At the Microsoft Excel World Championship, selfies and a ‘hype’ tunnel

An arena. A hype tunnel, the kind through which NBA players typically streak. A competitor dressed in a jersey patterned with six-pack abs.

In a new piece, The New York Times takes readers to an event that organizers call the Microsoft Excel World Championship, a 40-minute, Las Vegas-based competition featuring 12 contestants — all of them solving thorny Excel puzzles. Some 400 people attended the December event, which ESPN3 livestreamed in between “competitions like speed chess and the World Dog Surfing Championships,” reports the Times.

The event was no joke, even if the self-described nerds involved have a healthy sense of humor. According to the story, the winner — a Toronto-based financial consultant — walked away with a $5,000 prize, a wrestling-style championship belt, and the title of world’s best spreadsheeter after two front-runners stumbled. Selfies were taken.

The hope is that the prize money will eventually hit $1 million as more spectators and sponsors get involved. In the meantime, the four-year-old event — held in person last month for the first time — is already a big hit. “You’d never see this with Google Sheets,” one contestant told the Times. “You’d never get this level of passion.”