This is Fighting Robots (Season 1.5)/Episode 6

This is Fighting Robots title card

"*The competition continues and the alliances are broken as the one versus one takes their place. The eliminated robots are beginning to stack up, but there is an opportunity for redemption.*"
— Official Mech+ programme description for *This is Fighting Robots*, Episode 6

**Episode 6 of *This is Fighting Robots*** aired on May 18 2018. It concluded the initial 2v2 rounds of the **Alliance War** stage, which was to be followed by three head-to-head battles, and matches where the team managers drove one of their chosen robots in combat.

An English-subtitled version premiered on Mech+ on 23 December 2022.

## Competing robots

* Blue
* Cat King
* Chronos
* Golden Hoops
* Green Agate
* Ninja
* Polar Opposite
* Sandstorm
* Shrederator Tiger Claw
* Stealth
* Tánshè
* Weber
* White Tiger Guardian
* Zen Oh

## Alliance War

Following on from the previous episode, Episode 6 began with the fifth and last 2v2 fight of the **Alliance War** stage.

Prior to this, a table board graphic was shown, revealing the following robots as being available to fight in the remaining battles. Robots in bold were those already selected for the manager battles shown later in this episode:

On this basis, Zheng Shuang (Green) and Sa Beining (Yellow) were the only two managers required to take part in the head-to-heads, using robots they had not already chosen for the other two stages. The final head-to-head consisted of a duel between the last two of Shuang's machines. All losing robots from these 2v2 or head-to-head matches would be eliminated.

## 2v2 Battles

### White Tiger Guardian & Sandstorm vs Zen Oh & Golden Hoops

#### Strategy

Zhang Yishan and Wu Chun duly entered their sole-remaining machines - Zen Oh and White Tiger Guardian - with Sa Beining hinting that he would choose Chronos as a ploy to unsettle Chun and Zheng Shuang. Likely as a result of this, the latter two also believed Chronos to be Beining's pick, though Shuang still confidently said that her side would 'win anyway'.

Regarding her own remaining choices, Shuang was unsure, with the requirements of the forthcoming head-to-heads being an added consideration. It was suggested onscreen that Chun was equally unsure about their capacity to win against three spinners, and that Tánshè and Sandstorm were highlighted as the pair's leading choices. A 'technical pause' was arranged, enabling discussions with Robotic Destruction Company (Shuang) and the Positive and Negative (Chun) team.

In response to the 'pause', Sa Beining deduced that Sandstorm would be Shuang's chosen robot, which neither the teams for Shrederator Tiger Claw nor Chronos wanted to face. It was also suggested that Golden Hoops could 'barely win' against the Team Relentless machine. On the Red/Green team, John Mladenik recommended the use of Sandstorm or Tánshè, and to prioritize their qualification for later rounds.

"*We’re really excited. Actually, we had seen Zen Oh test previously and it’s a very scary robot. And I think Sandstorm was the most suitable to fight, so Zheng Shuang made a perfect decision, we think.*"
— Ellis Ware on Sandstorm’s selection for the opening Tag Team battle

Sandstorm was revealed as Shuang's choice for the 2v2, after which Chun complimented her for being 'generous' at this point. Beining, meanwhile, chose Golden Hoops as his closest match to the UK entry, maintaining that this decision was 'more about tactics'. Paul Streeter and Jerry Serafin, however, were both unconvinced, each citing its prior Freestyle Combat match and large wheels as indicators of its potential to struggle once again.

In spite of the aforementioned criticisms, further attention was made to Golden Hoops' design. It was explained that the robot itself was the first of its kind to use AI technology via a 'control program', which also enabled the team to collect telemetry data to study and 'improve' the machine. Golden Hoops, for largely unexplained reasons, also entered the arena with a significantly revised design, featuring a more compact chassis, rubber tire treads and an asymmetrical hammer weapon with increased attack range.

#### Combat

Early on, the White Tiger Guardian team agreed with Wu Chun to 'retreat', in a likely attempt to address strategic errors costing Chun and Shuang previously. Still confident about its fighting potential, Sa Beining discussed tactics with Golden Hoops' team, advising them to continuously spin their machine up and hit opponents as they came within range. Avoiding the trap hazard - by this point referred to in Mech+ subtitles as the **pit** - remained crucial for both sides at this point.

