Hello Countdowners everywhere..........we are now at the last stage in our quarter finals..........which one of these wonderful legends will earn the right take on top seed Patrick Thompson in Wednesday's Semi-final..........without further ado..................let the games begin !
Memories of 1980s nostalgia the highly popular action TV series The A Team ran for 5 seasons........so in honour of our 4th seed Daniel Face............one of the characters fron the A-Team..........Templeton Peck aka The Faceman
C1: Champion Daniel "The Faceman " Face (8 wins, 854 points.)
C2: Champion Ian " The Newbridge Nutcracker " Kinsella (8 wins, 812 points.)
DC: Susie Dent and Oti Mabuse .
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: E I E L T A W T S
R02: N S P I A E T O K
R03: 5, 7, 5, 4, 6, 1. Target: 466.
TTT: CHECKEDIN - "She checked into the haunted hotel, then swiftly checked out."
R04: W G L U O A G E S
R05: A E A C X G O D C
R06: 50, 7, 5, 4, 1, 1. Target: 462.
R07: A I O T L R A N I
R08: R N S E A E T U I
R09: 5, 4, 1, 3, 9, 10, . Target: 489.
TTT: GASPFROWN - "You'll gasp and frown when you realise it wasn't caviar."
R10: M V C E U E H S R
R11: O A U N D N O Q E
R12: S N P O I O R E T
R13: I O E L F R A O N
R14: 25, 10, 5, 7, 9, 7. Target: 126.
R15: D A V E S C E N E (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Enjoy the show.
Round 1: E I E L T A W T S
Daniel: WATTLES (7)
Ian: WATTLES (7)
DC: WATTLES (7)
OT: WETTIES (7)
Score: 7–7 (max 7)
Round 2: N S P I A E T O K
Daniel: SAPIENT (7)
Ian: ATONIES (7)
DC: OPIATES (7) POKIEST (7)
OT: ATOPIES (7) INKPOTS (7) INTAKES (7) KATIPOS (7) KENTIAS (7) OAKIEST (7) PANTIES (7) PINKEST (7) PINKOES (7) POINTES (7)
Score: 14–14 (max 14)
Round 3: 5, 7, 5, 4, 6, 1. Target: 466.
C1: 466. (5 + 5 + 1) × 6 × 7 + 4 (10)
C2: 457.
Score: 24–14 (max 24)
First blood to our 4th seed with a good numbers solve.........this first lead will be the key to this quarter final
Teatime teaser: CHECKEDIN -> CHICKENED
Round 4: W G L U O A G E S
Daniel: WAGGLES (7)
Ian: WAGGLES (7)
DC: WOGGLES (7)
Score: 31–21 (max 31)
Round 5: A E A C X G O D C
Daniel: COAXED (6)
Ian: COAXED (6)
DC: CODEX (5)
Score: 37–27 (max 37)
Round 6: 50, 7, 5, 4, 1, 1. Target: 462.
C1: 460.
C2: 461. (50 + 1 + 1) × (5 + 4) − 7 (7)
RR: 462. 462 = ((5 − 1) × 4 + 50) × 7 (10)
Score: 37–34 (max 47)
A good one away solve from our 5th seed Ian that bags him 7 useful points and cuts the arrears down to 3 points..........Ms Riley shows us how it is done by producing a perfect 10.........this can only mean one thing that Daniel's max game is now off
Round 7: A I O T L R A N I
Daniel: RATIONAL (8)
Ian: RATIONAL (8)
DC: RATIONAL (8) ATONAL (6)
OT: NOTARIAL (8)
Score: 45–42 (max 55)
This is fantastic from our quarter finalists with their 8 Rational........but the contest still remains tight !
Round 8: R N S E A E T U I
Daniel: ESTUARINE (18)
Ian: ESTUARINE (18)
Score: 63–60 (max 73)
This is top draw stuff from our quarter finalists........this just gets better and better with a 9 no less........you guessed I spotted this !
Round 9: 5, 4, 1, 3, 9, 10. Target: 489.
C1: 489. ((9 + 1) × 10 − 3) × 5 + 4 (10)
C2: 489. (9 × 5 + 4) × 10 − 1 (10)
Score: 73–70 (max 83)
Nice and straightforward.......not too taxing this bags our quarter finalists 10 points each in this rather tight contest
Teatime teaser: GASPFROWN -> FROGSPAWN
Round 10: M V C E U E H S R
Daniel: CHEERS (6)
Ian: RESUME (6)
DC: MUSHER (6) RUCHES (6)
OT: EUCHRES (7) SCHEMER (7) SCHMEER (7)
Score: 79–76 (max 90)
Round 11: O A U N D N O Q E
Daniel: UNDONE (6)
Ian: DOUANE (6)
DC: DUENNA (6)
Score: 85–82 (max 96)
Sixes all round........lets move on shall we
Round 12: S N P O I O R E T
Daniel: optioners
Ian: TROOPIES (8)
DC: PORTIONS (8) POSITRON (8) POISONER (8)
OT: POINTERS (8) PORNIEST (8) PROTEINS (8) REPOINTS (8) SNOOTIER (8) SORPTION (8) SPOONIER (8)
Score: 85–90 (max 104)
Not the best risk to take..........sadly Daniel's risky 9 doesn't pay off as Susie disallows it.........there are plenty eights to be had one of those was spotted by our 5th seed Ian this gives him a narrow lead of 5 points with everything to play for........so let's play nicely and not argue over this !
Round 13: I O E L F R A O N
Daniel: LOONIER (7)
Ian: AILERON (7)
OT: AEROFOIL (8) ROOFLINE (8)
Score: 92–97 (max 112)
Sevens all round from our quarter finalists................but there were a couple of eights missed by all.......the one I spotted was roofline.......so let's jump the next round instead !
Round 14: 25, 10, 5, 7, 9, 7. Target: 126.
C1: 126. 25 × 5 + 7 ÷ 7 (10)
C2: 126. 25 × 5 + 7 ÷ 7 (10)
Score: 102–107 (max 122)
A piss easy numbers solve from our quarter finalists.........can only mean one thing...........we have a fight on our hands...........otherwise known as a crucial conundrum...........now the question is who will buzz first............best of luck to you both !
Round 15: D A V E S C E N E
No one buzzes. The answer was EVANESCED.
Final Score: 102–107 (max 132)
Neither quarter finalist buzzes in..........but it is left to Susie Dent and our very own recap writer to solve it. This has been a fantastic contest from start to finish..........it is so sad that somebody has to lose............firstly congratulations to Ian who now advances to the semi-finals to take on the top seed Patrick Thompson, secondly commiserations to Daniel who has had an amazing run and is an absolute joy to watch, he can give himself a pat on the back for getting as far as he did being a quarter finalist is something to be proud of. You can join me for next recap when the first of our semi-finals get underway tomorrow........in the meantime I bid you farewell.......until next time.
