The Great Spell-Off
Shrey Parikh, 14, is the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion. Shrey traveled from his home, in Rancho Cucamonga, California, to Washington, D.C., to compete in the bee. He was one of 247 competitors between the ages of 9 and 15.
Shrey won the bee on May 28, after three days of competition. The final day included seven spelling rounds. By the end of the seventh round, only Shrey and 12-year-old Ishaan Gupta, from New Jersey, were left.
STELLAR SPELLER Bee winner Shrey Parikh, 14, celebrates with E.W. Scripps Company president and CEO Adam Symson in Washington, D.C., on May 28, 2026.
JOSE LUIS MAGANA—AP PHOTOTo decide a winner, they competed in a spell-off. Shrey and Ishaan each had 90 seconds to correctly spell as many words as possible. Ishaan got 25 words right. Shrey got 32, ending with cashaw (a type of squash) and setting a new spell-off record.
This was Shrey’s third bee. He placed 89th in 2022 and third in 2024. “Right now, I’m probably the happiest I’ve ever been,” he told reporters after his win. “I’m just so happy and relieved, and just such a flood of emotions.”
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