[OT News] Microsoft Excel World Championships 2024

Don't forget to watch the "exciting" 7 *hour* video of the event at the bottom link. :-\
    At the Microsoft Excel World Championship, selfies and
    a 'hype' tunnel
    ------------------------------------------------------
    An arena. A hype tunnel, the kind through which NBA players
    typically streak. A competitor dressed in a jersey
    patterned with six-pack abs.
    In a new piece, The New York Times takes readers to an event
    that organizers call the Microsoft Excel World Championship,
    a 40-minute, Las Vegas-based competition featuring 12
    contestants - all of them solving thorny Excel puzzles. Some
    400 people attended the December event, which ESPN3
    livestreamed in between "competitions like speed chess and
    the World Dog Surfing Championships," reports the Times.
    The event was no joke, even if the self-described nerds
    involved have a healthy sense of humor. According to the
    story, the winner - a Toronto-based financial consultant -
    walked away with a $5,000 prize, a wrestling-style
    championship belt, and the title of world's best
    spreadsheeter after two front-runners stumbled. Selfies were
    taken.
    The hope is that the prize money will eventually hit $1 million
    as more spectators and sponsors get involved. In the meantime,
    the four-year-old event - held in person last month for the
    first time - is already a big hit. "You'd never see this with
    Google Sheets," one contestant told the Times. "You'd never get
    this level of passion."
    <https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/20/at-the-microsoft-excel-world-championship-selfies-and-a-hype-tunnel/>     Highlights from the Microssoft Excel World Championships
    Video (1min 30secs)
    <https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000009894743/microsoft-excel-world-championship.html>     Microsoft Excel World Championships 2024
    Video (7hrs, 23mins, 19secs)
    <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKbIPnu9CRI>