Florida 12-year-old Bruhat Soma wins 96th Scripps National Spelling Bee after competition’s second-ever spell-off

CNN — Bruhat Soma, 12, of Florida won the 96th Scripps National Spelling Bee Thursday night after defeating all seven other finalists and beating his final competitor in the Bee’s second-ever spell-off.

Bruhat spelled 29 words correctly during that spell-off, while 12-year-old Faizan Zaki of Texas, spelled 20 words correctly. The two shared a handshake after Bruhat was announced this year’s champion.

Spell-offs are special rounds activated to determine a champion once the competition exceeds a certain time and there’s more than one competitor left, according to the Spelling Bee’s rules. In a spell-off, the contestants who spells the most words correctly in 90 seconds wins.