For the backstage area where roboteers maintain their machines in between events, see The Pits.
The Pit of Oblivion (also referred to as the Pit of Doom or simply the Pit) was a major hazard throughout the majority of Robot Wars, being introduced in the second series. Located in the bottom-left area of the arena, the pit would be used for House Robots to dispose of immobilised robots, or for other robots to push opponents in, provided it was open. When a competitor robot was either beached over the pit, or fell into it, it classed as the equivalent of a knockout.
In the reboot, the pit remained located in the bottom-left corner. Throughout Series 9-10, however, it saw less usage following the introduction of the Dial of Doom, which could alternatively trigger Rogue House Robot or the Fog of War (Series 10 only) once the Arena Tyre button had been pressed.
Tantrum becomes the first robot to fall into the Pit
The Pit of Oblivion was introduced in Series 2, being featured in the left and centre routes of the Gauntlet across the series. It was also used in two trials across the series, - Tug of War and Pinball. Following on from this, the pit was used in the main arena, and was open for the duration of the match, filled with tyres. A smoke plume was produced when a robot fell in, signifying its defeat. In Series 3, the pit was open for the first two rounds of the competition (including The First World Championship), and was closed thereafter. Sparks were also produced in this series, rather than smoke.
The sparks produced by the pit in Series 3
In the fourth series, the pit was redesigned and was a black-and-yellow striped square with a red border - an appearance that it would retain for future series. For the fourth series only, it would descend after a certain time period - roughly 100 seconds - and a siren would also be heard to announce this. However, the sound effect was added in post-production, meaning roboteers couldn't hear it. Consequently, many self-inflicted immobilisations occurred due to roboteers not noticing the open pit.
The Pit Release Bumper in Series 6
Tetanus Booster pushes the pit tyre
From the first series of Robot Wars Extreme, the pit could be opened using a pit release button (UK Series), also known as the pit release trigger or pit trigger (US Series). In Extreme 1 and Series 5, the button was a yellow tyre, mounted on the wall near the pit. In Series 6, and the remainder of the international series, the pit release was a metal bumper, and labeled "PIT" (striped black and yellow in US Series 2/Nickelodeon, plain red in Series 6/Dutch Series 2/German Series). However, it reverted to a tyre in the second series of Extreme as well as Series 7.
The Arena Tyre, swung towards Rogue House Robot, highlighting the lowered odds of the pit descending
All of the defeated robots in the 10 Robot Rumble, apart from Terrorhurtz
For Series 8 onwards, the pit was located in a similar location to the original arena, in the bottom left. However, the pit release tyre was in the top middle of the arena, rather than being mounted on the bottom wall near the pit, and from Series 9 onward, the odds of the pit descended were lowered, due to Rogue House Robot, and in Series 10, the Fog of War. The pit descended much quicker in the reboot and was larger than in the original arena, as it could fit up to at least eight robots, a notable example being at the end of the 10 Robot Rumble, where all defeated robots except for Terrorhurtz were pitted, either being pushed in, drove in, or were pushed in by the House Robots. The interior walls were lined with lights, and a new electronic alarm sound effect alerted roboteers to the panel's descent. From Battle of the Stars onward, the pit emitted a mist to signify the pit had opened, rather than a plume for when they fell in. In addition, the pit descended automatically, when a defeated competitor was attacked by a house robot after 'cease' was called. In Series 10, the pit once again fired a plume of smoke when a robot fell in.
Plunderbird 2 drove through most of the Gauntlet, and then dove into the pit, seemingly on purpose to avoid the House Robots and secure a qualifying distance of 10.5m total. The team were mocked and called "chickens" for this behaviour.
After Suicidal Tendencies lost the use of a track, Raizer Blade attempted to pit its half-immobile opponent, but instead fell into the pit itself and lost the battle on a judges' decision.
Blade pushed Spike into the pit after the five-minute battle had already ended, and so the pitting was discounted, but Blade still won the judges' decision.
