11 of the 16 finalists are Indian American spellers.
10:43 PM
An Indian American speller has now won the Scripps National Spelling Bee for the past 11 years straight.
10:42 PM
Karthik Nemmani is the 2018 Scripps National Spelling Bee winner after correctly spelling the word “koinonia”.
10:40 PM
If he spells his next word correctly he will become the 2018 Scripps National Spelling Bee winner.
Nemmani spells his word correctly.
Modi is stumped by incredibly tough word, “Bewusstseinslage” (bewustsseinslage). Nemmani seemed to know it however, nodding his head to each letter Modi spit.
10:37 PM
No more than 25 rounds remaining, as the final two spellers Modi and Nemmani battle it out.
10:34 PM
Round 16 was brutal for spellers, producing two eliminations.
10:33 PM
Kodali, the youngest speller in the Finals, is eliminated, leaving only two spellers left.
10:32 PM
Nemmani spells the word condottiere correctly to advance to the next round.
10:31 PM
Modi spells her word correctly to advance to the next round.
10:30 PM
Paluru, who looked to be a favorite to win the competition, is eliminated after incorrectly spelling the word “philonium” (phelonium)
10:29 PM
Kodali correctly spells his word to cap off another perfect round.
10:27 PM
Nemmani spells his word correctly to advance.
Modi spells the word “pareidolia” correctly to advance to the next round.
10:23 PM
Paluru correctly spells the word ephyra to advance.
Kodali spells his word correctly to cap off round 14.
10:21 PM
Nemmani correctly spells the word cendre to advance to the next round.
10:20 PM
Modi correctly spells the word lochetic to advance.
10:19 PM
Murali becomes the first elimination in awhile after incorrectly spelling the word gelinotte (gelenotte).
10:18 PM
Paluru correctly spells the word ecchymosis to kick off round 14.
10:16 PM
Kodali correctly spells his word to cap off a perfect round from all the spellers. content.
10:14 PM
Nemmani correctly spells the word ankyloglossia to advance.
10:12 PM
Modi correctly spells her word to advance.
Murali spells the word amadelphous correctly to advance.
10:10 PM
Kodali correctly spells his word to advance.
10:08 PM
Nemmani spells the word grognard correctly to advance to the next round
10:06 PM
Modi correctly spells the word ochronosis to advance.
10:04 PM
Malla is eliminated after incorrectly spelling the word cento.
10:01 PM
Malla says the quick-thinking that’s required in spelling bees helped him in playing the saxophone.
10:00 PM
Murali correctly spells his word to advance to the next round.
9:59 PM
In a matter of seconds Paluru spells his word correctly, not needing any additional information on the word ooporphyrin.
9:55 PM
Kodali correctly spells his word as round 11 comes to an end, leaving just 6 spellers left, all of whom are Indian American.
9:52 PM
Nemmani correctly spells the word passus to advance to the next round.
9:50 PM
Modi correctly spells the word videlicet to advance.
Modi uses her experience as a stand-up comedian to help her as a speller on stage.
9:48 PM
Malla correctly spells the word cointise to advance to the next round.
9:44 PM
Paluru correctly spells the word lanugo to advance.
9:42 PM
The elimination of Hamrick ensures the Indian American spelling bee win streak will survive another year.
Paul Hamrick is eliminated after incorrectly spelling the word fourrier (fourier).
9:41 PM
Randhawa is eliminated after incorrectly spelling the word perduellion (perduelion)
9:40 PM
Round 11 will commence shortly, as only 8 spellers remain – 7 of whom are Indian American.
9:36 PM
Almost as if he was inspired by the lyrics, the youngest speller, Kodali correctly spells his word.
9:35 PM
Loudest applause of the night so far goes to Dr. Bailly after using Taylor Swift lyrics in his sentence to describe the word.
9:33 PM
Nemmani, seemingly stumped, breathes a sigh of relief after correctly spelling the word shamir.
9:31 PM
Modi correctly spells the word lophophytosis to advance.
9:30 PM
All but one of the remaining spellers is from the Indian American community.
Malla correctly spells his word to advance.
9:29 PM
Murali correctly spells the word calando to advance to the next round.
9:24 PM
Paluru advances to the next round after correctly spelling his word.
9:23 PM
Jashun Paluru roasts his twin brother on live television, saying “he’s pretty bad at tic tac toe”.
9:21 PM
Howard is eliminated after incorrectly spelling the word funest.
9:19 PM
Paul Hamrick causes loud applause after spelling his word correctly.
9:18 PM
Randhawa correctly spells the word gnomonics to advance to the next round.
9:15 PM
Round 10 will commence shortly, as only 9 of the original 16 finalists remain.
9:13 PM
Abhijay Kodali advances after correctly spelling his first word.
9:12 PM
At 11 years old, Abhijay Kodali is the youngest speller in this year’s primetime Finals.
Karthik Nemmani correctly spells his first word.
9:10 PM
Rohan Raja is eliminated after incorrectly spelling loratadine (laratidine).
9:08 PM
Naysa Modi, who tied for 7th place with Shruthika Padhy in last year’s Bee, correctly spells her first word.
9:07 PM
Phoebe Smith is eliminated after incorrectly spelling her first word.
9:04 PM
Sravantha Malla advances after correctly spelling his first word
9:02 PM
Shruthika Padhy, who tied for 7th in last year’s Bee, is eliminated after incorrectly spelling paillasson
9:00 PM
Naveenth Murali correctly spells his first word to advance
8:59 PM
Navneeth Murali cracks the crowd up after saying “what?” in response to Dr. Bailly saying “shall we?”
8:56 PM
Tara Singh, who finished 18th in last year’s Bee, is comforted by her friends after being eliminated.
8:54 PM
Jashun Paluru spells his first word correctly with little additional information needed.
8:52 PM
Indian American Tara Singh incorrectly spells vinhatico (vignatico)
8:47 PM
First time Scripps speller Anisha Rao is eliminated after incorrectly spelling pavillon (pavillant)
8:42 PM
Paul Hamrick advances after correctly spelling his first word.
8:40 PM
Simone Kaplan is out after incorrectly spelling carmagnole (carmagnol)
8:36 PM
The first Indian American speller Aisha Randhawa spells her first word right.
8:34 PM
The first speller, Enya Hubers, is out after incorrectly spelling kanone (kanona)
8:31 PM
The primetime Finals of the 2018 Scripps National Spelling Bee are two minutes away from commencing. All 16 finalists are sitting on stage.