Tuesday 14th October (Series 71, prelim 65)

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Callum Todd
Series 69 Champion
Posts: 1123
Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2013 3:38 pm
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Tuesday 14th October (Series 71, prelim 65)

Post by Callum Todd »

Countdown recap for Tuesday 14 October 2014.

Apologies for my huge backlog of missing recaps, I'll aim to catch up on them as soon as possible.

C1: Champion Dan McColm (4 wins, 433 points.) A high-ranking apterite tipped for great things on the show, he dispatched some very strong competition in form of fellow apterite John Vivian yesterday.
C2: Challenger Samantha Cooper.
DC: Susie Dent and Richard Arnold.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: G R M E A E S I L
R02: N D Z A U S T N E
R03: 75, 2, 10, 6, 7, 7. Target: 185.
TTT: DADGREEN - "Dad was green fingered and often did this."
R04: S P L O I T P U E
R05: X G M A E U B I T
R06: 75, 8, 1, 10, 6, 1. Target: 115.
R07: D G T E I A N R P
R08: S L N I O E V W S
R09: 75, 8, 7, 4, 10, 10. Target: 555.
TTT: NUTTYLOG - "If you're guilty of this, you'll never bite off more than you can chew."
R10: T M T A E F A C W
R11: C P K U A I D O E
R12: Q T R O N E A D L
R13: S F L E A O R S U
R14: 100, 7, 4, 3, 2, 5. Target: 383.
R15: N I C E O R G A N (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: G R M E A E S I L

Dan: EMAILERS (8)
Samantha: REGIMES (7)
DC: emerges* MEASLIER (8)
OT: MILEAGES (8) REGALISM (8)
Score: 8–0 (max 8)

Good start from Dan as he takes an early lead with a nice eight.

Round 2: N D Z A U S T N E

Dan: STUNNED (7)
Samantha: STAND (5)
DC: SUNDAE (6) SUNTAN (6)
OT: DUENNAS (7) DUNNEST (7)
Score: 15–0 (max 15)

And another good max from Dan sees him go further ahead.

Round 3: 75, 2, 10, 6, 7, 7. Target: 185.

Dan: 185. 75x2+6x7-7 (10)
Samantha: 184.
Score: 25–0 (max 25)

Good solve from Dan here, he has now established a firm control over this game.

Teatime teaser: DADGREEN -> GARDENED

Round 4: S P L O I T P U E

Dan: PITEOUS (7)
Samantha: TOPPLES (7)
DC: PULPITS (7) PISTOLE (7)
OT: POPULIST (8) PULPIEST (8)
Score: 32–7 (max 33)

Samantha gets some points on the board as Dan misses a max for the first time today. Neither of them are easy to spot though so no shame there.

Round 5: X G M A E U B I T

Dan: BAUXITE (7)
Samantha: GAMBIT (6)
DC: MEGABIT (7)
Score: 39–7 (max 40)

A very nice seven from Dan, and DC have the other one available.

Round 6: 75, 8, 1, 10, 6, 1. Target: 115.

Dan: 115. (6-1)x8+75 (10)
Samantha: 115. (6-1)x8+75 (10)
Score: 49–17 (max 50)

Nice straight forward solve from both contestants buffs their scores up.

Round 7: D G T E I A N R P

Dan: PREDATING (18)
Samantha: DEPARTING (18)
Score: 67–35 (max 68)

Two nines available here, and our two contestants get both between them to really buff their scores up :)

Round 8: S L N I O E V W S

Dan: INSOLES (7)
Samantha: WINLESS (7)
DC: SWIVELS (7)
OT: LESIONS (7) LIONESS (7) LOWNESS (7) SLOVENS (7) SNIVELS (7)
Score: 74–42 (max 75)

Good sevens in a fairly flat round.

Round 9: 75, 8, 7, 4, 10, 10. Target: 555.

Dan: 555. 75x7+4x10-10 (10)
Samantha: 555. (4x10+8)x10+75 (10)
Score: 84–52 (max 85)

Two different methods here but the numbers are spot on from both.

Teatime teaser: NUTTYLOG -> GLUTTONY

Round 10: T M T A E F A C W

Dan: FACET (5)
Samantha: TEAM (4)
DC: MACAW (5)
OT: FACTA (5) FATWA (5) FETTA (5) MATTE (5) METTA (5) TACET (5)
Score: 89–52 (max 90)

It's a tough round but Dan manages to take the maximum with a good 5.

Round 11: C P K U A I D O E

Dan: PICKED (6)
Samantha: COPIED (6)
DC: PACKED (6) CUPID (5)
OT: COUPED (6) PADOUK (6) POCKED (6)
Score: 95–58 (max 96)

Another tough round, this time six is tops and both contestants take maximum points.

Round 12: Q T R O N E A D L

Dan: LEOTARD (7)
Samantha: LOANED (6)
DC: TALONED (7) LADRONE (7)
OT: DELATOR (7)
Score: 102–58 (max 103)

An old favourite for Dan sends him over the century mark.

Round 13: S F L E A O R S U

Dan: AROUSES (7)
Samantha: FALSE (5)
DC: REFUSALS (8)
Score: 109–58 (max 111)

Ah very unlucky here, I think Dan probably wanted a final I to come out for FORESAILS, but unfortunately he got a U which may have thrown him off a bit. He still gets a good seven though to extend his lead, and the darrenic eight there was tough to spot.

Round 14: 100, 7, 4, 3, 2, 5. Target: 383.

Dan: 383. 100x4-(5x2+7) (10)
Samantha: -
Score: 119–58 (max 121)

Samantha seems to have run out of steam here after a terrific effort to keep up with Dan on great form, so it's another 10 points added onto Dan's lead, taking him above double his opponent's score.

Round 15: N I C E O R G A N

Dan buzzes on 6 seconds to say IGNORANCE which is correct.
Final Score: 129–58 (max 131)

It's a reasonably tricky conundrum but Dan gets it, wrapping off a very impressive 13-max game with his highest score yet. Samantha played well at times, and certainly did better than many would expect to do against such a strong player. Join James tomorrow to see Dan take the next step towards octochampdom, if that is indeed the path that he is on, as it appears.

If you've been awe-inspired by Dan's performances on Countdown and want to get in on some Countdown action yourself, I would strongly recommend also joining James here to discover the wonderful world of Co:Hud, which takes place in one month's time.

[Statistics]
Raw scores: Dan 129 - Samantha 91
Maximums: Dan 13 8-) - Samantha 5

Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=71
Mark Deeks wrote:Callum Todd looks like a young Ted Bundy.
Dan McColm
Series 71 Champion
Posts: 255
Joined: Fri Oct 22, 2010 1:23 am

Re: Tuesday 14th October (Series 71, prelim 65)

Post by Dan McColm »

I was looking for a final I in that round, but for SOLARISE - I might have seen FORESAILS later in the round though.
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Callum Todd
Series 69 Champion
Posts: 1123
Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2013 3:38 pm
Location: Leeds

Re: Tuesday 14th October (Series 71, prelim 65)

Post by Callum Todd »

Dan McColm wrote:I was looking for a final I in that round, but for SOLARISE - I might have seen FORESAILS later in the round though.
Ah okay. Well unlucky either way, that U made it tough. Great performance though.
Mark Deeks wrote:Callum Todd looks like a young Ted Bundy.
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