CO:Oxford - 1st March 2025

[darren godfrey]

March 2025 sees a return to the city of dreaming spires, with Countdown enthusiasts from far and wide joining me, your friendly neighbourhood baldy, for some fun with letters, numbers and conundrums!

Date & Time

Saturday, March 1st, 2025

- Doors open at 10:15am
- First round draw: 10:50am
- First round start: 11am
- Lunch Break: 12:30pm
- Second round start: 2pm
- Third round start: 3:30pm
- Grand Final start: 5pm
- Trophy presentation: 5:30pm

The Venue

St Clements Centre
Map

The venue is wheelchair accessible. There will be a small kitchen available for making beverages, filling water bottles and the like. We will have the main hall for the event, and while some of the other smaller rooms at the Centre may also be booked on the day, this should not interfere with our event.

Logistics

Located just outside of the city centre, the venue is a short bus ride away from Oxford rail station and Gloucester Green bus station. If you'd prefer to drive, there are a number of parking spaces available at the Centre. Or if you'd prefer, you can park at Redbridge Park and Ride, and take a bus from there.

Accommodation

There are numerous hotels within easy reach of the venue and city centre.

The Premier Inn Oxford Cowley Hotel is a short walk and bus ride from the venue, while the Ramada Oxford M40 and the Travelodges at Peartree, Wheatley and Abingdon Road are relatively close, decent and shouldn't break the bank.

Format

Unlike last year, there will be no 'experimentation' with the format. 'Lincoln-style' 3 to a table, with a random draw for the first round of games. We'll have three rounds (one before lunch, two after), with the latter two rounds drawn based on the league table.

For those interested, there will be a mini pub quiz during the lunch break.

Feeding & Watering

There are a number of shops and well-known fast food chains a 5-10 minute walk from the venue for folks to grab a bite at lunchtime. Snacks will also be provided during the day.

Evening food and entertainment are still TBD, but the area close to the venue has an abundance of restaurants and bars. We can also head into the centre of Oxford if people fancy it.

Making a weekend of it

For those who are planning to travel in on the Friday, and would like to meet up, we can head here for a bite to eat and a few drinks.

Depending on the weather, possible options for the Sunday are:

- Punting on the Thames
- A walk and possible kickabout in one of the University parks
- A trip to the Castle area (there's a prison, and a hill to climb - more interesting than I'm making it sound)
- Junkyard golf

There are also some cool museums and other things if we're forced indoors.

What's Next?

Sound like your cup of tea? Splendid. Fire over £12 via one of the links below (or if you need an alternative way to pay, drop me a message) and I'll add you to the list.

Paypal
Monzo

I look forward to welcoming you to CO:OX in the new year!


***ENTRIES***

Confirmed

1. Phil Stanton
2. Sean Fletcher
3. Maus
4. Joseph Bartram
5. Mike Lee
6. Mauro Pratesi
7. Jessica Pratesi
8. T-Cap
9. Fiona T
10. Dave Ryan
11. Suzy Turner
12. George Baker
13. Graeme Cole
14. Adam Dexter
15. Dan Byrom
16. Last Ashwin Hero
17. MSR
18. Samuel Stock
19. Bradley Horrocks
20. Entrant 20
21. Matthew Brockwell
22. Tim Down
23. Ian Wray
24. Andy Evans
25. Dave Robjohns
26. Annie Henry
27. Joe Henry
28. Jase Cullen
29. Coral Heath
30. Tim Hebbes
31. Jonathan De Souza
32. Ronan Higginson
33. Dan Spinks
34. Tom Stevenson
35. Adam Latchford
36. Richard Barnett
37. Darren Godfrey

NOTE: All event organisers and attendees are bound by the FOCAL Code of Conduct

[darren godfrey]

I'll be booking a table at Gusto Italian in the centre of Oxford for the post-event meal. If you'd like to come along, please let me know in the comments on the Facebook post, or pop a comment here. Thanks!

https://gustorestaurants.com/restaurants/oxford/

[Fiona T]

sent you some dosh in August but not on the list? Can't find the fb page either

[Fiona T]

Whoops I'm a muppet. I paid for MK in August, not Oxford! (And I have now found the page!)

[darren godfrey]

Restaurant update - Gusto's options were severely limited, so I am now exploring other options. Watch this space!

[darren godfrey]

Meal update: I have now booked a table for 14 people at Ask Italian in central Oxford. I currently have 15 people on the list for the meal:

Phil
Tcap
Joe Bartram
Sean F
Daz
Rach
Beachy
Bradders
MSR
Maus
Matthew Brockwell
Jase Cullen
Annie Henry
Joe Henry
Tim Down

If you would like to join us, please let me know here or on Facebook. Now that we are at 14 I will need to change the reservation, so please let me know by the Sunday before the event.

