Episode 1 of Robot Wars: World Series was the first of two international specials, aired as part of Series 10 on 31 December 2017[1]. In it, four UK representatives and four 'Rest of the World' representatives battled each other to declare a winning team from Team UK and Team Rest of the World.
Over five years after its initial UK premiere, Episode 1 was repeated on BBC Two on 14 January 2023, airing in a 10am timeslot.[2]
Competitors[]
UK representatives[]
Apollo (captain) | ||
Attack | Flipper | |
Armour | Laser-cut Hardened Steel | |
Weight | 108kg | |
Speed | 12mph | |
Drive | 2x AmpFlow A28-400-F48 | |
Power | Electric | |
Battery | LiPo, 48V | |
From: Conwy, North Wales, United Kingdom | ||
Team: Dave Young, Alan Young |
Gabriel 2 | ||
Attack | Interchangeable battle axe/hammer | |
Armour | 20mm HDPE plastic armour with 6mm HARDOX | |
Weight | 110kg | |
Speed | 11mph | |
Drive | 4in AmpFlow motors | |
Power | Electric | |
Battery | 2x LiPo, 82 29.6V or 9s 33.3v | |
From: Grove, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom | ||
Team: Craig Colliass, Toby Colliass, Rosie Colliass, Sarah Colliass |
Sabretooth | ||
Attack | Drum spinner | |
Armour | 3.2mm HARDOX and layered HDPE | |
Weight | 106.85kg | |
Speed | 15mph | |
Drive | 2x AmpFlow A24-400 48V | |
Power | Electric | |
Battery | LiPo 12V | |
From: Haslemere, Surrey, United Kingdom | ||
Team: Gabriel Stroud, Robert Pickford, Al Cannon |
Terrorhurtz | ||
Attack | Axe bot | |
Armour | 6mm folded wear-plate, 12mm bullet-proof polycarbonate | |
Weight | 106kg | |
Speed | 12mph | |
Drive | 24V 1,000W motors | |
Power | Electric | |
Battery | LiPo | |
From: Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom | ||
Team: John Reid, Nick Lynch |
Rest of the World representatives[]
Cobra | ||
Attack | Crusher | |
Armour | 3mm/2mm Hardened Steel | |
Weight | 107kg | |
Speed | 12mph | |
Drive | 4x movi-motors | |
Power | Electric | |
Battery | LiFePO4 36 volts | |
From: Belgium | ||
Team: Marco van Hek, Stefan Vanthoor, Bram van Hek |
Diotoir (captain) | ||
Attack | Vertical Spinner | |
Armour | 3mm Hardened Steel and 2mm Steel | |
Weight | 106kg | |
Speed | 10mph | |
Drive | 2x NPC Geared Motors | |
Power | Electric | |
Battery | LiPo 8s | |
From: Dubin, Ireland | ||
Team: Peter Redmond, Joe Gavin, Will Sweeney |
Rabid M8 | ||
Attack | Thwackbot | |
Armour | 25mm HARDOX, 3mm steel | |
Weight | 99kg | |
Speed | 15mph | |
Drive | 2x NPC Geared Motors | |
Power | Electric | |
Battery | LiPo 8s | |
From: Lisbon, Portugal | ||
Team: Guilherme Ferreira, Pedro Mourao |
TMHWK | ||
Attack | Axe | |
Armour | 3.2mm hardened steel, 5mm HDPE | |
Weight | 108kg | |
Speed | 12.5mph | |
Drive | 1000W motor with chain reduction | |
Power | Electric/pneumatic | |
Battery | LiPo 29.6V | |
From: The Netherlands | ||
Team: Annita van der Meer, Esther Tissing |
Round 1[]
Apollo & Gabriel 2 (UK) vs Cobra & TMHWK (Rest of the World)[]

Cobra drives over Apollo

Cobra pushes Apollo
Apollo and Cobra started, and as activate was called, Cobra charged over Apollo, before turning to drive back at the UK representative. Cobra escaped, turned, and drove up and onto the wedge of Apollo, which turned and allowed Cobra to fall off, bouncing around and skidding over the spike trap, which sent up a volley of sparks. Apollo chased Cobra, which drove at Apollo, ramping up the wedge and driving over the robot. Cobra backed up and hit the Dial of Doom, which opened the Pit. Cobra rode up on Apollo again, before reversing and starting to push the former Grand Champions back with their wedge. Cobra moved Apollo towards their CPZ, but mistimed a charge, driving over Apollo's flipper, tossing Cobra into the air.

