Spoilers for Friday 22nd December 2023 (Series 88 Grand Final)

[Ronan M Higginson]

Can't wait for this!

[Rhys Benjamin]

Great conundrum, well done Damian.

[John Garcia]

Great final played in the best of spirits!

DUTIFUL for 7 in R8 as a DC-beater.

[Ronan M Higginson]

Great final with 2 great guys. Very worthy winner and well done on finishing runner-up Viraj

[Fiona T]

For Gavin -

ANTIPOLE was the word that is not currently valid in apto (on Ray's big ticket for inclusion). I don't think I was the only one who was surprised when it was declared to be valid.

[Ryan Lam]

What a packed Grand Final I was expecting and rightly so with lots more people than expected packing our Daily Chat on Apterous and it's great to see so many Finalists over many years coming together to watch this final, anticipated episode! I've had a cup of hot chocolate ready in my hands as well to watch this on a cold night where I am at the time of writing! While everyone is not dressed as formally as last year, we have both contestants with Christmas sweaters to stay relevant! It's the battle of the 21st century contestants as both were born after the Year 2000 as well!

Letters: Stable start and you can probably tell this match is going to be close with Harry getting ARTESIAN and Viraj with SANITARY in R2. R4 comes and excellent spots yet again with OLIPHANT and ANTIPOLE respectively, the latter being so new Lexplorer doesn't have that word still! Another great round with DAIGOUS and ROGUISH in R5 (and before anyone shouts DAIGOUS is made up, let me remind you this was one of Series 82 Grand Champion Luke Johnson-Davies favourite word back in 2020 ) comes immediately after. Then, just before the last commercial break, Harry gets a glimmer of hope with AIDFUL to make up the score deficit. So far, no nines and all is quiet. But, came R10, and Harry's got COMPANIES to extend the lead such that if he can maintain it to R13, he'll be the Grand Champion! R11 next and with him having GAWKIER, unless Viraj pulls out a miracle 9 in the last two rounds it's over! A tense tie follows for the last two rounds and with Harry having PARENGO in R12 while Viraj having FLUSTER in R13, the latter really was done and conceded!

Numbers: Harry sticks to his safe method of 1 Large in R3 and CECIL gives an easy target to keep the score at level pegging going into the first break. Next, it would have definitely come as no surprise that Viraj goes with 6 Small in R6, and Harry misses the target to allow Viraj to leap ahead with ten points! Damn, Harry's in real trouble now! He tries again with his 1 Large in R9 and probably so as not to slip up any further. While he's one away, Viraj completely blanks out which shocks everyone and allowing him to take the lead! If there was one thing I learnt about this Finals, we've had more misses than hits sadly Lastly, while it was all over for Viraj, he chooses to leave with his 6 Small in R14. Annoying round which looked easy but it wasn't, but hey, well done if you got 500 because it was the best (Rachel, you sure love to mess with the contestants and viewers especially at this stage of the Series don't you? )

Conundrum: Both contestants are definitely MEGA STARs in their own right no doubt, but let's see if anyone can solve this last fiendish conundrum. Time goes by and at the last second, Viraj attempts testagram which made Christopher sniggle (probably because it resembled testacle, comeon now don't be silly...) but it's wrong. Then, Harry tries stragmate but Colin quickly knew he made that word up and guessed the producer Damien Eadie set up a Christmas word. Colin, that shows you haven't been hosting long enough, and to my memory, for the past ten years, none of the Grand Final Conundrums in December are related to that. Don't expect one for Series 90 that's for sure!

I predicted Harry would beat Viraj with a margin of 20 points, but the margin was wider at 28 points. Viraj, there's no shame in losing, and as you rightly said at the end with a bit of emotion, it was a wonderful experience and you would encourage people to come on the show. You were absolutely phenomenal with the 6 Small numbers each time and I think you are probably the best person since John Cowen in Series 77 back in 2017 when it comes to this. All the best as you pursue your degree and as Colin put it, the fact that the Countdown Team is willing to help you out when it comes to internships or indirectly radio careers is already a great effort on their part. Who knows, we might see your name one day in the credits and that would make you come full circle not the very least!

As for Harry, wow, not one, but two Rubik's Cube solves on National Television back in August under real studio pressure must have been daunting, but you came out unfazed. I'm not sure if you have had any STRATEGEM, but the four rounds in the middle (R8 to R11) was the key in your victory and making you the third Series Champion in a row to be born after the Year 2000! You have been an extraordinary player with many talents and I wish you all the best in completing your degree next year. You truly have been a walking thesaurus and a giant in solving puzzles and hopefully, you will put that into action in your Final Year Project or even in your future job!

