Bruhat Soma, a seventh grader from Florida, claimed the US National Spelling Bee champion title, a Scripps Cup trophy, and a check for $50,000 after correctly spelling a 90-second spell off against the second runners-up 12-year-old Faizan Zaki from Texas.
12-year-old Bruhat spelled 29 words correctly in the tiebreaker, beating Zaki by nine, to win the title on Thursday night. His winning word was "abseil," meaning "a descent in mountaineering using a rope looped over a projection above."
The Scripps National Spelling Bee attracted 11 million contestants from around the world, and Soma emerged as one of the most confident finalists.
He is the 28th Indian-American to have held the title. The 12-year-old beat 228 other competitors, including 7 finalists.
