In recent years, esports competitions have become more popular, drawing competitors from around the world. As this growth has continued, new competitions have emerged in unexpected fields, with one providing a unique opportunity for business professionals and students—Microsoft Excel competitions. Spreadsheets are not exactly synonymous with esports and competitions, but Excel competitions have found their niche with live events even being featured on ESPN.
Among the ambitious contenders looking to establish their spreadsheet credentials, Tim Froelich has developed a reputation as a strong competitor. Froelich is an undergraduate student majoring in Accounting and Business Analytics (minoring in Economics). He will graduate in May 2025 and has already accepted a position with Deloitte in New York City. He discovered the Microsoft Excel Collegiate Challenge (MECC) in 2023, and even though it was his first time competing, he made it to the finals and finished sixth in the world!
The MECC was founded in 2021 and is jointly organized by the Financial Modeling World Cup and Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona. This is an international competition open to all college students. Students can qualify for the finals based on their ranking in several Excel “battles” throughout the year or through a two-part qualification round in September and October. Each battle or round involves specific tasks that must be completed in Excel within a specified time limit. The tasks vary in their objectives, but each one involves multiple levels of increasing difficulty. Given the structure of these competitions, a deep knowledge of Excel is necessary but not sufficient, as competitors must also work with focused efficiency to finish as quickly as possible.
The overall experience was a very positive one for Froelich. “I had an amazing experience meeting with Excel competitors from all over the world including Australia, Austria, Germany, Singapore, and more,” says Froelich. “The day was structured with two semi-final rounds in the morning followed by the top eight competitors competing in the live finals.”
Since then, he has continued to invest in learning more about Excel and honing his skills. His hard work paid dividends as he again qualified for the semi-finals and competed live at the HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas on December 2–4.
In addition, Froelich has competed in the Microsoft Excel World Championship (MEWC), which is open to the strongest competitors from around the world including professional financial analysts and university professors. He also recently started competing in the Financial Modeling World Cup (FMWC), which involves using Excel for financial modeling tasks. While he only started competing in the last two stages of the 2024 FMWC season, Froelich was recognized as a Top Newcomer and had the highest score in those stages among all under-25 competitors. These competitions have provided opportunities to expand his skills and align well with the responsibilities he was given in recent internships.
“My experience competing in Excel has given me new problem-solving skills and technical expertise in Microsoft Excel, used nearly universally within the world of business and accounting. At each of my past two internships, I’ve been able to fix, build, and automate Excel spreadsheets that were fundamental to the business operations because of the skills [these competitions] gave me.”
In addition to academics and competing in Microsoft Excel competitions, Froelich is involved with Beta Alpha Psi and volunteering on campus. “One of my favorite activities at IU is my volunteer work for IU Auditorium Usher Corps,” says Froelich, which has provided him an opportunity to “give back to the local community all while getting to see some amazing shows.”
Additional details and information about these competitions can be found at the following links:
- Microsoft Excel Collegiate Challenge (MECC) (https://mecc.college/)
- Microsoft Excel World Championship (MEWC) (https://fmworldcup.com/microsoft-excel-world-championship/)
- Financial Modeling World Cup (FMWC) (https://fmworldcup.com/)
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