Diarmuid Early Wins Excel World Championship 2025

Diarmuid Early claimed the title of Microsoft Excel World Champion 2025 on December 3, after outpacing 23 competitors in the Grand Final at the HyperX Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Irish consultant solved all 130 questions in the event's origami-inspired challenge with five minutes remaining in the 40-minute contest, securing a $5,000 prize and a wrestling-style championship belt.

The championship, which concluded a three-day live event from December 1 to 3, tested participants' proficiency in Microsoft Excel through puzzle-style cases built within spreadsheets. Competitors earned points by completing levels of increasing difficulty, along with individual questions and time-sensitive bonuses available only to the first six finishers. In the Grand Final, players faced eliminations every five minutes based on the lowest scores until six remained, turning the match into a high-stakes race to the finish.

This year's case drew from the Japanese art of origami, requiring entrants to simulate paper folds using Excel formulas and coding. The seven levels began with basic folds but escalated to complex three-dimensional twists involving diagonals and multiple angles. Early, founder of...