Series 85 Player Analysis and Discussion Thread (Contains Spoilers!)

[Tom S]

Now that there is no more room for any more octochamps, I shall now commence with my serial analysis of the S85 finalists...

Starting with Dan Byrom
Seed: 1
Wins: 8
Points: 967 (120.9 per game)
Total Maxes: 89/120 (74.2%)

Letters Maxes: 57/80 (71.25%)
Badged Words:(7+ length maxes not previously submitted as a max by a contestant on Countdown before at time of broadcast): 0
Medalled Words (7+ length maxes not previously submitted as a max by a contestant or DC on CD before at time of broadcast): 10
Badged: N/A
Medalled: Pimelea, Agalites, Refooted, Brunoise, Deposited (joint medal with opponent), Brushing (joint medal with opponent), Harangues, Penaeids, Tropeine (joint medal with opponent), Agamoid

Numbers Maxes: 28/32 (87.5%)
6S: 1/2 (50%)
1L: 2/4 (50%)
2L: 20/20 (100%)
3L: 4/5 (80%)
4L: 1/2 (50%)

Conundrum Maxes: 4/8 (50%)
4 Solved, 3 Lost, 1 Unsolved

Dan had an impressive run at the beginning of the series, which saw him face some tough opposition, and get some monster scores. A very impressive 2 large stat, and may very well be one of the few octochamps to have had more 3 large selections than 1 large. A strong candidate to win the series, although his conundrum record is not the best in comparison to his fellow finalists...

[Tom S]

Matt O'Connor

Seed: 2
Wins: 8
Points: 949 (118.6 per game)
Total Maxes: 85/120 (70.8%)

Letters Maxes: 54/80 (67.5%)
Badged Words: 6
Medalled Words: 8
B: Nannied (joint badge with opponent), Elastomer, Megahits, Empanels, Sweatily (joint medal with opponent), Quaterns
M: Recoaled, Malonates, Caubeen, Euploid, Schemers (joint medal with opponent), Adatoms, Georama, Onofrite

Numbers Maxes: 25/32 (78.1%)
6S:N/A
1L:6/9 (75%)
2L:17/20 (85%)
3L:2/3 (66.7%)
4L:N/A

Conundrum Maxes: 6/8 (75%)
6 Solved, 2 Lost, 0 Unsolved

Some very similar stats compared to #1 seed Dan from Matt here. Whilst Dan narrowly has the upper hand on the letters and numbers, Matt has the upper hand on the conundrums, which were all solved very quickly. Whilst I think the win will go in Dan's favour if it isn't a crucial conundrum, I think Matt will take it if it does end up crucial.

[Tom S]

Steve Hyde:

Seed: 3
Wins: 8
Points: 806 (100.75 per game)
Total Maxes: 62/120 (51.7%)

Letters Maxes: 34/80 (42.5%)
Badged Words: 4
Medalled Words: 1
B: Manatee, Unmuted, Angular, Basinets
M: Bagpipes (joint medal with opponent)

Numbers Maxes: 23/32 (71.9%)
6S: 3/5 (60%)
1L: 17/22 (77.2%)
2L: 2/3 (66.6%)
3L: 1/2 (50%)
4L: N/A

Conundrum Maxes: 5/8 (62.5%)
5 Solved, 1 Lost, 2 Unsolved

Steve became the 100th member of the 800 club this series, and put on a very solid display to earn his place in the club. The numbers were notably a strong point, and consistency was shown across the selections that he'd faced. Predict that he will see off #6 seed Ronan in the quarters, but will ultimately lose in the semis against Matt's letters ability.

[Tom S]

Ryan Carlsen

Seed: 4
Wins: 8
Points: 778 (97.25 per game)
Total Maxes: 49/120 (40.8%)

Letters Maxes: 28/80 (35%)
Badged Words: 3
Medalled Words: 7
B:Ghostlier, Unwieldy, Nameless
M:Bluesier, Radiology, Spiniest, Clincher, Baguette, Witarna, Psyched

Numbers Maxes: 15/32 (46.9%)
6S: 3/10 (30%)
1L: 8/12 (66.7%)
2L: 2/4 (50%)
3L: 1/3 (33.3%)
4L: 1/3 (33.3%)

Conundrum Maxes: 6/8 (75%)
6 Solved, 1 Lost, 1 Unsolved

I feel as though the letters and numbers figures do not do Ryan justice. He had some great letters spots during his run and was capable of some strong spots on the numbers too. His downfall were the 6 small picks, but nonetheless, I think that he could provide the top seeds with a challenge should they face him....

