Hi again all! We're into the second week of the 30th Birthday Championship and already we have our first game between two players who have played each other on the show before. In fact, they met in the Series 21 final (http://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_1132) all the way back in 1991, with Barry Grossman triumphing over Jackie McLeod. Will she avenge her defeat today or will history repeat itself? My apologies for lateness, had to watch it again to get some crucial information and this game wasn't on 4oD for some reason.
C1: Series 21 runner-up Jackie McLeod (7 wins, 4 defeats, 546 points, all 9-rounders except 14-round final.) Originally from Richmond, London, she now lives in North Yorkshire. She is a retired medical secretary and is a keen Scrabble player, like many other players in the tournament. Her three preliminary wins in January 1991 were just about enough for her to make the finals, albeit as number eight seed. She defied the form book to reach the final before losing 99-67 against today's opponent Barry. She lost her first match in the CoC against Chris Waddington but a decent run in the Supreme Championship in 1996 saw her make the group finals, before falling at the hands of the first ever series winner Joyce Cansfield.
C2: Series 21 champion Barry Grossman (10 wins, 3 defeats, 731 points, all 9-rounders except 14-round final.) A researcher from Hertford, he has recently returned from the US. He is also a keen Scrabbler. He won five heats before losing his sixth by just three points. He was number 3 seed for the finals and went all the way. Like McLeod, he was beaten in the first round of the following CoC and the group finals of the Supreme Championship, by Robert Teuton and eventual winner Harvey Freeman respectively. In his fifth game against Richard Foster, he came up with the word AXOLOTL in the first round, arguably one of the best words produced by a contestant in the history of the show.
DC: Susie Dent and Martin Lewis.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: S L D K O E I M L
R02: N D E P D O T U S
R03: X H M A E T R O T
R04: L H R I E A N S R
R05: 25, 5, 3, 2, 8, 6. Target: 221.
TTT: FLYCREAK - "In America, it's all about publicising Roberta"
R06: F C N O E A R V I
R07: E A O G P N E R W
R08: S T M V I E I D B
R09: Q C T E A E S G R
R10: 100, 10, 9, 4, 5, 2. Target: 865.
TTT: SPLATFRY - "The only time they shut up is when they're eating"
R11: J R P G U E A B U
R12: L F Y S A I E D O
R13: G R N M I U E S I
R14: 50, 2, 10, 3, 9, 5. Target: 686.
R15: G U E R R R I L A (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
Enjoy the show.
Round 1: S L D K O E I M L
C1: SKILLED (7)
C2: SKILLED (7)
DC: DOLLIES (7) MOLLIES (7)
OT: DESKILL (7) KELOIDS (7) MIDSOLE (7)
Score: 7–7 (max 7)
Both players are SKILLED enough to get on the scoreboard immediately as we begin with a flat round.
Round 2: N D E P D O T U S
C1: unposted
C2: OUTSPEND (8)
Score: 7–15 (max 15)
Barry takes the lead by spotting the darren, as Jackie's UNPOSTED is valid only in Scrabble. She may be kicking herself since she did apparently have OUTSPEND written down as well, so tough luck.
Round 3: X H M A E T R O T
C1: EXTORT (6)
C2: EXHORT (6)
DC: THROAT (6) THORAX (6)
OT: HATTER (6) HOAXER (6) HOTTER (6) MATTER (6) MOTHER (6) OMERTA (6) ROTATE (6) THREAT (6) TOTHER (6)
Score: 13–21 (max 21)
Even flatter than round 1.
Round 4: L H R I E A N S R
C1: INHALERS (8)
C2: INHALERS (8)
DC: SNARLIER (8)
Score: 21–29 (max 29)
Jackie and Barry match each other again, with DC making noises by spotting the other eight.
Round 5: 25, 5, 3, 2, 8, 6. Target: 221.
C1: 220.
C2: 221. (6 + 3) x 25 - 8/2 (10)
Score: 21–39 (max 39)
Oops, Jackie misses a low numbers target, allowing Barry to extend his lead and complete a maximum first "half".
Martin gives out some tips for house insurance, mainly to get insurance to cover the costs of rebuilding it if it's knocked down.
Teatime teaser: FLYCREAK -> FLACKERY
Round 6: F C N O E A R V I
C1: CORNEA (6)
C2: CORVINE (7)
DC: VERONICA (8)
Score: 21–46 (max 47)
The max game dream may have gone for Barry but he still extends his lead thanks to a word I don't think I'd come across before. It is an adjective meaning like a crow. DC go one better with the darrenic VERONICA, which has several meanings.
