Controversy corner

The fifth and sixth wars continued with the same style, and there wasn’t really much in the way of evolution. Losers in the initial heats were given the chance to fight for a place in the final in a three-way melee, and in the sixth wars, the first melee fights were changed to four-way bouts. Also new to the sixth war was the arrival of another couple of house robots, Mr. Psycho and his faithful mutt, Growler. They looked impressive, but didn’t actually do all that much, and didn’t make the same impact as the mighty Killalot.

The competition was, as always, even better, with more robots and more innovation. These two wars saw the once indomitable flipper lose its lustre, and the new wave of bots embraced the spinning disc weapon made famous in the competition by Hypno-Disc. Robots like S3, 13 Black impressed, although the eventual winner of the sixth wars would feature no elaborate weapons, but came with a lot of controversy.

The final saw the reigning champion, the deadly Razer, who won the fifth wars up against Tornado. It was the piercing beak versus what was little more than a hunk of metal on wheels (although it now had a scoop on the front). Tornado was very fast and hit hard, but Razer had the chance to easily damage it, or at least it would have if not for team Tornado’s last minute addition of an ‘anti-crusher web’. This was simply a large metal skirt around the robot designed to prevent Razer from getting close.

Cleared by the judges as the Tornado team had always declared their changeable weapon system, many felt the web itself was not part of the weapon, and was instead merely a cheap tactic. It prevented Razer from putting up any offence. That is, until the end of the bout when Razer managed to pierce Tornado and pick it up, before dumping it in the pit. Sadly for Razer, the web surrounding Tornado stopped them from fitting in the pit, and the bout went to perhaps the most controversial judges’ decision of the programme thus far. Tornado won, and although the Razer team were gracious in defeat, the controversy was there, and Tornado gained more than a few haters.

According to reports of some spectators at the live show, the match was blanketed with deafening boos from the audience, which were allegedly dubbed over with cheers by the TV show. Fans at the event were not happy at all. The disgruntlement carried on in forums and discussion everywhere, with some defending Tornado for using viable tactics, and others saying it was against the whole spirit of the show. Either way, it made for an interesting final, and showcased a new evolution of robots that could be altered for the match and opponent ahead.

Five alive