Cyber Tigers Secure Top 8 at Vietnam's Signature Event
After their stellar performance last month in the 2026 VEX Robotics Macau Championship, the Cyber Tigers leapt onto the world stage representing both TIS and Macao, at the 2026 VEX Robotics “New Year’s Mayhem” Signature Event in Vietnam, hosted by the South Saigon International School. In VEX Robotics, a Signature Event is regarded as a miniature world championship, and this competition more than lived up to that reputation.
With over 20% of participating teams already qualified for the World Championship in St. Louis this April, the competition featured National Champions from countries such as Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Chinese Taipei, and TIS's very own Team 85301X, representing Macao SAR.
During the opening Parade of Nations, a ceremony that showcased the diversity of the participating teams, TIS students Jonathan, Harry, and Jacquelina proudly carried the Macao flag as student ambassadors on a global stage.
All TIS teams performed exceptionally well in the qualification matches, earning spots in the elimination rounds. Team 85301V “Generic” and Team 85301W “Wrainbow Wranglers” reached the Top 32 and Top 16 finishes respectively, while Team 85301X “No!” delivered an outstanding run to Top 8.
Team 85301X “No!” also took home the Design Award, the event’s second-highest judged award, recognising the team’s professional approach to the Engineering Design Process, strong project planning, time management, as well as effective team organization and collaboration. Their Engineering Notebook and Team Interview showcased the depth of their work and reflected the educational goals of the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation (RECF).
Competing at a Signature Event is a daunting endeavour, requiring participants to go head-to-head with some of the strongest-performing teams in the world, but our Cyber Tigers rose to the challenge. With careful engineering, disciplined coding, and focused teamwork, they demonstrated that TIS teams can competitively perform with skill, professionalism, and pride in the world of international robotics.
