 |
Episode 5 was the fifth and final qualification episode which determined the last robot to gain automatic entry to the Grand Final of the 2016 series of Robot Wars.
- Newcomer Pod was originally intended to compete in this episode, but was forced to withdraw due to being overweight, and was replaced with Pulsar, which had previously withdrawn from an earlier episode.
- Despite the lack of seedings or reference to the previous series, all five heats of the 2016 series see a single robot/team which won a heat in the Seventh Wars compete. In Episode 5, it was Thermidor 2.
- The first melee sees Thermidor 2 in a first-round melee with Chompalot for the second time, after they met in the Sixth Wars, and also their second time in a first-round melee with Team Mouse in a row.
- This episode was the first in Robot Wars to see a robot substitute the position of a retired robot after it had fought more than one battle, when Pulsar replaced Chompalot during the head-to-head round.
- The Heat Final was the only one of the series to go to a Judges' decision, and also the only Heat Final between two robots that had never fought each other.
- The Gabriel vs Beast and Pulsar vs Ironside3 battles were filmed in the opposite order to how they were aired. This explains why Team Gabriel were told with confidence that they needed to defeat Beast via KO in order to qualify, as Ironside3 had confirmed its position of 5 points at the time, while Pulsar had 6.
- Matilda makes no appearance in the episode.
Competing robots
Newcomers
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Crazy Coupe 88 | ||
| Weight | 101kg | |
| Weapons | Twin spinners | |
| Defence | Aluminium + kevlar | |
| From | Barnsley | |
| Team: Tyrone Ellis, Finn Ellis, Dan Stiff, Emma Hall | ||
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Gabriel | ||
| Weight | 108kg | |
| Weapons | Interchangeable battle axe | |
| Defence | HDP plastic armour | |
| From | Grove, Oxfordshire | |
| Team: Craig Colliass, Zack Colliass, Mark Colliass, Toby Colliass | ||
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pulsar | ||
| Weight | 107kg | |
| Weapons | 9000RPM spinner | |
| Defence | Hardened steel | |
| From | Shropshire | |
| Team: Ellis Ware, Peter Ware, Tara Ware | ||
Veterans
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Beast | ||
| Weight | 109kg | |
| Weapons | Pneumatic flipper | |
| Defence | Tubular steel | |
| From | Norwich | |
| Team: John Lear, John Lear, Alex Marler | ||
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chompalot | ||
| Weight | 99kg | |
| Weapons | 3 Tonne crusher | |
| Defence | Polycarbonate armour | |
| From | Derby | |
| Team: Simon Cook, Debs Cook | ||
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Infernal Contraption | ||
| Weight | 86kg | |
| Weapons | 16kg spinner | |
| Defence | Sewage pipe armour | |
| From | Cambridge | |
| Team: Gary Ewer, Alex Gee, Douglas Young, Jashan Bhoora | ||
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ironside3 | ||
| Weight | 109kg | |
| Weapons | 1500RPM spinner | |
| Defence | Hardened steel | |
| From | Nottingham | |
| Team: Trevor Wright, Adam Lewis, Patricia Wright, Louise Hemstock | ||
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Thermidor 2 | ||
| Weight | 110kg | |
| Weapons | Pneumatic flipper | |
| Defence | Aluminium armour | |
| From | Norwich | |
| Team: David Harding, Ian Harvey | ||
Round 1
Chompalot vs Ironside3 vs Pulsar vs Thermidor 2
- "So here we go! Riotous, robotic, wrecking, we hope!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as the melee gets underway
Thermidor pushes Chompalot into Shunt
Shunt axes Thermidor 2's wheel
Chompalot chased Ironside3 into Shunt’s CPZ straight away, who escaped as Thermidor 2 pinned Chompalot against Shunt, trying to flip it. Shunt struck Chompalot several times with his axe, damaging its self-righting wings before pushing and throwing it out of his CPZ, causing one of its panels to fly off. Meanwhile, Thermidor 2 sat on the opposite side of the arena, having lost drive to one side after taking a hit from Ironside3’s blade, and eventually tried to flip Chompalot again, but failed. Chompalot shoved Thermidor 2 into the wall, grabbing hold of it as it pushed the lobster-shaped robot into Shunt, who axed Thermidor 2’s wheel as Chompalot bit into one of its claws. As this happened, Ironside3 slammed twice into the side of Chompalot, then charged into the rear of Pulsar, damaging one of the newcomer’s wheels and immobilising it on one side.
