Robot Wars Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Robot Wars Wiki

The Third World Championship was the last of three special Robot Wars championships in which robots from all over the world competed against each other, representing their respective countries. The third World Championship was broadcast as part of Robot Wars: The Seventh Wars and was originally broadcast on Five on March 28, 2004. It was the last episode of the original Robot Wars series to be broadcast on TV before it was rebooted in 2016. The championship was hosted by Craig Charles, the pit reporter was Jayne Middlemiss and commentary was provided by Jonathan Pearce.

Format

The championship featured 12 robots from around the world, representing their respective countries. Before the championship, seven qualifiers were held to decide which robots would qualify for the tournament. Five other robots were given automatic places in the tournament. The robots were drawn into four heats, featuring three robots each, in which the four robots would compete in a single melee battle. One robot from each heat progressed to the semi-finals, with the two winners of the semi-finals moving onto the final.

Competing robots

Ansgar 3
Ansgar 3
Weight 200kg
Dimensions 0.24m x 1.20m x 0.87m
Power 12HP electric motor
Weapons Rotating blades
Strengths Weight & armour
Weaknesses Manoeuvrability
From: Germany
Team Members: Joachim Thomsen, Sascha Thomsen & Sünje Thomsen
Crushtaceanfrontview
Crushtacean
Weight 99kg
Dimensions 0.40m x 0.85m x 1.30m
Power 800W electric motor
Weapons 2 Crushing claws
Strengths Indestructible
Weaknesses Poor driver
From: South Africa
Team Members: Ian Visser, Dominic Visser & Michaela Visser
Hard
Hard
Weight 99kg
Dimensions 0.34m x 0.60m x 0.85m
Power 2 x 750W electric motors
Weapons Flipper
Strengths Armour
Weaknesses Unprotected wheels
From: Belgium
Team Members: Geert Kevaerts, Jan Huyan & Frank van Rist
Pulengeland
PulverizeR
Statistics not displayed
From: The Netherlands
Team Members: Mischa de Graaf, Ruud van Buren & Remco Doffer
Rawbot
Rawbot
Statistics not displayed
From: Sweden
Team Members: Anders Sandberg, Tomas Ramdal & Stefan Bergstrom
Snake bite
Snake Bite
Statistics not displayed
From: Switzerland
Team Members: Paul Koch & Marco Streich
Spartacus 2 in S7
Spartacus 2
Weight 92kg
Dimensions 0.95m x 1.09m x 0.82m
Power 2 x 650W Electric Motors
Weapons Hydraulic Claw
Strengths Weaponry
Weaknesses Speed
From: United States of America
Team Members: Jim Rowland & Dom Neeley
Storm2flat
Storm 2
Weight 100kg
Dimensions 0.67m x 0.78m x 0.68m
Power 2 x Electric motors
Weapons Lifting arm
Strengths Unrivalled speed
Weaknesses Often hard to control
From: United Kingdom
Team Members: Ed Hoppitt, Tim Bence & Meral Kolac
Supernova7
Supernova
Weight 95kg
Dimensions 0.26m x 1.02m x 0.68m
Power 750W electric motor
Weapons Spinning disc
Strengths Fast with powerful weapon
Weaknesses Thin armour
From: Sri Lanka
Team Members: Suren Balendran, Nishani Balendran & Thuvaaragen Balendran
Tornado
Tornado
Weight 100kg
Dimensions 0.25m x 0.85m x 0.75m
Power 2 x 750W electric motors
Weapons Interchangeable weapons
Strengths Durable chassis
Weaknesses Vulnerable to flippers
From: United Kingdom
Team Members: Andrew Marchant, David Gamble & Bryan Moss
Tough As Nails
Tough as Nails
Weight 98kg
Dimensions 0.37m x 1.25m x 1.15m
Power 2 x 1600W electric motors
Weapons Horizontal crushers
Strengths Strong armour
Weaknesses Electrical problems
From: The Netherlands
Team Members: Jeroen van der Loo, Stefan J. Raaijmakers & Niels R. Schotten
Typhoon 2
Typhoon 2
Weight 98kg
Dimensions 0.68m x 1.00m x 1.00m
Power Petrol driven engine
Weapons Four rotating blades
Strengths Agility & devastating weapon
Weaknesses Unstable at low speeds
From: United Kingdom
Team Members: F.O. Peter J. Bennett, Cpl. Gary Cairns & Sgt. Graeme Horne

