C1: Champion Sean Fletcher (5 wins, 454 points.) A win today will put him on six wins, which should be enough to take him into the quarter finals.
C2: Challenger Tony Stares. Tony is from York and has been taking flying lessons.
DC: Susie Dent and David Emanuel.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: S N F E I H N O D
R02: T S A V U E T L T
R03: 75, 3, 10, 7, 5, 5. Target: 658.
TTT: EVEDOTES - "Eve dotes on Adam and he dotes on her"
R04: C Z G O I H E D S
R05: G S A E V N O P S
R06: 25, 5, 7, 1, 4, 2. Target: 558.
R07: M T W E A L S O U
R08: B N A D I P L O D
R09: 75, 7, 4, 8, 3, 7. Target: 612.
TTT: EXFRUITS - "These will tell you when the cherries are playing the tangerines"
R10: S M E N A K E R O
R11: G M R E I T R U E
R12: T P A G O R I S O
R13: P R E I D J R E R
R14: 50, 8, 2, 8, 6, 1. Target: 560.
R15: T H O M A S I N C (conundrum)
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Round 1: S N F E I H N O D
Sean: SNIDE (5)
Tony: SHINED (6)
DC: FISHED (6) SHINNED (7)
OT: DONNISH (7)
Score: 0–6 (max 7)
Tony takes an early lead here with a six, while DC get one of the two sevens.
Round 2: T S A V U E T L T
Sean: VAULTS (6)
Tony: VAULTS (6)
DC: SUAVE (5) TATTLES (7)
OT: STATUTE (7) TAUTEST (7)
Score: 6–12 (max 14)
VAULTS from both contestants as DC TATTLES.
Round 3: 75, 3, 10, 7, 5, 5. Target: 658.
Sean: 657. (5+3)x75+10x5+7 (7)
Tony: 657. Mistake in working.
RR: 658. (75+7)x(5+3)+(10/5) (10)
Score: 13–12 (max 24)
Tony has made a mistake so Sean's seven points from this round take him one ahead of his challenger. Rachel has the exact solution.
Teatime teaser: EVEDOTES -> DEVOTEES
Round 4: C Z G O I H E D S
Sean: HIDES (5)
Tony: CHIDES (6)
DC: COSIED (6) SIGHED (6)
OT: CHIGOES (7)
Score: 13–18 (max 31)
Tony immediately regains the lead with CHIDES for 6. The darrenic max here, CHIGOES, evades all in the studio. A CHIGOE is a type of flea.
Round 5: G S A E V N O P S
Sean: SPONGES (7)
Tony: OPENS (5)
Score: 20–18 (max 38)
Tony had been getting the better of Sean in the letters rounds up until now, but Sean hits back with a good darrenic seven spot which puts him in the lead again.
Round 6: 25, 5, 7, 1, 4, 2. Target: 558.
Sean: 558. (5x4+2)x25+7+1 (10)
Tony: -
Score: 30–18 (max 48)
And Sean beats Tony to the numbers too, so his lead is extended to 12 points.
Round 7: M T W E A L S O U
Sean: SOULMATE (8)
Tony: SALUTE (6)
DC: MOTELS (6) METALS (6)
Score: 38–18 (max 56)
Another excellent darren spot from Sean. All the coolest people spot SOULMATE on TV
Round 8: B N A D I P L O D
Sean: BLAND (5)
Tony: PLAIN (5)
DC: PLAID (5) NOPAL (5) ALBINO (6)
OT: BANDIDO (7)
Score: 43–23 (max 63)
Fives from the contestants, a last minute six from DC, and a seven from c4c.
Round 9: 75, 7, 4, 8, 3, 7. Target: 612.
Sean: 612. 75x8+3x4 (10)
Tony: 611.
Score: 53–23 (max 73)
Sean is just ahead of Tony on the numbers once more, so his lead now stands at a comfortable 30 points
Teatime teaser: EXFRUITS -> FIXTURES
Round 10: S M E N A K E R O
Sean: REMAKES (7)
Tony: MAKERS (6)
DC: RENAMES (7) RAMOSE (6)
OT: MOANERS (7) OARSMEN (7) SNEAKER (7)
Score: 60–23 (max 80)
Another letters maximum from Sean, who looks likely to have booked his place in the finals now.
Round 11: G M R E I T R U E
Sean: EGRET (5)
Tony: METRE (5)
DC: REGRET (6) MITRE (5) MERGER (6) RETIME (6)
OT: GERMIER (7) TRIREME (7)
Score: 65–28 (max 87)
Fives from the contestants, although Susie points out that Sean was just one letter away from a six. Two sevens were available there.
Round 12: T P A G O R I S O
Sean: PASTOR (6)
Tony: GROATS (6)
DC: PATOIR (6)
OT: RAGTOPS (7)
Score: 71–34 (max 94)
Sixes from the studio, but there is a darrenic seven lurking.
Round 13: P R E I D J R E R
Sean: RIDER (5)
Tony: DRIER (5)
DC: PRIDE (5)
OT: DIRER (5) EIDER (5) ERRED (5) PRIED (5) RIPER (5)
Score: 76–39 (max 99)
The contestants both get fives, and DC appear to be disappointed not to beat them. They may be pleased to know that they couldn't possibly have done better, as five was the maximum here.
Round 14: 50, 8, 2, 8, 6, 1. Target: 560.
Sean: 560. (50+6)x(2+8) (10)
Tony: 560. (50+6)x(2+8) (10)
Score: 86–49 (max 109)
A nice simple numbers game to see the game out.
Round 15: T H O M A S I N C
No one buzzes. The answer was MACINTOSH.
It's a tricky conundrum that nobody in the audience can solve either.
Final Score: 86–49 (max 119)
Sean looked like he may have met his match early on in this game, but he came round to show his true ability and in the end he won comfortably. This win puts him on 6 wins with 540 points, which means he only needs 41 points tomorrow, win or lose, to guarantee a place in the quarter finals. It seems unlikely that he won't do so, but if he meets a particularly strong challenger then 41 points might not be an easy target. After two truncated weeks, Countdown returns to its normal schedule this week so join James tomorrow to see if Sean can make it.
Statistics
Raw score: Sean 96 - Tony 66
Maximums: Sean 7 - Tony 2
Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=70