Hypno-Disc

"Hypno-Disc is one I do remember...it's not something you can forget"

- Robot Wars judge Mat Irvine

Hypno-Disc (sometimes spelled Hypnodisc or Hypno Disc) was a competitor robot which fought in Series 3-6 of Robot Wars as well as both series of Robot Wars Extreme. One of the most famous and destructive robots to appear on the show, it proved very successful in competition, reaching three consecutive Grand Finals, finishing runner-up on its debut, and never failing to reach the Semi-Finals in any of its four main series appearances. However, despite its consistently strong UK Championship performances, Hypno-Disc never won a robot combat tournament.

Hypno-Disc was famously known and feared for its trademark horizontal flywheel, a weapon it pioneered and used to great effect. It received the 'Most Original Entry' award in Series 3 in recognition of this, and like other pioneers Razer, Chaos 2 and Cassius, provided inspiration for several other designs featuring this type of heavy rotating weapon. Hypno-Disc was also a personal favourite of Series 4/Extreme 1 pit reporter Julia Reed, as stated in numerous interviews.

Hypno-Disc debuted in Series 3 and quickly became a championship favourite after decimating Robogeddon and Stealth in the first two rounds of its Heat. It fought its way through to the Grand Final, ultimately finishing runner-up to Chaos 2 after being flipped over and left unable to self-right. Returning for Series 4, Hypno-Disc quickly moved into the upper echelons of the tournament, notably causing severe damage to opponents such as V-Max, Raizer Blade and Splinter to reach the Grand Final once again. However, it was defeated in its eliminator by Pussycat, and sustained such severe damage from the latter and Shunt that it was forced to withdraw from the third-place playoff. As a result, Hypno-Disc finished Series 4 fourth by default.

Hypno-Disc continued to perform strongly in Series 5, destroying Atomic 2 and immobilising Bulldog Breed 3, Firestorm 3 and Dominator 2 to reach its third consecutive Grand Final. Despite inflicting substantial damage to Bigger Brother in its eliminator, it lost after being pitted by the latter in a comeback victory. As before, Hypno-Disc finished fourth by default after breaking down during its playoff against Firestorm 3, and being unable to fight a rematch after both robots fell into the pit at the same time. In Series 6, it reached the Semi-Finals, but lost its first-round battle to Tornado and was eliminated in the Losers' Melee after becoming immobilised. Hypno-Disc also entered various competitions in both series of Robot Wars Extreme, but enjoyed only mild success there.

The Hypno-Disc team consisted of twin brothers Dave and Derek Rose and their father Ken. The Hypno-Disc team's motto was "Spin to Win", a motto soon adopted by other roboteers and referenced by Robot Wars personalities.

Versions of Hypno-Disc
"We did not want to meet Hypno-Disc...This machine was stunning for the amount of damage it dished out. The pits were very quiet when it was on."

- Peter Kinsey of Beast of Bodmin

In general, all versions of Hypno-Disc shared the same basic design: a four-wheeled, low rectangular shaped robot with 6mm aluminium checker-plate armour and a large front-mounted horizontal flywheel with a black and grey 'hypno spiral' pattern that inspired its name. This flywheel was the first of its kind to appear in the UK series of Robot Wars, and was capable of causing severe damage to other robots' armour, electronics and wheels, sometimes ripping them off completely. Because of the flywheel's destructive potential, Hypno-Disc was quickly dubbed "the most destructive robot in Robot Wars" in Series 3. However, the wheels of all versions of Hypno-Disc were easily susceptible to damage, and the robot had limited pushing power and low reliability in later series. "Capable of a single knock-out blow"

- Jonathan Pearce

The team originally planned on a two-wheeled design with a much smaller chassis, but eventually changed it to the familiar four-wheeled rectangular design.

Series 3
The Series 3 model of Hypno-Disc was originally built over three months using computer aided design, an aluminium frame and a welder that was used on the NASA Space Shuttle programme. It was capable of pulling a car and the 18 kg flywheel was capable of slicing through 3.5mm thick aluminium and spun at between 500-600RPM. It also sported black and white wheels unique to this version, and lacked either the top spikes or the self-righting arm installed on subsequent versions.

Series 4
For the Series 4 model, a side mounted self-righting arm was added behind Hypno-Disc's flywheel, in response to their defeat against Chaos 2. The flywheel also received substantial changes, now spinning up to 750RPM and equipped with a new motor that allowed it to reach its maximum speed in 3.5 seconds (75 mph at the teeth). Additionally, it featured thicker and larger teeth which were designed to snag and tear complete sections of other opponents' armour off, as well as being slimmer than the original disc and having a tapered appearance. The drive system for both the wheels and the disc were simplified for improved reliability.

Hypno-Disc also sported a set of five spikes along its top armour, and new metal wheels replacing the original ones. This version was also quick at 20mph and had mild steel added to its armour, but the wheels were especially vulnerable to damage, as its fight against Pussycat proved.

