Shrey Parikh of California beat Ishaan Gupta to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
WASHINGTON — Entering the Scripps National Spelling Bee as the favorite, Shri Parikh felt the pressure, but his confidence shone through every time he got a word he knew.
When the Bees faced Ishaan Gupta for a lightning-fast decider, there was no suspense for Shree.
Shrey turned an intense, high-quality final into a blowout on Thursday night, winning the title of best young speller in English after struggling to spell out 32 words in a 90-second “spelling bee.” Ishaan spelled 25 words correctly in the tiebreaker.
Shrey, a 14-year-old from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., placed third in 2024 but lost his school bee last year when he developed a fever.
He’s been dominating on the Bee Tour ever since, picking up wins in several competitive online tournaments, and this week he beat many of the same kids in the capital.
according to Official Awards Structure Posted by Bee, Shrey received:
- $50,000 cash prize awarded by Scripps National Spelling Bee
- Scripps Cup Championship Trophy
- A commemorative medal
- $2,500 cash prize and reference library from Merriam-Webster Dictionary
- Encyclopedia Britannica reference materials and three-year online membership
- $1,000 in Delta Air Lines flight credit
The Scripps National Spelling Bee begins on Tuesday, May 26, and runs through Thursday, May 29, bringing together the top spellers from the United States and several other countries.
This year’s bee featured 247 contestants from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., U.S. territories and multiple countries overseas. When the competition returns to the nation’s capital in 2026, the finals will be held at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.
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