A battle of wits between two wordsmiths - Nick “Scrabble Supremo” Deller and Mark “Crucial Conundrum” Tournoff - brings to a close the first week of Countdown’s 30th Birthday Championship.
So far the championship is living up to our expectations of awesomeness, with five scores of more than 100 in just four days.
Tom Hargreaves, Wayne Kelly, Jack Hurst and Conor Travers have all beaten worthy adversaries to secure their places in the last 32.
But who will prevail in this fifth preliminary match? Will Nick solve enough tough puzzles? Will Mark avoid taking a sharp right to oblivion?
C1: In the champion’s chair is Series 52 champion and Championship of Champions XII runner-up Mark Tournoff (15 games, 14 wins, 1,562 points). Mark is a resource developer and teacher of English to overseas students from Horsham, in West Sussex. He is also a writer, with two fiction books and one non-fiction book to his name. In Crucial: A Champion’s Tale, Mark relates his experiences as a contestant on a certain Channel 4 gameshow!
C2: And in the challenger’s seat we have Series 28 contestant Nick Deller (4 games, 3 wins, 219 points). Nick comes from Godmanchester, in Cambridgeshire. He is a keen Scrabble player, and was formerly the editor of the magazine Tough Puzzles. Nick has represented the UK several times at the World Sudoku and Puzzle Championships, and is one of the first people in the country to have encountered the Sudoku puzzle.
DC: Susie Dent and Dave Myers.
RR: Rachel Riley. Today is Rachel’s 27th birthday and she is wearing a lovely red dress. Nick Hewer describes her as “the most intelligent, beautiful, warm, compassionate, caring young woman on British television”. And so say all of us! Many happy returns, Rachel.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: S A N U C I Q S E
R02: D T C I O A R S N
R03: R E M O D A T E R
R04: M P N A E O Z R I
R05: 50, 75, 100, 25, 6, 3. Target: 272.
TTT: ARCHLIKE - "It's what the White Cliffs are, compared to others."
R06: T G W A O U B E P
R07: N A L E G A W S L
R08: N Y F I O A T R S
R09: C I R E V I T H U
R10: 100, 5, 10, 6, 1, 5. Target: 402.
TTT: BIGCABER - "Some fun might be on the cards playing this."
R11: S A X V E U G N S
R12: L B T E O I F E A
R13: R O N U P O R A G
R14: 100, 4, 5, 7, 6, 2. Target: 404.
R15: D A R N I T I C Y (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Enjoy the show.
Round 1: S A N U C I Q S E
C1: UNCASES (7)
C2: QUINCES (7)
DC: SEQUINS (7)
OT: ISSUANCE (8)
Score: 7–7 (max 8)
Mark is off the mark, and Nick’s game begins in fruity fashion.
Round 2: D T C I O A R S N
C1: CAROTIDS (8)
C2: CAROTIDS (8)
DC: SARDONIC (8) CORTINAS (8)
OT: CANTORIS (8) INTRADOS (8) TORNADIC (8)
Score: 15–15 (max 16)
Two lots of arteries, but first blood is yet to come.
Round 3: R E M O D A T E R
C1: MODERATE (8)
C2: MODERATE (8)
OT: MORTARED (8) TREMORED (8)
Score: 23–23 (max 24)
Moderate is as good as it gets.
Round 4: M P N A E O Z R I
C1: ROMANIZE (8)
C2: ROMANIZE (8)
DC: PRIZEMAN (8)
Score: 31–31 (max 32)
The contestants copy each other again…
Round 5: 50, 75, 100, 25, 6, 3. Target: 272.
C1: 272. 50*6-25-3 (10)
C2: 272. 50*6-25-3 (10)
Score: 41–41 (max 42)
… and again.
Teatime teaser: ARCHLIKE -> CHALKIER
Round 6: T G W A O U B E P
C1: TOWAGE (6)
C2: OUTAGE (6)
DC: POTAGE (6)
OT: UPBEAT (6)
Score: 47–47 (max 48)
Six for one, half a dozen for the other.
Round 7: N A L E G A W S L
C1: LASAGNE (7)
C2: LASAGNE (7)
DC: WANGLES (7)
Score: 54–54 (max 55)
Table for two at an Italian restaurant?
Round 8: N Y F I O A T R S
C1: RATIONS (7)
C2: FORINTS (7)
DC: INSOFAR (7)
Score: 61–61 (max 62)
Both contestants are in seventh heaven.
Round 9: C I R E V I T H U
C1: ITCHIER (7)
C2: tichier
Score: 68–61 (max 69)
Mark breaks the deadlock!
Round 10: 100, 5, 10, 6, 1, 5. Target: 402.
C1: 402. 100*(5-1)+10/5 (10)
C2: 402. 100*(5-1)+10/5 (10)
Score: 78–71 (max 79)
Nick’s “old-fashioned Whitehall” (http://wiki.apterous.org/Whitehall) leads to perfect tens.
Teatime teaser: BIGCABER -> CRIBBAGE
Round 11: S A X V E U G N S
C1: vagues
C2: VEGANS (6)
OT: ANUSES (6) NAEVUS (6) SUGANS (6) USAGES (6)
Score: 78–77 (max 85)
Nick narrows the gap.
Round 12: L B T E O I F E A
C1: LIFEBOAT (8)
C2: LIFEBOAT (8)
Score: 86–85 (max 93)
Both contestants stay afloat by spotting the darren.
Round 13: R O N U P O R A G
C1: APRON (5)
C2: GROUP (5)
RR: UPROAR (6)
OT: GARRON (6) GOPURA (6)
Score: 91–90 (max 99)
A fiver each keeps it almost neck and neck.
Round 14: 100, 4, 5, 7, 6, 2. Target: 404.
C1: 404. (100+6-5)*4 (10)
C2: 404. 4*100+6-2 (10)
Score: 101–100 (max 109)
Another Whitehall results in ten more points for each contestant.
And so the game has come to a crucial conundrum...
Round 15: D A R N I T I C Y
C2 buzzes on 29 seconds to say CRINADITY which is incorrect.
C1 does not buzz.
The answer was RANCIDITY.
Final Score: 101–100 (max 119)
It’s the second DOUBLE CENTURY of the championship!
Mark has achieved a place in the last 32 and Nick takes home a rather nice piece of glassware, while Rachel says she is off to celebrate her birthday with a “Lemsip Colada”. I’ll be back next Friday with a recap of the first game in the last 32, between Peter Lee and Tom Rowell.
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=-16