Series 5/Extreme 1
The Series 5/Extreme 1 Hypno-Disc featured more upgrades to its flywheel, which now weighed 20kg and featured a new motor that was three times as powerful as before, allowing the flywheel to spin up to 90mph in just two seconds. The five spikes seen in Series 4 were also replaced with one spike for this series only, while the self-righting arm was upgraded to travel faster.

Series 6/Extreme 2
For Series 6, a new version of Hypno-Disc was built, using a new 10mm aluminum checker-plate chassis, with titanium wheel shafts and a brand-new two-toothed flywheel with a 7mm high-grade aluminium cover and a new spiral pattern. The flywheel was upgraded to spin at up to 900RPM and the drive motor was moved under the weapon to improve reliability, while the five body spikes seen on the Series 4 model returned, although considerably shorter than before.

The Team
"It all started just before Series 1, we'd seen an advert in a model magazine for radio-control experts to come onto this TV competition. We hadn't got a clue what it was, we were quite interested, but unfortunately, Series 1, we didn't start. After Series 2, we looked at various robots on there and we thought "This is fantastic, we've got to hav a go at this. So we went about designing a robot for it."

- Dave Rose on the Ultimate Warrior Collection - Hypnodisc DVD

Hypno-Disc was designed and built by the Rose family; brothers Derek and Dave and their father Ken. The design for Hypno-Disc originally came from Dave Rose's three-year-old son, who made it out of Lego, and this was converted from 15 years of engineering experience.

Dave, Derek and Ken were present throughout Hypno-Disc's appearances, apart from the Semi-Finals and Grand Final of Series 3, when Derek was forced to leave for America on work.

However, the team were unable to enter Series 7 due to commitments outside Robot Wars to get Hypno-Disc upgraded and ready for Series 7. "There are a number of reasons why we didn't make it to Series 7 this time. Unfortunately it has been an exceptionally busy 2003 at our works which took up much of the spare time we would have normally had. Derek is now a proud Dad. Natalie, who is now 6 months old, has kept Derek's hands full lately !!"

- The Hypno-Disc website explains Hypno-Disc's absence from the Seventh Wars

In 2016, Dave Rose appeared on BBC Radio Oxford to discuss Hypno-Disc with radio presenter Kat Ormand. He stated that the Hypno-Disc team were exploring the possibility of competing in Series 8 of Robot Wars, but warned that this might not be possible due to time constraints and other factors. Hypno-Disc ultimately did not compete, nor did it apply for Series 9.

Series 3
"This is the most complete destruction I think we've seen on Robot Wars ever..."

- Jonathan Pearce

Hypno-Disc's Robot Wars debut saw it drawn up against fellow newcomers Robogeddon. In the battle, both machines gathered together as Hypno-Disc hit Robogeddon several times, causing its armour to buckle, shred and tear off completely with each successive attack. Further attacks damaged Robogeddon's wheels, chassis and weapon, as well as rupturing its CO2 canister, leaving Robogeddon practically destroyed and unable to move despite its wheels still turning. Cease was called, and Hypno-Disc was declared the obvious winner. This fight was subsequently nominated as one of the best battles of Series 3. "Before the fight with Robogeddon, we knew nothing at all about the level of destruction we were going give...and one or two people on the website tended to think it was a setup....I can assure them that it was not a setup, because we didn't know that the robot was going to perform as well as it did."

- Ken Rose

In the second round, Hypno-Disc was placed up against another newcomer in Stealth, who proved to be even more sluggish than Robogeddon at the beginning of this battle. Hypno-Disc began by making scratches on Stealth's front, but then used a small spot in Matilda's CPZ to turn around and attack Stealth's rear. However, the arena spike caused Hypno-Disc to fly upwards, its disc ripping Stealth's rear circular saw right off as it bounced. From then on, Hypno-Disc tore off several of Stealth's armour panels, then its electronics, before destroying the pneumatic rams powering Stealth's opened flipper. This comprehensive annihilation of Stealth gave Hypno-Disc another dominant victory. Hypno-Disc faced Berserk 2 in the Heat Final. Berserk 2's armour was noticeably tougher than their previous two opponents, and sustained no damage as Hypno-Disc made their first lunge and backed into the wall. Hypno-Disc was then lifted by Berserk 2's lifter and carried into Sir Killalot, but struggled to escape until Berserk 2 came to attack again. A few seconds later, Berserk 2 was suddenly flipped over by an arena spike, then in a sporting gesture Hypno-Disc helped push Berserk 2 back onto its wheels to resume the fight. With it's disc struggling to damage its opponent, Hypno-Disc shoved Berserk 2 into Sir Killalot, then around the arena a few more times before cease was called. The judges subsequently awarded Hypno-Disc the win.

However, there was a scare for the future runners-up, as Berserk 2 had damaged the disc and Sergeant Bash had caused Hypno-Disc to have blackouts. To make matters worse, Derek departed for America, leaving Dave and Ken alone to work for four hours straight in order to avoid disqualification. They nearly had to retire Hypno-Disc due to a lack of parts and time, but fortunately, the Hypno-Disc team brought their robot back to life just in time for the Series Semi-Finals. "Hypno-Disc; lethal, destructive. A robo-vore - it eats other machines alive."

