With Paul Worsley, David Stanford and Tricia Pay all having been dispatched so far this finals, we're down to our last 5 contestants of the series. [artist's impression below]
So this is not just a recap. This is...
Starring...
And...
In my capacity as head of the George Pryn Fan Club I have, worryingly, already got 'George Pryn' on autofill in the Sparklee text box.
Both contestants stormed their prelims, becoming octochamps with an average of over 100 points per game and spotting classy words like BANSURIS (Mark) and solving the most ludicrous 4 larges (George) between them. If both are on form, this promises to be quite a game.
Please note: Zarte told me he was sick of seeing Darren Bent in my recaps, so I've drafted in a replacement as a tribute to this special finals game.
With no further ado, then...
C1: Champion Mark Davies (8 wins, 844 points.) A technical officer at an environmental agency in Widnes, Mark is the #4 seed for the series. He says he was happy just to win one game, and calls his opponent "a really good player".
C2: Champion George "Pryn" Ford (8 wins, 832 points.) A sixth form student from Whittlesey, near Peterborough, George is the #5 seed and youngest finalist of the series. Nick reminds us that we were "dazzled" by his numbers games; I personally am dazzled by his excellent jumper, which is plain black on the body and embroidered in a number of colours on the arms. This is knitwear as we've not seen it since the fashion masterpiece that was the 30th Birthday Championship final.
DC: Susie Dent and David Baddiel.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: H N T A E U L R A
R02: M L O I E D J R U
R03: 50, 75, 3, 7, 5, 8. Target: 724.
TTT: AFIBLUST - "This person has a lust for telling fibs"
R04: S P S V O A I E S
R05: D R D O E U L W A
R06: 100, 75, 50, 25, 4, 5. Target: 823.
R07: N C I E S N A L S
R08: M D G T N E A O E
R09: 25, 100, 7, 3, 1, 2. Target: 942.
TTT: GETMYPIN - "Get my pin and start withdrawing everything from my account"
R10: Z A I U G R E O T
R11: R L R E O I T C E
R12: I E V P O E S B T
R13: R N R I A U T D M
R14: 100, 75, 50, 25, 7, 9. Target: 660.
R15: T H E S K I L O G (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Enjoy the show.
Round 1: H N T A E U L R A
Mark: NEUTRAL (7)
George: UNEARTH (7)
DC: NATURAL (7) HAUNTER (7)
OT: ENTHRAL (7) ETHANAL (7) LUTHERN (7)
Score: 7–7 (max 7)
Both contestants get off to a maxy start in a flat opening round.
Round 2: M L O I E D J R U
Mark: MOULDIER (8)
George: MOULDIER (8)
DC: REMOULD (7) MOILED (6)
Score: 15–15 (max 15)
Derren 1! And both our plucky finalists spot him.
Round 3: 50, 75, 3, 7, 5, 8. Target: 724.
Mark: 725. (8 + 5)*50 + 75 (7)
George: -
RR: 724. (75 + 3)*50/5 - 7*8 (10)
Score: 22–15 (max 25)
An uncharacteristic numbers blank from the 17 year old sees Mark take first blood in the game with a deceptively difficult 2 large game. As testament to its surprising difficulty, Rachel takes until after the ad break to solve it.
Teatime teaser: AFIBLUST -> FABULIST
Round 4: S P S V O A I E S
Mark: PASSES (6)
George: PASSIVES (8)
Score: 22–23 (max 33)
George hits back immediately with an unlikely but valid 8 that even Conor Travers wouldn't have risked. (This is actually a fact, because he said so in the live Aptochat box during the game.) This is, of course, also Derren #2.
Round 5: D R D O E U L W A
Mark: DRAWLED (7)
George: ROULADE (7)
DC: WADDLER (7)
OT: DAWDLER (7)
Score: 29–30 (max 40)
Round 6: 100, 75, 50, 25, 4, 5. Target: 823.
