Robot Combat League National Championship
The Robot Combat League National Championship is the yearly championship of the Robot Combat League (RCL). The top-ranked robots from hundreds of independent local events across North America are invited to fight for a national title in each of the League's ranked weight classes, from 150 g Fairyweights to 30 lb Featherweights. The first championship was held in 2023. This page lists every championship and its top three robots in each class, with links to each robot's profile on RobotCombatEvents.com (RCE), where the full results are kept.
How it works
- Qualifying. Robots earn League points by placing at participating local events during the season, which runs from March 1 to the last day of February; the championship is held a few months after the season ends. Each robot's season score comes from its best three events, and the top-ranked robots in each class are invited to the championship (see how points are calculated).[1] Current rankings are on the RCE rankings page.
- Bracket sizes. Since 2024, the target has been 32 robots each in Fairyweight, Plastic Antweight, Antweight and Beetleweight, and 16 each in Hobbyweight, Featherweight and Sportsman. If a ranked robot can't attend, the next robot in the rankings is invited.[2] Because fewer robots compete in the bigger classes, the 12 lb and 30 lb classes have had open registration since 2025, with rankings used for seeding.[3]
- Format. Every class is a double-elimination tournament, with standard SPARC rules and a few event-specific additions, such as a 250 mph weapon tip-speed limit (since 2025) and stopping a match if a robot's batteries are fully exposed. Robots that earned their points under other rules must be updated to meet SPARC rules. If two robots from the same team meet, they must fight, or the winner is decided by a coin toss.[4]
Championships
| Year | Dates | Venue | Classes | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | May 5–7, 2023 | Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, Seattle, Washington | 6 | Top three · RCE event |
| 2024 | April 18–21, 2024 | San Jose Event Center, San Jose, California (alongside RoboGames) | 7 | Top three · RCE event |
| 2025 | May 2–4, 2025 | Discovery Cube Orange County, Santa Ana, California | 7 | Top three · RCE event |
| 2026 | June 19–21, 2026 | Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, Utah | 7 | Top three · RCE event |
Champions by class
| Class | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 150 g Fairyweight | Root MEAN Square Team Allennella |
Ditto Level 5 Robotics |
Splinter Shadow Combat Robotics |
Spam Plan Complified Creations |
| 1 lb Plastic Antweight | Fully Dogga Painfully Obvious Robotics |
Axolotl Questions Treacherous Robotics |
Pac Attac RoboWarner |
Kingpin Phosphor Robotics |
| 1 lb Antweight | Dulce de Lucha Rayze Robotics |
Flippin the Bird Striped Might |
Ishtar Impulse Robotics |
Fission Shadow Combat Robotics |
| 3 lb Beetleweight | Lynx IBA LABS |
Tut Station 68 |
Droopy Surrenderbotics |
Strikepoint Team Thagomizer |
| 12 lb Hobbyweight | Quicksilver The Bot Brothers |
Full Court Three Point Robotics |
Creature Combat Ready Robotics |
Full Court Three Point Robotics |
| 30 lb Featherweight | not held | Jubileu | Lil Lash Team Whiplash |
HSS High Energy Failures |
| 30 lb Sportsman | Grill Master Food Fight |
Meme Theme! Capybara Biggus Piggus Robotics |
Ralph RoboFreaks |
HS1 Sport Team Wedges |
2023 – Seattle
The first championship was held at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, next to the Space Needle, with robots that qualified in the League's first season (March 2022 to February 2023, 98 local events). Featherweights were ranked that season, but the class couldn't run because no suitable arena was available. Hobbyweights and Sportsman robots fought in a 12 × 16 ft steel-floored arena with a pit, and magnets weren't allowed in the Plastic Antweight and Sportsman classes.[5]
| Class | Champion | 2nd | 3rd | Robots | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 150 g Fairyweight | Root MEAN Square Team Allennella |
Dark Bullit Dark Forces |
Jolly Rancher Team Allennella |
18 | RCE · bracket |
| 1 lb Plastic Antweight | Fully Dogga Painfully Obvious Robotics |
The Captain Revelation Robotics |
Mod Bot Orange Eyeball Slicers |
17 | RCE · bracket |
| 1 lb Antweight | Dulce de Lucha Rayze Robotics |
Mudskipper y_0 Robotics |
Super Space Turtle y_0 Robotics |
32 | RCE · bracket |
| 3 lb Beetleweight | Lynx IBA LABS |
Firecracker Slam Dunk |
Thunder Child Mutually Assured Destruction |
32 | RCE · bracket |
| 12 lb Hobbyweight | Quicksilver The Bot Brothers |
Son of Kram Team Small Robots |
Sling Blade Bax Attack |
7 | RCE · bracket |
| 30 lb Sportsman | Grill Master Food Fight |
Llama Sheen Canadian Carnage Robotics |
Storm Rider Team Bad Ideas |
10 | RCE · bracket |
2024 – San Jose
