Before reading this, a word of advice from me that today's review is going to be SUPER, SUPER long as I will be doing a summary of what happened in the show as well. I assume you would've watched this episode IN FULL already. If not, DO NOT SCROLL FURTHER and why are you even in the Spoilers thread?
(Leaving blank spaces in case you have not watched it in full and accidentally came down here...)
Fourth and Final Quarter-Finals Match where I incorrectly predicted Stephen would go through (Thomas went through instead; Hopefully you don't mind me calling you that to prevent confusion with the other Tom) and I correctly predicted Zarte would go through.
Given both were #1 Seeds in their Series, this would surely be a stellar performance. I was so right...what a thrilling start with LARCENOUS from the two of them! Oh no, CECIL what the hell is wrong with you? This isn't a normal episode in an ordinary Series! Therefore, to kill time, play "Scissors Paper Stone" of course to let the whole country know that you're awesome and comical!
Too bad the camera wasn't tilted at the right angle to show what was the outcome though...
After the first TTT, Zarte tried something "stupid" but wait, he had BLOWSIEST and DIVAGATED (The audible "Oohs" from the audience after the latter declaration). Oh my goodness, Thomas is now a whopping 36 points behind! And was done in by just those two words!
At this rate he's going to lose miserably and might be looking for a white flag! As for Zarte, by the time the anecdote came around I and probably all of you too was/were asking at that point, could he crash 100 by the 2nd TTT? That's exceedingly rare and if so, could he go on to break the Countdown record set by Julian Fell in December 2002 and Conor Travers in March 2013? (Both finished at 146 on those occasions.) On with the game and ROULADES is another decent spot too! There he goes, over 100, all we hope is another nine (That's what those on the daily chat who did not see this episode being recorded back on 3 October 2018 were predicting.)
Last third, another good spot with FEARTIE. Comes the penultimate letters game, OMG THERE IS REALLY ANOTHER NINE (and it's my favourite type of cake too if you exclude chocolate!) Oh well, we're not going to see someone breaking the Max today after Thomas gets TIRAMISUS. He's back in the game and both have already crashed over a century, and we're still far from done! After CECIL gives an easy round in R14, we could see history being made! With Zarte at 140, all that separates him and the record of the highest scorer is the Conundrum. Will he do it or Thomas cruelly denies him that spot? Either way a record would still be broken, so I didn't really care who would get it. *Zarte buzzes* SEISMICAL?
HE'S DONE IT!! HE'S FREAKING DONE IT!! *Applause in the Studio all round* Tbh, I nearly cried when I saw him hugging Thomas and with him nearly breaking down after realising what had happened.
150 is now the HIGHEST SCORE IN THE HISTORY OF COUNTDOWN! The joint score of 272: A NEW RECORD AS WELL, and guess what? We've come full circle, a full 17 years since the first game with a joint score of over 200 was made on the same day back in 2002 (Coincidence? I think not!) Thomas's losing score of 122 also topples that record held by Philip Aston (Sorry you had to relinquish it so soon) as the second-highest losing score in the history as well.
Zarte, I just want to let you know that you may have had difficulty coming on the show physically, but mentally you've never been and today was the day that you made history in the 35+ years of Countdown. You now officially follow the steps of people like Julian and Conor who've made their mark on the show ages ago, and today's game will certainly inspire a new generation of Countdowners to show their potential and one day, become a Champion like you've been. While you have suffered defeats before, you surely learnt from them, picked up from where you fell and made yourself to be stronger. Today, you can proudly claim that title of being the highest scorer on the show. Congratulations, you deserved the title and move one step closer to the Champion title in this Championship! (Can I also say thanks for also not teaching me to be so arrogant if you can remember what happened last year...)
Thomas Carey wrote: ↑Thu Jan 17, 2019 10:44 am
That man is the great and meaty Zarte Siempre, once again putting up with my ridiculously inaccessible student accommodation, because he had the very kind heart to come and watch the game with me. What game, you ask? Only the best thing to ever come out of a CoC.
Let's go on this journey of discovery together. Regardless of this, it's not one to be missed. Even in terms of actual Countdown, if you're the kind of person who cares about that.
