Nine spellers advance to Scripps National Spelling Bee finals. They are from here.

WASHINGTON — The 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee kicked off Tuesday with 247 spellers competing. After Wednesday’s semifinals, only nine spellers remained.

This year’s spelling bee represented all 50 states, the District of Columbia, three U.S. territories, and five other countries: The Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates.

The final will air on Thursday from 8pm to 10pm on ION. The finals will also be broadcast or live streamed on Scripps-owned channels or services: ION Plus, Bounce, Grit, Laff, The Spot, Bounce XL, Grit Xtra, Laff More, Scripps News and Scripps Sports Network.

Sarv Dharavane of Dunwoody, Georgia is a returning top player in 2025 and one of this year’s finalists. Last year, 11-year-old fifth-grader Sarv took third place.

Shrey Parikh, a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., who finished third in 2024, also made the finals.

• Aiden Meng, 13, seventh grader from Danville, California
• Oliver Halkett, 14, eighth grade student from Los Angeles
• Shrey Parikh, 14, eighth grader from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
• Zwe Spacetime, 14, eighth grader from Washington, D.C.
• Sarv Dharavane, 12, sixth grader from Dunwoody, Georgia
• Ishaan Gupta, 12, seventh grader from Jersey City, NJ
• Kushi Gottimukkala, 13, seventh grader from Charlotte, NC
• Avishka Dudala, 13, eighth grader from Dallas
• Logan Bailey, 12, sixth grader from Houston

winner receives Custom trophies and over $50,000 in cash and prizes. The following is the bonus payment status:

• First place: $52,500 cash, reference books from Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster Dictionary, custom trophy and commemorative medal, and $1,000 in flight credit from Delta Air Lines.
• Second place: $25,000.
• Third place: $15,000.
• Fourth place: $10,000.
• Fifth place: $5,000.
• Sixth place: $2,500.
• All other finalists: $2,000.