Apollo (UK)

* Series 10
* Series 9
* Series 8

## Overview

**Apollo** is a white, checkered wedge-shaped robot with a powerful flipper, running at 1000psi, which competed in Series 8-10 of Robot Wars, winning the 8th Series and reaching the Grand Final as a Wild Card in the 9th. It was built by Team MAD, who previously entered Featherweight Championships of Robot Wars with Flybot, Gladiator and Alpha, and the Antweight Championship in Extreme 2 with Chroma and Hades.

Apollo's flipper is capable of throwing a 100kg heavyweight six feet into the air, and would cause the robot to somersault when self-righting. For this reason, the flipper also has a half-power option, for ease of use as a srimech. Apollo's ground clearance is the width of a pound coin (around 3mm).

Apollo was built by Dave Young, Marc Dermott, Ben Bacon, and also Team MAD's usual captain, Alan Young, who owns Apollo and competes with it at Robots Live! events, which are run by Team MAD. However, Alan Young could not be a member of Apollo's team in Series 8, due to his involvement with the production of the programme.

Apollo is named after the famous series of space missions whose purpose is to land on the moon by the United States before the former Soviet Union, with the colour scheme to match. The robot's design is modeled after Chronic, a *BattleBots* entry built by Alan Young, although the two robots are completely separate builds.

## Robot History

### UK Robot Wars Series 8

    Apollo appeared in Episode 4, where in the first round, it was drawn against Kan-Opener, PP3D, and Sweeney Todd. After Kan-Opener pressed the pit release, the four competitors hovered around the floor flipper, which then fired and launched Apollo into the air, and landing on its back, after self-righting. Apollo went and flipped Kan-Opener, which also had PP3D within its claws. However, PP3D got underneath and removed the back left tyre of Apollo, leaving Apollo only capable of driving in a circular motion. Apollo still managed to slip underneath Kan-Opener and launch it, which removed the yellow robot's safety link, immobilising it. After some minor collisions, Apollo flipped PP3D against the arena wall. It then went on to flip the already immobilised Sweeney Todd repeatedly, launching the middleweight across the arena. Despite Apollo's inactive wheel, it progressed alongside PP3D.

In its first head-to-head, Apollo was drawn against PP3D once again. This time, Apollo kept its front towards the spinner robot at all times, to prevent another tyre being torn off. After a few collisions which did no damage, Apollo got a flip in on PP3D, and this caused PP3D to lose a wheel. PP3D was yet to be rendered immobile, and spun its spinner up to full speed, but Apollo showed no fear, and flipped PP3D across the arena. This knocked out PP3D's removable link, and Apollo was given three points for the knockout win.

In its second head-to-head, it faced the highly successful Storm2. Both started by colliding into each other, but Storm2's low ground clearance meant that Apollo would merely ride up the wedge. Apollo found an opportunity to flip Storm2 from one of its corners, meaning it could push Storm2 around. Apollo pushed Storm2 on to the floor flipper, which flipped Storm2, but didn't right it. At this point, Apollo lost one of its chains, but was still able to drive to a reasonable extent. Apollo took time away from its opponent to stray into Dead Metal's CPZ, and became the first robot to flip a House Robot in 2016. When pushed into Matilda's CPZ by Storm2, Apollo repeated the same trick, first ripping armour away from the rear of Matilda with a missed flip, and then overturning her. Eventually, the pit was lowered and Apollo's drive started to die. Storm 2, with just twelve seconds left on the clock, nearly pushed its opponent into the pit, but Apollo managed to survive. The judges voted in favour of Apollo, scoring it 2 points.

With enough points to guarantee a place in the heat final, Apollo competed against fellow newcomer Eruption, which had failed to score enough points to go through by this stage. Apollo got under Eruption and managed to flip Eruption on to the flame pit. After a tussle, Eruption flipped Apollo, and over-flipping in the process, however they both self-righted. Apollo flipped Eruption, and Apollo over-flipped, and caused Eruption did a pirouette on the blades of its flipper. Eruption flipped Apollo, leaving the white flipper stuck open. Apollo was classed as immobilised, when it failed to self-right quickly enough, despite Apollo self-righting and driving the arena shortly after being counted out. Apollo had scored 0 points, but because it was already on 5, it was through to the Heat Final.

