During the course of a season (January through November), competitors complete eight stages, and are allotted two hours over a 48-hour window to complete each stage.
Each stage contains three case studies, one to five pages long, with multiple choice or fill-in questions at the end. Contrary to what the name suggests, not all case studies are financial modeling based; Many are business modeling or data modeling based.
Stage points are available for:
Task: Correctly solving questions on each case (Points vary by question)
Time: Completing the stage early (10 points per minute, awarded only if the competitor has scored 900 task points)
Each stage winner's score is normalized to 1,000 points, and the score of all other competitors are normalized accordingly.
FMWC rankings and final standings are based on points scored across each competitor's top 6 stages (bottom 2 stages are dropped).
Format Changes
2020: The first of four FMWC stages started in September 2020. All stages contributed to the final standings.
2021: The stage count increased to twelve. The bottom two stages for each competitor were dropped from the final standings.
2022: The stage count decreased to eight. Case authors can not score a higher time bonus than any other player. Stage score normalization was introduced. The prize for top company was eliminated.
2023: For each stage, case authors may not score more points than the best player playing full-time.
2024: Case authors write cases for an entire stage and are automatically awarded 1,000 points for that stage. They can create cases for no more than 1 stage and are ineligible for prize money in the Stage where their cases are used.
^Competitors that have registered for at least one stage, not necessarily for the entire competition
^Competitors that have attempted at least one stage. A stage score of 0 indicates participation, while a blank stage score does not
^Competitors that attempted the maximum number of stages contributing to the final season point total (i.e., The 2021 season had 12 stages, but only the top 10 results determined a competitors season point total. In 2021, 307 competitors participated in at least 10 FMWC stages.)
The MEWC began in 2021 as the FMWC Open, an ExcelEsports tournament. The competition was a standalone event that did not impact the Financial Modeling World Cup Rankings in regular seasons.[1]
The tournament consisted of a Qualification Round, with the top 128 qualifiers advancing to a single elimination tournament. [5]
Qualification rounds began on November 13, and continued into December.[5] The last three rounds of the FMWC Open competition were held on December 11, 2021, and were broadcast on FMWC YouTube channel and ESPN3.[6][7] Andrew Ngai (now representing Australia), Anup Agarwal (India), and Michael Jarman (Canada) returned as quarterfinals qualifiers, and Harry Gross from the UK, Jason Moore from the US, Joseph Palisoc from the US, Sameer Jagetia from the US, and Tim Roberts from the UK also qualified.[8] The final round, entitled "Knights and Warriors", had contestants, each representing a fictional nation, send fictional warriors to conquer each other. Ngai defeated Jarman 734–280, with a maximum of 1,000 points per side.[5]
2022
The FMWC Open was rebranded as the Microsoft Excel World Championship (MEWC). Like its predecessor, it also consisted of a Qualification Round, with the top 128 qualifiers advancing to a single elimination tournament.
Qualification results (Top 50)
In total, 377 people took part and 128 qualified for the final round. The best ranked participants of the FMWC ranking, were prequalified.
The MEWC continued in 2023 with a modified format, the Qualification round was split into nine events, called "Road to Las Vegas" and one Qualification Round. However the 128 final-participants will still be competing in a 1v1 grid. The final of the top 8 will be hosted in Las Vegas.
Qualification results (Top 50)
In total, 377 people took part and 128 qualified for the final round. The best ranked participants of the FMWC ranking, were prequalified.
