The first test event for the 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games began with a landmark 3v3 AI football match in Beijing on Saturday night, according to CGTN.
Hosted at the Beijing Smart E-sports Event Center, the match marked China’s first fully autonomous robotic football tournament and served as a preview for next year’s World Humanoid Robot Games.
It comes on the heels of April’s successful launch of the world’s first humanoid robot half-marathon.
The RoBoLeague football showdown was a remarkable display of advanced robotic technology. Unlike traditional remote-controlled competitions, the humanoid players relied solely on AI-driven strategies, operating without any human intervention or supervision.
They demonstrated real-time decision-making, coordinated teamwork, and the ability to self-recover after falling. Although, However, during the match several still had to be carried off the field on stretchers by staff, adding to the realism of the experience.
An optimised penalty system reduced interruptions, allowing the 1.2-to-1.5-metre-tall robots to execute fluid movements and orchestrated attacks resembling human football tactics.
Four elite teams emerged from the preliminaries to reach the finals. The Blaze Team from Beijing Information Science and Technology University impressed with agile evasion manoeuvres.
Tsinghua University’s Power Intelligent Team stood out for seamless communication protocols enabling accurate passes. The Mountain-Sea Team from China Agricultural University distinguished itself through energy-efficient design that maintained consistent performance during the intense matches.
The THU Robotics from Tsinghua University defeated the Mountain Sea from China Agricultural University team 5:3 to win the championship.
The football match built on momentum from April’s historic humanoid robot half-marathon, in which 20 teams completed a 21.0975-kilometre course in Beijing’s Daxing District — marking a world first and demonstrating significant progress in robotic endurance and environmental adaptation.
The stage is now set for the 2025 World Robot Conference, scheduled for August 8-12 in Beijing.
Over 200 exhibitors are expected, including leading companies like Unitree and AgiBot, which will showcase their latest humanoid models.
The conference will also release key reports, including the Top 10 Scenario Demands for Humanoid Robots 2025 and the Global Robot Partnership Initiative, setting standards for the decade ahead.
