While Al Michaels endures the snooze fests on Thursday Night Football, more excitable announcers are lucky enough to call the Microsoft Excel World Championship.
Chances are you never heard of the Microsoft Excel World Championship, but they’re real and they’re spectacular, thanks in large part to their electrifying announcers. That’s not to take anything away from Andrew “The Annihilator” Ngai, who won his third straight title in exciting fashion, but the announcers are the reason why highlights from the event garnered more than four million views.
There’s definitely an art to creating spreadsheets, and plenty of skill needed to learn all of Excel’s tricks and secrets. But who knew there was such an art to narrating someone creating a spreadsheet? The event boasts former Microsoft employee Stephen Rose as its onstage announcer, joined by color commentators Jon Acampora and Oz du Soleil.
The Microsoft Excel Championship wrapped in Las Vegas last weekend.
Andrew “The Annihilator” Ngai won his 3rd straight title.
The Australian actuary beat 14 opponents in various 30-minute case study challenges.
Funniest part: this clip of live-stream announcers losing their… pic.twitter.com/CwYtyl2QS4
— Trung Phan (@TrungTPhan) December 13, 2023
The best part of that clip is du Soleil absolutely losing his mind as the championship event wraps up. The second-best part of the clip is Rose attempting to start a “wear the belt” chant with little support from the crowd. This event deserves an audience that can match the broadcast’s energy.
“This is bold, this is bold!” du Soleil could be heard yelling as Ngai put a bow on his third straight title. “Crossing his arms. No! No! No! The guy is flexing! He’s flexing! He’s flexing! What is he doing? Look at this guy! Oh come on!”
I’ve watched “CTRL, CTRL, CTRL, F2, ESCAPE, F2, ESCAPE, F2, ESCAPE” flash across my computer screen on repeat thanks to event’s amazing announcing crew. But this commentary was electric for any sport, not just the Excel championships.
Perhaps du Soleil is trying to prove he deserves a chance at calling the NFL or NBA games. Or perhaps announcers like Gus Johnson and Eric Collins are just out to prove they deserve a chance at calling the Microsoft Excel World Championship. Get in line.