Robots defeated in qualifiers

Flippa
Flippa
Weight 96kg
Dimensions 0.21m x 1.00m x 0.89m
Power Electric Motors
Weapons Rotating Drum & Lifting Arm
Strengths Rotating Steel Drum
Weaknesses Wheels Use Drive Chain
From: United States of America
Team Members: Joe Murawski
Gravity
Gravity
Weight 99kg
Dimensions 0.43m x 1.20m x 0.75m
Power 2 x 750W electric motors
Weapons Flipper
Strengths Strong construction
Weaknesses Weak armour
From: The Netherlands
Team Members: WJ Dijkstra, Alex Ruschen & Jeroen van Lieverloo
I Bot One Beta
I Bot One Beta
Weight 98kg
Dimensions 0.26m x 1.05m x 0.76m
Power Electric motors
Weapons 2 Spinning discs
Strengths Well armoured
Weaknesses Inexperienced
From: Germany
Team Members: Bjorn Rust & Kai Koppersberg
Mekaniac
Mechaniac
Statistics not displayed
From: Austria
Team Members: Helmut Heigl, Katarina Heigl & Sebastian Heigl
Reaper np2
Reaper NP2
Weight 97kg
Dimensions 0.41m x 1.09m x 0.92m
Power 2 x 750W electric motors
Weapons Lifter & crusher
Strengths Plenty of power
Weaknesses Slow weapons
From: Germany
Team Members: Bryan Cutler & Michael Hanser
Riptillion
Riptilion
Weight 89kg
Dimensions 0.26m x 1.20m x 1.20m
Power 2 x 750W electric motors
Weapons Vertical milling wheel
Strengths Tough & nimble
Weaknesses No srimech
From: New Zealand
Team Members: Geoff Graham, Robert Read & Peter Platt
Scraptosaur
Scraptosaur
Weight 96kg
Dimensions 0.55m x 1.10m x 0.82m
Power 1 x 3000W electric motor
Weapons CO2 flipper
Strengths Fast & tough
Weaknesses Limited CO2 supply
From: The Netherlands
Team Members: Marien van der Meer & Mario de Jongh
Terror turtle
Terror Turtle
Weight 96kg
Dimensions 0.40m x 1.10m x 0.94m
Power 675W electric motor
Weapons Spinning disc
Strengths Nasty disc & being a turtle
Weaknesses Big wheels & it's a turtle
From: Canada
Team Members: John Frizell, JJ Frizell & Zacky Frizell
Topbot
Topbot
Weight 99kg
Dimensions 0.27m x 1.15m x 0.93m
Power 3 x 750W electric motors
Weapons Spinning disc
Strengths Runs both ways up
Weaknesses Front heavy
From: Republic of Ireland
Team Members: Benny Karstel & Andrew Karstel

Qualifiers

During The Seventh Wars, before the World Championship began, seven qualifying battles were held to decide which robots would join the five automatic qualifiers in The Third World Championship. The five automatic qualifiers were: Tornado (European Champion), PulverizeR (Dutch Champion), Typhoon 2 (Seventh Wars Grand Champion), Storm 2 (Seventh Wars runner-up and highest-placed robot from England) and Rawbot (which was given an automatic place in the championship as Zeus had to pull out after breaking down before the qualifier).

Mechaniac (AUT) vs Supernova (SRI)

Mechaniac vs Supernova

Mehaniac flips Supernova

Mechaniac Killalot

Mechaniac is held up by Sir Killalot

Supernova vs Mechaniac

Supernova removes the back panel of Mechaniac

Mechaniac hangs

Sir Killalot spears Mechaniac

The robots came together and Mechaniac attempted to flip Supernova but only managed to lift it slightly off the ground. Mechaniac then drove straight into the CPZ, where it was picked up by Sir Killalot and carried across the arena. Sir Killalot lowered Mechaniac onto the ground and Supernova charged at it with the spinning disc which bounced off the shell and sent Supernova flying. Supernova attacked Mechaniac, before the Sri Lankan representative was flipped by Mechaniac's flipper. Supernova then attacked Mechaniac again and sent the back panel flying off the machine, leaving the mechanics exposed.

