C1: Champion Andy Platt (4 wins, 443 points) is looking like an early favourite for the series after four wins, all centuries, last week. Since his last appearance on Friday, when he won 109-7, the fourth highest winning margin ever, he's become slightly more beardy.
C2: Challenger Daniel Davies from Cambridge will be trying to succeed where four others have failed so far. Watching at home are his wife Michelle and his two sons Evan and Dylan.
DC: Susie Dent and Richard Arnold.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
When we all awoke this morning, there was a palpable sense that things were not as they were. That something of earth-shattering importance had happened, like a continent capsizing, or the sun failing to come up, or something changing on Countdown. Something has indeed changed, and it's not just Andy's face fuzz.
I tried to wake up the recap writer to tell it the news, and it just staggered downstairs in a dressing gown mumbling "Hmm? What new format?" Then it shuffled off to bed again muttering something about coffee. So today's recap is brought to you by the script I made for Zarte to record the recent 450-round marathon between Innis and Mark, and the script that generates a recap template from it. Incidentally, a recap template from that game, generated from the same script, will also be used by James Robinson to bring you the world's longest recap, expected very soon.
Round 1: V R C S A O E O P
Round 2: S D P E A E M B I
Round 3: 75, 25, 100, 50, 2, 8. Target 456.
TTT: ISNTRARE - It isn't rare to find one of these in the kitchen.
Round 4: N S M E O T S A J
Round 5: H D L G I O I E A
Round 6: 75, 25, 8, 8, 4, 2. Target 501.
Round 7: S D T N U A E U N
Round 8: R R A O A R F R I
Round 9: 100, 75, 50, 25, 1, 9. Target 822.
TTT: TINTWIGS - On the dance floor, or on the card table, it's up to you.
Round 10: R L K E A I G M E
Round 11: N R F C U O E S I
Round 12: N T B U E A M U N
Round 13: T S V D A O E E I
Round 14: 100, 75, 6, 7, 10, 1. Target 303.
Round 15: M R B I G E A R S
And now a brief interlude before our main feature...
Round 1: V R C S A O E O P
Andy: COOPERS (7)
Daniel: PROVES (6)
OT: SCOOPER (7)
Score: 7-0 (max 7)
COOPERS are barrel-makers, and they give Andy a seven point lead. This is the furthest ahead anyone has ever been in this format!
Round 2: S D P E A E M B I
Andy: IMPEDES (7)
Daniel: MEADS (5)
DC: BEAMED (6)
Score: 14-0 (max 14)
Only one seven available and nothing stands in his way here.
Round 3: 75, 25, 100, 50, 2, 8. Target 456.
Andy: 456. (100+50)*(75/25)+8-2 (10)
Daniel: 450.
Score: 24-0 (max 24)
For the first time since the series 45 final in 2001, round 3 is a numbers game. Not for the first time, Andy goes four large and gets ten points further ahead of his opponent.
Teatime teaser: ISNTRARE -> STRAINER
Round 4: N S M E O T S A J
Andy: STAMENS (7)
Daniel: STAMEN (6)
DC: STEAMS (6) NOSEMAS (7)
Score: 31-0 (max 31)
Nothing wrong with pluralising STAMEN, and this puts Andy even further ahead. A NOSEMA is a spore-forming parasite. Luckily for us it only affects insects.
Round 5: H D L G I O I E A
Andy: HIDALGO (7)
Daniel: goalied
Score: 38-0 (max 38)
Unfortunately for Daniel if you were in goal that doesn't mean you "goalied", and Andy's HIDALGO (a gentleman in a Spanish-speaking country) takes the points.
Round 6: 75, 25, 8, 8, 4, 2. Target 501.
Andy: 500. 75*8-25*4 (7)
Daniel: 500. 4*75+8*25 (7)
RR: 501. (2 * 75 - 25) * 4 + 8 / 8 (10)
Score: 45-7 (max 48)
It's a tricky numbers game, and to start with Rachel is stuck on 500 like the contestants. After Richard Arnold's anecdote, in its new home in the middle of part two, Rachel comes up with 501.
Round 7: S D T N U A E U N
Andy: DUENNAS (7)
Daniel: STUNNED (7)
DC: SUNDAE (6)
OT: DUNNEST (7) UNTUNED (7)
Score: 52-14 (max 55)
So far Andy's maxed every round apart from the second numbers.
Round 8: R R A O A R F R I
Andy: FRIAR (5)
Daniel: FRIAR (5)
DC: friarrr
Score: 57-19 (max 60)
Recently, some twit posted a bunch of statistics in another thread, and claimed clumps of identical letters hardly ever happen. Well, obviously he doesn't have a clue what he's talking about.
Round 9: 100, 75, 50, 25, 1, 9. Target 822.
Andy: 822. 100*9-75-(50/25+1) (10)
Daniel: 824.
Score: 67-19 (max 70)
Another perfect four large game. The crew probably don't even bother shuffling the large numbers before Andy's picks.
Teatime teaser: TINTWIGS -> TWISTING
Round 10: R L K E A I G M E
Andy: LEAKIER (7)
Daniel: MEAGRE (6)
DC: MILEAGE (7)
OT: MEALIER (7) EMAILER (7)
Score: 74-19 (max 77)
Andy extends his lead even more. Six would be enough to draw against most contestants, but against Andy you need to be maxing everything. So far Andy's on 9 out of 10 maxes.
Round 11: N R F C U O E S I
Andy: CONIFERS (8)
Daniel: confuser
DC: FORENSIC (8)
OT: INSOURCE (8) FORNICES (8)
Score: 82-19 (max 85)
CONFUSER^ isn't entirely ridiculous a suggestion - there are certainly more outlandish words in the dictionary (LOSINGEST, anyone?) but not that one. So CONIFERS gives Andy victory with four rounds still remaining.
This is also the new home of Origins of Words, which today is about the word "muggins".
Round 12: N T B U E A M U N
Andy: BEAUT (5)
Daniel: BUTANE (6)
DC: AUTUMN (6) BATMEN (6)
OT: UNMEANT (7)
Score: 82-25 (max 92)
The game's over now, but Daniel still goes away with victory in at least one round.
Round 13: T S V D A O E E I
Andy: DEVIATES (8)
Daniel: DEVIATES (8)
DC: DAVIT (5) SEDATIVE (8)
Score: 90-33 (max 100)
DEVIATES for both, and Andy closes in on his fifth century.
Round 14: 100, 75, 6, 7, 10, 1. Target 303.
Andy: 303. (100+1)*(10-7) (10)
Daniel: -
Score: 100-33 (max 110)
This is a round that's easy if you've practised a lot and have learned the value of split multiplication, but any attempt to go the "obvious" way, getting to 300 and going from there isn't going to work.
Round 15: M R B I G E A R S
No one buzzes.
The answer was AMBERGRIS.
Final score: 100-33 (max 120)
It's a hard conundrum - the intestinal secretion of a sperm whale - but that doesn't stop a lady in the audience from winning one of the best-earned Countdown mugs in a while.
The new format, as well as giving each contestant the same number of picks of each round type, seemed to flow better, I thought. Maybe it's because the game's broken up in a better way than before. Long may it continue.
Only six octochamps have scored centuries in all eight prelims: Julian Fell, Craig Beevers, Andrew Hulme, Eoin Monaghan, Jack Hurst and Adam Gillard. He's still got some way to go, but Andy must have an eye on becoming the seventh by now. One statistic that does stand in his favour is that only one player, Chris Hunt, has scored five centuries in prelims and not become an octochamp.
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=68
