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Difference between revisions of "Grand slam winner"

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A '''grand slam winner''' is a player who wins all his or her possible games of [[Countdown]] unbeaten. To become a grand slam winner, one must go [[octochamp|undefeated in the heats]], then [[Series Winners|win his or her series]] (becoming a [[Xicounts|xicount]]), and finally become the [[Championship of Champions|Champion of Champions]].
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__NOTOC__ <!-- Removes table of contents -->
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A '''grand slam winner''' is a [[contestant]] who becomes an [[octochamp]] (or [[:Category:Viscounts|viscount]] in case of [[Series 46]]), [[Series Winners|series champion]] '''and''' [[Championship of Champions|champion of champions]], essentially giving them an unbeaten run of 13 to 15 wins (depending on the length of their Championship of Champions). This is regarded as the highest accolade to achieve on ''[[Countdown]]''.
  
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To date, there have been five grand slam winners:
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Grand slam winners are typically undefeated in all of their televised competitive games alone, excluding games in the [[Series 33|Supreme Championship]], the [[30th Birthday Championship]] and [[special episode]]s (unless they had a previous stint as a contestant in an earlier series, in which they lost a game). As a point of interest, each of these contestants' defeats (if any) are listed here.
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*'''[[Harvey Freeman]]''' won Episodes [[Episode 459|459]] through [[Episode 466|466]], the [[Series 10]] finals, and [[Championship of Champions III]]. He also won the [[Supreme Championship]], giving him the most total wins of any grand slam winner. However, he was defeated by [[Mark Nyman]] in a contest from the short-lived [[Countdown Masters]] series.
 
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*'''[[Nic Brown]]''' won Episodes [[Episode 658|658]] through [[Episode 665|665]], the [[Series 14]] finals, and [[Championship of Champions IV]].
 
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*'''[[Don Reid]]''' won Episodes [[Episode 1361|1361]] through [[Episode 1368|1368]], the [[Series 25]] finals, and [[Championship of Champions VII]]. However, he did lose to [[John Clarke (Series 11)|John Clarke]] in the [[Supreme Championship]].
 
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*'''[[Scott Mearns]]''' won Episodes [[Episode 2553|2553]] through [[Episode 2560|2560]], the [[Series 41]] finals, and [[Championship of Champions X]]. His unbeaten record came to end in a special match.
 
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*'''[[Graham Nash]]''' won Episodes [[Episode 2813|2813]] through [[Episode 2820|2820]], the [[Series 43]] finals, and [[Championship of Champions XI]].
 
  
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An arguable case can be made that '''[[Conor Travers]]''' also qualifies as a grand slam winner, given that, in addition to becoming an octochamp and the champion of [[Series 54]], he won the [[30th Birthday Championship]], which was held during a time when Championships of Champions were on hiatus. However, he had also participated, and been defeated, in [[Championship of Champions XII|CoC XII]] beforehand.
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To date, there have been seven grand slam winners:
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*'''[[Harvey Freeman]]''' won Episodes [[Episode 459|459]] through [[Episode 466|466]], the [[Series 10]] finals and [[Championship of Champions III]]. He also won the Supreme Championship. His only loss as a solo player on ''Countdown'' was to [[Mark Nyman]] in [[Episode M45]]; as well as [[Episode 495|a special episode]] where his team, captained by [[Gyles Brandreth]], lost to a team captained by [[Bill Tidy]].
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*'''[[Nic Brown]]''' won Episodes [[Episode 658|658]] through [[Episode 665|665]], the [[Series 14]] finals and [[Championship of Champions IV]]. He did not return for the Supreme Championship nor participate in any special episodes, and thus remains undefeated.
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*'''[[Don Reid]]''' won Episodes [[Episode 1361|1361]] through [[Episode 1368|1368]], the [[Series 25]] finals and [[Championship of Champions VII]]. His unbeaten record was ended in the Supreme Championship by [[John Clarke (Series 11)|John Clarke]].
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*'''[[Scott Mearns]]''' won Episodes [[Episode 2553|2553]] through [[Episode 2560|2560]], the [[Series 41]] finals and [[Championship of Champions X]] (a shorter-than-normal CoC in which he received a bye to the semi-finals). His unbeaten record came to end in a [[Episode S9|special episode]] against [[Natascha Kearsey]].
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*'''[[Graham Nash]]''' won Episodes [[Episode 2813|2813]] through [[Episode 2820|2820]], the [[Series 43]] finals and [[Championship of Champions XI]]. He also won a [[Episode S46|special episode]]. He did not return for the 30th Birthday Championship, and thus remains undefeated.
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*'''[[Zarte Siempre]]''' won Episodes [[Episode 6774|6774]] through [[Episode 6781|6781]], the [[Series 78]] finals and [[Championship of Champions XV]]. He previously won five heats in [[Series 69]] before losing his sixth, and has more wins than any other grand slam winner (20).
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*'''[[Ahmed Mohamed]]''' won Episodes [[Episode 7605|7605]] through [[Episode 7612|7612]], the [[Series 84]] finals and [[Championship of Champions XVI]]. He remains undefeated.
  
