Players play in events across the British Isles throughout the year, with the top 8 highest ranked players at the end of the year receiving free entry into the finals event in Birmingham, held alongside a normal tournament that is open to everyone. 2016's FOCAL Champion was Series 66 champion Jack Worsley, 2017's champion was Rob Foster, 2018 Jonathan Wynn and 2019 Callum Todd. All events are hosted on a Saturday, with the exception of the 'hangover' event, held on the Sunday in Lincoln as secondary events.

The organisation was the brainchild of Series 78 champion and former .co.mk organiser Zarte Siempre in mid-2015. The incumbent FOCAL chairman is Series 69 champion Callum Todd. The previous chairmen were Siempre in early 2016 and 2017, Mark Murray in late 2016 and Jeff Clayton from 2016 to 2021.

Current standings for the year and many other details can be found at the FOCAL website, as well as the 2020–22 FOCAL season page on this wiki. (more...)

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• ...that en route to posting the then lowest ever 15 round score on 16 May 2011, Christine Buffrey had areolaes ☓ disallowed for being invalid, using phantom letters, and being misdeclared as a six-letter word?
• ...that three Countdown contestants – Charlie Reams, Dave Dyer and Mark Murphy – have been bleeped for scoring with the word WANKER or WANKERS?
• ...that on 2 November 2011, Dictionary Corner guest Mark Durden-Smith was bleeped after stating that the longest word in round 3 was SHITFACE?
• ...that the target in round 5 on 05/05/05 was 505?
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• 2019: Andy Evans beat Steve Taylor, scoring 94 – 53.
• 2018: Greg Purling beat Daniel Singleton with scores of 86 – 63.
• 2017: Phil Peel beat Ben Leyburn in a game that ended 103 – 88.
• 2016: Jamie Washington beat Gareth Bann, by a score of 113 – 76.
• 2014: Jon O'Neill, Jo Brand, and Sean Lock beat Jon Richardson, Vic Reeves, and Rob Beckett by 52 – 24.
• 2014: Paul Worsley beat Kieran O'Driscoll with a score of 108 – 90.
• 2013: Alex Fish beat Suzannah Hemmings with final score 96 – 62.
• 2012: Liam Shaw beat Charlotte Estall in a 69 – 62 game.
• 2011: Peter Metcalfe beat Julie Harrington, scoring 65 – 63.
• 2008: Julie Rees beat Sarah Knapper with scores of 82 – 76.
• 2007: David Von Geyer beat Luisa Jones in a game that ended 92 – 66.
• 2006: Richard Brittain beat Anne Devlin, by a score of 98 – 31.
• 2003: Jim Bentley beat Irvine Henderson with a score of 113 – 51.
• 2002: Robert Lee beat Tony Poultney in a 83 – 57 game.
• 2001: John Rawnsley beat Phil Bennett in the first Series 45 semi-final.
• 2000: Iain Macdonald beat Elaine Beale with final score 57 – 47.
• 1997: Maria Boyes beat Malcolm Fairy in the second Series 36 quarter-final.
• 1996: Satbir Gupta beat Stephen Paver in the first Series 32 quarter-final.
• 1995: Glyn Wigley beat Alma Alliance in a game that ended 55 – 46.
• 1994: Carole Rison beat Isabelle Heward with scores of 59 – 40.
• 1991: Chris Waddington beat Philip Griffiths in the first Series 22 quarter-final.
• 1990: Robert Houston beat Ray Norris, scoring 50 – 27.
• 1990: Robert Richland played Joan Orchard in the third leg of a Countdown Masters game.
• 1989: Richard Evans beat Avril Goldsworthy with final score 50 – 29.
• 1989: Eleanor Crosby played James Wilkie in the second leg of a Countdown Masters game.
• 1983: Harry Venet beat David Drake-Brockman with a score of 36 – 26.

• A brief overview of Countdown and some of its records and terminology.
• The team: Anne Robinson, Rachel Riley, and Susie Dent.
• The show's institutions: the conundrum, the pencam, and the Teatime Teaser.
• Adam Latchford, reigning series champion, and his series grand final against Luke Boynton.
• The most recent Championship of Champions Final between Zarte Siempre and Bradley Horrocks, which was won by Siempre.
• The 30th Birthday Championship final between Conor Travers and Jack Hurst.
• Carol Vorderman, Richard Whiteley, Des Lynam, Des O'Connor, Jeff Stelling, Nick Hewer and Colin Murray, the show's former presenters.
• The highest ever score, Elliott Mellor's 152.
• Series 84, the current series of Countdown.

• 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.
• List of completed projects - see the progress we've made!
• Suggest a featured article which will in turn be featured on the Main Page.

• Apterous, an online game from the same people that run this site.
• The Countdown Page, Mike Brown's encyclopaedic record of Countdown scores and miscellany.
• The Countdown Database, detailed statistics and round-by-round details of over 5,700 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 Graeme Cole.
  • A mobile version of the above.
• Greem, a website listing nearly all co-event scores.