Tech United and the home team CAMBADA were by far the two best teams at the tournament. They each reached the final after seven victories and one draw: against each other. In that meeting the score was 2-2. In the final the match score was already on the board halfway through the first half (lasting 15 minutes): 2-0. Despite having to play much of the second half without one of its four outfield players due to mechanical failure, the Eindhoven robot team kept up a strong performance.

“We are happy and relieved,” says team captain Lotte de Koning Monday morning from the airport in Portugal. The robot soccer players are already travelling home by truck; having a battery means a lot of hassle if they have to fly. “Of course we wanted to win, but we also wanted to try out some new things and that was exciting,” says De Koning, explaining their relief.

“We were using new omni-wheels, which have more grip and mean you can accelerate and brake better. Every player had three of them. Our new robot, which has eight wheels, came along to be tested but unfortunately we couldn't put him on a team because we couldn't operate the engines. We had no replacement parts with us, but we will repair him in Gemini-North and we'll be taking him to Japan.”

Tech United also made some changes to its defense. “We are now better able to block a pass and play a little bit more aggressively. We also approach the ball now and try to take it from other players. Incidentally, that tactic was only put into play in the game against CAMBADA, against other teams it wasn't necessary. It still isn't perfect, but this weekend it was good enough to win.”