- Jonathan Pearce in the Semi-Finals

Hypno-Disc entered the second Semi-Final, and was placed against Evil Weevil for the first round. Both robots started tentatively, with Hypno-Disc slow to get away and Evil Weevil spinning on the spot as they approached. Both machines dodged each other before Evil Weevil got underneath Hypno-Disc's disc with its forks, but were unable to lift it. Hypno-Disc retaliated by causing scratches to the surface of Evil Weevil's armour with the disc, then tore one of its antennas off and steered it towards Sir Killaot's CPZ, before ripping off the other antenna. Evil Weevil could only turn in circles as Hypno-Disc broke one of their wheels, then another hit immobilised it completely. Hypno-Disc emerged victorious as the House Robots finished Evil Weevil off. This led to Hypno-Disc facing 101 in the second round for the last place in the Grand Final. Again, Hypno Disc was slow to get away, and 101 capitalised by pushing Hypno-Disc around the arena and riding up its disc, sustaining no damage from the disc in the process. Hypno-Disc stayed out of the way as 101 reversed into Dead Metal, before both machines collided again. Hypno-Disc's disc appeared to slow down after this, and it reversed into Dead Metal as well, becoming trapped in his pincers and sustaining damage from his saw. It escaped, eventually pushing 101 into Dead Metal as well, and both machines spent the remainder of the battle shoving each other around until time ran out. After an extremely close fight, the judges emerged from their booth and inspected both robots for damage for the first time in the show's history, before eventually giving Hypno-Disc the win and putting it through to the Grand Final. In the Grand Final eliminator, Hypno-Disc was drawn against original Series 3 reserves Steg-O-Saw-Us. Steg-O-Saw-Us immediately drove in behind Hypno-Disc and tried to ram it, only for Hypno-Disc to strike its side with its disc and back away precariously close to Matilda's CPZ. Hypno-Disc and Steg-O-Saw-Us clashed together again, with the latter driving straight into Shunt and Matilda's CPZs after their attack. More dodging ensued, until Hypno-Disc ripped a gash in Steg-O-Saw-Us' side and rammed into their lifting tail after an attempted run. Steg-O-Saw-Us rammed Hypno-Disc into the wall a few times, but Hypno-Disc left a few more gashes in its opponent's front and sides, eventually jamming one of Steg-O-Saw-Us' wheels and immobilising it, eliminating it from the competition. Hypno-Disc was put through to the Grand Final, where it went up against the flipper of Chaos 2. Chaos 2 started quickly, circling around Hypno-Disc in an attempt to get underneath it and flip it. However, Hypno-Disc appeared to be having control problems, retreating to the wall as Chaos 2 followed alongside, turned and attempted to flip Hypno-Disc near the wall. However, Chaos 2 missed, it's flipper landing on Hypno-Disc's disc and stopping it momentarily. After a few seconds, Chaos 2 and Hypno-Disc separated, the latter getting its disc up to speed once again and buffeting Chaos 2 as it tried to get underneath again. However, Hypno-Disc was unable to escape a front-on attack from Chaos 2, who promptly flipped it onto its back, leaving them unable to self-right. The defeated Hypno-Disc was dragged into the corner of the arena by Dead Metal, while Chaos 2 celebrated its title victory by flipping Matilda and Shunt over as well.

Hypno-Disc also won the Most Original Entry award in this series, which turned out to be the only Robot Wars trophy or award the robot received throughout its career. "But the winner is...Hypno-Disc! Brutally powerful, and brilliant!"

- Jonathan Pearce, announcing the winner of the Most Original Entry Award

Series 4
"All eyes on the number 2 seed"

- Jonathan Pearce, as Hypno-Disc gets up to speed in its melee

Hypno-Disc returned to the Fourth Wars as the second seed, and went up against Raizer Blade and The Predator in its Heat eliminator. It started aggressively, buckling The Predator's back panel in a few hits before briefly turning to attack Raizer Blade. Hypno-Disc resumed its attack on The Predator, eventually ripping its back panel loose and tearing another part of its rear end out, before nearly being turned over by Raizer Blade's lifting arm. The Predator's internal components were left hanging out of its chassis following Hypno-Disc's attacks, and another side-on slam from Hypno-Disc split its armour and immobilised it, causing its battery to fall out. Raizer Blade had also become immobilised, and Hypno-Disc finished the battle by decimating The Predator's battery, causing it to billow smoke. Both Hypno-Disc and Raizer Blade advanced to the second round. Next, Hypno-Disc fought V-Max, which had entered Series 4 as a substitute following the withdrawal of Onslaught. Despite driving into Hypno-Disc's side at the start, V-Max suffered problems immediately, as Hypno-Disc's first attack ripped off a side panel and caused CO2 to leak, rendering its flipper useless. V-Max glanced off Hypno-Disc again, then ran into Refbot and the wall, allowing Hypno-Disc to tear off its other panel. However, it got underneath Hypno-Disc with its wedge and pushed it into the walls, dodging more of Hypno-Disc's attacks until it became immobilised near the pit. Hypno-Disc attacked once again, ripping V-Max's battery out and allowing the House Robots to attack the defeated V-Max and push them onto the Floor Flipper. In the Heat Final, Hypno-Disc met Raizer Blade again, which was still recovering from the damage sustained earlier in the Heat. It took just a few blows for Hypno-Disc to immobilise Raizer Blade, then it proceeded to tear one of Raizer Blade's side panels off before allowing the House Robots to dispose of the Cambridge machine via the Floor Flipper. Hypno-Disc advanced through to its second Semi-Final. "Sheer destructive power"

