Countdown recap for Thursday 18 November 2010.
C1: Champion Niall Young (2 wins, 177 points.) From Sleaford, Lincolnshire. He works as a county cricket development manager. As well as cricket, he like football, rugby league and badminton. His favourite football team is some team called Leeds United.
(All of a sudden, I don't seem to like Niall as much. 
)C2: Challenger Katy Fairlamb. A database analyst from Dulwich, East London. Her most memorable experience was losing her boyfriend, tent and map while cycling in Switzerland. She then got electrocuted on a cattle fence. Then, when she arrived 50 miles away, she found out that she was reported missing. Amazingly, he proposed just afterwards, and she accepted
DC: Susie Dent and Dave Spikey.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: R S T I E A H D P
R02: O E L K S I A P L
R03: R N D B E U E T N
R04: A N G D E Y R I E
R05: 100, 4, 7, 5, 7, 5. Target: 543.
TTT: DATEGLEN - "If you're going to date Glen, you'll need to sort your hair out"
R06: O E S B I T A R F
R07: M T E I E G S R A
R08: Z M O A S N U I T
R09: P T G E O A N Q U
R10: 25, 9, 7, 5, 6, 10. Target: 584.
TTT: SUMOIDOL - "Nothing to do with debt, just inner ears"
R11: L M L E A C V E R
R12: N T C O I M U N J
R13: N L O U I S C O S
R14: 100, 2, 6, 7, 7, 1. Target: 197.
R15: T U C A N A R Y S (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Round 1: R S T I E A H D P
C1: HASTIER (7)
C2: HASTIER (7)
DC: THERAPSID (18)
Score: 7–7 (max 18)
There was me thinking I was doing well with HARDIEST and PITHEADS for 8. A brilliant 9 by DC is spotted, and what a monster of a word it was too.
Round 2: O E L K S I A P L
C1: POLKAS (6)
C2: LAPSE (5)
DC: POLLIES (7)
Score: 13–7 (max 25)
DC continue with their darrenic start, as Niall takes the lead.
Round 3: R N D B E U E T N
C1: ENDURE (6)
C2: TENDER (6)
DC: RETUNE (6) BUNTED (6) RETUNED (7)
OT: DENTURE (7) TENURED (7) ENURNED (7)
Score: 19–13 (max 32)
For once, Dave actually remembers to stick an extra letter on the end of his word to make it longer.
Round 4: A N G D E Y R I E
C1: READYING (8)
C2: DERANGE (7)
DC: GRENADE (7)
OT: REGAINED (8)
Score: 27–13 (max 40)
A good 8 by Niall sees his lead extended further.
Round 5: 100, 4, 7, 5, 7, 5. Target: 543.
C1: 543. ((100 + 5) x 5) + 7 + 7 + 4 (10)
C2: 544.
Score: 37–13 (max 50)
And that numbers solve completes a good half for Niall.
Dave talks about eavesdropping on conversations while on his tour.
Teatime teaser: DATEGLEN -> DETANGLE
Round 6: O E S B I T A R F
C1: TRIBES (6)
C2: BOASTER (7)
DC: BOATERS (7) BOATIES (7) FORTIES (7)
OT: BARITES (7) BORATES (7) FAIREST (7) OBITERS (7)
Score: 37–20 (max 57)
Katy gets back in by finding one of the many available 7's in the selection, even if she almost mispronounced it by saying BOOSTER.
BARITE is a common mineral, barium sulphate, BaSO4, occurring in white, yellow, or colourless tabular crystals: the principal ore of barium.
Round 7: M T E I E G S R A
C1: MIGRATES (8)
C2: GAITERS (7)
DC: EMIGRATES (18)
Score: 45–20 (max 75)
Oh dear, Niall may have got eight points with MIGRATES, but he could have got EIGHTEEN points by sticking the extra E on the front.
Round 8: Z M O A S N U I T
C1: AMOUNTS (7)
C2: MOIST (5)
DC: TSUNAMI (7) TINAMOUS (8)
OT: MANITOUS (8)
Score: 52–20 (max 83)
A MANITOU is an Algonquian Indian supernatural being that controls nature; a spirit, deity, or object that possesses supernatural power.
Round 9: P T G E O A N Q U
C1: OPAQUE (6)
C2: OPAQUE (6)
DC: NOUGAT (6)
OT: EQUANT (6) OUTAGE (6) PEANUT (6) POTAGE (6) QUANGO (6) TONGUE (6)
Score: 58–26 (max 89)
Just 6's all around, but really the contestants should have been penalised for pronouning it as "oh-pake", when the proper pronounciation of course, is oh-pack.
Susie's Origins Of Words talks about the origin of "cat got your tongue".
Round 10: 25, 9, 7, 5, 6, 10. Target: 584.
C1: -
C2: 584. ((((7 - 5) x 25) + 9) x 10) - 6 (10)
Score: 58–36 (max 99)
Katy has got back in with that perfect solve, even though she nearly lost it partway through.
Teatime teaser: SUMOIDOL -> MODIOLUS
Round 11: L M L E A C V E R
C1: CLEAVER (7)
C2: CLEAVER (7)
Score: 65–43 (max 106)
Simple sticking out darren there.
Round 12: N T C O I M U N J
C1: JUNCTION (8)
C2: MOUNT (5)
Score: 73–43 (max 114)
Another good darren by Niall there, which surely wraps the game up for him. Too bad another U didn't come up, then we'd have had the brilliant CONTINUUM for 9.
Round 13: N L O U I S C O S
C1: COUSINS (7)
C2: COUSINS (7)
DC: COLONS (6) CONSULS (7)
OT: COLOSSI (7) UNCOILS (7)
Score: 80–50 (max 121)
That flat round confirms it beyond all doubt.
Round 14: 100, 2, 6, 7, 7, 1. Target: 197.
C1: -
C2: 197. ((100 - (7 / 7)) x 2) - 1 (10)
Score: 80–60 (max 131)
Slightly worrying for Niall, he completely blanks on a fairly simple numbers game again.
Round 15: T U C A N A R Y S
C1 buzzes on 3 seconds to say SANCTUARY which is correct.
Final Score: 90–60 (max 141)
But, he does maintain his 100% conundrum record with his fastest solve to date.
Niall now makes it 3 wins, but he'll probably need to eradicate those elementary errors, if he's going to make it to the finals.
I'll be around with another recap in a bit.
Till then, bye bye.
Statistics Corner
Niall:
Total score - 90
Raw score - 96
Total % of max - 64
Raw % of max - 68
Total average score per round - 6.0
Raw average score per round - 6.4
Number of maxes - 7
Katy:
Total score - 60
Raw score - 96
Total % of max - 43
Raw % of max - 68
Total average score per round - 4.0
Raw average score per round - 6.4
Number of maxes - 6
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=63
