Noel McIlvenny
| Noel McIlvenny octochamp statistics | |
|---|---|
| Final position | Semi-finalist |
| Seeding | 4 |
| Points total | 793 |
| Conundrums solved | 4 |
Noel McIlvenny was an octochamp in Series 77, and a participant in Championship of Champions XV. He is a Maths Teacher from Belfast. He is also an Apterite.
Appearances on the show
Heat games
McIlvenny debuted on 15 August 2017, outrunning Sarah Capperauld by 83 – 30. He then achieved a further seven victories with a high score of 120. During his octorun, he thrashed Series 26 semi-finalist Chris Feetenby.
He showed exceptional skill on the numbers rounds that when solving his preferred selections of four large, he frequently ascended into intermediate totals in the thousands or tens of thousands before dividing down again.
Finals
He returned in December as the No. 4 seed.
He faced Irishman, teacher and fellow Apterite Eoin Jackson. His quarter-final was very close with both players managing to spot LOCALISES and MONRADITE in the process. However, it was Noel who won by 111 – 109 after the crucial conundrum of SUSIFENNT was left unsolved.
He then faced Tom Chafer-Cook in his semi-final. McIlvenny put in a valiant effort but it simply proved to be not enough against Chafer-Cook as the latter achieved the highest score of the series and ultimately came in just one point short of a max game. However, he showed off his exceptional skill on the final numbers round by making a complex solution to a rather easy numbers round before bowing out in his first defeat.
Championship of Champions XV
McIlvenny returned to the show in January 2019 for Championship of Champions XV.
He went up again fellow Apterite, Philip Aston, in the last preliminary match of the tournament. He was eliminated by 103 – 89, mainly due to Aston pulling away early on with his findings of TOLUENE and ROTAMER. Nonetheless, he maxed all the numbers rounds that included his use of the "937.5 trick" in the final numbers round. Aston praised McIlvenny as "the best four-large player ever".
Episodes
| # | Date | Type | Contestant 1 | Score | Contestant 2 | Presenters | Guest | Lex | Max | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6645 | 15/08/2017 | P | Sarah Capperauld | 30 – 83 | Noel McIlvenny | Nick Hewer | Rachel Riley | Barry McGuigan | Susie Dent | 134 | ||
| 6646 | 16/08/2017 | P | Noel McIlvenny | 100 – 53 | Andrew Smithies | Nick Hewer | Rachel Riley | Barry McGuigan | Susie Dent | 155 | ||
| 6647 | 17/08/2017 | P | Noel McIlvenny | 96 – 21 | Chris Feetenby | Nick Hewer | Rachel Riley | Barry McGuigan | Susie Dent | 134 | ||
| 6648 | 18/08/2017 | P | Noel McIlvenny | 109 – 54 | Paul Collins | Nick Hewer | Rachel Riley | Barry McGuigan | Susie Dent | 132 | ||
| 6649 | 21/08/2017 | P | Noel McIlvenny | 100 – 61 | Mike Browning | Nick Hewer | Rachel Riley | Barry McGuigan | Susie Dent | 144 | ||
| 6650 | 22/08/2017 | P | Noel McIlvenny | 93 – 16 | Ben Parker | Nick Hewer | Rachel Riley | Martin Lewis | Susie Dent | 140 | ||
| 6651 | 23/08/2017 | P | Noel McIlvenny | 120 – 36 | Neil Harvey | Nick Hewer | Rachel Riley | Martin Lewis | Susie Dent | 146 | ||
| 6652 | 24/08/2017 | P | Noel McIlvenny | 92 – 44 | Gary Shacklady | Nick Hewer | Rachel Riley | Martin Lewis | Susie Dent | 127 | ||
| 6733 | 19/12/2017 | QF | Noel McIlvenny | 111 – 109 | Eoin Jackson | Nick Hewer | Rachel Riley | Rufus Hound | Susie Dent | 142 | ||
| 6734 | 20/12/2017 | SF | Tom Chafer-Cook | 134 – 83 | Noel McIlvenny | Nick Hewer | Rachel Riley | Rufus Hound | Susie Dent | 135 | ||
| 6987 | 11/01/2019 | CP | Philip Aston | 103 – 89 | Noel McIlvenny | Nick Hewer | Rachel Riley | Dr Linda Papadopoulos | Susie Dent | 122 | ||
