Spoilers for Friday 25th June 2021 (Series 83 Grand Final)

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Philip A
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Spoilers for Friday 25th June 2021 (Series 83 Grand Final)

Post by Philip A »

This is it, then. Who will be Countdown’s last ever recipient of the now long-outdated twenty volumes of the Oxford English Dictionary?
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Rhys Benjamin
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Re: Spoilers for Friday 25th June 2021 (Series 83 Grand Final)

Post by Rhys Benjamin »

Countdown

LUKE BOYNTON
Highest score: 147 vs John Lorimer-George, game 5
Lowest score: 98 vs Louis Ross, Semi Final
Score: 1,229
Average: 122.90
Max faced: 1,406
% score: 87.4%
Raw score: 1,248
Raw average: 124.80
Raw % score: 88.8%
Conundrums: 7/10

ADAM LATCHFORD
Highest score: 115 vs Jacky Treacy, game 3
Lowest score: 72+TB vs Conor Morgan, game 1
Score: 913
Average: 91.30
Max faced: 1,332
% score: 68.5%
Raw score: 951
Raw average: 95.10
Raw % score: 71.4%
Conundrums: 9/11
The forum's resident JAILBAKER, who has SPONDERED several times...
Philip A
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Re: Spoilers for Friday 25th June 2021 (Series 83 Grand Final)

Post by Philip A »

Bloody hell…
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Ryan Lam
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Re: Spoilers for Friday 25th June 2021 (Series 83 Grand Final)

Post by Ryan Lam »

Indeed, my review will come slightly later than usual as today is Nick Hewer's last episode so I'm going to include some things about him too!
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Re: Spoilers for Friday 25th June 2021 (Series 83 Grand Final)

Post by Fiona T »

Many congratulations Adam - a really fantastic performance! Superb play throughout the finals, and kept your cool when it counted.

Commiserations Luke, it wasn't your day - but series runner up is pretty special, and membership of the exclusive 1000 club is an awesome achievement!

All the finalists have been great and should rightly be proud of what they've achieved - well done all!

Looking forward to seeing what the Robinson era brings us!
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Re: Spoilers for Friday 25th June 2021 (Series 83 Grand Final)

Post by Tom S »

Firstly, commiserations to Luke- a fab player who is of an incredibly high standard- to get 9 maxes in the final and have it considered as an "off-day" really demonstrates Luke's skill. Came across very humbly and sportsmanlike at the end, too.

Congratulations to Adam, who played a blinder in the final. Definitely put his best performance in when it counted- and it would have taken an outstanding performance to unseat him today. Also came across well, and you could tell how much it meant to him, even though he came across as a cool customer!

To Team Countdown for providing us with another entertaining series, especially with the pandemic still ongoing.

And lastly to Nick, who by all accounts seems to be a well-loved and respected host of the show. Shall miss his eccentric nature and how he'd always root for the "runner-up" to get the conundrum. All the best to him.
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Re: Spoilers for Friday 25th June 2021 (Series 83 Grand Final)

Post by Gavin Chipper »

Great game obviously and Adam definitely upped his game for the knockout stages and saved his best for the final I'd say. Luke obviously didn't play his best game but that doesn't take away from Adam. Luke could have been a further 10 behind as he was perhaps a bit lucky not to be timed out in the 223 round. I think being a woman helped out there.
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Re: Spoilers for Friday 25th June 2021 (Series 83 Grand Final)

Post by Ryan Lam »

Here we are, the final episode with Nick Hewer as the host of Countdown, this is going to be an episode no one will forget no matter the outcome. It's also the last time the OED will be given as a prize, I guess we got to move with the times too. Let's see what the replacement prize is (if any) at the end of the year. Here we go, the last 35 minutes on camera!

Letters: Luke takes an early hit with his invalid pawless in R1, then ties with Adam with MITOGEN in R2. The latter goes ahead with RACOONS in R4 but Luke fight backs with IRENICAL in R5. Afterwards, it was really neck-and-neck with both players getting the maximum length words all the way to the very end. Commendable spots included GUIMPE in R7 by Adam and METAPODE by both in R10, excellent battle we had there!

