Major Competitions

Once you've fought at a few local events, you might want to aim higher. This page is a practical guide to the big competitions a builder can enter, as of 2026: what each one is, which classes it runs, when it happens, and how to get in. For the history of the big shows, see Robot Combat History and TV. To find smaller events near you, see Events and Local Groups.

Schedules, fees and entry rules change every season. Everything here was checked in October 2026; always confirm on the official site before you book travel.

Quick comparison

Competition	Where	Classes (as of 2026)	How you get in
NHRL Open	Norwalk, Connecticut, USA	3 lb, 12 lb, 30 lb	Lottery registration about 8 weeks before each event
NHRL Pro Tour	Norwalk and New York City, USA	3 lb, 12 lb, 30 lb	Invitation only, earned at NHRL Opens
BattleBots	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA	250 lb	Design application, then selection
Robot Combat League Championship	Changes each year (USA)	150 g to 30 lb	Invitation, based on national rankings
RoboGames	San Francisco Bay Area, USA	Many, 150 g to 250 lb	Open entry (no 2026 event announced)
RoboCore (RCX, RSM)	São Paulo state, Brazil	150 g to 60 lb	Online registration
Robot Rampage	Auckland, New Zealand	Featherweights (13.6 kg) and others	Contact the organisers
UK live shows	Touring, UK	Mainly 110 kg heavyweights	Online application (Robots Live!) or contact the organisers

NHRL

The National Havoc Robot League runs the biggest regular insect and mid-weight events in the world at its venue, the House of Havoc in Norwalk, Connecticut. Events are livestreamed, pay cash prizes, and draw builders from around the world.[1]

Classes and season

NHRL runs three classes: 3 lb, 12 lb and 30 lb.[2] It doesn't run 150 g or 1 lb.
NHRL Opens are held most months at the House of Havoc. The 2026 calendar listed Opens in February, March, April, May, June and October.[3]
NHRL XP is a separate 3 lb tournament run on the same day as the Open, for newer and more casual competitors. As of 2026, NHRL favours experienced competitors for the 3 lb Open and encourages newer builders to start in XP. Competitors earn XP points for results and become eligible for the Open at 10,000 XP.[4]
As of 2026, the caps are 80 bots for the 3 lb Open, 16 for 3 lb XP, and 32 each for 12 lb and 30 lb.[5]
Bots that reach the semifinals at a Norwalk tournament qualify for the World Championships in December.[6]
In 2026, an Open winner in any class got $1,000 and second place $400.[7]

NHRL Pro Tour

NHRL launched the Pro Tour in 2026: three invite-only events ending in the Pro World Championships in December. The first was in Norwalk on 16 May 2026 and the second at Terminal 5 in New York City on 12 September 2026.[8][9]

There's no public registration. You earn an invitation by reaching a quarterfinal fight at an NHRL Open, and NHRL fills the rest of the field with wild cards.[10]
Each event has 16 bots per class. Groups of four fight a round robin, then the top bots move into a single-elimination bracket. NHRL says up to $30,000 in prizes is paid at each event.
The Pro Tour uses the same rules and judging criteria as the Opens.
Pro Tour and World Championship events stream free on DAZN under a multi-year deal signed in May 2026.[11]

How to register

Join the NHRL mailing list and Discord so you see when registration opens (both are linked from the New Builder Guide).
Enter your details and your bot's details in the NHRL Registration Hub. You can do this at any time.
About 8 weeks before an event, the lottery opens for one week. It doesn't matter when in that week you enter. Selections are announced about 6 weeks before the event.[12]
Pay the $75 deposit when you register. You get it back if you make your first fight, or if you're waitlisted and not picked. You lose it if you drop out.

Builders in good standing can also reserve one event per class each season, which helps if you're travelling a long way.
Dropping out or forfeiting your first fights hurts your chances of selection at later events, so only register if you're sure you can go.

