Bruhat Soma made spelling look easy at the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Not a single word slipped past him in 14 rounds. And then came his record-setting spell-off.
The seventh grader from St. Petersburg, Florida, went up against sixth grader Faizan Zaki in the second-ever spell-off in the history of the competition.
Once again, Soma, 12, proved his excellence and showcased his ability to rattle off words quickly. He spelled 29 words correctly in 90 seconds, defeating fellow 12-year-old Zaki, 29-20, for the championship trophy and the $50,000 prize.
Soma spelled 29 of the 30 words he faced correctly in the spell-off, meaning he spelled 43 of 44 words correctly in the competition. The playoff round was added to the competition in 2021 and has been used just once before, with the 2022 champion spelling 22 words correctly.
Here's the list of 30 words Soma faced in the spell-off.
MORE: Bruhat Soma wins 2024 Spelling Bee via spell-off
Spell-off words for 2024 champion Bruhat Soma
Soma spelled 29 of 30 words correctly in the spell-off. Here's the list of all 30 words he faced:
- Brouette
- Adelantono
- Hyporcheme
- Bisellium
- Mycteric
- Endecha
- Seicin
- Mnyctalopia
- Ascham
- Wenzel
- Cebell
- Heautophany
- Kwazoku
- Panetiere
- Sagaie
- Nachschlage
- Exorhason
- Porphyrio
- Giclee
- Ashwagandha
- Puszta
- Asarotum
- Scintillante
- Myrabalanus
- Sciniph
- Voussoir
- Caizinha
- Ramoneur
- Aposiopesis
- Abseil
How does a spell-off work in the Spelling Bee?
The Spelling Bee typically ends when one person incorrectly spells a word, but that's not always possible in the allotted time frame. The competition goes to a spell-off if a champion isn't crowned in time.
The playoff round has occurred twice since being added to the competition in 2021, once in 2022 and now in 2024. If needed, the spell-off serves as the final round. And instead of a winning word, it's a word count that crowns the champion.
Here are the conditions:
- No champion has been crowned in 1 hour, 55 minutes of the broadcast and the championship round has not begun.
- The finals round ends before 1 hour, 55 minutes of the broadcast and there is no time left to complete another round.
- A potential winning word is misspelled at or after the 1 hour 55 minute mark in the broadcast window.
The 2024 spell-off included two students, but it can have more depending on the results from previous rounds. If six students haven't missed a word, there could be six students in the spell-off.
In the spell-off, each competitor is given 90 seconds to spell as many words as possible. Spellers cannot skip any words, so they have to give an attempt at each one. If they spell one incorrectly, they move onto the next word and are not eliminated.
Each speller will be given the same words in the same order. The participants not spelling will be isolated and unable to hear the words.
Whoever spells the most words correctly in 90 seconds wins the Spelling Bee. In the event of a tie, the speller with the highest percentage of correctly spelled words would win. If it's still tied after that, the tied spellers are declared co-champions.
