Second time was the charm for champion speller Faizan Zaki and all it took was being able to spell a 15-letter word exactly right.
The 13-year-old from Allen, Texas, came in second in the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee after losing a lightning-round tiebreaker, but ended up taking home the trophy on May 29 and earning the 2025 title, The Associated Press reported.
He successfully spelled the word éclaircissement, without having to ask a question explaining the word.
By the way, éclaircissement means “a clearing up of something obscure,” according to Merriam-Webster.
He almost didn’t make it to the winner’s circle this year. Zaki was given the word “commelina” but started spelling it with “K-A-M” before realizing he was spelling it wrong.
He then told the judges, “OK, let me do this. Oh, shoot! Just ring the bell.”
Luckily, the two others who were left misspelled their words, so the trio had another chance, and Zaki came out the victor.
This was the fifth time in the spelling bee’s history that a previous runner-up ended up winning the trophy, The New York Times reported.
The last time it happened was in 2001 when Sean Conley won.
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