"*The game starts now. Zen Oh struck first. White Tiger had its butt beaten, which is quite embarassing.*"
— Wang Tao as Zen Oh immediately damages White Tiger Guardian (Mech+ subtitles)

In the opening seconds, Zen Oh drove around the pit and into the back of White Tiger Guardian, destroying its rear panel. The Portuguese machine hit the front of White Tiger Guardian, only to be rammed and maneuvered towards the wall spikes by Sandstorm. Meanwhile, Golden Hoops spun round on the spot in an effort to cause further damage to it and Zen Oh's opponents.

After driving under Zen Oh again, Sandstorm proceeded to ram Golden Hoops at high speed, disrupting its attack and launching it into the air. The two machines lingered near the wall spikes along with White Tiger Guardian; seconds later, Zen Oh rammed Sandstorm into the spikes, enabling Golden Hoops to escape. The other three robots separated; Sandstorm responded to Zen Oh's attack by pushing it into the spikes, before reversing and carrying Zen Oh into the open pit.

"*Kill Sand Storm!*"
— Sa Beining's war cry as Sandstorm pressures Golden Hoops (Mech+ subtitles)

Sandstorm briefly nudged its teammate, before getting underneath Golden Hoops again and ramming it into the wall spikes. The impact launched Golden Hoops into the air once more, although this did not prevent Sandstorm from continuing to push Golden Hoops around as it tried to spin. A small piece of gold-painted debris flew as Golden Hoops' hammer struck the left-rear of Sandstorm.

"*Jingu Bang, throw it in the pit!*"
— Sa Beining, as Sandstorm weathers powerful blows from Golden Hoops (Mech+ subtitles)

Soon, Zen Oh was raised out of the pit; Sandstorm repeatedly rammed and pushed both of its opponents as a damaged White Tiger Guardian lingered nearby. White Tiger Guardian - having maintained its team's earlier promise to stay out of the action - was identified as a target by Sa Beining and Zhang Yishan, who desperately urged their roboteers to attack it instead of Sandstorm. This became especially clear once the pit started to descend, with White Tiger Guardian precariously close to it and struggling to maintain full forward drive. Wu Chun instructed White Tiger Guardian to 'retreat to the side' regardless.

In spite of Beining and Yishan's cries, Golden Hoops and Zen Oh continued bumping and hitting each other for some time. Having lost the use of its bar spinner early on, Zen Oh sped across the arena and bumped White Tiger Guardian aside, indirectly knocking it into Golden Hoops' slowly-rotating hammer. After ramming White Tiger Guardian again and traversing the flame jets, Zen Oh suddenly drove into the pit, eliminating itself from the battle.

"*It’s not a good feeling, and I expected more from me driving that robot. And this was very silly – the robot was working good, and then I just throw the robot to the pit. I was very disappointed with that.*"
— Guilherme Ferreira laments Zen Oh's costly error

Sandstorm continued to bump, push and drag Golden Hoops until time ran out; it and White Tiger Guardian would emerge as the last 2v2 winners. After the battle, Sa Beining spoke again to the Golden Hoops team, he and Zhang Yishan visibly disappointed with their failure to pit the ailing White Tiger Guardian. It was revealed that Golden Hoops and Zen Oh were both attempting to 'contain' Sandstorm in response to its speed and agility, though Beining's frustration indicated to the Golden Hoops team his continued faith in the Yellow team machines.

Needless to say, Zheng Shuang and Wu Chun would collect their fourth – and final - 2v2 victory with their machines' performances. Putting his frustrations aside, Beining praised Ellis Ware for a 'perfect' victory while giving the established *Robot Wars* roboteer a handshake. Furthermore, he praised the redesigned Golden Hoops for being more durable in combat, though still lamenting its missed opportunity to pit White Tiger Guardian.

