C1: Champion Steven Briers (9 wins, 1036 points.)
C2: Champion David O'Donnell (12 wins, 1259 points.)
DC: Susie Dent and Alastair Stewart.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: T G R D I A E L O
R02: I A E W S R N N A
R03: S R C D L I O E A
R04: I O E T P S K A X
R05: 75, 100, 50, 8, 9, 1. Target: 633.
TTT: SHETRIPS - "She trips because these pants are so low"
R06: O A A M R G N U S
R07: M L M D I O O A E
R08: I E E C D P S I T
R09: N N H S A E A C O
R10: 25, 75, 100, 50, 9, 9. Target: 432.
TTT: EASYFILM - "The fifth month goes quickly for these creatures"
R11: N T P N A O E I J
R12: E U O G T S R H Z
R13: P F Y T Q E U E A
R14: 75, 25, 50, 100, 4, 7. Target: 401.
R15: S E A P Y T H O N (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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A truly epic contest surely awaits today. Don't be fooled by the stats at the top of the page which show David with 3 more wins and over 200 more points scored, this is gonna be close and it's gonna be IMMENSE. Both were number one seeds in their series, and while Steven made a surprise quarter-final exit in his while David went on to victory, both look pretty evenly matched going into this game.
In the quarter-finals David edged past James Hurrell (who led for part of the game) with a lightning-quick crucial conundrum, whereas Steve cantered (sorry Debbi) to victory having spotted the only niner of the tournament so far (ANTIPODES) in the very first round.
Jeff does a brilliant build-up to the game as well, with a good minute-long monologue about how the competition is really coming alive, detailing the enormous pressure on both the guys' shoulders. I was pissing myself sat in the audience
Sit back. Enjoy. But don't try and compete unless you're some kind of masochist...
Round 1: T G R D I A E L O
C1: IDOLATER (8)
C2: IDOLATER (8)
OT: TAILORED (8)
Score: 8–8 (max 8)
Round 2: I A E W S R N N A
C1: WINNERS (7)
C2: WINNERS (7)
DC: ANSWER (6) INSANE (6)
Score: 15–15 (max 15)
Round 3: S R C D L I O E A
C1: DARIOLES (8)
C2: DARIOLES (8)
OT: CALORIES (8) CARIOLES (8) CORDIALS (8) IDOCRASE (8) RADICLES (8)
Score: 23–23 (max 23)
Round 4: I O E T P S K A X
C1: POXIEST (7)
C2: KATIPOS (7)
Score: 30–30 (max 30)
Round 5: 75, 100, 50, 8, 9, 1. Target: 633.
C1: 633. 50*9+100+75+8 (10)
C2: 633. (75-1)*8-9+50 (10)
Score: 40–40 (max 40)
Teatime teaser: SHETRIPS -> HIPSTERS
Round 6: O A A M R G N U S
C1: SAGUARO (7)
C2: SAMANGO (7)
OT: ANGORAS (7) MARGOSA (7) OARSMAN (7) ORGANUM (7) SANGOMA (7)
Score: 47–47 (max 47)
Two amazing words from Steven and David, I'd never heard of either of them. Saguaro is a type of cactus, whereas a samango is a type of monkey.
Round 7: M L M D I O O A E
C1: LOOMED (6)
C2: MAILED (6)
DC: MEDIAL (6)
OT: DILEMMA (7)
Score: 53–53 (max 54)
David told me later that he'd actually thought "...final E for DILEMMA" after the A came out... and then promptly forgot all about it. D'oh. Maybe Jeff's introduction didn't help...
Round 8: I E E C D P S I T
C1: PESTICIDE (18)
C2: DESPITE (7)
Score: 71–53 (max 72)
WOW. It was always gonna take something special to separate them, and it turned out to be this double-darren niner. A great spot from Steve.
Round 9: N N H S A E A C O
C1: OCEANS (6)
C2: CANOES (6)
DC: NACHOS (6)
OT: ANCONES (7) CHANSON (7) HOSANNA (7)
Score: 77–59 (max 79)
Three sevens missed. How shit are these guys?
Round 10: 25, 75, 100, 50, 9, 9. Target: 432.
C1: 432. (75-25)*9-(100/50)*9 (10)
C2: 432. (75/25)*(100+50)-9-9 (10)
Score: 87–69 (max 89)
Teatime teaser: EASYFILM -> MAYFLIES
Round 11: N T P N A O E I J
C1: PINNATE (7)
C2: ENATION (7)
OT: PONTINE (7)
Score: 94–76 (max 96)
Round 12: E U O G T S R H Z
C1: ROUGHEST (8)
C2: ROUGHEST (8)
DC: ZEROTH (6)
Score: 102–84 (max 104)
Round 13: P F Y T Q E U E A
C1: EQUATE (6)
C2: EQUATE (6)
Score: 108–90 (max 110)
Round 14: 75, 25, 50, 100, 4, 7. Target: 401.
C1: 401. 100*4+(50+25)/75 (10)
C2: 401. 100*4+75/(50+25) (10)
Score: 118–100 (max 120)
An easy final numbers game means it's curtains for David, and he sportingly concedes the tie with a handshake about 15 seconds into the round.
Round 15: S E A P Y T H O N
C2 buzzes on 0.5 seconds to say PANTYHOSE which is correct.
Score: 118–110 (max 130)
Another instant conundrum spot from David gives him the third highest losing score ever(and DILEMMA wouldn't have made any difference to the result, if anything it might have been worse to lose by a single point!) - both players scored in 14 of the 15 rounds, achieving 12 maxes each. Ridiculously high standard for a game that would have been a very worthy final. Congratulations to Steve as he marches on to the semi-final on Wednesday to take on either Kai or Nick, while David heads for the bar, with praise for the exceptionally sporting and gracious way he took what must have been an agonising defeat.
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=-15
