Well Countdown was running later than usual, and if the turkey on your telly when the show should have started wasn't enough to make your mouth watering, then it means you're not far away from the Christmas Dinner you deserve in around 1.5 weeks from now!
Anyways, welcome to the final week of full shows where the Christmas decorations are back, and so is Christopher Biggins, oh yes he is! But wait, it's not just that, a new tradition?! Hold on, the Christmas Carolers since 2023 are back to end off today with another carol! We'll find out what it is later, but first, nice reminiscing times gone by with Ben watching an episode with his grandmother and with Ricky describing what it was like back in Mid-1999 in his Quarter Final against the eventual Series 40 Grand Champion Terence English. Hopefully it'll not end in a painful close loss for the latter or it'll be so miserable to end off this year!
First Third: First Round and with Ben having MELODICA?! Wow, that is something. With a manageable R2 in terms of the force and pressure (you'll know what I mean
), comes Ben with his usual 2 Large in R3. Wow, triple "2"s as the target? Last week we had 999 and 888 as a target and declaration, I wonder what next? Simple one here so let's move on.
Second Third: Bad luck to Ricky as fanless is not valid in R4 (Ben later mentioned after the show ended he did also have this word but discarded it), but credit to him in the next round for getting us into the Christmas mood with PRALINE alongside with Ben in which if you're flying abroad this season, you'll be seeing AILERONs moving around on your plane.
Now, I hadn't studied Ricky's 1999 tactics (it was only after the show that I realised back then, he was a consistent 1 Large picker like in 2025) beforehand and I expected a 1 Large puzzle, so to most of our surprise, he goes 6 Small! Oh I hope this doesn't backfire, but it doesn't as an easy target comes up only if you see it. Great for both contestants to spot different solutions too!
After the Anecdote, I so hoped Ben's declaration of MESSED in R7 wasn't a premonition of what was to come, because Ricky stumbled in R8 with him using a letter twice and had blanked out in an easy (once you work a solution backwards) 2 Large puzzle in R9!
Last Third: Let's cheer up with a Christmas Teatime Teaser (which I hope continues till the end of the week!) shall we? Ricky was probably still trying to get out of the DEBRIS in R10 as Ben had HEROISED to beat him! Fortunately, the former made a recovery till the end and scored maxes all round up till R13. Ricky is out of the playing field by that point, but he goes one last time with 6 Small in R14, and it's a simple one if you know your multiples of 3. Oh dear, Colin was probably right when Ricky's mind drifted elsewhere (probably wanting to go home earlier like some Finalists in years gone by after realising they've lost
) as he draws a blank and allows Ben to extend his lead. Here comes the conundrum, and are you expecting to find lots of PLUMBs out there in the SEAS? If so, then maybe what you're seeing in front of you in the open waters is the answer. Times up and no one got it (I had it right at the death because I anyhow guessed correctly, lucky me), but the answer is self-explanatory that Colin thought it was ridiculous for Susie to even look it up.
Poor Ricky, his mistakes cost him the win here and the margin of 47 points was slightly larger than I had anticipated of 40 points (but the best prediction thus far). However, I'm sure he left here happy because he's an Octochamp for life and he has now elevated himself to that status 26 years later. As a consolation, the loss here would not be as painful because he had no chance of winning at the very end and I'm sure coming back full circle and clinching such a feat would have made his father Cyril proud, no matter whether he is still alive or deceased. Like Mark, enjoy your retirement and hope you have a long life ahead!
Time to take our leave, and here are the Christmas Carollers with the song "Hark the Herald Angels Sing", but it was made so bizarre as everyone said on the Daily Chat, because: A) Brett Davids who won last Friday told us that the final take we saw was actually the fourth or fifth attempt
, B) Ben and Ricky had to sit there clapping each time a take was done and remain enthusiastic (dear oh dear...) and C) The continuity announcer cut in halfway especially at the climax of the chorus. Wow, that was some butchered ending, if not the worst Christmas Carol ending I saw for this group of people so far. I'm sure things can be done better in 2026, we can only hope.
So, it's game on come Thursday, with Brett gracefully "accepting" the duel from Ben in Discord to battle it out in the second Semi-Final on-screen! There's still however, one more spot to fill up to complete the Semi-Finalist table. Will it be "First Legally Deaf Finalist in Countdown History and a huge 3 Large devotee" Ciaran McCarthy or "Maths Child Prodigy who lived up to his Name and Claiming Fame here on the Game" John Payne who will secure it? I can sense a large numbers battle playing out and sparks might fly, find out if this comes true!
Progress:
QF1 (11 December 2025):
Jase Cullen (#1) vs Shemina Kirby (#8) (
121 - 43)
QF2 (12 December 2025):
Brett Davids (#2) vs Mark Allen (#7) (
116 - 91)
QF3 (15 December 2025):
Ben Hocking (#3) vs Ricky Cohen (#6) (
108 - 61)
QF4 (16 December 2025): Ciaran McCarthy (#4) vs John Payne (#5)
SF1 (17 December 2025): Jase Cullen (QF1 Winner) vs (QF4 Winner)
SF2 (18 December 2025): Brett Davids (QF2 Winner) vs Ben Hocking (QF3 Winner)
GF (19 December 2025): (SF1 Winner) vs (SF2 Winner)