Texas sent 28 FIRST Robotics Competition teams, 15 FIRST Tech Challenge teams and 3 FIRST LEGO League teams to the 2025 FIRST World Championship in Houston, where they stood alongside peers from more than 50 countries — over 50,000 attendees and 1,000 robots under the roof of the George R. Brown Convention Center.
Head coach Arjun Gupta of the FIRST LEGO League Challenge team Quantum Leap put it best: "Medals are great, but memories last longer." Asked how his team handled the pressure of a world stage, he said several of them decided they also had to win the unofficial "best cheer" contest — loudest chants, most spirited dance moves — and that the comic relief kept everyone's nerves in check.
Texas triumphs on the global stage
FIRST Robotics Competition
Division winners
- Team 118 Robonauts — Milstein Division
- Team 324 Chips — Milstein Division
Division finalists
- Team 6800 Valor — Johnson Division
- Team 1477 Texas Torque — Milstein Division
- Team 3847 Spectrum — Newton Division
Judged awards
- Team 3005 RoboChargers — Excellence in Engineering Award, Curie Division
- Team 8177 Vector — Gracious Professionalism Award, Hopper Division
- Team 6800 Valor — Industrial Design Award, Johnson Division
- Team 1477 Texas Torque — Excellence in Engineering Award, Milstein Division
- Team 118 Robonauts — Industrial Design Award, Milstein Division
- Team 324 Chips — Creativity Award, Milstein Division
- Team 148 Robowranglers — Industrial Design Award, Newton Division
Team 324 Chips took the Creativity Award in the Milstein Division, and their chief strategist Anistacia described a design process where every member votes on each idea until everyone is willing to move forward together. Their coach, Danielle Pettinger, put the team's success down to building their own solutions rather than borrowing from other teams — and to an environment where students and mentors alike feel able to share ideas that may not work.
FIRST Tech Challenge
Dean's List winner
- Noah Blaut — Team 11093 Megaknytes
Winning alliance
- Team 19746 BrainSTEM — 2nd team selected
Finalist alliance
- Team 18030 ViperBots Leviathan — captain
Division winners
- Team 18270 RoboPlayers — winning alliance captain, Jemison Division
- Team 18030 ViperBots Leviathan — winning alliance captain, Edison Division
Judged awards
- Team 7172 Technical Difficulties — Connect Award, Franklin Division
- Team 12313 Hotdawgs — Think Award 2nd place, Jemison Division
- Team 18270 RoboPlayers — Connect Award 3rd place, Jemison Division
- Team 18030 ViperBots Leviathan — Connect Award 3rd place, Edison Division
Team 19746 BrainSTEM won the FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship. Their coach, Nidhi, said her students walked away with more than trophies — resiliency, determination and perseverance, and a belief in themselves and in each other that will outlast the season. Team captain and co-hardware lead Nav called the win "the culmination of all our efforts", but was just as quick to name the rest of it: the pits and the people, trading pins, debugging with other teams, and being part of a global robotics community.
Honorable mention — Houston FIRST Tech Challenge teams
These teams sit outside the FIRST in Texas region but are part of the state's robotics legacy:
Division finalists
- Team 23213 Open Source — Ochoa Division
- Team 17324 Green Machines — Ochoa Division
Judged awards
- Team 19502 Moment Makers — Inspire Award 2nd place, Jemison Division
- Team 17324 Green Machines — Innovate Award 2nd place, Ochoa Division
- Team 23213 Open Source — Control Award 2nd place, Ochoa Division
- Team 18140 TBD — Motivate Award 2nd place, Edison Division
Our Texas teams continue to lead with passion and ingenuity, and represent the Lone Star State on the global stage not only through what they win but through their teamwork, perseverance and spirit.
The original article carried two short audio clips from the Quantum Leap team and their coach. Those could not be recovered — the copy this was rescued from is a printed page, which keeps the player but not the sound.
