On the evening of July 16, the world’s first industrial-grade humanoid robot free fighting competition – URKL Global First Robot Fighting Competition – opened in Shenzhen. This event was initiated and organized by a Shenzhen-based robotics company.
The opening match will be a 1v1 contest, consisting of 5 rounds, each lasting 5 minutes. Points will be awarded for effectively hitting the opponent’s target areas within those 5 minutes. Each team has three tactical timeouts, each lasting no more than two minutes, and can only be used once per round. These timeouts can be used for tactical discussions, emergency repairs, or robot replacements. Exceeding the timeout limit will result in a penalty.
Zhao Tongyang, founder and CEO of ZQGame, attended and delivered a speech, stating that they aim to promote the optimized competition to the world stage, consolidate China’s leading position in humanoid robots internationally , and have a clear goal: to create the world’s most influential commercial humanoid robot fighting IP.
It’s worth mentioning that the opening match also attracted the attention of kung fu superstar Donnie Yen, who said, “I used to only see robot fighting in science fiction movies. Today is the first time I’ve seen real robots fighting up close. Witnessing this historic breakthrough firsthand is a completely different experience. The power of the collisions and the precision of the movements are truly amazing.”
A memorable moment occurred during the competition: the head of a mech detached during a battle. Despite losing head sensation, the robot continued to punch and attack using its core torso system , tenaciously completing the match.
According to Tech free press research, URKL, which uses heavy-duty robots as its standard model, attracted more than 200 teams from over 10 countries. After rounds of competition, 60 teams were shortlisted, and 32 were selected as the top teams. Tonight’s opening night marks the first collective appearance of these 32 teams .
The 32 participating teams will then be divided into 4 groups and travel to Beijing, Zhengzhou, Shanghai, and Shenzhen to compete. The group stage will begin in October, with the 16 qualifying teams randomly drawn into 4 major groups. The competition will adopt a 1-on-1, 5-round double round-robin format, with points accumulated through effective hits to determine the winner of each round. After five rounds, the team with the most round wins will be the winner.
During the competition, the organizers will provide each team with three “Shenzhen-made” T800 robots. The top two teams from each group will advance to the global finals. The entire season will run until the end of 2026, with the global finals taking place from December 2026 to January 2027. This year’s URKL Global Finals boast a total prize pool of 14 million, with the champion team taking home a pure gold belt worth tens of millions or equivalent prize money .