c4countdown

Well, after possibly one of the best days of my life yesterday (Yes, a max game and a Huddersfield Town win are all I need to make me happy nowadays ), it's time for a dose of reality.

But, luckily for me and you, this reality that is the 30th Birthday Championship is more than satisfactory for me, and as we head into the final stages of this unforgettable tournament.

Today's third Round 2 match, like yesterday, is another battle of "past vs. present" as the Series 28 quarter-finalist, Chris Hawkins takes on the Series 54 champion, Conor Travers.

Here are the stats:

Firstly, Series 28 Quarter-Finalist Chris Hawkins - 7 Games, 5 Wins, 443 Points (Average: 63.29 - All 9 rounders, except one 15 rounder)
Highest Score: 95 vs. Jill Bright (30th BC, Round 1 - 15 rounder) & 69 vs. Jane Willis (2nd Game - 9 rounders)
Lowest Score: 43 vs. Damian Eadie (Quarter-Final)
9's Achieved: 1/4
Total Points/Max/%: 443/610 (73%)
Letters Points/Max/%: 275/390 (71%)
Numbers Points/Max/%: 118/150 (79%)
Conundrum Points/Max/%: 50/70 (71%)

Secondly, Series 54 Champion & CoC XII Semi-Finalist Conor Travers - 16 Games, 15 Wins, 1,775 Points. (Average: 110.94) (I've not included the 12-round 25th Birthday Special)
Highest Score: 124 vs. Andrew Christley (6th Game), Paul Howe (Semi-Final) & John Hunt (CoC Prelim)
Lowest Score: 98 vs. Matthew Shore (Grand Final)
9's Achieved: 7/12
Total Points/Max/%: 1775/2032 (87%)
Letters Points/Max/%: 1245/1404 (89%)
Numbers Points/Max/%: 400/468 (85%)
Conundrum Points/Max/%: 130/160 (81%)

And for the first time in 3 weeks, I'll be doing the Wednesday recap, so you can join me later for all the action.

If I checked this right, 10 maxes vs 9 going into the final third. Un-freaking believable.

Second numbers alt: (100+50+25) x 2 - (75/5)

Think you're right Jordan great game so far

Sweet! Love how Rachel is promoting the whole "max game" thing. Chris was phenomenal too. Him missing the fairly simple 4 large changed the game though and there was no way back. I think if he'd gone in 78-78 at the 2nd break Conor would have been panicking more trying to shake him off and Chris' concentration would have remained high and he could have forced a crucial.

And I believe that's a max game for Conor, very very well done to him. And very unlucky Chris, you played extremely well in your own right, but not much can be done when someone plays at literally their maximum potential.

EDIT: When Rachel mentions it, yeah, it's confirmed.

That was sexy stuff chaps

Well played Guys.

Well done on the max Conor

Superb stuff from Conor, the second member of the exclusive TV max club now. Well done to Chris also for keeping the scores level for most of the game.

Is anyone else having trouble hearing the conundrum buzzers? It just seems to go quiet when there is a quick solve.

Just ridiculous...

Astonishing stuff, Conor! Hard luck to Chris for coming up against a player in such staggering form. But another max game? Jeepers.

Wow. These games are just legendary! Another MAX game. Conor was so cool I was a bit worried when Rachel mentioned the max was on!

1st numbers ALT: (10 - 2) x 75 + (4 x 9) + 7
And FURRIEST as an ALT in the TRUSTIER round.

Fantastic performance there, Conor and congrats on the max game! I don't think anyone's really surprised considering how often you do it online, although it is probably a bit harder on TV. It has to be said that you had a tough opponent who would have run most contestants this series close. A great game by both of you, closer than the final scoreline suggests!

Mondo to the max!

Alt 2nd numbers: 100+50+25=175. 175x2=350. 75/5=15. 350-15=335.

Another great jumper, Conor btw. Doesn't it get very hot in the studio though with the jumper, the lights and the tenseness of the game?

