Cerberus (Cyprus)

**Cerberus** was a competitor robot that fought in Series 3-4 of Robot Wars, and both series of Robot Wars Extreme. It reached the Heat Final of The Third Wars, and also represented Cyprus in The First World Championship and the Commonwealth Carnage.

Cerberus' biggest claim to fame is its 10-second defeat of Griffon in The Third Wars. This stood as the shortest battle record from The Third Wars until the Seventh Wars, and to date stands as the record for the fastest pitting victory in the show's history.

The robot was named after and designed in reference to the three-headed hound Cerberus, guardian of the underworld in Greek mythology. It was a particular favourite of pit reporter Philippa Forrester for its shiny coat and artistic design, for which it was nominated for the Best Design Award in The Third Wars.

## Robot History

### Series 3

In the first round of the Third Wars, Cerberus fought former Series 2 competitor Killerhurtz. It spun and rammed Killerhurtz front-on, and received a couple of axe blows to its head and armour as it pushed Killerhurtz across the arena. Killerhurtz then pierced a hole through Cerberus' rear armour, before both robots drove tentatively around each other and Killerhurtz inexplicably drove itself into the pit while trying to make another run on Cerberus.

Unseen in battle, Killerhurtz's last axe blow had also punctured Cerberus' battery, although this damage was not enough to stop Cerberus from progressing to the next round.

There, Cerberus faced against another experienced robot in Griffon, from the University of Reading. The battle was swift, with Cerberus starting by spinning around as Griffon moved forward and seemed to have minimal mobility. Cerberus captialised on this by pushing Griffon towards the pit with its front claws and allowing it to drive in itself, ending the battle in just ten seconds. Prior to Series 7, this was the shortest ever battle in any series of Robot Wars.

In the Heat Final, Cerberus faced Thing 2. Both robots darted towards each other straight away, dodging and circling before Thing 2 got underneath Cerberus' high ground clearance. Cerberus spun and backed onto the Flame Pit, and kept spinning until it rammed Thing 2 head-on, knocking its decorative ball off and using its head to clamp Thing 2 as it pushed it into the wall. It spun against the wall again, and used its ramming tail to get under Thing 2 again and push it as Thing 2 attempted to get underneath it again. Cerberus drove over the Flame Pit again as Thing 2 gave chase, with Thing 2 being thrust on one wheel as it careered into Matilda's CPZ. Both robots escaped from Matilda and continued driving round each other, until Thing 2 got underneath Cerberus' rear tail and tipped it over, breaking the linkages connecting the tail to Cerberus's chassis in the process. Inverted and unable to self-right, Cerberus was eliminated once 'cease' was called, after a close and tenacious battle.

Cerberus also represented Cyprus in The First World Championship, which took place and was filmed at around the same time as the Third Wars. In the first round, Cerberus was due to face American entrant Mauler, but progressed to the Quarter Finals by default after Mauler's weapon was deemed too powerful and too dangerous by the producers, resulting in Mauler's instant disqualification.

In its Quarter Final, Cerberus fought another Series 3 Heat-Finalist in Irish representatives Diotoir. Cerberus started the faster, spinning around in circles before ramming Diotoir from the front. Diotoir pinned Cerberus against the wall, before flicking it with its spring-powered lifting arm and hoisting it aloft. Another flick from Diotoir nearly turned Cerberus over, before Cerberus narrowly escaped being pitted by Diotoir and Sir Killalot after its lifting arm got under its ramming tail and it spun precariously close to a CPZ. Diotoir flicked Cerberus up again, before eventually toppling Cerberus onto its back and leaving it open to attack from the House Robots, while simultaneously catching fire after a run-in with Sergeant Bash. Even so, Cerberus was hoisted by Sir Killalot, and dumped in the pit, eliminating it and Cyprus from the First World Championship.

At the end of the series, Cerberus was nominated for the 'Best Design' award, however, it lost out to Razer, the winner of the award from the previous series.

