C1: Champion Charlie Reams (12 wins, 1258 points.)
C2: Champion Jon Corby (11 wins, 1199 points.)
DC: Susie Dent and Paul Zenon.
RR: Rachel Riley, looking gorgeous in purple:
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: N L G G R I E O K
R02: R P N E A A D R A
R03: L N D R U E E U S
R04: M Q N S A A E O J
R05: 25, 7, 1, 5, 9, 6. Target: 185.
TTT: TOCRAYON - "Add up the letters to get the answer"
R06: W A S D L I E H T
R07: T D L M O E O I R
R08: S R B I A U C O N
R09: S V T R E I O E A
R10: 100, 50, 75, 2, 6, 2. Target: 284.
TTT: NOONPOST - "You have to be 21 or under to sail in one of these"
R11: S D T P E I I T R
R12: B H C Z E O E I N
R13: Y R S L U I E A F
R14: 25, 4, 1, 4, 7, 9. Target: 760.
R15: I L E A N I D L Y (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
Charlie came into the Champion of Champions tournament as the number one seed but beaten finalist of the previous series. He eased past Peter Davies 85-65 (although he led by 30 going into the conundrum) in his first round match, and then avenged that series final defeat by narrowly beating Junaid Mubeen 88-79 in the quarter-final when neither player could unscramble the crucial conundrum SALESGIRL.
Jon, on the other hand (that's me) is clearly the rustiest of all the CoC contestants; his last appearance on Countdown was over 2 and a half years ago and he's probably never played it or even seen it since, so it's something of a miracle he got this far. Ahem. He knocked out previously unbeaten series 55 champion Richard Brittain in the first round in a slightly bizarre but entertaining game, and then saw off the challenge of series 58 semi-finalist Jonathan Coles in the quarter-final.
A not-particularly-appealing position in tomorrow's final against the tournament's form player Steven Briers awaits the victor!
Round 1: N L G G R I E O K
C1: LINGER (6)
C2: LONGER (6)
DC: NIGGLE (6) GINGER (6)
OT: NIGGER (6) GINGKO (6) GINKGO (6) GORING (6) GRINGO (6) IGNORE (6) REGION (6) LEGION (6) LIGGER (6) LINKER (6) LOGGER (6) LOGIER (6) NEROLI (6) OGLING (6)
Score: 6–6 (max 6)
Wow, that's a lot of sixes. And a very off-putting set of letters to start with
Round 2: R P N E A A D R A
C1: PARDNER (7)
C2: PARADER (7)
Score: 13–13 (max 13)
The two champs cover both sevens here...
Round 3: L N D R U E E U S
C1: UNDERUSE (8)
C2: UNDERUSE (8)
Score: 21–21 (max 21)
...and the only eight here.
Actually, prior to this round there was a "lost round" because somebody couldn't keep quiet somewhere. About 25 seconds into the countdown the (probably darrenic) 8 PIANISTS was heard very clearly at least twice. To me it sounded like some deaf old duffer in the audience trying to say it to his equally-deaf wife, but oddly nobody in the audience I spoke to afterwards seemed to have heard it. We all heard it very clearly on the set though, so when it came to declaration time Charlie explained that he'd heard the 8. We both had it anyway, so were happy to proceed, but when Susie confirmed that she heard it too, the decision was made elsewhere to scrap the round entirely. It also nearly killed my dad - he had whispered "pianist" once to my sister so when Jay told the audience to STFU in future, she said to him "that was you". Junaid, oblivious even to my dad's whisper, then also chipped in jokingly with "it was Mr Corby trying to help his son!" Unfortunately this all convinced my dad that it actually was him, and he left the studio drenched in sweat about to pass out or have a heart attack or something. The first time he knew that it wasn't him was when I told him (I know his voice, it wasn't a whisper, it was repeated, etc) at the end of recording over half an hour later. Bless.
Round 4: M Q N S A A E O J
C1: SEAMAN (6)
C2: SEAMAN (6)
OT: NOSEMA (6)
Score: 27–27 (max 27)
I say my word first, so under the new protocol it's up to me to confirm that Charlie is indeed presenting me with a piece of paper with seaman on. My filthy mind races with the possible gags, but I bottle it and thus pass up the chance to fulfil my lifelong ambition of appearing on TV's Naughtiest Blunders.
Round 5: 25, 7, 1, 5, 9, 6. Target: 185.
