c4countdown

Hello,

It's looking very much like Countdown will get the go-ahead to stage a special Countdown Champions event, with a view to it kick-starting our 2013 tv schedule. A celebration of 30 years of Countdown. Nothing guaranteed, but work is being done behind the scenes to try and make it happen. Given that it's been several years since some of you appeared on the show, we're aware that some former contestants have dropped out of the 'scene' and no longer actively play Countdown or apterous. In order that we can gauge the level of interest from those that DO, would any interested participants email me.....damian.eadie@itv.com, to express your desire to participate.

Potential record dates are late November and most of January. If not enough people come forward, we'll crack on with Series 68 proper as per normal. Would appreciate any responses at your earliest convenience. Once we get a good idea on how many are willing, the sooner we can draw up a format for the contest.

Thanks !!

What definition of Champion are we talking here? Champion? Or series champion?

If it's the former:

Thanks for everyone who's responded so swiftly.

A few have asked questions, so i thought it best to clear up in here rather than email dozens of responses.

There isn't really a set format as of yet. It's not a case of finalists only or Octochamps only, it's just about us putting it out there and seeing what the reaction is. Once we've got a decent enough idea of who's able and willing to take part, we can then move forward on the finer details etc. Sadly, we may not be able to accommodate everyone.

We need fairly matched contestants and well-balanced games, so with the utmost respect to all players, it's unlikely we'd want people who maybe lost their first game, as we're hoping to featuring some of the all-time greats, so a competitive standard is pretty-much a must.

If we get a good response, we'll consider 8 weeks or so of on-screen time dedicated to this contest.
No seedings, no preset pairings, it'll be a random draw, which, all being well, will be made FA Cup style, behind the scenes, by 2 former Countdowners. It won't be easy, the winner will surely deserve to be the winner - but this time, instead of hoovering up random members of the public, you'll be hoovering up each other.

It promises to be an exciting event, all we ask is that it's played in the right spirit and everyone who takes part, does so with a firm intent to respect their opponent and the competition itself.

Over to you !!

Reaction:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3ALwKeSEYs

Johnny Canuck wrote:Reaction:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3ALwKeSEYs

I'll raise you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_xjBAd5G84

This sounds gruesome.* I hope all the big names are up for it (well, a lot of them anyway).

*Like awesome but better

Countdown Team wrote:We need fairly matched contestants and well-balanced games, so with the utmost respect to all players, it's unlikely we'd want people who maybe lost their first game

Wot no Kirk?

But more seriously, no Dan McColm?

Graeme Cole wrote:

Countdown Team wrote:We need fairly matched contestants and well-balanced games, so with the utmost respect to all players, it's unlikely we'd want people who maybe lost their first game

Wot no Kirk?

But more seriously, no Dan McColm?

But if you read what he said:

We need fairly matched contestants and well-balanced games, so with the utmost respect to all players, it's unlikely we'd want people who maybe lost their first game, as we're hoping to featuring some of the all-time greats, so a competitive standard is pretty-much a must.

It's for competitive reasons, so those particular reasons don't apply. But having said that, it would be a bit of a weird introduction - "And playing against the uber octochamp and series champion that I introduced just now is Dan McColm! Dan lost his one and only game, but he's since been pretty good on the internet, so he's come back to play against these all-time greats."

Gavin Chipper wrote:

Graeme Cole wrote:

Countdown Team wrote:We need fairly matched contestants and well-balanced games, so with the utmost respect to all players, it's unlikely we'd want people who maybe lost their first game

Wot no Kirk?

But more seriously, no Dan McColm?

But if you read what he said:

We need fairly matched contestants and well-balanced games, so with the utmost respect to all players, it's unlikely we'd want people who maybe lost their first game, as we're hoping to featuring some of the all-time greats, so a competitive standard is pretty-much a must.

It's for competitive reasons, so those particular reasons don't apply. But having said that, it would be a bit of a weird introduction - "And playing against the uber octochamp and series champion that I introduced just now is Dan McColm! Dan lost his one and only game, but he's since been pretty good on the internet, so he's come back to play against these all-time greats."

Heh, yeah, there's no way I was ever going to apply anyway though!

Countdown Team wrote:It promises to be an exciting event, all we ask is that it's played in the right spirit and everyone who takes part, does so with a firm intent to respect their opponent and the competition itself.

This is SO me.

