As is tradition, I will give you the full Robbo experience for this showpiece event, and in what has been the most remarkable year we could ever have imagined, we're now at the end of this remarkable series.
This is the 182nd show of this super-long series, which started back on 2nd January when some guy called Luke Johnson-Davies won his 6th show with a ridiculous score of 143 points!!
Now, 11 and a half months later, a chap called Luke Johnson-Davies remains in that champion's chair, and after getting a MAX GAME in his quarter-final, he'll probably be the favourite, but Sam Cappleman-Lynes is no slouch himself.
So, let's load up the double barrels
Countdown recap for Friday 18 December 2020.
C1: #1 Seed Luke "The Cambridge Colossus" Johnson-Davies (10 games, 10 wins, 1,272 points) An Apterite and student at Durham University, but is originally from Cambridge. He defeated #4 seed Ian Volante 112-65 in his semi-final on Wednesday.
C2: #2 Seed Sam "The Rochdale Rottweiler" Cappleman-Lynes (10 games, 10 wins, 1,184 points) An Apteforumite and software developer from Rochdale. He defeated #3 seed Leo Smith 124-83 in his semi-final yesterday.
DC: Susie Dent and Levi Roots.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: C S F D E A U O R
R02: N L T W I E A E O
R03: 3, 4, 8, 6, 5, 9. Target: 150.
TTT: SOAPNOTE - "It's not an indiustrial town, but it accommodates five mills."
R04: G H P M I E A V S
R05: L C Y B U O I E G
R06: 75, 25, 100, 50, 5, 1. Target: 785.
R07: K T N S A I E O R
R08: W M C S A E I U O
R09: 4, 2, 3, 7, 9, 8. Target: 668.
TTT: IMENAMEL - "I'm not enamel, I'm a type of plastic."
R10: R P L G E O A D F
R11: S T N P I E U A O
R12: R Q H S I E A D L
R13: M B G T I E O A E
R14: 50, 100, 75, 2, 8, 4. Target: 760.
R15: D O P E T E S T S (conundrum)
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Round 1: C S F D E A U O R
Luke: SURFACED (8)
Sam: CAROUSED (8)
DC: SAUCE (5)
Score: 8–8 (max 8)
Not a bad way to start, as Levi gives us some Reggae Reggae SAUCE.
Round 2: N L T W I E A E O
Luke: TOWLINE (7)
Sam: TOENAIL (7)
DC: ELATION (7)
OT: AEOLINE (7) ALNOITE (7) LOWEITE (7) NEOLITE (7)
Score: 15–15 (max 15)
Seven 7's.... BOOOOOOOM
An AEOLINE (or EOLINE) is an early form of harmonium.
ALNOITE is a dark, alkaline, intrusive igneous rock chiefly composed of augite, biotite, and olivine phenocrysts in a groundmass of augite and melilite.
LOWEITE is a mineral consisting of a hydrated sulphate of magnesium and sodium, occurring as granular aggregates or glassy prisms of a white, pale yellowish, or reddish colour. (Chemical formula: Na₁₂Mg₇(SO₄)₁₃·15H₂O.)
NEOLITE is an aluminosilicate of magnesium and (usually) ferric iron, occurring as green fibrous masses.
Round 3: 3, 4, 8, 6, 5, 9. Target: 150.
Luke: 150. 3 x 5 x (6 + 4) (10)
Sam: 150. (8 - 3) x 5 x 6 (10)
Score: 25–25 (max 25)
Triple bullseye...
Teatime teaser: SOAPNOTE -> TEASPOON
Round 4: G H P M I E A V S
Luke: MAGESHIP (8)
Sam: MAGPIES (7)
DC: VAMPISH (7)
Score: 33–25 (max 33)
And the first gap appears, and it's a phenomenal spot from Luke to give him the lead.
Round 5: L C Y B U O I E G
Luke: BOUGIE (6)
Sam: OBLIGE (6)
DC: EULOGY (6) BOUCLE (6)
OT: GLOBEY (6)
Score: 39–31 (max 39)
I fancy a BOUGIE too..., but Sam doesn't OBLIGE....
Round 6: 75, 25, 100, 50, 5, 1. Target: 785.
Luke: 785. ((75 + 1) x 5 x (100 / 50)) + 25 (10)
Sam: 785. ((((50 + 1) x 75) + 100) / 25) x 5 (10)
Score: 49–41 (max 49)
I'M TOO OLD FOR THIS
Levi talks about recites William Blake's poem, "The Tyger", and even gives it a reggae beat at the end.
Round 7: K T N S A I E O R
Luke: NARKIEST (8)
Sam: NOTARISE (8)
DC: NOTARIES (8)
OT: ARSONITE (8) NOTAIRES (8)
Score: 57–49 (max 57)
Good old 8's here.
ARSONITE is a rare term for an arsonist.
A NOTAIRE is an old term for a notary.
