Financial Modeling World Cup

The Financial Modeling World Cup (FMWC) is a Microsoft Excel esports competition, sponsored by Microsoft. The competition starterd in January 2021, and it follows in the tracks of previous financial modeling contests such as ModelOff, which ran from 2012 to 2019. Contestants solve problems, in the form of case studies, using the spreadsheet software. Events held through the year contribute to a global leaderboard, culminating in a tournament. The finals of the 2021 WMTC Open were held on December 11, 2021, and it was won by Andrew Ngai from Australia.

Background and description

Similar financial modeling competitions have been run in the past, including the also-Microsoft-sponsored ModelOff Financial Modeling World Championships from 2012 to 2019. After live online rounds, the competition culminated in a finals event and conference in New York City or London. The program was retired in 2020; competitions such as FWMC have taken its place.[1][2] The first Financial Modeling World Cup started in January 2021, continuing throughout that year.[3]

FMWC holds monthly online contests and occasional "battles" broadcast live.[1] The organization maintains a ranking system for the top competitors throughout each year.[4][5] In each event, competitors solve problems presented as one-to-five-page-long financial modeling case studies with questions at the end, using Microsoft Excel.[4][5] Each stage of the competition takes two hours to complete and is run over a two-day-long window.[3] The event is sponsored by Microsoft.[4][5][6]

2021 season

There were monthly stages of the competition starting in January.[3] An FMWC battle was held on June 8, 2021, with eight competitors from eight different countries: Andrew Ngai from the United Kingdom, Michael Jarman from Canada, Stéphanie Annerose from the USA, Jason Webber from South Africa, Gabriela Strój from Poland, Anup Agarwal from India, John Lim from Australia, and Jeff Heng Siang Tan from Malaysia.[6][7][8] Ngai, Agarwal, and Jarman were considered favorites to win the event, with Ngai being ranked second in the world; Jarman had previously co-won ModelOff 2017, while Ngai won ModelOff 2020.[7][8][2] Diarmuid Early, ranked first in the world, did not participate.[8] Jarman ended up winning the event, solving thirteen questions out of 21 correctly.[6]

The 2021 FMWC Open tournament had 128 contestants from around the world.[4] Qualification rounds began on November 13, and continued into December.[4] The last three rounds of the FMWC Open competition were held on December 11, 2021, and were broadcast on ESPN3.[5][9] Ngai, Agarwal, and Jarman returned as quarterfinals qualifiers, and Harry Gross from the UK, Jason Moore from the USA, Joseph Palisoc from the USA, Sameer Jagetia from the USA, and Tim Roberts from the UK also qualified.[10] The final round, entitled "Heroes of Might and Magic", 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.[4]

References
  1. Fairhurst, Danielle Stein (2022). Financial Modeling in Excel for Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. p. 120. ISBN 978-1-119-84451-8. OCLC 1264716849.
  2. Spataro, Jared (December 11, 2017). "Excel ModelOff event and innovation". Microsoft. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  3. Pham, Cuong (March 22, 2021). "Financial Modeling World Cup". Excel Blog. Microsoft. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  4. Hachman, Mark (December 10, 2021). "Top Excel experts will battle it out in an esports-like competition this weekend". PCWorld. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  5. Roth, Emma (December 11, 2021). "Watch these Excel pros duke it out in a financial modeling competition". The Verge. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  6. Matyszczyk, Chris (June 10, 2021). "I just watched Microsoft (try to) make Excel exciting. Recovery won't be easy". ZDNet. Archived from the original on June 23, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  7. Sacco, Dom (June 6, 2021). "Microsoft Excel… esports? UK to take part in 'Financial Modeling World Cup'". Esports News UK. Archived from the original on June 6, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  8. "Acht experts strijden tegen elkaar in internationale Microsoft Excel-competitie" [Eight experts compete in international Microsoft Excel competition]. Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). June 5, 2021. Archived from the original on July 4, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  9. Bolding, Jonathan (December 11, 2021). "Watch the world's greatest spreadsheet sorcerers throw down in the World Cup of Microsoft Excel". PC Gamer. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  10. Financial Modeling World Cup [@FMWC_] (December 10, 2021). "📢 Tomorrow, December 11, is the day for the FMWC Open finals!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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