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Series 61
From Countdown
Series 61 was the second of six series to be presented by Jeff Stelling. It began on 22 June 2009 and finished on 18 December 2009. It took a four-week break in the summer, starting 27 July, with the programme returning on 24 August. The series winner was Chris Davies.
This was also the first regular series to be recorded in Manchester; specifically, this was the first of seven to be filmed at The Granada Studios, before moving to MediaCityUK midway through the 30th Birthday Championship.
Contents |
Seed table
Rank | Name | Wins | Points |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Andrew Hulme | 8 | 930 |
2 | Chris Davies | 8 | 892 |
3 | Innis Carson | 8 | 861 |
4 | Ryan Taylor | 8 | 792 |
5 | Brian Selway | 8 | 746 |
6 | Jeffrey Burgin | 8 | 695 |
7 | Steve Wood | 8 | 675 |
8 | Jacqueline Baker | 5 | 510 |
Series finals
Quarter-finals
The first quarter-final saw Andrew Hulme, with a record 930 point total, beat Jacqueline Baker, the only player in the finals who was not an octochamp. Hulme beat Baker with words including AMOUNTED and DISASTER as well as on the last two numbers games, although neither player could turn the conundrum MILKGRAIN into GRIMALKIN.
In the second quarter-final, Chris Davies prevailed over Steve Wood by a score of 108 points to 61, declaring two nine letter words, RANDOMISE and POLARISED, along the way. Again, neither player got the conundrum, with it being solved by Kirk Bevins in the audience.
Innis Carson beat Jeffrey Burgin 111 – 70 in the third quarter when Burgin had three words disallowed and Carson solved the conundrum TOOTHPAST. Completing the winners was Ryan Taylor, who defeated Brian Selway although Selway did come up with the correct answer to DUOASHORE. All of the top four seeds had now qualified for the semis.
Semi-finals
In the first semi-final, both Ryan Taylor and Andrew Hulme started strong with PUDENDA and UPENDED. However, Hulme took the lead after Taylor had umbone ☓ called off. Taylor was able to match but never beat his opponent on the letters, and Hulme scored in every letters game apart from the last one, when both players offered the invalid gloops ☓. In the final numbers game, Hulme offered an impressive 7-point solution to a very difficult numbers game that featured six small numbers with a target of 942. However, the conundrum SEMIHUNTT had to go to Dinos Sfyris in the audience.
The second semi featured a closer matchup between Chris Davies and Innis Carson. Carson first took the lead in round 3 with INTENSE. After this point, the players tied each other on every letters and numbers game right up to the final letters. Carson declared SOLENOID, while Davies only managed a 7. He was leading 97 – 82 at this point, but went on to choose two large numbers in a round that only Davies was able to get on the nose. This set up a crucial conundrum EPITUSSLE. Davies guessed SLEEPSUIT with less than 5 seconds to go, and was found to be correct, meaning that he had turned around a deficit of 15 points and just scraped into the grand final.
Grand final
The top two seeds, Andrew Hulme and Chris Davies, qualified for the final. Both players made a strong start with the word WOOMERA. Davies first took the lead three rounds later with TETRODE. He extended this lead after spotting DIARISES, and when Hulme had his attempted nine houseload ☓ disallowed, the game was effectively over. It was a high-scoring finish, with both Davies and Hulme solving all three numbers games on the nose, and Davies unscrambling the tricky conundrum ARTLEPOOL and earning the title of series champion. Jeff Stelling quipped 'First time Hartlepool have got to a final for a long time!'.
