13-year-old Faizan Zaki became the Scripps National Spelling Bee 2025 champion, and it was a championship worth watching. For the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Faizan is not a new face. Last year, this Indian-American boy narrowly lost in a spell-off with Bruhat Soma after rushing his final word and stumbling with the spelling. But this time, he made sure that the contest did not go to a spell-off at all.
Zaki hails from Dallas, Texas, and secured his position in the championship by correctly spelling the word Chaldee in the 20th round.
But the battle was not over yet, as Zaki was required by the judges to spell one more word flawlessly before being officially crowned as a champion. And Zaki met the last challenge with confidence and without any assistance.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee 2025 championship featured some of the country‘s best young spellers. The first runner is also an Indian American, Sarvadnya Kadam. While the third place was secured by 11-year-old Sarv Dharavane, who is also the youngest finalist of all and is currently in fifth grade.
All the finalists impressed the audience with their calm and talent. By the end of the final rounds, only Zaki, Kadam and Dharavane remained, standing against each other in a test of nerves and vocabulary mastery.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee 2025 marks the hundredth anniversary of the competition, which began in 1925 as a collaboration among newspapers to identify America’s Best young spellers. It has only been cancelled twice, first during the Second World War and the second time during the 2020 pandemic.
Spelling Bee championship continues to be celebrated as a tradition that has evolved over the years. The championship test spellers’ speed and accuracy, along with many other skills like listening, vocabulary, and patience.
