Over nearly three decades the Spelling Bee cultivated something of a cult following on ESPN. But this marks the fourth year since the sports cabler’s agreement with the EW Scripps Company expired and the Ohio-based media firm decided to move the production in-house to Ion Television, one of the national broadcast networks it owns. At the time of the move, organizers claimed the timing of the NBA finals created problematic scheduling and resource conflicts with ESPN, which had carried it for 27 straight years (starting in 1994). It’s been a bit of a downer for longtime fans of ESPN’s consistently robust coverage, which in later years included a special Play-Along simulcast on ESPN3 that featured a second-screen, multiple-choice version allowing viewers to compete along with the spellers. Some have complained Ion is more difficult to find, but the ratings have only trended in the right direction since its 2022 debut on the network. The Spelling Bee has always been one of the more photogenic events on the US sports calendar. This year has been no exception. Here’s a look at some of the best shots from the 2025 contest (so far). All eyes are on Faizan Zaki tonight he chases a redemption that’s proven rare on spelling’s biggest stage. The 13-year-old from Dallas is looking to win the Bee after finishing as the runner-up the year before, something that’s only happened once in the past 44 years. It’s a daunting task. Out of 96 Bees held over the past century, only four second-place finishers have come back to win – and only one has done it since the early 1980s. That was Sean Conley, who lost in 2000 and triumphed in 2001. Now, Zaki hopes to join that elite company. But if he’s feeling the weight of history, he doesn’t show it. With a black hoodie pulled over his shaggy hair and a laid-back swagger that’s all his own, Zaki has breezed through the early rounds of this year’s competition. He was the only speller to earn a perfect score on the written spelling and vocabulary exam that determined the quarterfinalists, a strong signal that last year’s heartbreak didn’t shake his confidence. Then came Wednesday’s quarter-final and semi-final stages, where Zaki made it look almost casual. He strolled to the microphone round after round, rattling off spellings with calm precision and his signature flair: hands emerging from his hoodie pouch to “type” each letter in the air as he said them aloud. It’s equal parts technique and trademark. His only wobble came late, on the word coterell, a tricky entry that earned him a brief pause and a visible sigh of relief after he nailed it. The fist pump that followed said it all: he’s back and he’s coming for everything. “It was just very relieving,” Zaki said yesterday after clinching his spot in tonight’s finals. “I have a lot of expectations put on me, so I’m just excited that I’m going to the finals again.” Expectations indeed. After last year’s thrilling but painful loss in a spell-off tiebreaker with Bruhat Soma, Zaki has become something of a fan favorite. And while his mastery of language roots, etymology and wordplay is undeniable, history suggests he’s still the underdog. That’s fine by him. “Hopefully I can get it done,” he said. “Especially back home, all of my friends, they tell me that I need to win this year.” 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. 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. Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here is a lookahead to tonight’s finals.
Author: Bryan Armen Graham