Rank
Name
Total Points
Time
1
Brittany Deaton
10000
00:46:24
2
Nicolas Micot
9915
00:46:45
3
Lorenzo Foti
9715
00:53:52
4
Peter Scharl
9115
00:53:41
5
Jason Hutcheson
8830
00:58:19
6
Adam Carter
8500
00:57:59
7
Katelyn Stienen
9315
01:00:00
8
Elliott Paterson
8200
00:58:07
9
Jacob Andrews
8200
01:00:00
10
Kyle Sutton
8000
00:57:13
11
Johnny Valeriote
8000
00:57:57
12
Michael Holmes
8000
00:58:32
13
Christophe Belin
7915
00:56:28
14
Kenneth Wang
7915
00:59:53
15
Jeremy Freelove
7850
01:00:00
16
Alfons Oliver Altes
7700
00:55:16
17
Jesi Lipp
7650
00:56:05
18
Princess Camille Ong
7600
00:59:00
19
Harry Seiders
7600
00:59:04
20
Pakkapong Sricharoen
7600
00:59:22
21
Ben Pridmore
7565
00:51:35
22
Ben deLeon
7515
00:55:25
23
Sharon Parker
7480
01:00:00
24
Harry Watson
7415
01:00:00
25
Lyanne van Dijk
7410
00:57:52
26
Alwyn Birkholtz
7335
00:49:28
27
Shaun McCarthy
7315
00:59:45
28
Matt Ficarra
7245
00:59:50
29
James Galbraith
7220
00:56:17
30
Will Demere
7215
00:59:40
31
Riley Flischel
7150
00:57:55
32
Steve Schulz
7150
01:00:00
33
Judith Droogsma
6785
00:52:50
34
Charles Poulain
6715
01:00:00
35
Nick Boberg
6700
00:59:01
36
James Blackham
6635
00:58:49
37
Martijn Adriaanse
6485
00:59:34
38
Matt Melsen
6435
00:58:54
39
Oliver Lambert
6415
00:59:34
40
Sergio Trifiletti
6415
00:59:49
41
Ricardo Dominguez
6405
00:59:57
42
Kristain Lindemann
6400
00:59:40
43
Brandon Moyer
6400
01:00:00
44
Grigoriy Korkishko
6345
00:59:18
45
Prithviraj Mavani
6300
01:00:00
46
Andrew Heybruch
6250
01:00:00
47
Zsolt Mogyorósi
6215
00:59:39
48
Jakub Pomykalski
6200
00:58:45
49
Jason Webber
6200
00:59:40
50
Juan Cifuentes
6200
00:59:55
Bracket
The 2023 edition had a different format for the last three rounds. The knockout format was used for the first four rounds. The eight participants that won their Round of 16 match qualified for the in-person Finals in Las Vegas, where 8 more players would join them in a last-chance qualification round.
The structure for the 2024 Microsoft Excel World Championship was revamped in several areas, including for the qualification round. The number of players in the main event remained at 128. Qualification for the MEWC was as follows:
50 players, 5 in each of the 10 Excel Esports Battes (called the "Road to Las Vegas"). One player would qualify from the YouTube livestream, while four others would qualify from online participation.
16 players from the Financial Modeling World Cup.
60 players from the MEWC online qualification round.
2 wildcards.
Qualification Results
The following participants qualified for the event:
2024 Road to Las Vegas series
Qualification Method
Player
Score
Time (mm:ss)
Excel Esports Battle I "Doggie Daycare" January 25
^Due to time differences, the Asia-Pacific competition took place at 8:00 AM BST, while the other regions competed at 5:00 PM BST.
Main Draw (Morning Session)
The 128 players in the main draw bracket were divided into 8 groups of 16, with three of those groups playing at 8:00 AM BST to accommodate players from the Asia Pacific region. The remaining five groups played at 5:00 PM BST. The main draw brackets were only played for four rounds, with the final eight competitors automatically qualified for the in-person semi-finals at Las Vegas. The other 24 of the top 32 qualified to play in the game day competition one day before the finals.
