Faizan Zaki wins Scripps National Spelling Bee a year after coming in 2nd

“Éclaircissement” was the winning word, but for Faizan Zaki it spelled success.

The seventh grader from Dallas won the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday, after last year having come in second place on the big stage.

Faizan, 13, showed little hesitation as he spelled “éclaircissement,” which means the clearing up of something obscure, in the final word to win the title of national spelling champ.

He fell to the stage in joy as confetti rained down.

“I don’t know what to say. I’m just really happy,” he said.

The culmination of the national championship came with a shock. In what could have been the last round, when there were three left, Sarvadnya Kadam and Sarv Dharavane got their words wrong.

It seemed to be Faizan’s big chance. But he rushed to spell his word before a proper explanation and got the first letter wrong — a blunder on “commelina,” a genus of plant that sent all three back for an additional round.

Faizan joked about the pressure when he later faced what would be the winning word and after the spelling bee’s official pronouncer, Jacques Bailly, suggested everyone take a deep breath.

“That did not help at all,” Faizan said, eliciting laughter from the crowd.

Nine spellers made it to Thursday’s final round, from Arizona, California, New York, New Jersey, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas.

This year is the 100th anniversary of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. In the first contest, there were just nine participants.

How times have changed. This year, 243 young people competed in the Spelling Bee, which kicked off Tuesday in National Harbor, Maryland.

Those 243 young spellers made their way to the national competition after having qualified in regional contests in March.

Almost all of the kids who made it to the nationals were there for the first time, organizers said. Fifty-three were in the 2024 national contest, while 178 were national first-timers.