Ironside3 rips a side panel from Chompalot
Chompalot almost backs into the pit
Chompalot pushes an immobile Pulsar
Chompalot pushed Thermidor 2 into another empty CPZ, who by then became completely immobilised (despite its flipper still working) and began smoking as it sat close to the arena wall. Ironside3 then hit Chompalot as it approached, the impact buckling its chassis and ripping off one of its side panels. Another hit dislodged Chompalot’s jaw, then Chompalot ran straight into Pulsar’s drum, causing more damage to itself as it pushed Pulsar around in circles, before straying into Shunt once again. Ironside3 slammed into the pit release button, and Chompalot almost backed into the opened Pit itself, before attempting to push Pulsar down as the battle ended. The fight went to the judges, who unanimously voted for Ironside3 and a heavily-damaged Chompalot.
Qualified: Chompalot & Ironside3
Beast vs Crazy Coupe 88 vs Gabriel vs Infernal Contraption
Beast flips Crazy Coupe 88
Gabriel axes Infernal Contraption
Dead Metal cuts into Crazy Coupe 88
Infernal Contraption reverses into the pit
This melee sees famous Live Event competitors Beast and Gabriel as well as Series 6 and 7 competitor Infernal Contraption making a return, taking on newcomers Crazy Coupe 88.
Qualified: Beast & Gabriel
Round 2
Chompalot vs Gabriel
The battered Chompalot
Due to the severe damage it sustained from its Group Battle, Chompalot almost withdrew from the competition before this fight began. However, with encouragement from Team Storm’s Ed Hoppit, and assistance from fellow roboteers including Team Terror Turtle, David Weston, Clive Brown from TR2, Team Storm and Gabriel’s builders, Team Saint, Chompalot was fully repaired in time for the first Head-to-Head battle.
Gabriel immediately axes Chompalot
Both machines charged straight into each other in the opening seconds, with Gabriel axing Chompalot with its sword, and Chompalot trying to grab hold of Gabriel’s body with its jaws. However, this attack lifted Chompalot’s wheels off the arena floor, allowing Gabriel to push it into Dead Metal’s CPZ, with a slam from Dead Metal helping to turn Chompalot onto its side against the wall. Gabriel escaped and pressed the pit release button as Dead Metal slammed and broke more panels off of Chompalot, before axing the battered robot, re-righting it and allowing Chompalot to escape the CPZ, albeit with only one wheel still working.
- "Chompalot, against the arena wall, pinned between, ooh, an axe and a hard place!"
- — Pearce as Gabriel axes the stricken Chompalot
Chompalot is flipped by the Floor Flipper
Chompalot tried biting down on Gabriel’s swinging sword as the two robots met again in the middle of the arena. It got underneath one of Gabriel’s wheels, tipping it onto its side and sending it careering across the Flame Pit and into Dead Metal. Gabriel escaped, and the two machines continued pushing and attacking each other until Chompalot drove onto the Floor Flipper, where it was flung across the arena and skidded to a halt near the wall, again on its side. Unable to self-right, Chompalot began to smoke as Shunt closed in to attack its underside, before cease was called.
Chompalot's LiPo pours smoke
Chompalot catches fire after the battle is over
Chompalot continued smoking copiously during Angela Scanlon’s post-battle interview, before its battery ignited, engulfing the robot in flames for three minutes before it was extinguished and taken outside the warehouse by members of the production crew.
- "It’s gone - bang, poof, there’s smoke and there’s fire! It’s what dragons are supposed to do, but not in that way."
- — Debs Cook on Chompalot’s post-match fire
As Chompalot was now too badly damaged to continue, it withdrew from the series after this fight, and the judges selected Pulsar as its replacement.
Winner: Gabriel via KO (3 points)
Beast vs Ironside3
Ironside3 destroys one of Beast's tyres
Ironside3 immediately avoided Beast as it got its spinning blade up to speed, before it hit Beast’s flipper and was pushed into the wall, stopping its blade. The two robots separated, with Beast chasing Ironside3 around the arena and colliding head-on with Ironside3 twice more, before circling around each other once again and exchanging a few more hits, with Ironside3 causing sparks and gashes in Beast’s exoskeleton, and Beast momentarily getting in underneath Ironside3 at one point. However, one of Beast's wheels locked up after this, causing it to lose drive on one side. Ironside3 briefly stopped on the arena floor as well, but moved towards Beast for another attack, striking one of its exposed wheels with its blade and damaging its rim, hampering Beast's mobility even more.
- "We warn you and we warn you – do not come into the Robot Wars arena with exposed tyres!"