At this stage Apollo was drawn against Storm2 again. Apollo was again struggling to breach Storm2's ground clearance, and was pushed into Shunt's CPZ. Unfazed, Apollo overturned a House Robot for the third time. Storm2 pressed the pit release, and Storm2 started chasing Apollo around. Turning the tides, Apollo got a flip in on Storm2, and then another. Matilda came in and chased Storm2 and Apollo out of the CPZ, and then righted Shunt. Storm2 then drove on to the flipper of Apollo, and was flipped up against the arena side wall. Apollo followed this up with a second flip, throwing the Robot Was World Champion out of the arena completely, and Apollo qualified for the Grand Final.

In the group battle of its Grand Final, Apollo faced Carbide and Shockwave. Team Carbide addressed Apollo as the bigger threat of the two robots. Hoping that Carbide would attack Shockwave, Team MAD set their sights on Sir Killalot instead. Apollo's role in the battle was extremely passive, as before Apollo could even make contact with Carbide or Shockwave, Carbide had destroyed part of the arena wall, causing the battle to be halted for safety reasons. Apollo launched Carbide into the air when it drove onto Apollo's wedge, but cease was called after 32 seconds of action, and Shockwave withdrew from the competition due to the damage they had sustained, putting Apollo through to the next round.

Apollo's first battle in the head-to-heads was against TR2. Apollo's ground clearance proved to be lower than TR2's newly welded wedge, and it threw the flipper into the air. Apollo threw it again, and then flipped TR2 right onto the trench wall, barely failing to flip it out. Apollo's next flip caused TR2 to land on Dead Metal's saw, although TR2 flipped Apollo in response. Apollo lifted Dead Metal once again, not quite flipping it, and was overturned by TR2 for its efforts. Apollo flipped TR2 twice, and self-righted when overturned by TR2. After some final tentative flips, Apollo flipped TR2 onto its back, from which it could not self-right. Apollo won the battle by KO, and earned three points, although the team were unhappy to learn that they would face Carbide next.

In accordance with the team's battle plan, Apollo charged straight for Carbide in an effort to stop the spinning bar. This quickly backfired, as Carbide's second hit knocked the removable link out of Apollo, immobilising it. Apollo sustained some extra attacks from the celebratory Carbide, damaging the vulnerable back end. Cease was called, and Apollo had lost the battle.

Apollo needed to defeat Thor in order to qualify for the final battle. A cartoon plaster covered up some of the damage caused by Carbide. Part of the battle was won without Apollo's input, when Thor was overturned by driving over the floor flipper. Apollo launched the inverted Thor, and vital components fell out of it. Apollo kept its distance, and earned three points, enough to put it into the final battle with Carbide.

Apollo drove into Carbide, surviving the initial impact, and pushed it into Sir Killalot. Apollo threw Carbide into the plexiglass, but suffered damage in retaliation, losing pieces of armour but managing to flip again. Apollo threw the deadly spinner five times in succession, stopping Carbide's bar from turning, but after another flip, Apollo's own weapon stopped working, jamming open. The flipper stuck open, Apollo drove into Shunt to have its weapon smashed back into place. Apollo managed to flip Carbide again, but its flipper remained open again. Apollo fled, and the two robots drove against one another, incapable of causing damage, with Apollo only lightly lifting its opponent. Apollo trapped Carbide underneath its flipper while driving it into the axe of Shunt. Cease was called, and the final was sent to the Judges. The unanimous Judges' decision was awarded in favour of Apollo, making it the Robot Wars champion, and the team were presented with their trophy.

### Live Events

In October 2016, Apollo made its first Robots Live! appearance at their Stevenage event. It took part in and won four whiteboard battles, including one against *BattleBots* competitor Photon Storm and another where it threw Behemoth and The Saint out of the arena in the same fight. It also fought former Runner-Up Bigger Brother and won.

