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June's featured article Allan Saldanha was the runner-up in Series 15 and Series 33, and is one of the most well-known Countdown contestants of all time. Upon his début appearance in 1988, Saldanha was a schoolboy from London aged just nine years old. He quickly rattled off eight straight wins, including a score of 81 points out of a possible 84 in his sixth heat game against Katy Green. His octochamp total score of 490 points saw Saldanha return for the series finals as #1 seed. He briefly fell behind in his quarter-final against Paul Walker, but recovered to win with a score of 50 – 37. In his semi-final versus Peter Pryer, Saldanha gained an early lead but then had morales ☓ and prones ☓ disallowed in consecutive letters rounds. Pryer beat him to the conundrum LATINMANG, but overall had been unable to capitalise on Saldanha's mistakes and it was the youngster who qualified for the series final against Dick Green. The final proved to be one of the most controversial games in Countdown history. The six-letter word CONGAS gave Green the lead in round 2, before the eight-letter word STODGIER enabled Saldanha to take a slim lead in round 5. TIARA gave Green a slight advantage in round 8 which he retained until the penultimate letters game. Trailing by three points, Saldanha risked the word YOLKED, which was incorrectly disallowed by lexicographer Catherine Clarke. The game ended 70 – 81 to Green and, whilst Saldanha would still have lost the game had YOLKED been allowed, it was felt that the wrongful dismissal of this word had had a psychological effect on the young man going into the conundrum behind rather than ahead of his opponent. Then-producer John Meade acknowledged the controversy and bought Saldanha a complete set of the Oxford English Dictionary, identical to the prize awarded to Green. Saldanha returned to Countdown for two games to celebrate the programme's longevity: he defeated fellow prodigy Tim Morrissey to celebrate the '1000th' episode, and beat Gareth Williams in the '1500th' episode. Saldanha played in Championship of Champions IV in January 1989, but was knocked out in the first round by Nita Marr. In 1996, the then 18-year-old Saldanha made his final competitive appearance on Countdown in the Supreme Championship. He was the only person to play six games in the Supreme Championship, losing in the final to Harvey Freeman. (more...) More featured articles... [edit] Did you know... ...that according to sitcom The IT Crowd, there is an exclusive "8+ Club" for Countdown champions who average eight points or more in every round? ...that a very similar club actually exists? ...that Series 61 semi-finalist Innis Carson (pictured) beat Series 65 semi-finalist Mark Deeks in a 25-hour Countdown marathon which raised almost £2,800 for charity? ...that the aforementioned game contained 450 rounds, equivalent to six weeks of standard TV-length games – but still resulted in a crucial conundrum? Nominate an article [edit] Today in Countdown history 2021: Louis Ross beat Kirsty Watt, with the game finishing 76 – 27. 2018: Jan Pask beat David Sarin with scores of 69 – 51. 2017: Chloe Hutton beat Euan Cosh in a game that ended 83 – 21. 2016: Jonny Peppiatt beat Alasdair Haines, scoring 93 – 83. 2015: James Judge beat Lisa Marquand with a score of 83 – 46. 2012: Suzi Purcell beat Ryszard Trzeciak in a 81 – 67 game. 2011: Adam Gillard beat Andy McGurn in the first Series 64 semi-final. 2010: Dominic Travers beat William Dixon with final score 84 – 72. 2009: James Doohan beat Rob Thomas, by a score of 91 – 70. 2007: Dundas Keating beat Dave Tilley with scores of 70 – 68. 2006: Jack Welsby beat Jon O'Neill in the fourth Championship of Champions XII preliminary. 2005: Amy McMaster beat Daljit Gharial in a game that ended 108 – 66. 2004: Richard Hunter beat Jeff Clayton with a score of 75 – 52. 2001: Stevie Roberts beat Stuart Moore, scoring 49 – 45. 2000: Rhonda Bolton beat Michael Balfour in a 52 – 50 game. 1999: Pamela Roud beat Chris Keeley with final score 50 – 32. 1998: Jill Bright beat Stephen Fyffe, by a score of 54 – 33. 1990: Russell Byers beat Anthony Butcher in a Countdown Masters game. 1989: Paul Walker played Steve Haggerty in the fourth leg of a Countdown Masters game. 1988: Paul Walker beat Gavin Rogers in a game that ended 40 – 38. 1987: Vivien Crabb beat Geoffrey Harris with scores of 48 – 34. 1983: Ingram Wilcox beat Beryl Blacheter, scoring 34 – 31.

[edit] Popular articles A brief overview of Countdown and some of its records and terminology. The team: Colin Murray, Rachel Riley, and Susie Dent. The show's institutions: The conundrum, the pencam, and the Teatime Teaser. Harry Savage, the reigning series champion, and his series grand final against Viraj Seelam. The most recent Championship of Champions Final between James Haughton and Ahmed Mohamed. The 30th Birthday Championship final between Conor Travers and Jack Hurst. Richard Whiteley, Des Lynam, Des O'Connor, Carol Vorderman, Jeff Stelling, Nick Hewer and Anne Robinson - the show's former permanent presenters. The highest ever score: 154, achieved by Tom Stevenson in Episode 7860 and Cillian McMulkin in Episode 7943. [edit] Editors Everyone can edit the Countdown Wiki, just register and then click the edit link at the top of any page (except this one!) and start editing. Here are some useful links: Learn about this wiki and how to use it. Episode style guide - if you want to help us edit the episode pages, this style guide gives comprehensive help. Suggest a featured article which will in turn be featured on the Main Page. [edit] Other Countdown websites Apterous, an online game from the same people that run this site. The Countdown Android App, created by Series 63 champion Jack Hurst. The Countdown Database, detailed statistics and round-by-round details of over 7,800 episodes. FOCAL, regular in-person events that anyone can enter. c4countdown, Countdown's main online forum, populated by many past octochamps. Quantum Tombola, a numbers game solver designed by Series 65 champion Graeme Cole. A mobile version of the above. Greem, a website listing nearly all Co-event scores until early 2020. The Countdown Page, the original site of Countdown stats, by Mike Brown. [edit] Upcoming Countdown tournaments The full list of FOCAL tournaments for 2024 is here. The next scheduled event is Countdown in Oxford on 15 June 2024. Almost all online tournaments are now held on Apterous: the list of ongoing tournaments is here.

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