C1: 185. 25*7+1+9 (10)
C2: 185. 25*7+1+9 (10)
Score: 37–37 (max 37)
Teatime teaser: TOCRAYON -> OCTONARY
Round 6: W A S D L I E H T
C1: WHISTLED (8)
C2: WAISTED (7)
Score: 45–37 (max 45)
Great spot by Charlie finally breaks the deadlock, and keeps up his max game. How will Corby react to falling behind for the first time in the tournament....?
Round 7: T D L M O E O I R
C1: DOLOMITE (8)
C2: MOTORED (7)
Score: 53–37 (max 53)
...not well. It's another Triumph (lol) for Charlie with yet another darrenic 8, but (unlike WHISTLED) it's a word I have spotted several times in practice (in fact, I don't think I've ever missed it) so now the wheels are well and truly coming off...
Round 8: S R B I A U C O N
C1: RUBICONS (8)
C2: RUBICONS (8)
Score: 61–45 (max 61)
Darrenic eight number four for Charlie! I manage to match him this time though, in a round which I later realised contained CORBIANUS.
Round 9: S V T R E I O E A
C1: OVERSITE (8)
C2: OVEREATS (8)
OT: VOTARIES (8)
Score: 69–53 (max 69)
Charlie completes an entire "half" of the show comprising of 8s to keep his max game going. Brilliant stuff.
Round 10: 100, 50, 75, 2, 6, 2. Target: 284.
C1: 284. (75-2-100/50)*(6-2) (10)
C2: 284. (100+50-6-2)*2 (10)
Score: 79–63 (max 79)
Teatime teaser: NOONPOST -> PONTOONS
Round 11: S D T P E I I T R
C1: SPIRITED (8)
C2: STRIPED (7)
DC: DIPTERIST (18)
Score: 87–63 (max 97)
It's all but over as Corby flounders with a "seven that is never the max" (ie you can add any vowel to STRIPED to make an 8). I spent the whole 30 seconds getting flustered trying to work out what SPIRITED+I made (knowing Charlie would most likely have it) that I missed the easier, more obvious 8 in DIRTIEST. I don't think I'd ever seen DIPTERIST before, which seems slightly unusual given the common letter make-up.
That's a record-breaking five eights in a row for Charlie, but where's your max game gone eh? Eh? Ha! Oh.
Round 12: B H C Z E O E I N
C1: NICHE (5)
C2: BENCH (5)
DC: COZEN (5)
OT: EBONIZE (7)
Score: 92–68 (max 104)
Round 13: Y R S L U I E A F
C1: FAILURES (8)
C2: FAILURES (8)
Score: 100–76 (max 112)
Charlie makes it an astonishing total of seven eights to seal the victory....
Round 14: 25, 4, 1, 4, 7, 9. Target: 760.
C1: 760. (25*4+9)*7-(4-1) (10)
C2: 761.
Score: 110–76 (max 122)
...and then rubs salt into the wound with, in his own words, a rare numbers round victory!
Round 15: I L E A N I D L Y
No one buzzes. The answer was...
LEYLANDII !!
Score: 110–76 (max 132)
A truly stunning performance by Charlie which - with no disrespect meant - I totally wasn't expecting. To get 110 with no nines and no conundrum is pretty breathtaking, and even if I look back and think I should have got DOLOMITE and SPIRITED/DIRTIEST and tried harder with the last numbers, I would have still been left wanting (especially as I'd never heard of LEYLANDII, hence this:
which I now feel a bit silly for doing as it turns out nearly everybody else has heard of it, and I'm just thick.)
The usual end-of-show handshake is foregone as a visibly enraged Corby attempts to assault Charlie. He manages to turn it into an affectionate-looking hug though:
Altogether now: Aaah.
And so a mouthwatering final in prospect tomorrow; Charlie seems to be hitting form at just the right time, and it's appropriate that the final should be contested by the two players who have produced by far the standout performances of the tournament (Charlie today and Steve 118-110 Doddy, in case it wasn't obvious.)
(Apologies for the lateness of the recap. Oh, and also for the constant switching between the first and third person. Oh, and also (to that guy on dial-up) for littering it with big animated gifs. Thanks to myleftpeg of the f365 forum for his kind permission to use these gifs, as he made them. Actually, he didn't give permission at all, but he's a decent sort so I know he won't mind.)
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=-15
As entertaining to read as it was to watch. 