[Fiona T]

Parkrun!

University Parks is closest to the venue and a nice parkrun, but quite a few of us did it last year.

https://www.parkrun.org.uk/universityparks/

After some discussion, I think Oxford seems to be the choice for those wanting a new one, but there are a couple of others too

https://www.parkrun.org.uk/oxford/

[Tom S]

Will be coming- will pay tomorrow after I get paid....

[Fiona T]

Great event - many thanks to Darren, Beachy and Rachael, and congrats to T-Cap on his win, and Ronan on runner up. The final was definitely a showpiece of how much the dictionary cull has affected the game!

Well done on getting the special guest - Dr Tom seemed like a genuinely lovely guy, and it's great when the presenters want to engage with the community and really enjoy the game we love. Good job all round

[Tom S]

Second this!

[darren godfrey]

Thank you Fiona for your kind words, and to everyone who attended. It was a superb day, and I'm ever so pleased that it went well. Dr Tom was lovely too, and special thanks for Beachy for reaching out to him.

With that, here are all of the results for COOX 2025:

Round 1

Table 1
Ronan Higginson 63 - 54 Tom Stevenson
Tom Stevenson 76 - 52 Suzy Turner
Suzy Turner 42 - 69 Ronan Higginson
Table 2
Tom Carey 80 - 32 Mike Lee
Mike Lee 53 - 66 Samuel Stock
Samuel Stock 52 - 50 Tom Carey
Table 3
Dan Byrom 57 - 26 George Baker
George Baker 23 - 55 Dave Ryan
Dave Ryan 42 - 30 Dan Byrom
Table 4
Phil Stanton 50 - 52 Dan Spinks
Dan Spinks 30 - 50 Jonathan De Souza
Jonathan De Souza 72 - 40 Phil Stanton
Table 5
Adam Dexter 46 - 69 Matthew Brockwell
Matthew Brockwell 71 - 61 MSR
MSR 58 - 49 Adam Dexter
Table 6
Ashwin Abinashi 41 - 54 Jason Cullen
Jason Cullen 64 - 49 Dave Robjohns
Dave Robjohns 52 - 31 Ashwin Abinashi
Table 7
Sean Fletcher 43 - 63 Bradley Horrocks
Bradley Horrocks 66 - 72 Coral Heath
Coral Heath 65 - 61 Sean Fletcher
Table 8
Graeme Cole 67 - 17 Joe Henry
Joe Henry 33 - 43 Joseph Bartram
Joseph Bartram 38 - 69 Graeme Cole
Table 9
Mauro Pratesi 11 - 56 Adam Latchford
Adam Latchford 70 - 56 Tim Hebbes
Tim Hebbes 63 - 30 Mauro Pratesi
Table 10
Tim Down 73 - 30 Andy Evans
Andy Evans 40 - 61 Jessica Pratesi
Jessica Pratesi 36 - 48 Tim Down
Table 11
Fiona Titcombe 48 - 84 Tom Cappleman
Tom Cappleman 68 - 52 Darren Godfrey
Darren Godfrey 66 - 42 Fiona Titcombe
Table 12
Annie Henry 49 - 46 Ian Wray
Ian Wray 57 - 0 Prune
Prune 0 - 60 Annie Henry

Round 2

Table 1
Adam Dexter 53 - 63 Suzy Turner
Suzy Turner 43 - 67 Sean Fletcher
Sean Fletcher 59 - 69 Adam Dexter
Table 2
Matthew Brockwell 75 - 50 Coral Heath
Coral Heath 43 - 79 Tom Cappleman
Tom Cappleman 73 - 63 Matthew Brockwell
Table 3
Ronan Higginson 57 - 51 Adam Latchford
Adam Latchford 67 - 59 Graeme Cole
Graeme Cole 35 - 59 Ronan Higginson
Table 4
Tim Down 61 - 54 Jason Cullen
Jason Cullen 34 - 50 Jonathan De Souza
Jonathan De Souza 63 - 48 Tim Down
Table 5
Annie Henry 41 - 53 Dave Ryan
Dave Ryan 45 - 44 Samuel Stock
Samuel Stock 57 - 32 Annie Henry
Table 6
Tom Carey 73 - 56 Bradley Horrocks
Bradley Horrocks 53 - 61 Tom Stevenson
Tom Stevenson 61 - 54 Tom Carey
Table 7
MSR 54 - 49 Darren Godfrey
Darren Godfrey 24 - 71 Tim Hebbes
Tim Hebbes 44 - 62 MSR
Table 8
Dave Robjohns 52 - 41 Jessica Pratesi
Jessica Pratesi 50 - 40 Ian Wray
Ian Wray 70 - 60 Dave Robjohns
Table 9
Dan Spinks 57 - 33 Joseph Bartram
Joseph Bartram 47 - 72 Dan Byrom
Dan Byrom 49 - 42 Dan Spinks
Table 10
Fiona Titcombe 58 - 50 Mike Lee
Mike Lee 54 - 45 Phil Stanton
Phil Stanton 44 - 61 Fiona Titcombe
Table 11
Andy Evans 61 - 34 Joe Henry
Joe Henry 26 - 57 Ashwin Abinashi
Ashwin Abinashi 60 - 35 Andy Evans
Table 12
Mauro Pratesi 28 - 50 Richard Barnett
Richard Barnett 57 - 47 George Baker
George Baker 39 - 50 Mauro Pratesi

