Faiza Zaki, the thirteen year old champion of the Scripps National Spelling Bee is a resident of Texas with origins in Hyderabad. After finishing a runner-up last year, has been titled champion this year. For the final round, he spelt éclaircissement to cinch the title after a fiery match with his opponent. Along with the prestigious Scripps cup, he took him $50,000 in cash and a facilitating medal. Beating nearly 240 other spellers, Zaki came out to the Scripps National Spelling Bee 2025 champ.
A four-time competitor, 2024 Runner-Up, and now, the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion, Farzan Zaki summed up his journey with, “I was amazed when I won my first school bee. Then I just kept winning.” This marks the 100th edition of the competition as more than 400 participants reached the venue across the 50 states of the US. Last year, 12-year-old Bruhat Soma claimed the national title by accurately spelling 29 words in a 90-second tiebreaker round.
The winning word originating from French, éclaircissement means the clearing up of something obscure.
Who is Faizan Zaki?
Zaki, a 7th-grade student at C.M. Rice Middle School in Dallas, Texas, made his fourth appearance at the national spelling bee this year. His journey began in 2019 at the age of 7, when he finished tied for 370th place. He made significant progress over the years, finishing 21st in 2023 and securing the runner-up position just last year.
Participants faced off across four stages, Preliminaries, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Finals, for a chance to win the prestigious Scripps Cup. The spell-off or the tiebreaker costed Faizan the win last year. He studied the round closely and the performance he displayed. As per the New York Times, the Dallas Sports Commission representative, developed a new regime to improve and enhance his vocabulary everyday.
However this year, did not need a tiebreaker, it was a clear win for Faizan. His parents Zaki Anwar and Arshia Quadri nurtured their son’s interest for words since his formative years. They revealed that he started reading at 2. He was the youngest contestant (7 years old) after Zachary Teoh competed when he was just 8 to enter the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Currently learning French, Zaki is highly interested in Rubik’s cube puzzles.
The runner-up, Sarvadnya Kadam, from California, edged out in second place after misspelling “Uaupes,” a tributary of the Rio Negro in South America.
Scripps National Spelling Bee 2025
Previously called the Scripps Howards National Spelling Bee, 2025 marks the 100th year of the league. Since 1925, students compete on vairous levels from classroom to regionals, making their way to the national round to represent their state. Faizan Saki represented Dallas, Texas to win his way to the champion’s title this year.