c4countdown

Neil Stephenson had almost certainly his strongest performance of the series so far yesterday to secure his third win. Can he get a fourth today? It won't be easy, as he faces his second apterite in a row, the returning Tracey Mills. She was last on Countdown roughly 13 years ago, back in series 47, losing in a close contest to Jeremy Slaney. After a lot of practice on Apterous, can she get a win this time against a strong competitor? I'm excited to see this one.

Join James for the recap later.

Apterous thinks you can pluralise VICOMTE.

Susie seems not to suggest that?

One of the alts on the previous round is CORBIES.

Phew - need a lie down after that - call her the come-back kid or what?

What a crazy game! Neil scored every round up to and including R11 & then got outscored 43-0 over the last 4 rounds!
Well done to both players on a cracking game.

Looking forward to Robbo's Recap I can't wait too see it !

Outstanding comeback from the Apto legend that is Tracey Mills. Feel really bad for Neil though, he must've thought he was guaranteed a crucial at least

Cheers Jen but very unlucky for Neil.

Excellent comeback win, Tracey. High quality contest there.

What a game! Well done to you both. I was just about to edit my list of the 16 for the next CoC and remove Tracey's name, then came up a game changing 9....Congrats!

Thanks Jojo and Samir

Zarte Siempre wrote:Apterous thinks you can pluralise VICOMTE.

Susie seems not to suggest that?

Dictionary seems to agree. It's pronounced the same but not spelt the same.

And great game by both players as everyone else has said.

That was even a better comeback than this. Lovely.

Amazing game, Neil was looking unbeatable (was he maxing the letters up until then?) until the last four rounds. Well done Tracey for hanging on in there and not giving up!

Amazing game. I think that has to be the best comeback game I have ever witnessed. Amazing play Tracey really well done and Neil ..fantastic play and very unlucky..2 great players and tough to face each other at this stage

Tracey Mills: back from the dead! Great comeback and very unlucky for Neil. You both played very well and it was a pleasure to witness it live in the studio. I didn't see any way back for Tracey after she missed STALKERS (I did too ) but it was a great effort to keep fighting until the end. Even when the nine came up, I thought Neil would get it but credit to Tracey for capitalising on the miss. One of the most extraordinary games I've ever seen, thanks to both for putting on a great show. Neil looked gutted after the game (understandably so) but you can look back with pride. Pleased for you though, Tracey as you deserve a shot at becoming an octochamp.

AMMAAAAAZZZZINNNGGGG!!!!!!!!!

What a game! Very unlucky for Neil, but great performance under pressure by Tracey.

Wow. Fantastic finish to the game. Lesser players would have cracked before the end.

Well done Tracey and congratulations on getting a teapot.

Tracey Anne Mills wrote:Looking forward to Robbo's Recap I can't wait too see it !

Me neither. Well done, Tracey, absolutely out of breath after that

3rd Numbers Alt.: ((75 - 4) x (100 / 25)) - 7 = 135

Well that was exciting! There were gasps and cheers in our living room when you got the 9 ( we were happy with refuting). Great comeback Tracey against a good opponent and congrats on getting the teapot. Looking forward to tomorrow!

VERY RELIEVED!!!!!!!!!! GET IN THERE !!!!!

Great comeback there. Tracey was 22 behind with four rounds left and won before the conundrum. That's never been done before - until today, no player had been more than 12 behind at that stage in the game and won on a non-crucial.

I got FIGURANTE but missed FEATURING. The mind boggles.

What a game! Well done both for some excellent entertainment.

Was also v. surprised that Neil missed the (50+75)/25 = 5 trick to make the 135 pretty straightforward, since I think I'm right in saying he has made a 5 that way a couple of times already? Also (since he was picking 4 large) that he wasn't familiar with the 937.5 trick to get 987 on that first numbers actually too. He will be haunted by this game I think...

Tony Atkins wrote:One of the alts on the previous round is CORBIES.

Fuck's sake, missed that. That's unforgivable.

Also missed STALKERS (but saw it as soon as Neil said 8) and FEATURING (but saw it as soon as Tracey said 9).

Jon Corby wrote:Amazing game, Neil was looking unbeatable (was he maxing the letters up until then?) until the last four rounds. Well done Tracey for hanging on in there and not giving up!

He didn't get VICOMTES.