Apollo launches Cobra up

Gabriel 2 and TMHWK get their weapons caught together
Cobra drove into the CPZ, tagging TMHWK into the fight. The Dutch robot drove forwards, missing Apollo with the axe, and straight into the pincers of Dead Metal. Reversing away, TMHWK activated the Fog of War as Apollo tagged Gabriel 2 into the fight. Gabriel 2 started whacking away near TMHWK, which moved in and also missed an axe blow. Both aimed at the same spot, but TMHWK fired the axe first, so it was hit by Gabriel 2's blade. Gabriel 2 turned and landed multiple blows on the body of TMHWK until the Dutch robot was forced onto the Flame Pit. TMHWK fired the axe, getting it caught on the blade of Gabriel 2, whirling the big white robot around.

Cobra catches Gabriel 2 over the flame pit

Apollo tries to overturn Dead Metal
The two robots then tagged their teammates in simultaneously. Cobra chased Gabriel 2 back to its CPZ, before turning to face Apollo again. Apollo held Cobra on the flipper for a while, but let the Belgian robot escape over the Arena Spikes, where one Spike flew out of its hole. Cobra's next attack run on Apollo saw it fall off the robot and turn upside-down. Trapped on its crusher, Cobra had limited movement and were hounded by Apollo. Cobra managed to drive, but onto the Floor Flipper, and were sent skywards. Dead Metal had tried to grab Cobra before the Flipper was fired, and got his pincers stuck under the fired Flipper. Apollo came in from the side and tried to flip Dead Metal over, but were turned over themselves. Dead Metal responded by cutting the sides of Apollo. Cobra was fired up by the Floor Flipper again as Gabriel 2 drove in to attack Dead Metal.

TMHWK is flipped by Apollo

Dead Metal is flipped onto Cobra, while Gabriel 2 slams down on TMHWK
Gabriel 2 was flipped by the Floor Flipper, and moved in to attack TMHWK. After a few hits, Cobra and Apollo joined in the fight, with Apollo launching TMHWK into the air. Dead Metal grappled both Cobra and Apollo, pinning them to a wall. Dead Metal reversed, battering Gabriel 2 out of the way, and Apollo chased the House Robot, flipping Dead Metal onto his side. Gabriel 2 and TMHWK both fought near the Pit, with Gabriel 2 almost levering itself in after getting the blade caught over the lip of the Pit, but escaped. However, TMHWK then reversed straight into the Pit under no pressure with 2 seconds left on the clock.

TMHWK pits itself
Winners: Apollo & Gabriel 2 (2 points)
Terrorhurtz & Sabretooth (UK) vs Diotoir & Rabid M8 (Rest of the World)[]

Diotoir is knocked out by Terrorhurtz...

...and Rabid M8 is knocked out by Sabretooth
Terrorhurtz and Diotoir started, and Diotoir's flywheel hit Terrorhurtz as they met for the first time. Terrorhurtz pushed back, as sparks flew from its wedge, hitting Diotoir with the axe multiple times. The comical eyes fell off Diotoir, and the Irish robot ground to a halt as its link fell out.

The immobile Diotoir is set on fire

The Fog of War attempts to put Diotoir's fire out
Rabid M8 moved towards its stricken teammate as Terrorhurtz allowed Sabretooth to join the fight. Sabretooth connected with Rabid M8 on the tip of the weapon, throwing the Portuguese robot into the air, clipped the wheel on its way down and left it in the corner, also immobile. Terrorhurtz tried to open the Pit, but only activated the Fog of War. Terrorhurtz hit Diotoir with the axe one more time as Shunt pushed the furry robot onto the Flame Pit where it caught fire, much to the mirth of the Sabretooth team.
Winners: Terrorhurtz & Sabretooth (3 points)
Round 2[]
Sabretooth (UK) vs Cobra (Rest of the World)[]

Cobra overturns Sabretooth for the first time
Sabretooth stayed away from Cobra as they tried to spin up their drum. Cobra pushed the front of Sabretooth with its durable front wedge, and the Team UK robot drove away, and into the Arena Tyre to activate the Fog of War. After backing away, Cobra charged at Sabretooth, bouncing it away, before setting off after the retreating Sabretooth. Cobra pressed the Arena Tyre itself, hoping to lower the Pit, but instead set off the Rogue House Robot, whereby Sir Killalot spent 10 seconds chasing Sabretooth. Cobra slammed into Sabretooth, which flipped it over.