It also fought Chimera and flipped it 8 feet in the air and out of the arena.

### UK Robot Wars Series 9

    Apollo competed in Episode 5, where the reigning champion fought a trio of newcomers - Coyote, Ms Nightshade and Rusty. Before even reaching the second round, Team MAD were already mocking Carbide, which was also in the same episode. Much like Robo Savage's team, Team MAD performed 'the dab' in their hero shot. When the battle started, Apollo quickly chose Rusty as its target, and threw it forwards, dislodging the fellow flipper's scoop. The second flip from Apollo caused major damage, removing the back panel from Rusty. Apollo next threw Ms Nightshade into the air, causing the floral robot to 'bloom', while Marc Dermott celebrated, as Ms Nightshade had already lost mobility. Eager to attack every robot in the group battle, Apollo pursued Coyote, and lifted it, not managing to properly breach its ground clearance, but breaking its chainsaw tail. Rusty had beached itself on its back, so Apollo pressed the Arena Tyre, triggering Rogue House Robot. While Dead Metal roamed free, Apollo threw Coyote over, and then tossed the immmobile Rusty towards the arena wall. Already victorious, Apollo still dominated, flipping Coyote and the revived Rusty once again. 'Cease' was called, confirming Apollo's qualification alongside Coyote.

Team MAD revealed after the battle that Apollo was running at only half-power due to the cold weather, which prompted Marc Dermott to mock his teammate for wearing less layers of clothing. The elation and jokes did not last, as Apollo's next battle was a rematch of its Grand Final from the previous championship, fighting the highly improved Carbide. Dave Young was nervous about the match, while Marc Dermott displayed more confidence. Notably, Sir Killalot would be in the arena for this fight, and Marc Dermott performed 'the robot' dance move before the match began. Apollo stayed true to its tactics, and charged Carbide, but only gained a slight purchase. This lifted Carbide up slightly, but threw Apollo all the way over. It self-righted quite quickly, but even this small window gave Carbide the opportunity to land blows on the side of Apollo. The defending champion slid under Carbide, but did not flip it, and a panel was torn from its launcher. After nudging the Arena Tyre, successive blows from Carbide immobilised Apollo. Team Carbide showed no mercy, and continued to attack its vulnerable rival. Apollo's wheels were in peril as Carbide drew near, until the countdown timer completed. Just before the end of the timer, Apollo surged back into life and drove away, although this was not controlled movement that Team MAD had commanded, and the robot had already been immobile for ten seconds, so Carbide was awarded the victory. Regardless, the moving Apollo was hit again by Apollo, being thrown onto its back. Sir Killalot picked up the beaten Apollo by its flipper, and held it over the flame pit. Apollo was significantly damaged, and had a large repair job to complete within the two-hour window. The launcher was bent sideways, and would not close back into the wedge. This was only just fixed in time for Apollo's second head-to-head, this time against Coyote.

Apollo drove straight towards Coyote, and easily threw it into the air, directly towards Sir Killalot. Coyote had edged its way to the arena wall, so Apollo tried to throw it out, only failing because Coyote's jaws caught on the wall, although this broke Coyote's weapon. Apollo threw Coyote over, and pinned it near Sir Killalot, before attempting to flip Sir Killalot itself, although it lacked the necessary purchase to get underneath and flip. Apollo flipped Coyote onto its side, which would have immobilised Coyote, but regardless Apollo followed up and threw it out of the arena. 'Cease' was called, but Apollo had unfinished business, and challenged Sir Killalot. However, its buckled flipper could not allow Apollo to fire a decent flip, and the humbled Apollo fled from the pursuing Sir Killalot and Dead Metal.

