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"They're good, very good. … pneumatic lifting forks and a hammer for the weapons. They could go mad - berserk almost. Watch for this one!"
Jonathan Pearce introduces Berserk 2 in Series 4

Berserk 2 was a competitor robot that entered Series 3 and 4 of Robot Wars. It reached the Heat Final in Series 3 through two consecutive knockouts, and famously held up to the flywheel of Hypno-Disc in a close defeat by Judges' decision. Berserk 2 returned for Series 4 as a seeded machine where it was knocked out in the second round by Tornado.

Team Berserk had previously entered the Series 2 Super Heavyweight Championship with the original Berserk, and subsequently entered Series 5 with Twister.

Design[]

Berserk 2

Berserk 2 in the arena during Series 3

Berserk 2 was a rounded wedge-shaped robot armed with an axe (referred to as a hammer on the show) and rear steel pneumatic lifting forks as weapons. In Series 3, it was painted silver and black to resemble a human skull. Berserk 2 cost £2000, took four months to build, and was made out of aluminium alloy for this series. This armour was particularly resilient for its time, famously resisting the spinner of Hypno-Disc with minimal damage.

Berserk 2 s4 arena

Berserk 2 in the arena during Series 4

In Series 4, Berserk 2 featured a redesigned body which intended to allow self-righting, as well as a faster top speed. Its colour scheme was also changed to grey and black, with the robot's name written on the front left-hand side and across the back and the skull design absent. However, in switching from aluminium alloy armour to steel, Berserk 2 lost its famous rigidity, and its armour was much more easily damaged by the likes of Tornado when compared to the hardier Series 3 machine.

The Team[]

Main article: Team Berserk
Team Berserk

Berserk 2 with its team in the Third Wars

Berserk 2 was the successor to Series 2 super heavyweight competitor Berserk, and the second of three Robot Wars competitors from Team Berserk. Team captain Stuart Ford was deaf, and all of the team's interviews saw him communicating via sign language and his translator Martin Kershaw. This also allowed Team Berserk to be the only team in Series 3 and 4 to have four team members; Stuart Ford, Christopher O'Connell, Graham Kershaw and Martin Kershaw.

Robot History[]

Series 3[]

In the first round of its Series 3 appearance, Berserk 2 faced Tut's Revenge, the new robot from the Mega Hurts team.

Berserk 2 vs tut's revenge

Berserk 2 turns Tut's Revenge over

"Will they go Berserk twice or leave in a trice against Tut's Revenge?"
Jonathan Pearce announces the first round line-up for the heat

Berserk 2 began slowly, but Tut's Revenge drove straight into the wall, allowing it to lift its opponent with the rear forks, almost toppling itself over in the process. Tut's Revenge spun as Berserk 2 retreated and attacked again, eventually toppling Tut's Revenge onto its back and leaving it stranded as it was attacked and pitted by Dead Metal.

In the second round, Berserk 2 fought series newcomer Ally Gator.

Ally Gator Berserk

Berserk 2 is driven in towards Shunt by Ally Gator

Berserk 2 vs ally gator

Berserk 2 lifts Ally Gator

The two robots started evenly, with Ally Gator getting underneath Berserk 2 from the side, and Berserk 2 lifting Ally Gator up, but not flipping it over and again almost toppling itself. More pushing and lifting ensued, with Ally Gator eventually pushing Berserk 2 into Shunt's CPZ, but the House Robot's axe barely grazed the armour of Berserk 2. Berserk 2 got around the side of Ally Gator again and lifted it up, finally toppling Ally Gator over completely. With Ally Gator unable to self-right, Berserk 2 hammered its underside with its axe, before the House Robots came in to cause more damage to Ally Gator.

Berserk 2 went into the Heat Final, where it faced the destructive flywheel of rising tournament favourite Hypno-Disc.

