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Dinos Sfyris
Dinos Sfyris Octochamp Statistics | |
Final position | Champion |
---|---|
Seeding | 2 |
Points total | 918 |
Conundrums solved | 7 |
![](/images/3/31/Dinos_Sfyris.png)
Konstadinos "Dinos" Sfyris was a contestant in Series 57, and an octochamp in and the champion of 80. As of his second run on the show, he was a maths tutor from Rotherham. He has also been an Apterite since 2008.
Contents
Appearances on the programme
Series 57
Sfyris first appeared on Countdown as a teenager on 11 October 2007, winning three heat games in Series 57 before losing his fourth by just two points.
In the audience and special episode
He appeared twice on the show as the audience member who solved the conundrum when neither contestant could unravel it. Firstly on 16 December 2009 during the first semi-final of Series 61, and secondly on 15 March 2010 during a special episode. He then played in a special episode on 2 August 2010, where he beat Series 59 octochamp Kai Laddiman 90 – 84, this time appearing as Dinos as opposed to Konstadinos.
Series 80
Sfyris reappeared on Countdown yet again in 2019 in Series 80, hitting the ground running with a score of 117 points and defeating his rival David Ellis by close to a hundred points. He then followed this with seven more sensational victories with six centuries and two scores in the 90s, garnering an aggregate score of 918 points. He spotted impressive nine-letter words such as AMORTISES, DIAPERING, ERECTIONS, and PINAFORES during his run.
Finals
As a result of his impressive run, he became the second octochamp of Series 80, and returned in June 2019 for the series finals as the No. 2 seed. In his quarter-final, he dispatched fellow Series 57 returnee Sandra Pilson, with further nine-letter finds of PROACTIVE and FARMHOUSE, helping him to a 118-point total. He then advanced to the semi-finals, facing fellow Apterite, Brendan Whitehurst. Despite going wrong in the second numbers game, he won 103 – 78 and solved the very difficult conundrum RIPUPROOT. This set up a grand final match between him and another Apterite – multiple record-breaking octochamp Elliott Mellor, who had already become the first contestant to accumulate over 1,000 points across eight preliminary wins.
Epic finale
After Mellor discounted FILATURES in Round 1, Sfyris took the lead with a solution to a very difficult six-small pick from Mellor in Round 3. He then lost the subsequent letters game to Mellor's COALISED, but quickly cancelled the damage out by spotting TREASURE in a five-vowel selection. He extended his gap to 17 with GOATISH, but his lead shrunk to 10 points once again when his gamble of forestudy ☓ backfired. In an extraordinary outcome, his lead held on until a crucial conundrum solve – ending Mellor's run of 10 solved conundrums in a row – won Sfyris the title of Series 80 champion and twenty volumes of the OED, and was presented the Richard Whiteley Memorial Trophy. Sfyris achieved 11 maximums and 103 points in the game, and reduced Mellor to his lowest score thus far, and first non-century with 83 points, despite Mellor accumulating more than 1,300 points across the series. Clips of the grand final were shown on Celebrity Gogglebox on 5 July 2019, which infamously displeased comedian Emily Atack.
Championship of Champions XVI
Sfyris returned to the programme in January 2023 for Championship of Champions XVI, where he played a rematch against Mellor. Sfyris put up a good fight, but unfortunate misfires on resexing ☓ and faisante ☓ contributed to Mellor establishing a 22-point lead, which Sfyris was never able to make a dent into. A difficult conundrum NADNATION was left unsolved by both players, which led to Sfyris bowing out, with a still very respectable score of 88 points.
Co-events
He has also played in lots of Co-events including: COLIN 2008, CoNot 2008, CoLei 2008, COLIN 2009, CoLei2, COLIN 2010, CoLei Summer Special, CoLei3, Co:Lon 2011, COLIN 2012 and was the winner of CoNot 2009.
Appearances on quiz shows
Sfyris has also taken part in various quiz shows: he appeared on The Weakest Link in 2009, followed by an appearance on The Krypton Factor on 2 February 2010, in which he impressed host Ben Shephard by shining in the mental agility round. One year later, Sfyris appeared on The Chase and Pointless, and then in January 2015 appeared on Tipping Point, where he reunited with Shephard, followed by an appearance on Two Tribes later that same year. His next TV appearance was Fifteen to One in 2016, and then The Boss on BBC One in 2017.
