Phil Davies

Phil Davies Octochamp Statistics
Final position	Semi-finalist
Seeding	4
Points total	757
Conundrums solved	4

Phil Davies in Series 78.

Phil Davies was an octochamp in Series 78 and a participant in Championship of Champions XV. He joined Apterous after recording his heats.

Appearances on the programme

Heat games

Davies started his run on 5 February, bottoming out at 75 points in his third game, but then climbing to a high of 114 in his seventh. On Valentine’s Day, he missed the conundrum on his final game which denied him a fourth consecutive century and provisional number one seed, but still achieved three centuries in his eight wins to become the second octochamp of the series.

Finals

Davies' 757 points netted him a place in the Series 78 finals as the #4 seed, and he returned in June to face former Series 32 finalist Paul Harper. Davies spotted the nine OUTRANGES early in the show and mounted a 42-point lead, but in the second and third "halves" Harper clawed back the deficit until he was nearly within striking distance. Only an evenly matched final numbers round prevented a crucial conundrum and assured Davies a place in the semis, where he was then matched against hotly favoured #1 seed Zarte Siempre. Davies held his own against the top seed, taking the lead in Round 1 when Siempre had disagreer ☓ called off and maintaining the lead through the difficult six-small selection in Round 9. Ultimately, however, Siempre's spots of MURIATES and NOTABLE meant that the outcome of the game was again decided after the final numbers round, with Davies this time suffering his first defeat.

Championship of Champions XV

Davies returned to Countdown in January 2019 for the Championship of Champions XV, where he faced Jonathan Wynn in the first preliminary round of the tournament. Here, he kept up very well with Wynn, maintaining a crucial margin, but the Series 73 champion ultimately broke away in the third "half" to prevail 103 – 68.

Episodes

#	Date	Type	Contestant 1	Score	Contestant 2	Presenters				Guest	Lex	Max
6756	5/02/2018	P	David Shipley	47 – 78	Phil Davies	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Suzannah Lipscomb	Susie Dent	123
6757	6/02/2018	P	Phil Davies	96 – 28	Simon Block	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Alexis Conran	Susie Dent	122
6758	7/02/2018	P	Phil Davies	75 – 61	Lisa Miller	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Alexis Conran	Susie Dent	133
6759	8/02/2018	P	Phil Davies	98 – 86	Alyn McFetridge	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Alexis Conran	Susie Dent	124
6760	9/02/2018	P	Phil Davies	100 – 77	John Owens	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Alexis Conran	Susie Dent	133
6761	12/02/2018	P	Phil Davies	104 – 77	Ben Jenkins	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Alexis Conran	Susie Dent	126
6762	13/02/2018	P	Phil Davies	114 – 37	Mike O'Connell	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Alistair McGowan	Susie Dent	147
6763	14/02/2018	P	Phil Davies	92 – 43	Heather Blackley	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Alistair McGowan	Susie Dent	122
6850	19/06/2018	QF	Phil Davies	81 – 69	Paul Harper	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Helen Fospero	Susie Dent	143
6851	20/06/2018	SF	Zarte Siempre	112 – 88	Phil Davies	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Helen Fospero	Susie Dent	123
6980	2/01/2019	CP	Jonathan Wynn	103 – 68	Phil Davies	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Kate Humble	Susie Dent	116