Excellent news, hopefully it will happen, seeing the greats battling it out makes great TV viewing. I would prefer to see it seeded like the supreme championship was though, with it building up to a big dramatic final showdown. I don't really want to see the favs eg. Kirk, Conor, Innis etc knocking each other out early, you might end up with a Man Utd vs Millwall type grand final.

Dan McColm wrote:Heh, yeah, there's no way I was ever going to apply anyway though!

I mean, I think you should apply anyway.

Would you be looking for people all the way back to the beginning (i.e. including people who were in the first Supreme Championship)? And if so, what would the name of this championship be?

Jojo Apollo wrote:Excellent news, hopefully it will happen, seeing the greats battling it out makes great TV viewing. I would prefer to see it seeded like the supreme championship was though, with it building up to a big dramatic final showdown. I don't really want to see the favs eg. Kirk, Conor, Innis etc knocking each other out early, you might end up with a Man Utd vs Millwall type grand final.

I didn't think the Supreme championship was seeded, not explicitly anyway. I think three people had byes into round two, so in a sense they were the top three seeds, but that's all.

Gavin Chipper wrote:

Jojo Apollo wrote:Excellent news, hopefully it will happen, seeing the greats battling it out makes great TV viewing. I would prefer to see it seeded like the supreme championship was though, with it building up to a big dramatic final showdown. I don't really want to see the favs eg. Kirk, Conor, Innis etc knocking each other out early, you might end up with a Man Utd vs Millwall type grand final.

I didn't think the Supreme championship was seeded, not explicitly anyway. I think three people had byes into round two, so in a sense they were the top three seeds, but that's all.

Ah righto, I seem to recall there were groups of 7 or 8 contestants, with the top top players separated into different groups eg. Don Reid in one group, Harvey Freeman in another, Allan Saldanah in another etc.

In. Ha.

Hope to have more news in the coming few days. Ideally, it's 8 weeks, 41 contestants, 23 get a bye, 18 play in preliminaries to make 9 winners, giving us the magical 32 figure required for a knockout event.

Massively oversubscribed so far, but we'll work on the invitees shortly. 41 is the maximum but at the moment we have 214 willing participants. Thanks to all who've responded.

41 / 214?

Shit, I don't like them odds

Time for a killing spree.

Damian, how about you set up a rematch so that that 11-year-old can avenge himself on me? Got to be better than watching the likes of Jon Corby.

Dude, there's only one person who'd want to see a kid getting repeatedly pounded by an older guy, and he's in France right now.

Jon Corby wrote:Dude, there's only one person who'd want to see a kid getting repeatedly pounded by an older guy, and he's in France right now.

My opponent would be about 15 now. I'm sure he'd be happy to consent.

Jojo Apollo wrote:

Gavin Chipper wrote:

Jojo Apollo wrote:Excellent news, hopefully it will happen, seeing the greats battling it out makes great TV viewing. I would prefer to see it seeded like the supreme championship was though, with it building up to a big dramatic final showdown. I don't really want to see the favs eg. Kirk, Conor, Innis etc knocking each other out early, you might end up with a Man Utd vs Millwall type grand final.

I didn't think the Supreme championship was seeded, not explicitly anyway. I think three people had byes into round two, so in a sense they were the top three seeds, but that's all.

Ah righto, I seem to recall there were groups of 7 or 8 contestants, with the top top players separated into different groups eg. Don Reid in one group, Harvey Freeman in another, Allan Saldanah in another etc.

They might have kept them apart like that, but I don't think they named the names they were keeping apart.

Has the Countdown team contacted people individually (specifically those not part of the C4C/Apterous community) or is this just relying on contestants contacting Countdown?

Gavin Chipper wrote:Has the Countdown team contacted people individually (specifically those not part of the C4C/Apterous community) or is this just relying on contestants contacting Countdown?

I worry that we won't be getting an answer to this question any time soon because if they're not a part of the c4c community then they won't read this message.

Kirk Bevins wrote:

Gavin Chipper wrote:Has the Countdown team contacted people individually (specifically those not part of the C4C/Apterous community) or is this just relying on contestants contacting Countdown?

I worry that we won't be getting an answer to this question any time soon because if they're not a part of the c4c community then they won't read this message.

I think it might have been a question to our newest member, Mr Countdown Team.