"And now the very guts of Mechaniac have been laid bare."
— Jonathan Pearce

Repeated attacks from Supernova dislodged Mechaniac's batteries and left it immobile. Cassius Chrome then punched Mechaniac's batteries which then shorted out the electronics and started an internal fire. There was no life left in Mechaniac and it was counted out by the Refbot.

Mechaniacsupernovawc3

The destroyed Mechaniac is counted out

"Marks out of ten for flying, eight. Marks out of ten for competitiveness... minus six."
Jonathan Pearce after Mechaniac was tossed by the floor flipper

After being thrown by the floor flipper, Sir Killalot speared Mechaniac's open back end with his lance, shorting the electronics out again. Sir Killalot dropped Mechaniac in the pit, leaving Supernova the winner and the first robot to qualify for the World Championship.

Winner: Supernova

Spartacus (USA) vs Flippa (USA)

Spartacusflippawc3

Spartacus pits the stationary Flippa

Jayne Middlemiss: "So, it's got some aggression in it?"
Joe Murawski: "Yes it does."
Jayne Middlemiss: "It's got power?"
Joe Murawski: "Yes it does"
— Ironic conversation before the fight.

Flippa did not start at all and Spartacus was able to grab it and push it around the arena at its own pace. Then it pulled Flippa towards the floor flipper and backed into the pit release button before pushing its opponent into the pit of oblivion.

"Flippa is the using the I'll let you pull me around a bit tactic, and then dump me in the pit tactic. And, that's the end..."
— Jonathan Pearce

Winner: Spartacus

Crushtacean (RSA) vs Topbot (IRE)

Topbotwc3

Topbot takes a lump out of the arena wall

Topbot tried to spin its disc up to speed, but Crushtacean was too fast and came towards it. Crushtacean quickly grabbed hold of Topbot and pushed it into the CPZ, but it escaped. Topbot attacked the side of Crushtacean with its spinning disc but it did no damage. Topbot then drove into the arena wall, taking chunks out of it, and Crushtacean grabbed hold of it again and pushed it around the arena. Crushtacean then pushed Topbot into the pit release button.

Crushtacean vs Topbot

Crushtacean pits Topbot

"They've nudged it [the pit release button], they've bent, they've broken it. Broken our tyre. Topbot, get down the pit for doing that."
— Jonathan Pearce as Topbot is pitted.

The Irish representative was then shoved down the pit, handing the place in the World Championship to Crushtacean.

Winner: Crushtacean

Riptilion (NZL) vs Hard (BEL)

"Well he's [Riptilion] so large that we think it might be quite difficult to flip him over"
— Jan Huyan before the fight
Hard vs Riptilion

Riptilion is flicked up by Hard

Hardriptilionwc3

Hard and Riptilion are trapped by Cassius Chrome

After a few attempts, Hard got underneath Riptilion and tried to flip it over but it didn't quite manage to flip it all the way over. In response, Riptilion's blade created a rip in Hard's side armour. Hard continued to get underneath Riptilion and pushed it around the arena, trying again unsuccessfully to flip it. Hard gradually pushed Riptilion into the CPZ where it was attacked by Cassius Chrome and Growler.

Growler vs Riptilion

Riptilion is bitten by Growler

"They could've done with a maori chant or two out there..."
— Jonathan Pearce as Riptilion is counted out

After these attacks, Riptilion appeared to be immobilised, was counted out by the Refbot, all while still being attacked by Hard. Growler bit Riptilion by the front weapon, and placed it on the floor flipper, where it was tossed, and attacked again by Hard before 'cease' was called.

Winner: Hard

Ansgar 3 (GER) vs I Bot One Beta (GER) vs Reaper NP2 (GER)

I Bot One Beta Ansgar 1

I Bot One Beta is knocked into submission

Reaper NP2 attacked Ansgar 3 but did no damage, before Ansgar 3 came back and attacked Reaper NP2 with its spinning blade, immobilising it.

