Enjoy.
Countdown recap for Wednesday 15 December 2010.
C1: No.4 Seed Marcus "The Street Fighter" Hares (9 wins, 926 points.) An Apteforumite from Street, Somerset. He works as an office adminstrator. He beat #5 Seed Scott Gillies by a score of 92-90 in yesterday's quarter-final.
C2: No.1 Seed Jack "The Desford Destroyer" Hurst (9 wins, 1,054 points.) An Apteforumite from Desford, Leicestershire. He is currently studying for a degree in Mathematics at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He beat #8 Seed Peter Godwin by a score of 108-40 in last Thursday's quarter-final.
DC: Susie "Denticles" Dent and Paul "Magical Marvel" Zenon.
RR: Rachel "Brains & Beauty" Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: V O E O C S R B L
R02: T N T U E A D J Q
R03: K E U E G X N I T
R04: M R S U E A S I O
R05: 100, 1, 4, 8, 3, 2. Target: 107.
TTT: CRUMPETS - "Richard of York's old computer, perhaps?"
R06: D V B A U A S T E
R07: N P I O I A M E R
R08: G S R U O E N L T
R09: N A A I Y R L A S
R10: 25, 75, 100, 50, 3, 2. Target: 617.
TTT: LIONSOUT - "The answer's not easy, but it's not solid either"
R11: D E E O C M R A E
R12: N D L U I A T E T
R13: D O E A F R D U H
R14: 25, 75, 50, 100, 9, 8. Target: 278.
R15: H E B I T L A T E (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Enjoy the show.
Round 1: V O E O C S R B L
C1: COOLERS (7)
C2: COOLERS (7)
DC: CORBELS (7)
OT: BOLEROS (7) CREOSOL (7)
Score: 7–7 (max 7)
The silence in the studio tells you how focused both these contestants are. Nice flat start for both here.
CREOSOL is a colourless oily liquid, C8H10O2 , having an agreeable odour and a burning taste, obtained from wood tar and guaiacum resin: used as a disinfectant, in the manufacture of resins, and in ore flotation.
Round 2: T N T U E A D J Q
C1: JAUNTED (7)
C2: TAUNTED (7)
OT: ATTUNED (7)
Score: 14–14 (max 14)
Round 3: K E U E G X N I T
C1: TEEING (6)
C2: EXEUNT (6)
OT: EXIGENT (7) KITENGE (7)
Score: 20–20 (max 21)
No single or double max game in this one, but that's probably the last things on both of the contestants' minds at this time.
EXIGENT is an adjective meaning requiring immediate action or aid.
A KITENGE is an East African thick cotton cloth measuring 114 × 213 cm (45 × 84 inches), used in making garments.
Round 4: M R S U E A S I O
C1: MASSEUR (7)
C2: SERIOUS (7)
DC: SURMISE (7) AROUSES (7) MESOSAUR (8)
Score: 27–27 (max 29)
DC go darrenic in this round, while the contestants seem content to stick with their 7's.
Round 5: 100, 1, 4, 8, 3, 2. Target: 107.
C1: 107. 100 + 4 + 3 (10)
C2: 107. 100 + 8 - 1 (10)
Score: 37–37 (max 39)
Just what a semi-final needs
A super easy numbers game. Moving on....Paul impresses with his magic trick based on David Copperfield's trick of walking through the Great Wall Of China, except he used a steak knife and Jeff's jacket as a substitute.
Teatime teaser: CRUMPETS -> SPECTRUM
Round 6: D V B A U A S T E
C1: AUBADES (7)
C2: DEBUTS (6)
Score: 44–37 (max 46)
And there's the first blow, and it's Marcus who takes the lead in this one, with his darrenic 7.
Round 7: N P I O I A M E R
C1: MORAINE (7)
C2: MORAINE (7)
DC: EMPORIA (7)
OT: ROMAINE (7) RAMPION (7) RIPIENO (7)
Score: 51–44 (max 53)
More flatness. The tension is just killing me and I'm about 35 miles away.