Mark: 823. (5 + 4)*100 - 75 - 50/25 (10)
George: 823. (5 + 4)*100 - 75 - 50/25 (10)
Score: 39–40 (max 50)
4 large was George's weapon during his octorun, but both contestants solve it well within the time to maintain the scoring status quo.
Round 7: N C I E S N A L S
Mark: LACINESS (8)
George: LANCES (6)
DC: SANICLES (8)
Score: 47–40 (max 58)
Mark regains his lead with a nice -NESS word. DC offer alternate anagram SANICLES. A sanicle is "A plant of the parsley family which has burr-like fruit".
Round 8: M D G T N E A O E
Mark: montaged
George: NEMATODE (8)
DC: GOATEED (7)
Score: 47–48 (max 66)
And, yet again, George takes the lead back instantly with this Derrenic 8, while Mark's plausible offering is sadly disallowed. A nematode is a "A worm of the large phylum Nematoda, such as a roundworm or threadworm".
Round 9: 25, 100, 7, 3, 1, 2. Target: 942.
Mark: 941. Mistake in working.
George: 943. (100 + 3 - 1)*(7 + 2) + 25 (7)
Score: 47–55 (max 73)
And he capitalises on his lead in the next round as Mark makes a mistake in his solution. As for 942?
Teatime teaser: GETMYPIN -> EMPTYING
Round 10: Z A I U G R E O T
Mark: OUTRAGE (7)
George: OUTRAGE (7)
DC: TOERAG (6) GAUZIER (7)
OT: AZURITE (7) GOUTIER (7)
Score: 54–62 (max 80)
Round 11: R L R E O I T C E
Mark: CORTILE (7)
George: RECITER (7)
DC: CORRIE (6) TRICE (5)
RR: LOITERER (8)
Score: 61–69 (max 88)
George's unsure declaration of RECITER turns out to be a good gamble, as it's in. Derren #4 is hidden in the selection, and it's up to Rachel to intervene as DC miss him. 'LOITERER' implies a sinister lurker, so here's an accompanying sinister picture:
Round 12: I E V P O E S B T
Mark: PIVOTS (6)
George: POETISE (7)
DC: BESTIE (6)
Score: 61–76 (max 95)
This time George sees the Derren (#5 of the game) in an unappealing selection, putting him beyond the reach of a crucial conundrum for now. Can he hold on? Derren's not sure.
Round 13: R N R I A U T D M
Mark: MURRAIN (7)
George: MURRAIN (7)
OT: UNITARD (7)
Score: 68–83 (max 102)
Is a murrain:
A) Redwater fever or a similar infectious disease affecting cattle or other animals.
B) [archaic] A plague, epidemic, or crop blight.
C)The potato blight during the Irish famine in the mid 19th century.
D) All of the above?
The answer is D.
Round 14: 100, 75, 50, 25, 7, 9. Target: 660.
Mark: 659. Mistake in working.
George: 659. (100 - 75)*25 + 50 - 9 - 7 (7)
OT: 660. (50*7 -100)*(75-9)/25 (10)
Score: 68–90 (max 112)
Mark thinks it's all over - it is now, as he makes another mistake on the numbers. George can't get it spot on, but it doesn't matter as he's already guaranteed a place in the semi final.
Round 15: T H E S K I L O G
Mark buzzes on 8 seconds to say GHOSTLIKE which is correct.
Final Score: 78–90 (max 122)
It's too little, too late for Mark as he solves the conundrum for a consolation 10 points, but is still the loser in a flip-flopping contest between two very likeable contestants. George meanwhile has set himself up for a semi-final against #1 seed and 6th highest scoring octochamp ever, Dan McColm, to be played tomorrow. How will he do? Will he perform 4L wizardry as he did in his octorun? Will his knitwear live up to the excellent standard set today? Find out the answer to this question, among others, TOMORROW at 3:10 on Channel 4.
This is my last recap of the series, so I bid you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR. Until then...
Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=71