The fifth episode of This is Fighting Robots aired on May 11th, 2018. It concluded the second round, and commenced the third round, consisting of Tag Team battles.
Competing robots
- 008
- Bulldozer
- Greedy Snake
- Lieutenant Bam
- Megabyte
- Model Teenager
- ORBY Blade
- Red River Hong
- Saturn
- Spear and Shield
- Spectre
- Switch
- Tungsten
- Two BBQ
- Vulcan
- Xiake
NOTE: The conclusion to a battle between Spectre and White Tiger Guardian was revealed at the start of the episode.
Setup
After Spectre was announced to have defeated White Tiger Guardian, the second stage of combat concluded, and four robots were cut from the celebrity teams; these were Hammer Hammer, Snow Leopard, Firefox, EarthShaker.
The Tag Team round then commenced, where Zheng Shuang and her green team collaborated with Wu Chun's red team, while Sa Beining's yellow team collaborated with Zhang Yishan's blue team. This led to Tag Team battles where two robots would fight another team of two robots, in an arena which now featured a large gap in the center, where robots could be instantly rendered immobile. The winners of each Tag Team battle would advance to the next round of the competition, while the losers would be eliminated.
Battles
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Spectre vs White Tiger Guardian
This battle primarily took place in the previous episode, but the Judges' decision was announced, revealing the winner to be Spectre.
Winner: Spectre
ORBY Blade & Spectre vs Lieutenant Bam & Switch
Spectre crashes into Switch
ORBY Blade lands a hit on Lieutenant Bam's wedge
At the start of the battle, ORBY Blade spun up its weapon, while Spectre crashed into Switch, sending it recoiling into the air. This also allowed Spectre to grab Switch by its rear wheel, and press it into the arena wall. Switch fled, while ORBY Blade collided with Lieutenant Bam, creating a shower of spark from the spinner-to-wedge impact. ORBY Blade was thrust aside, but landed a second blow on Lieutenant Bam shortly afterwards. In response, Lieutenant Bam dropped its hammer in the path of ORBY Blade's weapon, briefly stopping the bar spinner while causing ORBY Blade to recoil away.
ORBY Blade almost drives into the pit
Spectre grabs hold of Lieutenant Bam
On its escape from Lieutenant Bam, ORBY Blade almost drove into the pit in the center of the arena, while Spectre continued to hassle Switch. Reversing away from the pit, ORBY Blade backed into Switch with its rear wedge, bringing Switch into the air. Switch drove under ORBY Blade and attempted to use its hammer, but missed its shot. Spectre changed its focus to Lieutenant Bam, grabbing it from behind, and crushing down onto the top.
Spectre deposits Lieutenant Bam in the pit
Spectre slams Switch into the wall
Lieutenant Bam swung its hammer around in retaliation, but Spectre swerved it around, and dropped it directly into the pit. ORBY Blade was hovering around Switch, which had been struggling around on one wheel only, and was now completely immobile. Spectre took this opportunity to grab hold of Switch, crushing down on it while ramming it into the spikes on the arena wall, and then the Grinder. ORBY Blade voluntarily took a back-seat approach, as the team did not want to hit their own teammate with their bar spinner. Spectre dragged Switch over to the pit, but just as it was about to drop Switch in for the official knockout, the pit raised back up, releasing Lieutenant Bam.
Lieutenant Bam pulls itself over
Spectre drops Lieutenant Bam back in the pit
Switch was nevertheless rendered immobile, but Lieutenant Bam swung aimlessly. Off-screen around this period, ORBY Blade used its spinner to attack Lieutenant Bam once, and then used its rear wedge to push it into a Grinder on the side of the arena. After striking the floor, Lieutenant Bam's turret became stuck in Spectre's open jaw, and while attempting to retract the weapon, Lieutenant Bam pulled itself over in the grip of Spectre. It quickly self-righted and fled, also managing to land a light blow onto Spectre's jaw using its turret, but the quicker Spectre machine chased it and gripped Lieutenant Bam. Finally, Spectre put Lieutenant Bam back into the descending pit for the second time, where Lieutenant Bam swung its weapon around aimlessly, and was rendered immobile through the arena hazard. The win was therefore awarded to Spectre and ORBY Blade, and Spectre fired its self-righting mechanism in victory while ORBY Blade spun in circles.