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A grand slam winner is typically the #1 seed for his or her series. The only exception is Graham Nash, who was #2 seed behind [[David Williams (Series 43)|David Williams]].
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All but one of these were No. 1 seed for their finals; the only exception is Graham Nash, who was No. 2 seed behind [[David Williams (Series 43)|David Williams]].
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==Grand slam points totals==
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===9-round era===
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Typically, a 9-round grand slam winner played 12 9-round games and 2 14-round games. As Scott Mearns only played two matches in his [[Championship of Champions X|Championship of Champions]], his 872 score comes from just 13 games. Mearns's average 9-round score is 64.45, and thus his theoretical score for 14 games would be 936. Thus, he is listed above Don Reid here.
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{{seed table}}
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{{seed| 1|[[Harvey Freeman]]|14|964}}
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{{seed| 2|[[Scott Mearns]]**|13|872}}
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{{seed| 3|[[Don Reid]]      |14|926}}
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{{seed| 4|[[Nic Brown]]    |14|859}}
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{{seed table end}}
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===Mixed formats===
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[[Graham Nash]] is the only grand slam winner who played his original series in the 9-round era and the [[Championship of Champions XI]] in the (old) 15-round era. He score 684 points in his [[Xicount]] run, and 406 points from 4 games in the COC. Therefore, his points total if reducing his score by 9/15 accordingly for the CP, CQF, and CSF games, and by 14/15 for the CGF game, becomes 270 for this run, and 954 points from 15 games if he is to be included in 9-rounders. However, as he played an additional game in his COC compared to Freeman, Reid, and Brown; and two more than Mearns, this cannot be considered to be a comparable total to Freeman or Mearns's scores. If his three COC games (excluding the final) are thus reduced to two, his total becomes 888.
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Doing the calculations in reverse, i.e. multiplying his Series 43 games by 15/9 (and the final by 15/14), is 991.666666 for the first 10, 95.357 for the GF. Thus this gives him 1087 for his Xicount total and 1493 for his 15-game total.
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{{xicount seed table}}
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{{xiseed||[[Graham Nash]]<br /><small>''(raw)''</small>|1090}}
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{{xiseed||[[Graham Nash]]<br /><small>''(adjusted for 9-rounders, 15 wins)''</small>|954}}
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{{xiseed||[[Graham Nash]]<br /><small>''(adjusted for 9-rounders, adjusted for 14 wins)''</small>|888}}
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{{xiseed||[[Graham Nash]]<br /><small>''(adjusted for 15-rounders, 15 wins)''</small>|1493}}
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{{seed table end}}
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===15-round era===
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There have only been two grand slam winners exclusively in the 15-round era, and both of these runs came after the change to the new 15-round format in 2013, and both had COC runs comprising of four games.
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{{seed table}}
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{{seed| 1|[[Zarte Siempre]]|15|1816}}
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{{seed| 2|[[Ahmed Mohamed]]|15|1775}}
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{{seed table end}}
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
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[[List of Countdown terminology]]
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*[[List of Countdown terminology]]
  
 
[[Category:Terminology]]
 
[[Category:Terminology]]

Latest revision as of 01:18, 22 January 2023

A grand slam winner is a contestant who becomes an octochamp (or viscount in case of Series 46), series champion and champion of champions, essentially giving them an unbeaten run of 13 to 15 wins (depending on the length of their Championship of Champions). This is regarded as the highest accolade to achieve on Countdown.

Grand slam winners are typically undefeated in all of their televised competitive games alone, excluding games in the Supreme Championship, the 30th Birthday Championship and special episodes (unless they had a previous stint as a contestant in an earlier series, in which they lost a game). As a point of interest, each of these contestants' defeats (if any) are listed here.

To date, there have been seven grand slam winners:

All but one of these were No. 1 seed for their finals; the only exception is Graham Nash, who was No. 2 seed behind David Williams.

Grand slam points totals

9-round era

Typically, a 9-round grand slam winner played 12 9-round games and 2 14-round games. As Scott Mearns only played two matches in his Championship of Champions, his 872 score comes from just 13 games. Mearns's average 9-round score is 64.45, and thus his theoretical score for 14 games would be 936. Thus, he is listed above Don Reid here.

Rank Name Wins Points
1 Harvey Freeman 14 964
2 Scott Mearns** 13 872
3 Don Reid 14 926
4 Nic Brown 14 859

Mixed formats

Graham Nash is the only grand slam winner who played his original series in the 9-round era and the Championship of Champions XI in the (old) 15-round era. He score 684 points in his Xicount run, and 406 points from 4 games in the COC. Therefore, his points total if reducing his score by 9/15 accordingly for the CP, CQF, and CSF games, and by 14/15 for the CGF game, becomes 270 for this run, and 954 points from 15 games if he is to be included in 9-rounders. However, as he played an additional game in his COC compared to Freeman, Reid, and Brown; and two more than Mearns, this cannot be considered to be a comparable total to Freeman or Mearns's scores. If his three COC games (excluding the final) are thus reduced to two, his total becomes 888.

Doing the calculations in reverse, i.e. multiplying his Series 43 games by 15/9 (and the final by 15/14), is 991.666666 for the first 10, 95.357 for the GF. Thus this gives him 1087 for his Xicount total and 1493 for his 15-game total.

Rank Name Score
Graham Nash
(raw) 		1090
Graham Nash
(adjusted for 9-rounders, 15 wins) 		954
Graham Nash
(adjusted for 9-rounders, adjusted for 14 wins) 		888
Graham Nash
(adjusted for 15-rounders, 15 wins) 		1493

15-round era

There have only been two grand slam winners exclusively in the 15-round era, and both of these runs came after the change to the new 15-round format in 2013, and both had COC runs comprising of four games.

Rank Name Wins Points
1 Zarte Siempre 15 1816
2 Ahmed Mohamed 15 1775

See also

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