**Winner: White Tiger Guardian & Sandstorm (Wu Chun & Zheng Shuang)**

## Head-to-Heads

"*We still have six robots who haven't fought yet. Four of them are on Zheng Shuang's team. Two of them are on Sa Beining's team. Three of your robots can continue to the next round. We'll leave the decision to you, as long as the robots are determined by fighting.*"
— Wang Cong's briefing for the head-to-head matches (Mech+ subtitles)

According to Wang Cong's briefing, the process to determine the three remaining places in future rounds was open to applicable managers Zheng Shuang and Sa Beining. Beining jokingly put forward a suggestion for a 'rock-paper-scissors' process, and expressed his preference for one-on-one battles. Shuang wanted a 'free-for-all' - likely suggesting a six-way melee - while Zhang Yishan attempted to convince Beining to take his suggestions for 2v1 or 4v2 matches.

"*Free-for-all won't work. You have four and I have two. How? Am I crazy? Two against four. They could just suffocate my robots.*"
— Sa Beining objects to Zheng Shuang's proposal for a 'free-for-all' match (Mech+ subtitles)

Beining considered all of these alternative options 'unfair', bringing up Shuang's larger pool of remaining robots as a key reason. Shuang, unhappy with this idea, wished to avoid the longer multi-round process, and was reluctant to have any of her own machines eliminate each other.

"*I wanted to protect my robots. I don't want to see any of my robots having to fight against one of their own.*"
— Zheng Shuang (Mech+ subtitles)

In response to her reasoning for bringing in a 'free-for-all' - which she believed would set up a potentially 'fun' match - Beining argued that one-on-ones would be 'easier' and less 'chaotic' for the roboteers to handle. At this point, Yishan interjected by telling Shuang that Beining had 'full confidence' to win with both of his remaining robots. This was enough for Shuang to finally relent and agree on the head-to-head structure - a decision which Gabriel Stroud ironically disagreed with for the same reason Shuang previously communicated.

### Tánshè vs Chronos

"*I think that was a poor choice. I mean... that was kind of almost a suicide mission.*"
— Jerry Serafin, responding to Sa Beining's decision to select Chronos

Prior to this match-up, Zheng Shuang revealed she had initially chosen Tánshè as a direct counter to Shrederator Tiger Claw. Sa Beining, meanwhile, considered Stealth as an alternative opponent, ultimately reserving Shrederator Tiger Claw to face the latter in the very next battle. Jerry Serafin, Paul Streeter and Brian Nave all shared concerns about Chronos' vulnerability against flippers and other wedge shapes, a matter further compounded by the long spin-up time for its rim spinner.

"*During the fight with Chronos, we knew that we had to get on them very fast. If we let them spin up, we could take damage. So we went straight over to them, and started to worry them, like a dog with a bone!*"
— Gabriel Stroud

Immediately, Tánshè charged directly towards Chronos to prevent it from powering up its spinning rim, causing it to recoil into the air. Tánshè then edged Chronos towards the Grinder, and bounced the spinning robot off its flipper repeatedly. Chronos tried in vain to spin up its weapon, grinding on the side of Tánshè, but caused no damage, and was pushed towards the corner of the arena. Tánshè attempted to flip Chronos out of the arena, but was not fully underneath it, and instead flipped Chronos onto the side of the arena wall, hanging from the protruding spikes.

"*Oh, god damn it!*"
— Jerry Serafin as Chronos is stranded on the wall spikes

Held in place, Chronos could only spin its outer rim in an effort to break free from the wall. Tánshè held off, hoping to claim a win by knockout, while the referee started to count Chronos out. Halfway through the referee's count, Chronos started to jump through the air, sliding along the wall, but did not reach its wheels. Straight after the referee delivered the '9' of the count, Chronos finally fell back to its wheels and rejoined the battle. However, this recovery was short-lived, as Tánshè drove straight back under Chronos, delivered it to the other corner of the arena, and flipped it straight over the wall, winning the battle by knockout.

"*It was really tough because when we tested Chronos, it did a great job in our test, and it looked very formidable and strong. And then, we entered and it just wasn't performing like it should.*"
— Team Ghetto Logic Robotics

During post-battle celebrations, the Tánshè team received complementary bottles of Sprite, which they drank as part of a brief promotional interlude for the soft drink brand.