I see a notice has been sent to the Scrabble group, so that ought to find a few ex-Countdowners

We're going to start finalising the participants from all those who've asked to be included and will contact you individually with more details over the next week or so. Once all invitees have confirmed their availability, we will crack on with the draw.

Again, please note that unfortunately, it is not possible to include everyone as there are only 41 places.

A big thank-you to all who have put themselves forward.

Any idea what the knock-on effect would be upon the potential filming schedule for series 68?

Cheers

Andy Platt wrote:Any idea what the knock-on effect would be upon the potential filming schedule for series 68?

Cheers

I suspect it would be at a different time.

HTH.

NOT IN.

Too upset to find a gif.

Jon Corby wrote:NOT IN.

Too upset to find a gif.

Very surprising!

Andy Platt wrote:Any idea what the knock-on effect would be upon the potential filming schedule for series 68?

Cheers

Well this event takes up all Jan and Feb on-screen. The remaining 4 months will be devoted to Series 68 proper, from March to June end, minus a bit of Cheltenham racing etc.

Likelihood is we'll start shooting Series 68 proper in early Feb and conclude by May.

Countdown Team wrote:Well this event takes up all Jan and Feb on-screen. The remaining 4 months will be devoted to Series 68 proper, from March to June end, minus a bit of Cheltenham racing etc.

Countdown Team wrote:Once all invitees have confirmed their availability, we will crack on with the draw.

Has this draw been done yet, and if so, will it be mentioned on here

Format

41 contestants to play.
Series will run for 8 weeks on screen, comprising of 40 shows. Players were each given a number from 1 to 41.
The list of the 41 players was entered into a draw randomizer at random.org and the 41 names came out in the order below. A copy of the random.org draw is available should anyone wish to see it.

The first 23 players get a bye into the first round.
The remaining 18 players play in the preliminary round, with the 9 winners being added to the 23, making the magical 32 number required for a knock-out style competition.

We need each contestant to be available for their required recording day and subsequent recording days, should they win.
Unfortunately, we cannot agree to the participation of a contestant who may not be available to return, should they win.

Should anyone drop out, we'll replace them with a contestant from our reserve list, who'll take up their place in the draw and play the same opponent the original contestant was due to play.

The games on Nov 20 / 21 will be recorded at Granada Studios in Manchester, with the remaining dates being recorded at our new premises at MediaCity, Salford. ALL the shows for this competition will be recorded in HD.

Please email me, damian.eadie@itv.com if you have any queries at all. We can only make this event happen with your cooperation, so we'd be extremely grateful if you could have a look at the details and ensure you are able to make the required recording dates for your games. Time is of the essence here as we don't have that long to get things fully organised, so please respond at your earliest convenience, preferrably to my email address. We will, of course, write to everyone involved with confirmation, but do please help us by letting us know if you're in or out asap.

Thanks !


30th Champs DRAW
1. PETER LEE
2. TOM ROWELL
3. KAI LADDIMAN
4. JON O'NEILL
5. CHRIS HAWKINS
6. JILL BRIGHT
7. MARTIN BISHOP
8. CHRIS WILLS
9. DAVID WILLIAMS
10. CHRIS DAVIES
11. INNIS CARSON
12. MARCUS HARES
13. CHRISTINE HUNT
14. SANDIE SIMONIS
15. PAUL KEANE
16. NEIL ZUSSMAN
17. DAVE HOSKISSON
18. MIKE WHITEOAK
19. GRAEME COLE
20. JACK WORSLEY
21. JOHN ASHMORE
22. KIRK BEVINS
23. DAVID O'DONNELL
24. TOM HARGREAVES
25. NICKI SELLARS
26. WAYNE KELLY
27. NICK WAINWRIGHT
28. MARK DEEKS
29. JACK HURST
30. BEN WILSON
31. CONOR TRAVERS
32. MARK TOURNOFF
33. NICK DELLER
34. ROBERT RICHLAND
35. DAVID WEBB
36. JACKIE MCLEOD
37. BARRY GROSSMAN
38. ANDREW HULME
39. STEVEN BRIERS
40. ED MCULLAGH
41. JONATHAN RAWLINSON