After using their two-hour repair window to try and straighten Apollo's flipper, Team MAD's final head-to-head match was against the clusterbot Crackers 'n' Smash. Team Conker feared Apollo, but felt they had a chance, having analysed the damage the reigning champion had sustained. Team MAD's fears about the low ground clearance of Crackers 'n' Smash proved accurate, as Apollo drove straight onto the wedge of Crackers. It freed itself by firing its flipper, but could not breach the ground clearance of Smash either. Apollo struggled to make any notable move for an extended period of time until it finally launched Crackers into the saw of Dead Metal, also turning it over. Smash had been flipped off-screen, so Apollo lunged it through the air, so both halves of the clusterbot were inverted when Apollo activated Rogue House Robot. While Dead Metal sawed into Smash, Apollo and Sir Killalot pensively chased one another. Time was depleting, so Apollo threw the still-inverted Crackers straight into the plexiglass wall, and 'cease' was called. The Judges unanimously voted in favour of Apollo, awarding it the two points it needed to qualify for the Heat Final.

There, it faced Carbide for the fifth time. Apollo's previous tactics still stood, as it ran straight into the spinning bar, but suffered repeated glancing blows until a panel was torn from its top. A strong lunge from Apollo was able to off-set the balance of Carbide, but once the spinner recovered, Apollo sustained more damage. Apollo was turned away by a strong hit from Carbide, and the following hits from the bar were strong enough to consistently push Apollo's wedge away. As time progressed, a strong blow to the side of Apollo limited its ability, and Carbide's finishing blow was an extended grinding attack onto the launcher. Apollo was counted out, having lost the battle, although this did not stop the House Robots from exacting their revenge. Sir Killalot picked up Apollo by its flipper and dropped it when Apollo fired its weapon, then Sir Killalot pushed it over to break the launcher out of alignment. Apollo was burnt over the fire, and was gripped by Sir Killalot. Apollo had once again lost to its rival Carbide, although it remained in contention for the wildcard position in the Grand Final, provided the robot could be repaired.

Before the start of the Grand Final, Team MAD were called to the arena to join Team Legion, Team Cherub, Jason Marston and Team Ranglebots to see who the Judges had awarded the wildcard to. The Judges decided that the reigning champion deserved to be reinstated for a second chance at victory, and Apollo qualified for the Grand Final, where it would face Aftershock and Eruption. Apollo cruised around the arena in the opening seconds, avoiding its opponents until it came face-to-face with Aftershock. It managed to slip under the wedge of the vertical spinner and throw it over, and onto Eruption, also throwing itself over. However, this flip also damaged the arena floor upon Aftershock's landing, and after Apollo tackled Aftershock again, it drove under the damaged arena floor, where it became stuck. Unable to defend itself, Aftershock tore into the exposed rear of Apollo and threw it up, before 'cease' was called to make repairs to the floor. The teams agreed to restart the battle from a neutral position, without fixing any of the damage their robots sustained. Apollo could drive freely, but it did so without purpose, and Aftershock slammed into Apollo side-on, throwing it into the Arena Tyre. As the pit descended, gas vented from Apollo, and it became clear that the reigning champion had been immobilised by a spinner once again. Left alone, Apollo was counted out, and it was finally eliminated from the series, opening the gates for a new Robot Wars champion.