**Winner: Tánshè**

### Stealth vs Shrederator Tiger Claw

#### Preamble

Prior to this battle, Zheng Shuang again expressed unease at the idea of her final two robots fighting against each other. Sa Beining, with only Shrederator Tiger Claw left to choose at this stage, expressed that he was open to battling whichever robot Shuang selected. Stealth and Blue were both considered her strongest choices among Green team roboteers, while Green Agate's Chen Hang 'wanted revenge' on Shrederator Tiger Claw following their initial Freestyle Combat encounter.

Shuang, unsure about her choices by the end of Wang Cong's countdown, requested an extra minute to decide her nominee for this match. Hang felt that Green Agate would struggle against Blue because of its top cover, but hold up better to Stealth's undercutter due to its 'robust' side armor.

At the end of the second countdown, an exhausted Shuang chose Stealth to compete, believing that it had a 'good protective system' to counter Shrederator Tiger Claw's shell. Brian Nave maintained that the South Korean team was deliberately chosen on the basis of them being 'willing to lose', while an 'upset' Chen Hang dreaded Green Agate's consequent match-up with Blue.

#### Combat

"*The last fight. The rule of putting on a good show: you start with [an] explosive, fiery, exciting match, and you end with [an] explosive, fiery match. And [Sa Beining] wanted to go out with a bang!*"
— Brian Nave, shortly after Shrederator Tiger Claw is confirmed to fight

At the start of the battle, Shrederator Tiger Claw powered up its shell spinner and drove around the arena, although it became immediately clear that Stealth could not power up its own weapon, so Shrederator Tiger Claw attacked its spinning bar head-on, throwing sparks. Shrederator Tiger Claw then delivered a direct blow to the back end of Stealth, damaging its skirts.

The next attack from Shrederator Tiger Claw hit the bar of Stealth, and swung the South Korean robot around for a follow-up hit. Shrederator Tiger Claw struck the back and sides of Stealth in quick succession, but Stealth drove back into Shrederator Tiger Claw's spinner, which peeled up the side of Stealth. Shrederator Tiger Claw then landed glancing blows on the side and back of Stealth, which drove towards the mace.

Suddenly, after Shrederator Tiger Claw directly struck the bar spinner of Stealth, the weaponry of Stealth started functioning, and it reached top speed, while Shrederator Tiger Claw rebounded into the arena wall. Stealth drove around, avoiding its opponent, when Shrederator Tiger Claw closed in. Although Shrederator Tiger Claw missed on its drive, due to a late change in direction from Stealth, Shrederator Tiger Claw bounced off the arena wall, and slammed back into Stealth, ceasing the bar spinner once again.

Shrederator Tiger Claw spun into the back of Stealth, ripping away more armor while trapping it over the arena saws. After two more blows in the center of the arena, Shrederator Tiger Claw forced Stealth into the corner of the arena, which could now only spin in place, having lost drive on one side.

"*Nighthawk demonstrates a Korean saying, "Only the rear wheels spin." Nighthawk has been literally cut into a vulture.*"
— Wang Tao, as a damaged Stealth is left spinning in circles (Mech+ subtitles)

The referee counted out Stealth, and Shrederator Tiger Claw earned the victory.

"*This means a lot to me. Thank you.*"
— Sa Beining to the victorious Shrederator Tiger Claw team

**Winner: Shrederator Tiger Claw**

### Blue vs Green Agate

"*Blue is good at striking you from the top. Even though my robot's cover has been glued together, honestly, it's a comfort at most. I'm just kidding myself.*"
— Chen Hang, commenting on Green Agate's draw

Owing to the damage suffered in its Freestyle Combat battle, Zheng Shuang initially considered not making Green Agate fight again at this point. However, she equally felt that this battle would be a 'great opportunity' for Chen Hang to gain combat experience against the returning Bots FC entry.