Also well done to James for putting up all these stat percentages each time, they would make a good Countdown Top Trumps card game.

I never found the studio hot when I was on nor when Jessica was there either. I did think it was going to be ...... anyway aside from the superb performances of both Chris and Conor - you just run out of superlatives for this championship, the question I'm posing is: "Is this the game with the highest 'combined' maxes?"

Mauro

Jojo Apollo wrote:the second member of the exclusive TV max club now.

Make that the fifth member.

Yep, not much to add, although impressed with the Countdown Team for including Rachel's comment about the max game - I'd imagine it would pass most viewers by, but a nice touch for those of us 'in the know'

get those quids ready

Rhys Benjamin wrote:

Jojo Apollo wrote:the second member of the exclusive TV max club now.

Make that the fifth member.

Ah yeah sorry, meant for the 15 rounds format.

Incredible standard! Very well played, Chris, and congratulations on the max game, Conor! This 30th Birthday Championship is the best idea ever

UNBE-F**KING-LIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just gave it a passing glance that maybe today was the time for another max game, but the way it panned out was unimaginable.

A very big shame to Chris for shackling Conor as long as he could, and to still get 11 maxes too

But, super well done, Conor. I managed to keep up with you all game, and even had a bit of luck with the conundrum, thanks in part to me remembering that it was the conundrum that Kirk got to beat me in the COLIN 2011 final.

All, I'll say is that this recap is gonna be MEGA AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!

IODISED in round 4, EATERY in round 6 and TURFIEST in round 8.

1st Numbers Alt.: ((75 - 4) x 9) + (7 x 2) - 10 = 643

James Robinson wrote:UNBE-F**KING-LIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just gave it a passing glance that maybe today was the time for another max game, but the way it panned out was unimaginable.

A very big shame to Chris for shackling Conor as long as he could, and to still get 11 maxes too

But, super well done, Conor. I managed to keep up with you all game, and even had a bit of luck with the conundrum, thanks in part to me remembering that it was the conundrum that Kirk got to beat me in the COLIN 2011 final.

All, I'll say is that this recap is gonna be MEGA AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!

IODISED in round 4, EATERY in round 6 and TURFIEST in round 8.

1st Numbers Alt.: ((75 - 4) x 9) + (7 x 2) - 10 = 643

Haha, well done, you're amazing, 1 million emoticons ... but obviously I still beat you. Love it, James.

I didn't beat you, Conor. You were unbeatable, brilliant stuff.

In the audience I could sense we were on for it before the game, you know, 2nd round, not as much pressure as a final or a semi final, off the back of a 14 max...
It was almost inevitable.

We love you Conor.

Conor <3

Chris played excellently as well!

I sense more max games

I make that 26 consecutive maxes which beats the previous record of 17 as discovered through Ask Graeme.

David O'Donnell wrote:
I didn't beat you, Conor. You were unbeatable, brilliant stuff.

That's because you're shit DOD

In all serious, well played Conor. In one selfish breath it's a shame to not be the only person to have a max game on TV any more (although I can at least say I've got the most max games!) but in the other breath I'm so so chuffed for you mate. You deserve it as you eat max games for breakfast on apterous so it's only fair you got one on TV.

Brilliant show. Well played to both of you.

That's got to be the first max game ever, I don't ever remember them mentioning it before, and they surely would have done. So definitely the first official max game. Very well played Conor and well done to Chris to who hung on doggedly despite Conor being pretty much literally unbeatable.

Were you tempted by BROMINES btw?

Very well done Conor, cracking performance. It took you an age to spot the conundrum comparing to how quickly you got it against Mark though

Chris played very well, and It's a shame he had to play you early on. It would have been good to see what he was capable of against the mortals. From the time in the green room, he seemed like a good guy too!

I remember being in the green room knowing you guys were both on for a max going into the BROMINES^ round (We were checking maxes on laptop). We checked in Kirk's OED3 so knew it was no good, so it was tense waiting to see what you guys declared.


