Tuesday 25th February (Series 70, prelim 37)

Round-by-round summaries of every game in recent series; for every series in the last 5 years, try cdb, the Countdown database. Obviously this forum contains spoilers!

Moderator: James Robinson

Post Reply
User avatar
Callum Todd
Series 69 Champion
Posts: 1123
Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2013 3:38 pm
Location: Leeds

Tuesday 25th February (Series 70, prelim 37)

Post by Callum Todd »

Countdown recap for Tuesday 25 February 2014.

C1: Champion Andy Naylor (4 wins, 387 points.)
C2: Challenger Steve Jones.
DC: Susie Dent and Janet Street-Porter.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: A E O I D N P S L
R02: S A N G O W U S M
R03: 2, 9, 1, 8, 1, 7. Target: 968.
TTT: DOWNSIDE - "The downside is they're going to stop funding you"
R04: P E A L T O I F S
R05: E A I T C N R Y E
R06: 100, 75, 5, 1, 8, 4. Target: 789.
R07: G H R O E O A T S
R08: R P I E T O D I T
R09: 100, 9, 1, 4, 4, 8. Target: 208.
TTT: LENTCORE - "Vote for Reagan and this subatomic particle"
R10: K B U T O E S N C
R11: D I R O G A N Q I
R12: N R E A P S U B N
R13: E I O L D J M D R
R14: 25, 50, 75, 2, 3, 10. Target: 290.
R15: F E A R E D D U D (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER

Enjoy the show.

Round 1: A E O I D N P S L

C1: PALINODES (18)
C2: stained
Score: 18–0 (max 18)

A very confident Andy makes a strong start with PALINODES for nine.

Round 2: S A N G O W U S M

C1: WAGONS (6)
C2: WAGONS (6)
DC: MANGOS (6)
OT: GOSSAN (6) GOWANS (6) GUANOS (6) MASONS (6) NGOMAS (6) SUGANS (6)
Score: 24–6 (max 24)

A flat round of sixes here. An NGOMA is a traditional East African night of dancing and music.

Round 3: 2, 9, 1, 8, 1, 7. Target: 968.

C1: -
C2: -
OT: 969. (8x7+1)x(9x2-1) (7)
Score: 24–6 (max 31)

Andy's confidence may be getting the better of him here, as he allows Rachel to pick the numbers and consequently gets nowhere near it. One away was the best possible, and that was very tough to spot.

Teatime teaser: DOWNSIDE -> DISENDOW

Round 4: P E A L T O I F S

C1: FOLIATES (8)
C2: SPOILT (6)
DC: FLEAPITS (8)
Score: 32–6 (max 39)

Another letters max from Andy sees him extend his lead.

Round 5: E A I T C N R Y E

C1: CERTAIN (7)
C2: RETAIN (6)
DC: CREATINE (8)
OT: INCREATE (8)
Score: 39–6 (max 47)

CREATINE and INCREATE evade the contestants here, but Andy still increases his lead by seven points.

Round 6: 100, 75, 5, 1, 8, 4. Target: 789.

C1: 790.
C2: 789. 8x100-75/5+4 (10)
Score: 39–16 (max 57)

Steve pulls ten points back with a numbers solve that Andy couldn't see.

Round 7: G H R O E O A T S

C1: GHERAOS (7)
C2: SHOOTER (7)
DC: SHORTAGE (8)
Score: 46–23 (max 65)

Andy appears very pleased with himself to have spotted GHERAOS, but perhaps he would have looked less pleased about it if he had been aware that he was missing an eight. DC spot the darrenic SHORTAGE.

Round 8: R P I E T O D I T

C1: DOTTIER (7)
C2: -
DC: TIPTOED (7) PERIDOT (7)
OT: DIOPTRE (7) DIORITE (7) POTTIER (7)
Score: 53–23 (max 72)

Steve blanks on this round, so Andy's seven takes his lead to a strong thirty points.

Round 9: 100, 9, 1, 4, 4, 8. Target: 208.

C1: 208. (100+4)x8/4 (10)
C2: 208. (8/4)x100+9-1 (10)
Score: 63–33 (max 82)

Simple numbers here, ten points apiece.

Teatime teaser: LENTCORE -> ELECTRON

Round 10: K B U T O E S N C

C1: BUCKETS (7)
C2: CONTUSE (7)
DC: BOUNCES (7)
OT: BECKONS (7) BUCKOES (7) BUNCOES (7) COBNUTS (7)
Score: 70–40 (max 89)

A flat round of sevens. Steve's word is a nice one.

Round 11: D I R O G A N Q I

C1: RADIOING (8)
C2: ADORING (7)
Score: 78–40 (max 97)

A good darren spot from Andy surely puts the game beyond reach...

Round 12: N R E A P S U B N

C1: BEARS (5)
C2: SPANNER (7)
DC: BANNERS (7) unreap
OT: PUNNERS (7)
Score: 78–47 (max 104)

... or maybe not. Andy's decent form on the letters wanes here and Steve pulls seven points back. He still needs a nine though if he is to salvage the game.

Round 13: E I O L D J M D R

C1: OILED (5)
C2: MILDER (6)
DC: MIDDLE (6)
OT: DREIDL (6) LORDED (6) MILORD (6) MODDER (6) MOILED (6) RIDDLE (6) ROILED (6)
Score: 78–53 (max 110)

And another good last-ditch effort from Steve on the letters, as Andy fails to rediscover his form. But unfortunately there was no nine to be had, so the game was beyond reach for Steve.

Round 14: 25, 50, 75, 2, 3, 10. Target: 289.

C1: 290. (75+25)x3-10 (7)
C2: 290. (75+25)x3-10 (7)
RR: 289. (50+2)x(10-3)-75 (10)
Score: 85–60 (max 120)

Both contestants are one away, and Rachel shows us how it's done

Round 15: F E A R E D D U D

C1 buzzes on 6 seconds to say DEFRAUDED which is correct.
Final Score: 95–60 (max 130)

Andy solves the conundrum to finish a performance that was pretty strong, at times. Steve put up a good fight, getting a few rounds over on Andy, including a very nice numbers solve. He'll go home proud of his performance, but Andy is the focal point now. If he can win tomorrow he's almost certain to take the #1 spot in the seedings, but if he loses he will only be #4. His letters form at times has shown octochamp potential, but we saw towards the end of this game that he can slip up, and we saw closer to that start that sometimes he is too confident for his own good! Whatever happens, tomorrow's game is crucial for him. How will he fare? Join James to find out.

Statistics
C1 (Andy Naylor) - Raw score: 105, 8 maxes.
C2 (Steve Jones) - Raw score: 79, 6 maxes.

Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=70
Mark Deeks wrote:Callum Todd looks like a young Ted Bundy.
Post Reply