Championship of Champions XII
| Championship of Champions XII | |
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| Series information | |
| First episode | 29 May 2006 |
| Last episode | 16 June 2006 |
| Highest score | 125 (Paul Gallen) |
| Number of contestants | 16 |
| Number of episodes | 15 |
| Results | |
| Winner | Paul Gallen |
| Runner-up | Mark Tournoff |
Championship of Champions XII is remembered as one of the most excellent knockout tournaments that has occurred. From 29 May to 16 June 2006, sixteen finalists from Series 49 to 54 were assembled for a knockout showdown. This was also the first Championship of Champions tournament where all the participants were 15-round finalists.
The tournament was originally scheduled after the end of Series 53, but was delayed by the transition of presenters. The original tournament had a slightly different line-up, including Sweyn Kirkness and Stuart Earl, who were replaced by the Series 54 finalists. Another favourite, Series 51 champion Stewart Holden, declined to enter because he was studying the Scrabble dictionary at the time.
The first three games all featured centuries as Mark Tournoff, John Davies and Conor Travers progressed at the expense of Steve Graston, Gary Male and John Hunt respectively. The fourth game saw Jack Welsby make a mere 99 to Jon O'Neill's 94, as they both missed PROSPERED. The onslaught of centuries continued with Paul Howe making 117 against John Mayhew, Paul Gallen earning the tournament's eventual highest score with 125 against Eamonn Timmins, and the first double century game as Chris Cummins' 101 was eventually inadequate to overcome Matthew Shore's 109. The 86 – 48 scoreline when John Brackstone defeated Series 49 runner-up, David Wilson, arguably formed the only weak point of the preliminary rounds.
Eight days in and it did not seem that the tournament could get anyway better: the first quarter-final of Matthew Shore vs. Mark Tournoff was described by Jon O'Neill as "the greatest game of Countdown ever played" — both players spotted two nines and while Shore made a mighty 117, Tournoff made an incredible 124 to take the game. The second quarter-final was less explosive but no less exciting, with John Davies trying to claw back an eighteen-point first round deficit after missing STINGAREE/RESEATING against a ferociously focused Paul Gallen. Gallen held on confidently, running out the winner at 118 – 96. The third quarter-final saw Conor Travers sneak through against John Brackstone by 101 – 80, due to pulling out the awesome spot of BRESAOLA in Round 13. The last quarter-final between Paul Howe and Jack Welsby was faced with difficult selections but the game finished close and low-scoring, with Paul winning by 83 – 72.
Heading into the semi-finals were two finalists from Series 52 and two from Series 54, and naturally the pairings were between series. The first saw a steady scoring affair between Paul Howe and Mark Tournoff which headed to the crucial conundrum but after six seconds, Tournoff buzzed in with the correct solution from STUARTFIR to take himself into the final and leaving Howe disappointed for the second time in just a few weeks. The second semi-final was a battle that fans had been relishing to see – Gallen against Travers. With both players making perfect scores in almost every round (including word spots like RITENUTO and HELICONS), there was little to separate them; a crucial conundrum seemed inevitable and indeed it came, with Gallen leading by 108 – 102. Gallen buzzed in almost immediately with the solution from CHOPLOSER to claim the his spot in the final.
And so the final became a rematch of the Series 52 grand final. Both players started strongly with finds like STARFISH, SUNBEAM and CELLARET but Gallen finally opened a lead in Round 12 with the superb pair of TELECOM and DYSPNOEA. An impossible last numbers game allowed Tournoff to score seven points and come within striking distance. The game led to another crucial conundrum; the roller spun to reveal PRONEPIPE and just like in his previous match, Gallen buzzed quickly – but this time, there could be no mistake as PEPPERONI gave him the points to become the twelfth CoC winner. At last, Gallen allowed himself a smile – it was a fitting end to an amazing championship (that also eventually became the last, co-hosted by Carol Vorderman).
