Irish man becomes World Champion in Excel

The Las Vegas final was broadcast live on ESPN.

That's right - Diarmuid Early defeated Australia's three-time world champion Andrew Ngai in a Las Vegas final broadcast live on ESPN.

The event, styled with the theatrics of a wrestling show, complete with a half-time "Export to Excel" musical number, saw competitors race through complex spreadsheet puzzles for a $5,000 prize, a trophy and a championship belt.

A player was eliminated from the final every five minutes until only six remained, and following an hour of problem-solving, the Irishman topped the scoreboard with 1,250 points.

Early, who has a Doctorate in computer science and is the founder of Early Days Consulting, is no stranger to success in the Excel scene. He is also a five-time finalist of financial modelling competition ModelOff, which ran from 2012 to 2019.

Speaking to The Register, he said his training involved 'trying as many of these kinds of problems as I can get my hands on'.

Another area where us Irish just seem to excel...