Despite T 2 driving into the pit, it progressed anyway as Vector was already immobilized. This marked the first time a robot won a battle despite driving into the pit.
Terrorpin was attacked by Dead Metal for going in a CPZ. As Dead Metal got away from the action, he reversed into The Pit much to Jonathan Pearce's amusement.
King Buxton drove Eric onto the lip of the pit, but also got itself stuck in the same position. Eric attempted to reverse King Buxton into the pit, but instead backed into the pit itself.
Despite dominating Flip Flop Fly, Wild Willy became stuck on the edge of the pit after being struck by the Arena Spike and was unable to escape before Matilda nudged it in fully. The judges declared that Flip Flop Fly would advance.
The defending runner-up drove into the pit while attempting to reverse Pussycat into it, falling in only the second round in one of the biggest upsets in Series 3.
Killerhurtz drove into the pit under no pressure from Cerberus. John Reid later admitted that he'd forgotten about the Pit due to its absence from BattleBots.
Both machines reversed into the pit, but in The Morgue's case, it only beached itself over the pit due to its size, prompting the team to think they'd won. However, the Judges overruled this decision, and put Firestorm 2 through.
The House Robots pitted the fully mobile Wheely Big Cheese, then also pushed Wheelosaurus and Prizephita Mk2 in as well to cover this up. The judges eliminated Prizephita Mk2 despite it being the second robot pitted, as it was already partially immobile.
The House Robot swung a dominant Anvil into the pit seemingly by accident. The judges scored the battle up until the point of the pitting, and declared Anvil the winner.
Ranked twelfth in the Shortest Battles in UK Robot Wars. It was the second-fastest battle decided by a pitting, and the fastest battle decided by a self-immobilisation.
The House Robot yet again swung Anvil into the pit despite it having the upper hand in the battle. The judges again scored the battle up until the point of the pitting, and declared Anvil the Forces Special champion.
Chaos 2 started the battle in dominant fashion, immobilising Mastiff, but pitted itself while trying to finish its opponent off. Instead, Manta pushed Mastiff into the pit and ultimately won the battle.
After getting stuck on the edge of the pit, Granny's Revenge was pushed into the pit by Refbot, before Axe-Awe pushed the House Robot in afterwards. This was the first and one of the only times Refbot immobilised a competitor.
After sustaining heavy damage from its opponent's flywheel, Bigger Brother proceeded to hit the pit release button and push Hypno-Disc down to reach the final.
Firestorm 3 got around the side of Hypno-Disc, and pushed towards the pit, with both machines falling in at the same time. Firestorm 3 won after Hypno-Disc could not fight in the rematch requested by the Judges.
With Barbaric Response and Spirit of Scorpion both immobile, X-Terminator pitted Barbaric Response to determine a winner. Regardless, the judges determined that Spirit of Scorpion had been immobilised first, and both advanced.
Team Tornado presumed Inshredable had been immobilised and proceeded to push Terror-Bull into the pit, however, Inshredable then proved their mobility.
After the battle, Corkscrew team captain John Heatlie asked to see footage of the pit release button being pressed, as he believed the pit descended beneath Corkscrew at random. Heatlie was shown footage of Kronic 2 pressing the pit release button, and retracted his comments.
S.M.I.D.S.Y. pitted St. Agro part-way through the fight, and then carried Warhog from across the arena and dropped it into the pit to confirm the outcome.
Flybot first lifted Kitty into the pit, but toppled in itself from the weight of its opponent. Cutlet then pushed Dragon onto the lip of the pit, and Gladiator knocked it in, to determine the outcome of the battle. Gladiator then pitted Cutlet for fun, and Micro Mute drove into the pit voluntarily to escape potential damage. Finally, Refbot pitted the victorious Gladiator, and also fell into the pit itself, crushing the featherweight robots.
Mammoth became the second walker to complete a pitting in Robot Wars, after Clawed Hopper. Staglet then pitted itself after a strong performance in the battle. Sir Killalot pitted the beaten Typhoon Cadet and Mammoth to add another two robots into the pit.