- — Jonathan Pearce after Ironside3 shreds Beast’s wheel
Ironside3 deflects off the immobilised Beast
Despite narrowly avoiding the Floor Flipper, Ironside3 landed a few more blows on Beast, eventually immobilising it completely by puncturing the damaged tyre. Beast fired its flipper several times to try and show signs of mobility, but this was in vain, as it was counted out shortly after this attack. Following the battle, Professor Sethu Vijayakumar said that he was particularly impressed with Ironside3’s precision and tactics here.
Winner: Ironside3 via KO (3 points)
Beast vs Pulsar
Following its reinstatement as Chompalot’s substitute, this battle marked Pulsar’s first appearance in this stage of the competition, having survived the longest and being the more impressive of the two losing robots in its Group Battle.
Beast misses a flip
Beast is immobilised by a pair of hits from Pulsar
Both robots started tentatively, with Beast nudging Pulsar and trying to position itself for a flip. Beast flipped itself, however, dodging Sir Killalot and Pulsar as the two machines gathered together again near the wall. Pulsar slammed into Beast and got its drum up to speed, but Beast began to suffer drive problems again as it was sluggish getting away following this contact. Pulsar got underneath Beast and used its drum to strike its wheel and underside in rapid succession, launching Beast into the air and immobilising it completely. Pulsar won by knock-out, securing the three points necessary for it to remain in contention for a Heat Final place. However, it was later revealed that Pulsar had suffered intermittent drive problems throughout the battle, although these were not significant enough to prevent it from taking victory.
Winner: Pulsar via KO (3 points)
Gabriel vs Ironside3
Ironside3 slams into Gabriel
Gabriel flies through the air after a hit from Ironside3
Ironside3 collides with Gabriel again
Winner: Ironside3 via Judges' decision (2 points)
Beast vs Gabriel
Gabriel knocks out Beast with its first clean hit
Gabriel continues to attack the lifeless Beast
Winner: Gabriel via KO (3 points)
Ironside3 vs Pulsar
Pulsar's attack sends Ironside3 spiraling into the air and over
Ironside3 follows Pulsar into the pit after pushing them in
Winner: Pulsar via KO (3 points)
Final Table
| Robot | Points |
|---|---|
| Pulsar | 6 |
| Gabriel | 6 |
| Ironside3 | 5 |
| Beast | 0 |
NOTE: Although results earned by Chompalot and Pulsar are shared, Pulsar was placed above Gabriel on the table despite Gabriel having defeated Chompalot in its head-to-head.
Heat Final
Gabriel vs Pulsar
Pulsar tips Gabriel over
- "A Robot Wars angel, Gabriel, against the rising star of Pulsar!"
- — Jonathan Pearce calls the start of the Heat Final
Gabriel charged at Pulsar, tipping over as it ran up Pulsar’s front wedge and spun around. Pulsar darted around and underneath Gabriel, shredding part of one of its tyres and launching it into the air again before Gabriel hit the arena floor several times with its sword. It struggled to line up another attack, however, spinning underneath Gabriel’s body and receiving a blow from its sword before it finally tore into one of Gabriel’s wheels and flicked it over again. Another few slams sent Gabriel balancing on its side, but Pulsar suddenly stopped moving near the pit release button. Pulsar kicked back into life a few seconds later, reversing into Sir Killalot before again knocking Gabriel onto its side, damaging another tyre section and allowing it to career into Sir Killalot. Sir Killalot chased and momentarily held Gabriel in his grasp, before Gabriel escaped and hammered Pulsar as it stopped for a second time and before it was pushed onto the Flame Pit by Sir Killalot.
Gabriel punishes Pulsar's brief inactivity
Pulsar started moving again, then stopped, receiving more blows from Gabriel’s sword as it lay immobile, then kicked back into life a third time before the ten-second limit was reached. The two robots continued to exchange blows between each other for the remainder of the battle, with Gabriel’s sword continuing to hammer Pulsar’s body and drum, while Pulsar’s drum tore more sections off of Gabriel’s tyres, sending one of them flying towards an overhead camera.
- "Oh, what went flying there? It nearly hit me!"
- — Pearce notices the piece of Gabriel’s tyre flying towards the camera
Pulsar tears off a chunk of rubber from one of Gabriel's tyres, which goes flying towards the camera
Gabriel is caught off guard by the Floor Flipper with seconds to go in the battle
Gabriel was momentarily flipped by the Floor Flipper and tipped onto its side again before ‘cease’ was called, and the fight went to the judges. The judges unanimously voted for Pulsar, though the presenters and both teams agreed that it had been a close and well-fought battle.
- "It was an epic and truly bizarre battle. It looked like an angry ferret fighting a giraffe for large sections of it."
- — Dara O’Briain’s take on the Heat Final
Winner: Pulsar
| |||||||||||