- Craig Charles on Hypno-Disc

In the first round of its Semi-Final, Hypno-Disc was placed up against Team Ivanhoe's latest machine, Splinter. Splinter started the battle well, using its front scoop to deflect Hypno-Disc's disc and grabbing hold of it with its claws. Hypno-Disc was pushed into Dead Metal by Splinter, but escaped, causing dents and gashes in Splinter's scoop until another hit tore it apart, in turn destroying one of the claws. Another blow ripped the scoop clean off, before Hypno-Disc ripped open Splinter's left side panel and immobilised it as it tried to evade the disc. Two more hits from Hypno-Disc tore off Spinter's panel and ripped much of its internals out, before the House Robots were free to attack the remains of Splinter, with Sir Killalot finishing it off by spinning it around and throwing it across the arena. This was by far Hypno-Disc's most famous fight. "Very close fight, we're gonna have to go to the judges on that one... only joking. Splinter, splattered! Hypno-Disc march on!"

- Craig Charles Hypno-Disc proceeded to Round 2, where they faced the eleventh seeds Wild Thing. It was pressurised early on, with Wild Thing lifting its lance and using its wedge to get underneath Hypno-Disc, only for Hypno-Disc to escape, and charge into Wild Thing, causing it to spin on its back castor. Again, Wild Thing pushed Hypno-Disc over the flame jet, then close to Dead Metal's CPZ, all while sustaining damage to its wheels and wedge and being spun around again. Eventually, Wild Thing was limping because of the damage sustained, but pushed Hypno-Disc into Dead Metal, then against the wall as time ran out. After a tight battle, the judges' decision went in favour of Hypno-Disc due to the damage it inflicted to Wild Thing. "Will the 750 rpm spinning disc send the kitty into itty-bitty pieces?"

- Jonathan Pearce introduces Hypno-Disc to the Grand Final

In its second Grand Final, Hypno-Disc was placed up against the number 19 seeds Pussycat in the eliminator stage. Hypno-Disc immediately hit problems, as Pussycat's first attack damaged one of its rear wheel guards, jamming the wheel and impairing the robot's mobility as Pussycat pushed it into Shunt's CPZ. Despite damaging Pussycat's blade, Hypno-Disc failed to escape, and Shunt struck its disc with his axe, stopping it completely and causing terminal damage to Hypno-Disc's drive. Hypno-Disc spun around in circles with only one wheel working, before it was picked up by Sir Killalot and dumped into the Pit. As a result of this loss, Hypno-Disc was due to fight Stinger in the third-place playoff. However, the damage sustained from Pussycat and Shunt was enough to prevent Hypno-Disc from taking part, giving Stinger third place by default, with Hypno-Disc settling for fourth.

Hypno-Disc also took part in the Pinball Warrior Tournament, being the second robot to compete. It finished the course with a respectable score of 135 points, which was enough to surpass 101's tally of 125 points and lead the standings for several heats, despite the Hypno-Disc team being disappointed with their result. Hypno-Disc ultimately finished joint seventh overall along with Firestorm 2.

Hypno-Disc was also due to fight in the Fourth Wars War of Independence special, where it would have represented the UK. However, in order to ensure that an American machine would reach the Final, Hypno-Disc was replaced at the last minute by the Dartford Girls Grammar's Series 1 entrant Detonator. It is possible that the damage sustained in its Grand Final battle with Pussycat would have prevented Hypno-Disc from competing anyway.

Extreme 1
"Will we see the end of Hypno-Disc: officially Robot Wars' most destructive robot?"

- Craig Charles upon Hypno-Disc's first Extreme appearance

Hypno-Disc participated in various tournaments throughout the first series of Extreme. Its first appearance was in a Mayhem battle, which served as a qualifier for the first Annihilator, facing off against Wheely Big Cheese and Ming 3. Hypno-Disc dominated the fight, tearing into one of Ming 3's wheels and leaving several gashes in the titanium flipper and wheels of Wheely Big Cheese. Hypno-Disc dislodged one of Wheely Big Cheese's wheels, before ripping both wheels off Ming 3, rendering it immobilised. "Ming 3... battered almost into oblivion and there goes a WHOLE WHEEL! A whole wheel has come off! One attack - oh, there goes the other one, well why not?"