Cobra hits Sabretooth into the air

Sabretooth's 'gyro-dance' brings it from the floor
Both moved away from each other near the side wall, and Cobra drove at the rear of Sabretooth, flicking it up but not without the drum clipping the wedge of Cobra as Sabretooth were slammed into the wall of the CPZ. Cobra backed away, and knocked Sabretooth into the corner again with another slam. Sabretooth recovered by "gyro-dancing" itself onto one wheel and whirring away. Cobra hit Sabretooth a few times again, before slamming it into the side wall twice, with Sabretooth piggy-backing off the second time, and Cobra also took the time to press the Arena Tyre again, but with no outcome.

Sabretooth attacks Cobra's tyre

Cobra's slam causes Sabretooth's weapon belt to slip
Cobra relentlessly pushed Sabretooth into walls, until an unlucky meeting with Dead Metal allowed Sabretooth to come around the back, grazing the back wheel of Cobra with the drum. Cobra were worn down by the drum on the next impact, and survived a flip from the Floor Flipper as Sabretooth resorted to gyro-dancing again, until it was stopped by Sir Killalot. Cobra failed to activate the Dial of Doom, and were rewarded by being caught by Dead Metal. Cobra pushed the gyro-dancing Sabretooth, until contact between the drum and wedge caused the drum's drive belt to snap off. Cobra shoved Sabretooth into a wall and Sir Killalot, before 'cease' was called. The battle was sent to a Judges' decision, which was unanimously awarded in favour of Cobra.
Winner: Cobra (2 points)
Terrorhurtz (UK) vs TMHWK (Rest of the World)[]
- "[TMHWK] actually has an old axe arm from Terrorhurtz. I gave the original owner an old axe arm, I was redesigning mine, so I gave him my old one, and it's still on there 12 years later. So it's good to see Terrorhurtz fighting Terrorhurtz. So we've got to be pretty careful out there, we don't want to be beaten by our own axe. It would be quite nice to break it!"
- — John Reid on the similarities between TMHWK and Terrorhurtz

TMHWK is pinned in the corner

Terrorhurtz hits the axe shaft
TMHWK spun on the spot as it decided where to go, so Terrorhurtz drove across the arena and pushed TMHWK into Sir Killalot. TMHWK drove away and hung back next to Matilda. TMHWK drove out of the way, allowing Matilda to strike the front of Terrorhurtz with her flywheel. TMHWK reversed across the arena and activated the Pit. Sir Killalot pushed TMHWK into the side of the Dial of Doom, trapping it in place so Terrorhurtz could lay some blows with the axe. Once escaped, TMHWK seemed to have the axe stuck in the "fired" position, and Terrorhurtz attacked the axe with their own. TMHWK retracted theirs and missed a hit before both backed off.

TMHWK is flipped by Matilda...

...which causes the axe to snap off
TMHWK stopped in the centre of the arena, so Terrorhurtz landed their axe blow low on the shaft of TMHWK's axe. Terrorhurtz drove around and hit TMHWK's axe shaft in the same place, slightly bending the axe there. TMHWK were pushed back by Terrorhurtz into Matilda's CPZ, where the house robot flipped TMHWK with her tusks. As TMHWK spun in the air, the axe shaft failed at the new bend, and was snapped off by the momentum of the flip.

TMHWK is pushed down the Pit
Terrorhurtz hounded the now weaponless TMHWK, eventually squaring off by the Pit. Terrorhurtz pushed TMHWK back, where it teetered on the edge of the Pit, unable to move. Terrorhurtz carefully manoeuvred itself around the side, and fired the axe onto TMHWK, knocking the Dutch robot down the Pit. After the battle, John Reid was ceremoniously presented his broken axe head back.
Winner: Terrorhurtz (3 points)
Gabriel 2 (UK) vs Rabid M8 (Rest of the World)[]

Rabid M8 slams into Gabriel 2's wheel

Gabriel 2 smashes Rabid M8 from above
Gabriel 2 and Rabid M8 moved towards each other and swung their weapons at each other. Rabid M8 tried spinning on the spot, and batted away Gabriel 2 as it tried to hit with the blade. Both tried swinging their maces like axes, both missing each time, so Rabid M8 ran away and started spinning in the centre of the arena. Rabid M8 kept away from the blade of Gabriel 2, despite being chased and caught on the Flame Pit, but eventually turned over while Gabriel 2 was on top, lifting the gargantuan robot up.

