Faizan Zaki wins Scripps National Spelling Bee: What to know about the new champion!
Faizan Zaki wins Scripps National Spelling Bee
Faizan Zaki is your new Scripps National Spelling Bee champion! Here’s what we know about the new number one!
WASHINGTON - Faizan Zaki is your new Scripps National Spelling Bee champion! Here’s what we know about the new number one!
- The 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee took place at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland, on Thursday, May 29. This year marked the 100th anniversary of the competition.
Meet the champion
- Faizan Zaki, a 13-year-old from Allen, Texas, claimed victory in this year’s bee. He first competed in 2019 as a 7-year-old and entered this year’s competition as the favorite after finishing as the runner-up last year.
- Faizan qualified again in 2023, advancing to the semifinals before securing second place in 2024.
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Texas teen wins Scripps Spelling Bee with word you probably can't pronounce
Faizan Zaki won the title of best speller at the Scripps National Spelling Bee after finishing up as the runner-up last year.
Road to victory
- His winning word, "éclaircissement," sealed his victory, and he celebrated by pumping his fists and collapsing to the stage in excitement.
A dramatic moment
- Faizan nearly threw away his victory in a moment of overconfidence. When spelling the word, "commelina," things took an unexpected turn when he skipped the standard questions and let his instinct take over. "K-A-M," he said, then stopped himself. "OK, let me do this. Oh, shoot!"
- During one stretch of the competition, six spellers correctly spelled 26 consecutive words. Faizan was coached by Scott Remer, Sam Evans, and Sohum Sukhantankar, who helped guide him to success.
- Faizan’s father, Zaki Anwar, praised his son’s skills, saying, "He’s the GOAT. I actually believe that. He’s really good, man. He’s been doing it for so long, and he knows the dictionary in and out."
The final three competitors
- Faizan Zaki secured the championship, followed by Sarvadnya Kadam, a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Visalia, California, and Sarv Dharavane, an 11-year-old fifth-grader from Dunwoody, Georgia.
Plans for winnings
- Thirty of the past 36 champions have been Indian American. Faizan’s victory earned him $52,500 in prize money.
- Last year, he splurged on a $1,500 Rubik’s cube with 21 squares on each side. This time, he said he intends to donate a large portion of his prize to charity.
- The competition was founded in 1925 when the Louisville Courier-Journal invited newspapers to host spelling bees and send their champions to Washington.
- For the past 14 years, Scripps has held the event outside the nation’s capital, but next year, the bee will return downtown to Constitution Hall, a nearly century-old concert venue near the White House.
The Source: Information in this article comes from The Associated Press.