- Jonathan Pearce reacts to Hypno-Disc ripping both of Ming 3's wheels off

Refbot counted both Ming 3 and Wheely Big Cheese out, with Ming 3 being tossed by the Floor Flipper and Dead Metal causing several sparks to fly as he sliced into Wheely Big Cheese's wheel, before both robots were pushed into the pit. Hypno-Disc qualified for the first Annihilator, but this was its only major success in the first series of Extreme. For reaching the last two Grand Finals, Hypno-Disc was also entered into the All-Stars Tournament. In its first round battle, Hypno-Disc was placed up against Behemoth, but its disc could not cause substantial damage to Behemoth's scoop as the former World Championship runners-up pushed it around the arena and into Sergeant Bash. Behemoth resisted several blows from Hypno-Disc's flywheel even as its scoop buckled and it ended up being attacked by Dead Metal, before overturning Hypno-Disc. Hypno-Disc re-righted itself immediately using its self-righting arm, before being shoved by Behemoth, who was attacked by Dead Metal again, who was red-carded for his second intervention. Hypno-Disc then lost drive due to a wiring error, and was pushed onto the Flame Pit by Behemoth, where it remained as Refbot counted it out. This eliminated Hypno-Disc from the All-Stars. "Well, they're [the Hypno-Disc team] stunned ... I don't think they [the Behemoth team] can believe it either!"

- Jonathan Pearce, reviewing the two teams at the end of the All-Star battle Following its Mayhem victory, Hypno-Disc took part in the first Annihilator, fighting against Splinter, Arnold A. Terminegger, Pussycat, Thermidor 2 and X-Terminator. Hypno-Disc was immediately ganged up upon in the first round, being flipped up by Thermidor 2 before being continually axed by X-Terminator, Splinter and Arnold A. Terminegger. All of these attacks prevented the disc from getting up to speed, but despite this, Hypno-Disc advanced to the next round after Thermidor 2 broke down. In the second round, Hypno-Disc could not get its disc up to full speed again, and took considerable damage from Arnold A. Terminegger and Sergeant Bash. However, Hypno-Disc survived once again after Pussycat knocked X-Terminator's removable link out, immobilising them late into the battle, despite Hypno-Disc having limited movement by the time X-Terminator was counted out. X-Terminator was thrown by the Floor Flipper, and eliminated. Hypno-Disc did not last long in the third round, becoming immobilised straight after its first hit on Arnold A. Terminegger in the opening seconds. Splinter almost achieved vengeance by pushing Hypno-Disc towards the opened pit, only for Pussycat to nudge it in and be shoved in itself by Splinter. Hypno-Disc, nevertheless, was eliminated. "R.I.P, Rest in Pieces I think it's gonna be"

- Jonathan Pearce at the start of the UK vs Germany battle, speaking of Nasty Warrior

Hypno-Disc also fought German competitor Nasty Warrior in the UK vs. Germany battle. Hypno-Disc dominated most of the battle, causing considerable damage to Nasty Warrior's carbon armour, only to suddenly break down and be counted out by Refbot. Nasty Warrior was declared the winner, much to the crowd's displeasure. The Hypno-Disc team identified the potential cause of Hypno-Disc's immobilisation to be a splinter of Nasty Warrior's armour getting into Hypno-Disc's drive system.

Unbeknown to many, Hypno-Disc also took part in a Wild Card Warrior battle, where it fought against TX-108. Hypno-Disc started the battle well, creating a few gashes in the side of TX-108. Unfortunately, Hypno-Disc suddenly broke down completely just 30 seconds into the fight, and was counted out by Refbot, leaving TX-108 to be declared the winner. This made Hypno-Disc the only veteran to lose to a newcomer in the Wild Card Warrior battles. However, this fight was never aired on television.

Hypno-Disc was also due to fight Razer as part of the People's Challenge, due to both robots being dubbed as "the most destructive robot ever". However, as both teams did not want to risk their robots being badly damaged purely for the sake of entertainment, both teams declined, and the event never took place.

Series 5
"The Rose family return to cause their own brand of disc-struction"

