Twenty nervous contestants, took to the stage knowing very well that every word they spelt right would only just keep them in the competition while for anyone misspelling it could be curtains. The elimination stage of the competition had commenced, and twenty contestants sat taken aback in dead silence, dictionaries open and noses buried in them. Contestants were informed that in the first round they would be allowed to choose 2 words from a selection of 5 categories, namely, Science, Culture, Nature, Business and General.

They then learnt that in the next round they would have to provide a word of their choice to an opponent. Once they grasped the notion the contestants were deep in thought, chewing at their pens, tapping their foreheads, trying to come up with words that would stump their opponents. The contestants were allowed to verify the spellings and the meanings of the words they had chosen from the judges' table, as they had to give the meaning of the word they had chosen for the opponent. Finally when they had all settled down they were asked to draw lots to see which contestant got the word they had selected.

The first round proved to be successful, with 17 contestants spelling both words right. The next round, which was the contestant's choice, was found to be extremely remarkable, with the twenty contestants showing off their vocabulary skills by giving their opponents jaw breaking words, leaving the audience in awe with the complex words they had selected for their opponents, like "Kaffee Klatsch", "Tsarism", "Cymru", "Bouillabaisse", "Nebuchadnezzar" and "Hwyl", proving that these students were well geared to face any word the officials threw out to them. Ten spellers managed to spell off the words given to them by their opponents, giving them an upper hand at securing a spot at the next elimination round.

At the end of the two rounds, 9 contestants had spelt all 3 words they were given correct, automatically qualifying them into the Top 18. Eight contestants had got 2 words right, two contestants had got only 1 word right, and 1 contestant, Mulaika Mafaz of Sacred Heart Convent Galle, unfortunately misspelled the three words given to her and was the first contestant to bow out of the top 20, on disqualifying she said "I knew the first word I got but I got it wrong because I rushed in the excitement" she continued to say that she wasn't sad on leaving, that it was great being a part of the Top 20.

This meant the 10 contestants had to compete in another round of words until one more contestant was eliminated. By the end of another two rounds of words, eight contestants had qualified to the Top 18. Two contestants, namely, M.Vyshali of St. Mary's College Trincomalee and S.Aarabi of Holy Family Convent Jaffna had to battle it out for the last place to the Top 18. Vyshali misspelled the word "Diocese" by adding an extra letter and spelling the word "Diocease", and Aarabi spelled the word "Pediatrician" spot on, thus securing herself the last spot to the Top 18. Vyshali on leaving the competition said she was a bit nervous as the participants kept reducing and she missed out on the word because she rushed. She was very glad that her school mate J.Aaraby was still in the competition but "it was not her day" and wished the Top 18 all the best.

The Spellmaster is seen to be offering a wide variety as it mixes both education and entertainment to keep TV audience of a wide age group spellbound for an hour on Sunday evenings.
Watch Sirasa TV this Sunday at 6 pm as the Top 18 battle it out and find out who the next contestants will be seen leaving the competition.

The following are the eighteen surviving spellers in the Spellmaster;
Nilakshi Prasadika Gunathilake Vishaka Balika Madhya Maha Vidyalaya Bandarawela
M. Rochelle U. Silva Holy Cross College Gampaha
Taryana Odayar Stafford International School Colombo
Nimeshi Dissanayake Sanghamitta Balika Vidyalaya Galle
Senuri Chandula Sahabandu Sacred Heart Convent Galle
Vasika.Y. Udurawane St. Thomas' College Mount Lavinia
S. Kumeri Bandara Girls' High School Kandy
Solomon Rajaram Hariharan St. John's College Jaffna
J. Aaraby St. Mary's College Trincomalee
R. M. R. Ahamed Baduriya Central College Mawanella
Sheroze Sheriffdeen Royal College Colombo 7
J. Archana Perera St. Peter's College Colombo 4
Sandani Vithanage Devi Balika Vidyalaya Colombo
Eksith Weerasekera Royal College Colombo 7
Piumi .S. Wijesundara Mahamaya Girls' College Kandy
M.M.S. Perera Ave Maria Convent Negombo
S. Aarabi Holy Family Convent Jaffna
M.N. Farook Trinity College Kandy