On Sunday night three teams were fighting for survival in what the voiceover man sonically implies will be a gladiatorial contest. There's uppity Ash and Camilla, "battlers" Eva and Debra and the polar opposites Jane and Camilla. The other three teams have won their berth in the finals to cheer on and commentate from the sidelines.

The camera ominously finds its focus on the backs of our judge and hosts Manu Feildel and Pete Evans, two forebodingly well coifed and suited executioners. Tonight it's a three round cook-off. The winning team of round one will win an advantage, the winning of team of round two will go straight to the finals with the remaining two in the sudden death round three.

Round one and it's a bitter pill to swallow with each member of the team taking it in turns to segment a trio of lime, lemon and grapefruit. If that sounds like a doddle it's not with surgical precision needed to dissect each fruit to perfection with minimal waste, and no skin, pith or membrane. Unsurprisingly, like the snarkiest of schoolgirls Ash and Camilla aren't quietly confident. "Girl we got this one," whispers Ash, her Sideshow Bob bun almost knocking out a boom mike. Heaven forbid if MKR were screened in 3D.

There's ten minutes for this round and instantly, there's tension at team Ash and Camilla.

"Can you just move over? You're up in my grill," Ash tells Camilla. Wow street smack down and cooking reference. Good job Ash!

It's by no means the first of the night but Debra's cexposition (to borrow a Game of Thrones-ism and update it to 'cooking-exposition') truly fires off this episode of Cooking Competition Reality Shows for Dummies.

"We really need this advantage don't we. Any advantage will help us," she says.

She and Eva will need all the help they can get. And so might Ash and Camilla with Camilla's hands shaking thanks in no small part to Ash who is all up in her grill and getting very Gordon Ramsey. Is it time to heat up the humble pie?

Meanwhile on the sidelines, there's a fair helping of smugness coming from the safe teams excepting country cousins Jac and Shaz.

Eva and Debra are really peeling, er feeling, the pressure, their citrus is not looking good. Ash and Camilla win the round over Jane and Emma's slightly seedy plate up. "If I were the other two teams I'd be nervous right now," says Ash.

For Round 2, it's time to conquer vegetables. With winning their advantage comes great power and responsibility for Ash and Camilla. They get to decide who will cook with one of three vegetables – mushrooms, cauliflower or okra - to make a fine dining quality vegetarian dish. But before we find out which they'll inflict on their competitors  it's time for a very uncharacteristic Master Chef flourish and go to an ad break. We're breathless with anticipation, fingernails piercing our leather lounge chairs.

Ash and Camilla give the okra to Jane and Emma. They know (or the producers informed told them) that Eva and Debra would be a threat if they have the okra to play with given their expertise with Indian and Asian cuisine so they get cauliflower and Ash and Camilla keep the mushies for themselves. There's 45 minutes for this round.

Jane and Emma plan to stick it to Ash and Camilla with okra fritters with chili mayo and Asian slaw. They're not that au fait with okra but they know their Asian cuisine and they'll be damned if they're about to succumb to Ash and Camilla's tyranny of the okra.

For Ash and Camilla, the mushrooms "are the hero" of their dish. Who knew fungi could be so heroic? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No it's Super Fungi to the rescue for their braised mushrooms and ricotta gnocchi, with the "added extra" of a parmesan crisp seasoned with cayenne pepper.

"The judges are going to love the crispy parmesan crisps!" shrieks Ash maniacally. If Ash were any more up herself she's turn inside out.

Eva and Debra are going crazy for cauliflower planning cauliflower curry with cauliflower rice topped off with deep fried cauliflower pakora. That's a lot of cauliflower. Like Ash and Camilla's heroic vegetable, they want their cauliflower to "shine". We'll polish our sunglasses.

Time's up Pete says the ladies must step away from their benches. It turns out Jane and Emma have been defeated by the tyranny of okra, the judges deeming that the green menace has been lost in their fritters complimented by the very unAsian feta cheese.

Ash and Camilla are so confident they've met the judges remit of "beautiful home cooking" that you're wishing them to fail spectacularly. But their dish looks so mouthwatering that that's unlikely. And eye watering too. Stiff cheddar Ash, the judges find your parmesan crisps too spicy. But they love the rest of the dish as they do Eva and Debra's cauliflower celebration.

Time for a round of basic maths with Exposition Eva.

"We've been to sudden death twice and if we don't get through in this challenge it means we're going to sudden death for the THIRD time."

Her fears are confirmed, it's Eva and Debra up against Jane and Emma while Ash and Camilla are into the finals. Sudden Death involves the creation of each team's signature dishes – essentially "them on a plate." Jane and Emma are going characteristically sweet and savoury with their spiced sweet potato pie with salted pecan crumb topping, raspberry and peach sorbet and mini meringues on the side. Jane's happy demeanor tells us she's in her element. Seconds later Jane tells us she's in her element.

Meanwhile Eve and Debra are making up for lost meat after last round's vegetarian focus with the very unappetising sounding Braised Oxtail with Roasted Bone Marrow, a barrel of artery clogging goodness based on the dish their Dads used to make. It's a homage to their fathers but will the six judges – including regulars Karen Martini and Colin Fassnidge among them – be pleased with the meat?

Camilla is betting on the meat-lovers to win.

"If I'm being strategic I probably wouldn't want them in the competition." When are you not being strategic Camilla?

So, in the spirit of MKR's love affair with cheesy cooking puns,  Eva and Debra are in pressure cooker mode, literally! They're using a pressure cooker because they only have 90 minutes for the showdown and ox tail usually takes three or four hours to cook.

"We don't have that luxury of time today," says Debra. They'd be more time if everyone stopped recapping and got on to the damned cooking.

Eva is struggling with her dried bone marrow dressing consisting of garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Her first attempt is too peppery, her second too garlicky, will the third be just right? Jane and Emma are also playing with spicy fire adding to their pie cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.

As Jane fires up the blowtorch to toast the meringues she slaps down Ash and Camilla as payback for the okra. She's the blowtorch, they're the meringues.

"Charming," smarts Ash from the sidelines.

Clock ticks, exposition flows, the upshot of which is that Jane and Emma are uncharacteristically ahead of schedule, Eva and Debra characteristically behind. It's utensils up and time for the six judges to taste. They love the flavor and flakiness of Eva and Debra's meaty dish but their presentation, as it has all night, lets them down. The judges love the restaurant quality plating of Jane and Emma's pie but the sweet potatoe is drowned out by – you guessed it – spices.

It's a close race and though Pete calls Jane and Emma's dish "the most elegant we've had in the competition so far" it's Eva and Debra who are victorious with a score of 51 out of 60 pipping Jane and Emma by six points.

There's tears all round before Jane and Emma's feel good exit reel plays and Pete announces that next up is the "ultimate" instant restaurant round for the five team finalists.