Logan's victory came in a lightning-round-like spell-off with Aurora, Colo., 12-year-old Vikram Raju. The rules stated that each contestant would get 90 seconds in which to spell as many words correctly as possible. In that final round, Harini got 22 correct and Raju 15. Harini had had the chance to win in Round 16 but misspelled her word, letting Raju back in the contest. The two traded successes until after Round 18, when organizers declared the spell-off.

Vihaan Sibal advanced as far as Round 11 and finished third. In fourth place was Saharsh Vuppala, who left because of a misspelling in Round 10.

A total of 234 contestants began in Round 1. That round resulted in the departure of 72. The next round resulted in a further 28 out of the competition. By Round 4, the number was down to 88.

Advancing to Round 5 were only 48. A further 17 dropped out after misspellings in that round. A total of 22 were left for Round 7. Into Round 8 went 13 contestants, and then into Round 9 went the final eight. That round cut the number in half, and the final four were set for Round 10.

Logan won the top cash prize, $50,000. Raju claimed $25,000.

Logan benefited from the sporting equivalent of a do-over in an earlier round. She had stated that the meaning of the word pullulation was the nesting of mating birds, in contrast to the standard definition of the swarming of bees. Judges reconsidered their dismissal of Logan and eventually reinstated her, after ruling that her interpretation could be considered correct.

In a departure from the tradition of having Scripps officials handle the goings-on, the host for the televised final rounds was actor Levar Burton, most well-known for his acting roles as Kunta Kinte in the TV miniseries Roots and as Geordi Laforge in the TV show Star Trek: the Next Generation and for his role as host of the TV show Reading Rainbow.