Battles in Robot Wars can sometimes last the full 3-5 minutes, but on some occasions, it is over after the first attack. After the first impact, the robot may either be damaged, or simply overturned and unable to self-right. A quick immobilisation does not necessarily signal the point in which the robot is officially eliminated, which is only marked when the House Robots intervene, Refbot's counter reaches ten or 'Cease' is called. However, there are several recognised cases of a very quick immobilisation. All notable occasions of an immobilisation being caused in five seconds or less are listed below.
Definition[]
A quick immobilisation is defined as an attack within the first five seconds of a battle which knocks out or otherwise immobilises the opponent.
The losing robot must:
- Be clearly mobile before contact is made, with more than 50% of its drive working.
- Be clearly immobile after contact, whether that be through damage sustained, or through being overturned.
Some fights, such as M.R. Speed Squared vs. Thor from Series 9, Heat C, are hard to determine when the robot became immobilised as M.R. Speed Squared remained on Thor's wedge between 0:04 and 0:13, meaning the immobilisation could have taken place anywhere between those seconds. Where the immobilisation is not immediately clear within five seconds, the battles are excluded.
List of notable Quick Immobilisations[]
| Winner | Loser | Series | Battle | Time | Method | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concussion | Terror Turtle | World Series | Episode 2, Tag Team | Drum | Concussion spun its drum up, flipping Terror Turtle over with the first hit and immobilising it. Quickest immobilisation at 2.2 seconds. | |
| Dominator 2 | Henry 2 | Series 4 | Heat E, Eliminator | Axe | Dominator 2 immediately hit Henry 2 with its axe, striking its carburettor cable, which knocked Henry 2 out. Second-quickest immobilisation and record holder for over seventeen years, at 2.6 seconds. | |
| Ripper | Daisy Cutter | Series 7 | Heat P, Round 2 | Flipper | Ripper immediately flipped Daisy Cutter onto its side, where it couldn't self-right. | |
| Spawn Again | Diotoir | Series 5 | Heat G, Heat Final | Flipper | Diotoir was flipped over, and failed to self-right. | |
| Frenzy | Ming 2 | Series 4 | War of Independence, Semi-Final | Axe | Ming 2 drove at Frenzy, but Frenzy hit Ming 2 and broke its receiver on/off switch. | |
| Firestorm | Crasha Gnasha | Series 3 | Heat O, Round 1 | Contact | Fire Storm immediately slammed Crasha Gnasha onto the side wall and it was turned upside down by the impact and immobilised. | |
| Saw Point | Oblivion 2 | Series 4 | Heat O, Eliminator | Saw-wheels | Oblivion 2 collided with Saw Point, which bent Oblivion's chassis, immobilising the robot. | |
| Firestorm 3 | Panic Attack | Extreme 1 | All-Stars, Round 1 | Flipper | Panic Attack misjudged a charge, allowing Firestorm 3 to turn it over. | |
| Terrorhurtz | Jellyfish | Series 9 | Heat A, Head-to-Heads | Axe | Terrorhurtz struck Jellyfish once with its axe which caused shock damage to a speed controller, immobilising Jellyfish. | |
| Rip | Mini-Maul | Series 7 | Heat B, Special Event - Featherweight Melee, Round 1 | Contact | Rip flipped Mini-Maul over immediately, and the impact immobilised the invertible robot instantly. Fastest featherweight immobilisation at 3.4 seconds. | |
| Kadeena Machina | Dee | Battle of the Stars | Episode 2, Head-to-Heads | Flywheel | Kadeena Machina spun up its disc as Dee charged towards it. The impact sent Dee flying into a CPZ, ripping one of its wheels off and leaving it unable to drive in a straight line. | |
| Hypno-Disc | Firestorm 3 | Series 5 | Semi-Final 2, Round 1 | Flywheel | The first hit from Hypno-Disc's flywheel knocked Firestorm 3's removable link loose, rendering it immobile. | |
| Trident | Twn Trwn | Series 3 | Heat P, Round 1 | Axe | Twn Trwn broke down after Trident's first axe hit. | |
| Behemoth | Tartarus | Series 7 | Heat L, Round 1 | Lifting Scoop | Behemoth singled out Tartarus at the start of their melee, and flipped it into a CPZ. | |
| Joker | Spawn Again | Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors: Season 1 | War of Independence, Eliminator | Full body spinner | Spawn Again was suffering from a faulty kill switch so one hit from Joker was enough to immobilise it. | |
| Mortis | Ming | Series 3 | Heat F, Round 1 | Axe | Ming was immobilised with one blow from Mortis' axe a few seconds when the battle started. | |
| Ripper | Robochicken | Series 7 | Annihilator, Round 1 | Flipper | Ripper turned Robochicken over, where Robochicken was left unable to self-right. | |
| Ming 2 | Diotoir | Series 4 | Heat C, Eliminator | Flipper | Ming 2 easily flipped the armourless and weaponless Diotoir over within a few seconds. | |
| Firestorm 3 | Sir Chromalot | Series 5 | Heat D, Semi-Final | Flipper | Sir Chromalot was turned over and left unable to right itself. | |
| Panic Attack | Killertron | Series 2 | Grand Final, Round 1 | Contact | Panic Attack charged into Killertron, knocking out the latter's power pin and immobilising it instantly. | |
| Diotoir | Dome | Series 5 | Heat G, Eliminator | Flipper | Dome was turned over and left upside down by Diotoir's first flip. | |
| Storm 2 | ICU | Extreme 2 | New Blood, Heat C, Heat Final | Contact | Storm 2 drove under ICU, which caused ICU's aerial to fall off as it was launched over its wedge. This immediately cut off ICU's reception, so no controls could be received by the robot. | |
| Carbide | Apollo | Series 8 | Grand Final, Head-to-Heads | Bar Spinner | The second hit from Carbide's blade on Apollo caused Apollo's removable link to be knocked loose. |
Gallery[]
Concussion hits Terror Turtle
Ripper flips Daisy Cutter over
Spawn Again flips Diotoir over
Frenzy strikes Ming 2
Saw Point runs over Oblivion 2
Crasha Gnasha is slammed by Fire Storm
Terrorhurtz knocks Jellyfish out with its axe
Rip flips Mini-Maul over
Kadeena Machina rips Dee's wheel off
Firestorm 3 lies immobile
Trident's axe hits Twn Trwn
Behemoth flips Tartarus into Shunt's CPZ
Joker knocks out Spawn Again with just one hit
Ming loses mobility
Ripper flips Robochicken over
Ming 2 disposes of Diotoir
Sir Chromalot is toppled by Firestorm 3
Panic Attack darts away from the immobile Killertron
Diotoir flips Dome over
ICU's aerial is removed after Storm 2 charged it
Carbide knocks eventual Series 8 champions Apollo out
Trivia[]
- Firestorm, Diotoir, Panic Attack, Ming and Spawn Again have both immobilised a robot within five seconds and also been immobilised by another robot within five seconds.
- A quick immobilisation never happened in Heat I, Heat M, Heat N or Semi-Final 1 of a UK Championship.
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