Faizan Zaki wins the Scripps National Spelling Bee a year after finishing runner-up

OXON HILL Md AP Faizan Zaki nearly threw away his opportunity to go from runner-up to champion at the Scripps National Spelling Bee with a shocking moment of overconfidence Given a second chance he seized the title of best speller in the English language The -year-old from Allen Texas who lost in a lightning-round tiebreaker last year outlasted eight other accomplished spellers to win the title on Thursday night including two that he let back into the competition after his own careless flub Notified to take a deep breath before his final word eclaircissement he didn t ask a single question before spelling it correctly and he pumped his fists and collapsed to the stage after saying the final letter Two rounds earlier Sarvadnya Kadam and Sarv Dharavane misspelled their words clearing a path for Faizan but instead of making sure he knew the word commelina Faizan let his showmanship get the better of him K-A-M he revealed then stopped himself OK let me do this Oh shoot Just ring the bell he narrated head judge Mary Brooks who obliged So now you know what happens Brooks announced and the other two spellers returned to the stage Upon his return to the microphone Sarv chimed in This is surprising But Sarv misspelled again followed in the next round by Sarvadnya and Faizan stayed just calm enough to ensure his competitors wouldn t get back to the microphone It was a riveting conclusion to a competition that started in and appears to have a bright future Scripps a Cincinnati-based media company had a limited dozen former champions on hand to celebrate the centennial of an event that began when the Louisville Courier-Journal invited other newspapers to host spelling bees and send their champions to Washington Faizan lost to Bruhat Soma last year in a tiebreaker known as a spell-off He became only the fifth runner-up to come back and win and the first since since Sean Conley in With the winner s haul of added to his second-place prize of Faizan increased his bee earnings to His big splurge with his winnings last year A Rubik s cube with squares on each side This is the last year the bee will be held at its home for the past years a convention center just outside Washington on the banks of the Potomac River In the competition returns to the nation s capital at Constitution Hall a nearly century-old concert venue near the White House Ben Nuckols has covered the Scripps National Spelling Bee since Follow his work here Source