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Rob Barkess
Rob Barkess octochamp statistics | |
---|---|
Final position | Quarter-Finalist |
Seeding | 3 |
Points total | 811 |
Conundrums solved | 6 |
Rob Barkess was an octochamp and quarter-finalist in Series 90. He was a mortgage advisor/broker from Seahouses, Northumberland.
Heat Games
Barkess made his debut against 5-time winner Paul Johnson, dispatching the former with an opening of 105, which would ultimately be the first of four century games out of his eventual eight victories; all of them coming with some quite notable differences in scoring. Conundrums though proved to be a sweet spot for Rob, with the first four he faced each being solved in under two seconds.
His highest score of 126 (which at the time was also the highest score of the series) came during his sixth game, which also included the sole 9-letter-word spot of his heats in DUALISING. That was then followed with a very cagey affair (and strangely, at the time, lowest winning score of the series) in his seventh game, thanks to blanks on two numbers rounds, and the unfortunate mis-declarations of ☓ flouter and ☓ hounder; the former being compounded as he also had the valid FROGLET scribbled down but chose not to declare.
Nonetheless, Barkess recovered in his eighth game by seeing off challenger Anna Heath, to secure Octochampdom and become a member of the 800 club before the conundrum. With neither player turning SUMOGROIN into GINORMOUS, 'The Underdog' as christened by Colin, finished on 811, just 8 points behind Fiona Wood, and as the provisional No. 2 seed with just under four months of heat shows left.
Finals
Barkess eventually returned as the 3rd seed and went into battle with Terence Newnham, and immediately fell behind by 15 points within the first two rounds; after that Barkess was never able to regain the necessary ground despite spotting another 9-letter-word in YEARLINGS and solving the final numbers round as a consolation. With neither him nor Terence spotting the conundrum HEADCOUNT it meant Barkess's run came to an end, and he finished with 898 points from 9 games and his unbeaten record broken.
Episodes
# | Date | Type | Contestant 1 | Score | Contestant 2 | Presenters | Guest | Lex | Max | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
8337 | 13/08/2024 | P | Paul Johnson | 54 – 105 | Rob Barkess | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | John Thomson | Susie Dent | 123 | ||
8338 | 14/08/2024 | P | Rob Barkess | 120 – 66 | Steve Howells | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | John Thomson | Susie Dent | 145 | ||
8339 | 15/08/2024 | P | Rob Barkess | 96 – 70 | Julia Little | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | John Thomson | Susie Dent | 137 | ||
8340 | 16/08/2024 | P | Rob Barkess | 97 – 53 | Ali Dootson | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | John Thomson | Susie Dent | 134 | ||
8341 | 19/08/2024 | P | Rob Barkess | 101 – 39 | Kileon Bounden | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Ria Lina | Susie Dent | 125 | ||
8342 | 20/08/2024 | P | Rob Barkess | 126 – 53 | Simon Cornwell | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Ria Lina | Susie Dent | 146 | ||
8343 | 21/08/2024 | P | Rob Barkess | 72 – 50 | Gavin Hudson | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Ria Lina | Susie Dent | 123 | ||
8344 | 22/08/2024 | P | Rob Barkess | 94 – 46 | Anna Heath | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Ria Lina | Susie Dent | 124 | ||
8419 | 16/12/2024 | QF | Rob Barkess | 87 – 100 | Terence Newnham | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Christopher Biggins | Susie Dent | 164 |