"I think Reaper's been stopped dead in the water"
— Jonathan Pearce noting the immobile Reaper NP2
Germanqualifierwc3

Reaper NP2 joins I Bot One Beta in the Pit of Oblivion

The Refbot then counted Reaper NP2 out, before it was thrown by the floor flipper. After landing, it had its crumpled shell dented by Shunt. Ansgar 3 then pressed the pit release button and attacked I Bot One Beta, leaving the octagonal robot only able to go round in circles. Another attack from its spinning blade left I Bot One Beta immobilised as well before being nudged into the pit of oblivion along with Reaper NP2 who was pushed in by Shunt.

Winner: Ansgar 3

Terror Turtle (CAN) vs Snake Bite (SUI)

Snakebiteterrorturtlewc3

Snake Bite crumples the shell of Terror Turtle

The battle started very slowly with both robots pursuing each other. Snake Bite attempted to catch Terror Turtle but the turtle outmanoeuvered it. Both robots then turned away from each other until Shunt almost axed Terror Turtle as the Canadian robot had strayed into his CPZ. Snake Bite was having problems catching Terror Turtle as it drove up Snake Bite's wedge, but it escaped the crusher. Snake Bite suffered a blow from Terror Turtle's disc which made a small slice in the rear armor and almost cut through Snake Bite's hydraulic cables. Terror Turtle then drove into the wedge of Snake Bite and was pierced with ease by the Swiss robot's crushing weapon.

"Oh, Terror Turtle's driven straight into the crushing beak of Snake Bite, and there, you can see the damage..."
— Jonathan Pearce

Snake Bite continued to pierce the shell of Terror Turtle and the turtle's shell was starting to fill with holes as if it were made from tin foil.

"Crumpled... Canadian... catastrophe"
— Jonathan Pearce as Snake Bite heavily damages Terror Turtle's armour

Snake Bite crushed its opponent once more before finally pushing the pit release button. The Swiss robot was hesitant at first, but eventually plucked up the courage, dropping the Canadian robot into the pit of oblivion.

Winner: Snake Bite

Gravity (NED) vs Scraptosaur (NED) vs Tough as Nails (NED)

Tough as Nails Scraptosaur pit

Tough as Nails pits Scraptosaur

Tough as Nails immediately employed its usual tactic of pressing the pit release button. It then grabbed Scraptosaur with its claws and quickly pushed Scraptosaur straight into the pit of oblivion, taking the Dutch Grand Finalist's hopes with it.

Dutchqualifierwc3

Tough as Nails books its place in the World Championship

"Now there is a form line here, Scraptosaur actually beat Gravity in the Dutch Robot Wars, but goes out of the World Championship eliminator straight away!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Scraptosaur is pitted instantaneously

Tough as Nails then chased Gravity around the arena and grabbed it, but Gravity escaped and flipped Tough as Nails once. This was no problem for the invertible Tough as Nails though and it grabbed Gravity again and pushed it into the pit with Scraptosaur.

"...and then this freak [Tough as Nails] comes in and puts us in the pit!"
— WJ Dijkstra after the fight

Winner: Tough as Nails

Heats

Spartacus (USA) vs Hard (BEL) vs Supernova (SRI)

Hardwc3

Hard is counted out by Refbot

At first, Spartacus and Hard appeared to be ganging up on Supernova. Supernova hit both of them with its spinning disc, immobilising Hard and damaging Spartacus' body. This impact thrusted Supernova onto the flame pit, but it escaped again. Supernova hit Spartacus again, which not only broke the drive for one of Spartacus' wheels, but also knocked Supernova out. Refbot counted out Hard, who was still firing its flipper but without any forward momentum. Once Hard was deemed immobilised Dead Metal sliced into the back of Hard, creating a shower of sparks which spewed onto the arena floor.

"You can flick your flipper as long as you like, but you need to move across the arena floor"
— Jonathan Pearce commenting on Hard's still active flipper

Refbot then proceeded to count Supernova out, only for the Sri Lankan machine to suddenly start again when the count got to 2.

"Is anyone going to survive this?"
— Jonathan Pearce commenting on the lack of mobility from all three robots
Spartacussupernovawc3

Spartacus is counted out as well

Supernova hit Spartacus again, whilst Hard was taken to the familiar drop zone where it was pelted with several computer monitors. Hard's flipper was still working, as it tried to flip one of the falling computer monitors, but it had already been counted out. Just before Spartacus was counted out Supernova entered another spasm and could only twitch. As the count was finishing Spartacus spun around and whacked Supernova's flywheel.

