The First World Championship

"Citizens, the world is at war! After fifty years of peace, the big red button has finally been pushed."

- Craig Charles

The First World Championship was the first of three special Robot Wars championships in which robots from all over the world competed against each other, representing their respective countries. The first World Championship was filmed shortly after Robot Wars: The Third Wars, and was first released on VHS on March 13, 2000 and later on DVD on January 10, 2005. The championship was hosted by Craig Charles, the pit reporter was Philippa Forrester and commentary was provided by Jonathan Pearce.

The First World Championship was eventually shown on TV on November 16, 2001 on BBC Choice and repeated on BBC Two on December 27, 2001 (the day before that channel's broadcast of The Second World Championship). However, to fit the championship into a 45 minute time slot many of the team interviews were cut and some of the commentary was re-recorded.

Format
The championship featured 16 robots from around the world, representing their respective countries. The robots were paired off to fight in a straight knockout competition, with the winner of the final battle becoming world champion.

Competing Robots
With the exception of Mauler and the International League competitors (except for Diotoir), all of the competing robots were veterans from the UK series. Presumably due to the lack of international competitors available, the UK's four nations were split up, with five robots representing England and a single representative for each of the remaining nations. In addition, Killerhurtz and Cerberus competed representing the Czech Republic and Cyprus, respectively to add diversity.


 * Note: The Mauler never made it into the arena and as a result its stats were never revealed.

Depoppesaurus Rex (BEL) vs Diotoir (IRE)
The battle started slowly with Diotoir trying unsuccessfully to get underneath and flip Depoppesaurus Rex with its lifting arm. Eventually the attack worked and the Belgian robot was flipped over but rolled back onto its wheels. Diotoir pushed Depoppesaurus Rex towards the pit, but was unable to push it down, driving perilously close to Sgt Bash's CPZ during this time. The house robot fired its flame-thrower a couple of times, only causing Diotoir's fur to start smoking. Depoppesaurus Rex managed to get its lifting nose underneath Diotoir and hoist it into the air, reversing precariously towards the pit while it was at it. Diotoir slipped off but remained suspended in mid-air by its opponent's lifter. The back of Diotoir's fur finally caught fire during the struggle. Time expired with both robots mobile and the judges went for Diotoir.

Winner: Diotoir

Prometheus (USA) vs Weld-Dor (NIR)
The battle started with the two robots briefly coming into contact before Prometheus drove across the arena and into Sir Killalot. Prometheus escaped, but then it drove into the arena wall and Weld-Dor was able to get its lifting spike underneath and carry the American robot around the arena, even spinning it around in a circle for a moment and then shoving the American competitor into the Arena wall. Nuts and bolts started falling from the underside of Prometheus as it was pinned to the wall by Weld-Dor. Eventually, Shunt intervened and broke the robots up but Prometheus became stuck on top of the house robot as a result. As Prometheus was carried around the arena by Shunt, the fuel line was severed and it was eventually immobilised, as Shunt shook it off with its axe.

Winner: Weld-Dor

All Torque (SCO) vs Razer (ENG)
Razer quickly got underneath All Torque and pierced through the armour with its hydraulic claw. Razer then attempted to pierce one of All Torque's tyres, causing both robots to lift up into the air balanced on their front ends, before landing on their wheels again. Razer continued to attack and crumpled the stainless steel armour of All Torque. Eventually, the damage from Razer's claw became too much and All Torque broke down and Razer pushed it towards the CPZ where its side was crumpled by Sgt Bash. "That is, a knife through hot butter."

- Jonathon pearce as All Torque is destroyed

Bash even set Hamish on fire. At the end of the battle, Dead Metal came in and finished off the Scottish competitor with its circular saw.