In the pits, Hang found that the top cover for Green Agate would no longer fit into position. With assistance from roboteers including Sandstorm's Ellis Ware, he used several pieces of duct tape to fix the cover back on as best as possible. Reluctant to fight his fellow teammate, Adam Wrigley revealed that Blue would also be prepared to its most optimal state, including the addition of extra top armor to counter Green Agate's hammer.

"*Have a good one, buddy! You're gonna have lots of holes in the top of you!*"
— Gabriel Stroud, wishing Chen Hang and Green Agate well on their way to the arena

Following their introductions, both robots began performing pre-battle checks. While Blue strafed quickly into its starting position, Green Agate proved completely unresponsive to Chen Hang's controls. Hang requested more time to diagnose and resolve these unforeseen technical issues, and the match was put on hold as a result.

Hang's repairs, however, proved unsuccessful; while Green Agate's power light blinked, neither its drive nor weapon systems responded to his transmitter inputs. Gabriel Stroud offered to assist in checking Green Agate's internals, and the two roboteers made further adjustments to its wiring. At one point, Green Agate was propped on its right-hand side in an attempt to test its wheel movements. Zheng Shuang received permission from one of the show producers to utilize the trap, allowing Green Agate to be pitted in case it was able to compete.

"*Because I didn't want to frustrate him. He wouldn't be here if he wasn't passionate about this. If it's defeated furiously, it's unlikely to recover fully. It seems that he can never find the root cause of its problems. He couldn't figure out why it didn't move. If he cannot find the causes, he will hardly make a better robot.*"
— Zheng Shuang, on Chen Hang's struggle to fix Green Agate

Even with Stroud's assistance, Green Agate's drive was still unresponsive by this point. Zheng Shuang assured Chen Hang not to worry, and was open to the possibility of Green Agate withdrawing despite the audience still wanting the fight to take place.

"*I need to examine it to find out which part went wrong. I thought it over and it could be many. But I'm not sure which part exactly. I couldn't do such examination on the site. So unfortunately, I had no choice but to give up the game.*"
— Chen Hang, on his decision to forfeit the match

Ashamed and apologetic over the delay resulting from this, Hang eventually opted to pull Green Agate out so he could further investigate its technical issues. Thus, Green Agate forfeited the match to Blue, allowing its would-be opponent to remain in the Green team. A muted audience response followed, with Bots FC also sharing Hang's disappointment about their former teammate being eliminated in this fashion.

"*I’ve never been so sad about a win, actually. That’s not how you want to win – we didn’t want to have to fight our teammate, but we didn’t want to have to have him forfeit because the robot didn’t work. You know, it’s really sad. We’re really disappointed.*"
— Adam Wrigley of Bots FC laments Blue’s automatic victory

**Winner: Blue (Green Agate forfeited due to technical issues)**

## Manager Battles

The remaining head-to-head battles would involve the four team managers controlling one of their own robots, as previously nominated in Episode 5. Each manager was given one hour to practice operating their chosen machines in the arena, under the supervision and guidance of the robots' regular teams.

Winning managers from each battle were allowed to choose one of 13 robots previously eliminated in Alliance War battles, for reinstatement in later rounds. In alphabetical order, these were:

* Anchor and Shield
* Chronos
* Golden Hoops
* Green Agate
* Lieutenant Bam
* Saturn
* Slash Boy
* Stealth
* Switch
* Two BBQ
* Vulcan
* Xiake
* Zen Oh

Wu Chun, having lamented Xiake's elimination in the previous episode, immediately set out to reclaim it for the Red team. However, as the concerned robots were no longer tied to any of their original managers, it was also possible for any chosen robot to transition to another team through this process.

"*Xiake, I will bring you back.*"
— Wu Chun sets out to reinstate Xiake

Battle draws were first decided in the arena by a lottery, where each manager was required to pull out a colored ball - without looking - from a silver box held by David. Upon being prompted by Wang Cong, they would then show the back or palm of their hand, which would determine the first manager to choose an opponent. In this case, Sa Beining was first to be nominated, and would ultimately be drawn against green ball holder Wu Chun.