Numbers: With Luke slightly behind he goes for his usual selection. Oh no!! He ends up getting beaten by Adam and misses the target! :( That was such a heavy blow with Nick commenting he had gone on killer mode. Next up, Adam goes for "6 Small" in R6, and phew, Luke manages to save himself thanks to some quick last-second thinking which had that not happen, would have clearly decided the match there and not later on. He then tries "3 Large" in R9 but that didn't throw Adam off and as I expected with Adam in the lead into R14, he would pull out the "go safe" card like yesterday. What's this? He gets another perfect solution to beat Luke and with that, he becomes the Grand Champion of Series 83!!! :o :o :o

Conundrum: A lot of people in the Daily Chat (including me) were actually predicting a scrabble that had HEWER in it but sadly that wasn't to be. Still, at least it referenced Nick WAS to be NO MORE after presiding this Final Round. Luke gets the final conundrum under his tenure to bow out in style which probably must have left the former satisfied (I got this one pretty quickly though).

What an incredible game that was! This is the first time since get this, 12.5 years ago in December 2008 that a #3 Seed has won the Series! (Yes, that was when the late Des O'Connor was still the host and when Carol Vorderman was still the Arithmetician!) :o This is what I call a 'David vs Goliath' battle and you all know who the victor was. Just as most people thought Luke would be the front runner, I too predicted he would win but I had to adjust my margin after seeing how strong Adam was yesterday and dropped it from 40 to 15 points and without a Crucial Conundrum. While my last two predictions was on the dot, the winner was not.

I really feel sorry for Luke, because he suffered the exact same fate as Elliott Mellor around this time two years ago by being the front runner to become the Grand Champion, then not becoming a Xicount and it was much worse because not only could he not force a Crucial Conundrum whereas the former at least managed to, a 17-year wait for the title was dashed just like that. :( His initial stumbles were what cost him the game and Adam proved to be tough to beat afterwards not least to say his tactics were quite wise as well. However, if there's one thing you can leave that's positive, that's the fact that you're the first person to declare 12 nine-letter words in your Octochamp run and a flawless letters run during that same period! These are some records that will be hard to beat for ages to come! Commendable performance from start to finish and I'm sorry it had to end this way for you.

As for Adam, that was nothing short of a meteoric rise to the Grand Champion spot. From that literal "stay of execution" Colin Murray mentioned in your very first appearance, to the upsets you caused with James and Luke is nothing but amazing. That training on Apterous really helped you for months behind-the-scenes and you brilliantly showed that off yesterday and today. Hard work does indeed pay off and I could see you savouring every moment of the trophy in the credits scene when you were by yourself in the centre of the studio. At least you got to lift the trophy on-camera unlike Luke Johnson-Davies in December last year when he had no chance at all! :) Congratulations, you really deserved it and you are a worthy player not to be underestimated!

That's it, after 2,129 episodes since 09 January 2012, Nick Hewer bows out for good on the show. There were hundreds of memorable moments with you over the last 9.5 years, from that hilarious slip-up of playing along and declaring CONIFERS prematurely and that infamous "Susie's special spot" blooper after Zarte Siempre (our eventual Series 78 Grand Champion) had AREOLA back in 2013 as mentioned today, to seeing three contestants scoring over 1000 points in their Preliminaries (Two Lukes and Elliott), overseeing the switch from the OED to the ODO, the transition to nine, then back to eight-letter Teatime Teasers, not least to say hosting an incredible 30th Birthday Championship (and in the middle of that, moving from the Manchester studios to the current Salford studios where the set has remained ever since!) with some of the famous or best players in history up to that point taking part and which were the first few episodes I've ever watched on Countdown when I was barely 15 (and re-watched it last year during the Lockdown) and two brilliant Championship of Champions in 2016 and 2019. Of course, how could we not forget COVID-19 wrecking everyone's lives upside down but despite that still bravely and courageously carrying on with your hosting duties until now. It has really been an incredible journey from start to finish, but like all good things, it has to come to an end someday, and that day is today, 25 June 2021.

