The 92nd edition of the Scripps National Spelling Bee will be one for the history books.
With eight spellers left after the end of the 17th round late Thursday night, bee officials announced they were running out of challenging words and would only be doing three more rounds.
So, anyone left after the 20th round would be named co-champions.
Suddenly those three rounds meant the difference between being a bee champion and a runner-up.
All eight survived the three rounds and were named co-champions after a final round that stretched past midnight on the East coast.
The 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee Co-Champions:
Rishik Gandhasri - San Jose, California (6th champion from California)
Erin Howard - Huntsville, Alabama (2nd from Alabama)
Saketh Sundar - Clarksville, Maryland (1st ever champion from Maryland)
Shruthika Padhy - Cherry Hill, New Jersey (1st ever from New Jersey since 2006)
Sohum Sukhatankar - Dallas, Texas
Abhijay Kodali - Flower Mound, Texas
Christopher Serrao - Whitehouse Station, New Jersey
Rohan Raja - Irving, Texas