Round 3

Table 1
Joseph Bartram 32 - 55 Mauro Pratesi
Mauro Pratesi 30 - 57 Suzy Turner
Suzy Turner 47 - 43 Joseph Bartram
Table 2
Ronan Higginson 60 - 57 Jonathan De Souza
Jonathan De Souza 61 - 69 Tom Cappleman
Tom Cappleman 62 - 66 Ronan Higginson
Table 3
Matthew Brockwell 64 - 60 Tom Stevenson
Tom Stevenson 71 - 30 Dave Ryan
Dave Ryan 31 - 69 Matthew Brockwell
Table 4
MSR 45 - 50 Samuel Stock
Samuel Stock 49 - 73 Adam Latchford
Adam Latchford 57 - 49 MSR
Table 5
Dan Byrom 80 - 52 Tom Carey
Tom Carey 66 - 81 Tim Down
Tim Down 51 - 60 Dan Byrom
Table 6
Graeme Cole 61 - 53 Dave Robjohns
Dave Robjohns 40 - 57 Tim Hebbes
Tim Hebbes 61 - 74 Graeme Cole
Table 7
Ian Wray 52 - 55 Jason Cullen
Jason Cullen 38 - 53 Coral Heath
Coral Heath 60 - 38 Ian Wray
Table 8
Ashwin Abinashi 42 - 47 Jessica Pratesi
Jessica Pratesi 40 - 52 Fiona Titcombe
Fiona Titcombe 54 - 48 Ashwin Abinashi
Table 9
Dan Spinks 59 - 43 Richard Barnett
Richard Barnett 46 - 52 Annie Henry
Annie Henry 25 - 56 Dan Spinks
Table 10
Adam Dexter 57 - 50 Darren Godfrey
Darren Godfrey 53 - 70 Bradley Horrocks
Bradley Horrocks 75 - 46 Adam Dexter
Table 11
Mike Lee 46 - 41 Andy Evans
Andy Evans 48 - 56 Sean Fletcher
Sean Fletcher 47 - 42 Mike Lee
Table 12
George Baker 51 - 44 Joe Henry
Joe Henry 13 - 57 Phil Stanton
Phil Stanton 69 - 26 George Baker


Final Standings:

Rank Player P W Pts
----------------------------------------
1 Tom Cappleman 6 5 435 (won final)
2 Ronan Higginson 6 6 374 (lost final)
3 Matthew Brockwell 6 5 411
4 Adam Latchford 6 5 374
5 Dan Byrom 6 5 348
6 Tom Stevenson 6 4 383
7 Graeme Cole 6 4 365
8 Tim Down 6 4 362
9 Jonathan De Souza 6 4 353
10 Coral Heath 6 4 343
11 Samuel Stock 6 4 318
12 Fiona Titcombe 6 4 315
13 Dan Spinks 6 4 296
14 Dave Ryan 6 4 256
15 Bradley Horrocks 6 3 383
16 Tim Hebbes 6 3 352
17 Sean Fletcher 6 3 333
18 MSR 6 3 329
19 Suzy Turner 6 3 304
20 Jason Cullen 6 3 299
21 Jessica Pratesi 6 3 275
22 Annie Henry 6 3 259
23 Tom Carey 6 2 375
24 Adam Dexter 6 2 320
25 Dave Robjohns 6 2 306
26 Phil Stanton 6 2 305
27 Ian Wray 6 2 303
28 Ashwin Abinashi 6 2 279
29 Mike Lee 6 2 277
30 Mauro Pratesi 6 2 204
31 Richard Barnett 4 2 186
32 Darren Godfrey 6 1 294
33 Andy Evans 6 1 255
34 Joseph Bartram 6 1 236
35 George Baker 6 1 212
36 Joe Henry 6 0 167