It would never have occurred to us to associate words like Excel and eSport, but here it is: Microsoft’s famous spreadsheet, turned into a competitive eSport.
Valorant? Fortnite? League of Legends? That’s out of fashion. The latest in furious online competition is… Microsoft Excel. And that’s no joke.
On June 8, the Microsoft Excel Financial Modeling World Cup will be held under the patronage of Microsoft. A duel to the death between eight participants from all corners of the world, with a succulent prize for the winner.
And like all major eSport events, the competition will be streamed live. Microsoft is already promoting it… It’s even selling merchandising!
Financial modeling as an e-sport. Watch eight top financial modelers around the world work their mad #Excel skills on June 8 at 12 PM UTC. Find out more (and check out the merch): https://t.co/GqkmWjSFOo
— Microsoft Excel (@msexcel) June 4, 2021
How can Microsoft Excel become an eSports?
Anything can be transformed into an eSport these days if you put a little imagination into it. As Dexerto explains, for years you can find Excel speed runs on YouTube where people try to complete tasks as fast as possible.
But this Microsoft Excel Financial Modeling World Cup is not about that. Here, expert economists will compete to create the most efficient financial model in a short period. These are the competitors, coming from 8 different countries:
If you are a fan of eSports it will all seem very strange to you, but the truth is that the Financial Modeling World Cup is very serious competition among economists, and has already been held for several years.
It gives out $20,000 in prizes, in different categories. This year the main competition is dedicated to Microsoft Excel.
As we mentioned, you can follow the event live on this YouTube stream. Note that the competition is going to be divided into two sessions, from Friday to Saturday and from Sunday to Monday. On one side there is a group for under 25 years old and another with open age. Previous tournaments have already been completed and the 8 leading participants are the ones you can see in the picture above.
Anyone can participate, paying an admission fee of $10 or $15. Many participants are simply looking to improve their knowledge, as the financial models to be developed are quite difficult, and the entrants are given the correct solution and can compare models with the rest.
