The world of competitive spreadsheet management has garnered attention with the recent outcomes of the Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship. Eighteen-year-old Carmina Solares lit up the stage, showcasing her talent and securing a spot in the top 10. In 2015, she was the only female and Latin American finalist even reaching the top competitors in her fields. Local Melburnian Grayson Huynh made it to the finals of the Microsoft Excel World Championship. His exotic path from restaurant critic to blue-ribbon taster on this distinguished stage.
Perhaps most impressive about Carmina Solares’s success at this year’s championship, held this past July, is her age and experience level. Only 16, she showed incredible talent and grit, leading to her breakout finish and all around sheer awesomeness. Solares said she felt proud to represent her country, recognizing that there are few opportunities for young talents from Guatemala.
“I feel like Guatemala isn’t heard of much in these areas. We have limited opportunities,” – Carmina Solares
The Microsoft Excel World Championship brought in about 600-700 competitors last year. This increase is a testament to the increasing excitement around the competition. Qualifying rounds take place in locales around the globe. In October, a semifinal knockout round reduces the field to 32 finalists who will compete in Las Vegas. As someone who went through this demanding process, Grayson Huynh has his eyes set on doing even better as he prepares for the 2024 World Championship tournament.
“I want to do better than last year, but there’s no pressure,” – Grayson Huynh
Huynh’s path to Excel competition was not a serious pursuit at first. His friends teased him that he ought to race, igniting his first desire to compete. Over time, he began to see it as an opportunity to strengthen his craft. With Excel, he began to track his restaurant reviews and learn the basics of the competitive fire that burns within him.
“It was always a running joke that people said I should compete. I never really considered it seriously … but then I figured it would be a good way to motivate me to learn Excel again and try my hand at this competition I’ve heard heaps about,” – Grayson Huynh
The battle-tested challengers have something more powerful than technical skills going for them. Stage fright threatened to steal the show from Huynh during his finals performance. He told stories about being intimidated by the live audience and the whole idea of performing so close to a debut.
“You get stage fright. I was wondering if I could even type properly,” – Grayson Huynh
This psychological component of competition is hugely important and frequently dismissed by competitors, much like in traditional sports. Huynh recognized that mental toughness is often the name of the game in competitive spaces.
“Just like any other sport, mental strength is an area I can overlook,” – Grayson Huynh
The audience at these championships isn’t only city planners and engineers — it includes corporate professionals as well as what some might call “Excel influencers.” The atmosphere is even more intimidating, as on-air real-time play-by-play commentary puts extra performance pressure on each Bowler. Competitors need to adjust on the fly to a new computer and environment, like with any great public speaker.
“You hear commentators in the background, you’re on someone else’s computer, there’s a live audience … it’s like public speaking,” – Grayson Huynh
Solares’s take on the competition gets to the heart of its inclusive spirit. And lastly, she wished us to create a world in which people feel they can follow their passions without being afraid or pressured to be perfect.
“It was always going to be complete openness and acceptance for people loving what they love and doing what they do best. It shows what you can achieve if you let people who are square pegs go into their square hole and do their square thing,” – Carmina Solares
The stakes are extremely high in these competitions, with major cash prizes on the line. For hopefuls like Solares and Huynh though, the title of grand prize winner would mean a transformative chance at success.
As Kristina Kraskov noted, that’s a lot of time and effort competitors are putting in to become Excel ninjas. The effect of this is that Excel is frequently dismissed as only a boring tool and not a competitive platform.
“A lot of people mistake Excel for being something really benign and boring, but the immediate question is: Why are these people spending so much time dedicating themselves to a competition most people do not care about and have never heard of?” – Kristina Kraskov
For people like Huynh, Excel became a tool that was hard to avoid. One that has become foundational to their everyday lives and careers. His undeniable enthusiasm for this new software can motivate even the most stagnant minds to tap into its potential.
“Excel is my bread and butter … Give it a try — you might enjoy it. You might get hooked like me,” – Grayson Huynh