### Ninja (Sa Beining) vs Polar Opposite (Wu Chun)

#### Practice

"*Get me a wet wipe. The console is covered with dust. I'll shine the console. I'll have it all clean then attach floral stickers to it as well as jewels, so that it's sparkly.*"
— Sa Beining requests a spot of cleaning in the control area

Before the start of his own session, Sa Beining expressed his intention to clean and decorate his control area, while gesticulating his aim to destroy both of the Polar Opposite segments. The main focus for him and Ninja captain Paul Streeter was on controlling its recently-fitted mace weapon, which Beining confidently felt would 'smush' Polar Opposite.

Following driving demonstrations by Streeter - which also showed the synergy between Ninja's mace and its front ramming wedge - Beining took the controls of the UK machine. However, controlling and lining up precise attacks proved difficult, with Ninja either stopping too short, or missing the tire entirely.

"*I've decided to use a random tactic. I'll just punch blindly to take anyone down.*"
— Sa Beining, after struggling to line up precise attacks with Ninja's mace

Wu Chun's segments began with a clip of him mimicking the hand movements required to operate Polar Opposite's transmitter, in an effort to maximize his hand-eye coordination. The multibot design of Polar Opposite presented him with an advantage, as the orange half - Negative Charge - would be driven by Liu Kunfeng's son, as was the case in earlier battles.

"*To me, the hardest part was how you control the robot. Your moves have to be very precise. Every inch makes a difference.*"
— Wu Chun

Chun's first test was to drive Positive Charge (turquoise) with an externally-placed battery. Here, he experienced early difficulties in keeping Positive Charge's movements precise enough to avoid collisions with obstacles - including Negative Charge and a mace. At one point, Positive Charge flipped itself over upon catching the edge of the trap, ejecting the battery and immobilizing it.

An opportunity to practice with Negative Charge was also taken, with Chun being advised by Liu Kunfeng to stay away from the walls. Chun's driving - consistently darting and 'drifting' the orange machine around - was praised by Kunfeng, who confirmed that this mirrored Polar Opposite's usual driving style in combat.

"*I think Mr. Wu is more of a pro than an amateur. His handling is much beyond my expectation.*"
— Liu Kunfeng, praising Wu Chun's developing driving skills

In battle, Chun would drive Positive Charge, which was armed with an orange wedge, while Negative Charge entered the fight with a blue disc spinner and forks.

#### Combat

In order to equalize the two robots, Ninja's Paul Streeter was allowed to operate the ejector board hazards, with the same restrictions previously applied in Freestyle Combat. Citing the 110kg weight limit, Wu Chun initially questioned this rule change, but retracted his concerns once Sa Beining pointed out that Polar Opposite - by design - required two control systems to operate. Liu Kunfeng's son also turned down Chun's request to let the celebrity managers battle each other first, only giving them a one-second window before Negative Charge could join in.

"*When the robot actually started moving, I realized that one hour was too short. You are just unable to hit where you want to.*"
— Sa Beining, reflecting on his issues controlling Ninja in battle

Ninja immediately exposed its wedge to a hit from Negative Charge's disc, and swung its weapon around aimlessly, being lifted up by another blow from Negative Charge. Ninja retreated into the corner of the arena, and the back end of the robot was hit by Negative Charge's disc, briefly causing it to lose traction. Ninja spun in place, knocking Negative Charge aside, while Wu Chun drove Positive Charge into the way of this attack. Chun lined up his maneuver, allowing Positive Charge to slam into Ninja's wedge and throw the UK machine up. Attacking in unison, both halves of Polar Opposite pressured Ninja, until a swing from Ninja's mace threw sparks from the wedge of Positive Charge.

Polar Opposite retaliated, but Ninja pressured Positive Charge onto the floor ejector, which lifted both robots up, after Paul Streeter of Ninja's team activated the hazard. Positive Charge rammed Ninja again in response, but the thwackbot wedged underneath Negative Charge and pushed it towards the arena wall.

