{"id":75100,"date":"2025-12-21T03:37:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T06:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/meet-irelands-lebron-james-of-microsoft-excel-diarmuid-early\/"},"modified":"2025-12-21T03:37:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T06:37:16","slug":"meet-irelands-lebron-james-of-microsoft-excel-diarmuid-early","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/meet-irelands-lebron-james-of-microsoft-excel-diarmuid-early\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Ireland’s ‘LeBron James’ of Microsoft Excel Diarmuid Early"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Jamie McColgan<\/span>BBC News NI<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Diarmuid took the Excel World Championship belt from three time winner Andrew Ngai<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Irishman Diarmuid Early emerged onto the HyperX arena in Las Vegas under the bright lights, dramatic music, and fanfare worthy of any major sporting final.<\/p>\n

Only this time, instead of a ball there was a keyboard and mouse, and the playing field a humble desktop setup.<\/p>\n

Dubbed the “LeBron James of Excel spreadsheets”, Galway born and Waterford raised Diarmuid is now the world’s best worksheet whizz.<\/p>\n

He won the 2025 Microsoft Excel World Championships, where a $60,000 (\u00a345,726) prize pot has propelled the computer program from the office into a high stakes spectacle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The triple world Excel champion Andrew Ngai is an actuary from Australia <\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

‘You’re constantly watching your back’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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The esport showpiece in December attracted competitors worldwide as 256 spreadsheet heads battled it out across knockout rounds to join the final 24 in Vegas.<\/p>\n

It may sound bizarre, but Diarmuid described how the intense atmosphere of the finals lives up to the buzz.<\/p>\n

“Most of the time you’re playing at home by yourself and it’s pretty calm and low-key,” he said.<\/p>\n

“But when you get to Vegas, it’s just outrageous. You just hear everybody roaring, but you have no idea why, it’s hectic.<\/p>\n

“It happens in this esports arena with hundreds of people in stands of seats watching and shouting, with commentators calling the shots.<\/p>\n

“They give you headphones, but they’re not noise cancelling, and even if they were I don’t know if that would be enough.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Fans in attendance are passionate about the Excel games<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Vegas is a far-cry from the workplace, but the tournament was every bit as competitive.<\/p>\n

Diarmuid explained that timed eliminations begin in the last round, so every five minutes, those in last place get knocked out.<\/p>\n

“So you’re just settling in, kind of figuring out how this is going to work, and you’ll just hear: ‘Thanks for playing, you’re out’,” he said.<\/p>\n

“You’re constantly watching your back.”<\/p>\n

A three-time champion in the financial Excel tournaments, this win was Diarmuid’s first in the overall competition.<\/p>\n

He held the triple-world champion Andrew Ngai to second place, and won the $5,000 (\u00a33,737) prize and title belt.<\/p>\n

“It was super exciting,” Diarmuid told BBC News NI.<\/p>\n

“I’ve gone in as one of the pre-tournament favourites, and I have a record of choking.<\/p>\n

“So it was nice to deliver for once.”<\/p>\n

He added: “My mum had woke up and caught like the last 10 or 15 minutes of the final in Ireland.<\/p>\n

“It’s like an eight hour time difference so she was waking up and tuning in.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

What is Excel esports?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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The competition is streamed around the world on various platforms<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Excel esports transforms a common office tool into a dynamic sport.<\/p>\n

More than 20 years old, the competitive scene has evolved from being finance based to now involving more general problem solving.<\/p>\n

Although it might help, Diarmuid said “it doesn’t require accounting or finance knowledge”.<\/p>\n

He described an example where Excel is used in solving a maze, scoring poker hands, or even sorting Kings and Queens into the battles in which they fought.<\/p>\n

Generally there is a 30 minute challenge, with each challenge broken up into levels.<\/p>\n

The questions increase gradually in difficulty, with each correct answer gaining a player points.<\/p>\n

Whoever gets the most points wins, and in a tie, it is whoever got there first.<\/p>\n

“It’s just, can you think on your feet and do things quickly in Excel?” he said.<\/p>\n

“If you solve the earlier levels in a neat way, that’ll let you hit the ground running faster on the later ones.”<\/p>\n

Want to give spreadsheeting a go? Click Here<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Las Vegas arena comes alive as the drama unfolds<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

‘With my own business it has definitely helped’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Now living in New York, Diarmuid has set up his own financial business, where his skills and proficiency as a spreadsheet whizz haven’t gone unnoticed.<\/p>\n

“I’ve had clients approach me like: ‘Hey, we heard that there’s this Excel competition and there’s this guy who wins it.<\/p>\n

“‘He’s in New York and we’re in New York and you know, can we work together?'”<\/p>\n

Asked if he would consider starting a TikTok or Instagram account, he laughed.<\/p>\n

“That sounds terrible.<\/p>\n

“Well I have a YouTube channel, so I post my walkthroughs and live solves on that.”<\/p>\n

Despite his hesitance for short-form social media, the competitive Excel scene continues to grow on various platforms.<\/p>\n

For anyone looking to get into the spreadsheeting madness, now looks as good a time as any.<\/p>\n

“There’s a super active community, we’ve got this giant Whatsapp group for the different things people want to talk about.<\/p>\n

“We’re kind of adding new people to that all the time,” he said.<\/p>\n

“A lot of people approach you as well for help trying to get into the scene. I get that a lot.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

‘I enjoy it for the comedy side’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Diarmuid’s Excel expertise has given rise to comparisons with the four-time NBA champion LeBron James<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Diarmuid is known as “Dim” to fans of the esport, but Investor’s Business Daily piece headlined “Meet the LeBron James Of Excel Spreadsheets” has struck a chord in the community.<\/p>\n

Asked for his thoughts on being compared to the NBA’s all-time leading scorer<\/a>, he said: “I mean, the name seems to have staying power.”<\/p>\n

Having a laugh, he added: “It must be because I’m so unusually tall.<\/p>\n

“I try not to take myself too seriously, I enjoy it for the comedy side and try to leave it at that.”<\/p>\n

Are you an Excel whizz? Signups are now live for the first “Road to Las Vegas Battle” taking place on January 22, 2026<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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