Hello and welcome to today's recap.
Our apterite Mark Hartnett has had 3 excellent wins so far and well on the way to the Quarter Finals. Standing in his way however is a young 18 year old student called Bradley Cates. 'I'm sure I've seen him before' I hear you whisper. Yes, he was originally on 7 years ago, at the age of just 11.
C1: Champion Mark Hartnett (3 wins, 304 points.) An Apterite from Dublin. He's a big fan of St Patrick's Athletic, who won the League of Ireland last weekend.
C2: Challenger Bradley Cates. A student from Southport. His favourite song is Violet Hill by Coldplay. Had a foreign exchange in France.
DC: Susie Dent and Arlene Phillips.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: G L T A O E S A D
R02: N I R O R E G S N
R03: 10, 5, 8, 1, 3, 100. Target: 973.
TTT: ENIDFISH - "Oh that Enid Fish, she was most unpleasant."
R04: P O M I H A R D O
R05: N S M E E I T O H
R06: 3, 4, 8, 5, 6, 25. Target: 159.
R07: L R W L E I A M F
R08: P O T E V A J D U
R09: 4, 5, 4, 2, 1, 8. Target: 236.
TTT: SAWCHOSE - "Saw and chose what to buy from this display cabinet,"
R10: P I K E S I S Y R
R11: G N R B E O A I N
R12: D O S I T E T N A
R13: R E L I S O H X I
R14: 1, 5, 4, 5, 3, 25. Target: 986.
R15: I N L A Y T H U G (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Round 1: G L T A O E S A D
C1: GLOATED (7)
C2: GLOATED (7)
DC: STAGED (6)
OT: DOTAGES (7) GELADAS (7) LEGATOS (7)
Score: 7–7 (max 7)
So honours even in Round 1, as both players start with a 7.
Round 2: N I R O R E G S N
C1: IGNORERS (8)
C2: IGNORERS (8)
DC: SNORING (7) GRINNERS (8)
OT: NEGRONIS (8)
Score: 15–15 (max 15)
An 8 a piece here and maximum points from the first 2 rounds, though you would expect nothing less from these 2 quality players.
Round 3: 10, 5, 8, 1, 3, 100. Target: 973.
C1: 973. (100-3) x 10 + (8-5) (10)
C2: 973. (100-3) x 10 + (8-5) (10)
Score: 25–25 (max 25)
And the numbers does nothing to break the deadlock, as both players collect a sound 10 points.
Teatime teaser: ENIDFISH -> FIENDISH
Round 4: P O M I H A R D O
C1: HAIRDO (6)
C2: HAIRDO (6)
DC: MOHAIR (6) OOMPAH (6)
OT: MORPHIA (7)
Score: 31–31 (max 32)
Well the deadlock isn't broken, but we do have our first round without a maximum. Both players get a poultry 6 points and miss out on MORPHIA for 7. No disgrace though. DC missed it as well.
Round 5: N S M E E I T O H
C1: MONETISE (8)
C2: HOMIEST (7)
DC: SEMITONE (8)
OT: HOMESITE (8)
Score: 39–31 (max 40)
The champion Mark Hartnett breaks away into the lead with an 8, MONETISE.
Round 6: 3, 4, 8, 5, 6, 25. Target: 159.
C1: 159. (25x6) + 5 +4 (10)
C2: 159. (5-4) +25 x 6 +3 (10)
Score: 49–41 (max 50)
A relatively easy numbers game sees both players get 10 points, so Mark's 8 point lead is retained.
Arlene Phillips tells us about Choreographing for Freddie Mercury.
Round 7: L R W L E I A M F
C1: FALLER (6)
C2: FIREWALL (8)
DC: FLAMIER (7)
Score: 49–49 (max 58)
It's the equaliser for Bradley Cates! FIREWALL gets him the 8 points he needs to draw level again, and the game is wide open now.
Round 8: P O T E V A J D U
C1: UPDATE (6)
C2: UPDATE (6)
DC: DEVOUT (6)
OT: POUTED (6)
Score: 55–55 (max 64)
Both players UPDATE the scores with 6 points here.
Round 9: 4, 5, 4, 2, 1, 8. Target: 236.
C1: 236. Mistake in working.
C2: 236. (8x5) x (4+2) -4 (10)
Score: 55–65 (max 74)
Disaster for Mark! He uses a number twice in trying to get to 236. Bradley nips in and capitalises to take a 10 point lead.
Teatime teaser: SAWCHOSE -> SHOWCASE
Round 10: P I K E S I S Y R
C1: SPIKIER (7)
C2: SPIKIER (7)
DC: PISKIES (7)
OT: PISKEYS (7)
Score: 62–72 (max 81)
It's 7 all round as both players get SPIKIER.
Round 11: G N R B E O A I N
C1: BEARING (7)
C2: BEGONIA (7)
DC: REIGN (5)
OT: ABORNING (8) ENROBING (8) RINGBONE (8)
Score: 69–79 (max 89)
And again the players draw even with 7, though there were 3 8's there.
Susie gives a talk from Gyles Brandreth's humourous quotations.
Round 12: D O S I T E T N A
C1: ANTIDOTES (18)
C2: STATIONED (18)
DC: SEDATION (8)
Score: 87–97 (max 107)
It's a 9! In fact it's 2 9's. Both players get 18 points and the scoreboard will need SEDATION to cope with this. DC duly provide it.
Round 13: R E L I S O H X I
C1: ELIXIRS (7)
C2: ELIXIRS (7)
DC: RELISH (6) HOLIER (6) OILIER (6)
Score: 94–104 (max 114)
Another excellent round as both players get ELIXIRS for 7.
Round 14: 1, 5, 4, 5, 3, 25. Target: 986.
C1: 987. (25x4) -1 x 10 -3 (7)
C2: 987. (25x4) -1 x 10 -3 (7)
RR: 987. (7)
Score: 101–111 (max 121)
Both players come 1 away with 987. Rachel can't solve it either, so Bradley leads by 10 going into the conundrum.
Round 15: I N L A Y T H U G
Mark buzzes on 21 seconds, but can't give an answer.
The answer was NAUGHTILY.
Final Score: 101–111 (max 131)
So as the seconds ebb away, Mark desperately tries to save the day by buzzing in but couldn't find an answer. So nobody gets the conundrum, Nick turns to the audience for answers. None he finds, so the conundrum is revealed - NAUGHTILY.
So there we have it. A new champion in Bradley Cates. He's worked his socks off in getting to the Champion's Chair by beating an excellent champion in Mark Hartnett. As such he can now relax and enjoy the next game. Oooops sorry... not quite. He's facing another apterite on Monday in Sean D.
Graeme Cole will be here on Monday to recap that one. For now though it's Goodbye and thank you for reading. 
Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=69
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