Progress
| Mark Tournoff (52) vs Steve Graston (51) | Mark Tournoff vs Matthew Shore | Mark Tournoff vs Paul Howe |
Mark Tournoff vs Paul Gallen |
| Matthew Shore (54) vs Chris Cummins (50) | |||
| Jack Welsby (52) vs Jon O'Neill (53) | Jack Welsby vs Paul Howe | ||
| John Mayhew (53) vs Paul Howe (54) | |||
| John Davies (49) vs Gary Male (51) | John Davies vs Paul Gallen | Paul Gallen vs Conor Travers | |
| Paul Gallen (52) vs Eamonn Timmins (50) | |||
| Conor Travers (54) vs John Hunt (52) | Conor Travers vs John Brackstone | ||
| John Brackstone (53) vs David Wilson (49) |
The numbers refer to the series in which each contestant originally played in the finals.
Episodes
| # | Date | Type | Contestant 1 | Score | Contestant 2 | Presenters | Guest | Lex | Max | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4113 | 29/05/2006 | CP | Mark Tournoff | 119 – 83 | Steve Graston | Des Lynam | Carol Vorderman | Ron Atkinson | Susie Dent | 131 | ||
| 4114 | 30/05/2006 | CP | John Davies | 106 – 73 | Gary Male | Des Lynam | Carol Vorderman | Ron Atkinson | Susie Dent | 131 | ||
| 4115 | 31/05/2006 | CP | Conor Travers | 124 – 91 | John Hunt | Des Lynam | Carol Vorderman | Ron Atkinson | Susie Dent | 138 | ||
| 4116 | 01/06/2006 | CP | Jack Welsby | 99 – 94 | Jon O'Neill | Des Lynam | Carol Vorderman | Ron Atkinson | Susie Dent | 134 | ||
| 4117 | 02/06/2006 | CP | John Mayhew | 87 – 117 | Paul Howe | Des Lynam | Carol Vorderman | Ron Atkinson | Susie Dent | 132 | ||
| 4118 | 05/06/2006 | CP | John Brackstone | 86 – 48 | David Wilson | Des Lynam | Carol Vorderman | Ann Widdecombe | Susie Dent | 120 | ||
| 4119 | 06/06/2006 | CP | Paul Gallen | 125 – 80 | Eamonn Timmins | Des Lynam | Carol Vorderman | Ann Widdecombe | Susie Dent | 141 | ||
| 4120 | 07/06/2006 | CP | Matthew Shore | 109 – 101 | Chris Cummins | Des Lynam | Carol Vorderman | Ann Widdecombe | Susie Dent | 131 | ||
| 4121 | 08/06/2006 | CQF | Matthew Shore | 117 – 124 | Mark Tournoff | Des Lynam | Carol Vorderman | Ann Widdecombe | Susie Dent | 139 | ||
| 4122 | 09/06/2006 | CQF | Paul Gallen | 118 – 96 | John Davies | Des Lynam | Carol Vorderman | Ann Widdecombe | Susie Dent | 127 | ||
| 4123 | 12/06/2006 | CQF | Conor Travers | 101 – 80 | John Brackstone | Des Lynam | Carol Vorderman | Kim Woodburn | Susie Dent | 130 | ||
| 4124 | 13/06/2006 | CQF | Jack Welsby | 72 – 83 | Paul Howe | Des Lynam | Carol Vorderman | Kim Woodburn | Susie Dent | 118 | ||
| 4125 | 14/06/2006 | CSF | Paul Howe | 88 – 99 | Mark Tournoff | Des Lynam | Carol Vorderman | Kim Woodburn | Susie Dent | 126 | ||
| 4126 | 15/06/2006 | CSF | Paul Gallen | 118 – 102 | Conor Travers | Des Lynam | Carol Vorderman | Kim Woodburn | Susie Dent | 120 | ||
| 4127 | 16/06/2006 | CGF | Paul Gallen | 111 – 93 | Mark Tournoff | Des Lynam | Carol Vorderman | Kim Woodburn | Susie Dent | 118 | ||