PRELIM ROUND

game 1 TOM HARGREAVES V NICKI SELLARS
game 2 WAYNE KELLY V NICK WAINWRIGHT
game 3 MARK DEEKS V JACK HURST
game 4 BEN WILSON V CONOR TRAVERS
game 5 MARK TOURNOFF V NICK DELLER
game 6 ROB RICHLAND V DAVID WEBB
game 7 JACKIE MCLEOD V BARRY GROSSMAN
game 8 ANDREW HULME V STEVEN BRIERS
game 9 ED MCULLAGH V JON'THN RAWLINSON

FIRST ROUND

game 10 PETER LEE V TOM ROWELL
game 11 KAI LADDIMAN V JON O'NEILL
game 12 CHRIS HAWKINS V JILL BRIGHT
game 13 MARTIN BISHOP V CHRIS WILLS
game 14 DAVID WILLIAMS V CHRIS DAVIES
game 15 INNIS CARSON V MARCUS HARES
game 16 CHRISTINE HUNT V SANDIE SIMONIS
game 17 PAUL KEANE V NEIL ZUSSMAN
game 18 DAVE HOSKISSON V MIKE WHITEOAK
game 19 GRAEME COLE V JACK WORSLEY
game 20 JOHN ASHMORE V KIRK BEVINS
game 21 DAVID O'DONNELL V Winner Game 1
game 22 Winner Game 2 V Winner Game 3
game 23 Winner Game 4 V Winner Game 5
game 24 Winner Game 6 V Winner Game 7
game 25 Winner Game 8 V Winner Game 9

LAST 16

game 26 Winner Game 10 V Winner Game 25
game 27 Winner Game 11 V Winner Game 24
game 28 Winner Game 12 V Winner Game 23
game 29 Winner Game 13 V Winner Game 22
game 30 Winner Game 14 V Winner Game 21
game 31 Winner Game 15 V Winner Game 20
game 32 Winner Game 16 V Winner Game 19
game 33 Winner Game 18 V Winner Game 17


QUARTER-FINALS

Game 34 Winner Game 26 V Winner Game 33
Game 35 Winner Game 27 V Winner Game 32
Game 36 Winner Game 28 V Winner Game 31
Game 37 Winner Game 29 V Winner Game 30

SEMIFINALS

Game 38 Winner Game 34 V Winner Game 37
Game 39 Winner Game 35 V Winner Game 36

FINAL

Game 40 Winner Game 38 V Winner Game 39


Recording Schedule

Tue Nov 20th - Game 1 - 5 (10.30am - 6pm)
Wed Nov 21st - Game 6 -10 (10.30am - 6pm)

Wed Jan 9th - Game 11 - 15 (1.30pm - 9pm)
Thu Jan 10th - Game 16 - 20 (10.30am - 6pm)
Fri Jan 11th - Game 21 - 25 (10.30am - 6pm)

Sun Jan 20th - Game 26 - 30 (1.30pm - 9pm)
Mon Jan 21st - Game 31 - 35 (10.30am - 6pm)
Tue Jan 22nd - Game 36 - 40 (10.30am - 6pm)

Wow there's some match-ups there. Looking forward to seeing this.

Zarte Siempre wrote:Wow there's some match-ups there. Looking forward to seeing this.

Me too, if I can watch through the tears.

So when will tickets be available and what is the email address for them? That Sunday means I might actually be able to go!

So, that's potentially an Innis-Kirk second round.

Also, I repeat my earlier statement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_xjBAd5G84

OMFG. That is all.

Just for all those interested people, I quite like the fact that Prelim 7 is a repeat of the Series 21 grand final from 1991

Some unbelievable games there!

Eoin Monaghan wrote:Some unbelievable games there!

Yeah, surprised you didn't make the cut, Eoin.

But, I suppose that out of the 200-odd who didn't make the cut, there would always be some high profile casualties.

James Robinson wrote:

Eoin Monaghan wrote:Some unbelievable games there!

Yeah, surprised you didn't make the cut, Eoin.

But, I suppose that out of the 200-odd who didn't make the cut, there would always be some high profile casualties.

Oh well, I'm on the reserve list so here's hoping somebody drops out!

EXCITE!

Here's the tournament structure as a diagram. I made this as a spreadsheet, and only afterwards realised there's probably a very easy way of generating the same sort of diagram on the wiki. Oh well, here it is anyway.

PREDICTION GAME

Sweepstakes with a cash prize, more like.

Absolutely cannot wait to see some of these matches

I am so sorry for you Marcus. Tough Draw for Innis and Kirk though, eachother to face, and then the prospect of Conor after.

