Spoilers for Friday 11th December 2020 (Series 82, 2nd Quarter-Final)

[Rhys Benjamin]

So thanks Maus, guess I'd better do these as well then, lol what larks

Stats

Number 2 seed: Sam Cappleman-Lynes
Highest score: 124 vs Phil Savage, game 3
Lowest score: 110 vs Mike Spencer, game 6
Score: 939
Average: 117.38
Max faced: 1,045
% score: 89.9%
Raw score: 946
Raw average: 118.25
Raw % score: 90.5%
Conundrums: 6/8

Number 7 seed: Damien Doughty
Highest score: 111 vs Jack McFadyen, game 3
Lowest score: 84 vs Scott Vickers, game 1
Score: 758
Average: 94.75
Max faced: 1,071
% score: 70.8%
Raw score: 793
Raw average: 99.13
Raw % score: 74.0%
Conundrums: 4/8

[Ray Wilding]

QUERIDAS in R10.

[Rhys Benjamin]

I jokingly played moondial in Rd 11, not thinking anyone would actually play it as a real word.

[Tom S]

Well done Sam- good play and a strong score. Well done to Damien too for keeping it close for a good chunk of the game- not an easy thing to do against someone of Sam's calibre!

[Ryan Lam]

One year ago, where were we? We were dealing with the aftermath of a Snap General Election on a Friday in mid-December, wow how time flies, except no one of course would have predicted we would end up in such a situation where we have to deal with the pandemic...alright let's not think too much about that for now though. Congrats to Sam on becoming a father in between his appearances though! If you're reading this, I wish your family well and good health for your baby!

Letters: Just like Luke, Sam decides to show off with NACROUS in Round 2 However, it was really towards the end of the match when things really took off for him. First, he got MELANOID in Round 11 while poor Damien had moondial which was two separate words, really unlucky there Not to mention the fatal blow he subsequently dealt with MASTIGURE in Round 12 afterwards. It's one of those games where the "nines" really determines the outcomes again.

Numbers: Sam decides to take a leap of faith and instead of his usual one or two large, goes with four large! Oh dear, his gamble backfires in Round 3 with Damien solving it perfectly! The latter takes the lead with that! However, the gamble pays off in Round 9 when Sam solves it perfectly instead! Oh, but Damien doesn't give up in Round 14 when he chooses a six small to bow out and ultimately, both of them solved it so well done!

Conundrum: Boy the conundrum was difficult just like one CRAZY LILO, but Sam buzzes in with ZIRCALLOY and gets it correct which is amazing! I would have never ever gotten this one. In fact, I was scratching my head for what it meant, luckily Susie kindly defined it for us (Perhaps she should do it for all the difficult conundrums in the Finals! Most of them are never meant to be easy!)

I predicted Sam would win by around 50 points and my prediction was exactly spot on! :O However, I certainly did not expect Damien to give Sam a scare in the first numbers round. Damien did a terrific job to hold Sam back but alas, that couldn't last until the end of the show which is unfortunate. However, I'm sure your practice for the Finals paid off in those two months you were off-screen and hopefully you'll admire the Finalist piece of "Kryptonite" (No, it's not made of zircalloy ) for years to come, you truly earned and deserved it.

Finally, the end is in sight for Series 82. This series has dragged on for way too long and I think most people can agree with me, just one more week to go! On Monday for QF3, it's "nice to see you again after barely two weeks" Leo Smith vs "back after 34 years and fulfilled a century score ambition" Phil Hulme. It's going to be interesting to see how this one goes especially since Phil joined Apterous after his appearances!

Progress:
QF1 (10 December): Luke Johnson-Davies (#1) vs David Kempshall (#8) (136 - 89)
QF2 (11 December): Sam Cappleman-Lynes (#2) vs Damien Doughty (#7) (121 - 71)
QF3 (14 December): Leo Smith (#3) vs Phil Hulme (#6)
QF4 (15 December): Ian Volante (#4) vs Ryan Styles (#5)
SF1 (16 December): Luke Johnson-Davies (QF1 Winner) vs (QF4 Winner)
SF2 (17 December): Sam Cappleman-Lynes (QF2 Winner) vs (QF3 Winner)
GF (18 December): (SF1 Winner) vs (SF2 Winner)

[Gavin Chipper]

Good game but a bit of a joke conundrum.

[Rhys Benjamin]

SCL's score percentage has increased after today's performance (90.8% actual, 96.2% raw). It's up to 90.0% over the 9 games for actual, and 91.2% raw, the latter of which is almost back level with LJD.

[Patrick Thompson]

Thought Sam looked a bit nervous to start with but settled as the game went on.

Would be interested to know what else Damien had written down in the bondager round.