- "Obviously against Spectre, I thought it was a silly decision to choose us, they took control of us and threw us in the pit, which I kinda thought they would."
- — Tom Lloyd of Lieutenant Bam's team
Winner: ORBY Blade & Spectre
Bulldozer & Megabyte vs Spear and Shield & Two BBQ
Bulldozer deflects Spear and Shield into the pit
The collision between Megabyte and Two BBQ
Two BBQ causes Megabyte to recoil towards - and over - the pit
Spear and Shield rises back into contention
In the opening seconds, Bulldozer drove head-on into Spear and Shield, sending the latter careering into the pit. Meanwhile, Megabyte and Two BBQ cautiously approached each other as they got their spinners up to speed, initially hesitating to land an attack. This was until Megabyte hit the front of Two BBQ as the latter spun over the flame jets, sending Two BBQ spinning and breaking its bar spinner in half. In response, Two BBQ reversed, turned round and drove into Megabyte, causing the American machine to recoil towards the pit. As it skirted over the pit, Megabyte clipped the far edge, causing it to be thrown upwards and sent bouncing onto the floor rods. During the same impact, Two BBQ was thrown into a grinder and flipped over – with its weapon and drive disabled, it was officially considered immobile.
Megabyte causes damage to Spear and Shield as well as an inverted Two BBQ
Sparks fly as Megabyte continues hitting Spear and Shield
Upright and seemingly unscathed, Megabyte waited in the corner to get its shell spinning as the pit raised to release Spear and Shield. Spear and Shield immediately darted forwards and attempted to evade Megabyte, only to bump into the walls and grinders while withstanding numerous blows from the American machine. Sparks and shrapnel flew as Megabyte continued to hit Spear and Shield, as well as destroy the rest of Two BBQ’s spinner. Eventually, Megabyte proceeded to shepherd Spear and Shield into a corner, immobilizing it with several more powerful blows. After the battle, Zhang Yishan and Sa Beining discussed their collective loss, while Zheng Shaung congratulated Two BBQ’s team alongside Beining and Yishan, having been impressed with its attack on Megabyte prior to its elimination.
Winner: Bulldozer & Megabyte
Vulcan & Xiake vs 008 & Greedy Snake
008 smokes prior to the start
Moments before the battle began, smoke poured out of 008 due to an overheating speed controller. Amidst concerns from Zhang Yishan, Sa Beining and Greedy Snake’s team captain, Gary Cairns of Team Far North elected to start the fight anyway.
- "For those wondering, the smoke coming out the top of 008 was the speed controller I had running the 4 heater nozzles for the flame thrower at the back. The setup for this battle was a lot longer than normal so they were running for longer. I saw the smoke coming out, still had drive and disc and knew it wasn't going to get any better so shrugged my shoulders and got on with the match."
- — Gary Cairns explains the smoke pouring out of 008 before the start[1]
008 immediately attacks its teammate
Xiake throws 008 off the floor
Greedy Snake approaches Vulcan as 008 (top-right) takes flight
Greedy Snake drives itself into the pit
In the opening seconds, Vulcan advanced out of its starting position as 008 and Greedy Snake collided, frustrating Sa Beining. Greedy Snake attempted to lift 008 in response, without success, and bumped into an approaching Xiake; moments later, the latter drove drum-first into 008’s disc, lifting the Scottish machine upwards and causing it to recoil violently as its disc made contact with the floor. Xiake drove into 008 a few more times; one more collision with 008’s disc sent it cartwheeling into and out of the pit while Greedy Snake drove into Vulcan. Upon landing, 008 caught fire, and was left spinning around the arena on its disc. Moments later, Greedy Snake pushed Xiake and the striken 008 across the arena, only to drive itself into the pit. As their celebrity captains celebrated, Xiake and Vulcan waited on opposite sides of the arena as the pit raised Greedy Snake back up.
