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National Spelling Bee finals: nine finalists compete for orthographic glory – live updates

ByIndian Admin

May 30, 2025
National Spelling Bee finals: nine finalists compete for orthographic glory – live updates

Faizan Zaki, 13, of Dallas, Texas, reacts as he wins the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

Faizan Zaki, 13, of Dallas, Texas, reacts as he wins the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature

Live feed A look at tonight’s nine finalists Well, here we are. It’s all happening. The championship finals of the 97th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee are upon us. The eyes of the English-language orthographic world are trained on the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, where spelling’s biggest night is a little more than an hour away from popping off.

More than 11m students, ranging in age from six to 14, participated in this year’s competition at one stage or another. Of those, 243 earned a trip to (just outside) the nation’s capital by winning spelling bees organized by their local sponsors, typically newspapers, universities or non-profits. All roads have led to tonight: the Super Bowl for smart kids. And it all gets started at 8pm ET.

Quick Guide 97th Scripps National Spelling Bee Show How to watch

All times Eastern.

Tue 27 May Preliminaries 8am to 4.40pm (BounceXL, spellingbee.com)

Wed 28 May Quarter-finals 8am to 12.45pm (BounceXL, spellingbee.com)

Wed 28 May Semi-finals 2.30pm to 6.30pm (BounceXL, spellingbee.com)

Thu 29 May Finals 8pm to 10pm (ION)

That elite field of 243 invitees was narrowed down to 99 during Tuesday’s preliminary spelling and vocabulary rounds. Three quarter-final rounds on Wednesday morning narrowed the field to 57 semi-finalists with only nine surviving the afternoon semi-finals to reach tonight’s nationally televised finale.

The nonet represents the best of the best. Here’s who they are.

Speller No 4, Esha Marupudi

Age 13, 7th grade
Sponsor: Arizona Educational Foundation (Phoenix, Arizona)

School: BASIS Chandler

Fun fact: Esha writes lyrics and composes her own songs.

Speller No 20, Oliver Halkett

Age 13, 7th grade
Sponsor: Los Angeles County Office of Education (Los Angeles, California)

School: Mirman School

Fun fact: Oliver received a National History Day honorable mention for his essay on the rights and responsibilities of citizens.

Speller No 30, Sarvadnya Kadam

Age 14, 8th grade
Sponsor: Tulare County Office of Education (Visalia, California)

School: Oak Grove Elementary School

Fun fact: Sarvadnya speaks Marathi, Hindi and English and wants to learn Sanskrit after he retires from spelling.

Speller No 53, Sarv Dharavane

Age 11, 5th grade
Sponsor: Georgia Association of Educators (Tucker, Georgia)

School: Austin Elementary School

Fun fact: Sarv enjoys folding origami and has decided he will fold 1,000 paper cranes.

Speller No 136, Harini Murali

Age 13, 8th grade
Sponsor: SNSB Region Three Bee (Edison, New Jersey)

School: Woodrow Wilson Middle School

Fun fact: Harini has been learning Carnatic music, an Indian classical style, since she was 6.

Speller No 144, Brian Liu

Age 13, 8th grade
Sponsor: SNSB Region Four Bee (Great Neck, New York)

School: Great Neck North Middle School

Fun fact: Brian’s pet chinchillas are named Obsidian and Stormy for their colors and personalities.

Speller No 156, Aishwarya Kallakuri

Age 14, 8th grade
Sponsor: Carolina Panthers (Charlotte, North Carolina)

School: Valor Preparatory Academy

Fun fact: Aishwarya is really interested in psychology theory, especially the work of Carl Jung.

Speller No 182, Akshaj Somisetty

Age 13, 8th grade
Sponsor: Pennon Education (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)

School: Mountain View Middle School

Fun fact: Akshaj has recently started collecting different currencies and has collected money from over 10 countries already.

Speller No 207, Faizan Zaki

Age 13, 7th grade
Sponsor: Dallas Sports Commission (Dallas, Texas)

School: CM Rice Middle School

Fun fact: Faizan can speed-solve a Rubik’s Cube in about 30 seconds.

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