Prior to the start of Worlds, we learned that we had been placed in the Turing Division with many of our NC friends like Team 2642, Pitt Pirates (the team we won two competitions with this season). On the first day of the Houston World Championships, we got to work getting settled into our hotel, unbagging Grunthos, and setting up our Pit at the End of the Universe. We also attended a party hosted by Qualcomm, who payed for our Worlds’ registration fee, and eventually, made our way back to our hotel for some rest before qualification matches began the next day.

After a good night’s sleep, we were eager for qualification matches to begin. Despite a match where our encoders popped out and our auto messed up as a result, the rest of the day’s matches went smoothly. We were able to showcase our skills and flexibility and managed to pull some surprising match wins. At the end of the day, we were ranked 21st with several teams impressed with us and some useful information gained from the conferences we attended.

The next day, we continued to win matches that we were predicted to lose and performed well. In the end, we kept our 21st rank status. Our favorite moment of that day, and indeed the whole Worlds experience, though, was when one of our drive team members switched jumpsuits with 2642’s main driver! It caused quite a bit of confusion at first for NC teams, but it was quite hilarious, and we loved the bonding moment between our two teams!

Before we knew it, it was the next day, and it was time for Alliance Selections. Throughout the course of qualification matches, several teams had come up to us to discuss the possibility of being in an alliance together, but we knew that crazy things happen during Selections, so we were not sure what would happen. Though we ended up not getting picked to join an alliance, we had a blast cheering on fellow NC teams who were and spent the remainder of our time cheering them on, packing up, and watching the Einstein finals.

Overall, we enjoyed our time at Worlds, and we were able to strengthen as a team and continue to bond with our fellow NC teams in our division!