So here we are, the last ever Finals to be hosted by Nick Hewer before his retirement. Hopefully the issues on the forum have been resolved as I had trouble logging on and posting this multiple times! It's a shame we won't have an audience permanently on this version of the show from now on and to bid him farewell next Friday, but I'm sure we can enjoy watching the show from the comfort of our homes and relish the last seven episodes with him on screen. Here we go, it's been a while since we had an Octochamp face a Non-Octochamp for the first Quarter-Finals (by that I mean since two years ago around this time!)
Letters: Luke gets off to a good start by spotting HEARSAY in R2, RESINOID in R4 and the killer nine with ACRITUDES in R5! However, Dave is not far behind and beats him with WEEVIL in R7 much to his pleasure. MAUDLIN in R12 was a good spot from the former as well later on to redeem his invalid declaration of lesioners before the "Origins of Words" section.
Numbers: As expected, both players go for their most frequently picked selection. Alas, you could see Dave trying to hide his disappointment when he missed the target in R3 and allowed Luke to open up the gap even further and that was really painful
![Sad :(](./images/smilies/icon_e_sad.gif)
It didn't really help later on in R9 when he blanked out and just when you thought he had a chance in R14 after Luke went wrong, his method did not get him near enough the target. However, what came next was probably the highlight of the episode...
Conundrum: Such a good conundrum with two names and Dave buzzes and he thought he's gone wrong, but guess what? He's actually CORRECT much to his surprise!!
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif)
(and that "Yeah" from the cameraman behind-the-scenes just made this funnier
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
) That was just incredible and I don't know if it was luck or not, but it doesn't matter! In fact, him denying Luke relegated him to his lowest score this Series thus far! I got the conundrum around the same time as he did.
I would have thought this game was going to be slightly less disastrous than when Jan Pask faced off Zarte Siempre three years ago during the Series 78 Finals (since that was the last time an Octochamp faced a five time winner) which was much of a relief.
Overall, I predicted Luke would win by around 75 points and but the game was so much closer with a 52 point margin! David held Luke considerably well and he can go back with his head held high. Although things did not go your way sometimes, you did manage to hold him back considerably and shook things up a bit not least to say. Enjoy your baking and I hope your business will continue to flourish despite the pandemic!
Tomorrow for QF2, it's "the beginning of the end by being the first Octochamp of this Series" James Burley vs "Octochamp goals sadly dashed by a Finalist today" Tom Vincent. Let's see how this match will get on!
Progress:
QF1 (17 June):
Luke Boynton (#1) vs Dave Lomax (#8) (
99 - 47)
QF2 (18 June): James Burley (#2) vs Tom Vincent (#7)
QF3 (21 June): Adam Latchford (#3)* vs Declan McGurk (#6)
QF4 (22 June): Louis Ross (#4)* vs Coral Heath (#5)
SF1 (23 June): Luke Boynton (QF1 Winner) vs (QF4 Winner)
SF2 (24 June): (QF2 Winner) vs (QF3 Winner)
GF (25 June): (SF1 Winner) vs (SF2 Winner)