Super Bowl for Excel? The Microsoft Excel World Championship 2025
Move over, Super Bowl. Take a seat, Fortnite. The real fame for champions just went down in Las Vegas, and it was all about… spreadsheets. Yes, you heard that right.
The Microsoft Excel World Championship turned dial-up to 11, proving once and for all that Excel isn’t just a program—it’s a battlefield. If you’re still thinking Excel is just for expense reports and pivot tables, let this event shatter your illusions like an improperly referenced cell range.
The Hype Tunnel: Excel Meets WWE
Imagine this: 12 finance professionals sprinting through a glowing hype tunnel, complete with lights, applause, and an announcer hyping them up like they’re fighting for a heavyweight title. Some wore jerseys decked out with sponsorship logos; others went full quirky—like one guy rocking a jersey designed to look like abs.
It was the e-sports arena equivalent of Rocky Balboa training montages, except instead of punching meat, these warriors were preparing to take on beastly formulas and data sets.
And yes, it was streamed on ESPN3. That’s right: Excel is officially in the same arena as major sports… sort of.
The Event: A Formula for Chaos
The competition was nothing short of brain-melting. The finalists had to solve problems inspired by World of Warcraft, including tracking the stats of 20 avatars with—brace yourself—a seven-page instruction manual. Yes, seven pages of rules to decode under the stage lights and the pressure of a live audience.
“Three, two, one, EXCEL!” the announcer boomed, and the contestants dived in. Keyboard shortcuts flew. Formulas fillled cells faster than you can type “SUM(A1:A12).” Among the competitors was Michael Jarman, a financial consultant who would go on to clinch victory, but not before sweating through some serious drama. (More on that later.)
Here’s the thing: if you’ve ever tried to figure out why your formula returned a #REF! error, you know the emotional toll Excel can take.
Now imagine doing that in front of a crowd of 400 people, with cameras zoomed in on your every keystroke. It’s no wonder contestants were blasting YouTube “focus music” playlists before the event. (Fun fact: apparently, “focus music” is a genre. Who knew?)
The Drama Unfolds
Reigning champion Andrew Ngai started strong, living up to his three-time champ status. Diarmuid Early, nicknamed the “LeBron James of Excel,” worked with the precision of a pro.
But as the competition heated up, mistakes crept in. Ngai hit a snag, and Early struggled to recover.
That’s when Michael Jarman took the lead with a clutch formula counting the letter “W” in a dataset—an unexpected but pivotal moment.
The audience held their breath as the clock ticked down. One spectator summed it up: “You’d never see this with Google Sheets.”
Why This Matters for You (and Your Hiring Process)
Okay, so maybe you don’t need a world-champion spreadsheet wizard. But here’s the takeaway: Excel is hard.
Yet, hiring managers often settle for the bare minimum when assessing Excel skills. Someone lists “Proficient in Excel” on their résumé, and we just… believe them? Really?
That’s like saying you’re a “foodie” and expecting Michelin to hand you three stars. Excel is too important to your business operations to leave it up to guesswork.
Imagine hiring someone who claims they can “crush pivot tables,” only to discover they can’t even format cells without Googling how. That’s not just frustrating—it’s costly. And it’s why pre-employment testing is an absolute must for roles that require data handling or advanced Excel skills.
The Victory Lap: Jarman Takes the Belt
Back to the championship. After 40 minutes of grueling competition, Michael Jarman stood victorious. With glitter falling and the crowd going wild, he held up the championship belt like he’d just conquered Mount Everest.
For the rest of us, his win is a reminder of two things:
- Excel is not for the faint of heart. It’s a beast of a tool, and only those who truly understand its power can tame it.
- If you’re not testing your job applicants on their Excel skills, you’re flying blind—and that’s a #VALUE! you can’t afford.
So next time you’re hiring, think about the kind of spreadsheet chaos you’ve seen. Wouldn’t it be nice if your new hire knows Excel like a world champ? Pre-employment testing can make it so.
And who knows? Maybe one day, they’ll be running through their own hype tunnel, formula bar blazing, on their way to Excel greatness. Until then, test for skills, avoid the #REF!, and stay legendary, spreadsheet warriors.