Hypno-Disc vs Berserk 2 2

Berserk 2 lifts Hypno-Disc up by its flywheel

Hypno-disc vs berserk 2

Berserk 2 gets flipped by the arena spike

Berserk 2 started tentatively, but withstood Hypno-Disc's first few blows and eventually lifted it, carrying it into Sir Killalot and leaving it sitting close to the CPZ. As Hypno-Disc escaped, Berserk 2 was suddenly flipped over by an arena spike, before being bumped back onto its wheels by Hypno-Disc after failing to self-right. Berserk 2 axed Hypno-Disc's disc, inflicting very little damage, before being pushed into Sir Killalot's CPZ while attacking its opponent's rear armour. More shoves from Hypno-Disc and axe blows from Berserk 2 ensued, before Hypno-Disc backed into Sgt. Bash's pincers and sustained more blows from Berserk 2 as cease was called. The fight went to a judges' decision, which went in favour of Hypno-Disc, eliminating Berserk 2 from the competition.

Series 4[]

Berserk 2 returned for the Fourth Wars, seeded twenty-fourth after its Heat Final finish in Series 3. In its heat eliminator, it fought against The Creature, the successor to Twn Trwn, and fellow Series 3 Heat Finalist Inverterbrat.

"...and judging by your competition, I think they're in with a pretty strong chance!"
Julia Reed overlooks Berserk 2 before its Round 1 battle
Berzerk 2 vs the creature

The Creature is lifted by Berserk 2

Berserk 2 vs inverterbrat

Berserk 2 is scarred by the bludgeoner of Inverterbrat

Berserk 2 was slow to get into the action, spinning on a flame jet before closing in on The Creature as Inverterbrat rammed and tried to lift it. However, Inverterbrat's lifting arm malfunctioned, lifting its wheels completely off the Arena floor and leaving it immobilised as Refbot separated it and The Creature. Berserk 2 nudged, chased and lifted The Creature, nearly removing its shell in the process, before attacking Inverterbrat several times with its axe. It sustained a few scratches and gashes from Inverterbrat's bludgeoner in the process, and retreated to attack The Creature again as the House Robots finished Inverterbrat off. Berserk 2 retreated to let the House Robots finish off Inverterbrat, and went through to the next round along with The Creature.

In the second round, Berserk 2 was drawn up against promising newcomer Tornado.

Berserk 2 vs tornado

Tornado rams Berserk 2

Berzerk2 pit

Sir Killalot pits Berserk 2

In this battle, Berserk 2 was too slow to escape Tornado's first charge, and was shoved around the arena and into the walls several times. Berserk 2 was eventually attacked by Dead Metal, before Tornado pushed it across the arena into the wall, repeatedly slamming into Berserk 2 and immobilising it. Sir Killalot attacked Berserk 2, cutting through its side panel, before carrying it to the Flame Pit and dropping it down the pit. Berserk 2 was then retired from Robot Wars following this defeat and replaced by Twister the following series.

Results[]

BERSERK 2 - RESULTS
Series 3
The Third Wars - UK Championship
Heat Final
Heat H, Round 1 vs. Tut's Revenge Won
Heat H, Round 2 vs. Ally Gator Won
Heat H, Final vs. Hypno-Disc Lost
Series 4
The Fourth Wars - UK Championship
24th Seed, Heat, Round 2
Heat F, Eliminator vs. Inverterbrat, The Creature Qualified
Heat F, Semi-Final vs. Tornado Lost

Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 3
  • Losses: 2

Series Record[]

Series Berserk 2 Series Record
The First Wars Did not enter
The Second Wars Super Heavyweight Championship with Berserk
The Third Wars Heat Final
The Fourth Wars Heat, Round 2
The Fifth Wars Entered with Twister
The Sixth Wars Failed to qualify with Twister
The Seventh Wars Did not enter
Series 8 Did not enter
Series 9 Did not enter
Series 10 Did not enter

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

Berserk damage

A damaged Berserk 2 appears in the background of Philippa Forrester and Julia Reed's introduction to Series 4

  • Team Berserk were notable in that most of the team members were deaf, communicating in sign language. This allowed the team to have one extra team member to act as a translator.
  • A very damaged Berserk 2 can be seen in the opening stages of Heat A in Series 4, where Philippa Forrester was introducing Julia Reed to the concept of the show. The damage sustained by Berserk 2 shows that this was in fact recorded part-way through the series.
  • Berserk 2's name was misspelt as Beserk II in its appearances in Series 3.
  • Both of Berserk 2's losses were to a newcomer who would go on to win the heat.
  • In 2016, when BBC news reported the return of Robot Wars, the Series 3 version of Berserk 2 was included amongst pictures of classic competitors[1].

References[]

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