[Tom S]

Adrian Fletcher

Seed: 5
Wins: 8
Points: 757 (94.6 per game) (exc.tie-breaks)
Total Maxes: 54/120 (45%) (exc. tie-breaks)

Letters Maxes: 31/80 (38.75%)
Badged Words: 0
Medalled Words: 1
B: N/A
M:Sunrises (joint medal with opponent)

Numbers Maxes: 21/32 (65.7%)
6S: N/A
1L: 20/28 (71.4%)
2L: 1/4
3L: N/A
4L: N/A

Conundrum Maxes (exc. tie-breaks): 2/8 (25%)
2 Solved, 1 Lost, 5 Unsolved

Adrian octo'd in style after winning on a double-century tie-break conundrum. He's been consistently good throughout and has more total maxes than #4 seed Ryan. Anticipate it being a close match between them both in the quarters, with Ryan edging it due to his conundrum ability. However, Adrian has been putting the practise in, so it would not be surprising if the practise does pay off...

[Tom S]

Ronan Mackrory

Seed: 6
Wins: 8
Points: 738 (92.25 per game)
Total Maxes: 42/120 (35%)

Letters Maxes: 23/80 (28.75%)
Badged Words: 1
Medalled Words: 1
B: Blondie
M: Controls

Numbers Maxes: 13/32 (40.6%)
6S: 4/13 (30.8%)
1L: 6/13 (46.2%)
2L: 3/5 (60%)
3L: 0/1
4L:

Conundrum Maxes: 6/8 (75%)
6 Solved, 0 Lost, 2 Unsolved

Out of the octochamps, Ronan perhaps came the closest to not winning 8, because he was 3 seconds away from losing his 5th game before finding the conundrum. Nonetheless, he had a good run, with 2 nines, and 3 centuries: 2 more than nines than the #3 and #5 seed. This could put him in good stead against Steve if the letters fall favourably.....

[Tom S]

Dan Hall

Seed: 7
Wins: 8
Points: 711 (88.9 per game)
Total Maxes: 43/120 (35.8%)

Letters Maxes: 19/80 (23.75%)
Badged Words: 1
Medalled Words: 1
B: Betaking
M:Moodily

Numbers Maxes: 20/32 (62.5%)
6S: 1/3 (33.3%)
1L: 17/24 (70.8%)
2L: 2/5 (40%)
3L: N/A
4L: N/A

Conundrum Maxes: 4/8 (50%)
4 Solved, 1 Lost, 1 Unsolved

Despite spotting several 8s during his run, Dan's numbers statistics are better than his letters. He also has a respectable conundrum record, although he faces a very stern opponent in Matt O'Connor for his quarter-final match...

[Tom S]

Was directed to this link online: https://twitter.com/jorgalbertz/status/ ... aXNHXxvAtc, so on that note....

Craig Fawcett

Seed: 8
Wins: 5
Points: 581 (96.8 per game)
Total Maxes: 35/90 (38.9%)

Letters Maxes: 19/48 (39.6%)
Badged Words:
Medalled Words:
B:Upmarket, Overpaint, Nannied (joint badge with opponent)
M:Moralism, Regency, Defeatist, Paramours

Numbers Maxes: 14/24 (58.3%)
6S:N/A
1L:6/12 (50%)
2L:8/12 (66.7%)
3L: N/A
4L: N/A

Conundrum Maxes: 2/6 (33.3%)
2 Solved, 3 Lost, 1 Unsolved

[Tom S]

Letters Maxes List
1.Dan Byrom- 71.25%
2.Matt O'Connor-67.5%
3.Steve Hyde-42.5%
4.Craig Fawcett-39.6%
5.Adrian Fletcher-38.75%
6.Ryan Carlsen-35%
7.Ronan Mackrory-28.75%
8.Dan Hall-23.75%

Numbers Maxes List
1.Dan Byrom-87.5%
2.Matt O'Connor-78.1%
3.Steve Hyde-71.9%
4.Adrian Fletcher-65.7%
5.Dan Hall-62.5%
6.Craig Fawcett-58.3%
7.Ryan Carlsen-46.9%
8.Ronan Mackrory-40.6%

Conundrum Maxes List (exc. tie-breaks)- any ties broken are decided by average time taken to solve.
1.Matt O'Connor-75%- (1.75 secs)
2.Ryan Carlsen-75%-(4.71 secs)
3.Ronan Mackrory-75%-(6.8 secs)
4.Steve Hyde-62.5%
5.Dan Hall-50%-(13.8 secs)
6.Dan Byrom-50%-(13.9 secs)
7.Craig Fawcett-33.3%
8.Adrian Fletcher-25%

Percentages Average (Average % of letters, numbers and conundrums percentages)
1. Matt O'Connor-73.5%
2. Dan Byrom-69.6%
3. Steve Hyde-59%
4. Ryan Carlsen-52.3%
5. Ronan Mackrory-48.1%
6. Dan Hall-45.4%
7. Craig Fawcett-43.7%
8. Adrian Fletcher-43.2%

[Gevin Chapwell]

I think your "Overall Max Average" table is a bit misleading as it seems to give equal weight to the three disciplines rather than giving a percentage of the rounds they maxed.