### UK Robot Wars Series 10

Apollo returned for Series 10 in Heat 1, where it entered the second melee against newcomer Apocalypse and Team Big Brother's new entry and clusterbot, The Swarm. Apollo rammed into The Swarm, but the robots were each so light that they were simply brushed aside before Apollo could slide its wedge beneath any individual part. Apollo did ultimately get a flip on Pinza, throwing the clusterbot into Sir Killalot's CPZ. Ramming into Apocalypse and Rubber Duck, Apollo tossed Apocalypse once unsuccessfully, almost overturning Apollo, but the second attempt hurled Apocalypse across the arena. Scooping Apocalypse again, Apollo threw the axebot into Sir Killalot, who dumped it onto the flame pit. Apollo continued to engage the three mobile members of The Swarm, and was finally able to bring its flipper fully underneath Rubber Duck. The flipper fired and Rubber Duck soared clean over the full-sized arena wall. With Apocalypse and two parts of The Swarm immobile, the fight was not yet won. Apocalypse chased down the two remaining clusterbots, trapping Blenda against the arena wall. After Skye activated the Pit, Apollo left Blenda and began to chase Skye, but Sam Watts drove straight into the Pit of Oblivion and eliminated the third clusterbot, sealing the victory for Apollo. After 'cease' was called, it proceeded to throw Pinza across the arena. Also after 'cease', in a sequence not broadcast on television, Apollo noticed that Sir Killalot was holding the beaten Apocalypse, and used this chance to try and flip the House Robot, almost succeeding, and used its 22hp drive to push the House Robot back. However, Team MAD were faced with potential disqualification, as 'cease' had already been called, and the producers declared that Sir Killalot was not holding Apocalypse as a form of attack, rather it was simply to bring Apocalypse nearer to the entrance gates for removal. Regardless, Apollo remained in the competition to battle Sabretooth in the next round.

The rested Apollo got the first flip onto Sabretooth, somersaulting the smaller robot for a hard landing. Invertible and quick, Sabretooth proved slippery and several flip attempts served only to overturn Apollo. Sabretooth was unable to inflict significant damage on Apollo with its drum, and ran into the Arena Tyre. Dead Metal went rogue and captured Sabretooth, which was able to escape after the Rogue House Robot cooled off. It became clear shortly after this that Sabretooth's drum had failed. Apollo pursued the fleeing Sabretooth, as it had done throughout the battle, and hurled them into a CPZ again. Apollo followed up this attack with two more flips, while Sabretooth clumsily missed the Arena Tyre. Apollo caught Sabretooth by the lower arena walls and threw Sabretooth out of the arena. The excited Apollo team joined Sabretooth for a group hug, and progressed to the Heat Final.

Feeling confident having taken down one of the self-confessed biggest threats in the heat, Apollo drew Behemoth in the Heat Final. The faster and lower machine, Apollo effortlessly overturned Behemoth with its wedge and swept it into the CPZ of Sir Killalot. Sliding under Behemoth, it threw Behemoth clean into the air, but Behemoth landed on its wheels. Apollo seemed well in control of the battle until a side ram from Behemoth bucked its front wedge up and allowed Behemoth to breach Apollo's ground clearance. Behemoth hurled Apollo into Dead Metal mid-self-right, and both robots were captured by Dead Metal outside the view of both teams in their control booths. Apollo was thrown free by the motion of its flipper, and threw Behemoth again, almost taking it out of the arena. Apollo was flipped again by Behemoth, getting stuck on the flame pit, but self-righted and threw Behemoth into Dead Metal's CPZ. The two robots ran into each other, and Behemoth won the ground clearance fight. Apollo was pushed back and retreated, but as it spun away Behemoth caught the rear of the robot and flipped. The momentum of the flip sent Apollo skittering across the arena and into the open pit. The crestfallen Apollo team took consolation in an entertaining fight. For reaching the Heat Final, Apollo would next participate in the 10 Robot Rumble for a last chance to qualify for the Grand Final, where it would face Big Nipper, Concussion, Eruption, Iron-Awe 6, Sabretooth, Terrorhurtz, Track-tion, Thor and Expulsion in one large battle, with only one winner. For this battle, Alan Young took to the controls of Apollo.

