We talk about ModelOff every now and then but it seems Microsoft has decided to launch its own rival online Excel competition to help connect with Excel fans and drive awareness of features in modern Excel and Power BI.

Let us introduce you to the Excel World Champ, er, Championships. Between October and November, Microsoft will run four rounds of Excel tests for residents of select(ed) countries. Only the top competitors in each round will make it through to the next, until ultimately there is one Excel Champ for each country.

There are 12 country championships – and the list isn’t from the usual suspects: Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, South Africa, Sweden and Turkey. That’s right: no US, UK, Australia, France, Germany or even Vatican City. But that’s ok, as there is an international “all other countries” competition available too.

The Excel World Championship is aimed at participants being able to show off their skills and creativity as they work through questions focusing on data management, data visualisation and formula writing.

The competition format will consist of several rounds, each with a test spreadsheet, containing three challenges:

1. Data relays: accessing, structuring, managing, and manipulating data

2. Chart gymnastics: visually representing data to best tell a story, as judged by our panel of experts and this Excel community

3. Formula wrestling: using formulas to dynamically solve questions, even if the data changes

Registration is open from now until the close of the Qualifying heat. To register for the competition and to find out more details visit the Excel World Champ website here.

In Early 2017, the country champions and the international winner will compete against one another for the title of Excel World Champ and Microsoft’s Grand Prize: a 90% shareholding in Apple. Hang on, that’s not right – it’s a trip to Seattle, USA and a meeting with Excel Product Leads to provide feedback on the next features added to Excel. There is no word whether you will have to bring your own umbrella.