Gabriel 2 is lifted onto one side by Rabid M8

Gabriel 2 is caught by the Floor Flipper
Rabid M8 held Gabriel 2 in Dead Metal's pincers temporarily. Once free, Rabid M8 started spinning, hitting Gabriel 2's wheels enough to deflect it away from any hits by the blade. Rabid M8 drove into an unoccupied CPZ and were followed by Gabriel 2, which was flipped by the Floor Flipper. Rapid M8 were pinched in the corner, and hit by a low speed blow from Gabriel 2's blade. This was followed by some synchronised mace blows, none of which actually hit the opponent.
- "It's the National Floor Hitting Championships!"
- — Dara Ó Briain after the many failed attacks each robot had attempted

Gabriel 2, immobile on one side, is axed by Shunt

Gabriel 2 stops just before Cease
Rabid M8 spun on the spot, clipping Gabriel 2 on the wheel, as the other wheel appeared to stop working. Gabriel 2 started moving intermittently, so Rabid M8 ran to press the Dial of Doom, which allowed Shunt to shove Gabriel 2 into a side wall. Shunt released Gabriel 2 to allow it to escape the CPZ, but its hampered movement stopped it doing so, meaning Shunt attacked again. Rabid M8 punched the damaged Gabriel 2 a few more times before Gabriel 2 stopped completely just before Cease was called.
Gabriel 2 had survived to a Judges' decision, and did collect a vote from one of the Judges, but Rabid M8 emerged as the victor via a split Judges' decision.
Winner: Rabid M8 (2 points)
Apollo (UK) vs Diotoir (Rest of the World)[]
United Kingdom | Rest of the World |
---|---|
8 | 4 |

Diotoir drives over the Flame Pit at the start

A flaming Diotoir attempts to attack Apollo
With a win by knockout worth 5 points, and a win by Judges decision worth 4, the battle between the Captains would decide the winner of the tournament.
Diotoir spun up their weapons and headed onto the Flame Pit, staying there until the fur was very much alight.
- "The one place you do not want to be when you've got fur on your sides is on the flames."
- — Jonathan Pearce

Apollo launches Diotoir

The defeated Diotoir
The burning Diotoir drove towards Apollo to try and attack with the flywheel, but Apollo's low front stopped it reaching. Apollo pushed Diotoir back into Sir Killalot, who tried grabbing but failed. Diotoir escaped and drove at Apollo, but the UK captain turned and flipped Diotoir into the air, where it crashed down. Diotoir recovered, but drove onto the flipper of Apollo, where it was thrown up again, landing on the flywheel. Apollo wedged under Diotoir again and trapped it on its side.
Apollo pressed the Dial of Doom, which released Dead Metal to chase Apollo. Sir Killalot then drove at Apollo, and the former UK champs tried to flip Sir Killalot, but were unable to. Apollo and Sir Killalot started pressuring each other, and Apollo lifted Sir Killalot up again as Cease was called.

Apollo's final attempt to flip their fourth House Robot
However, Apollo didn't stop, as it tried to flip Dead Metal over. Sir Killalot pushed Apollo away, getting the flipper stuck under the floor, but it backed away. Apollo moved in on the side of Sir Killalot, and flipped under the tracks, tilting it up, but not over. Eventually, Apollo gave up, and Diotoir was flipped by the Floor Flipper.
Winner: Apollo (5 points)
Final Result[]
United Kingdom | Rest of the World |
---|---|
13 | 4 |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This episode was the first time in the reboot that music was played during fights.
- This episode was also the first time where clips from the original run were shown, as some of Diotoir's highlights from Series 5 were shown.
- The closing shot of the episode zooming away from the arena used a clip of Apollo and Behemoth at the end of their Heat Final, instead of Apollo and Diotoir.
References[]
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