How Microsoft Excel went from office software to e-sports arena
What's the story
Number-loving "geeks" are turning Excel into an unlikely spectator sport, and the stakes are getting higher. What began in 2020 as the Financial Modeling World Cup's experiment—turning spreadsheet battles into live, timed contests—has grown into the Microsoft Excel World Championship, backed by Microsoft and streamed globally. Today, top pros race the clock to crack fiendish data puzzles in front of cheering audiences and commentary teams, where precision, speed and logic decide who takes the crown.
Game mechanics
What is competitive Excel?
Competitive Excel, a puzzle-solving competition, has been around for nearly two decades. The game challenges players to think logically and create scalable, fast solutions to questions within a time limit. It has evolved from being purely math-focused to include more problem-solving tasks like solving mazes or sorting poker hands. Now, the co-founders of the UK Microsoft Excel chapter—Bristol-based financial advisor Myles Arnott and his business partner Giles Male—are scouting for fresh talent in this rapidly growing e-sport.
Competition format
How does a round of Competitive Excel work?
In each round, players are given files of jumbled data and scenarios that need sorting based on a question within the shortest possible time. There are seven levels of questions, each increasing in difficulty with some bonus ones thrown in. Each question carries a certain number of points, with more difficult ones carrying higher points. The player who scores the most points wins. In case of a tie, whoever answered first wins.
Open competition
Anyone can join competitive Excel
Arnott and Male have established an Excel meetup group in Bristol with over 150 members from across the West Country and South England. They stress that anyone, regardless of their skill level, can join competitive spreadsheeting. Arnott describes it as a great way to test one's brain and skills with many transferable skills involved. However, he adds that math logic becomes crucial at higher levels like the world championship level.
Prize details
What can you win by competing?
The world championship finals in Las Vegas are held in an e-sport arena with hundreds of spectators cheering for the participants. Along with the wrestling-style winners belt, there is an attractive $60,000 prize. Male, who competed in this year's world championship and also commentates on it, said "it's tough, the level is very high." He added they want to inspire the next generation of Excel geeks and superstars.
Software evolution
How competitive Excel has influenced Microsoft
Microsoft product manager Joe McDaid said the competition has "enhanced" Excel and forced it to evolve. He explained that complex questions in the competition push the program to its limits, inspiring developers to improve it with new features like Copilot. "Some of the problems they've been solving 10 years ago, many of those problems that were really difficult to solve are now quite easy to solve in the modern application," he said.