Monday 6th October 2014 (series 71, prelim 59)

[Andy McGurn]

Countdown recap for Monday 6 October 2014.

C1: Champion Ellen Baker (2 wins, 149 points) Ellen has two wins in which she has come from behind to win, she seems happy to be there.

C2: Challenger Vicki Landriau. A survey supervisor from Nelson who is a big fan of John Grisham novels



DC: Susie Dent and Tony Jacklin.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: T E U D C O X S E
R02: D M A E T Q A N S
R03: 5, 8, 9, 3, 10, 100. Target: 388.
TTT: ISMORETO - "there is more space to move to in this building"
R04: C T E O G T U W P
R05: O I O T D N P A V
R06: 10, 3, 10, 4, 75, 50. Target: 717.
R07: R B U O M G R I D
R08: M S A O L S I E R
R09: 10, 8, 2, 10, 50, 25. Target: 437.
TTT: KINGSARM - "the kings arm was covered in tattoos"
R10: S Z A I R G E M N
R11: C I U R N S F A O
R12: N L E U J N O S A
R13: Y E O L D P E D T
R14: 10, 3, 1, 5, 100, 50. Target: 543.
R15: A N G R Y F O L D (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: T E U D C O X S E

Ellen: SCOUTED (7)
Vicki: SCOUTED (7)
DC: TUXEDOES (8)
Score: 7–7 (max 8)

Nice start for the girls as they both get SCOUTED. DC get the max with TUXEDOES, a word that the contestants may not have risked had they spotted it due to the extra e.



Round 2: D M A E T Q A N S

Ellen: MANDATES (8)
Vicki: MANDATES (8)
Score: 15–15 (max 16)

An excellent Darren by both Ellen and Vicki and already this looks like it could be a high quality game.



Round 3: 5, 8, 9, 3, 10, 100. Target: 388.

Ellen: 387.
Vicki: 388. (100-3)*(9-5) (10)
Score: 15–25 (max 26)

But a bad miss by Ellen gives the challenger the lead as Vicki gobbles up this first numbers game.


Teatime teaser: ISMORETO -> ROOMIEST



Round 4: C T E O G T U W P

Ellen: GOUT (4)
Vicki: POUT (4)
DC: COUPE (5)
OT: OCTET (5) PUTTO (5)
Score: 19–29 (max 31)

A tough round here with five the max and other than COUPE the fives that are there are not common words.


Round 5: O I O T D N P A V

Ellen: POTION (6)
Vicki: ADOPTION (8)
Score: 19–37 (max 39)

Vicki appears really confident as she makes her declarations, seems like her confidence is well justified as she spots the max again.



Round 6: 10, 3, 10, 4, 75, 50. Target: 717.

Ellen: 716.
Vicki: 717. ((75-4)*10)+(10-3) (10)
Score: 19–47 (max 49)

Ellen is one away on the numbers again as Vicki is spot on to increase her lead further.




DC Guest: Tony talks about the importance of motivation and confidence in his golfing career and tells us a poem about it



Round 7: R B U O M G R I D

Ellen: BRIM (4)
Vicki: GOURD (5)
DC: MORBID (6)
OT: RIGOUR (6)
Score: 19–52 (max 55)


Both players miss the max but Vicki has five to Ellen’s four and the challenger’s lead is going up and up.



Round 8: M S A O L S I E R

Ellen: MOSSIER (7)
Vicki: MOSSIER (7)
DC: MORALISES (18)
Score: 26–59 (max 73)


Given how Vicki has played so far, I expected her to get MORALISES, but she misses it and both she and Ellen have to make do with a Monograph of McGurn



Round 9: 10, 8, 2, 10, 50, 25. Target: 437.

Ellen: 426.
Vicki: 437. (8*50)+25+10+2 (10)
Score: 26–69 (max 83)


Ellen initially chooses one large but then changes her mind and goes for two large and then when declaring she seems all over the place as well. Vicki seems to be having clearer thoughts and she gets it spot on to take her to 30 out of 30 on the numbers.



Teatime teaser: KINGSARM -> MARKINGS

Round 10: S Z A I R G E M N

Ellen: MARGINS (7)
Vicki: SMEARING (8)
Score: 26–77 (max 91)

Another darrenic eight for Vicki who has pretty much sealed her teapot with her latest quality spot.



Round 11: C I U R N S F A O

Ellen: FUSION (6)
Vicki: CAIRNS (6)
DC: FIASCO (6) CARIOUS (7)
OT: CURIOSA (7) INSOFAR (7)
Score: 32–83 (max 98)


Ellen still seems to be enjoying her time on the show despite the fact that she obviously knows this will be her last game of her run. She matches Vicki here to not fall further behind.



Round 12: N L E U J N O S A

Ellen: sloane
Vicki: JOULES (6)
DC: JEALOUS (7)
Score: 32–89 (max 105)

Ellen would have probably only declared five if asked first and with the game already over it was probably worth going for the six after Vicki declared six.



Round 13: Y E O L D P E D T

Ellen: DEPLOYED (8)
Vicki: DEPLOYED (8)
Score: 40–97 (max 113)


That’s Vicki’s fourth eight of the game which is impressive for a debutant, with 20 points still left she could be in for a big score.


Round 14: 10, 3, 1, 5, 100, 50. Target: 543.

Ellen: 540.
Vicki: 543. (5*100)+50-(10-3) (10)
Score: 40–107 (max 123)

Its 40-nil to Vicki on numbers games today, I dare say that doesn’t happen that often.
With the century already secured, can she end her debut with a 117?


Round 15: A N G R Y F O L D

Ellen buzzes on 25 seconds to say DRAGONFLY which is correct.
Final Score: 50–107 (max 133)


So despite the crushing defeat, Ellen gets to end her run on a high with a nice conundrum spot, but she was never really in it today as Vicki makes an impressive debut.

Of course, the members of this forum know who debuts on Wednesday, so it already seems like Vicki won’t be in the finals despite her impressive game today. However, today she should be pleased with her performance and under normal circumstances she would be a potential octochamp.

Ellen seems to have enjoyed her time on the show, and theres a nice handshake between the two as the credits roll…




Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=71