MEWC
FMWC
TAC
EEO
The final day of MECC 2025 arrived with excitement, anticipation, and a packed schedule of advanced learning sessions and championship-deciding battles. With titles on the line and hundreds of attendees filling the HyperX Arena, Day Three delivered a thrilling conclusion to an unforgettable season.
Morning Sessions: Final Lessons from Industry Leaders
Before the competition began, participants gathered for one last round of learning sessions from some of the most respected names in the Excel and financial modeling world.
Rob Langrick: How Wall Street Runs on Excel
Rob Langrick opened the morning with a deep dive into Excel’s role as the backbone of modern financial markets. Drawing on data from a newly-built database of Wall Street workflows, he highlighted the most common use cases across job roles and illustrated how Excel powers global decision-making—often in ways the public never sees. Through comparisons with the Bloomberg Terminal, Rob showed the workflow patterns that will define the next generation of finance professionals.
Benjamin Weber: Mastering Volatile Functions
Next, last year’s MECC Individual Champion Benjamin Weber returned to the stage with a highly technical session on volatile functions—the hidden culprits behind many slow spreadsheets. He guided attendees through how functions like INDIRECT, OFFSET, NOW, and RANDBETWEEN impact calculation performance, when to use them, when to avoid them, and how they can actually become strategic weapons in Excel esports. His session blended championship-level insights with practical performance wisdom.
Jaq Kennedy: Excel Beyond Numbers
The morning concluded with a vibrant masterclass from Jaq Kennedy, who revealed how Excel can be an engine for storytelling as well as analysis. By blending design principles, accessibility best practices, and practical charting techniques, she showed participants how to transform raw data into visuals that inform, persuade, and inspire. Attendees left energized and ready to build dashboards that work smarter and speak louder.
Enrique Ruiz: Turning Stats into Stories
Closing out this year’s Active Cell Training Camp, Enrique Ruiz delivered a compelling talk on transforming raw data into memorable stories. He unpacked the psychology of communication, demonstrating how charts and analyses become truly impactful only when they support a narrative that resonates. His message was clear: data may inform—but stories persuade.
Lunch & Networking: Final Connections of the Season
As with the previous days, lunch was a buzzing hub of conversation, mentorship, and new connections. Students and industry veterans mixed freely, sharing insights, celebrating successes, and building relationships that will last far beyond the event.
After lunch, the crowd poured into the HyperX Arena—lit in bright MECC red—to witness the first champions of the day.
Team Finals: A Battle for the Championship
Four teams took the stage:
Team Finalists:
{insert teams + players}
The final case, Green Excel Club, was created by MECC Faculty Fellow and longtime esports competitor Fritz Burkhardt. Packed with creative twists and complex modeling challenges, the case pushed teams to collaborate under pressure and apply everything they’ve learned throughout the season.
The University of Technology Sydney wasted no time, putting the first points on the board in under 30 seconds, quickly followed by Messiah University. By the five-minute mark, the race had its first clear shape: INSCAE led with 470 points, trailed by University of Technology Sydney (320), Messiah University (230), and the University of Arizona (180).
Ten minutes in, teams were powering through levels. INSCAE held a strong lead at 950 points, with Arizona climbing to 750, University of Technology Sydney at 440, and Messiah University at 350. With a full case worth 1250 points, bonus questions became crucial—especially since only the first two teams to answer each bonus could score.
INSCAE: Bonus 2, 3, 4, 5
Arizona: Bonus 4, 5
UTS: Bonus 1, 2, 3
Messiah: Bonus 1
Just before the 15-minute mark, INSCAE crossed 1,000 points, mising only Level 6 and the already-locked Bonus 1 for a complete solve. Arizona, sitting at 750, quickly added another 200, pulling within 70 points.
With 11 minutes left, the momentum shifted—University of Arizona overtook INSCAE, hitting 1,130 points, completing every level except the two bonus questions they were locked out of. They left the stage to celebrate with their coach and supporters.
Only minutes later, INSCAE cracked their final remaining level and surged ahead once again, reclaiming the top spot and effectively securing the MECC Team Champion title with just under ten minutes remaining. Even after sealing the victory, they continued working to resolve the remaining Level 6 errors to maximize their score.