Round 1 (Last 128) "30 Minute Mystery"
Round 2 (Last 64) "Perfect Date and Soulmate"
Round 3 (Last 32) "Sleep as a Sport"
Round 4 (Last 16) "Mortal Wombat"
(1) Andrew Ngai
1250
Francois Neethling
980
(1) Andrew Ngai
940
Tze Sheng Yeo
920
Steve Schulz
864
Tze Sheng Yeo
900
(1) Andrew Ngai
1074
Kai Wei Lim
560
Min Min Chua
450
Kai Wei Lim
611
Kai Wei Lim
920
Edwin Brown
895
Edwin Brown
580
Jeroen Adriaanse
572
(1) Andrew Ngai
1095
Jean Wolleh
247
Marton Hunyady
926
Zhang Yunyi
1090
Zhang Yunyi
972
Jean Wolleh
1190
Jean Wolleh
1250
Bo Rydobon
1026
Jean Wolleh
762
Nick Lowman
642
Anup Agarwal
1130
Samir Asadov
922
Anup Agarwal
951
Nick Lowman
1130
Nick Lowman
1250
Nick Boberg
680
Martijn Adriaanse
520
Nicolas Micot
874
Nicolas Micot
0
Calvin Lim
960
Stevenson Yu
490
Calvin Lim
650
Calvin Lim
299
Ben Gutscher
590
Arnold Miron
813
Jasper van Merle
1205
Jasper van Merle
1160
Ben Gutscher
1190
Ben Gutscher
1010
Toby Funston
470
Ben Gutscher
490
Sergio Trifiletti
422
Vikram Hattangady
746
Julien Lacaze
819
Julien Lacaze
998
Christian Mbolanantenaina
1029
Christian Mbolanantenaina
780
Pichaya Pan-anukooln
428
Christian Mbolanantenaina
620
Sergio Trifiletti
760
Sergio Trifiletti
1180
Danny Whittaker
1070
Sergio Trifiletti
1180
(6) Matthew Fried
1028
Steyn Wolmarans
780
(6) Matthew Fried
1250
(7) Michael Clarke
676
Robert Buemmer
460
(7) Michael Clarke
1250
Pakkapong Sricharoen
1142
Cheong Ng
846
Pakkapong Sricharoen
960
(7) Michael Clarke
813
Grayson Huynh
820
Min Chen
1250
Timothy Shue
1048
Min Chen
1055
Grayson Huynh
1220
Toby Julyan
498
Grayson Huynh
920
Grayson Huynh
615
Prithviraj Mavani
597
Princess Camille Ong
850
Jakub Pomykalski
880
Jakub Pomykalski
1064
Prithviraj Mavani
1146
Prithviraj Mavani
1110
Logan Clarke
816
Prithviraj Mavani
442
Adam Reichenbach
0
Adam Reichenbach
975
Cameron Fraser
780
Adam Reichenbach
1220
Grigoriy Kirkishko
969
Grigoriy Korkishko
580
Cédric Morgan Rasolofo
DQ
Main Draw (Afternoon Session)
Round 1 (Last 128) "Wabble"
Round 2 (Last 64) "Portal"
Round 3 (Last 32) "Ironman"
Round 4 (Last 16) "Volcano Island"
Helen Dupree
570
Peter Scharl
1098
Peter Scharl
1234
Lorenzo Foti
1220
Lorenzo Foti
824
Sean Dunbar
552
Peter Scharl
843
Hadyn Wiseman
525
Josh Tucci
512
Diana Constantinescu
430
Josh Tucci
510
Hadyn Wiseman
952
Derek Kaplan
368
Hadyn Wiseman
608
Peter Scharl
1110
(8) Jack Franken
1250
Washington Demicheli
864
Juan Pablo Brea
558
Washington Demicheli
634
Ben deLeon
680
Ben deLeon
842
Fritz Burkhardt
526
Ben deLeon
574
(8) Jack Franken
853
Etienne Corget
416
Eduardo Gonzalez Arias
566
Eduardo Gonzalez Arias
714
(8) Jack Franken
1050
Robert Valentine
574
(8) Jack Franken
1042
(5) Tim Roberts
626
David Brown
688
David Brown
513
Chris Clarke
1154
Patrick Chatain
638
Chris Clarke
898
Chris Clarke
620
Juan Cifuentes
510
Johnny Valeriote
672
Jacob Andrews
588
Johnny valeriote
474
Juan Cifuentes
1250
Juan Cifuentes
724
Yiwei Cao
646
Chris Clarke
1033
Sameer Jagetia
890
Anders Richter Lindén
880
Ben Carr
838
Anders Richter Lindén
850
Riley Flischel
660
Esther Vander Meulen
260
Riley Flischel
578
Anders Richter Lindén
516
Sameer Jagetia
561
Colin Sheehe
810
Sameer Jagetia
836
Sameer Jagetia
696
Greg Hingsbergen
461
Daniel Hart
642
Greg Hingsbergen
710
William OBrien
418
Brittany Deaton
896
Brittany Deaton
1110
Ben Pridmore
613
Ben Pridmore
722
Jesi Lipp
448
Brittany Deaton
955
Willem Gerritsen
955
Jeremy Freelove
612
Willem Gerritsen
1042
Willem Gerritsen
1026
Harry Gross
884
Harry Gross
904
Jason Webber
702
Brittany Deaton
1173
(4) Joseph Michael Palisoc
1050
Martin Schaaphok
650
William Freestone
882
William Freestone
774
Coby Dombrowsky
1040
Coby Dombrowsky
938
Matt Stockton
563
Coby Dombrowsky
490
