Megel Barker
| Megel Barker octochamp statistics | |
|---|---|
| Final position | Quarter-finalist |
| Seeding | 7 |
| Points total | 769 |
| Conundrums solved | 4 |
Megel Barker was a contestant in Series 92, and an octochamp and quarter-finalist in Series 93. He was a teacher originally from Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica but since of Thorpe, Surrey. He is also an Apterite, as well as a keen player of dominoes and Scrabble.
Barker has worked all over the globe in the education sector for over thirty years, obtaining a Doctorate in Education in 2020. At the time of his Countdown run, his present position was the Head of Middle School at The American School in England.
Heat games
Making his debut towards the end of Series 92, Barker racked up four victories before being placed aside for the series finals. He returned on 5 January to resume his run in the first preliminary of Series 93, kicking off the new year with a century. He then capped off his octorun (throughout which he notably stuck to a four-large numbers pick each time) in the fourth episode of the new series with a personal best of 105 points. This also included his only nine-letter word spot of UPLOADING.
Finals
Five months later and after a long and strong series, "The Dominator" (nicknamed by Colin Murray) returned as the seventh seed to play his quarter-final against Rubik's cuber and No. 2 seed "The T-Rex" Charlie Harrison. The latter though was not able to easily feast, with Megel staying within sight of Charlie for most of the match. But after Harrison spotted the darrenic of LOUCHEST and then DISCOVER in the final two letters rounds, it was game over for Barker who did get the final four-large numbers round as a consolation prize. With the match officially done after Charlie spotted his ninth conundrum in PILFERAGE and despite a valiant effort, Barker therefore bowed out of Series 93 with an impressive 86 points and a grand total of 855 from nine appearances (a precise average of 95 points per game).
Episodes
| # | Date | Type | Contestant 1 | Score | Contestant 2 | Presenters | Guest | Lex | Max | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8663 | 05/12/2025 | P | Pete Dance | 46 – 97 | Megel Barker | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Harry Aikines-Aryeetey | Susie Dent | 143 | ||
| 8664 | 08/12/2025 | P | Megel Barker | 97 – 51 | David Shattock | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Nisha Katona | Susie Dent | 126 | ||
| 8665 | 09/12/2025 | P | Megel Barker | 84 – 75 | Tony Long | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Nisha Katona | Susie Dent | 124 | ||
| 8666 | 10/12/2025 | P | Megel Barker | 94 – 49 | Louise Murphy | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Nisha Katona | Susie Dent | 118 | ||
| 8674 | 05/01/2026 | P | Megel Barker | 100 – 71 | Izyan Bashiruddin | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Debbie McGee | Susie Dent | 122 | ||
| 8675 | 06/01/2026 | P | Megal Barker | 99 – 56 | Barry Kimberley | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Debbie McGee | Susie Dent | 124 | ||
| 8676 | 07/01/2026 | P | Megel Barker | 93 – 63 | Frazer McColl | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Debbie McGee | Susie Dent | 122 | ||
| 8677 | 08/01/2026 | P | Megel Barker | 105 – 60 | Kev Strain | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Debbie McGee | Susie Dent | 135 | ||
| 8793 | 19/06/2026 | QF | Charlie Harrison | 120 – 86 | Megel Barker | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Charlene White | Susie Dent | 126 | ||