How NHRL rules differ from SPARC

NHRL writes its own rulebook (the "NHRL Open Rules – 2026") instead of using the SPARC documents. If you've built to SPARC rules, check these points in particular:[13]

Weight bonuses: NHRL has two locomotion categories: non-traditional locomotion (+50%) and "true walkers" (+100%). True walkers need approval before you register. SPARC instead has separate shuffler, non-traditional and walker bonuses (see Multibots, Walkers and Shufflers).
Weigh-ins: bots are weighed before every fight, not just at inspection. Being up to 2.5 oz over gives a TKO point; more than that is an immediate TKO.
TKO points: referees and staff hand out TKO points for things like false starts. Three at one event means a technical knockout.
Removable links: 3 lb bots can use the battery connector as the link, but 12 lb and 30 lb bots need a dedicated removable link.
Hazard bots (pneumatics, hydraulics, flame, combustion and so on) must be emailed to NHRL safety at least 3 weeks before the event.[14]
Matches are 3 minutes, the same as SPARC's standard length (see SPARC Match Rules).

See Pit Kit and Event Checklist for what to bring. Many builders suggest a few local events first, because the level at NHRL is very high.

BattleBots

BattleBots is the best-known robot combat show. It's a 250 lb heavyweight event (250.0 lb ready to fight, with no minimum weight).[15] In 2026 it ran the BattleBots Pro League: 24 robots in a group stage and knockout format, streamed in 20 episodes on the BattleBots YouTube channel. It also runs a daily live show, Destruct-A-Thon, in Las Vegas.[16]

How to apply

This is the process BattleBots describes on its own site. BattleBots says only a small percentage of applications are chosen each season.[17]

Apply with a design, not a robot. Applications go through the BattleBook portal. BattleBots asks you to design a robot and not build it until you've been accepted.[18]
An application includes technical details, a technical drawing, photo-realistic renderings, biographical information and a team video.[19]
Once your application is "Cleared to Continue", you can choose which upcoming Proving Ground dates and tournaments you're available for. At Proving Ground you fight in the real BattleBox in Las Vegas, in front of a live audience and the selection committee.[20]
The How to Get on BattleBots guide says the selection committee wants a robot that fights well, looks great and is original, plus a strong team with a top driver. BattleBots can reject any application without giving a reason.
As of October 2026, the Pro League page has an "Apply to Pro League 2027" link. Draft 2027 rules (version 2027.01, 1 October 2026) and a summary of the changes are on the rules page. One change is that minibots are no longer allowed.[21] Some older BattleBots pages still mention past seasons, so go by the newest documents.

BattleBots' own build page advises new builders to start small at local events and work up. See also Heavyweight.

Robot Combat League Championship

The Robot Combat League ranks robots from hundreds of independent US local events and invites the top-ranked robots to an annual National Championship. As of 2026, it ranks 150 g, 1 lb, 1 lb plastic, 3 lb, 12 lb, 30 lb and 30 lb Sportsman.[22]

Season: 1 March to the end of February. A robot's score comes from its best three events.
Getting in: you don't register for the championship. Compete at ranked events and invitations go to the top of the rankings on RobotCombatEvents.com.
The 2026 championship was scheduled for 19–21 June 2026 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City.[23]
If an event's results are missing from the rankings, ask the event organiser. They decide whether results are included.

RoboGames

RoboGames is a long-running open robot competition in the San Francisco Bay Area, with combat alongside dozens of non-combat events. Its 20th edition was held on 18–21 April 2024 at the San Jose Convention Center, alongside the 2024 RCL Championship. As of October 2026, its site lists the next event as "to be announced".[24][25] Check the site before you plan around it.

UK

Robot Wars hasn't been on air since its BBC revival ended in January 2018. The Robot Wars live shows were renamed Extreme Robots in 2017.[26]
Live shows: Extreme Robots tours the UK with 110 kg heavyweights. Its 2026 dates included "The Championship" in Gloucester on 14–15 November 2026, and it lists more shows for 2027. Robots Live! runs heavyweight competitions and featherweight melees, and takes applications through an online form. Its 2026 application form listed shows in Maidenhead, Crawley and Stoke.[27]
FRA events: most UK events follow the Fighting Robots Association build rules, with 150 g antweights, 1.5 kg beetleweights and 13.6 kg featherweights (see Rules).
Antweight World Series (AWS): the long-running UK 150 g event. AWS 79 was listed for 22 November 2026 near Bristol.[28]
Robodojo (near York) listed a 2026 UK Hobbyweight Championship and a Sportsman Featherweight League for November 2026.[29]
BuggleBots was a web series. Its site lists the 2018 and 2019 series and no later ones.[30]
Find UK and European events on the Rampage and Bristol Bot Builders listings.