Apollo was a quiet presence at the start of the fight, scuffling with Track-tion and Concussion and nearly shepherding Concussion into the descending pit. It avoided being overturned by Big Nipper's claws, but was hit by a passing Sabretooth and was dramatically flipped over. After the Fog of War, Apollo retreated to the safety of a vacant CPZ, and came out to hurl Iron-Awe 6 clear across the arena. During the second Fog of War, Apollo again retreated and was prepared for the charging Sabretooth, scooping and pivoting to throw it into the plexiglass arena wall. Apollo flipped Thor into the arena wall but failed to throw it out of the arena. Sabretooth came on the attack again and tore off the top of the flipper, leaving the internals vulnerable. Apollo was harassed by Sabretooth and Big Nipper and accidentally drove over the floor flipper, but was only partially covering it and escaped the flip unscathed. Apollo overturned Terrorhurtz, which struggled to self-right, and was later caught by a Rogue Shunt and pressured into the wall of the CPZ, sustaining an attack. Not shown fully in the TV broadcast, Shunt overturned Apollo, who was noticeably low on gas by the time it self-righted. Apollo was hurled away by Eruption, as by now only they and Terrorhurtz remained alive. Terrorhurtz was soon left stranded against the arena, and Eruption overturned Apollo in the CPZ, where the former champion's depleted CO2 left it stranded. Counted out, Apollo was pushed into the Pit by Shunt, where it lay on top of the seven conquered robots that had fallen in before it.

#### World Series

Apollo also represented the UK in Robot Wars: World Series. Dave Young of Team MAD was specifically labelled as the captain of the UK side, and Apollo entered the arena with the Union Flag painted across its body. In the Tag Team portion of the tournament, Apollo fought alongside Gabriel 2 against TMHWK from the Netherlands and Cobra from Belgium. Apollo began against Cobra, who was noticeably faster and had considerable manoeuvrability. Apollo declined to flip Cobra on the first few times that Cobra ran up the wedge, instead focusing on driving its wedge towards the four-wheeled crusher. Fortunately, Cobra's crusher was too low to gain purchase on the slanted Apollo. Cobra went on the offence, driving Apollo into the pit release button, but Apollo was able to breach Cobra's clearance and flip Cobra into the CPZ. TMHWK tagged out and Apollo gave way to Gabriel 2 to fight the Dutch machine. After waiting in the CPZ, Apollo re-engaged Cobra and overturned it using the wedge alone. Apollo chased the inverted Cobra through Dead Metal's CPZ. Here, the floor flipper fired and hurled Cobra away, with Dead Metal's pincers getting caught in the underside of the floor flipper. With Dead Metal slightly tilted forward, Apollo attempted to flip the house robot, but the clamped pincers kept Dead Metal grounded. Self-righting from its failed flip, Apollo was caught and sliced by the vengeful house robot, but was rescued by Gabriel 2, which charged in to draw Dead Metal away. Apollo retreated again, but when faced with the combined charge of Dead Metal, Cobra and TMHWK, it joined the fray and hurled TMHWK into the air where it crashed to the ground, seemingly immobile. Apollo took charge of the battle, shepherding Dead Metal into its CPZ and with a powerful flip turned the House Robot onto its side and then over, also causing it to land on Cobra. TMHWK, meanwhile, regained enough mobility to reverse into the pit, leaving three active robots at the end of the battle, which was sent to a Judges' decision, unanimously awarded to Team UK.

In-between Apollo's battles, Dave Young was required to advise his British comrades on how to defeat their opponents, such as recommending that Terrorhurtz opened its Tag Team battle against Diotoir, and that Toby Colliass should ignore his father's pacifism when battling Rabid M8.

Apollo then returned for the episode's finale, the 5-point match that would decide overall which team won the competition. It faced off against Peter Redmond and Diotoir, one of the most experienced teams in the competition. Within seconds, Diotoir drove onto the flame pit and was soon engulfed in flames. Apollo herded Diotoir into Sir Killalot and then flipped it explosively into an empty CPZ. A follow up flip sent Diotoir flying into Sir Killalot's CPZ, where it bounced off its own spinning flywheel. Apollo managed to prop Diotoir against its flywheel, but Dead Metal interfered before it could attempt a follow-up attack. The rest of the battle was spent chasing down Sir Killalot, and Apollo made two powerful attempts to flip the massive House Robot, but was unable to get the leverage required. When cease was called, Dave Young kept up his chase and made one last attempt to overturn Sir Killalot, tilting him over in its best effort so far, but was still unable to do it. With Diotoir immobile, Apollo sealed victory for Team UK and Dave Young hoisted the trophy on behalf of the team.

## Results

* Wins: 19
* Losses: 7