Tuesday 25th March 2014 (Series 70, prelim 53)

[Callum Todd]

Countdown recap for Tuesday 25 March 2014.

C1: Champion Cliff Lee (5 wins, 480 points.)
C2: Challenger Martin Ashmeade.
DC: Susie Dent and Maureen Lipman.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: N T D S U E A R I
R02: L M O A R Y E L S
R03: 6, 9, 1, 1, 9, 5. Target: 355.
TTT: FLUTEFAN - "He's a big fan of the Champagne flute, well, he can afford it."
R04: D T S U O I V R E
R05: W N A O E D S N A
R06: 25, 9, 1, 2, 5, 6. Target: 690.
R07: G T D I E A E X R
R08: O I A G B M U T D
R09: 100, 75, 6, 10, 8, 5. Target: 171.
TTT: OURBEACH - "We felt like royalty when taken to our beach in this"
R10: R B N T E O A L N
R11: F G T C I E O I H
R12: M L E O R F U I C
R13: N V N R E O A S E
R14: 25, 9, 2, 5, 10, 9. Target: 849.
R15: A G R I M N I N E (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: N T D S U E A R I

Cliff: RANDIEST (8)
Martin: naturised
DC: URINATED (8) STRAINED (8) ASUNDER (7) STARED (6) ASTRIDE (7) RUSTED (6) INDURATES (18)
Score: 8–0 (max 18)

Very unlucky there for Martin, with a very plausible-sounding nine being disallowed. There is a valid nine in there though.

Round 2: L M O A R Y E L S

Cliff: SMALLER (7)
Martin: slalomer
DC: MOLAR (5)
OT: AMYLOSE (7) MORALLY (7) ROSELLA (7)
Score: 15–0 (max 25)

Yet more bad luck from Martin as another very plausible word gets disallowed.

Round 3: 6, 9, 1, 1, 9, 5. Target: 355.

Cliff: -
Martin: 355. ((9-1)x9-1)x5 (10)
Score: 15–10 (max 35)

Cliff struggles with his numbers but Martin does well. He's looking like a strong contender.

Teatime teaser: FLUTEFAN -> AFFLUENT

Round 4: D T S U O I V R E

Cliff: OUTRIDES (8)
Martin: TEDIOUS (7)
DC: OUTSIDER (8)
OT: OUTDRIVES (18)
Score: 23–10 (max 53)

Good eight spot from Cliff, but you can throw the V in there to make OUTDRIVES for nine.

Round 5: W N A O E D S N A

Cliff: SWANNED (7)
Martin: SNOWED (6)
Score: 30–10 (max 60)

Excellent darrenic seven from Cliff, taking him 20 points clear of Martin.

Round 6: 25, 9, 1, 2, 5, 6. Target: 690.

Cliff: -
Martin: 686. Mistake in working.
RR: 690. (5x6)x(25-2) (10)
Score: 30–10 (max 70)

Cliff struggles with the numbers again, while Martin has four away but didn't right it down, and couldn't recall how he got there. Unlucky. Rachel has the exact solution.

Round 7: G T D I E A E X R

Cliff: TRIAGED (7)
Martin: GAITERED (8)
DC: EXITED (6) TIRADE (6)
Score: 30–18 (max 78)

Another superb darren spot, this time from the challenger.

Round 8: O I A G B M U T D

Cliff: OUTBID (6)
Martin: GAMBIT (6)
OT: AGOUTI (6) DIATOM (6) MIDGUT (6)
Score: 36–24 (max 84)

Nice flat round of sixes here.

Round 9: 100, 75, 6, 10, 8, 5. Target: 171.

Cliff: 171. 100+75+6-10 (10)
Martin: 171. 100+75+6-10 (10)
Score: 46–34 (max 94)

And an easy numbers round helps boost both contestants' scores.

Teatime teaser: OURBEACH -> BAROUCHE

Round 10: R B N T E O A L N

Cliff: BLOATER (7)
Martin: NOTABLE (7)
DC: BARONET (7) LANTERN (7)
OT: NORTENA (7) RETABLO (7)
Score: 53–41 (max 101)

Another flat round, with seven as the max this time.

Round 11: F G T C I E O I H

Cliff: FIGHT (5)
Martin: FETCH (5)
DC: FETICH (6)
OT: CHIGOE (6) FITCHE (6) GOTHIC (6)
Score: 58–46 (max 107)

Fives from each of the contestants, DC get one of the four sixes.

Round 12: M L E O R F U I C

Cliff: MILER (5)
Martin: FORCE (5)
DC: FORUM (5) RECOIL (6) COMFIER (7)
OT: MERCIFUL (8)
Score: 63–51 (max 115)

Fives from the contestants again, DC get a five, a six, and a seven. The recap writer gets an eight.

Round 13: N V N R E O A S E

Cliff: NERVES (6)
Martin: NERVES (6)
DC: NOVENAS (7)
OT: ENSNARE (7) OVERSEA (7)
Score: 69–57 (max 122)

The contestants' NERVES may be kicking in here as we reach the climax of a close game. DC get one of the three sevens.

Round 14: 25, 9, 2, 5, 10, 9. Target: 849.

Cliff: -
Martin: 850. ((9-2)x5-(10-9))x25 (7)
RR: 849. (5x9+25)x(10+2)+9 (10)
Score: 69–64 (max 132)

Cliff's numbers continue to let him down, but Martin stays calm at the last to pick up a vital seven points, meaning we now have a crucial conundrum.

Round 15: A G R I M N I N E (conundrum)

Martin buzzes on 3 seconds to say REMAINING which is correct.
Final Score: 69–74 (max 142)

Cliff put in an astonishing debut performance, and has shown some other signs of good skill throughout his run thusfar, but has occasionally struggled to find the form that makes him so impressive when he's at his best. Today he has struggled with numbers, and that has cost him in the end. To me it looked he was just about ready to buzz when Martin did, so it really was a very close-run thing. But congratulations to Martin, who played very well, especially after his very unlucky start to the game.

So, for what feels like the umpteenth time this series, a strong contestant has struggled to find the consistency needed to go all the way to octochampdom. Can Martin overcome the obstacles that have caught so many good players out this series? Join James tomorrow to see how he gets on.

Statistics:
Raw score: Cliff 76 - Martin 87
Maximums: Cliff 5 - Martin 6

Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=70

[Fred Mumford]

Somebody who knows how to correct the wiki needs to adjust Cliff's total.

The individual games total 549 but he's listed as 547.

[Graeme Cole]

Somebody who knows how to correct the wiki needs to adjust Cliff's total.

The individual games total 549 but he's listed as 547.

Well spotted. Fixed.