Round 7: E A O G P N E R W
C1: WAGONER (7)
C2: ORANGE (6)
OT: PEONAGE (7)
Score: 28–46 (max 54)
Jackie's not going to give up as she gets back into the contest thanks to her late spot.
Round 8: S T M V I E I D B
C1: VISITED (7)
C2: misdiet
Score: 35–46 (max 61)
Another CSW-only word, this time from Barry, whose lead shrinks to just eleven. You can't misdiet according to the ODE 3 and Jackie offers the safe VISITED to continue her charge. There are no other sevens available and this contest is very much alive.
Round 9: Q C T E A E S G R
C1: CREATES (7)
C2: CREATES (7)
DC: RESTAGE (7)
Score: 42–53 (max 68)
No dodgy words CREATEd by the Scrabble players in this round though.
OoW: Susie explains the origins of the terms DASHBOARD and JAYWALKER.
Round 10: 100, 10, 9, 4, 5, 2. Target: 865.
C1: -
C2: 865. 100 x 9 - (10 x 4) + 5 (10)
Score: 42–63 (max 78)
It appears that Jackie is not a fan of the numbers. She blanks another reasonably straight forward one and Barry takes advantage to give himself some breathing space.
Teatime teaser: SPLATFRY -> FLYTRAPS
Round 11: J R P G U E A B U
C1: PURGE (5)
C2: upbear
DC: ABJURE (6)
OT: BUREAU (6)
Score: 47–63 (max 84)
Barry is again unsuccessful with another Scrabble word. It was a bit of an unnecessary risk really as it means Jackie is potentially just one more good beater away from getting back within ten.
Round 12: L F Y S A I E D O
C1: ladyfies
C2: FLAYED (6)
DC: FAILED (6) EASILY (6) YIELDS (6)
OT: DIALYSE (7)
Score: 47–69 (max 91)
Ouch, Jackie's really unlucky here. She understandably thinks it's a good time for a gamble but LADYFIED or LADIFIED is just in as an adjective; you can't ladyfy or ladify something. Well, not anymore but you could do in the previous dictionary. Needless, to say, it would have been valid in Scrabble.
Round 13: G R N M I U E S I
C1: RESUMING (8)
C2: MINGIER (7)
DC: MINGERS (7)
OT: REMISING (8)
Score: 55–69 (max 99)
Jackie narrows the gap again, giving her a faint chance of victory. I say faint, because she will need to improve her numbers for the next round in order to beat Barry.
Round 14: 50, 2, 10, 3, 9, 5. Target: 686.
C1: 685.
C2: 686. (9 + 5) x 50 - ((10 - 3) x 2) (10)
Score: 55–79 (max 109)
Barry seals the game by making it a perfect 30 on the numbers, leaving Jackie at the opposite end of the scale.
Round 15: G U E R R R I L A
C1 buzzes on 6.5 seconds to say IRREGULAR which is correct.
Final Score: 65–79 (max 119)
Jackie has the last word with her conundrum solve but it's not enough to avenge her final defeat, having waited for over 20 years for this opportunity. She will be cursing her failure to score on the numbers, especially since they weren't the most difficult ones. Credit to Barry though who took advantage as well as offering some good words along the way. It was a low scoring game but that was due to a lot of split rounds, not a lack of quality or excitement. Barry qualifies for the next round and will face yesterday's winner Darryl Francis on 7th February.
The rest of the week sees some more recent faces return to the screen. Tomorrow looks like a mouth-watering clash between Series 61 runner-up and one-time record holder Andrew Hulme and the most recent CoC winner, Series 55 quarter finalist and number one seed Steve Briers. On Thursday, the last of the preliminaries will take place between Series 64 champion Edward McCullagh and my old friend Jonathan Rawlinson. Join James for his version of events, before another finalist from my series, Peter Lee, will battle it out with Series 63 octochamp Tom Rowell in the first First Round match of the tournament.
Next week, Graeme and I are swapping recap days with Robbo, for reasons mentioned in another thread. I believe I'll be back next Thursday and it looks like I've got myself a good one to recap. Two legends of the game go head to head in what promises to be a cracker. Series 43 semi finalist and record holder for highest octochamp total of the 9-round era David Williams will take on Series 61 champion Chris Davies. See you all then!
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=-16
