to its heavyweight counterpart. It became the FRA Featherweight Champion in 2013. Explosion went on to win the 2015 Featherweight World Championship, and most recently won the 2016 Featherweight International Championship, defeating Django in the final. They have also fought with two pushing robots, their first one being called Invasion, which was built in 2006, and later, Annihilation. The team also have a 2-wheeled driven featherweight named Combustion, which is armed with a vertical spinning disc.

Trivia

 * Eruption's repeated out-of-the-arena flips have earned the robot many records:
 * Tied with Atomic, it holds the record for the most out-of-the-arena flips in consecutive fights.
 * It was the first competitor robot in the rebooted show to flip another competitor out of the arena, doing so to Terror Turtle in its first round battle. While King B Remix had been flipped out in a previous episode, it was done so by House Robot Matilda, and was chronologically filmed afterwards.
 * By flipping Cherub out of the arena in both the Head-to-Heads and the Heat Final, Eruption became the first robot to flip the same robot out of the arena multiple times.
 * Eruption's Series 9 Heat Final against Cherub marked the shortest battle in the rebooted series to date, at just 6.5 seconds, and it is the second-fastest battle in Robot Wars overall.
 * Eruption is now the highest-performing robot to flip another robot out of the arena without having been flipped outside itself in televised combat, besting a fourteen-year-old record held by both Atomic and Thermidor 2.
 * As the 2013 and 2014 FRA UK Heavyweight Champion, Eruption is one of five robots to have won the UK Championship twice. The others are Chaos 2 in Series 3-4 of the original Robot Wars, and Terrorhurtz, Iron-Awe 5 and Big Nipper, also in FRA-sanctioned heavyweight competitions.
 * Only Eruption and Chaos 2 have won their titles back-to-back in their successive competitions.
 * While no robot has yet to claim 3 championship titles, Eruption and Terrorhurtz have come the closest. However, Eruption is the only one that got close to 3 consecutive titles.
 * Eruption is one of only 3 FRA champions to have qualified from a heat, the others being Terrorhurtz and TR2.
 * Eruption's participation in Series 8 was first revealed through two teaser trailers released on June 25th, where Eruption can be seen flipping Sabretooth and Storm 2.
 * Eruption is so far the only Series 9 Grand Finalist to not use a spinning blade as its primary weapon.