Open question: In general, do you think Rachel/Nick/Anyone should tell contestants that they are on for a maximum game during the game like Rachel did to Conor today? I personally think they shouldn't, but at the end if a player did get a max game, they should acknowledge it and give them a round of applause.

Congratulations on the max game Conor, especially with the added pressure of Rachel mentioning it just before R14. Well played to Chris also - even with Conor playing perfectly every round, he never really broke away until part three.

The real question is how do they know its a max game? Are they looking it up on apterous, or do they have their own solver?

Jesus! What a game!

JackHurst wrote:Open question: In general, do you think Rachel/Nick/Anyone should tell contestants that they are on for a maximum game during the game like Rachel did to Conor today? I personally think they shouldn't, but at the end if a player did get a max game, they should acknowledge it and give them a round of applause.

I'm probably very old-fashioned (and most likely in the minority on here) but I don't think it should be mentioned at all.

Great game from both players. I think Chris has been one of the positive surprises of the tournament. And very bad luck to Jono who had Chris in the Sweepstake. I don't think it's a secret to say that he'd much rather have lost to Darryl yesterday and have Chris win today.

Jon Corby wrote:That's got to be the first max game ever, I don't ever remember them mentioning it before, and they surely would have done. So definitely the first official max game. Very well played Conor and well done to Chris to who hung on doggedly despite Conor being pretty much literally unbeatable.

Were you tempted by BROMINES btw?

Of course he was. It was written all over his face. Oh I see, it's a joke post because of the first max game thing. But that means that you weren't seriously congratulating the players. This is not on.

By the way, I hope you all realise that whether BROMINES is acceptable or not is completely arbitrary given the vague rules on mass nouns. And Susie didn't rule on it because it didn't come up. She might have allowed it. In which case it wasn't a max game. Or she could have just said "I can't believe neither of you noticed that there was an S for BROMINES - what a pair of dickheads!" In which case it would have gone down in history as one of many 14-maxers.

Rhys Benjamin wrote:

Jojo Apollo wrote:the second member of the exclusive TV max club now.

Make that the fifth member.

Allan Saldanha's wasn't a proper max game though because he could have got closer with the numbers.

Gavin Chipper wrote:Or she could have just said "I can't believe neither of you noticed that there was an S for BROMINES - what a pair of dickheads!"

I would love this. (New idea: Countdown 'late' where DC and Rachel are really insulting and contestants get double points for rude words.)

Thanks very much everyone. Still amazed to have done this on TV. I hadn't seen Chris's round 1 game before this so he was a bit of an unknown quantity. I'd no reason to doubt his anagramming ability through Scrabble, but had heard that among brilliant spots in round 1 he'd thrown in a couple of CSW phonies. So I was hoping for a few freebies here to get me ahead, but no such luck as he made the calls perfectly (bar outlap, which didn't matter anyway): there was PLONKIEST^ and a shedload of CSW eights in round 2, and GUNNERA was well risked in round 3. And of course BROMINES^. Chris will be disappointed with the second numbers, as thereafter anything could've happened. 4 Large was a bit of a risk as I had little idea how much Chris had practised w.r.t. the numbers, but I didn't want to be facing a crucial conundrum 7 points ahead thinking I might be out of sight if I hadn't pussied out, and rightly so: Chris spotted INEBRIETY just behind me, so who knows what would've happened on a crucial. And yep, Chris was a great guy and easy to talk to.

Jon Corby wrote:Were you tempted by BROMINES btw?

Not really, so my pause was probably just for dramatic effect. I remember CHLORINES^ being allowed in my fourth heat game, but didn't think BROMINES was ever allowable and also thought the other rogue halogen plurals (fluorines?) had been stamped out of the new edition.

Jojo Apollo wrote:Another great jumper, Conor btw. Doesn't it get very hot in the studio though with the jumper, the lights and the tenseness of the game?