Finals progress
Andrew Hulme (1) vs Jacqueline Baker (8) | Andrew Hulme (1) vs Ryan Taylor (4) | Andrew Hulme (1) vs Chris Davies (2) |
Brian Selway (5) vs Ryan Taylor (4) | ||
Innis Carson (3) vs Jeffrey Burgin (6) | Innis Carson (3) vs Chris Davies (2) | |
Steve Wood (7) vs Chris Davies (2) |
Episodes
# | Date | Type | Contestant 1 | Score | Contestant 2 | Guest | Lex | Max |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4844 | 22/06/2009 | P | Jacqueline Baker | 112 – 50 | Kate Black | Tim Vine | Susie Dent | 152 |
4845 | 23/06/2009 | P | Jacqueline Baker | 67 – 87 | Nilesh Patel | Tim Vine | Susie Dent | 118 |
4846 | 24/06/2009 | P | Nilesh Patel | 61 – 66 | Clive Brooker | Tim Vine | Susie Dent | 117 |
4847 | 25/06/2009 | P | Clive Brooker | 68 – 106 | Innis Carson | Tim Vine | Susie Dent | 132 |
4848 | 26/06/2009 | P | Innis Carson | 115 – 57 | Martyn Brewer | Tim Vine | Susie Dent | 121 |
4849 | 29/06/2009 | P | Innis Carson | 111 – 61 | Duncan MacPhail | Matt Le Tissier | Susie Dent | 119 |
4850 | 30/06/2009 | P | Innis Carson | 108 – 43 | Trudi Harding | Matt Le Tissier | Susie Dent | 121 |
4851 | 1/07/2009 | P | Innis Carson | 102 – 43 | Allan Barnes | Matt Le Tissier | Susie Dent | 139 |
4852 | 2/07/2009 | P | Innis Carson | 94 – 47 | Mike Moran | Matt Le Tissier | Susie Dent | 127 |
4853 | 3/07/2009 | P | Innis Carson | 115 – 70 | Danny Marsh | Matt Le Tissier | Susie Dent | 129 |
4854 | 6/07/2009 | P | Innis Carson | 110 – 67 | Chris Bergman | Donal MacIntyre | Susie Dent | 123 |
4855 | 7/07/2009 | P | Anne Hughes | 87 – 49 | Joe Banin | Donal MacIntyre | Susie Dent | 117 |
4856 | 8/07/2009 | P | Anne Hughes | 56 – 89 | Micheal Harris | Donal MacIntyre | Susie Dent | 120 |
4857 | 9/07/2009 | P | Micheal Harris | 101 – 133 | Andrew Hulme | Donal MacIntyre | Susie Dent | 155 |
4858 | 10/07/2009 | P | Andrew Hulme | 116 – 52 | Eileen Broadhead | Donal MacIntyre | Susie Dent | 132 |
4859 | 13/07/2009 | P | Andrew Hulme | 111 – 21 | Gordon Armour | Ian Hyland | Susie Dent | 126 |
4860 | 14/07/2009 | P | Andrew Hulme | 119 – 48 | Steven Davenport | Ian Hyland | Susie Dent | 139 |
4861 | 15/07/2009 | P | Andrew Hulme | 101 – 50 | Jonathan Good | Ian Hyland | Susie Dent | 121 |
4862 | 16/07/2009 | P | Andrew Hulme | 104 – 19 | Barbara Speak | Ian Hyland | Susie Dent | 121 |
4863 | 17/07/2009 | P | Andrew Hulme | 118 – 64 | Vicky Smith | Ian Hyland | Susie Dent | 139 |
4864 | 20/07/2009 | P | Andrew Hulme | 128 – 52 | Mike Olive | Anton du Beke | Susie Dent | 144 |
4865 | 21/07/2009 | P | Paul Varlaam | 72 – 71 | Yvonne Battelle | Anton du Beke | Susie Dent | 133 |
4866 | 22/07/2009 | P | Paul Varlaam | 87 – 82 | Carol Warren | Anton du Beke | Susie Dent | 128 |
4867 | 23/07/2009 | P | Paul Varlaam | 89 – 70 | Vic Aboudara | Anton du Beke | Susie Dent | 131 |
4868 | 24/07/2009 | P | Paul Varlaam | 74 – 58 | Beryl Johnston | Anton du Beke | Susie Dent | 133 |
4869 | 24/08/2009 | P | Paul Varlaam | 94 – 34 | Richard Savaker | Alastair Stewart | Susie Dent | 117 |
4870 | 25/08/2009 | P | Paul Varlaam | 67 – 105 | Ed Rossiter | Alastair Stewart | Susie Dent | 117 |
4871 | 26/08/2009 | P | Ed Rossiter | 93 – 77 | Adam Haward | Alastair Stewart | Susie Dent | 130 |
4872 | 27/08/2009 | P | Ed Rossiter | 96 – 84 | Yvette Reeves | Alastair Stewart | Susie Dent | 122 |
