The Microsoft Excel World Championship Is My New Favorite Esport

The best esports event you've never heard of: Microsoft Excel World Championships

The best esports event you may have never heard of—the Microsoft Excel World Championship (MEWC), has a core content that is closely related to most of us: spreadsheets. It may sound boring, but in fact, the tournament shows some people’s incredibly efficient use of shortcut keys and custom functions.

Yes, Excel eSports does exist

At 3 a.m., ESPN News is replaying the Dog Surfing and the College Corn Hole Championship (both of which are real events). It was then that I first discovered Microsoft Excel Esports and watched the 2023 Microsoft Excel World Championships. The game is both exciting and engaging. The commentators explained the "fight" with a passion between Spanish football and professional wrestling, which added to the viewing of the game.

Who is running Excel eSports?

The Microsoft Excel World Championship is hosted by the Financial Modeling World Cup (FMWC), which also hosts another independent Excel competition called the Financial Modeling World Cup. The two events are technically separate, but the top 16 FMWC players will automatically enter the online knockout round of the Microsoft Excel World Championship (MEWC). Therefore, there is some connection between the two. Microsoft is not the organizer of the event, but it is the main sponsor.

How exactly does Excel eSports work?

Each match is called a "battle" and contains 1 case with 8 level tasks and 5 additional tasks. In MEWC, tasks are by no means financially relevant. They are logical challenges, and there is no need for any pre-existing knowledge other than being familiar with Microsoft Excel. Only the digital answers for each task are scored to encourage creativity to the contestants. Participants have 30 minutes to complete all tasks and are free to seek solutions. Formats and styles will not be judged. Everything is possible.

Anyone can participate

I praise the organizers for their emphasis on inclusion. They seem to do their best to remove all potential barriers to entry. All 10 rounds of qualifying matches and play-offs are played online. Only the finals in Las Vegas are played offline, and the registration fee for any round is only $20 (USD). Each player's 30-minute match time starts according to their time zone. The complete rules of the tournament are quite loose. Accept any version of Microsoft Excel from 2010 to the present, and you can enter symbols using a custom toolbar or custom keyboard shortcuts.

You can do it!

Have your curiosity inspired? Are you ready to participate? There is still time! Only 7 of the 10 open qualifying matches have ended. There are two more games in 2024: September 19 and October 10. The final round of qualifying will be held in late October, followed by online knockouts for those who advance. The final was held in Las Vegas for three days, with 24 contestants participating and being held in front of live audiences and television broadcasts.

Excel World Championship: First Battle - January 25, 2024

If you are like me, the next thing you want to know is what the task looks like. All "fights" are on YouTube, and I've reviewed the first battle case, so you don't have to work harder. The following is the introduction of the first task:

<code>在“狗狗托儿所”中，您将追踪狗狗在狗狗托儿所设施中的移动轨迹，确定它们移动的距离，并确保它们得到充分的喂养和洗澡。1级和2级向您介绍移动机制。3级和4级要求您计算狗狗移动的距离，而5级要求您在多次移动后找到狗狗的位置。在6级到8级中，您将把所有这些技术结合起来，以确定狗狗何时进食、何时洗澡以及它们在日常冒险中最终会出现在哪里。还有5个额外问题，其中一些与等级无关。祝你好运，汪汪！</code>

I was immediately at a loss. I never needed to navigate tasks in a spreadsheet this way! I'm curious about what careers need to use Microsoft Excel like this. Maybe it's interior design?

Level 1—Simple basics of mobile

<code>在狗狗托儿所，狗狗每轮都会按照给定的方向和给定的单元格数量在设施内移动。为了熟悉这种机制，首先对每轮移动的数字部分求和。所有移动单元格中的数字之和是多少？</code>

The entire case design is completed in 30 minutes, but the level 1 task may only take 1 minute. My method only involves the SUM function here. Let's jump to level 4.

<code>您想知道一条狗在5轮移动后从起始位置移动了多远。确定狗每轮垂直和水平移动的距离，并计算5轮移动后的净移动距离。例如，向右移动3个单元格，然后向左移动2个单元格，结果是向右净移动1个单元格。添加垂直和水平分量，从起始位置的净移动距离是多少？</code>

I spent more than a minute reading this task carefully until I understood it. However, once I understand it, I think I can give it a try. What I appreciate more is that "everything is possible" during the game because I need to google it quickly for this. Honestly, I'm not sure if I can finish this level in 30 minutes. Even if level 1 and 2 take me only one minute per level, I suspect level 3 and 4 take 10 minutes. By then, I could easily be more than 20 minutes and I was about to start a more difficult task.

Tournament Live Broadcast

After all contestants complete the competition in 30 minutes and submit their ".xlxs" file, 5 expert contestants will broadcast live on YouTube to complete the task. I have taken screenshots of the level 8 mission in the First Battle Live for demonstration. You can see that this player has completed the first 5 tasks and 1 extra question, and there are less than 8 minutes left! Scores are assigned based on each correct answer. The player scored 565 points from the work he had done. In the online round, players can only get points after submitting their work. However, seeing each contestant’s scores accumulate over time in the live stream add to the drama of the sport. They also capture the players' keystrokes and explain the functions many players are using.

Level 8 - Very difficult

<code>在8级中，6级和7级的规则全部适用，但现在狗狗有空间奔跑，并且从进食中获得了额外的能量！每当狗狗进食时，接下来的三轮它们的移动距离都会加倍。此外，当狗狗到达狗狗托儿所的边界时，它们必须留在其墙壁内。如果边界限制了一个方向的移动，则不会限制另一个方向的移动。例如，如果一条狗位于C27单元格，并且想要向上和向左移动5个单元格，它们将最终位于B22单元格（向上5个单元格，向左1个单元格）。对每条狗进食的轮次编号求和。</code>

Just as I often say in elementary school, "It's not me, flea says"! This question is easier for me to understand, but I don't even know what to search for to get a solution.

Grand Prize

FMWC has done a great job in creating and operating the sport, especially considering the subject matter. The only improvement I recommend is to increase the tournament prize to over $3000 (USD). Last year's champion must travel from Australia to Las Vegas to participate in the offline finals. He is an actuary (assessing financial risks for business clients) and I hope he goes well because his bonus is unlikely to pay for the trip. That said, it's an esports win that will look great on your resume.

I don't think I'm very ready to compete yet. I need to improve my Excel quick tricks, but I will continue to watch the game on YouTube. Learning new Excel functions has never been more exciting!

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