What’s it like to pit your skills against some of the best Excel power users in the country? We stopped by Microsoft Malaysia’s HQ in KL recently to witness the grand finals of the Malaysian leg of the Excel Championships, and never have we felt more out of place on an assignment.
It may not be as glamourous or exciting as the swanky e-sports tournaments that are the rage among Malaysian youths today, but the Excel Championships is a unique tournament in its own right. Competitions like these aren’t uncommon in some parts of the world, so it was interesting to see Microsoft Malaysia making an effort – albeit a very small scale one – into introducing this in the country.
After online qualifiers held the weeks before, Microsoft invited the finalists from different parts of the country for the grand finals in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. There, the finalists not only had to contend with the tough challenges set for them, but also a 40-minute timer to complete the tasks.
The winner walked away with a brand new Surface Pro 4, as well as the honour of being the Malaysian representative at the 2017 Global Excel Championships – the winner of that tournament will receive an all inclusive visit to Microsoft’s HQ in Redmond, Washington and meet the Excel product team for a very geeky conversation about Excel.
