Tuesday 19th August - Series 71, prelim 31

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Callum Todd
Series 69 Champion
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Tuesday 19th August - Series 71, prelim 31

Post by Callum Todd »

Countdown recap for Tuesday 19 August 2014.

Apologies for the hideous lateness of my recap; I'll aim to be much quicker in future.

C1: Champion Mark Davies (7 wins, 746 points.) After a series of very impressive performances, with seven centuries from seven games, new forumite Mark is looking to become the second octochamp of the series. He requires a score of 112 to eclipse Tricia's total and become the #1 seed for this series.
C2: Challenger Simon Bryan.
DC: Susie Dent and Angelica Bell.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: S N T A O E D A R
R02: T S U E Q N I A E
R03: 25, 100, 2, 2, 5, 6. Target: 715.
TTT: LEOTIRED - "Leo is tired, so he walked around slowly"
R04: H A R L E A D L E
R05: C L P O I A D E N
R06: 50, 10, 3, 8, 1, 6. Target: 277.
R07: F V P O I O D E A
R08: S B E X S A M R E
R09: 50, 75, 10, 9, 4, 9. Target: 753.
TTT: ROOKPERM - "It sounds like this bird can't get enough meat"
R10: M P I N R U S R O
R11: C T K A E O S E J
R12: G Z U N W I B O G
R13: N P T A E U L O C
R14: 75, 25, 100, 7, 7, 3. Target: 694.
R15: F L Y I N G T I T (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: S N T A O E D A R

Mark: ROASTED (7)
Simon: STANDER (7)
DC: RODENTS (7) SENATOR (7) TREASON (7)
OT: DONATES (7) ROANEST (7) SANTERO (7) SNORTED (7) TORSADE (7)
Score: 7–7 (max 7)

A very flat round starts us off, with both contestants finding one of the many sevens available.

Round 2: T S U E Q N I A E

Mark: ANTIQUES (8)
Simon: ANTIQUES (8)
OT: EQUISETA (8) QUANTISE (8) QUIETENS (8) QUINATES (8)
Score: 15–15 (max 15)

ANTIQUES all round to make it a strong start for both players.

Round 3: 25, 100, 2, 2, 5, 6. Target: 715.

Mark: 714. Mistake in working.
Simon: 717. (5+2)x100+25-(6+2) (7)
RR: 715. (100+6)x(5+2)-2-25 (10)
Score: 15–22 (max 25)

Mark is agonisingly close to winning this round but unfortunately he went wrong, so Simon takes seven points. It can be very difficult to remember your working out perfectly under the studio pressure.

Teatime teaser: LEOTIRED -> LOITERED

Round 4: H A R L E A D L E

Mark: LEADER (6)
Simon: HEADER (6)
DC: HEALED (6) DEALER (6)
OT: ADHERE (6) HEALER (6) HELLER (6) HERALD (6) LADLER (6)
Score: 21–28 (max 31)

Another flat round, this time with sixes as tops.

Round 5: C L P O I A D E N

Mark: PALINODE (8)
Simon: POLICED (7)
OT: CANOPIED (8) PANICLED (8)
Score: 29–28 (max 39)

A very good eight from Mark continues his perfect letters performance in this game.

Round 6: 50, 10, 3, 8, 1, 6. Target: 277.

Mark: 277. 50x6-8x3+1 (10)
Simon: 277. 50x6-8x3+1 (10)
Score: 39–38 (max 49)

Ten points apiece as this is shaping up to be a good contest.

Round 7: F V P O I O D E A

Mark: FOODIE (6)
Simon: poofed
Score: 45–38 (max 55)

A very good darrenic six spot from a tough five-vowel selection sees Mark extend his lead. Simon is very unlucky here though.

Round 8: S B E X S A M R E

Mark: BEAMERS (7)
Simon: BREAMS (6)
DC: SEAMERS (7)
OT: BESMEARS (8)
Score: 52–38 (max 63)

For the first time today, Mark misses a letters maximum. But he still wins the round, taking his lead beyond the all-important total of 10.

Round 9: 50, 75, 10, 9, 4, 9. Target: 753.

Mark: 753. 75x10+4-9/9 (10)
Simon: 753. 75x10+4-9/9 (10)
Score: 62–48 (max 73)

Both contestants stay cool on the numbers again before we are treated with a great teatime teaser.

Teatime teaser: ROOKPERM -> MOREPORK

Round 10: M P I N R U S R O

Mark: RUMPS (5)
Simon: RUINS (5)
DC: PRISON (6)
OT: SPUMONI (7)
Score: 67–53 (max 80)

It's a tricky selection that limits both these players to fives. DC go one better with six, but Countmax goes one better still with a darrenic seven.

Round 11: C T K A E O S E J

Mark: JACKETS (7)
Simon: JACKETS (7)
OT: COATEES (7) JACKEST (7)
Score: 74–60 (max 87)

Both contestants have JACKETS here. Interestingly enough, COATEES was also available.

Round 12: G Z U N W I B O G

Mark: BOWING (6)
Simon: BOWING (6)
DC: BINGO (5)
Score: 80–66 (max 93)

BOWING is the max here and both players spot it.

Round 13: N P T A E U L O C

Mark: COPULATE (8)
Simon: OPULENT (7)
Score: 88–66 (max 101)

Marks confirms his win with a very impressive darrenic eight spot. He can't beat Tricia's total now, but he needs to score on the numbers and get the conundrum in order to make it a perfect eight centuries.

Round 14: 75, 25, 100, 7, 7, 3. Target: 694.

Mark: 694. 100x7-3-75/25 (10)
Simon: 694. 100x7-3-75/25 (10)
Score: 98–76 (max 111)

Well that's the numbers part done. Can Mark make it eight centuries out of eight?

Round 15: F L Y I N G T I T

Simon buzzes on 4 seconds to say FITTINGLY which is correct.
Final Score: 98–86 (max 121)

Oh, unfortunately not. Amidst some giggles from the audience at the scramble, Simon rounds off his strong performance with a conundrum solve to deny Mark the icing on his cake. We'll see Mark again come the finals in December, where he certainly looks like he could be a formidable opponent for anyone. Until then, we have the rest of the prelim games to look forward to.

Statistics
Raw score: Mark 98 - Simon 106
Maximums: Mark 11 8-) - Simon 9

Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=71
Mark Deeks wrote:Callum Todd looks like a young Ted Bundy.
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