Decode, stylized as DECODE, or officially referred to as DECODE presented by RTX is the First Tech Challenge game for the 2025–2026 season. The Decode season kickoff was on September 6th, 2025 and was broadcast through YouTube and occurred at many local kickoff events.

Field In Decode, two alliances of two teams each compete on a 12 foot by 12 foot arena made up of 36 interlocking tiles by scoring green and purple balls called artifacts into their alliance-specific goal, create patterns, and park at the end of the match. At opposite sides of the Decode field, in the front corners, there are two goals that artifacts are scored into—one for each alliance. There are white tape lines called launch lines that are parallel to the front face of each goal and additional launch lines that go perpendicularly from each goal to meet in the center of the field. There are also two more launch lines at the rear-end of the field, forming a triangle shape, starting from one tile from the middle on each side and meeting one tile from the edge.

Scoring There are three parts in an FTC Decode Game: Autonomous, TeleOp, and End Game.

Advancement Advancement points are used to rank FTC teams for advancing to the next level of play. Teams with the highest rank not already advanced will move up. The table below indicates how advancement points are awarded. +TypeAdvancement Points EarnedQualification MatchesA normal distribution of 2 to 16 points are awarded based on the rankings of teams at the completion of qualification matches with the highest ranking team getting 16 points and the lowest ranking team getting 2 points. Playoff Alliance21-α advancement points are given to each team on the playoff alliance where α is the alliance number.Playoff RankingsPoints are awarded based on overall playoff alliance ranking. +RankingAdvancement Points1st402nd203rd104th5Judged AwardsPoints are awarded based on award placement. +AwardPlaceAdvancement PointsInspire1st602nd303rd15Generic1st122nd63rd3

World Championship

The FTC World Championship occurred form April 29th, 2026 to May 2nd, 2026, bringing 338 together teams from around the world. The overall awards from the FTC World Championship and their subdivision champions are listed below. +Award NameTeam or Person NameTeam NumberLocationInspire AwardAmigos Droids17792Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, BrazilWinning Alliance CaptainExodus30030Austin, Texas, USAWinning Alliance 1st PickVelocity21087Brǎila, Brǎila, RomaniaWinning Alliance 2nd PickOverClucked Bots11228Zeeland, Michigan, USAFinalist Alliance CaptainRoboPlayers18270Irving, Texas, USAFinalist Alliance 1st PickHeart of RoBots20265Buzău, Buzău, RomaniaFinalist Alliance 2nd PickTechnical Difficulties 7172Plano, Texas, USACompass AwardBurçin Gündüz25171İzmir, TurkeyFIRST Leadership AwardArjun Dasari252Providence, Rhode Island, USAAnya Arun21351Charlotte, North Carolina, USAKuek Kuek16010Omaha, Nebraska, USAKarime Lopez5470El Paso, Texas, USAAnanya Purohit25742Folsom, California, USAChris Zheng23280San Diego, California, USAArnav Gaddamanugu16290Sanford, Florida, USAArhaan Jafri20240Austin, Texas, USASofia Lana17792Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, BrazilAbigail Fenrick22526Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, USAEdison Division Winning Alliance CaptainAi Citizens19066Focsani, VN, RomaniaEdison Division Winning Alliance 1st PickICE Robotics11329Bloomington, Indiana, USAEdison Division Winning Alliance 2nd PickCreative Minds23305Bellevue, WA, USAFranklin Division Winning Alliance CaptainCoyote30110Irvine, CA, USAFranklin Division Winning Alliance 1st PickMeta^Infinity18221Highland Park, IL, USAFranklin Division Winning Alliance 2nd PickMOB Robotics10949Cross River, NY, USAGoodall Division Winning Alliance CaptainRoboPlayers18270Irving, TX, USAGoodall Division Winning Alliance 1st PickHeart Of RoBots20265Buzau, BZ, RomaniaGoodall Division Winning Alliance 2nd PickTechnical Difficulties7172Plano, Texas, USAJackson Division Winning Alliance CaptainUp-A-Creek Robotics11260Longmont, CO, USAJackson Division Winning Alliance 1st PickITKAN Solar19564Plano, TX, USAJackson Division Winning Alliance 2nd PickCheesy Bytes23224San Jose, CA, USALovelace Division Winning Alliance CaptainExodus30030Austin, TX, USALovelace Division Winning Alliance 1st PickVelocity21087Braila, BR, RomaniaRoss Division Winning Alliance CaptainQuantum Robotics14270Bucharest, B, RomaniaRoss Division Winning Alliance 1st PickGhost Robotics3565Westford, MA, USARoss Division Winning Alliance 2nd PickENFORCERS7149Egg Harbor Township, NJ, USA

Premier Events Following a regional championship, teams may advance to a premier event or in some premier events can separately apply. There were 12 premier events in the FTC Decode season. Information about each one is listed in the table below.

+Premier EventLocationDatesDescriptionNew England Premier EventWest Springfield, MassachusettsApr 17 - Apr 18Run for the Robots Premier EventLexington, KentuckyMay 28 - May 30Western Edge Premier EventLong Beach, CaliforniaMay 28 - May 31Cowtown Invitational Premier EventFort Worth, TexasJun 9 - Jun 10Canada Cup - Niagara Premier EventSt. Catharines, OntarioJun 13 - Jun 16European Premier EventEindhoven, NetherlandsJun 17 - Jun 20Michiana Premier Event Presented by GEARSSouth Bend, IndianaJun 18 - Jun 21İstanbul Premier EventIstanbul, TurkeyJun 26 - Jun 28Mexico Premier EventMexico City, MexicoJul 23 - Jul 25Canadian Rockies Premier Event @ K DaysEdmonton, AlbertaJul 24 - Jul 26Chicago Robotics Invitational Premier EventChicago, IllinoisJul 24 - Jul 26Modified game featuring a larger field, 3 team alliances, new game pieces, new ways to score, and more.Carolinas Premier EventWinston-Salem, North CarolinaJul 25 - Jul 26

References