4873 | 28/08/2009 | P | Ed Rossiter | 79 – 106 | Chris Davies | Alastair Stewart | Susie Dent | 133 |
4874 | 31/08/2009 | P | Chris Davies | 95 – 46 | Matt Shepherd | Paul Zenon | Susie Dent | 121 |
4875 | 1/09/2009 | P | Chris Davies | 110 – 35 | Julie Lane | Paul Zenon | Susie Dent | 114 |
4876 | 2/09/2009 | P | Chris Davies | 113 – 37 | Michael Jocelyn | Paul Zenon | Susie Dent | 121 |
4877 | 3/09/2009 | P | Chris Davies | 139 – 89 | Ross Mackenzie | Paul Zenon | Susie Dent | 143 |
4878 | 4/09/2009 | P | Chris Davies | 121 – 57 | Jonathan Seal | Paul Zenon | Susie Dent | 131 |
4879 | 7/09/2009 | P | Chris Davies | 103 – 42 | Marcus Bearpark | Kate Humble | Susie Dent | 129 |
4880 | 8/09/2009 | P | Chris Davies | 105 – 53 | John Smoker | Kate Humble | Susie Dent | 121 |
4881 | 9/09/2009 | P | Ken MacKenzie | 77 – 86 | Bob De Caux | Kate Humble | Susie Dent | 119 |
4882 | 10/09/2009 | P | Bob De Caux | 84 – 61 | Christopher Harris | Kate Humble | Susie Dent | 128 |
4883 | 11/09/2009 | P | Bob De Caux | 88 – 60 | Alex Richards | Kate Humble | Susie Dent | 151 |
4884 | 14/09/2009 | P | Bob De Caux | 85 – 66 | Lorraine Brookfield | Jo Brand | Susie Dent | 143 |
4885 | 15/09/2009 | P | Bob De Caux | 83 – 41 | Simon Porter | Jo Brand | Susie Dent | 115 |
4886 | 16/09/2009 | P | Bob De Caux | 79 – 91 | Jeffrey Burgin | Jo Brand | Susie Dent | 133 |
4887 | 17/09/2009 | P | Jeffrey Burgin | 80 – 63 | Phil Reed | Jo Brand | Susie Dent | 125 |
4888 | 18/09/2009 | P | Jeffrey Burgin | 93 – 86 | Darren Carter | Jo Brand | Susie Dent | 137 |
4889 | 21/09/2009 | P | Jeffrey Burgin | 91 – 75 | Russell Langdown | Colin Murray | Susie Dent | 130 |
4890 | 22/09/2009 | P | Jeffrey Burgin | 75 – 74 | Mhairi Cameron | Colin Murray | Susie Dent | 120 |
4891 | 23/09/2009 | P | Jeffrey Burgin | 95 – 47 | Martin Edwards | Colin Murray | Susie Dent | 140 |
4892 | 24/09/2009 | P | Jeffrey Burgin | 87 – 44 | Laura Leach | Colin Murray | Susie Dent | 141 |
4893 | 25/09/2009 | P | Jeffrey Burgin | 73 – 55 | Richard Moody | Colin Murray | Susie Dent | 122 |
4894 | 28/09/2009 | P | Tricia Finn | 83 – 39 | Jackie Dowdy | John Inverdale | Susie Dent | 123 |
4895 | 29/09/2009 | P | Tricia Finn | 57 – 81 | George Raison | John Inverdale | Susie Dent | 129 |
4896 | 30/09/2009 | P | George Raison | 88 – 73 | Beverley Jones | John Inverdale | Susie Dent | 118 |
4897 | 1/10/2009 | P | George Raison | 68 – 92 | Anthony Pinnell | John Inverdale | Susie Dent | 138 |
4898 | 2/10/2009 | P | Anthony Pinnell | 59 – 66 | David Kurdynowski | John Inverdale | Susie Dent | 130 |
4899 | 5/10/2009 | P | David Kurdynowski | 53 – 77 | Tony Leverton | Martin Lewis | Susie Dent | 116 |
4900 | 6/10/2009 | P | Tony Leverton | 76 – 81 | Steve Wood | Martin Lewis | Susie Dent | 131 |
4901 | 7/10/2009 | P | Steve Wood | 92 – 66 | Dave Meddings | Martin Lewis | Susie Dent | 135 |
4902 | 8/10/2009 | P | Steve Wood | 90 – 70 | Joanne Finnerty | Martin Lewis | Susie Dent | 115 |
4903 | 9/10/2009 | P | Steve Wood | 89 – 67 | Paul Broadhead | Martin Lewis | Susie Dent | 119 |
4904 | 12/10/2009 | P | Steve Wood | 84 – 73 | Peter Brière-Edney | Penny Smith | Susie Dent | 123 |
4905 | 13/10/2009 | P | Steve Wood | 64 – 58 | Colin Wilson | Penny Smith | Susie Dent | 129 |
4906 | 14/10/2009 | P | Steve Wood | 87 – 64 | Toby Chenery | Penny Smith | Susie Dent | 119 |
4907 | 15/10/2009 | P | Steve Wood | 88 – 51 | Robert Barnard | Penny Smith | Susie Dent | 127 |
