c4countdown

Ladies and gentlemen - Welcome to Leeds for a 15 round contest to determine who will be the Series 60 Countdown champion of the world.

Introducing to you ...... in the left hand chair, with a perfect record of 10 wins out of 10 contests; he is an octochamp amassing 782 points in his first 8 bouts; he currently has a total of 953 points; he is the number 3 seed; please welcome the undefeated Jimmy "Rough and Tough" Gough.

Ding, Ding, Ding!!

And ....... in the right hand chair, also with a perfect record of 10 out of 10 wins; on his way to becoming an octochamp, he amassed a world record 925 points in his first 8 bouts; he currently has a total of 1,138 points; he is the number 1 seed; please welcome the undefeated Kirk "The Kirkulator" Bevins.

Ding, Ding, Ding!!

Gentlemen, please take your seats and come out fighting.

And so we’ve reached the Final, with Jimmy playing Kirk,
Today is a massive challenge, that neither will want to shirk,
It’s Gough versus the Kirkulator,
Is the prize a teapot or a percolator?
Both have put in a lot of hard work, now let battle commence between the Young Turks.

Phil, you really ought to stop calling him Jimmy Guff. I'm pretty sure it's the normal pronunciation of 'Goff'.

Also, surprised that Jimmy sits in the champion's chair for this one, would have presumed Kirk would get sat there.

Philip Jarvis wrote: the undefeated Kirk "The Kirkulator" Bevins.

Erm...really?

Kirk isn't undefeated. The prize is neither teapot nor percolator. HTH

Jon Corby wrote:Kirk isn't undefeated. The prize is neither teapot nor percolator. HTH

Are we not being a bit pedantic?

It could be argued that Kirk was in the "amateur" ranks in his earlier outing. The record only counts from the time he turned "pro"!

Matt Morrison wrote:Phil, you really ought to stop calling him Jimmy Guff. I'm pretty sure it's the normal pronunciation of 'Goff'.

Somebody tell me Jimmy's nickname and I'll alter it.

Matt Morrison wrote:Also, surprised that Jimmy sits in the champion's chair for this one, would have presumed Kirk would get sat there.

I understand it's a random choice, probably as a result of someone tossing something, so one cannot presume anything regarding the choice of seats.

Anyway, best of luck to you both, Kirk and Jimmy. Hope you both enjoy watching it.

I assume being in the challengers chair gives you a slight advantage (2 picks to 1 on numbers)

marc meakin wrote:I assume being in the challengers chair gives you a slight advantage (2 picks to 1 on numbers)

These boring fucks will go for 1 large every time, so nope.
In fact, with most players (regardless of ability) going for 1 large, the fact that the champion's chair gets to pick an extra letters game is surely far more of an advantage (at this level of competition).

Howard Somerset wrote:

Matt Morrison wrote:Also, surprised that Jimmy sits in the champion's chair for this one, would have presumed Kirk would get sat there.

I understand it's a random choice, probably as a result of someone tossing something

Well, quite. Jimmy will indeed be seated in the chair nearer to DC for today's final (proof below) - though, amusingly, when they first took their places, the nameplates were the wrong way round.

Are we going for a record number of postings in a Spoiler thread before the program starts ?
Roll on 3:25

Ray Folwell wrote:Are we going for a record number of postings in a Spoiler thread before the program starts ?
Roll on 3:25

why not!

OK. Guess the score (if you don't already know it!). My guess is the conund is crucial and Kirk gets it to give 102 for Kirk, 83 for Jimmy.

Holy shiitake, I haven't seen that Milky Way advert in years.

Oh, and the game's pretty hot too. Not surprised no beaters yet!

Kirk looking for an I for deutzia there?(Rd. 6)

Jeff's big moment .

Rob Thomas wrote:OK. Guess the score (if you don't already know it!). My guess is the conund is crucial and Kirk gets it to give 102 for Kirk, 83 for Jimmy.

Phil said in the Kirk-Zuss semi thread that it was the best game of the finals by far, so that meant the final obviously wasn't crucial.

Ben Hunter wrote:Jeff's big moment .

Jeff's small moment .

Stupid fucking C4 trailers just ruined the shots of Jimmy at the end.

Hard lines Jimmy and well played Kirk. With your performances over the 11 games, you thoroughly deserved to be champion. To finish off my daily verses, here's a little tribute (and new nickname). I hope you like it.

After 4 months of competition, the Countdown Championship has been won,
The victor soared through each round, like Icarus rising to the sun,
He aimed for the stars, and hit the high heavens,
The winner ladies and gentlemen, is the venerable Kirk Bevins,
Having rarely missed the ton, he truly is the Special One.