Winner: Razer

Mortis (ENG) vs Terror Australis (AUS)
This turned out to be a very easy battle for Mortis as Terror Australis never started moving - Terror Australis' clutch broke three days before coming to the world championship. Mortis came in, punched two holes in Terror Australis with its axe. Mortis then attempted to lift Terror Australis but only succeeded in slotting its lifting arm into Terror Australis' mouth, lifting it up briefly before letting it go and bending the mouth as well as continuing to hammer to Australian robot. Mortis then pushed the Australian robot around the arena until cease was called. The two would later battle again, during the International League Championship with similar results.

Winner: Mortis

Behemoth (ENG) vs Techno-Lease (NED)
Both robots immediately charged at each other. This proved to be Techno-Lease's undoing as Behemoth immediately got its scoop underneath Techno-Lease and flipped its Dutch opponent onto its back. Techno-Lease was unable to self-right and the battle was over.

"All double-Dutch for Techno-Lease."

- Jonathan Pearce

Winner: Behemoth

Panic Attack (WAL) vs 101 (ENG)
After one unsuccessful attempt, Panic Attack was able to get underneath 101 and lift the robot into the air with its lifting spikes. 101 was able to balance on Panic Attack's forks initially but eventually over-balanced and landed upside-down. Panic Attack then picked up 101 again and, whilst attempting to carry 101 to the pit, Panic Attack accidentally reversed into the pit of oblivion.

Winner: 101



Chaos 2 (ENG) vs Killerhurtz (CZE)
Killerhurtz did not move at the start of the battle and Chaos 2 attempted to take advantage as it got its flipper underneath, but Killerhurtz suddenly sped away before Chaos 2 could attack. Killerhurtz attempted an attack with its axe but missed Chaos 2 and hit the arena floor instead. Eventually, after some brief minor attacks between the two, Chaos 2 was backed into a corner patrol zone guarded by Shunt, and was pinned in by both Shunt and Killerhurtz, allowing them both to attack the trapped Chaos 2.

Noticably, one of Shunt's attacks appeared to pierce Chaos 2's gas bottle, evident from a sudden burst of gas flying from the back of the robot. However, this did not seem to take any power from the flipper, as demonstrated when Killerhurtz drove away and around in order to prepare another attack, Chaos 2 was finally able to escape the CPZ, get underneath the Czech competitor, and throw it over against Shunt and the arena wall. Normally Killerhurtz had self-righting capabilities, but the chain had broken on its axe when withdrawing it from Chaos 2, causing it to be stuck in the "fired" position. As a result, Killerhurtz was left unable to self-right and cease was called, sending Chaos 2 through to Round 2.

Winner: Chaos 2

Mauler (USA) vs Cerberus (CYP)
Before this battle started, there were doubts over the safety of Mauler's weapon and it was placed in the testing zone. In the end it was decided that the spinning hammers on the American BattleBots contender Mauler were too dangerous for the Robot Wars arena, and as a result, it was disqualified from the championship for safety reasons. This meant that Cerberus went through to the Quarter Final stage of the competition by default.

Winner (by default): Cerberus

Cerberus (CYP) vs Diotoir (IRE)
Diotoir took a while to start moving but then it soon managed to get underneath Cerberus and lift it up with its lifting arm. Cerberus escaped, but Diotoir got underneath again and attempted to flip the Cypriot robot. The first attempt was unsuccessful but then, after narrowly avoiding the pit, Diotoir was able to lift Cerberus and flip it onto its back. Cerberus was unable to self-right and was attacked by the house robots, Sir Killalot cutting off a chunk of its tail, much to the amusement of Cerberus' team. While all this was going on, Sgt Bash set Diotoir on fire again before Sir Killalot dumped Cerberus in the pit.

Winner: Diotoir

Chaos 2 (ENG) vs Razer (ENG)
The first attack was by Chaos 2, which managed to get underneath Razer but was unable to flip it over completely as Razer bounced off the Arena wall. Razer was then able to drive up behind Chaos 2 and caught it with its crushing ram, piercing Chaos 2's gas bottle in the process and pinning it against the Arena wall. Razer then dragged Chaos 2 into the reach of Dead Metal, which used its saw to slice into Chaos 2's flipper. With the flipper left unable to work from the earlier attack from Razer, Chaos 2 broke free from Dead Metal and deliberately reversed into the pit of oblivion to avoid any further damage.