It's a shame there was no in-person audience to send you off unlike Jeff Stelling a decade ago due to social distancing, but I'm sure all of us, be it regular Countdown watchers, those who just took an interest of the show because of today's occasion or even because of your former appearances in "The Apprentice", were here virtually to send you off (not least to say that sizeable crowd in the Daily Chat today which if my memory serves right could be the largest I've seen since the Series 80 Grand Final) and wish you well in whatever way we can. Thank you for being such an awesome host and keeping all of us entertained (albeit it kept getting earlier and earlier in the afternoon haha :lol: ) I'm sure as you left the studio, you have left a permanent impression not just as the second-longest host of Countdown since Richard Whiteley's untimely passing, but also as someone who is respected and loved by all. Take care and may you have a Happy Retirement! Stay safe and we'll miss you!

Series 84 begins on Monday, 28 June 2021 with Steve Francom seeking for his second win but with a brand new host, oh yes, the former host of 'The Weakest Link' and 'Outtake TV', Anne Robinson! "Countdown has a new host, that's me!" and "Nothing's changed, well, not yet...". An exciting time for all of us, tune in then to see her debut in that chair (and hopefully she won't have too many traits of the 'Queen of Mean' if you know what I mean...)! Let's be generous to her as Nick Hewer as he mentioned as well!

Progress:
QF1 (17 June): Luke Boynton (#1) vs Dave Lomax (#8) (99 - 47)
QF2 (18 June): James Burley (#2) vs Tom Vincent (#7) (100 - 66)
QF3 (21 June): Adam Latchford (#3)* vs Declan McGurk (#6) (99 - 40)
QF4 (22 June): Louis Ross (#4)* vs Coral Heath (#5) (88 - 83)
SF1 (23 June): Luke Boynton (QF1 Winner) vs Louis Ross (QF4 Winner)* (98 - 76)
SF2 (24 June): James Burley (QF2 Winner) vs Adam Latchford (QF3 Winner)* (65 - 82)
GF (25 June): Luke Boynton (SF1 Winner) vs Adam Latchford (SF2 Winner)* (86 - 101)
Last edited by Ryan Lam on Sun Jun 27, 2021 2:08 pm, edited 5 times in total.
Marc Meakin
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Re: Spoilers for Friday 25th June 2021 (Series 83 Grand Final)

Post by Marc Meakin »

Adam used spoiling tactics (3 vowels) to good effect.
RACOONS was a very good risk.
Luke peaked a bit early (ie in his Octorun)
he made a few errors in his numbers rounds and also a bad early risk in round one.
Overall a great final and it certainly made a pleasant change for the no 3 seed to win
GR MSL GNDT MSS NGVWL SRND NNLYC NNCT
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Re: Spoilers for Friday 25th June 2021 (Series 83 Grand Final)

Post by Fiona T »

Gavin Chipper wrote: Fri Jun 25, 2021 2:58 pm Luke could have been a further 10 behind as he was perhaps a bit lucky not to be timed out in the 223 round.
There was no real hesitation - not even borderline - one 'er' does not a DQ make.
Gavin Chipper wrote: Fri Jun 25, 2021 2:58 pm I think being a woman helped out there.

:lol: :lol: :lol:
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Re: Spoilers for Friday 25th June 2021 (Series 83 Grand Final)

Post by Marc Meakin »

Gavin Chipper wrote: Fri Jun 25, 2021 2:58 pm Great game obviously and Adam definitely upped his game for the knockout stages and saved his best for the final I'd say. Luke obviously didn't play his best game but that doesn't take away from Adam. Luke could have been a further 10 behind as he was perhaps a bit lucky not to be timed out in the 223 round. I think being a woman helped out there.
I thought that, its very easy to wing it when you declare second but he seemed more methodical than hesitant.
Ive always been against answers to letters and number rounds not written down.
Exception being blind or arthritic contestants
GR MSL GNDT MSS NGVWL SRND NNLYC NNCT
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Re: Spoilers for Friday 25th June 2021 (Series 83 Grand Final)

Post by Philip A »

These finals just prove that previous form goes out the window. Latchford has the lowest average score for a champion of a 15-round series with 92.18181818… per game. He amassed 1,014 points to Boynton’s 1,315.
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Re: Spoilers for Friday 25th June 2021 (Series 83 Grand Final)

Post by JackHurst »

What a cracking episode! A great finale for Nick to bow out to - I'll be sad to see him go.

I thought Rufus's poem was really nice, but it was a shame there couldn't be some sort of presentation/gift giving for Nick leaving as well. I guess restrictions meant it wasn't an option.