A RAMPION is a European bellflower, Campanula rapunculus, having an edible white tuberous root used in Europe for salad.
Round 8: G S R U O E N L T
C1: LOUNGERS (8)
C2: LOUNGERS (8)
DC: tonguers
OT: STURGEON (8) TURNSOLE (8)
Score: 59–52 (max 61)
Flat 8's now. Maybe a seasonal pancake wouldn't go a miss....
A TURNSOLE is any of several plants regarded as turning with the movement of the Sun.
Round 9: N A A I Y R L A S
C1: SALARY (6)
C2: NARIYALS (8)
Score: 59–60 (max 69)
And what a comeback by Jack with a brilliant darrenic 8.
Susie's Origins Of Words, appropriately for these semis, looks at the origins of "deadline" and "crucial".
Round 10: 25, 75, 100, 50, 3, 2. Target: 617.
C1: 618. ((75 / 25) + 100) x 3 x 2 (7)
C2: 618. ((75 / 25) + 100) x 3 x 2 (7)
Score: 66–67 (max 76)
Unsurprisingly, the 4 large comes out, and both get 1 away, and as Rachel says, it is impossible.
Teatime teaser: LIONSOUT -> SOLUTION
Round 11: D E E O C M R A E
C1: COMRADE (7)
C2: CREAMED (7)
DC: CAROMED (7)
OT: AMERCED (7) MERCADO (7)
Score: 73–74 (max 83)
More and more flat. This tension is getting unbearable.
AMERCED comes from AMERCE, meaning to punish by imposing a fine not fixed by statute.
Round 12: N D L U I A T E T
C1: untitled (declared as 7)
C2: ALTITUDE (8)
DC: UNTITLED (8) LATITUDE (8)
Score: 73–82 (max 91)
AARGH!!!! Marcus realised immediately that his declared 7 was actually an 8. But, the gap is still sub-10, so Marcus is still in with a shout.
Round 13: D O E A F R D U H
C1: DEFRAUD (7)
C2: HOARDED (7)
DC: frauded
Score: 80–89 (max 98)
Both 7's are got by the players, meaning that we now enter the nitty-gritty stages with the result still in the balance.
Unsurprisingly, Jack chooses 4 large again.....
Round 14: 25, 75, 50, 100, 9, 8. Target: 278.
C1: 276.
C2: 278. (((100 - 8) x 75) + 50) / 25 (10)
Score: 80–99 (max 108)
OH MY GOD!!!
That is just absolutely phenomenal by Jack. If that's not the way to win a show, then I don't know what is.
Round 15: H E B I T L A T E
C2 buzzes on 2.25 seconds to say BIATHLETE which is correct.
Final Score: 80–109 (max 118)
And Jack finishes it off with a very good conundrum solve, maintaining his century a game.
After yesterday's quarter-final, you'd have understood if Marcus was a pit pooped out after just getting past Scott, but he was in brilliant form and was more than a match for Jack, but that misdeclaration followed by the awesome numbers solve meant that his efforts were all in vain in the end, but he did brilliantly and made that show one of the best ever.
Jack, who after missing AUBADES, didn't drop a point for the rest of the show, now goes on to Friday's grand final, where he'll play either #2 Seed Eoin "The Banbridge Bullet" Monaghan or #3 Seed Daniel "The Manchester Marauder" Pati, who meet up in tomorrow's semi-final.
Join me for that, after I've cooled down after the brilliance of these matches.
Till then, bye bye.
Statistics Corner
Marcus:
Total score - 80
Raw score - 93
Total % of max - 68
Raw % of max - 79
Total average score per round - 5.3
Raw average score per round - 6.2
Number of maxes - 9
Jack:
Total score - 109
Raw score - 115
Total % of max - 92
Raw % of max - 97
Total average score per round - 7.3
Raw average score per round - 7.7
Number of maxes - 12
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=63