Can you spell T-I-E? National Spelling Bee ends with no single winner for the THIRD straight year... and one of the co-champions is the youngest on record

It all came down to 'Feldenkrais' and 'gesellschaft'. 

Those were the two final words that ended the Scripps National Spelling Bee in a tie for the third straight year in a row. 

Jairam Hathwar, 13, and Nihar Janga, 11, were crowned the champions after 39 rounds of words ended in a draw. 

The boys had to fight a harder competition then years past, with organizers adding harder words and longer rounds to try and avoid yet another tie.

Jairam Hathwar, 13, (right) and Nihar Janga, 11, (left) were crowned the co-champions of the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday night 

The boys had to fight a harder competition then years past, with organizers adding harder words and longer rounds to try and avoid yet another tie

Nihar, the youngest winner on record, pumped his fist in the air after correctly spelling his final word

Jairam is keeping the title in his family - his brother Sriram was the co-champion in 2014

And yet at the end, it was the two of them holding the golden winner's cup in the air. 

'I'm just speechless,' Nihar said. 'I'm only in the fifth grade.' 

Nihar, from Austin, is the youngest speller to ever win the bee on record.

And Jairam, of Painted Post, New York, is keeping the title in his family - his brother Sriram was the co-champion in 2014. 

It was Sriram who told Jairam not to get too frustrated if he received a word he didn't know, advice that bode him well after he mispelled 'drahthaar', a breed of dog, and 'mischsprache', a language. 

Nihar just happened to miss both of his follow-up words after Jairam's mistakes, leaving both boys the chance two win when they were given 'gesellschaft' and 'Feldenkrais', respectively. 

Gesellschaft is a type of social relationship and Feldenkrais is a trademark for a method of gentle movement used to enhance a person's general well-being, according to USA Today. 

Nihar and Jairam both won $40,000 in cash and additional prizes after beating out 284 contestants that came from all 50 states and ranged in age from six to 14. 

The top 10 finalists came from California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, New York and Texas.

A written rest and two rounds of the preliminaries narrowed the field to 45 finalists and eliminated early fan favorite Akash Vukoti, the youngest speller to ever grace the National Spelling Bee stage.

Akash passed both the written test and his first word, receiving whoops and hollers after correctly spelling 'invisicate'. 

But it was the 'O' in 'bacteriolytic' that brought his incredible run to an end, after he spelled it using an 'A' instead. 

The competition seemed to be over when Jairam twice misspelled a word, only for Nihar to miss both of his follow-up words after the mistakes 

Akash Vukoti, 6, was the youngest speller ever to grace the Scripps National Spelling Bee stage

Akash had made it past both the written preliminaries test and his first word, 'invisicate', before he was eliminated in the second preliminary round with the word 'bacteriolytic'

Akash is offered support by Alex Iyer, 13, from Boerne, Texas, after he incorrectly spelled his word

The 45 finalists were then almost immediately halved in the first round of the finals with mistakes in words like 'Cheltenham', 'gaillardia', and 'cacomistle'.

It was 'salele', a Samoan-derived word for a small silver fish, that took out 13-year-old Tejas Muthusamy, an elimination that shocked both the audience and his fellow spellers. 

The student, from Glen Allen, Virginia, had appeared in the top 10 for the last two years running. The third time was supposed to be the charm. 

Tejas asked for the definition, then asked pronouncer Jacques Bailly to repeat the word five times. He tried to write it on his hand. But it wasn't enough.

He missed the word by just one letter, spelling it 'solele'.  

Mitchell Robson, who made the top 10, is friends with Tejas and was shocked by his exit.

'I can't even remember the last time he misspelled a word online,' said Mitchell, 14, of Marblehead, Massachusetts. 'I think the pressure got to him. I don't think this was his swan song.'

Tejas, who is eligible to compete again next year because of his age, left the stage to a standing ovation - with one fan even asking for his autograph.

The final 10 spellers who made it into the evening televised final round gather around on stage after the completion of the morning of competition on Thursday

It was 'salele', a Samoan-derived word for a small silver fish, that took out 13-year-old Tejas Muthusamy (pictured), an elimination that shocked both the audience and his fellow spellers

Sylvie Lamontagne of Lakewood, Colorado, (left) covers her face as Kyra Holland of Warrenton, Virginia, (right) puts her hands in her hair as they try to work out their words during the finals

Afua Ansah, 14, of Accra, Ghana, center, is comforted by members of her family after incorrectly spelling her second word

Shourav Dasari of Spring, Texas, (left) and Owen Kovalik, of Medina, Ohio, can't hide their disappointment after they spell their words incorrectly during the finals

Akash was just as much of a fan favorite during the preliminary rounds.

The youngster has already appeared on Steve Harvey's NBC show Little Big Shots multiple times and has become a hit on YouTube thanks to videos of his incredible ability. 

Akash, who is homeschooled at his San Angelo, Texas home, began reading at the age of two and speaks two languages of the Indian subcontinent, according to USA Today. 

When he was first asked about how he felt competing against spellers eight years older than him, Akash was as confident as ever.

'I'm ready to get those 15-year-olds out of the way,' he told reporters, before deciding there was an even bigger competitor. 

'I'm not trying to get past the spellers,' he said. 'I'm trying to get past the dictionary. The dictionary is what you compete with.'  

Only two finalists from last year were able to make a return appearance in the top 10. 

Sylvie Lamontagne of Lakewood, Colorado, fidgeted throughout her first word, flexing her knees and shaking her legs. She buried her face in her hands before correctly spelling 'sylvilagus,' a cottontail rabbit.

'I don't like sitting still anyway, but when I get nervous, that, like, triples,' said the 13-year-old. 

Snehaa Kumar of Folsom, California, who tied for fourth last year, also had some unsteady moments, her voice breaking in front of the microphone. But the 13-year-old made it through.

Jairam Hathwar, the younger brother of the 2014 co-champion, also made the top 10. 

Mitchell Robson, 14, of Danvers, Massachusetts, pumps his arms in joy after he correctly spells his word during the final round

Shruthika Padhy, 10, of Cherry Hill, New Jersey is high-fived by the remaining spellers after incorrectly spelling her word during a morning round of the finals

The thirteen-year-old, from Painted Post, New York, hopes he can take the title, so that he doesn't have to put himself through the crucible of competition again.

He struggled through his last word, 'quinton,' and pumped his fists vigorously when he got it right.

'It's difficult to make it to this level,' he said.

Other finalists include two 11-year-olds: Nihar Janga of Houston, who got the only perfect score on the written test, and Jashun Paluru of West Lafayette, Indiana.

The finalists are from California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, New York and Texas. 

The final three spellers will have to spell up to 75 words, up from the 25 words required in past years. This will also be the first year the championship words are not chosen in advance.

This year's winner, who will be crowned live on a prime time Thursday night broadcast on ESPN, will take home $40,000, a trophy and other prizes.