Picture this: a packed venue in central Amsterdam, mechanical keyboards at the ready, a live audience, two days of competition, and on the big screen — a spreadsheet. Yes, a spreadsheet. What followed left no doubt that Excel esports belongs on a live stage.
May 22–23, 2026 brought the global Excel esports community to the H20 Esports Campus in Amsterdam for the very first Excel Esports European Open, and what unfolded was equal parts world-class competition and community celebration. Organized by Financial Modeling World Cup (FMWC) as part of the Microsoft Excel World Championship (MEWC) circuit, the European Open put a €12,500 prize fund on the line across five formats — and, more importantly, served as a direct seeding round for the 2026 Microsoft Excel World Championship Finals in Las Vegas later this year. The field showed up ready.
The flagship Main Event is exactly what it sounds like: top competitors on the circuit, head to head, on the clock. After two days of qualifying rounds and high-pressure eliminations, Diarmuid Early (Ireland) walked out as the inaugural European Open Main Event champion, with Sergio Trifiletti in second and Alexander Freedman rounding out the podium. If you follow the circuit, those names will be familiar — and finishing on top of that lineup is no small thing.
From there, the weekend opened up across three more open formats, each with its own flavor. Team Relay turns Excel into a relay race — three-person teams sharing one workbook and a single clock — and team Titanic (Diarmuid Early, Michael Jarman, Jean Wolleh) took the title with a clean, well-paced run. Teams The Crucible and Oachkoatzlschwoaf finished second and third. Mixed Doubles, one of the more-watched formats on the circuit, pairs two competitors working in parallel on linked problems with every keystroke up on the big screens; Emilie Williams & Coby Dombrowsky took that trophy. Mega Elimination, the bracket-style knockout where short rounds leave very little time to overthink, went to Diarmuid Early.
The Microsoft Excel Collegiate Challenge (MECC) Student Finals brought the next generation onto the European Open stage, and Benjamin Weber of FH Technikum Wien became the first-ever MECC European Open Champion — finishing his case with six minutes still on the clock, to a genuine roar from the arena. Luke Peyton (Messiah University) and David Montani Schnickmann (EY) rounded out the student podium. The student side of the circuit continues to grow, and Amsterdam was a great look at where the next wave of talent is coming from.
Beyond the trophies, what happened in Amsterdam carries real consequence for Vegas. Diarmuid Early secured a direct seed into the MEWC Semifinals, with the rest of the Main Event finalists earning Quarterfinal spots — and the leaderboard going into the Finals just got a lot more interesting.
Congratulations to the 2026 European Open champions:
- Diarmuid Early — Main Event champion
- Titanic (Diarmuid Early, Michael Jarman, Jean Wolleh) — Team Relay champions
- Emilie Williams & Coby Dombrowsky — Mixed Doubles champions
- Diarmuid Early — Mega Elimination champion
- Benjamin Weber — MECC Student Finals champion
Historic first: Diarmuid Early walked out of Amsterdam with three trophies. Main Event. Team Relay. Mega Elimination. An unprecedented showing on the Excel esports circuit.
And to everyone who made the trip — every player who sat down on that stage, under the lights and on the clock, deserves real recognition. Competing in Excel at this level, in front of a live crowd, takes guts. The depth of the field this weekend was a statement.
A big thank you to the Financial Modeling World Cup team led by Andrew Grigolyunovich for putting the event together, and to the case authors and volunteers who kept two days of live competition running smoothly.
Now: deep breath, sharpen your shortcuts, and we'll see you in Vegas.