Spartacus Derobed

Spartacus is derobed

"One of them's been counted out and I've a funny feeling it's Spartacus"
— Jonathan Pearce predicts which robot was counted out.

At the very end of the fight, Supernova clipped Spartacus again, as did Dead Metal's claws, which caused its armour to come off completely.

Winner: Supernova

PulverizeR (NED) vs Snake Bite (SUI) vs Crushtacean (RSA)

Snakebitewc3

Snake Bite standing stationary

Crushtacean instantly pressed the pit release button, then started attacking PulverizeR. PulverizeR attacked Crushtacean with its flywheel, but caused no damage; the initial hit also caused the flywheel to stop working. Crushtacean responded by slamming and chasing PulverizeR, eventually grabbing and pinning it against the wall. Snake Bite, meanwhile, struggled to move from the start as a result of hydraulic fluid leaking and soaking its tyres, resulting in it being unable to gain any traction on the arena floor. This resulted in the Swiss machine being counted out by Refbot as Crushtacean continued pushing and grappling with PulverizeR.

"It seems to me that Snake Bite is already a beaten machine."
— Jonathan Pearce
Snakebite2wc3

Snake Bite attacks, despite being counted out

Dead Metal attacked the defeated Snake Bite, creating a shower of sparks in the process, before Snake Bite eventually regained mobility as its tyres dried out. Snake Bite attempted to grab PulverizeR, with the Dutch representative caught by it and Crushtacean. PulverizeR stayed out of the action as Snake Bite and Crushtacean attacked each other, with the battle eventually going to a Judges' decision. The decision ruled in favour of Crushtacean.

Winner: Crushtacean

Ansgar 3 (GER) vs Storm 2 (UK) vs Tornado (UK)

Ansgar3wc3

Ansgar 3 burns...

Ansgar32wc3

...before being pitted

Predictably, Storm 2 and Tornado ganged up on Ansgar almost right from the start, whose spinning blade didn't appear to be working. The two slammed Ansgar into Growler's CPZ, the arena side wall, the flame pit and finally the pit itself, with the German machine powerless to attack due to its stalled blade.

"This is really what we wanted to see, in this heat - Tornado and Storm 2."
— Jonathan Pearce

Afterwards, the two British machines pushed each other around the arena. At one point, Tornado pushed Storm 2 into Dead Metal's pincers, who bruised the strong titanium armour, but no damage to the exposed wheels. Upon exiting, Storm 2 lifted up Tornado with its lifter and carried it to the arena wall. A well controlled drive by Storm 2 slammed Tornado into the arena wall, knocking it upside down and almost out of the arena. This impact almost thrust Storm 2 upside down as well.

Tornado Storm 2 2

Tornado shovels Storm 2 into Dead Metal

Storm II vs. Tornado vs

Storm 2 nearly sends Tornado flying out of the arena

"This is gonna go to the judges, and I wouldn't like to be in their shoes, will it be Tornado or will it be Storm 2..."
— Jonathan Pearce

Again, the judges were called upon, and Storm 2 was the robot chosen.

Winner: Storm 2

Typhoon 2 (UK) vs Rawbot (SWE) vs Tough as Nails (NED)

Rawbotwc3

Rawbot is disposed of

Before the fight even started, Team Typhoon had used their last set of batteries for the Middleweight Championship of Series 7 (although Typhoon 2 was claimed to be suffering from "technical difficulties"), which forced Typhoon 2 to withdraw from the competition. This action surprised Jonathan Pearce, who expected Typhoon 2 to do well as the recently crowned champion.

"Absolute stunner. Typhoon 2, recently crowned UK Champions, withdrawing late on because of technical problems. What a disaster."
— Jonathan Pearce

This left Tough as Nails and Rawbot to fight alone. The fight didn't last very long, as Tough as Nails instantly grabbed Rawbot, who had a problem with its control box and left it immobilised right from the start. The Dutch robot repeated its patented tactic and slammed Rawbot into the pit release button and pushed Rawbot towards the pit. Several shoves later and the Swedish robot was in the pit.

