Robot Wars: Series 8/Heat 5

Episode 5 was the fifth and final qualification episode which determined the last robot to gain automatic entry to the Grand Final of the 2016 series of Robot Wars.


 * Newcomer Pod was originally intended to compete in this episode, but was forced to withdraw due to being overweight, and was replaced with Pulsar, which had previously withdrawn from an earlier episode.
 * 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 5, it was Thermidor 2.
 * The first melee sees Thermidor 2 in a first-round melee with Chompalot for the second time, after they met in the Sixth Wars, and also their second time in a first-round melee with Team Mouse in a row.
 * This episode was the first in Robot Wars to see a robot substitute the position of a retired robot after it had fought more than one battle, when Pulsar replaced Chompalot during the head-to-head round.
 * The Heat Final was the only one of the series to go to a Judges' decision, and also the only Heat Final between two robots that had never fought each other.
 * The Gabriel vs Beast and Pulsar vs Ironside 3 battles were filmed in the opposite order to how they were aired. This explains why Team Gabriel were told with confidence that they needed to defeat Beast via KO in order to qualify, as Ironside 3 had confirmed its position of 5 points at the time.

Beast vs Crazy Coupe 88 vs Gabriel vs Infernal Contraption
This melee sees famous Live Event competitors Beast and Gabriel as well as Series 6 and 7 competitor Infernal Contraption making a return, taking on newcomers Crazy Coupe 88.

Qualified: Beast & Gabriel

Chompalot vs Ironside 3 vs Pulsar vs Thermidor 2
This melee saw the return of Thermidor 2 as well as Iron Maidens champion Chompalot fighting each other once again. The melee also contains Team Mouse's latest machine Ironside 3 as well as newcomers Pulsar.

Qualified: Chompalot & Ironside 3

Chompalot vs Gabriel


Winner: Gabriel via KO (3 points)

Beast vs Ironside 3


Winner: Ironside 3 via KO (3 points)

Beast vs Pulsar


Winner: Pulsar via KO (3 points)

Gabriel vs Ironside 3


Winner: Ironside 3 via Judges' decision (2 points)

Beast vs Gabriel


Winner: Gabriel via KO (3 points)

Ironside 3 vs Pulsar


Winner: Pulsar via KO (3 points)

Final Table
NOTE: Although results earned by Chompalot and Pulsar are shared, Pulsar was placed above Gabriel on the table despite Gabriel having defeated Chompalot in its head-to-head.

Gabriel vs Pulsar


Winner: Pulsar