C1: Champion Kirk Bevins (8 wins, 925 points.)
C2: Champion Julie Russell (3 wins, 356 points.)
DC: Susie Dent and John Stapleton.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: G N P E A E R O R
R02: Z S U L O S A P M
R03: C S R O A E L U R
R04: L I D E T A V T M
R05: 25, 3, 9, 1, 4, 5. Target: 605.
TTT: HOSEDHAG - "Might it wear a 52-and-a-half gallon hat?"
R06: N E T A D I N M E
R07: F T T B E A O I D
R08: R T A A L G F U C
R09: T R R I E I B E Y
R10: 50, 25, 6, 6, 2, 9. Target: 416.
TTT: INEPTREX - "Rex is inept because he's this"
R11: R P D O E I J X D
R12: W O T E S S N I S
R13: P Q H C E O E N A
R14: 75, 25, 2, 4, 1, 7. Target: 607.
R15: G O N N A L O A N (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Wow, he we are already at quarter-final number one for Series 60 - doesn't time fly? It seems like only yesterday that we were playing the heats matches. The first quarter-final sees the number one seed against the number eight seed, so in theory it should be the most straightforward to call. However, recent Champion of Champions XIII winner Steve Briers will testify that upsets can happen, even to the best of them...
That said, this series the number one seed is record-breaking Kirk "The Kirkulator" Bevins, whose 925 octohaul, Jeff tells us, is the highest in the programme's 27 year history. He also for a brief while held the "highest score by a challenger in a heat match" title until it was swiped from him by Hamish Williamson, who we'll see tomorrow. However, none of these stunning achievements really count for anything because this is his second shot at it
Kirk is a schoolteacher from York, and his phenomenal word knowledge on display in the heats prompted his class to suggest he should teach English instead of maths. Kirk thought this "was quite nice", whereas I conclude that they just think he's a shit maths teacher.Today's lamb to the slaughter is number eight seed Julie Russell, who notched up 3 wins before being felled by the aforementioned Hamish. Julie's a dental receptionist from Dumfries and it's worth noting that she did make a century in one game and even her losing score was a very respectable 84 - which all suggests she was a very good player who just had the misfortune to run into a slightly-better-player-on-the-day early on in her career. Maybe this won't be as one-sided as it appeared at first glance...?
Continuing in Dictionary Corner is John Stapleton, who is one of those guests that gets his contribution pretty much spot on for me (not hogging the words, giving players plenty of credit where due etc etc), Susie's looking fine, and Rachel's wearing this dress:
so all the components are in place for a cracking show. Enjoy!
Round 1: G N P E A E R O R
C1: PARERGON (8)
C2: ORANGE (6)
DC: GROANER (7)
Score: 8–0 (max 8)
Kirk's at it already and it's just the start Julie didn't need. "But PARAGON's a seven and there's only one A!!" thought... erm, absolutely nobody as Kirk very clearly emphasised the -ER- bit. A dead-impressed Susie tells us that PARERGON is a formal word for a piece of work supplementary to a larger piece of work, and everyone applauds heartily. Jeff offers GROPER.
Round 2: Z S U L O S A P M
C1: POSSUM (6)
C2: POSSUM (6)
DC: SLUMPS (6) SPOUSAL (7)
Score: 14–6 (max 15)
Susie with a rare Kirk-beater in SPOUSAL, which she tells us is like ESPOUSAL.
Round 3: C S R O A E L U R
C1: CAROUSEL (8)
C2: CAROUSEL (8)
DC: CAROUSER (8)
Score: 22–14 (max 23)
Round 4: L I D E T A V T M
C1: DETAIL (6)
C2: DETAIL (6)
DC: MALTED (6) MATTED (6)
OT: DATIVE (6) DILATE (6) TAILED (6) MAILED (6) MEDIAL (6) TILTED (6) TITLED (6) VAILED (6) VATTED (6) VITTAE (6)
Score: 28–20 (max 29)
Round 5: 25, 3, 9, 1, 4, 5. Target: 605.