Thanks, this one was knitted by my aunt so was pleased to give it some publicity. I didn't find the studio hot at all this time round, whereas in Leeds it felt a lot warmer even though I hadn't discovered jumpers.

Conor wrote:Not really, so my pause was probably just for dramatic effect. I remember CHLORINES^ being allowed in my fourth heat game, but didn't think BROMINES was ever allowable and also thought the other rogue halogen plurals (fluorines?) had been stamped out of the new edition.

How are they stamped out of the dictionary? What does the dictionary say to indicate this?

I've been a lurker here for quite a while but thought I'd finally sign up so that I could express my thanks for the kind words you've offered me in the wake of Conor's max game. As someone who had to 'cross dictionaries' to play in this event, I wondered how realistic my chances really were in the esteemed company of the recent Countdown champions, but on the whole I was pleased with my performance

A couple of specifics; the time it took me to declare '7' in the BROMINE round was more like 5 or 6 seconds pre-edit! I knew about the mass noun plural rule but wondered whether bromine might have some other meaning that meant it took an S. how I wished I wasn't declaring first in that round! They also edited out a discussion with Susie where she asked me if I'd been considering BROMINES*, I suppose if they edited out the pause they had to edit out her comment

Next, in round 10, I lost time trying to find a 5x75-40 method, then ran out of time trying to make 8 for a 67x5 method. Sitting at home today of course I saw it straight away: (100+50)/25 + 2. Hey ho!

It has been a privilege to take part in the 30th birthday series, thanks to all the Countdown Team, particularly Damian, for welcoming me back so warmly. Meeting some of the top players of recent years was also a great experience too. I might even try my hand at a future COLIN event now! (I attended the first one a few years ago now and declared BLOWJOB in the very first game - disallowed I think!)

Nothing worse than a disallowed blowjob

tomrowell wrote:Nothing worse than a disallowed blowjob

Today of all days!

Always on the lookout for records of excellence in this competition, and this time I am stunned and privileged to ‘witness’ this achievement by Conor, having just gradually read this recap without watching the programme first. Congratulations! One of the best-ever Countdown scores (both were outstanding: Chris 11 max) that did not (could not) have a 9 letter/18 pointer…question for Mr Cole, maybe?

Will we hear from JR up there on recap cloud nine ever again – with a new Terriers manager arriving as well!? I am an Addicks fan (since 1968), and yes I was at the FA Cup 3rd round match last month. So well done, but remember that the December Countdown final was broadcast on the 55th anniversary of the Greatest League Match Ever; even keeping Shanks quiet on the way back to Yorkshire, allegedly. When the red,red, Robin(s)….

Neil Bellers wrote:Will we hear from JR up there on recap cloud nine ever again – with a new Terriers manager arriving as well!? I am an Addicks fan (since 1968), and yes I was at the FA Cup 3rd round match last month. So well done, but remember that the December Countdown final was broadcast on the 55th anniversary of the Greatest League Match Ever; even keeping Shanks quiet on the way back to Yorkshire, allegedly. When the red,red, Robin(s)….

Might've been a bit different had a certain Denis Law not failed his fitness test that morning.....................

For those of you who know not of what we speak (yes, I realise it's off topic (by quite a bit)), here's what we're on about.

Well this was a good game, but for obvious reasons I'm glad Chris lost.

Second Round Game 3 2020 Word Update

The max would have increased by two (from 119 to 121), if played today, as there were 8's available in Rounds 2 & 13, that weren't available in 2013.

It also means that Conor's MAX GAME would've been gone before the first break too...

New Words Now Allowed:

R2: POINTELS, POSTLIKE, POTLINES (increases MAX from 7 to 8)
R3: RUNANGA, RUNNAGE, URANAGE
R4: HODDIES
R6: RUGATE
R7: MISBORN, MORINES, NIMBOSE, NORMIES
R8: RUTTIERS
R11: PONTAGE
R13: PULMOTOR (increases MAX from 7 to 8)