Scripps Spelling Bee results 2013 are in and the winner is Arvind Mahankali from Queens, New York after sealing the win by correctly spelling the "knaidel," a German word for a small mass of leavened dough.
The new Spelling Bee winner has come close to winning the competition in the previous three times he entered, but he would trip up on German words, ABC news notes. However, this time, he came out strong and conquered his Spelling Bee nemesis.
Mahankali, 13, hails from Bayside, Queens and is an eighth-grader from Bayside's Middle School 74. He takes home $30,000 in cash and prizes along with a huge cup-shaped trophy.
As he lifted the trophy up in the air, Arvind said, "The German curse has turned into a German blessing."
Arvind beat out 11 other finalists in the televised National Spelling Bee which was spaced out over 2 and a half intense hours. All the 11 young finalists had many reasons to be proud after being faced with challenging words like "auncel," "greffier," "envoutement," "mamaliga" and "transrhenane."
Arvind, the first male winner since 2008, also announced his retirement from spelling and says he'll turn to studying physics.
"I'm not nervous," Arvind, who admires Albert Einstein and wants to become a physicist, told The Associated Press before the finals, "because I think it's good to maintain composure."
