A teenager from Auckland's Avondale College has beaten more than 760,000 competitors from more than 100 countries to become the world's Microsoft Powerpoint champion.
Tristan Mona, who turns 16 tomorrow, flew to Orlando, Florida in July to become the first New Zealander to win in the competition's 17-year history.
He says the contestants were given 50 minutes to recreate a Powerpoint presentation based on pictures.
Although he ran out of time to complete the presentation it was still good enough to win.
“They sort of … have criteria that give you a sort of score and I guess mine was higher than the others competing against me.
“I wasn’t expecting to see my name pop up there … it got so loud and everything and I was so shocked.
“If you watch the video you can see I pretty much forget to smile I’m so shocked at what just happened.”
He says a lot of people have told him it’s a big deal.
“I try to sort of stay a little humble about it but … being world champion does sound pretty good.
“The prize for first place was a US$7000 and they also had a sort of bundle that came alongside it that included an Xbox One … and of course the cup and the medal, that’s two of my favourite things I got.”
He says he’s looking towards becoming a tech entrepreneur, and the win offers a foot in the door.
