Robot Wars: The Fifth Wars/Semi-Final 1

The Fifth Wars - Semi-Final 1 was one of two Semi-Finals to decide which two of six semi-finalists would progress to the Grand Final. The Semi-Finals had three initial battles, with a Losers Melee to decide which robot would receive a second chance. The three winners and the winner of the Losers Melee would then pair up to decide which two robots would progress through. The episode featuring Semi-Final 1 was originally broadcast in 2002 on BBC Choice and repeated on October 18, 2002 on BBC Two.


 * This Semi-Final signified the first time that Chaos 2 lost in the main competition, after eighteen consecutive wins.
 * Razer's first appearance beyond the heats was in this Semi-Final.
 * Bigger Brother's defeat of S3 is ranked equal 21st in the Shortest Battles in UK Robot Wars, at 29 seconds.

Veterans

 * Chaos 2 (Seeded 1)
 * Razer (Seeded 4)
 * Wild Thing (Seeded 9)
 * Spawn Again (Seeded 13)
 * Bigger Brother
 * S3

Bigger Brother vs S3
Bigger Brother drove straight at the body of S3, and slammed it into the arena wall. It tried, several times, to throw it out of the arena, but was unable to do so because of the shape of S3. During all this, the pit release button had been pressed (and torn off) and the pit had lowered, so Bigger Brother pushed S3 down the pit instead.

Winner: Bigger Brother

Chaos 2 (1) vs Wild Thing (9)
Chaos 2 began by trying to flip Wild Thing, but was unsuccessful, then just failed to flip its opponent out of the arena. Wild Thing then began to push Chaos 2 around but drove up onto the flipper and was flipped over by Chaos 2. Wild Thing self-righted but Chaos 2 flipped it again and tried to throw it out of the arena and only just failed. Wild Thing recovered and pushed Chaos 2 towards the pit and its back wheels went over the edge, but Chaos 2 was able to push Wild Thing back just in time. Wild Thing was flipped and self-righted again before pushing Chaos 2 side-on towards the pit again. Chaos 2 toppled over the edge and smoke emerged from the pit, but it toppled back and managed to stay out. Both robots were mobile at the end and the judges went for Chaos 2.

Winner: Chaos 2

Razer (4) vs Spawn Again (13)
Razer immediately grabbed Spawn Again and pierced through its flipper. Razer continued to pierce through different parts of Spawn Again's armour, causing major damage. Spawn Again eventually escaped and ran away, but the flipper had stopped working so it could not attack Razer. Spawn Again opened the pit and sat next to it until Razer pushed it down and out of the battle.

Winner: Razer

Wild Thing (9) vs Spawn Again (13) vs S3
At first, S3 and Spawn Again appeared to team up against Wild Thing. S3 used its spinning disc to buffet Wild Thing constantly, causing parts of its armour to fold upwards. Then S3 hit Spawn Again, and this one attack knocked it out cold. S3 continued to pursue Wild Thing as Spawn Again got counted out, at which point Wild Thing shoved S3 into the CPZ, where Shunt caused some damage. Spawn Again was pushed into the pit by Sgt Bash whilst Wild Thing pushed S3 into Shunt again. The judges had to make another decision as both were still mobile, and although Wild Thing won on style and control, the match was given to S3 due to the damage caused.

Winner: S3

Chaos 2 (1) vs Bigger Brother
Bigger Brother started extremely quickly and immediately flipped Chaos 2 over, but Chaos 2 self-righted. Chaos 2 came back and flipped Bigger Brother but it rolled over back onto its wheels. Chaos 2 flipped it again but Bigger Brother was able to self-right. Chaos 2 pushed Bigger Brother over to the arena wall but was unable to flip it out of the arena. Then Bigger Brother came back and flipped Chaos 2, which this time was stranded on its back and unable to self-right. Chaos 2 was counted out and Bigger Brother finished off by pushing it into the pit of oblivion.

Winner: Bigger Brother

Razer (4) vs S3
Razer grabbed S3 early on and managed to pierce through its armour, picked it up and carried it around the arena. Razer took S3 to the CPZ where it was sliced by Dead Metal's circular saw, before Razer finally let go. S3 tried to attack but Razer grabbed it again and pushed it back into the reach of Dead Metal and Shunt. Razer kept hold of S3 for the rest of the battle and it was an easy decision for the judges.

Winner: Razer