- Philippa Forrester at the start of Hypno-Disc's Series 5 heat

Hypno-Disc returned for the Fifth Wars as the third seed, firstly fighting the 200 kg walkerbot Black Widow. It started slowly by positioning itself around Black Widow, before tearing through several of its legs and getting its disc wrapped around in Black Widow's webbing. Hypno-Disc continued attacking Black Widow's legs, eventually ripping one off, before Black Widow was counted out by Refbot, carried by Sir Killalot over the flame jet, and balanced on the Floor Flipper, eventually being flipped over completely. In Round 2, Hypno-Disc faced the twenty-second seed, Atomic 2, the only time that two seeded robots met before the Heat Final. Atomic 2 withstood Hypno-Disc's initial blows, before flipping it over after a second strike and pinning it down. Hypno-Disc self-righted, and immediately tore Atomic 2's flipper apart, eventually ripping its front spiked blade off. The weaponless Atomic 2 pressed the pit release button before Hypno-Disc left several more gashes in its armour and immobilised it. Atomic 2 was counted out by Refbot, thrown around the arena by Sir Killalot, and pitted, while Hypno-Disc went through to the Heat Final. In the Heat Final, Hypno-Disc was placed up against Bulldog Breed 3. Hypno-Disc glanced off of Bulldog Breed 3's wedge to start with, before almost being flipped over by its opponent's flipper, then landed a few more blows that seemed to impair Bulldog Breed 3's mobility. Another hit smashed into Bulldog Breed 3's polycarbonate back panel, knocking its removable link out and immobilising it instantly. Hypno-Disc pressed the pit release button, and finished Bulldog Breed 3 off by pushing it into the pit. Hypno-Disc, once again, progressed to the Semi-Finals. In the first round of the Semi-Finals, Hypno-Disc was placed up against the seventh seed Firestorm 3. The battle did not last long, with Hypno-Disc's first hit immobilising Firestorm 3 immediately, with Firestorm 3 rolling lifelessly alongside the arena wall after another hit, its removable link having been knocked out. "And has the first bash of the Hypno-Disc weapon conked Firestorm out?"

- Jonathan Pearce, just seconds into the Semi-Final battle

Firestorm 3 was counted out by Refbot, thrown by the Floor Flipper, and pitted by the House Robots, allowing Hypno-Disc to progress to the next round. Here, Hypno-Disc was placed up against the axe of the eleventh seed Dominator 2. Hypno-Disc hit Dominator 2 several times with its disc, causing sparks and gashes to its titanium armour and immobilising it on one side while dodging an axe blow from its opponent. Upon realising that Dominator 2 had become immobile, Hypno-Disc headed for the pit release button, but did not press it, and dodged another axe blow from Dominator 2 before raising its self-righting arm to indicate that it had stopped attacking. Still, despite only having drive on one wheel, Dominator 2 was not counted out, so Hypno-Disc spent the rest of the battle avoiding Dominator 2 and moving backwards and forwards until time ran out. The crowd booed and the match went to the judges, who described the battle as the most boring one they had ever seen. Nevertheless, Hypno-Disc won the judges' decision, and progressed to the Grand Final for the third time in succession. In the Grand Final eliminator, Hypno-Disc fought against the unseeded Bigger Brother. Hypno-Disc initially dominated the battle, causing severe damage to Bigger Brother's armour and destroying their flipper after Bigger Brother backed into its disc several times. Despite this, Bigger Brother was still mobile, eventually shoving Hypno-Disc into a CPZ and going for the pit release button, pushing Hypno-Disc into it as it tried to block. In one of the greatest comebacks in Robot Wars history, the battered Bigger Brother pushed Hypno-Disc onto the edge, then down the Pit, eliminating Hypno-Disc from the Grand Final once again. Hypno-Disc was sent into the third-place playoff, where it faced a heavily damaged Firestorm 3 for the second time in this series. Here, the two competitors pushed each other around, with Firestorm losing both of its wheel covers and unable to use its flipper following damaged sustained in its previous fight against Razer. Firestorm 3 proceeded to get underneath Hypno-Disc and drove towards the pit, only for both machines to fall in at the same time. Cease was called, the judges called for a rematch, but Hypno-Disc had suffered technical problems which rendered their drive motors unable to work, and thus was unable to fight again. Firestorm 3 won the battle and was given third by default, with Hypno-Disc finishing fourth for its second consecutive series.

Series 6
"Now I've been out talking to some members of the crowd here, who are starting to wonder whether Hypno-Disc has still got what it takes to be a serious contender, or are its weaknesses now too well known? Well, only time will tell"

- Jonathan Pearce, doubting another smooth series for Hypno-Disc

Seeded fourth after its Series 5 performance, Hypno-Disc returned for the Sixth Wars to face Team Monad's 4x4, sacrificial robot Granny's Revenge 2 and the full-body drum of Barber-Ous 2 in its first round melee. Hypno-Disc was not seen much in the early stages of this battle, as the cameras focused on Barber-Ous 2 nearly tipping Granny's Revenge 2 out of the arena and getting 4x4's snagging cloth wrapped around its drum. However, Hypno-Disc then slammed into Barber-Ous 2, shredding the cloth and damaging one of Barber-Ous 2's wheels. Another hit caused Barber-Ous 2 to smoke and its other wheel to come loose, rendering it immobile. Hypno-Disc then attacked 4x4, causing more damage to the immobilised machine, and launched the smouldering Granny's Revenge 2 across the arena as Refbot counted it out. It was the last robot still mobile after another few attacks on 4x4 and Barber-Ous 2; despite this, Barber-Ous 2 also went through with Hypno-Disc to the next round. The second round saw Hypno-Disc facing Bulldog Breed, in a re-match of their Series 5 Heat B Final fight. In this battle, Bulldog Breed again started well, flipping Hypno-Disc up and almost over before the Rose machine landed on its disc and escaped. Hypno-Disc hit the front wedge of Bulldog Breed several times, creating several gashes through its armour and eventually immobilising it after a few more attacks. Despite flipping Dead Metal away several times as he tried to attack it with his circular saw, Bulldog Breed was counted out by Refbot, and was slammed into its side once more by Hypno-Disc before cease was called. This put Hypno-Disc through to the Heat Final, where it met Barber-Ous 2 for the second time. Hypno-Disc's very first hit immobilised Barber-Ous 2 completely, before the three-time Grand Finalist continued to hit its opponent's wheels and shred the plastic armour of Barber-Ous 2's drum. to attack Barber-Ous 2, slowly edging it towards the pit, and leaving several gashes in its opponent's plastic armour. Hypno-Disc pressed the pit release button and edged Barber-Ous 2 towards the open pit, eventually leaving its wheel hanging over the open pit as Refbot counted it out, before Shunt eventually pushed Barber-Ous 2 in. This victory sent Hypno-Disc through to the Semi-Finals for the fourth time in succession, and proved to be its last in Robot Wars. "Hypno-Disc...not as strong as before...are we sure?"

