The 2026 FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship in Houston, Texas brought together some of the best student robotics teams from around the globe. This year’s event included teams from an impressive 66 countries, making it one of the most diverse and competitive championships to date.
Team 15668 – The FullMetal Kestrels, representing Xavier Robotics, earned their place at this elite event through a season of hard work, innovation, and strong performance. Competing at Worlds is a major accomplishment and reflects the team’s dedication and skill.
The competition was organized into six divisions of 55-60 teams, where teams played a series of ten qualification matches over the first three days to rank and advance. Top teams formed alliances and competed in elimination rounds within their divisions. Division champions then moved on to a championship round featuring a round-robin format, culminating in a final best-of-three match to determine the world champion.
Throughout the event, the FullMetal Kestrels demonstrated teamwork, resilience, and Gracious Professionalism both on and off the field. Beyond the matches, the team had the opportunity to collaborate and connect with students from around the world, sharing ideas, learning new approaches, and representing Xavier Robotics with pride.
We are incredibly proud of Team 15668 for their achievement in reaching the World Championship and for the way they represented our community on an international stage.
While they did not advance to the finals this year, the team learned a great deal and are eager for next season and the chance to compete on the world stage again.
The parents and mentors who attended were there to cheer them on throughout the long days.
A few statistics on the FullMetal Kestrels and the other Xavier teams.
FullMetal Kestrels - World Ranking - 343rd. 95.81%. That means they are one of the top FIVE PERCENT in the WORLD!
FullMetal Peregrines - World Ranking - 1031st. 87.38%
FullMetal Phoenixes - World Ranking - 1343rd. 83.56%
Semi-Platinum Penguins - World Ranking - 668th. 91.83%
To sum up, Xavier Robotics represented 4 individual FTC teams this year with 6 dedicated mentors and much support from parents, and all 4 teams were in the top 20% in the entire world (7500+ teams) and 2 of those were in the top 10%.
That is an astounding accomplishment and I know all of the mentors are very proud of these young men.