Like a Gladiator going into the lion’s den,
He slew each challenger with a sweep of his pen,
A master of diction and calculus,
All hail Maximus Kirkulus!
Scoring ten out of ten, he’s a Centurion amongst men.

Some say he is a hero, the king of Series Six-Zero,
Some say he was a lucky sod, whilst others think he’s God,
Some say he can’t be human, but haven’t got the proof,
Whichever way you look at it, you can’t deny the truth,
Today Kirk gets to wear the crown, as the Champion of Countdown.


[The complete set of daily verses can now be found on the thread "Ode to the Countdown Finalists - Series 60" under Countdown General]

Matt Morrison wrote:Phil said in the Kirk-Zuss semi thread that it was the best game of the finals by far, so that meant the final obviously wasn't crucial.

Not necessarily. But you interpreted it that way, correctly as it happened.

My photo album of the event has now been augmented to include the pics that contained spoilers. Congratulations again Kirk, commiserations Jimmy - and let's hear it for Jeff, Rachel, Susie, Damian and everyone behind the scenes at Countdown for ensuring that this old warhorse of a show just gets better and better.

Well done Kirk and Jimmy. Goodbye Leeds and thank you very much.

Here's my load of photos from the afternoon of filming (covers the final & 2 semis)

http://craigbeevers.me.uk/countdownphotos.html

Click on the thumbnails etc. for the full size photos (which are 3888x2592, you'll probably need to click again on the photo to zoom in).

Phil Reynolds wrote:

Matt Morrison wrote:Phil said in the Kirk-Zuss semi thread that it was the best game of the finals by far, so that meant the final obviously wasn't crucial.

Not necessarily. But you interpreted it that way, correctly as it happened.

FTR I thought it was also an unnecessary spoiler, even if it's not interpreted to mean that the others weren't crucial, it certainly takes the edge off the two games that people hadn't seen yet. But I thought drawing attention to it at the time would only make matters worse.

Charlie Reams wrote:

Phil Reynolds wrote:

Matt Morrison wrote:Phil said in the Kirk-Zuss semi thread that it was the best game of the finals by far, so that meant the final obviously wasn't crucial.

Not necessarily. But you interpreted it that way, correctly as it happened.

FTR I thought it was also an unnecessary spoiler, even if it's not interpreted to mean that the others weren't crucial, it certainly takes the edge off the two games that people hadn't seen yet.

I hadn't seen it that way, but it seems obvious now that you say it. Apologies to anyone whose enjoyment was tainted.

Thanks Phil and Craig for the additional photos. Good stuff. Quite unexpected to see Susie turning her body back-to-front in this one. An impressive talent.

Leather-bound, finely wrought and hand-tooled - a thing of beauty and a prize well worth having.

Oh, and some dictionaries.

Haha. Who is he? Oh and thanks for finally letting me know what Raccoon looks like. Raccoonish.

Well done Kirk and very well played sir, you now take your place in the countdown hall of fame amongst the other all time greats.

Commiserations to Jimmy, but you can be proud of making a series final and contributing to a thoroughly enjoyable high standard series. Also well done to Jeff and Rachel on their first series, they have have made the series very enjoyable to watch despite the huge pressure they were under at first. Also thanks to Susie and Damian for their splendid work along with the production crew etc, the show is as good as ever.

Here's hoping series 61 is just as good and I am really looking forward to seeing the apperances of apterous big guns: Chris Davies, Innis, Andrew etc. Could be a spectacular series of showdowns there methinks.

Matt Morrison wrote:Haha. Who is he?

That be the lovely Jonathan Yardley (aka Jay), the floor manager. When I first saw this pic of Craig's, I thought: is Rachel checking out Jay's bum? No, it probably just looks that way because of the camera angle. Then I saw the next one and laughed myself silly.

May as well share this, enjoyable for both how much my mum loves Jimmy and how she refers to Countdown like it's sex for me:

Brilliant!

Got to offer my congratulations to Kirk once again - the worthiest of champions and a genuinely great guy.

Well played Neil, and hard luck I suppose. You had a real bastard of a draw.

At the time I was pretty emotionless to be honest; the whole experience was incredibly overwhelming and just so surreal. To have made it to the COUNTDOWN FINAL (!!!!) is so crazy. Just a year ago I was watching O'Donnell, Reams, etc. on TV with awe and now I'm in my own Countdown final. Madness.

Only now can I really appreciate how special an experience this was. I loved it so much and, as everybody who has been on the show will say, the whole Countdown team are simply unbeatable - so friendly and supportive. And Rachel is probably the nicest and most stunning person I have ever met.