What a Year this has been, 2023 will go down as one of the best years we've had in Countdown history! From the Championship of Champions XVI with Ahmed Mohamed coming out in an epic finale to former host Jeff Stelling's return on the show, with Ronan Higginson smashing many records in Series 87 and now a Rubik's Cube Guinness World Record holder winning Series 88! Two winners born in the 21st century taking the trophy in the same year, expect more definitely in the future! Let's also hope for more female contestants to apply as Rachel pleaded as well! Countdown resumes on Tuesday, 02 January 2024 with Series 89 and with four-time winner Mark Goodliffe aiming to complete the other half of his potential Octochamp sprint to clinch the first Finalist spot! Countdown may officially have come to a close for this year, but there's always the second half of Christmas Only Connect and University Challenge Specials next week and of course The Big Fat Quiz of 2023 on Boxing Day to keep you and your family quizzing away. Not to mention, if you're interested in the Catsdown Special and missed it hours before this show, you can always catch up! Here's me wishing all of you in advance, a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone here! 2024 is just around the corner, rest well and recharge for another year!

Progress:
QF1 (14 December 2023): Harry Savage (#1) vs David Edwards (#8) (118 - 58)
QF2 (15 December 2023): Viraj Seelam (#2) vs Rachel Copley (#7) (103 - 59)
QF3 (18 December 2023): Ben Bazzard (#3) vs Caroline McManus (#6) (124 - 61)
QF4 (19 December 2023): Paul O'Brien (#4) vs George Baker (#5) (100 - 97)
SF1 (20 December 2023): Harry Savage (QF1 Winner) vs Paul O'Brien (QF4 Winner) (104 - 70)
SF2 (21 December 2023): Viraj Seelam (QF2 Winner) vs Ben Bazzard (QF3 Winner) (98 - 74)
GF (22 December 2023): Harry Savage (SF1 Winner) vs Viraj Seelam (SF2 Winner) (105 - 77)

[Fiona T]

Excellent final - lovely 6s solve from Viraj to go ahead keeping things exciting! Many congratulations to Harry - kept your cool and played brilliantly. Loved the jumper too

[Ronan M Higginson]

What a Year this has been, 2023 will go down as one of the best years we've had in Countdown history! From the Championship of Champions XVI with Ahmed Mohamed coming out in an epic finale to former host Jeff Stelling's return on the show, with Ronan Higginson smashing many records in Series 87 and now a Rubik's Cube Guinness World Record holder winning Series 88! Two winners born in the 21st century taking the trophy in the same year, expect more definitely in the future!

Would like to echo this and say whilst it's been an up-and-down year, finally going on the show and winning it was the massive icing of the cake for me. It's been great getting to meet so many people in person and watching the brilliant Champion of Champions and this set of finals as well. Sadly some people have taken the enjoyment out of this for me recently, so going on a bit of hiatus for now and wishing the decent people here a great Christmas.

[Adam Dexter]

R1: URODELES
R7: SENECIO
R8: DUTIFUL

Really happy to get those against the best of the series. Well played both - great game to cap off the year

[Philip A]

That was a good final. Viraj is one of the best 6 small solvers in a studio environment I have ever seen, well done on a great result. Harry is terrific, I loved watching his Rubik’s cubing. Many congratulations on the title.

UTILISER in R13.

[Ben Bazz]

Thoroughly enjoyed watching that game, very well done to both Harry and Viraj. (I had to head home after my semi final so I had no idea of the outcome of today's final.)

Having loved Countdown as a kid, I think I've picked a great year to start watching again. Great competitors in Series 87 & 88 and I have loved Colin's passion for the show.

I feel honoured to have had a small part in this show this year and would like to pass on my sincere congratulations to Viraj for his fantastic performances and to Harry for writing his name amongst the Countdown greats; well done!

[Countdown Team]

Great conundrum, well done Damian.

That's very kind - thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it - and to everyone, thank you again for your support for the show.
Roll on 2024. It's already looking pretty good - and not a badge in sight...

[Toby McDonald]

Fantastic final! Huge congratulations to Harry and very well done to Viraj too, especially for the brilliant 6S solve in R6.

Well done to all the other finalists as well.

[Harry Savage]

Thank you all for your kind words! I was so lucky to play such a wonderful and talented player in the final, and certainly lucky to come out on top in an extremely tense game.

Glad you all enjoyed the jumper too!

OLIVER SOLAMATH = I AM A SLOTH LOVER

Merry Christmas!!

[Tracey Anne Mills]

Thank you all for your kind words! I was so lucky to play such a wonderful and talented player in the final, and certainly lucky to come out on top in an extremely tense game.

Glad you all enjoyed the jumper too!

OLIVER SOLAMATH = I AM A SLOTH LOVER

Merry Christmas!!

Your recap is now up Harry

[Tracey Anne Mills]

Congratulations Harry and to Viraj for putting a good fight what an amazing performance that was !

[Ahmed M]

Great final. Well done, Harry. I think you were a cut above the rest throughout the series and proved it in the final. Viraj was brilliant, and him not only reaching the final but also making a close game of it after having only been on Apto for a year is incredible.

Well played gents.

[Jojo Apollo]

Well played chaps, Great final.

Well done on another great series

[Rhys Benjamin]

Great conundrum, well done Damian.

That's very kind - thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it - and to everyone, thank you again for your support for the show.
Roll on 2024. It's already looking pretty good - and not a badge in sight...

You're very welcome! Essentially, this post from Graeme should be hung in the louvre and made mandatory reading for anyone and everyone involved in conundrum setting. And the conundrum used on Friday was a PERFECT example of following this post down to a T.