(4) Joseph Michael Palisoc
1250
Søren Nielsen
448
Tom Vincent
592
Tom Vincent
440
(4) Joseph Michael Palisoc
1000
Renier Wessels
652
(4) Joseph Michael Palisoc
748
(3) Michael Jarman
1048
Jonathan Huang
422
(3) Michael Jarman
1050
Alexander Freedman
764
Alexander Freedman
754
Brian Hanley
670
(3) Michael Jarman
0
Zsolt Mogyorósi
520
Parker Garrison
560
Zsolt Mogyorósi
662
Zsolt Mogyorósi
704
Matt Ficarra
656
Matt Ficarra
814
Jennifer Williams
504
Zsolt Mogyorósi
573
Joaquin Courreges
1220
Benjamin Weber
692
Norman Sheppard
478
Benjamin Weber
1180
Adam Carter
1250
Siim Aksel Amer
512
Adam Carter
1040
Adam Carter
681
Joaquin Courreges
935
Joaquin Courreges
838
Fanny Caillot
536
Joaquin Courreges
1242
David Nordstrom
461
Thanasis Dogramatzidis
672
David Nordstrom
680
Lianna Gerrish
1114
Harry Watson
710
Lianna Gerrish
1114
Dan Seiders
854
Dan Seiders
854
Elliott Paterson
800
Lianna Gerrish
510
Chris Wilson
438
Karim Awenat
578
Chris Wilson
634
Chris Wilson
620
Andrew Heybruch
580
Andrew Heybruch
622
Paul Dent
602
Lianna Gerrish
1070
(2) Diarmuid Early
1060
Brian Wright
526
Joshua Bruce
812
Joshua Bruce
1050
Keegan Morrissey
904
Eric Ashton
456
Keegan Morrissey
614
Joshua Bruce
582
(2) Diarmuid Early
1001
Michael Holmes
740
Colin Davidson
608
Michael Holmes
710
(2) Diarmuid Early
1250
Taylor Robinson
404
(2) Diarmuid Early
1140
Last Chance Qualification
The 2024 Microsoft Excel World Championship was the first instance which introduced the Last Chance Qualification Round (LCQR). The LCQR was open to anyone who did not advance to the Last 32 round at an additional cost. Entry for this event was also included for attendees of the concurrent The Active Cell event held in Las Vegas. The top 40 participants at this event who weren't already qualified for the Game Day competition would join the 24 qualifiers from the Main Draw brackets for the Game Day competitions held one day before the live finals. The Last 32 from the Main Draw bracket were also permitted to play, but as they've already qualified for the Game Day competition or Live Semi-Finals, they would not take the 40 qualification spots from those not yet qualified.
The case for the Last Chance Qualification Round was called "Axel the Elf's Christmas Catastrophe!"
Last Chance Qualification Round
Player
Score
Time (mm:ss)
Matthew Fried
1250
25:03
Harry Watson
1250
26:10
Daniel Hart
1250
26:33
Benjamin Weber
1250
26:45
Helen Dupree
1170
30:00
Martin Morissette
1140
30:00
Patrick Chatain
1090
29:42
Jeremy Freelove
1060
30:00
David Brown
1057
29:58
Eric Ashton
1007
29:46
Jakub Pomykalski
960
30:00
Phillip Harvey
950
30:00
Timothy Shue
949
30:00
Nick Boberg
930
30:00
Ben Carr
870
30:00
Jason Sindler
850
29:50
Fifaliana Rafanomezantsoa
840
30:00
Grant Pitarys
790
30:00
Julian Poeltl
780
30:00
Jacob Andrews
681
27:36
Julien Lacaze
664
27:09
Klinsmann Langhanz
642
25:34
Jackson Weber
640
29:38
Fritz Burkhardt
640
29:59
Lorenzo Foti
621
29:19
Harry Seiders
621
29:44
Curtis Landry
581
30:00
Ben Northern
570
29:49
Ashleigh Roberts
570
30:00
Pieter Pienaar
541
29:33
Michele Perina
541
29:50
James McQueen
541
29:53
Juan Pablo Brea
541
30:00
Joy Andriamalala
540
30:00
Ricardo Alexis Domínguez Hernández
533
29:58
Beckett Anderson
530
28:59
Jacob Labkovski
530
29:43
Andrew Durant
530
29:58
Michael Koller
530
30:00
Luke Peyton
530
30:00
Loic Roig
530
30:00
Elliott Paterson
530
30:00
Ray Medina
530
30:00
Game Day Competition
The Game Day competitions consisted of two rounds played by all 64 competitors who qualified either from the Main Draw bracket or the Last Chance Qualification Round. The scores from the two rounds were added together, and the top 16 participants would then move on to the live semi-finals.