Obviously, I'm massively, massively grateful to Charlie; apterous turned me from shit to good - I don't think it has benefited anybody who's been on the show more than it has me.

Thanks C4C for the positive comments.

Just feel so (uncharacteristically) happy and proud!

Matt Morrison wrote:May as well share this, enjoyable for both how much my mum loves Jimmy and how she refers to Countdown like it's sex for me:

LOLZ! I love this Matt.

It was a great game! Jeff's solution was impressive, and I liked the banter about his size at the beginning. I think it's awfully convenient that I actually happened to be genuinely ill today- I didn't go to school, slept all day but still managed to get up in time for Countdown! I joked about throwing a sickie, but I had to take one in the end! I thought both contestants played really well, and Jimmy proves that you don't have to be over 18 to be good at Countdown! (Of course, so do other younger contestants, but the fact that I'm around the same age as him is doubly inspiring!) The pictures of Rachel seeming to eye up the floor manager were hilarious too!

Anyway, to sum up my post, I'm really glad I got to see this show on time, and well done to both contestants!

Jimmy Gough wrote: Just feel so (uncharacteristically) happy and proud!

So you should!
You`ve been a smashing contestant Jimmy

Well done to Kirk for winning, and also well done to Jimmy for getting to the final. Both of you seemed like nice people, so It was good to see you both in the final. Nice to see Jimmy's post about what a good time he had

I was laughing so much at Kirks trophy kissing antics at the end. Does anyone know if he quickly ran away with it into an empty room for a while afterwards?

JackHurst wrote: I was laughing so much at Kirks trophy kissing antics at the end. Does anyone know if he quickly ran away with it into an empty room for a while afterwards?

He should have sat the cup on the table, kissed Rachel, then ran away to an empty room.

Jimmy Gough wrote:Just feel so (uncharacteristically) happy and proud!

Superb post Jimmy.

Congratulations to Kirk and very well done Jimmy for making the final (and obviously playing well in it, but Kirk as usual was just something else!)

Awesome montage at the end as well, to whoever made that.

Roll on Series 61 !

Congrats to both players! Well done on getting to the final Jimmy, you were a great contestant, and a nice guy too. The same goes for Kirk as well- a century was a fitting way to end, and some of the words in the final were awesome spots. Nounal for example sticks clearly in my mind. It's a shame you couldn't show off on the last numbers game with a complicated solution though.
And did anybody out there, anyone get the conundrum?

Well done Kirk; playing with so much expectation must have been very tough, but you rose to the challenge every time and held your nerve when needed. Best contestant ever? Let the debate rage, but there is no arguing that that was one of the most impressive runs ever seen.

Jimmy...one of the nicest contestants I've ever seen and astonishingly gracious in defeat. I'm sure you'll be back for the next CoC and if you continue to improve at the same rate, you'll take some real beating. Very well played, mate.

Series 61-Chris, Innis, Andrew and who knows who else. CAN'T WAIT!!!

Oh, one last thing; final numbers flair could've been achieved via

((50-9)x75+100)/25 +6.

Neil Zussman wrote:Congrats to both players! Well done on getting to the final Jimmy, you were a great contestant, and a nice guy too. The same goes for Kirk as well- a century was a fitting way to end, and some of the words in the final were awesome spots. Nounal for example sticks clearly in my mind. It's a shame you couldn't show off on the last numbers game with a complicated solution though.
And did anybody out there, anyone get the conundrum?

I think I got it in the audience but I've forgotten what the scramble/answer was so can't be sure.

Craig Beevers wrote:I think I got it in the audience but I've forgotten what the scramble/answer was so can't be sure.

The answer was GRANIVORE, but if you need the scramble as well someone else will have to provide that.

Jon Corby wrote:
Awesome montage at the end as well, to whoever made that.

Kate Horton takes the honours for the montage at the end. Fantastic job! Well done to her, Damian and the rest of the Countdown crew. Long may it continue.

Michael Wallace wrote:

Craig Beevers wrote:I think I got it in the audience but I've forgotten what the scramble/answer was so can't be sure.

The answer was GRANIVORE, but if you need the scramble as well someone else will have to provide that.

ROVINGERA. I didn't get it in the studio, and didn't get it all over again watching it this afternoon.

Neil Zussman wrote:Congrats to both players! Well done on getting to the final Jimmy, you were a great contestant, and a nice guy too. The same goes for Kirk as well- a century was a fitting way to end, and some of the words in the final were awesome spots. Nounal for example sticks clearly in my mind. It's a shame you couldn't show off on the last numbers game with a complicated solution though.
And did anybody out there, anyone get the conundrum?