The second championship drew its robots from 125 qualifying events. It was held at the San Jose Event Center alongside RoboGames, and added full-combat 30 lb Featherweights. It used SCAR's arenas, with metal floors and no pits, and followed SCAR's magnet rule (a robot's magnets mustn't be strong enough to hold it upside down on a steel plate).[6]
| Class | Champion | 2nd | 3rd | Robots | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 150 g Fairyweight | Ditto Level 5 Robotics |
Slipper Turnabot |
Squeezy Turnabot |
33 | RCE · bracket |
| 1 lb Plastic Antweight | Axolotl Questions Treacherous Robotics |
The Captain Revelation Robotics |
Deatharang ADHD |
33 | RCE · bracket |
| 1 lb Antweight | Flippin the Bird Striped Might |
Tiramisu Terror Treats |
Fission Shadow Combat Robotics |
24 | RCE · bracket |
| 3 lb Beetleweight | Tut Station 68 |
Thunder Child Mutually Assured Destruction |
Brick Station 68 |
18 | RCE · bracket |
| 12 lb Hobbyweight | Full Court Three Point Robotics |
Son of Kram Team Small Robots |
Xupa-cabra | 10 | RCE · bracket |
| 30 lb Featherweight | Jubileu | Kablooey Tango Team Valkyrie |
Pepe Silvia Sunny Robotics |
6 | RCE · bracket |
| 30 lb Sportsman | Meme Theme! Capybara Biggus Piggus Robotics |
Banana Smash Team Ice |
Crunch Time Rad Robotics |
6 | RCE · bracket |
2025 – Santa Ana
The third championship, with robots from 166 qualifying events, was held at Discovery Cube Orange County, a children's science museum, in partnership with the museum. It used SPARC v1.4 rules and introduced a 250 mph weapon tip-speed limit and a one-unstick-per-match rule; competitors who touch the arena to move a robot lose by TKO.[7]
| Class | Champion | 2nd | 3rd | Robots | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 150 g Fairyweight | Splinter Shadow Combat Robotics |
Ditto Level 5 Robotics |
Geo Doohickey Robotics |
32 | RCE · bracket |
| 1 lb Plastic Antweight | Pac Attac RoboWarner |
Kestrel Vollen Robotics |
Legion Assault & Batteries |
31 | RCE · bracket |
| 1 lb Antweight | Ishtar Impulse Robotics |
Fission Shadow Combat Robotics |
Claw Dragon CW MC Robotics |
26 | RCE · bracket |
| 3 lb Beetleweight | Droopy Surrenderbotics |
Púca Team Small Robots |
Z3phyr Astro Labs |
26 | RCE · bracket |
| 12 lb Hobbyweight | Creature Combat Ready Robotics |
Full Court Three Point Robotics |
Whomper Team Whiplash |
15 | RCE · bracket |
| 30 lb Featherweight | Lil Lash Team Whiplash |
Pepe Silvia Sunny Robotics |
HS1 Team Wedges |
12 | RCE · bracket |
| 30 lb Sportsman | Ralph RoboFreaks |
Banana Smash Team Ice |
Rumble Bumble Seattle Gaze |
10 | RCE · bracket |
2026 – Salt Lake City
The fourth championship was held in Hall 3 of the Salt Palace Convention Center. 3,906 different robots competed at 214 qualifying events that season (see Growth of Robot Combat). It used SPARC v1.6 rules. The insect classes fought on wooden floors, with a push-out area in the Fairyweight arena, and the 12 lb and 30 lb classes on a 12 × 16 ft metal floor.[8]
| Class | Champion | 2nd | 3rd | Robots | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 150 g Fairyweight | Spam Plan Complified Creations |
briklit team good team |
Ditto Level 5 Robotics |
35 | RCE · bracket |
| 1 lb Plastic Antweight | Kingpin Phosphor Robotics |
Danger Zone Stray Cats |
Dark Tide HOP Bots |
32 | RCE · bracket |
| 1 lb Antweight | Fission Shadow Combat Robotics |
The Darkest Timeline Mutually Assured Destruction |
Appropriation Late Night Combat Robotics |
22 | RCE · bracket |
| 3 lb Beetleweight | Strikepoint Team Thagomizer |
Fragment X Shadow Combat Robotics |
Z3phyr Astro Labs |
23 | RCE · bracket |
| 12 lb Hobbyweight | Full Court Three Point Robotics |
Pyre Painfully Obvious Robotics |
CLIP IT Not Sure Yet |
7 | RCE · bracket |
| 30 lb Featherweight | HSS High Energy Failures |
HS1 Team Wedges |
Maccabot Team Scrap Yard |
4 | RCE · bracket |
| 30 lb Sportsman | HS1 Sport Team Wedges |
Banana Smash Team Ice |
HS2 Sport | 10 | RCE · bracket |
Repeat podium finishers
Robots that have finished in the top three of the same class more than once:
- Ditto (150 g Fairyweight) – 1st in 2024, 2nd in 2025, 3rd in 2026
- Fission (1 lb Antweight) – 3rd in 2024, 2nd in 2025, 1st in 2026
- Full Court (12 lb Hobbyweight) – 1st in 2024, 2nd in 2025, 1st in 2026
- Banana Smash (30 lb Sportsman) – 2nd in 2024, 2nd in 2025, 2nd in 2026
- The Captain (1 lb Plastic Antweight) – 2nd in 2023, 2nd in 2024
- Thunder Child (3 lb Beetleweight) – 3rd in 2023, 2nd in 2024
- Z3phyr (3 lb Beetleweight) – 3rd in 2025, 3rd in 2026
- Son of Kram (12 lb Hobbyweight) – 2nd in 2023, 2nd in 2024
- HS1 (30 lb Featherweight) – 3rd in 2025, 2nd in 2026
- Pepe Silvia (30 lb Featherweight) – 3rd in 2024, 2nd in 2025
Notes
- Places come from each class's results on RobotCombatEvents.com, which the organizers enter after the event. The "Robots" column counts robots with a recorded place.
- A few robots that weren't registered on RCE before the event were entered under temporary records, so they have no profile link and their team isn't shown.
See also
- Robot Combat League – how the League and its rankings work
- Major Competitions
- Events – find a local qualifying event
- SPARC – the rules used at the championship