You might be using Microsoft Excel every day for common things like invoices, but did you know that Microsoft Excel is an esport title just like CS:Go and Rocket League are? Well, spotted by Windows Central, ESPN recently broadcasted a Microsoft Excel competition dubbed “All-Star Battle,” as part of their “The Ocho” programming, which highlights a series of niche sports.
ESPN aired the Excel competition on August 5, but it originally took place in May and you can watch it above. Apparently backed by Microsoft, this Excel competition is actually quite unique. It saw players create slot machines using emojis and points, a six-level platformer in Excel, and other tasks based on pre-set data tables.
Prize money was also involved, and there’s even an organization, Financial Modeling World Cup, that oversees it. If you’re up for it you even can download the data that were used in the competition and try to solve it yourself. Just be aware, that the file won’t have the solution, but just the right answers, and there could be many ways to solve it.