I got it in about 5 seconds.

Congratulations Kirk, a truly magnificent champion

And well done Jimmy and the other finalists for putting up a good fight. Usually its easy for me to pick people to support (and boo), but I was really conflicted this time as you came across as a great group of people who played the game in the right spirit.

Philip Jarvis wrote:

Jon Corby wrote:
Awesome montage at the end as well, to whoever made that.

Kate Horton takes the honours for the montage at the end. Fantastic job!

Kirk



Kate

As a suitably proud dad I have to say well played Kirk and commiserations to Jimmy. I thought all the QF'SF's and Final were excellent to watch and what makes me happy above all else (as a watcher of the prog since day 1) is that it firmly lays to rest any fears that Countdown wouldn't be the same without Carol etc. It is as good now as ever. Well done to all concerned.

Keith Bevins wrote:It is as good now as ever.

Pff. It's by far the best it has ever been IMO.

Michael Wallace wrote:

Craig Beevers wrote:I think I got it in the audience but I've forgotten what the scramble/answer was so can't be sure.

The answer was GRANIVORE, but if you need the scramble as well someone else will have to provide that.

Oh yea. Didn't think it was too tricky at the time (the -ING was always going to be a bluff for a final conundrum) but didn't realise so many people hadn't heard of it.

Brilliant competition, I enjoyed every game. You all did very well, but hearty congratulations have to go to Kirk. You have such infectious enthusiasm that I just couldn't see anyone getting past you. Jimmy put up a good fight though and it was great that he managed to reach the final. I'm sure that cheque will come in handy too. Those wonderful books must be worth a lot of money, but where on earth would you keep such a huge collection? You'll certainly have to buy a new piece of furniture to put them in, or perhaps you could house them at your school Kirk.

Thanks for the photos Phil and Craig. It was so nice to see everyone so happy and enjoying the celebration. Craig, it was nice to see the studio building and gardens as it's difficult to imagine what it is really like there from watching the Countdown programme, although I know they are due to switch to Manchester soon.

Thanks to all of you, I love this programme, especially Rachel and Jeff. It must have been quite tough in the beginning for them as they had such a hard act to follow, but they've made it into everyone's hearts now. I think Dr. Phil has to be my favourite Dictionary Corner guest, so it was nice that he was there for the final.

I pressed my virtual buzzer and declared GRAINVORE - close but no cigar.

Darren Carter wrote:I pressed my virtual buzzer and declared GRAINVORE - close but no cigar.

I was thinking OVERGRAIN myself, which sounded almost plausible to me.

Michael Wallace wrote:

Darren Carter wrote:I pressed my virtual buzzer and declared GRAINVORE - close but no cigar.

I was thinking OVERGRAIN myself, which sounded almost plausible to me.

OVERGRAIN would be allowed if you were playing Scrabble. Utterly useless on Countdown though.

Craig Beevers wrote:

Michael Wallace wrote:

Darren Carter wrote:I pressed my virtual buzzer and declared GRAINVORE - close but no cigar.

I was thinking OVERGRAIN myself, which sounded almost plausible to me.

OVERGRAIN would be allowed if you were playing Scrabble. Utterly useless on Countdown though.

Haha, superb. I wonder if that was deliberate as well.

Thanks for all your nice comments - it was fantastic to play in a series again and I enjoyed every minute of it. Nice montage, Kate - I noticed you managed to splice together Phil saying "do you get out much", me saying "I like anagrams" and Rachel pulling a face. Was so funny.

All the finalists were great to talk to and great people. Cate Henderson kind of lost it in the free bar after the final though and she went on a rant about how she hated mobile phones and people who use them. Then she got even angrier and said she can't stand computers and then accused me of cheating because I used a computer to practise. Mad!

I didn't know it at the time but I was on 13 maxes out of 13 and was on for a second ever max game. I chose 4 large to try and do a nice trick to finish off the final but saldy I couldn't spot one. I had never heard of GRANIVORE anyway (as my face showed) so the max game was never attainable. Shame.

Was a brilliant series and I'm glad to have won it. Well done to all and unlucky Jimmy who was very gracious in defeat.

Well done Kirk, a very worthy champion indeed. Commiserations Jimmy, but it's good that you seem to be feeling more positive about yourself than you were a few weeks ago. You certainly weren't disgraced and you should be very proud of what you've achieved.

Looking forward to the next series. With no disrespect to anyone else, I don't think there was ever any real doubt that Kirk would win this one, but with the likes of Davies, Carson etc contesting the next one it should be interesting to see who comes out on top.