"Favourite battle? Tough call but enjoyed taking out Chaos 2 in the First World Championships. At the time they'd just won the UK title and it was good to beat them convincingly."

- Vincent Blood

Winner: Razer

Mortis (ENG) vs Behemoth (ENG)
Behemoth charged at Mortis and was able to get underneath its opponent. Mortis tried to retaliate with its axe but Behemoth had already begun to raise its scoop and slowly flipped Mortis onto its back. Mortis attempted to use its lifting arm to self-right but Behemoth pushed it across the arena, wedging Mortis between its shovel and the arena floor so it couldn't self right. Behemoth pushed Mortis towards the pit and lined Mortis up onto one edge of the pit. As Mortis tried to self-right, Behemoth turned around with its scoop still raised and knocked Mortis into the pit.

Winner: Behemoth

Weld-Dor (NIR) vs 101 (ENG)
Weld-Dor started by getting underneath 101 with its lifting spikes and it reversed across the arena, pulling 101 towards the pit. Weld-Dor very nearly reversed into the pit as 101 escaped its clutches, but was just able to hang on and survive thanks to a nudge from 101. 101 twice pushed Weld-Dor into the arena wall before the Northern Irish robot again managed to lift 101 and carry it around the arena, bending one of its forks in the process. 101 escaped and pushed Weld-Dor around the arena while it used its very ineffective axe which barely scratched 101.

"That hammer's a bit ineffective, more like a petal on a flower, about as strong and menacing as a rose-petal."

- Jonathan Pearce

101 pushed Weld-Dor into the arena wall once more before cease was called and it went to the judges, where a unanimous decision sent 101 through.

Winner: 101

Behemoth (ENG) vs Diotoir (IRE)
Both robots tried to get underneath each other but it was Behemoth that was successful, flipping Diotoir onto its back. Behemoth then flipped Diotoir onto its side before nudging it back onto its wheels. Behemoth continued to get underneath Diotoir and flipped it over twice more, righting it again on each occasion. Diotoir briefly got torched on its side by the Arena flame-thrower during these attacks. Diotoir never managed to use its lifting arm as Behemoth was too heavy and when time ran out and cease was called, the judges went for Behemoth.

Winner: Behemoth

Razer (ENG) vs 101 (ENG)
Before the battle, Team 101 were understandably worried their robot was going to be destroyed. When the battle began, Razer started by chasing 101 into the pincers of Dead Metal and then easily cut into the armour of its opponent. Razer continued to pierce the shell of 101 and managed to prise up a section of its steel armour. 101 hardly left the clutches of Razer and major damage was caused to the armour of 101 throughout the battle, including the electrical system and battery. However, despite the massive amount of damage caused to the robot, 101 survived for the whole battle and the decision went to the judges, who went for Razer.

Winner: Razer

Razer (ENG) vs Behemoth (ENG)
The battle started evenly but Behemoth was soon able to get underneath Razer and flip it onto its side. Behemoth then pinned Razer down with its scoop and pushed it around which left Razer unable to self-right until Matilda interfered and Razer was able to break free. Behemoth again managed to flip Razer over and pushed it onto the flame pit. Razer tried to self-right, but its wing was caught on the grille of the flame pit and it was stuck on its side. Dead Metal eventually nudged Razer off the flame pit which allowed Razer to self-right and attack Behemoth. Razer gripped onto the side-plate of Behemoth and easily crushed through the armour, causing damage. Razer continued to cause damage to Behemoth for the rest of the battle with three separate attacks on the side-plates. Cease was called with both robots still mobile and the judges decided, with a 2 to 1 split decision, that Razer was the winner.

First World Champion: Razer