MATCH: finding a position

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The runners are in finishing order, so a runner's place is their position in the list. Find the place for each name in E2:E6.

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1st to 10th

places go here

Type to enter a value or a formula starting with =. F2 edits, F4 adds $ to a reference.

Study notes

How MATCH works

What does MATCH do?

MATCH answers "where is it?". It searches a row or column and returns the position of what it finds, not the value itself.
=MATCH(lookup_value, lookup_array, 0)
How are positions counted?

From the start of the range you give, not from the top of the sheet. In $A$2:$A$11, A2 is position 1 and A11 is position 10. That's why the range starts under the header: start it at A1 and every answer is one too big.
Why add 0?

0 means exact match. Leave it out and MATCH assumes the list is sorted smallest to largest and guesses, which gives wrong positions on a list of names.
What is it used for?

A position on its own is useful when the order means something, like places in a race. But MATCH is mostly a building block: INDEX turns the position back into a value, which together make a lookup that can look left.

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