Spoilers for Wednesday 24th June 2026 - S93 SF1
Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2026 8:46 am
Hopefully everyone’s doing well despite the sweltering heat outside and it’s not going to relent for the next few days. Stay hydrated during this season as well especially with no cloud cover and record breaking high temperatures. While we’re still in the knockout stages for the World Cup across the Atlantic, back in the studio, some chatter about the Semi-Finals for this Series with Rachel gleefully remarking that the Numbers Rounds will make the difference. We’ll see if this is true in a while, but first, we get to know more behind-the-scenes with Patrick who reveals all eight Finalists are still here and that the eliminated Quarter-Finalists did not head back home just yet and are here to support each other (if you haven’t heard already on the Daily Chat that is), that’s nice 
! Ian on the other hand reveals that he and Daniel played tactics yesterday in the crucial conundrum and didn’t want to buzz in the last ten seconds for fear of giving away the correct answer to their opponent and lose the opportunity to be here today. We also got to know more about how Oti solved the conundrum too shortly afterwards! That’s everything settled I guess, and we’re ready to go with a handshake yet again at the top of the show!
First Third: Strong opening once more with ULCERATE from both in R1 and the Countdown favourites of GODETIAS and DIOPTASE in R2! I don’t need to know what Patrick wants here, and such an easy target comes to the point that both Finalists are done and can smile at each other
. Talk about Susie and Oti smiling too in the background to the point that one might mistake this for a blooper 
! Just like Amy Berry last year in the Series 91 Semi-Finals, Ian dodges a bullet here albeit for different reasons!
Second Third: Both Patrick and Ian failed to spot DIAMOND in R4 which left everyone going “Ah!!”, but Susie defended them and said it’s hard to spot anyways. Hopefully they don’t have one which has a high FLATNESS index (if it exists) like their words in R5 or it’ll be hard to sell out there! Ian goes safe with 1 Large which helps him keep level, and thank you Colin for mentioning out loud what I’ve and many others have observed about Patrick here when I wrote about it last Thursday! After the Anecdote, oh my word, R7 seems to be a common round in this Series Finals that the lead opens up, and Patrick’s REPUTABLE spot beats Ian’s PLEATER! Hopefully this won’t be the fatal blow that determines the match!
Here comes the next 4 Large puzzle in R9 and with Patrick finding such a simple method of 109 × 2 - 10, poor Ian is left trailing behind with a margin of 28 points (Some of us missed this too which is yet another facepalm moment, I guess people do pay the price for taking the easy way out with 209) 
.
Last Third: Hopefully you’re not out of breath like the Teatime Teaser that past or sweating profusely in this weather just yet. Hahaha, R10 was such an amazing one, because both of them got it within five seconds (even faster than Colin’s observed ten), had time to smile at each other (again!), drink water, and Colin to reconsider if only 15 seconds should be given per round . R11 adds more laughter because Ian was so happy he didn’t have to pronounce COURANTE on-screen (no need to worry Patrick about butchering it, you just about got it!). After some talk about being on the spur of the moment in the Origins of Words, bad luck to Patrick as the singular of NOTORIS doesn’t exist and Ian catches up. But it’s too late for him with a familiar selection in R13 (something similar came out during one of Charlie Harrison’s Preliminaries, hint!) and Patrick’s EGOSURF spot to seal the victory for the latter! One last 1 Large pick from Ian and comeon Colin, don’t put him down with his bad handwriting by saying “as usual”, he got there in the end anyways for a very manageable target for the Semi-Finals. Unfortunately, let’s be honest, I don’t think Ian can make it a double century with Patrick being extremely fast on the conundrums, so let’s see how fast the latter solves then. A falseagram comes with INOBSCURE, and in a flash (i.e. 1.25s), this is nothing but one for Patrick to get the answer which we last saw on the show way back in June 2017 (I knew what the word meant but I would have never gotten this scrabble in 30 seconds)! What in the world is this ludicrous speed 
, you can only wonder what’s installed for the Grand Final now!
I predicted for Patrick to beat Ian by around 30 points, but the margin was wider at 39 points and if Daniel had gone through here, he would have been beaten by around the same margin assuming the 6 Small rounds he had wished for were played. Sometimes the smallest detail matters as Ian pointed out, but, you could tell he had loads of fun here, from having a laugh when Oti mentioned potatoes in the South of Ireland were better than the North (and hurting Colin’s ego in the process ) and being briefly in Susie’s position in R8 when he was asked about CAMOGIE. Patrick also revealed after the show that they got lightly told off for talking too much in between rounds/takes, so I guess the amount of fun they had was loads and this was never going to be a stressful match at all! Hopefully you’ve enjoyed your experience here and I’m sure your wife who was overseas at the time of filming couldn’t have been more proud of you cheering from abroad. I’m sure your Countdown run will increase your invitations to more gigs for you to perform in the future and keep strumming that guitar!
The penultimate episode of the Series is almost here, and two players who now have at least 1000 points to their names are going to battle it out for the last spot the day after. Will Luke’s predictions of Charlie wiping him out come true, or will it be a close match to the point Charlie struggles, and the game turns out to be an outcome way different than any of us expected?
