The 13-year-old from Allen, Texas, who lost in a lightning-round tiebreaker last year, outlasted eight other accomplished spellers to win the title.
Faizan Zaki almost missed his chance to become the Scripps National Spelling Bee champion due to a moment of overconfidence. However, he was given a second opportunity and ultimately claimed the title of the best speller in the English language.
Last year’s runner-up from Allen, Texas, managed to outshine eight other talented spellers, including two that he allowed back into the competition following a careless mistake of his own.
Before spelling his final word, “eclaircissement,” the 13-year-old was advised to take a deep breath. Without asking any questions, he confidently spelled the word correctly and celebrated his victory on stage.
Two rounds earlier, Sarvadnya Kadam and Sarv Dharavane misspelled their words, clearing a path for Faizan, but instead of making sure he knew the word, “commelina,” Faizan let his showmanship get the better of him.
“K-A-M,” he said, then stopped himself. “OK, let me do this. Oh, shoot!”
“Just ring the bell,” he told head judge Mary Brooks, who obliged.
“So now you know what happens,” Brooks said, and the other two spellers returned to the stage.
Upon his return to the microphone, Sarv chimed in: “This is surprising!”
But Sarv misspelled again, followed in the next round by Sarvadnya, and Faizan stayed just calm enough to ensure his competitors wouldn’t get back to the microphone.
It was a riveting conclusion to a competition that started in 1925 and appears to have a bright future. Scripps, a Cincinnati-based media company, had a few dozen former champions on hand to celebrate the centennial of an event that began when the Louisville Courier-Journal invited other newspapers to host spelling bees and send their champions to Washington.
Faizan lost to Bruhat Soma last year in a tiebreaker known as a “spell-off.” He became only the fifth runner-up to come back and win and the first since since Sean Conley in 2001.
With the winner’s haul of $52,500 added to his second-place prize of $25,000, Faizan increased his bee earnings to $77,500. His big splurge with his winnings last year? A $1,500 Rubik’s cube with 21 squares on each side.
This is the last year the bee will be held at its home for the past 14 years, a convention center just outside Washington on the banks of the Potomac River. In 2026, the competition returns to the nation’s capital at Constitution Hall, a nearly century-old concert venue near the White House.
Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