"*Let me spin you up.*"
— Wu Chun, as Positive Charge rams underneath Ninja

Ninja returned to the center of the arena, offering no offense, and Positive Charge rammed it once again at the controls of a hyped-up Wu Chun. Ninja's mace landed on Negative Charge, producing more sparks. Critically, after Ninja hit the arena floor several times, it fed its mace right into the disc of Negative Charge, which ripped Ninja's weapon away, throwing it into the wall with less than 30 seconds remaining.

Positive Charge capitalized, and struck the wedge of the weaponless Ninja. After a combined attack from both multibots, Negative Charge attacked the left wheel of Ninja and bent the hub. Negative Charge followed this up with another strike to Ninja's wedge, and Positive Charge slammed into the back of Ninja just before time expired on the battle. With no knockout, the battle was sent to a Judges' decision, though both managers were quick to celebrate what had been an entertaining and ostensibly even match.

The decision was ultimately announced in favor of Wu Chun and Polar Opposite, allowing Chun to fulfil his plan of reinstating Xiake. Prior to the announcement, Zheng Jianfeng of Team Xiake considered the result to be 'obvious', praising Polar Opposite's 'positive and effective' intentions, strategy and frequency of attacks from both segments.

**Winner: Polar Opposite (Wu Chun)**

### Cat King (Zheng Shuang) vs Weber (Zhang Yishan)

#### Practice

"*It's like driving a car. Sometimes you cannot react in time. You may hit the wrong button. I actually didn't do well in the driving school. That's true.*"
— Zheng Shuang

Zheng Shuang's practice session involved a 'cat and mouse' game between Cat King and its 'mouse'-themed minibot. Controlling the main machine, Shuang was initially tasked to avoid collisions with the minibot, though this proved unsuccessful after Cat King was nudged by it near a mace. In response, Cat King turned the minibot over twice, the second time by throwing it over with its interchangeable electric lifter.

Zhang Yishan - himself not a frequent video game player - considered the task of controlling Weber especially daunting. Nevertheless, after tentatively nudging the tire a couple of times, he succeeded in allowing Weber to throw it over multiple times, including towards the bulletproof screens and ceiling.

#### Combat

Both robots started tentatively, with Weber dodging Cat King’s initial drive before bumping into the wall spikes. After more nudging, Weber tried to flip Cat King, but missed, throwing itself over. The Russian machine landed on Cat King as it tried to self-right, causing it to be tipped upside-down and forced to self-right again. The two competitors continued avoiding each other, until Cat King briefly lifted Weber upwards using its weapon.

More pirouetting and evasive driving ensued, before Cat King drove behind Weber and lifted it again. Weber charged at high speed into Cat King, but again slammed into the wall spikes. Following a near-miss with one of the grinders, Weber rammed the front of Cat King and circled around the American machine for another shove. As it tried to line up another attack, Weber accidentally drove into the spikes again, causing it to get lodged against them.

Zhang Yishan fired Weber’s flipper, causing the Russian machine to throw itself forwards and clear of the spikes. Landing on its side, Weber self-righted, only for Cat King to ram and clamp it against the same set of spikes. Cat King retreated as Weber again fired its flipper to free itself, and in turn was momentarily thrown off-balance by a charging Weber. Weber, however, missed another flip, throwing itself over.

The two robots circled round each other in the closing stages; Weber cornered Cat King against the wall spikes and flipped it over just before time ran out, although not without flipping itself again. Cat King also self-righted; nevertheless, both competitors survived to a Judges’ decision. Despite a strong start from Cat King, the decision ultimately went in favor of Weber and Zhang Yishan.

**Winner: Weber (Zhang Yishan)**

### Robot Reinstatements

After the final two head-to-head battles took place, the winning celebrities would be given the opportunity to choose one robot each to be reinstated as part of their teams.

Wu Chun, as expected, selected Xiake, allowing it to reprise its original place on the Red team. Zhang Yishan was suggested to have the option of one of his original Blue team machines, or the highly-competitive British entry Vulcan. Yishan's final decision would be revealed in the next episode.

## Trivia

* This was the first episode where the celebrity captains took to the controls of their robots, and their first experiences of driving prior to combat were shown onscreen.

## References

1. ↑ https://twitter.com/Mech\_Plus/status/1606318721336692737