Player
Case 1 "IsometriChaos"
Case 2 "Lana Goes Ice Skating"
Combined Score
Diarmuid Early
442
792
1234
Peter Scharl
579
608
1138
Jeremy Freelove
291
816
1107
Joshua Bruce
453
640
1093
Juan Cifuentes
412
672
1084
Jean Wolleh
588
488
1076
Michael Jarman
658
292
950
Eric Ashton
311
547
858
Jakub Pomykalski
540
290
830
Benjamin Weber
457
367
824
Coby Dombrowsky
380
436
816
Adam Reichenbach
449
357
806
Lorenzo Foti
406
397
803
Nick Boberg
459
343
802
Anders Richter Lindén
399
348
747
Live Finals
In front of 400 spectators, Michael Jarman unseated three-time champion Andrew Ngai ("the Annihilator") in December 2024 in Las Vegas. Ngai was described as the Kobe Bryant of Excel, in comparison to Diarmuid Early, who was compared to LeBron James.[9]
2025
The field size for the 2025 Microsoft Excel World Championship increased significantly, with spaces allowed for 256 competitors in the main draw.[10] This includes qualified spots for:
90 places: 10 players in each of 9 monthly Road to Las Vegas battles. For each battle, this includes:
1 place for the best livestreamed player,
7 places for the best non-livestreamed players,
1 place for the best U-25 non-livestreamed (online) player, and
1 place for the best 50+ (known as the "Masters" category) non-livestreamed player.[11]
16 places for the top-16 ranked Financial Modeling World Cup competitors, and
150 places for qualifiers who qualify through the qualification round held on September 27.
In addition, the organizers have implemented a seeding system, based on players' rankings in the Road to Las Vegas events.[11] The top 5 rankings of the participants will be considered in the rankings, and the top 32 ranked players will be seeded in the main draw.
2025 Road to Las Vegas (RTLV) battles
RTLV Round
Player
Score
Time (mm:ss)
Qualification Method
Excel Esports Battle I "We're Not In Kansas Anymore" January 23
Diarmuid Early
1181
29:27
Online
Jack Franken
963
30:00
Online
Peter Scharl
899
29:58
Online
Andrew Ngai
890
30:00
Online
Coby Dombrowsky
821
30:00
Online
Willem Gerritsen
746
30:00
Online
Anders Richter Lindén
731
30:00
Livestreamed
Colin Sheehe
730
29:26
Online
Tim Froelich
656
28:45
U-25
Harry Seiders
586
29:43
Masters
Excel Esports Battle II "Whodunnit?" February 20
Sergio Trifiletti
1186
29:59
Online
Benjamin Weber
1064
25:36
Online
Chris Clarke
1056
27:51
Online
Stevenson Yu
1048
29:00
Online
Pakkapong Sricharoen
1048
30:00
Online
Julien Lacaze
1040
25:56
Online
Michael Holmes
1040
28:10
Online
Karim Awenat
1040
30:00
Masters
Nicolas Micot
998
30:00
Livestreamed
Sean Dunbar
990
30:00
U-25
Excel Esports Battle III "I'm Just Wild About Harry" March 27
Timothy Shue
811
30:00
Livestreamed
Danny Whittaker
760
27:15
Online
Sameer Jagetia
757
30:00
Online
Jean Wolleh
754
27:21
Online
Michael Jarman
720
29:37
Online
Juan Cifuentes
720
30:00
Online
Paul Dent
700
27:48
Online
Patrick Chatain
700
29:56
Online
Ben Taylor
640
29:49
Masters
Julian Poeltl
610
29:21
U-25
Excel Esports Battle IV "The Formula Bar and Grill" April 24
FMWC also holds other events (typically ExcelEsports battles). Some events have granted automatic qualification to the MEWC playoff rounds. Some events are livestreamed and can be viewed by the public. These events include (but are not limited to):