Shrey Parikh, a 14-year-old from Rancho Cucamonga, California, won the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee, beating Ishaan Gupta, a 12-year-old from Jersey City, New Jersey, in a tiebreaker. Shrey has dominated the bee circuit since finishing third in 2024 and has won several online competitions.
WASHINGTON — Shrey Parikh felt the pressure of arriving at the Scripps National Spelling Bee as a favorite, but his confidence showed every time he got a word he knew.
And when the bee came down to a lightning-round tiebreaker against Ishaan Gupta, Shrey left no doubt. Shrey turned a tense, high-quality final into a blowout Thursday night, racing through the 90-second "spell-off" and getting 32 words right to be crowned the best young speller in the English language. Ishaan spelled 25 words correctly in the tiebreaker.
A 14-year-old from Rancho Cucamonga, California, Shrey finished third in 2024 but lost his school bee last year when he was battling a fever. He has dominated the bee circuit since, winning several highly competitive online competitions against many of the same kids he outlasted this week in the nation's capital. Ishaan, a 12-year-old seventh-grader from Jersey City, New Jersey, was a semifinalist this year, outperformed some veteran spellers in the finals and has another year of eligibility left.
Sarv Dharavane, a 12-year-old sixth-grader from Dunwoody, Georgia, finished third for the second consecutive year and has two more years to improve that placement
Scripps National Spelling Bee Shrey Parikh Ishaan Gupta Rancho Cucamonga California Jersey City New Jersey Dunwoody Georgia 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee Final Round Pronouncer Tournament Bee Circuit Online Competitions Dominate Favorite Fever School Bee Semifinalist Veteran Spellers Intimate Atmosphere Better Sight Lines Lively Atmosphere Move To Constitution Hall Inconveniences Tournament Organizers Spellers And Their Families Bee Analyst New Television Host ESPN Paul Loeffler Pronunciation Word Origins Vowel Sounds Combination Of Origins Tricky Combinations Lightning-Round Tiebreaker Spell-Off Favorite Dominate Favorite Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate Dominate
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