Just one year after a narrow defeat, 13-year-old Faizan Zaki rebounded from a dramatic misstep Thursday night to claim victory at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, earning the title of America's best speller. Zaki of Allen, Texas, who was last year's runner-up, bested a field of nine by correctly spelling "eclaircissement" for the win. Zaki nearly lost his shot after a self-admitted moment of overconfidence, which allowed two eliminated competitors back into the contest, the AP reports. He could have won by correctly spelling "commelina," but started with "K-A-M" before realizing his mistake and saying, "Oh, shoot!" The two other finalists who had just been ousted returned to the stage in a "dramatic" scene eliciting gasps, the Washington Post reports.
But both eventually misspelled again, and Zaki did not. During the final, Zaki didn't even pause to pose the usual questions to judges before spelling his winning word. After finishing, he celebrated with a low-key fist pump and collapsed on stage. This was his fourth appearance at the spelling bee. Last year, Zaki was edged out in a fast-paced tiebreaker round or "spell-off," which made this year's victory especially notable. He's just the fifth runner-up to return and win in the 100-year history of the spelling bee, and the first to do so since 2001. With part of last year's $25,000 second-place prize, Zaki bought a $1,500 Rubik's cube featuring 21 squares per side. This year, he won $52,500. (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