Hi folks, hope you're all well. Just wanted to say how much I'm looking forward to the tournament and hope it turns out a success. Hats off to Damian for organising it.

For those of you who will be at the same recording as me on the 20th November, I look forward to meeting you and sharing a few stories and Ben (as I notice you still post on here) really looking forward to catching up as its been a long time.

Finally, I hope the hotel contestants stay in is better than the Holiday Inn in Leeds

Tom Hargreaves

Delighted to have made it but feel sorry for those who have been left out, particularly Eoin, who I'm very surprised about.

I could have had a better draw though, going to be a tough opening match for me but it should be a good one. The outstanding ties of the early rounds in my opinion are 3, 4, 8, 9 and 15.

Thank you to Damian for inviting me and I can't wait for this event. It's bound to be very exciting with so many high quality games. Good luck to everyone else!

Wow!!! Lots of great matches. Good luck to all who are taking part.

I think it would be interesting if more people who applied but didn't get on said so here.

Fuck me

I'm surprised Julian Fell isn't on the list, it feels like he was still on the scene recently enough to have been interested. Would've loved to have seen him (seeing as I kinda missed him first time around).

Jon Corby wrote:I'm surprised Julian Fell isn't on the list, it feels like he was still on the scene recently enough to have been interested. Would've loved to have seen him (seeing as I kinda missed him first time around).

I agree I think its a real shame not to have him in. I feel a bit disappointed but not suprised as the impression I always had was that Julian was fairly cagey about his time on there and I think he got sick of it in the end due to all the questions and recognition he had. He was extremely modest about his achievements and a very down to earth guy and I must say was very personable when I met him.

Tom wrote:

Jon Corby wrote:I'm surprised Julian Fell isn't on the list, it feels like he was still on the scene recently enough to have been interested. Would've loved to have seen him (seeing as I kinda missed him first time around).

I agree I think its a real shame not to have him in. I feel a bit disappointed but not suprised as the impression I always had was that Julian was fairly cagey about his time on there and I think he got sick of it in the end due to all the questions and recognition he had. He was extremely modest about his achievements and a very down to earth guy and I must say was very personable when I met him.

Yeah, he was on the forum for a while, and joined in some online tournaments and was strongly considering the offline tournaments a couple of years ago, so he was very much still into the game fairly recently. I just assumed he would have been asked, and also assumed that he would have accepted, so that's where my surprise comes from. I'm literally sat here like this:

Jon Corby wrote:

Tom wrote:

Jon Corby wrote:I'm surprised Julian Fell isn't on the list, it feels like he was still on the scene recently enough to have been interested. Would've loved to have seen him (seeing as I kinda missed him first time around).

I agree I think its a real shame not to have him in. I feel a bit disappointed but not suprised as the impression I always had was that Julian was fairly cagey about his time on there and I think he got sick of it in the end due to all the questions and recognition he had. He was extremely modest about his achievements and a very down to earth guy and I must say was very personable when I met him.

Yeah, he was on the forum for a while, and joined in some online tournaments and was strongly considering the offline tournaments a couple of years ago, so he was very much still into the game fairly recently. I just assumed he would have been asked, and also assumed that he would have accepted, so that's where my surprise comes from. I'm literally sat here like this:

Whether he knew about the tournament or was asked or not I don't know. I seem to remember a while back he then decided to leave with immediate effect and he seemed like the kind of guy who would stick to his word and I haven't seen him on here since. Whilst there's a few people from my era competing in it, it would have been great to catch up so either he never knew or just didn't want to do it as in my mind, I would say he was the person who really brought the standard of the show to a new level about this time 10 years back.

I'm very much like Julian in that I've been fairly cagey about my experiences and not tended to tell a lot of people about it but when I saw the initial post about the tournament, I figured I'd be crazy not to at least enquire about it and thought Julian would be the same if he saw it. Once all my questions had been answered I figured this was something I wanted to have a crack at so put in an application.

I always got the impression he would only have competed if he was at the top of his game and had a realistic chance of winning. I'm guessing he was asked and said no.

Also he did come to one CO-event.

The others I'm sad not to see competing are Scott Mearns and Graham Nash - these are heroes of my childhood.

However, I'm excited to see that you're in Tom.

Jon O'Neill wrote:However, I'm excited to see that you're in Tom.

No I'm not