- Jonathan Pearce, as Barber-Ous 2 is pushed towards the pit

Hypno-Disc was drawn up against the number 12 seeds Tornado in the first round of its Semi-Final. Both machines clashed immediately, with Tornado getting round the side of Hypno-Disc and pushing it into a CPZ. Hypno-Disc escaped, but was pushed again by Tornado and couldn't get its disc to cause any significant damage to Tornado's armour or front scoop as it was constantly rammed into the walls and the Disc of Doom activation button. Tornado almost pushed Hypno-Disc into the pit several times, then into the walls, angle grinders and CPZs again right up to the end, where the fight went to a judges' decision. The judges unanimously voted for Tornado, with Hypno-Disc having to fight in the Losers Melee if it was to remain in the series. In this Losers Melee, Hypno-Disc was placed up against Fifth Wars runners-up Bigger Brother, who had defeated Hypno-Disc in the previous series, and the number 10 seeds Spawn Again. Hypno-Disc started aggressively, slamming into Spawn Again and Bigger Brother several times as it ricocheted into the wall and an angle grinder. Bigger Brother and Spawn Again ganged up on Hypno-Disc, and another hit on Bigger Brother caused Hypno-Disc to recoil and hit the wall disc-first, stopping it completely. Bigger Brother attacked the immobile Hypno-Disc again before Sir Killalot came into the CPZ and picked it up with his jaws. Hypno-Disc was counted out by Refbot just as Spawn Again nearly flipped Bigger Brother out, with Bigger Brother eventually winning by pitting Spawn Again. This finally eliminated Hypno-Disc from Series 6, the only time in four attempts that it failed to reach the Grand Final. "I would've liked to have had the 5 minutes, even if we lost with the 5 minutes, it's a bit much when you come out after a minute, or a minute and a half, two minutes"

- Ken Rose

Extreme 2
As in Extreme 1, Hypno-Disc's appearances in the second series of Extreme did not reflect its destructive capabilities. In the All-Stars Tournament, Hypno-Disc was placed up against two robots it had fought before, Spawn Again and Dominator 2 in the first round. Hypno-Disc began the battle by slicing at Dominator 2, but it merely bounced off and not causing any visible damage. Then Spawn Again threw Hypno-Disc into the air, but then retreated to then slam Dominator 2 again, before being flipped by Spawn Again again. It then landed numerous blows on Dominator 2, but every time it just bounced off the bi-wedge shaped robot. The three robots met in the centre of the arena and suddenly Hypno-Disc conked out and its disc slowly ground to a halt. Spawn Again then flipped Hypno-Disc over and the Refbot counted it out, Hypno-Disc was then left to be pitted by house robot Growler, eliminating Hypno-Disc from the competition. "We've been watching our opponents, laying on armour, for the last 2 hours!"

- Ken Rose before the Challenge Belt

Hypno-Disc also took part in the Challenge Belt special, where it fought for the right to face Tornado for the Challenge Belt at the end of the program. In its first round four-way melee, Hypno-Disc didn't last long, going up against twice heat-finalist S.M.I.D.S.Y., recent semi-finalist Dantomkia and the Class Act's Sir Chromalot. Hypno-Disc got one slice on S.M.I.D.S.Y. where it spun itself away without causing any damage, before Dantomkia charged into Hypno-Disc and pushed it into the CPZ and flipped it onto its back, propped onto the arena side wall, from which it couldn't move at all, or even use its srimech. Mr. Psycho tried to come in and attack Dantomkia, but couldn't move forward. This gave Dantomkia the perfect opportunity to flip Hypno-Disc out of the arena, and it did so, just as the disc was spinning up to full speed. This eliminated Hypno-Disc from the competition, and was also Hypno-Disc's final televised battle. "I'm afraid complacency has set in!"