Meanwhile, University of Technology Sydney and Messiah University battled on, pushing for every point possible. University of Technology Sydney eventually crossed the 1,000-point threshold and, before stepping back from the tricky Level 6 corrections, even took a lighthearted moment to send a playful message to the audience through Excel—much to the crowd’s delight.
As time expired, the final scores locked in, confirming INSCAE as the new MECC Team Champions. All teams took the stage to receive their well-earned trophies and celebrate an exceptional final round.
INSCAE (Christian Mbolanantenaina, Joy Andriamalala, Tsiory Razafitseheno)
University of Arizona (Desirae Hoaglin, Tess Patton, Jackson Weber)
University of Technology Sydney (Matthew Beard, James McQueen, Caleb Cumarasamy)
Messiah University (Drew Weaver, Luke Peyton, Dylan Yoder)
Individual Finals: Champion Title Up for Grabs
After the Team Finals concluded, the spotlight shifted immediately to the MECC Individual Finals.
The top 12 competitors took their seats for the most demanding challenge of the weekend: the MECC Individual Finals.
MECC Founder David Brown designed a unique and ruthless Excel esports case—20 simultaneous Sudoku puzzles, solvable only through clever modeling, advanced functions, and absolute calm under pressure.
Unlike any other round in MECC, the Individual Finals run for 40 minutes, and every 5 minutes the lowest-scoring competitor is eliminated until only six players remain to battle for the title. The pressure is unrelenting, and with bonus lockouts—where only half the field can earn each bonus question—every second and every cell truly matters.
The action began fast. Juan Vicente opened the scoreboard in under a minute, securing the first 100 points. With elimination looming every five minutes, time was everything.
Early Eliminations
With just 20 seconds left before the first elimination, Aina scored his first points, narrowly escaping the bottom. This left Federico as the first to be eliminated—but in his exit speech, he shared that this was his first year in competitive Excel esports and that making it this far was already a huge achievement.
The next elimination came with high tension: three players were tied for last place. Elimination was delayed until two of them earned points. Ryan scored 50, breaking the tie and sending Aina out. Aina joked that his downfall was a lack of Sudoku skills, but expressed how happy he was to compete on this stage.
Next to leave was Jacob, falling short by just 3 points. Then it was Ryan’s turn to receive the tap on the shoulder—though he left smiling as the crowd cheered him on.
Juan, the only competitor from South America, was the next to exit. He admitted the case was extremely challenging and left feeling a bit disappointed, but proud. The final elimination before the top six was Ben from Australia, who shared that he hadn’t even made it past the semi-finals last year—making this year’s finals a personal milestone.
The Final Six – The Last 10 Minutes
With the field narrowed to the strongest six, the stage was set for a final 10-minute sprint. The scoreboard stood as follows:
Christian – 850
Matthew – 820
Pieter – 720
Benjamin – 670
David – 653
Jackson – 596
The pace was ferocious. Positions shifted constantly as players fought for every point. The final minute brought the last dramatic twist: Pieter crossed the 1,000-point mark, cementing his lead.
In a final attempt to squeeze out a few more points, he took a gamble on a RANDBETWEEN function in Level 7—but the range was too wide, and luck didn’t land in his favor. Fortunately, he didn’t need it. His skill and consistency throughout the round had already secured his victory.
MEWC Finals: Professionals Take the Stage
With barely a moment to breathe, the HyperX Arena shifted from MECC red to MEWC green as the Microsoft Excel World Championship entered its final rounds.
Competitors played through:
Two Semi-Final rounds
The Grand Final
…all in one electrifying evening.
The Microsoft Excel World Championships delivered extraordinary skill, showcasing some of the most entertaining and technically brilliant Excel esports performances of the entire season. The competition culminated in Diarmuid Early claiming both the Champion title and the belt. A longtime fan favorite within the Excel community and a dedicated supporter of MECC, Diarmuid’s tutorial walkthrough videos have helped countless players elevate their skills. Congratulations to our new World Champion!
MEWC Semifinals Game 1
MEWC Semifinals Game 2
MEWC Finals
A Season to Remember
As the lights dimmed on the HyperX Arena, MECC 2025 officially came to a close.
Three days of learning, competition, creativity, and celebration have once again proven the strength of the Excel esports community.
Congratulations to every competitor, every finalist, every winner—and every attendee who made this season unforgettable.
We already can’t wait to see what next year will bring.