British ‘super geek’ to battle for world spreadsheet crown in Las Vegas
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A self-described ‘super geek’ is hoping to be crowned world spreadsheet champion.
Ha Dang, 33, from Scunthorpe, is going up against 64 keyboard whizzes from around the world in Las Vegas to be crowned king of Excel spreadsheets.
Ha, an accountant for Leeds-based stockbrokers Redmayne Bentley, is already the British spreadsheet champion.
His data-themed project for the final was based on British kings and queens.
Ha was brought up in Vietnam before moving to the UK 10 years ago, and taught himself how to use the software by watching YouTube videos.
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He said: ‘For me, creating spreadsheets is my hobby, which I do in my free time and at weekends.
Ha Dang will compete against 64 other brainiacs in Las Vegas at the World Spreadsheet Championship (Picture: SWNS)
‘It really doesn’t bother me if people think I’m a geek. In fact, I’m proud of it.
‘Obviously, I use spreadsheets for work but I also use them for my everyday life. I have one to work out the miles per gallon for my car and my weekly shopping bills.
‘I even have one set for the future which calculates my earnings per year and how that relates to the size of my pension.
‘My friend asked me to calculate how many miles he could do in his leased car to make sure he didn’t go over the amount. I was easily able to do that for him.’
Ha will head to Las Vegas in December, where he will compete for a $5,000 (about £3,700) cash prize as well as the world crown.
He explained this was his first trip to the US, having decided to enter the contest in February.
Ha won the British spreadsheet title with a data project on English monarchs (Picture: SWNS)
Ha says he finds spreadsheets ‘really fun’ and doesn’t mind if people call him a ‘geek’ (Picture: SWNS)
‘I will be up against the best spreadsheeters in the world but I can only do my best and I know I’m good at what I do’, he said.
Talking about his passion for spreadsheets, he said: ‘They are really fun, well, for me personally, and they help you improve your critical thinking skills, your Excel skills massively.
But he admitted the final stage of the contest would be tough, having won the British title ‘by the skin of my teeth’.
He said: ‘It took me a minute when I saw the result to actually start moving again.
‘I have never been so passionate about anything like this.’
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