There is a lot at stake in Thursday night's 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee, the 92nd edition of the annual competition.
Not only will contestants from all 50 U.S. states, whittled down to 562 finalists from more than 11 million eligible students, square off -- er, spell off -- to nab more than $50,000 in cash prizes, earn a late-night talk-show tour and loads of reference materials from Merriam-Webster, but they'll be battling for the crown of chief speller at an event that's all but gone international.
As CNN reported, this year's championship round features contestants from Canada, the Bahamas, Germany, Ghana, Jamaica, Japan and South Korea. And with additional cash prizes of $25,000 and $15,000 for the runner-up and third-place winners, there's no doubting how big the Spelling Bee has become. Encyclopedia Britannica is also chipping in to the prize pool, offering up a 1768 Encyclopedia Britannica replica set, $400 worth of reference works and a premium online reference membership to the champion.
Among the spellers set to compete in the Finals are 162 familiar faces from the 2018 tournament, which ended with a victory by 14-year-old Karthik Nemmani. Last year's runner-up, Louisiana's Naysa Modi, is set to return for a shot at a title.
Here's everything you need to know to tune in:
How to watch
Event: Scripps National Spelling Bee Finals
Date: Thursday, May 30
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center (National Harbor, Maryland)
TV: ESPN
Stream: ESPN.com, WatchESPN