C1: 605. 4*25*(9-3)+5 (10)
C2: 605. 4*25*(9-3)+5 (10)
Score: 38–30 (max 39)
Just the excellent PARERGON in the first round separating the players then as we head into the first ad break. Told you it wouldn't be a walkover!
Teatime teaser: HOSEDHAG -> HOGSHEAD
Susie explains that a HOGSHEAD is a wine measurement equal to 52-and-a-half gallons, as her eyes turn slightly red.
Round 6: N E T A D I N M E
C1: MEDIANT (7)
C2: DETAIN (6)
DC: DEMENTIA (8)
Score: 45–30 (max 47)
Another Kirk-beater from DC, and the cameraman catches perfectionist Kirk kicking himself at the miss - of course it doesn't really matter that much though, as Julie missing something of a Countdown favourite means Kirk can finally breathe a little easier with a fifteen point advantage.
Round 7: F T T B E A O I D
C1: BATTED (6)
C2: FITTED (6)
DC: FOETID (6)
OT: BAITED (6) BITTED (6) BOATED (6) BOATIE (6) FATTED (6) IODATE (6)
Score: 51–36 (max 53)
Round 8: R T A A L G F U C
C1: FRACTAL (7)
C2: CARTFUL (7)
DC: FACTUAL (7)
OT: FACULAR (7) FLATCAR (7)
Score: 58–43 (max 60)
A FLATCAR is a North American railway freight wagon without a roof or sides.
Round 9: T R R I E I B E Y
C1: RETIRE (6)
C2: RETIRE (6)
OT: ETRIER (6)
Score: 64–49 (max 66)
An ETRIER is a short rope ladder.
Round 10: 50, 25, 6, 6, 2, 9. Target: 416.
C1: 416. (50+25-6)*6+2 (10)
C2: 416. (2+6)*50+25-9 (10)
Score: 74–59 (max 76)
Teatime teaser: INEPTREX -> INEXPERT
Round 11: R P D O E I J X D
C1: PERIOD (6)
C2: PRIDED (6)
DC: DOPIER (6) ROPED (5)
OT: POXIER (6)
Score: 80–65 (max 82)
Round 12: W O T E S S N I S
C1: SNOWIEST (8)
C2: SNOWIEST (8)
DC: SESSION (7)
OT: SONSIEST (8) STENOSIS (8)
Score: 88–73 (max 90)
SONSY is a Scottish word meaning 'having an attractive and healthy appearance'; given the Scots propensity for Whisky and deep-fried Mars bars, it's not really much of a surprise that I've never heard the word before. A STENOSIS is an abnormal narrowing of a passage in the body.
Round 13: P Q H C E O E N A
C1: CHEAPEN (7)
C2: CHEAPEN (7)
Score: 95–80 (max 97)
Round 14: 75, 25, 2, 4, 1, 7. Target: 607.
C1: 607. 4*2*75+7 (10)
C2: 607. 4*2*75+7 (10)
Score: 105–90 (max 107)
An easy numbers game finally puts the game out of Julie's reach. You've got to wonder in such cases when you absolutely need to better your opponent whether it's worth going all-out (ie 6 small or 4 large) seeing as it seems most likely to provide you that opportunity, whatever you might think of your chances of actually capitalizing on it...
Round 15: G O N N A L O A N
C1 buzzes on 1 second (actually slightly under 1 I think) to say NONAGONAL which is correct.
Score: 115–90 (max 117)
Well Julie certainly did hang on to Kirk's coat-tails all the way, but 115/117 with a lightning conundrum spot meant he was very near unbeatable today, so she probably won't look back over the game and think she could have done any better than the very creditable performance she turned out. Congratulations to Kirk who'll be back next Wednesday to face either Shane Roberts or Neil Zussman in the semi-final...
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=60
When was the last time that happened?