Elsewhere in the world

Brazil – RoboCore: RoboCore runs large multi-category events, including RCX (RCX 2026 was 9–12 October 2026 at the Instituto Mauá de Tecnologia in São Paulo) and the RSM Challenge Internacional (April 2026, Mogi das Cruzes).[31] RCX 2026 combat classes ran from 150 g fairyweight up to 60 lb (27.2 kg) lightweight, including plastic ants and 12 lb and 30 lb.[32] Register through the RoboCore Event Manager. Online entries for RCX 2026 closed on 30 September 2026.[33]
New Zealand – Robot Rampage: a live robot fighting show at its own venue in Auckland, with featherweight (13.6 kg) and heavyweight robots.[34] It lists a "World Cup Warmup" for 28–29 November 2026 and a Robot Rampage World Cup for country teams, planned for February 2027. Contact the organisers to enter.[35]
NHRL links: NHRL has said it plans to give Pro Tour qualifying points and wild cards to winners of outside events such as RCX, RSM and Robot Rampage.[36]
Australia: the old Robowars Australia site is now an archive, but it links to the current Robowars Australia Discord and city groups.
China: TV competitions such as King of Bots have run since 2018 (see Robot Combat History and TV), but we couldn't find a verified open-entry route for overseas builders.

University-focused events

There's no single national intercollegiate championship. College teams mostly fight at open events, NHRL and each other's campus events (see Combat Robotics in Schools and Universities).

Robobrawl at the University of Illinois is held each year at the end of March (28–29 March in 2026). It runs 30 lb and 12 lb robots in a Swiss format, plus a 2v2 3 lb format, with university and hobbyist teams.[37]
RobotCombatEvents.com publishes separate university rankings.
High school teams have the National Robotics League (15 lb, its own rules), described on the schools page.

Preparing for a big event

Watch the registration windows. Big events fill up and select entries weeks or months ahead: NHRL's lottery opens about 8 weeks before each event, and BattleBots selects from design applications. Join each event's mailing list or Discord.
Read that event's rules, not just SPARC. Inspection at big events is stricter and may include powered tests in a test box, failsafe checks, weigh-ins before every fight and checks on your weapon lock and sharp-edge covers.[38] The most common reasons for failing are being overweight or not having a good weapon lock. Arrive already passing at home (see Failsafes and Weight Management).
Plan for repairs. Bring spares for everything likely to break and a plan to swap them quickly. See Repairs Between Matches and Pit Kit and Event Checklist.
Shipping: some events accept shipped robots and tools. NHRL, for example, publishes shipping instructions. Lithium batteries are regulated as dangerous goods when shipped, especially by air, so check with your carrier before putting LiPos in a shipment.[39]

Flying with LiPos

Airline rules for lithium batteries, as of 2026 (see LiPo Battery Safety for more):

Spare LiPos go in carry-on bags only, never in checked bags. Protect each pack's terminals from short circuits, for example in its own LiPo bag or with taped connectors.[40]
Packs up to 100 Wh are allowed. Packs from 101 to 160 Wh need airline approval, with a limit of two spares each. Packs over 160 Wh aren't allowed as passenger baggage.
IATA's passenger guidance limits each passenger to 20 spare batteries unless the airline approves more.[41]
A device with its battery installed can usually go in checked baggage only if it's fully switched off and protected from turning on. Many builders unplug or remove robot batteries and carry them as spares.
Damaged or puffy packs can't fly at all.
To work out watt-hours, multiply voltage by amp-hours. Most insect-class packs are far below 100 Wh (a 4S 1300 mAh pack is about 19 Wh).
Airlines and countries can be stricter, so check your airline's rules before you fly.