Well yesterday saw another apterite storm onto our screens in the form of Edward Byrne. He beat Malcolm Fletcher to snatch the champions chair away from him. Do we have yet another octochamp in our midst? Of course only time will tell, but for today Edward must set about defending his title. Andrew Avery is his challenger today. Enjoy.Countdown recap for Saturday 22 November 2014.
C1: Champion Edward Byrne (1 win, 93 points.) An Apterite and student at University College, Dublin from Booterstown, Dublin.
C2: Challenger Andrew Avery. A Bank Manager from Bampton in Devon. Enjoys travelling and sampling the local cuisine wherever he goes. Got caught in a hurricane in the Dominican Republic in 1998.
DC: Susie Dent and Michael Whitehall.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: H Q N S E A I E L
R02: S U P A N G E O B
R03: 8, 4, 25, 50, 75, 100. Target: 298.
TTT: SAIDDONE - "You could tell what he'd said much easier once he'd had these done."
R04: P I C G E T J O G
R05: N L M E O A E V D
R06: 2, 3, 7, 3, 2, 25. Target: 249.
R07: S N D I U E I W S
R08: T O N D E L R I X
R09: 10, 4, 25, 75, 100, 50. Target: 564.
TTT: ROANLAMB - "A roan lamb? That's not right surely."
R10: Z L I R E S L O I
R11: T S R V E A E U A
R12: D K P O A N E S R
R13: S T R Y I U O A S
R14: 1, 5, 3, 10, 2, 25. Target: 523.
R15: V I T R O L I F Y (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Enjoy the show.
Round 1: H Q N S E A I E L
Edward: sealine
Andrew: SALINE (6)
DC: SENILE (6) INHALES (7)
Score: 0–6 (max 7)
A disastrous start for Edward as 'sealine' is disallowed. Andrew takes the first e out to declare SALINE for 6.
Round 2: S U P A N G E O B
Edward: PAEONS (6)
Andrew: SPONGE (6)
DC: SUBPOENA (8)
Score: 6–12 (max 15)
It's 6 points each here with PAEONS and SPONGE.
Round 3: 8, 4, 25, 50, 75, 100. Target: 298.
Edward: 298. (75x4) - (50/25) (10)
Andrew: 298. (75/25) x 100 - (8/4) (10)
Score: 16–22 (max 25)
A perfect 10 for both players with 298.
Teatime teaser: SAIDDONE -> ADENOIDS
Round 4: P I C G E T J O G
Edward: POETIC (6)
Andrew: POETIC (6)
DC: POTJIE (6)
Score: 22–28 (max 31)
Both players get POETIC for 6 in this round.
Round 5: N L M E O A E V D
Edward: LOANED (6)
Andrew: LEMONADE (8)
DC: VENOMED (7)
Score: 22–36 (max 39)
Edward LOANED a 6 but it wasn't enough as Andrew got LEMONADE for 8 to extend his lead.
Round 6: 2, 3, 7, 3, 2, 25. Target: 249.
Edward: 249. (7+3) x 25 - (2/2) (10)
Andrew: 249. (7+3) x 25 - (3-2) (10)
Score: 32–46 (max 49)
Another perfect 10 as both players get 249.
Michael Whitehall talks about his friend Don Taffner and the Garrick club.
Round 7: S N D I U E I W S
Edward: INSIDES (7)
Andrew: DISUSE (6)
DC: SUNDEWS (7)
OT: NIDUSES (7)
Score: 39–46 (max 56)
Edward pulls some points back with INSIDES for 7, as Andrew decides to DISUSE his 6.
Round 8: T O N D E L R I X
Edward: LINED (5)
Andrew: LOITER (6)
DC: TENDRIL (7)
OT: DEXTRIN (7) LENTOID (7) RETINOL (7)
Score: 39–52 (max 63)
Andrew extends his lead again with LOITER for 6, as Edward only got LINED for 5.
Round 9: 10, 4, 25, 75, 100, 50. Target: 564.
Edward: 565. (50+4) x 10 + 25 (7)
Andrew: 571.
RR: 565. (7)
Score: 46–52 (max 70)
Edward pulls back 7 points by getting one away from a difficult numbers, which was in fact impossible to get spot on. Andrew is 7 away so fails to score.
Teatime teaser: ROANLAMB -> ABNORMAL
Round 10: Z L I R E S L O I
Edward: SILLIER (7)
Andrew: SILLIER (7)
DC: OILIER (6)
Score: 53–59 (max 77)
This is a SILLIER round for both players as they score 7 a piece.
Round 11: T S R V E A E U A
Edward: EATERS (6)
Andrew: STARVE (6)
DC: AUSTERE (7) VASTER (6)
OT: AERATES (7) AUREATE (7) VESTURE (7)
Score: 59–65 (max 84)
It's EATERS and STARVE for 6 each here.
Susie Dent talks about the Arabic used in our language.
Round 12: D K P O A N E S R
Edward: PADRONES (8)
Andrew: DARKENS (7)
DC: SPANKED (7) SPANKER (7) PANDERS (7) PONDERS (7)
OT: OPERANDS (8)
Score: 67–65 (max 92)
Edward pulls a vital 8 points back with an apterous favourite PADRONES. Andrew's position DARKENS all of a sudden as he goes 2 points down.
Round 13: S T R Y I U O A S
Edward: RATIOS (6)
Andrew: STAIRS (6)
DC: SAUTOIRS (8)
Score: 73–71 (max 100)
Both players get 6 points here. We're in for a grandstand finish it seems.
Round 14: 1, 5, 3, 10, 2, 25. Target: 523.
Edward: 523. Mistake in working.
Andrew: 524. (5+2) x 3 - 1 (7)
RR: 523. (10x2) + 1 x 25 - (5-3) (10)
Score: 73–78 (max 110)
Edward makes a mistake on the numbers as he tries to get 523. Andrew gets 524, so scores 7 points and regains the lead. A crucial conundrum beckons.
Round 15: V I T R O L I F Y
Andrew buzzes on 11 seconds to say FRIVOLITY which is correct.
Final Score: 73–88 (max 120)
Andrew's conundrum spot gives him victory. All he had to do was hold, but he got it to make sure of the win. So Edward's countdown run ends somewhat prematurely some might say, though Andrew was more than worthy of his win as he played very well throughout the game. Will Andrew go on to become an octochamp himself now? It's no mean feat beating an apterite, and those that do tend to go on to great things. Tune in on Monday to find out. Andy McGurn will be here on Monday, so be sure to join him. I'll be back next Friday. Until then, thank you very much for reading, and goodbye.
Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=71
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