"Just watch for Tough as Nails in these World Championships, could go all the way."
— Jonathan Pearce as Rawbot is pitted

At the end of the fight Refbot could be seen spinning round in a victory dance.

Winner: Tough as Nails

Semi-Finals

Supernova (SRI) vs Crushtacean (RSA)

Crushtaceanwc3

Crushtacean is plucked up by Sir Killalot after being counted out

Crushtacean charged right at Supernova, which resulted in it damaging itself. For the rest of the battle, it found itself unable to move freely around the arena. Supernova hit Crushtacean again, knocking the bolts that held the claws away and rendering it immobile.

"And you know, I think that first assault by Crushtacean on Supernova did the damage, I think they did themselves in!"
— Jonathan Pearce

Sir Killalot picked it up and placed it on the floor flipper, the resulting flip damaging the claw even further.

Winner: Supernova

Storm 2 (UK) vs Tough as Nails (NED)

Tanstorm2wc3

Tough as Nails on the edge of the pit. Note the shedded tyre

Storm 2 drove straight into Tough as Nails' pincers and used its 18 horsepower drive to literally bulldoze Tough as Nails around the arena and into the arena wall, where one of Tough as Nails' tyres broke off.

"Storm 2 again, quite happy to be in there."
— Jonathan Pearce as Storm 2 uses Tough as Nails' pincers to dictate the battle

Storm 2 drove into the pincers again and edged Tough as Nails towards the pit where, after a major struggle, the Dutch machine finally fell in.

"Tough as Nails, argh, on the brink of oblivion, just holding on, and finally drops."
— Jonathan Pearce as Tough as Nails desperately tries to hang on while over the pit of oblivion

Winner: Storm 2

Grand Final

Supernova (SRI) vs Storm 2 (UK)

Supernovawc3

Supernova stuck against the arena wall

This was a rematch from the 7th wars, where Storm 2 had immobilised Supernova in Round 1. Storm 2 drove straight at Supernova and got underneath it, the disc doing no apparent damage. The two charged at each other, but missed. They tried again, but the two robots were deflected. Storm 2 slammed Supernova into the arena wall, where the Sri Lankan machine spun off it. Supernova drove back at Storm 2, but missed, with one wheel going up Storm 2's wedge. However, this threw Supernova out of balance, and it crashed, side on, into the arena wall.

Supernova2wc3

Note the damage to the arena floor from Supernova

"Look at that, churning up the arena floor!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Supernova's disc grinds into the surface

Supernova was unable to right itself, whilst Shunt, for no apparent reason, shoved Storm 2, back side up, against the grinder. Eventually, Refbot freed Supernova from the wall, and a few seconds later, Supernova freed Storm 2.

"And, I think y'know, Supernova may well have knocked Storm 2 back into the battle, why on earth did they do that!"
— Jonathan Pearce as Storm 2 is finally put back on its wheels

Storm 2 charged at Supernova again, but because it was upside down, it only caused itself damage. Cease was called and the judges had to make a decision. However, after watching the replay, they decided that Supernova had been immobilised on the arena wall for much longer than the 30 seconds allowed, and thus the fight should have ended. As a result, Storm 2 were given the victory.

Third World Champion: Storm 2

Craig Charles: "They came from all 'round the globe, to fight for the cause"
Jayne Middlemiss: "Now we've got a new world champ"
Both: "On Robot Wars!"
— Craig and Jayne's sign-off

Trivia

  • As the final episode of Robot Wars to be aired before its 12-year hiatus, this marked the most recent appearance of many robots, such as Tornado and Sergeant Bash.
  • This was the fourth time a controversial battle involving Storm 2 occurred. Interestingly, it was said that this battle was a grudge match against Supernova from the first round of Heat I of the Seventh Wars.
  • The only other grudge match was between Storm 2 and Tornado with the same result albeit Ansgar was also in the fight.
  • This episode was released on DVD with Jetix Magazine issue 18.
  • An error occurred during the Dutch qualifier - Jonathan Pearce stated that Gravity had defeated the 13th seed 13 Black. 13 Black was actually seeded 7th.
  • The Third World Championship Heats featured robots from as many nations as in the Second World Championship.
  • Including the Qualifiers, a record 13 nations were represented in the Third World Championship.
Advertisement