Xiake looks on as Greedy Snake grabs and carries Vulcan into the wall spikes
Xiake attacks - and damages - Vulcan
Greedy Snake is thrown over by Xiake's drum
A head-on collision with Greedy Snake throws Xiake into the pit
As soon as it was released, Greedy Snake lunged, grasped and lifted Vulcan up, carrying it into the wall spikes and one of the hammers. Vulcan shook itself free onto Xiake as Greedy Snake drove away; it and Xiake took turns at bumping into Greedy Snake as the black and green machine avoided them. Xiake inadvertently hit Vulcan twice with its drum – breaking the latter’s rear strut in the process – before violently throwing Greedy Snake onto its back. Greedy Snake self-righted next to the wall spikes, and sustained axe blows from Vulcan as it pushed the British machine against the corner. Moments later, Greedy Snake attempted to grab Xiake from the side as the pit descended, before the two machines separated and rammed each other head-on. The collision was enough to send Xiake bouncing into the pit, eliminating the red drum spinner instantly.
Greedy Snake, in the process of throwing Vulcan over
Vulcan tries to axe Greedy Snake's weapon as it is grabbed and pushed back
With each of their teammates defeated, Greedy Snake and Vulcan continued the fight alone. Sustaining another axe blows from Vulcan, Greedy Snake grabbed and turned the British machine over, forcing the latter to self-right. With its tail damaged, Vulcan attempted to strike Greedy Snake’s weapon several more times, but was again grabbed and pushed across the arena by the latter towards a corner. Amidst cheers from the celebrity captains, especially Yishan, Greedy Snake continued to grab, lift, drag and push Vulcan back against the spikes until time ran out. Both teams survived to a Judges’ decision, with Yishan and Beining hugging each other and their robots’ captains in celebration; meanwhile, Xiake’s team captain apologized to Alan Young of Team Robots Live! for their earlier attack on Vulcan. The decision ultimately went to Greedy Snake and 008, earning Sa Beining and Zhang Yishan their first victory as a team.
- "I’m sure they’ll go on there and win the competition, and they’ll get their revenge for me going out over a win."
- — Alan Young of Team Robots Live! anticipates redemption from Zheng Shaung and Wu Chun
Winner: 008 & Greedy Snake
Red River Hong & Tungsten vs Model Teenager & Saturn
- "Well, I think we’ve got pretty good odds… we’re pretty confident going into this."
- — Dave Moulds on Tungsten’s chances of success going into the Tag Team round
Tungsten is knocked into the pit by a blow from Model Teenager
Red River Hong throws Saturn upwards with a powerful ram
Immediately, Tungsten drove towards Model Teenager, only to suddenly turn round and lift itself close to the edge of the pit. As a result, it sustained a side-on blow from Model Teenager which knocked its on-board camera off and threw it into the pit, temporarily removing Tungsten from battle. Meanwhile, Red River Hong ploughed into Saturn, throwing the British ring spinner upwards and causing it to shed several pieces of debris as it flipped over.
- "Nice… good job, guys!"
- — Sam Smith praises the Red River Hong team for their attack on Saturn
Wu Chun watches on as Red River Hong flips Saturn over
Saturn responds with an axe blow on Red River Hong
Red River Hong flips and separates Saturn
Despite encountering difficulties with its axe mechanism, Saturn righted itself, and collided with Red River Hong a few more times. Each collision allowed Red River Hong to repeatedly flip Saturn upwards and over, as the latter's shell began to separate from its base. Saturn responded by landing an axe blow on Red River Hong’s top armor, only to be thrown through the air several more times by the Chinese drum spinner. With one more blow, Red River Hong threw Saturn over again, causing the shell to detach completely; although Saturn self-righted and repeatedly fired its axe, it lost drive power and was soon deemed immobile, to Wu Chun’s anguish and Team Titanium’s amusement.
- "Not all the wires have gone – the axe is still goin’!"
- — Graeme Dawson as a dismembered Saturn fires its axe in vain
Tungsten attacks Model Teenager in return for its earlier pitting
At this point, Tungsten was raised out of the pit, and dodged an approaching Red River Hong to attack Model Teenager. With Model Teenager stationary after suffering drive issues, Tungsten slammed into the latter’s side, tearing several pieces of armor off Model Teenager and flipping it into the wall spikes. This attack inverted and immobilized Model Teenager completely; in celebration of it and Red River Hong’s victory, Tungsten hit Model Teenager one more time before gyro-dancing over the arena floor.
- "We think, ‘aw, we’re going home now’, and we were very disappointed."
- — Graeme Dawson comments on Saturn’s elimination
Winner: Red River Hong & Tungsten
References
Trivia
- Before eliminating EarthShaker from his team, Sa Beining delivered a lengthy motivational speech to his entire team.
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