Thomas, it was just simply pure, pure bad luck that Zarte had to deliver that massive blow. You did, however fight back to the best of your abilities by trying to close the gap which was what happened and you don't go home empty-handed if I exclude the "piece of Kryptonite". You can also go home proudly by saying that you have the 2nd highest losing score on the show ever. 122 would, in almost all circumstances be a win but sadly it's not today and with that, all the Series 73 contestants have been eliminated in this Championship as well.
However, in defeat, this is the bittersweet moment, where you made history with one of the best Countdowners in the modern era and there's no shame in losing to him.
You're lucky to be friends with Zarte and I hope you'll cherish and remember the events of today for the rest of your life.
Overall, it was an excellent collaboration and battle that turned out to be far beyond what I've anticipated. I've been watching Countdown for six years since the 30th Birthday Championship ended, and to be honest today's game, was the BEST I'VE EVER WATCHED IN MY LIFE!
17 January 2019 will be a day that everyone in the community will never forget for many days, months and years to come. This game is definitely a 101/100 on my scale that's for sure!
So, we're down to the last four, and guess what, the Semi-Finals are Rematches of both the S77 and S78 Grand Finals except there's one thing: Role Reversal once again! Oh wait, no, that's not the only thing: Series Reversal so...Philip vs Zarte x3 installed for the next match!! Second time this has only ever happened! (Seriously how many times do I have to watch them play?) If both can pull off a stunning performance like what happened in June 2018 that would be jaw dropping, and will it be third time's a charm for the former? Just three more episodes to go!
Progress:
Preliminary #1 (02 January):
Jonathan Wynn (Series 73 Grand Champion) vs Phil Davies (Series 78 Semi-Finalist) (
103 - 68)
Preliminary #2 (03 January): Ann Dibben (Series 74 Runner-Up) vs
John Cowen (Series 77 Semi-Finalist) (94 -
97)
Preliminary #3 (04 January):
Matthew Tassier (Series 73 Runner-Up) vs Dougie Mackay (Series 78 Semi-Finalist) (
96 - 78)
Preliminary #4 (07 January):
Thomas Carey (Series 73 Semi-Finalist) vs Stephen Read (Series 76 Grand Champion) (
106 - 87)
Preliminary #5 (08 January): Paul Erdunast (Series 74 Grand Champion) vs
Zarte Siempre (Series 78 Grand Champion) (105 -
113)
Preliminary #6 (09 January):
Tom Chafer-Cook (Series 77 Grand Champion) vs Martin Hurst (Series 75 Grand Champion) (
129 - 89)
Preliminary #7 (10 January):
Bradley Horrocks (Series 77 Runner-Up) vs Andrew Macleod (Series 75 Runner-Up) (
128 - 104)
Preliminary #8 (11 January):
Philip Aston (Series 78 Runner-Up) vs Noel McIlvenny (Series 77 Semi-Finalist) (
103 - 89)
Quarter-Finals #1 (14 January): Jonathan Wynn (Preliminary #1 Winner) vs
Philip Aston (Preliminary #8 Winner) (92 -
110)
Quarter-Finals #2 (15 January): John Cowen (Preliminary #2 Winner) vs
Bradley Horrocks (Preliminary #7 Winner) (96 -
99)
Quarter-Finals #3 (16 January): Matthew Tassier (Preliminary #3 Winner) vs
Tom Chafer-Cook (Preliminary #6 Winner) (62 -
111)
Quarter-Finals #4 (17 January): Thomas Carey (Preliminary #4 Winner) vs
Zarte Siempre (Preliminary #5 Winner) (122 -
150)
(RECORD!!!)
Semi-Finals #1 (18 January): Philip Aston (Quarter-Finals #1 Winner) vs Zarte Siempre (Quarter-Finals #4 Winner)
<- Series 78E038 + GF REMATCH
Semi-Finals #2 (21 January): Bradley Horrocks (Quarter-Finals #2 Winner) vs Tom Chafer-Cook (Quarter-Finals #3 Winner)
<- Series 77 GF REMATCH
Championship Final (22 January): (Semi-Finals #1 Winner) vs (Semi-Finals #2 Winner)