Time to enjoy.
Countdown recap for Wednesday 13 August 2014.
C1: Champion Mark Davies (3 wins, 320 points.) A technical officer for the Environmental Agency from Widnes, Cheshire.
C2: Challenger Robbie Davies. A graphic designer from London. He's also a tennis coach in spare time. His favourite place is his girlfriend's house as she makes good chicken dippers (which Nick thinks is some sort of code..........
)DC: Susie Dent and Gethin Jones.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: C T J E U A P O M
R02: P T E G A R I L D
R03: 25, 75, 8, 1, 7, 6. Target: 723.
TTT: MUMLOCKS - "Mum locks you in your room until you smarten yourself up a bit"
R04: T Q E F T I N A W
R05: L G K E O I L A R
R06: 25, 8, 3, 2, 8, 7. Target: 404.
R07: S G V O E A T E N
R08: D S U D A O M U S
R09: 50, 25, 3, 8, 1, 3. Target: 563.
TTT: APEDDELL - "Sounds like he got on his bike to sell goods"
R10: F C A R E D I N X
R11: S R N U I A S I B
R12: N G E R N A U S E
R13: W M S O A E Y O E
R14: 25, 2, 5, 9, 4, 6. Target: 402.
R15: D A M P S L I C E (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Enjoy the show.
Round 1: C T J E U A P O M
Mark: COMPUTE (7)
Robbie: CAMP (4)
DC: OUTPACE (7) CAJEPUT (7)
Score: 7–0 (max 7)
A thoroughly impressive start from Mark, as Robbie can only struggle to a 4............
Round 2: P T E G A R I L D
Mark: LIGATED (7)
Robbie: TRAILED (7)
DC: TRIPLED (7)
OT: DIPTERAL (8)
Score: 14–7 (max 15)
A few 7's in the round, but there was a darrenic 8 missed by all here............
DIPTERAL is an architectural term meaning having a double peristyle.
Round 3: 25, 75, 8, 1, 7, 6. Target: 723.
Mark: 721. ((25 + 75 + 1) x 7) + 8 + 6 (7)
Robbie: 725. ((8 + 1 + 7 - 6) x 75) - 25 (7)
RR: 723. (75 x 7) + ((25 + 8) x 6) (10)
Score: 21–14 (max 25)
A bit of a tricky numbers game here, as both contestants manage 2 away, while with a bit of time, Rachel manages to get it spot on.
Teatime teaser: MUMLOCKS -> SLUMMOCK
Round 4: T Q E F T I N A W
Mark: FATTEN (6)
Robbie: FATTEN (6)
Score: 27–20 (max 31)
Both players FATTEN up for the darrenic 6.
Round 5: L G K E O I L A R
Mark: KILLER (6)
Robbie: KILLER (6)
DC: GORILLA (7) ALLEGRO (7)
Score: 33–26 (max 38)
Now we have a pair of KILLERs........, Eeeeeek
DC do get both 7's available though. Round 6: 25, 8, 3, 2, 8, 7. Target: 404.
Mark: 404. (2 x 8 x 25) + 7 - 3 (10)
Robbie: 404. (8 x 25 x 2) + 7 - 3 (10)
Score: 43–36 (max 48)
Nothing much to say about this one. Just the first round separates the pair of them.
Gethin talks about his programmes he does with the army in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Round 7: S G V O E A T E N
Mark: NEGATES (7)
Robbie: NEGATES (7)
DC: TANGOES (7) AVENGES (7) GOATEES (7)
OT: GENEVAS (7) NOVATES (7) ONSTAGE (7) SANGEET (7)
Score: 50–43 (max 55)
Plenty of 7's here, and 7 is still the gap for now.............
SANGEET is a celebration held before a Hindu wedding ceremony for the bride-to-be and her female friends and relatives.
Round 8: D S U D A O M U S
Mark: MUSOS (5)
Robbie: modus
DC: SADDO (5) SUMOS (5) SADDOS (6)
Score: 55–43 (max 61)
What a nasty round full of SADDOS.
But, it's Mark who pulls away further with his MUSOS. Round 9: 50, 25, 3, 8, 1, 3. Target: 563.
Mark: 564. ((8 + 3) x (50 + 1)) + 3 (7)
Robbie: 554.
Score: 62–43 (max 68)
Another nasty numbers here, but Mark gets as good as it gets, as 563 is a no-no.
Teatime teaser: APEDDELL -> PEDALLED
Round 10: F C A R E D I N X
Mark: FANCIED (7)
Robbie: candier
DC: FINDER (6) FANCIER (7)
Score: 69–43 (max 75)
Mark must be highly FANCIED now, as Robbie falls further behind thanks to his candier offering...........
Round 11: S R N U I A S I B
Mark: BANSURIS (8)
Robbie: russian
DC: RAISINS (7) BRUINS (6)
Score: 77–43 (max 83)
Now that's a fantastic spot from Mark
Top praise from yours truly there. Susie's Origins of Words talks about the origins of "salt" and "slush fund".
Round 12: N G E R N A U S E
Mark: GUNNERS (7)
Robbie: GUNNERS (7)
DC: EARNS (5) GUNNERAS (8)
Score: 84–50 (max 91)
A pair of GUNNERS are topped by DC's GUNNERAS, but Mark won't mind, as he's nearly a half-octochamp.
Round 13: W M S O A E Y O E
Mark: AWESOME (7)
Robbie: moosey
DC: SOMEWAY (7)
Score: 91–50 (max 98)
What an AWESOME way to win your 4th game. Mark has been in imperious form yet again, and he'll be a danger in the finals, should he get there............
Round 14: 25, 2, 5, 9, 4, 6. Target: 402.
Mark: 402. ((9 - 4 + 5 + 6) x 25) + 2 (10)
Robbie: -
Score: 101–50 (max 108)
Robbie has just gone altogether in this half, and Mark's 4th century on the spin is his. Now, can he get his 2nd conundrum........
Round 15: D A M P S L I C E
No one buzzes. The answer was MISPLACED.
Final Score: 101–50 (max 118)
Well, it seems that the conundrums are still a big weakness for Mark, as it's only one out of 4 for him, but if his letters and numbers skills are maintained, he won't need to worry about this that much...........
So, it's 4 down, 4 to go for Mark, who is now #2 on the leaderboard with 421 points, and is well on his way to being the next octochamp of the series. Barring a top-level Apterite coming on, I can't see anyone stopping him, but that's been said before.............
Join me tomorrow to see if Mark does indeed win game #5.
So, till then, bye for now.
Statistics Corner
Mark:
Total score - 101
Raw score - 101
Total % of max - 86
Raw % of max - 86
Total average score per round - 6.7
Raw average score per round - 6.7
Number of maxes - 9
Robbie:
Total score - 50
Raw score - 59
Total % of max - 42
Raw % of max - 50
Total average score per round - 3.3
Raw average score per round - 3.9
Number of maxes - 3
Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=71