James is busy this week so I am stepping in to cover, seeing as my regular Friday slot has once again been hijacked by the G G's. 
Yesterday saw Ben Clark take the champions chair. (please don't ask where to 
) So today he faces his first challenge against Neil Green.Countdown recap for Thursday 24 April 2014.
C1: Champion Ben Clark (1 win, 85 points.) A geography and business student at Nottingham University, from Maidstone.
C2: Challenger Neil Green. A carer and comedy writer from Cardiff. A member of the Association of British Scrabble Players. Claims to have been knocked off his feet by a bulldog when playing golf!
DC: Susie Dent and Arlene Phillips.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: G D T O E V R I T
R02: M A S N U T O S I
R03: 6, 8, 9, 75, 100, 25. Target: 755.
TTT: TREEBRAT - "Possibly guilty of cruelty to fish."
R04: P E F L O I R S C
R05: A E I T L H X O S
R06: 9, 8, 10, 1, 4, 25. Target: 862.
R07: L M E R A N T E I
R08: J N S B O E I M U
R09: 8, 6, 3, 10, 5, 75. Target: 265.
TTT: ORCAABLE - "Orca the whale probably has this for lunch."
R10: G D P S E A O L T
R11: D G N D E I A K N
R12: R M U O E S R P Y
R13: T R G A U P I V E
R14: 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 100. Target: 314.
R15: S H A M E V I B E (conundrum)
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Round 1: G D T O E V R I T
Ben: DOTTIER (7)
Neil: VERTIGO (7)
DC: GOITRED (7)
OT: GRITTED (7)
Score: 7–7 (max 7)
So we are underway and Neil has VERTIGO. Ben gets DOTTIER meaning both players score 7 points.
Round 2: M A S N U T O S I
Ben: MOUNTS (6)
Neil: TSUNAMIS (8)
DC: MASONS (6) MANITOUS (8)
OT: TINAMOUS (8)
Score: 7–15 (max 15)
Ben MOUNTS a challenge in this round, but Neil has TSUNAMIS and goes 8 ahead.
Round 3: 6, 8, 9, 75, 100, 25. Target: 755.
Ben: 756. (75x9) + (100-25) +6 (7)
Neil: 746.
RR: 755. (100-6) x 8 + (75/25) (10)
Score: 14–15 (max 25)
Ben gets 7 back with 756, but it's 1 away from the target of 755. Rachel steps in to finish the job.
Teatime teaser: TREEBRAT -> BATTERER
Round 4: P E F L O I R S C
Ben: PROFILES (8)
Neil: PROFILES (8)
DC: FOILS (5) COPIERS (7) RECOILS (7) FORCEPS (7)
Score: 22–23 (max 33)
Both players increase their PROFILES and score 8 points.
Round 5: A E I T L H X O S
Ben: HOSTILE (7)
Neil: HOLIEST (7)
DC: ISOLATE (7) STEAL (5) LOATHES (7)
OT: EOLITHS (7) LATEISH (7) LITHOES (7) OXTAILS (7)
Score: 29–30 (max 40)
Ben gets HOSTILE here, but Neil gets the HOLIEST word. Both players score 7 points.
Round 6: 9, 8, 10, 1, 4, 25. Target: 862.
Ben: 859. Mistake in working.
Neil: -
RR: 862. (25x4) +9 x 8 -10 (10)
Score: 29–30 (max 50)
Ben makes a mistake as he tries to get to 859, Neil has nothing to declare, so it's once again left to Rachel to show the way to 862.
Arlene Phillips talks about casting for reality shows.
Round 7: L M E R A N T E I
Ben: TRAINEE (7)
Neil: TERMINAL (8)
DC: TRAMLINE (8)
OT: LAMENTER (8) MATERIEL (8) MELANITE (8) TREENAIL (8)
Score: 29–38 (max 58)
Ben is a TRAINEE in this round, and Neil reaches the TERMINAL, so gets 8 points.
Round 8: J N S B O E I M U
Ben: BONUS (5)
Neil: jumboes
DC: IMBUES (6) UMBONES (7)
OT: JUMBIES (7) OMNIBUS (7) SUBJOIN (7)
Score: 34–38 (max 65)
It's a BONUS of 5 points for Ben as Neil has 'jumboes' disallowed. It cannot be spelt with an e apparently.
Round 9: 8, 6, 3, 10, 5, 75. Target: 265.
Ben: 266. Mistake in working.
Neil: 263. (10-6) x 75 - (8x5-3) (7)
RR: 265. (6+8+5) x 10 + 75 (10)
Score: 34–45 (max 75)
Ben gets into a terrible muddle as he attempts to stagger to 266. Neil gets to 263 but he's 2 away from the 265 target. Rachel is working hard today and once again comes to the rescue.
Teatime teaser: ORCAABLE -> ALBACORE
Round 10: G D P S E A O L T
Ben: TADPOLES (8)
Neil: TADPOLES (8)
DC: PEDALOS (7)
Score: 42–53 (max 83)
Got a frog in the throat? How about a couple of TADPOLES. 8 points to both players.
Round 11: D G N D E I A K N
Ben: KNEADING (8)
Neil: DINGED (6)
DC: DINKED (6)
Score: 50–53 (max 91)
Ben came into this round KNEADING to score (sorry
) and so got 8 points back. Neil got DINGED but it's only a 6. DINGED apparently means to dint something.
Susie talks about the origin of the phrase 'taking a gander'.
Round 12: R M U O E S R P Y
Ben: POURERS (7)
Neil: ROMPERS (7)
DC: POEMS (5) OSPREY (6) MOUSER (6) PURRS (5)
OT: PROSUMER (8)
Score: 57–60 (max 99)
Ben gets the POURERS out here, as Neil goes for ROMPERS. Another shared round, this time 7 points each.
Round 13: T R G A U P I V E
Ben: PRIVATE (7)
Neil: vitrage
DC: PURGATIVE (18)
Score: 64–60 (max 117)
Ben has a PRIVATE word in this round. Neil goes for 'vitrage' but it isn't in the dictionary. Both players miss a 9 - PURGATIVE. That could have decided what is turning out to be a close game here.
Round 14: 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 100. Target: 314.
Ben: 314. (3x100) + 10 + 6 - 2 (10)
Neil: 314. (3x100) + 10 + 6 - 2 (10)
Score: 74–70 (max 127)
Both players spot on with 314, and a vital 10 points each. A crucial conundrum beckons.
Round 15: S H A M E V I B E
Neil buzzes on 1 second to say MISBEHAVE which is correct.
Final Score: 74–80 (max 137)
So Neil wins it on a crucial conundrum. Ben's reign as champion is short lived. If I'd known all you had to do to win was MISBEHAVE I could have been champion a long time ago
Will Neil continue his run? You'll have to wait until Monday to find out, as Channel 4 is hijacked by racing tomorrow, as mentioned earlier. Join Andy McGurn to see whether Neil can get a second win. I'll be back to my usual Friday slot next week, as James Robinson returns from his recapping 'holiday'. Thank you very much for reading and goodbye. Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=70
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