The standard of play in the 30th Birthday Championship has now reached an astronomical height. I will be sparing with the emoticons today so that there are plenty left for tomorrow’s grand final, to be recapped by James Robinson.
Phenomenal quality is to be expected of our contestants in this second semi-final game, to determine who will play Jack Hurst tomorrow. Astonishingly, both achieved perfect games in their quarter-final matches.
Series 53 semi-finalist Jon O’Neill has notched up 345 points in the championship so far, an average of 115.00 points per game. He defeated:
Kai Laddiman (Series 59 semi-finalist) in round one;
Darryl Francis (Series 6 champion) in round two;
Jack Worsley (Series 65 champion) in the quarter-final.
Jon is the only contestant whose Countdown Wiki page includes the phrases “most attractive man in the room” and “jaunty appendage”.
Series 54 champion Conor Travers has amassed 467 points en route to the semi-final, an average of 116.75 points per game. He won against:
Ben Wilson (Series 46 champion) in the preliminary round;
Mark Tournoff (Series 52 champion) in round one;
Chris Hawkins (Series 28 quarter-finalist) in round two;
Kirk Bevins (Series 60 champion) in the quarter-final.
Conor is the only contestant whose Countdown Wiki page contains the phrase “youngest ever series champion”.
Gladiators ready! Contestants ready!
DC: Susie Dent and Jenny Eclair.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: O E A N B N V T C
R02: R D W E O I P G F
R03: A E I N S T C E G
R04: R Z N O E A C R G
R05: 50, 25, 100, 75, 5, 4. Target: 391.
TTT: PRESSONE – "Press one if you want a reply."
R06: S P T U E A L D H
R07: U E O N S N T A M
R08: F K Q I O I D U O
R09: A I E T S L R I W
R10: 50, 8, 6, 3, 10, 3. Target: 522.
TTT: RISKSHER – "She risks her company's good name by employing these."
R11: O A E P B R J S P
R12: D L T I U A N O E
R13: A E U S D R M Y D
R14: 9, 8, 7, 5, 3, 6. Target: 258.
R15: F I N E G I R T H (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Enjoy the show.
Round 1: O E A N B N V T C
Jon: COVENANT (8)
Conor: COVENANT (8)
Score: 8–8 (max 8)
Both competitors get straight out of the blocks by spotting the darrenic eight.
Round 2: R D W E O I P G F
Jon: FIREDOG (7)
Conor: PODGIER (7)
Score: 15–15 (max 15)
Max-tastic! A firedog is one of a pair of decorative metal supports for wood burning in a fireplace.
Round 3: A E I N S T C E G
Jon: GENETICS (8)
Conor: GENETICS (8)
DC: AGENCIES (8) CINEASTE (8)
Score: 23–23 (max 23)
The contestants play Snap, while Dictionary Corner reveals the other available eights.
Round 4: R Z N O E A C R G
Jon: GROANER (7)
Conor: GROANER (7)
Score: 30–30 (max 30)
The darren eludes neither player. Will the numbers game break the deadlock? Jon orders four from the top.
Round 5: 50, 25, 100, 75, 5, 4. Target: 391.
Jon: 391. (100 - (25 + 50) ÷ 75) × 4 - 5 (10)
Conor: 391. (100 - (25 + 50) ÷ 75) × 4 - 5 (10)
Score: 40–40 (max 40)
Both contestants crunch the numbers successfully. Can anything separate them?
Teatime teaser: PRESSONE -> RESPONSE
Round 6: S P T U E A L D H
Jon: sulphated
Conor: PULSATED (8)
DC: SULPHATE (8)
OT: DUSTHEAP (8)
Score: 40–48 (max 48)
Sulphated appears in a number of dictionaries, including http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictio ... /sulphated, but it is not in the ODE3.
An eight-point gap opens up.Round 7: U E O N S N T A M
Jon: SEAMOUNT (8)
Conor: SEAMOUNT (8)
DC: TONNEAUS (8)
Score: 48–56 (max 56)
Great stuff. But what’s a seamount? It’s a submarine mountain. What’s a submarine mountain? A mountain of submarines, obviously!
Round 8: F K Q I O I D U O
Jon: QUID (4)
Conor: FOOD (4)
DC: QUOD
Score: 52–60 (max 60)
Four is as good as it gets in this round.
Round 9: A I E T S L R I W
Jon: LAIRIEST (8)
Conor: LISTERIA (8)
DC: WISTERIA (8)
Score: 60–68 (max 68)
Lairiest and listeria both declared? Here’s a blast from the past! http://wiki.apterous.org/COMA_-_Tom_Har ... _Paul_Howe
It’s Conor’s turn to choose numbers, and he opts for one large.
Round 10: 50, 8, 6, 3, 10, 3. Target: 522.
Jon: 522. 50 × 10 + 8 × 3 - 6 ÷ 3 (10)
Conor: 522. (50 + 3) × 10 - 8 (10)
Score: 70–78 (max 78)
Conor’s eight-point lead remains.
Teatime teaser: -> RISKSHER -> SHIRKERS
Round 11: O A E P B R J S P
Jon: BOPPERS (7)
Conor: JERBOAS (7)
Score: 77–85 (max 85)
The contestants find both available sevens. A jerboa is a desert-dwelling rodent with very long hind legs that enable it to walk upright and perform long jumps. ‘Jerboa’ is related etymologically to ‘gerbil’.
Round 12: D L T I U A N O E
Jon: OUTLINED (8)
Conor: DELATION (8)
Score: 85–93 (max 93)
Conor’s five-vowel selection yields two eights. Does anyone care what delation means? No? Then we’ll move swiftly on to the last letters round.
Round 13: A E U S D R M Y D
Jon: REMUDAS (7)
Conor: REMUDAS (7)
OT: DASYURE (7) DRAMEDY (7) MADDERS (7)
Score: 92–100 (max 100)
Have these guys swallowed a dictionary or something?
Conor has maxed every round of this game so far; can Jon stop him in his tracks?Six small, Sir? An interesting choice, Sir. I trust that six small will be to Sir’s liking.
Round 14: 9, 8, 7, 5, 3, 6. Target: 258.
Jon: 258. 9 × 8 × 3 + 6 × 7 (10)
Conor: 258. (9 × 6 - (7 - 3)) × 5 + 8 (10)
Score: 102–110 (max 110)
Ten points apiece, and it’s time to dim the lights for a crucial conundrum!
Round 15: F I N E G I R T H
Conor buzzes on 1 second to say INFIGHTER which is correct. It secures him a place in the grand final, and also gives him his third consecutive max game.
Final Score: 102–120 (max 120)
Phew! What a game! I need some sleep!
When you head to bed tonight, spare a thought for Mark Deeks and Innis Carson, and their 25-hour Countdown Marathon in aid of Comic Relief. Can you help them meet their fundraising target? http://www.justgiving.com/CountdownMarathon
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=67