### Series 4

Cerberus was seeded eighteenth for the Fourth Wars and competed in the final Heat, but not before having its head removed in order to bring it within the weight limit. It was originally planned to fight former Series 2 Heat-Finalist Onslaught and newcomers Terror-Bull, both of whom were planning on ganging up on Cerberus. However, Onslaught was forced to withdraw due to technical problems, and reserve robot V-Max took its place. At the start, Cerberus steered away from V-Max's initial charge, spinning in the middle of the arena as V-Max strayed into Matilda's CPZ, where Cerberus lingered round for some time. Eventually, Cerberus drove up V-Max's front wedge and was flipped onto its back, again becoming immobilised and open to attack from the House Robots. Sergeant Bash grabbed hold of Cerberus' tail with his pincers and dragged it around the arena, allowing Sir Killalot, Matilda and Dead Metal to cause more damage to Cerberus' armour. After Dead Metal caused sparks and gashes in Cerberus, Sergeant Bash dumped it in the pit, eliminating Cerberus from the Fourth Wars.

### Extreme 1

Despite not appearing in either of the corresponding main competitions, Cerberus competed in both series of Robot Wars Extreme. In the first series, it exclusively competed in the Tag Team Terror tournament, paired with Thermidor 2. The pair had an easy victory in the first round, where they were drawn up against S.M.I.D.S.Y. and Sumpthing. Despite Cerberus suffering from problems with its main weapon, S.M.I.D.S.Y. and Cerberus had a ponderous pushing match. S.M.I.D.S.Y. sliced into the tail of Cerberus with its new spinning disc, but lost control and drove into its teammate Sumpthing, then charged out again and slammed into the angle grinder at the opposite end of the arena, as it was stuck in forward drive. Thermidor 2 then came out and quickly dispatched Sumpthing by flipping it over, using Cerberus as a chock. Sumpthing and S.M.I.D.S.Y. were then counted out and Cerberus and Thermidor 2 were put through to the second round, however, the main weapon of Cerberus was badly damaged.

Unable to repair its crushing claws, the Cerberus team removed it for the Semi-Final battle, where Cerberus and Thermidor 2 were placed up against The Steel Avenger and Suicidal Tendencies. However, a lot of accidental in-fighting occurred between Cerberus and Thermidor 2. Cerberus was left out for most of the battle, until all four competitors came out to fight. Suddenly, Thermidor 2 lost power completely and stopped moving, as it was over the flame pit. The lobster was soon counted out by Refbot, leaving Cerberus to fight the cause alone. Although it didn't go on the offensive much, Cerberus still managed to hang on to a judges' decision as it used its agility to avoid the weaponry of its opponents for the rest of the battle, but Thermidor 2's immobilisation easily put the team at a disadvantage, and they were indeed eliminated from the competition as a result of the judges' decision.

### Extreme 2

After failing to qualify for Series 5 and 6, a decidedly less shiny Cerberus returned for the second series of Extreme, representing Cyprus again in the Commonwealth Carnage. It would battle Panic Attack (representing Wales), Terror Turtle (representing Canada) and Crushtacean (representing South Africa) in the first round. In the battle, Cerberus was the quickest to the centre of the arena as it charged into Panic Attack, attempting to shove it but then glancing away. Cerberus was then spinning madly in an attempt to shy Panic Attack off, but the Welsh machine kept coming back for more. Cerberus was then targeted by Crushtacean, Cerberus tried to out steer the crab robot but were soon cornered and seized by the claws of Crushtacean side-on, making Cerberus unable to get away. Crushtacean, still with Cerberus in its clutches, then ran across the arena and activated the pit release button. The South African machine then lined Cerberus up with the pit, before eventually dumping Cerberus into the pit of oblivion after just 49 seconds of fighting, eliminating Cerberus from the competition. Panic Attack and Crushtacean would later progress to the second round on a judges' decision. This was Cerberus' last appearance in Robot Wars.

## Wins/Losses

* Wins: 3
* Losses: 5