One of multiple occasions throughout Series 7 where Refbot activated the hazard in place of a competitor or another House Robot. Hydra, having flipped Shunt over earlier in the battle, was attacking Cassius Chrome and drove over the pit panel shortly after Refbot pressed the release button.
Tough as Nails pitted Disc-O-Inferno within seconds, while Robochicken immobilised B.O.D. to determine the outcome. Tough as Nails then pitted both Robochicken and B.O.D. in celebration.
After losing full mobility, Rip pitted itself to avoid damage from the House Robots. DTK then pitted both Bernard and Prince of Awe to help it win the Judges' decision over Whipper.
Kan-Opener and Ripper formed an alliance for this battle, and after Kan-Opener brought Raging Knightmare over to the pit, it could not release its opponent until Ripper assisted in separating the two.
The teeth of Supernova's disc shore off following earlier collisions with Or Te! and the side wall, leaving it with balance and gyroscopic issues exploited by TR2. TR2 tilted Supernova onto its side and angled it towards the pit, where the gyroscopic forces of Supernova's disc carried it into the opened hazard.
Ironside3 was overturned by Pulsar's first attack, but after several seconds was re-righted following an attack from Sir Killalot. After Sir Killalot's involvement, Ironside3 pushed Pulsar into the pit, before going in itself. The Judges ruled that Ironside3 had been immobilised after the first collision, awarding Pulsar the full 3 points.
Arena Cleaner crowned Battle of the Stars champion
After immobilising The Cat, Arena Cleaner celebrated its win by attacking the House Robots without the use of its weapon, and was pitted in victory by Sir Killalot.
Heavy Metal pushed M.R. Speed Squared into the pit, before driving in itself, still winning by knockout. The only pitting in Series 9 initiated by a competitor.
After Apex lost its bar spinner and became immobilised, the Team Danby machine was grabbed and dumped in by Sir Killalot after the Pit activated automatically.
The most robots in the pit at once, with just Terrorhurtz being the only machine beside eventual winner Eruption not to have been pitted. Expulsion, Thor and Sabretooth drove in themselves, whilst Track-tion, Iron-Awe 6, Concussion and Big Nipper were pitted by opponents, and Apollo was pitted by Shunt after 'Cease' had been called.
Behemoth recoiled following a heavy blow from Carbide; the trajectory caused it to spin towards and descend with the pit as it was activated by one of Nuts 2's minibots. A bemused Anthony Pritchard did not realise what had happened until learning of the minibot's involvement afterwards.
The Green Mouse tried to flip Tricerabot, but launched its flipper too soon and got flipped on it's back by Tricerabot, and got burned by the Flame Pit, flipped by the Floor Flipper, and ended up pitted by Tricerabot.
Sir Killalot picked up Silver Box and carried it over to the pit, but in doing so was pushed onto his front by Tricerabot, causing his claw-arm and Silver Box to fall simultaneously into the pit. Though not broadcast in the televised episode, the surviving competitors eventually managed to fully push Sir Killalot in according to Mike Morrow.[1]
Although King of Diamonds was showing limited mobility and was pushed into the pit by Shunt, the judges ruled that The Termite had been showing less mobility for longer, so King of Diamonds progressed through regardless.
Rosie the Riveter was shoved into Dead Metal, and unintentionally hit the Pit release, and as it was about to come after Panzer, it drove itself into the Pit.
The pit is also featured in the HEXBUG Robot Wars Arena, but only as a visual representation.
Trivia[]
Despite usually descending in the actual arena, the pit in the minibot arena acted like a trapdoor, with the panels "dropping".
The robot to have fallen down the pit the most times was Firestorm, with it falling in eight times across five series.
Due to the Extreme 1 arena not initially having a pit release button, the All-Stars Tournament of that series only had one battle featuring it, this being the Final between Razer and Tornado.