Progress:
QF1 (18 June 2026): Patrick Thompson (#1) vs Tom Bashford (#8) (118 - 64)
QF2 (19 June 2026): Charlie Harrison (#2) vs Megel Barker (#7) (120 - 86)
QF3 (22 June 2026): Luke Selway (#3) vs Callum Ridley (#6) (102 - 76)
QF4 (23 June 2026): Daniel Face (#4) vs Ian Kinsella (#5) (102 - 107)
SF1 (24 June 2026): Patrick Thompson (QF1 Winner) vs Ian Kinsella (QF4 Winner) (138 - 99)
SF2 (25 June 2026): Charlie Harrison (QF2 Winner) vs Luke Selway (QF3 Winner)
GF (26 June 2026): Patrick Thompson (SF1 Winner) vs (SF2 Winner)
! Ian on the other hand reveals that he and Daniel played tactics yesterday in the crucial conundrum and didn’t want to buzz in the last ten seconds for fear of giving away the correct answer to their opponent and lose the opportunity to be here today. We also got to know more about how Oti solved the conundrum too shortly afterwards! That’s everything settled I guess, and we’re ready to go with a handshake yet again at the top of the show!First Third: Strong opening once more with ULCERATE from both in R1 and the Countdown favourites of GODETIAS and DIOPTASE in R2! I don’t need to know what Patrick wants here, and such an easy target comes to the point that both Finalists are done and can smile at each other
. Talk about Susie and Oti smiling too in the background to the point that one might mistake this for a blooper ! Just like Amy Berry last year in the Series 91 Semi-Finals, Ian dodges a bullet here albeit for different reasons!Second Third: Both Patrick and Ian failed to spot DIAMOND in R4 which left everyone going “Ah!!”, but Susie defended them and said it’s hard to spot anyways. Hopefully they don’t have one which has a high FLATNESS index (if it exists) like their words in R5 or it’ll be hard to sell out there! Ian goes safe with 1 Large which helps him keep level, and thank you Colin for mentioning out loud what I’ve and many others have observed about Patrick here when I wrote about it last Thursday! After the Anecdote, oh my word, R7 seems to be a common round in this Series Finals that the lead opens up, and Patrick’s REPUTABLE spot beats Ian’s PLEATER! Hopefully this won’t be the fatal blow that determines the match!
Here comes the next 4 Large puzzle in R9 and with Patrick finding such a simple method of 109 × 2 - 10, poor Ian is left trailing behind with a margin of 28 points (Some of us missed this too which is yet another facepalm moment, I guess people do pay the price for taking the easy way out with 209) .Last Third: Hopefully you’re not out of breath like the Teatime Teaser that past or sweating profusely in this weather just yet. Hahaha, R10 was such an amazing one, because both of them got it within five seconds (even faster than Colin’s observed ten), had time to smile at each other (again!), drink water, and Colin to reconsider if only 15 seconds should be given per round
. R11 adds more laughter because Ian was so happy he didn’t have to pronounce COURANTE on-screen (no need to worry Patrick about butchering it, you just about got it!). After some talk about being on the spur of the moment in the Origins of Words, bad luck to Patrick as the singular of NOTORIS doesn’t exist and Ian catches up. But it’s too late for him with a familiar selection in R13 (something similar came out during one of Charlie Harrison’s Preliminaries, hint!) and Patrick’s EGOSURF spot to seal the victory for the latter! One last 1 Large pick from Ian and comeon Colin, don’t put him down with his bad handwriting by saying “as usual”, he got there in the end anyways for a very manageable target for the Semi-Finals. Unfortunately, let’s be honest, I don’t think Ian can make it a double century with Patrick being extremely fast on the conundrums, so let’s see how fast the latter solves then. A falseagram comes with INOBSCURE, and in a flash (i.e. 1.25s), this is nothing but one for Patrick to get the answer which we last saw on the show way back in June 2017 (I knew what the word meant but I would have never gotten this scrabble in 30 seconds)! What in the world is this ludicrous speed , you can only wonder what’s installed for the Grand Final now!I predicted for Patrick to beat Ian by around 30 points, but the margin was wider at 39 points and if Daniel had gone through here, he would have been beaten by around the same margin assuming the 6 Small rounds he had wished for were played. Sometimes the smallest detail matters as Ian pointed out, but, you could tell he had loads of fun here, from having a laugh when Oti mentioned potatoes in the South of Ireland were better than the North (and hurting Colin’s ego in the process
) and being briefly in Susie’s position in R8 when he was asked about CAMOGIE. Patrick also revealed after the show that they got lightly told off for talking too much in between rounds/takes, so I guess the amount of fun they had was loads and this was never going to be a stressful match at all! Hopefully you’ve enjoyed your experience here and I’m sure your wife who was overseas at the time of filming couldn’t have been more proud of you cheering from abroad. I’m sure your Countdown run will increase your invitations to more gigs for you to perform in the future and keep strumming that guitar! The penultimate episode of the Series is almost here, and two players who now have at least 1000 points to their names are going to battle it out for the last spot the day after. Will Luke’s predictions of Charlie wiping him out come true, or will it be a close match to the point Charlie struggles, and the game turns out to be an outcome way different than any of us expected?
Progress:
QF1 (18 June 2026): Patrick Thompson (#1) vs Tom Bashford (#8) (118 - 64)
QF2 (19 June 2026): Charlie Harrison (#2) vs Megel Barker (#7) (120 - 86)
QF3 (22 June 2026): Luke Selway (#3) vs Callum Ridley (#6) (102 - 76)
QF4 (23 June 2026): Daniel Face (#4) vs Ian Kinsella (#5) (102 - 107)
SF1 (24 June 2026): Patrick Thompson (QF1 Winner) vs Ian Kinsella (QF4 Winner) (138 - 99)
SF2 (25 June 2026): Charlie Harrison (QF2 Winner) vs Luke Selway (QF3 Winner)
GF (26 June 2026): Patrick Thompson (SF1 Winner) vs (SF2 Winner)