Does Excel Esports Really Constitute an Esports? Definitional/Technological Categorisation and Assessment of Market Potential

Excel eSports is an innovative and growing form of eSports that distinguishes itself from traditional eSports by focusing on the spreadsheet software Microsoft Excel. Whether Excel eSports is recognized as eSports depends on the definition: narrower definitions exclude it, while broader definitions that consider its competitive nature and information technology usage recognize it as a legitimate form of eSports. This paper also assesses the market potential of this new phenomenon. Despite limited data, the evaluation based on global Excel user numbers and comparisons with established eSports suggests that peak viewership could range from 124,000 to 3.7 million, while the number of active Excel eSports players could potentially range from 992 to 15,300.