Round 8: W M C S A E I U O
Luke: CAESIUM (7)
Sam: CAESIUM (7)
DC: MUCOSAE (7)
OT: AECIUMS (7) OECIUMS (7)
Score: 64–56 (max 64)
CAESIUM returns after helping Sam out yesterday.
An AECIUM is a fruiting body produced on the mycelium of a rust fungus at a particular stage in its life cycle (especially, in heteroecious species, that occurring on an alternate host), within which aeciospores are produced.
An OECIUM (or OOECIUM) is the ovicell of certain bryozoans.
Round 9: 4, 2, 3, 7, 9, 8. Target: 668.
Luke: 667. (((9 x 7) + 4) x (8 + 2)) - 3 (7)
Sam: 669. ((((8 + 2) x 7) + 4) x 9) + 3 (7)
RR: 668. ((((2 + 7) x 9) + 3) x 8) - 4 (10)
Score: 71–63 (max 74)
Well, the hope of a MAX GAME in the final goes, but Luke's lead doesn't, as both get 1 away, while Rachel uses the extra time to get it spot on.
Teatime teaser: IMENAMEL -> MELAMINE
Round 10: R P L G E O A D F
Luke: LEAPFROG (8)
Sam: PERGOLA (7)
Score: 79–63 (max 82)
Now that's a perfect LEAPFROG from Luke, as he jumps from an 8 point lead to a 16 point lead.
Round 11: S T N P I E U A O
Luke: EUTOPIANS (18)
Sam: EUTOPIANS (18)
DC: PETUNIAS (8)
Score: 97–81 (max 100)
You can tell how good these two are when they give that spelling of EUTOPIANS.
Susie's Origins Of Words was mysteriously absent from this episode...
Round 12: R Q H S I E A D L
Luke: HERALDS (7)
Sam: HERALDS (7)
DC: SHADIER (7)
OT: AIRSHED (7) DERAILS (7) EARLIDS (7) HAILERS (7) HALIDES (7) HALIERS (7) REDIALS (7) SHALIER (7) SIDERAL (7)
Score: 104–88 (max 107)
Hark the Herald Angels Sing!!! Who will be the new King...
An AIRSHED is the mountain ridge or other topographical feature which divides an airflow into distinct parts.
An EARLID is the structure capable of closing off the ear; especially a hypothetical equivalent to the eyelid.
A HALIDE is a binary compound of a halogen with another element or group.
A HALIER is the former monetary unit of Slovakia, equal to one hundredth of a koruna.
Round 13: M B G T I E O A E
Luke: MAEGBOTE (8)
Sam: MEGABIT (7)
Score: 112–88 (max 115)
BAM!!!! THERE IS THE KILLER BLOW, AND WHAT A KILLER BLOW IT IS
That's certainly not a bad way to win the title by getting MAEGBOTE, such a remarkably good word it is.
Round 14: 50, 100, 75, 2, 8, 4. Target: 760.
Luke: 758.
Sam: 759. ((100 - 2) x 8) - (75 - 50) (7)
RR: 760. ((100 + 75) x 4) + 50 + 8 + 2 (10)
Score: 112–95 (max 125)
That's certainly a little tricky 3 large to end the series, although it also ends with a seemingly easy answer once you spot the tick.
Round 15: D O P E T E S T S
Sam buzzes on 24.75 seconds to say STEEDPOST which is incorrect.
Luke does not buzz.
The answer was POSSETTED.
Final Score: 112–95 (max 135)
No DOPE TESTS needed for these two, but neither can spot the final conundrum, but who cares really.
So, the new champion of Countdown is..... LUKE JOHNSON-DAVIES!!!
It seems a very long time ago that Luke started his journey, and IT WAS!!! Remember, he was in the last 5 preliminaries of Series 81, so his first episode was broadcast 379 days ago
But, since then, he has been in remarkable form, 11 centuries, 1,384 points, a MAX GAME in the quarter-final, and incredibly, he didn't even drop a point in the 30 letters games that he played in the finals
And those 1,384 points is a new record for a Xicount (a person who become an octochamp and won their QF/SF/GF too), smashing the previous record set by Zarte by 53 points
So, well done to Luke, and commiserations to Sam, who also played phenomenally during this series, and would definitely have won many series himself.
So, that's the longest ever series of Countdown completed, 175 preliminaries, 182 shows in total, 8 octochamps, but as always, only ONE CHAMPION
Next week, we enter a new realm of the show's history, as we have 3 special shows, and they're all hosted by a new person in the hotseat, none other than that Northern Irish stalwart himself, Colin Murray.
So, join him for "The Battle of Bingley", "The Champions Face-Off" and "The Clash of GOATs".
Till then, bye for now.
Statistics Corner
Luke:
Total score - 112
Raw score - 119
Total % of max - 83
Raw % of max - 88
Total average score per round - 7.5
Raw average score per round - 7.9
Number of maxes - 12
Sam:
Total score - 95
Raw score - 116
Total % of max - 70
Raw % of max - 86
Total average score per round - 6.3
Raw average score per round - 7.7
Number of maxes - 9
Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=82