- Philippa Forrester

Results

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Wins/Losses
The untelevised battle against TX-108, cancelled battle against Stinger and forfeit to Firestorm 3 are not counted.
 * Wins: 22
 * Losses: 10

Outside Robot Wars
Despite not competing in the final series of Robot Wars, Hypno-Disc has still occasionally appeared at live events since, notably making a one-off appearance at a Roaming Robots event in 2007. However, Hypno-Disc would not have been allowed to compete in competitions at the time, as spinning weapons were prohibited from live events for the heavyweight category until 2017. The Hypno-Disc team are currently considering building a new robot to take part in live events.

On July 31st 2016, the Hypno-Disc team took part in a Reddit AMA on r/RobotWars.

Appearances in Merchandise
"So good they made the toy"

- Craig Charles in Extreme 1


 * Hypno-Disc/Pullback
 * Hypno-Disc/Pitstop
 * Hypno-Disc/Minibot
 * Hypno-Disc/Robot Wars: Advanced Destruction
 * Hypno-Disc/Robot Wars: Extreme Destruction (GBA)
 * Hypno-Disc/Robot Wars: Extreme Destruction (PC/Xbox)
 * Hypno-Disc/Robot Wars: Arenas of Destruction

Trivia

 * Hypno-Disc is one of eight robots to win more than twenty battles in UK Robot Wars. The others to achieve this feat are Razer, Firestorm, Tornado, Pussycat, Panic Attack, Chaos 2 and Behemoth.
 * Hypno-Disc dropped a seed each series (i.e.: seeded 2nd in Series 4, 3rd in Series 5 and 4th in Series 6).
 * Along with Razer, Hypno-Disc was one of only two robots never to be seeded outside of the top 4.
 * Hypno-Disc was the only second seed to reach the Grand Final, with all the others being defeated in the second round of the Semi-Finals.
 * Hypno-Disc was one of only two robots that reached the Grand Final three times, the other being Firestorm. Also like Firestorm, Hypno-Disc did not reach the Grand Final in its final appearance in the main competition, instead falling in the Semi-Finals.
 * Hypno-Disc is the only robot to reach three successive Grand Finals (Series 3-5).
 * Hypno-Disc was the first UK Runner-up to reach a subsequent Grand Final. This feat would later be replicated when Carbide won Series 9.
 * Hypno-Disc is one of only eight robots that competed in more than one UK Championship and never failed to reach the Semi-Finals.
 * According to the Titan Robot Wars Magazine, Hypno-Disc would have been seeded ninth for the Seventh Wars, had it competed.
 * In both the first two All-Stars tournaments that Hypno-Disc competed in, it went out in the first round.
 * Hypno-Disc was profiled in Robot Wars: The Ultimate Guide.
 * Hypno-Disc was the pioneer of the horizontal flywheel, this being the main reason that it won the Most Original Entry Award in its debut appearance.
 * In all four of its main series appearances, Hypno-Disc fought in the second Semi-Final.
 * All robots which beat Hypno-Disc in the main competition (except in its Series 6 Losers' Melee) either became champions or runners-up of the same series they defeated it.
 * Hypno-Disc was the first UK Series runner-up to be seeded second in its next series appearance.
 * For three consecutive series, in the main competition, Hypno-Disc lost its last two battles.
 * Hypno-Disc was the only seeded robot in Series 6 to not have its seed read out by the announcer Stuart McDonald.
 * Hypno-Disc's Series 3 first round battle against Robogeddon was nominated for the Battle of the Series, however it lost out to The Big Cheese vs Chaos 2.
 * Like Reactor and Stinger, Hypno-Disc was designed from a child's construction toy, with its prototype being made out of Lego.
 * Derek Rose told the Robot Wars Magazine that Hypno-Disc was going to be a walking robot in Series 4, but it ultimately retained wheels when it appeared in the series.
 * The Hypno-Disc team had a strong desire to battle Mortis. Although the two never fought each other on the show, they did feature alongside Stinger, a robot Hypno-Disc had meant to fight in Series 4, in a Fantasy Fight comic from the original Robot Wars Magazine.
 * Hypno-Disc proved to be the inspiration for many subsequent spinning weapons. Although spinning weapons were mostly banned from heavyweight live events in the UK between 2007 and 2017, many featherweight and antweight competitors armed with spinners were largely based on Hypno-Disc's design. Dave Moulds even created a featherweight version of Hypno-Disc itself, called 360, which features a srimech and top spikes similar to those found on the original robot.
 * One of the Series 3 Hypno-Disc's wheels was sold on eBay on 1 February 2015 for £8.00.
 * Of Hypno-Disc's 22 combat victories, only seven did not contain a robot with a flipper or lifter.
 * Hypno-Disc is the only second seed ever to reach a Grand Final, with all four others falling in the second round of the semi-finals.
 * It is also one of two series runners-up to have reached the Grand Final in the series after, the other being eventual Series 9 champion Carbide.
 * One of Hypno-Disc's drive motors would later be used in Series 8 champion Apollo.
 * In 2003, Hypno-Disc was inducted into The Combat Robot Hall of Fame as an inaugural member, in recognition of its innovative and influential design.