What you need to know
- The Microsoft Excel World Championship returns for another year.
- It's being shown as part of ESPNs "The Ocho" event.
- Anyone can enter and there's a total prize pool of $10,000 across the competition.
It's apparently that time of year again where you have the opportunity to put your Excel skills to the test and take part in the Microsoft Excel World Championship. This year's championship promises to be bigger than ever.
It's all part of ESPNs "The Ocho". It's an event that showcases sports you likely don't know exist, including of course the Microsoft Excel World Championship, Chase Tag, Teqball and I can't keep a straight face for this one; The Mullet Championships. The whole thing was inspired by the channel that shows the finals in one of the best comedy movies ever; Dodgeball. How this came to be is an interesting story in itself.
If you think you have the skills to take part in the Microsoft Excel World Championship, then get yourself entered. Or maybe this is making you want to brush up on your Excel skills for a championship push in the future? It's open to everyone and here's how it works:
- Register by October 6th - Entry to the event costs $50 but gives access to all Excel game tasks to train your skills with the chance to win part of a prize fund of $10,000.
- Qualification round on October 7th - The qualification round leaves 128 players left to compete for glory.
- Two Livestreamed rounds - Last 128 and 64 on October 28th followed by the last 32 and last 16 on November 2nd.
- The Final Round - The Grand Finale, an in-person event in Las Vegas with paid for travel.
Each round of the competition consists of a "Task" of a range of problem-solving questions that are solvable in Microsoft Excel and each Task will include several questions. These vary in complexity, with more complex questions awarding more points. For those that want to go in deep with the entirety of the rules it's worth giving them a read.
If you've spent most of your life working in Microsoft Excel and you see yourself as a bit of a pro, then this is clearly the competition of your dreams. Maybe.
