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Joe Dobinson

From Countdown
Joe Dobinson
Octochamp Statistics
Final positionSemi-finalist
Seeding5
Points total794
Conundrums solved6
Joe Dobinson in Series 86.

Joe Dobinson was an octochamp and semi-finalist in Series 86. He was a Spanish and linguistics student at the University of Southampton but is originally from Southend-on-Sea, Essex. He is also an Apterite.

Making his debut on 9 November 2022 with a solid score of 93, Dobinson won a further seven games to become the sixth octochamp of Series 86, and the second of the series whose run has spanned two presenters. He achieved a provisional personal best of 116 in his second game, and solved six conundrums; three of which were crucial.

In his eighth game, he notably risked MARBLEISE in the final letters game for the sole nine of his heats, wrapping up with a total of 794 points (the same as Paul James in Series 67, Laurence Killen in Series 71 and Maggie Barlow in Series 80).

Dobinson returned for the series finals in December 2022, placing as the fifth seed. He played his quarter-final match on 20 December 2022 against number four seed Alan Young. Young took an early lead after the first numbers game, with Dobinson staying close behind by two points. However, crucially, Dobinson later found LANGOUSTE for nine, taking a 16-point lead to the conundrum, which was left unsolved and meant Dobinson advanced to a semi-final the next day against Tom Stevenson. This also made Dobinson the first semi-finalist outside the top four seeds since Tony Manwani and Alan Duval both made it in Series 79.

In the semi-final, both players started by matching each other early on. But Stevenson broke away with spots like LEGGIER in Round 5 and IMPASTO in Round 7, along with a successful six-small numbers selection to establish a 24-point lead. Joe and Tom then maxed out Rounds 10 to 14, which included them both spotting the 9 letter word WINTEROUS, before Tom maintained his scoring record by solving his tenth conundrum on the bounce to qualify for the final with 129 points. This meant Dobinson suffered his only defeat, bowing out with a very respectable score of 95 points, the highest losing score of any of Stevenson's opponents in Series 86, and an overall total of 988 points across his run.

Episodes

# Date Type Contestant 1 Score Contestant 2 Presenters Guest Lex Max
7889 09/11/2022 P Samantha Baker 88 – 93 Joe Dobinson Richard Coles Rachel Riley Dan Walker Susie Dent 125
7890 10/11/2022 P Joe Dobinson 116 – 23 Richard Waldron Richard Coles Rachel Riley Dan Walker Susie Dent 133
7891 11/11/2022 P Joe Dobinson 107 – 80 Adam Fleetwood Richard Coles Rachel Riley Dan Walker Susie Dent 122
7892 14/11/2022 P Joe Dobinson 99 – 82 Neil McCall Trevor McDonald Rachel Riley Bobby Seagull Susie Dent 135
7893 15/11/2022 P Joe Dobinson 81 – 63 Rahul Leal Trevor McDonald Rachel Riley Bobby Seagull Susie Dent 128
7894 16/11/2022 P Joe Dobinson 95 – 62 Andy Alden Trevor McDonald Rachel Riley Bobby Seagull Susie Dent 134
7895 17/11/2022 P Joe Dobinson 88 – 70 Michael Nicholson Trevor McDonald Rachel Riley Bobby Seagull Susie Dent 126
7896 18/11/2022 P Joe Dobinson 115 – 46 Sunita Lakhanpaul Trevor McDonald Rachel Riley Bobby Seagull Susie Dent 140
7918 20/12/2022 QF Alan Young 83 – 99 Joe Dobinson Colin Murray Rachel Riley Neil Delamere Susie Dent 151
7919 21/12/2022 SF Tom Stevenson 129 – 95 Joe Dobinson Colin Murray Rachel Riley Neil Delamere Susie Dent 135