In a gripping finale, 12-year-old Bruhat Soma from Florida emerged as the winner of the 96th Scripps National Spelling Bee. After both finalists aced a series of increasingly challenging words, a spell-off—only the second in the competition’s history—was required to determine the champion.

The room crackled with tension as Soma and his rival exchanged tough remarks, and each victory was met with thunderous cheers and gasps from the audience.

Accepting the trophy on stage, the Indian-American prodigy expressed his elation: “I’m really excited. It’s been my goal for this past year to win, and I’ve been working really hard. I really can’t describe it; I’m still shaking.”

Bruhat Soma, a standout prodigy from Florida with Indian heritage, clinched the Scripps National Spell Bee title.

Bruhat Soma
Image Source: San Diego Union-Tribune

At just 12 years old, he engaged in a nail-biting tiebreaker round against another skilled speller, leaving everyone—including the nervous host—on the edge of their seats. Bruhat took control of the tiebreaker, correctly spell an astounding 29 words in just 90 seconds, setting a bar so high that it looked impossible to beat. His opponent, Faizan Zaki, put up a strong effort but couldn’t keep up with Bruhat’s speed. Faizan managed to spell 25 words but missed four, securing Bruhat’s victory and a whopping $50,000 in prize money.

In the last stage of the Spelling Bee, all eyes were fixed on the screen as Soma correctly spelled “Hoofddorp,” and Zaki spelled “nicuri,” both moving on to the next round.

Bruhat Soma’s Winning Streak Continues

Bruhat, a seventh-grade student hailing from Tampa, Florida, continued his series of triumphs in spelling bees, now reaching a total of four back-to-back victories. This impressive accomplishment earned him a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Bruhat clinched victory in three spelling competitions. One contest, named Words of Wisdom, pitted him against other spelling experts. Another contest, SpellPundit, is produced by a study guide manufacturing company. And he also won an online bee, which was the first of its kind, and was hosted by Dev Shah, who was the Scripps National Spell Bee champion last year.

Reacting to his big victory, Dev Shah, another Indian American who won the prestigious competition last year, expressed, “I am in shock and despair.”

“I’m not really surprised that any of my students have made it this far. I know that they are all prepared. They have what it takes to win, all of them,” said Evans, the person who tutored the finalists including Aditi Muthukumar, YY Liang, Ananya Rao Prassanna, Soma Bruhat, and Kristen Tiffany Santos among others.

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