Huge Congrats to Adam on a MASSIVE win and a cracking performance! It was really heartwarming to see how emotional he was getting while declaring his final numbers answer to seal the win.

Kudos to Luke for being a gracious loser given the circumstances. Hard luck mate!

I wonder if Luke wanted O for NUCLEOIDS in the final letters round which would have kept things spicy.


Spotted MEIONITE and PALASES as beaters (CORONALS also there but I missed it)
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Re: Spoilers for Friday 25th June 2021 (Series 83 Grand Final)

Post by Philip A »

Luke: 13 nine-letter words.

Adam? 0
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Re: Spoilers for Friday 25th June 2021 (Series 83 Grand Final)

Post by Toby McDonald »

Huge congratulations Adam and commiserations Luke. Shows that all of Adam's practice paid off. Brilliant show to end Nick's career. Some lovely tributes to him and I wish him the best for his retirement. :)

Could feel Luke's pain at missing the 174 and 763 numbers games. I expect he would've easily solved them if not under pressure (kinda reminds me of the Series 80 final when Elliott unfortunately fell behind and couldn't catch back up). R6 was a very good spot by both though.
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Re: Spoilers for Friday 25th June 2021 (Series 83 Grand Final)

Post by Jack Worsley »

A fitting end to Nick's tenure as host. Commiserations Luke, it just wasn't your day. Maybe the pressure got to you but you've still been brilliant throughout and I'm sure you'll be a serious threat at the next CoC.

Huge congratulations to Adam on winning. You certainly improved a lot from your heats and brought your A game to the finals. Scraping through on a tiebreak conundrum in your first game now seems like a distant memory.

Happy retirement Nick, you deserve a good rest. It was an honour to be involved in your first seven shows and I'm glad they didn't discourage you from carrying on! A tough act to follow but best of luck to Anne. Probably not an overly popular choice on here to succeed Nick but let's give her a chance.
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Re: Spoilers for Friday 25th June 2021 (Series 83 Grand Final)

Post by Johnny Canuck »

I'll miss this, you be sure of it!

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I'm not dead yet. In a rut right now because of stress from work. I'll be back later in S89. I also plan to bring back the Mastergram - if I can find a way to run a timer or clock through pure MediaWiki without having to upload to Vimeo every time.
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Re: Spoilers for Friday 25th June 2021 (Series 83 Grand Final)

Post by James Nguyen »

Wow wow wow. Well done Adam. How many times has a 3rd seed won a series? Maybe a question for Graeme.

In any case, well played to both boynton and latchford. Boynton was a scary opponent but Latchford managed to maintain his cool and spot everything. Both brilliant contestants. Really, a great final. Fair play to both
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Re: Spoilers for Friday 25th June 2021 (Series 83 Grand Final)

Post by Gavin Chipper »

Philip A wrote: Fri Jun 25, 2021 10:30 pm Luke: 13 nine-letter words.

Adam? 0
I saw you call him Latchford elsewhere. I didn't realise it was because you didn't know his name! :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Re: Spoilers for Friday 25th June 2021 (Series 83 Grand Final)

Post by Sam Cappleman-Lynes »

JackHurst wrote: Fri Jun 25, 2021 8:56 pmI wonder if Luke wanted O for NUCLEOIDS in the final letters round which would have kept things spicy.
An even simpler way to spice things up would have been for Luke to have picked a final vowel in the round where he already had IRENICAL to make it EIRENICAL instead.
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Re: Spoilers for Friday 25th June 2021 (Series 83 Grand Final)

Post by Jojo Apollo »

Finally caught up to the Grand Final show. Great game and one of the biggest upsets in Countdown history I reckon going by the form book. Many congrats to Adam who played like a demon in the final, on fire whilst keeping his cool 8-) Well done to Luke on being series runner-up and outstanding games during the series whilst always staying classy. :)

Well done to Team Countdown, another great series and best wishes to Nick Hewer in his retirement. :)
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Re: Spoilers for Friday 25th June 2021 (Series 83 Grand Final)

Post by Adam Latchford »

Some lovely kind words from all of you. Glad to be able to put on a show for nicks finale. From "the luckiest series champ in history" x
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