Preceded by Mike Daysley |
Series winner Series 80 |
Followed by James Haughton |
Episodes
# | Date | Type | Contestant 1 | Score | Contestant 2 | Presenters | Guest | Lex | Max | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4457 | 11/10/2007 | P | John Scott | 57 – 99 | Konstadinos Sfyris | Des O'Connor | Carol Vorderman | Rick Wakeman | Susie Dent | 121 | ||
4458 | 12/10/2007 | P | Konstadinos Sfyris | 86 – 42 | Georgina Parkinson | Des O'Connor | Carol Vorderman | Rick Wakeman | Susie Dent | 115 | ||
4459 | 15/10/2007 | P | Konstadinos Sfyris | 87 – 48 | Marianne Rowntree | Des O'Connor | Carol Vorderman | Johnny Ball | Susie Dent | 122 | ||
4460 | 16/10/2007 | P | Konstadinos Sfyris | 76 – 78 | Dorian Lidell | Des O'Connor | Carol Vorderman | Johnny Ball | Susie Dent | 120 | ||
S28 | 02/08/2010 | S | Kai Laddiman | 84 – 90 | Dinos Sfyris | Jeff Stelling | Rachel Riley | Gary Osborne | Susie Dent | 141 | ||
7017 | 22/02/2019 | P | David Ellis | 23 – 117 | Dinos Sfyris | Nick Hewer | Rachel Riley | Tanni Grey-Thompson | Susie Dent | 135 | ||
7018 | 25/02/2019 | P | Dinos Sfyris | 92 – 25 | Martin Rose | Nick Hewer | Rachel Riley | Tanni Grey-Thompson | Susie Dent | 132 | ||
7019 | 26/02/2019 | P | Dinos Sfyris | 130 – 44 | Dennis Miller | Nick Hewer | Rachel Riley | Tanni Grey-Thompson | Susie Dent | 133 | ||
7020 | 27/02/2019 | P | Dinos Sfyris | 137 – 75 | Jamie Barron | Nick Hewer | Rachel Riley | Michael Whitehall | Susie Dent | 142 | ||
7021 | 28/02/2019 | P | Dinos Sfyris | 98 – 56 | Jake Pacifico | Nick Hewer | Rachel Riley | Michael Whitehall | Susie Dent | 143 | ||
7022 | 01/03/2019 | P | Dinos Sfyris | 120 – 39 | Darren Smith | Nick Hewer | Rachel Riley | Michael Whitehall | Susie Dent | 124 | ||
7023 | 04/03/2019 | P | Dinos Sfyris | 119 – 18 | Pauline Collard | Nick Hewer | Rachel Riley | Michael Whitehall | Susie Dent | 147 | ||
7024 | 05/03/2019 | P | Dinos Sfyris | 105 – 32 | Joe Harrington | Nick Hewer | Rachel Riley | Michael Whitehall | Susie Dent | 135 | ||
7102 | 21/06/2019 | QF | Dinos Sfyris | 118 – 71 | Sandra Pilson | Nick Hewer | Rachel Riley | Rufus Hound | Susie Dent | 147 | ||
7106 | 27/06/2019 | SF | Dinos Sfyris | 103 – 78 | Brendan Whitehurst | Nick Hewer | Rachel Riley | Richard Arnold | Susie Dent | 123 | ||
7107 | 28/06/2019 | GF | Elliott Mellor | 83 – 103 | Dinos Sfyris | Nick Hewer | Rachel Riley | Richard Arnold | Susie Dent | 131 | ||
7923 | 03/01/2023 | CP | Dinos Sfyris | 88 – 110 | Elliott Mellor | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Richard Osman | Susie Dent | 122 |
External Links
- Article on Sfyris' appearances on Countdown and other game shows in the Barnsley Chronicle
- Article on Sfyris in the Series 80 finals in the Barnsley Chronicle