4908 | 16/10/2009 | P | Mark Greenhalgh | 74 – 108 | John Drinkwater | Penny Smith | Susie Dent | 129 |
4909 | 19/10/2009 | P | John Drinkwater | 30 – 109 | Brian Selway | Lesley Garrett | Susie Dent | 133 |
4910 | 20/10/2009 | P | Brian Selway | 102 – 33 | Jack Knowles | Lesley Garrett | Susie Dent | 117 |
4911 | 21/10/2009 | P | Brian Selway | 63 – 58 | Cherry Barnett | Lesley Garrett | Susie Dent | 131 |
4912 | 22/10/2009 | P | Brian Selway | 94 – 45 | Nicola Houston | Lesley Garrett | Susie Dent | 123 |
4913 | 23/10/2009 | P | Brian Selway | 96 – 68 | Ray Pearson | Lesley Garrett | Susie Dent | 117 |
4914 | 26/10/2009 | P | Brian Selway | 95 – 54 | Krishan Neelendra | Jane Moore | Susie Dent | 117 |
4915 | 27/10/2009 | P | Brian Selway | 81 – 59 | Len Parker | Jane Moore | Susie Dent | 124 |
4916 | 28/10/2009 | P | Brian Selway | 106 – 41 | Nick Jones | Jane Moore | Susie Dent | 121 |
4917 | 29/10/2009 | P | John Dyer | 60 – 45 | Tim Curtis | Jane Moore | Susie Dent | 132 |
4918 | 30/10/2009 | P | John Dyer | 80 – 97 | Gordon Vaughan | Jane Moore | Susie Dent | 119 |
4919 | 2/11/2009 | P | Gordon Vaughan | 76 – 91 | Robert Brownlie | Dr Hilary Jones | Susie Dent | 132 |
4920 | 3/11/2009 | P | Robert Brownlie | 119 – 50 | Ramesh Patel | Dr Hilary Jones | Susie Dent | 129 |
4921 | 4/11/2009 | P | Robert Brownlie | 75 – 85 | Jeremy Baker | Dr Hilary Jones | Susie Dent | 120 |
4922 | 5/11/2009 | P | Jeremy Baker | 76 – 97 | Ryan Taylor | Dr Hilary Jones | Susie Dent | 128 |
4923 | 6/11/2009 | P | Ryan Taylor | 76 – 54 | Chris Civil | Dr Hilary Jones | Susie Dent | 119 |
4924 | 9/11/2009 | P | Ryan Taylor | 93 – 50 | Geoff Morris | Tim Vine | Susie Dent | 116 |
4925 | 10/11/2009 | P | Ryan Taylor | 106 – 104 | Lesley Hines | Tim Vine | Susie Dent | 148 |
4926 | 11/11/2009 | P | Ryan Taylor | 105 – 36 | David Woodward | Tim Vine | Susie Dent | 129 |
4927 | 12/11/2009 | P | Ryan Taylor | 123 – 68 | Martyn Simpson | Tim Vine | Susie Dent | 137 |
4928 | 13/11/2009 | P | Ryan Taylor | 89 – 76 | Lucy Bolton | Tim Vine | Susie Dent | 137 |
4929 | 16/11/2009 | P | Ryan Taylor | 103 – 51 | Ryan Vickers | Amanda Lamb | Susie Dent | 122 |
4930 | 17/11/2009 | P | Charlie Khoo | 98 – 57 | Andrew Herbertson | Amanda Lamb | Susie Dent | 127 |
4931 | 18/11/2009 | P | Charlie Khoo | 81 – 77 | Joanne Britton | Amanda Lamb | Susie Dent | 119 |
4932 | 19/11/2009 | P | Charlie Khoo | 75 – 37 | Anne Durham | Amanda Lamb | Susie Dent | 119 |
4933 | 20/11/2009 | P | Charlie Khoo | 97 – 83 | Elliott Mack | Amanda Lamb | Susie Dent | 120 |
4934 | 23/11/2009 | P | Charlie Khoo | 79 – 97 | Jennifer Bett | David Lloyd | Susie Dent | 121 |
4935 | 24/11/2009 | P | Jennifer Bett | 102 – 74 | Paul Parkin | David Lloyd | Susie Dent | 150 |
4936 | 25/11/2009 | P | Jennifer Bett | 81 – 76 | Sunil Parmar | David Lloyd | Susie Dent | 128 |
4937 | 26/11/2009 | P | Jennifer Bett | 52 – 89 | Graham Jones | David Lloyd | Susie Dent | 119 |
4938 | 27/11/2009 | P | Graham Jones | 86 – 58 | Tom Curran | David Lloyd | Susie Dent | 121 |
4939 | 30/11/2009 | P | Graham Jones | 66 – 84 | Tom Allerton | Jon Gaunt | Susie Dent | 129 |
4940 | 1/12/2009 | P | Tom Allerton | 78 – 62 | Adrian Coote | Jon Gaunt | Susie Dent | 120 |
4941 | 2/12/2009 | P | Tom Allerton | 95 – 65 | Ritchie Hoyle | Jon Gaunt | Susie Dent | 140 |
4942 | 3/12/2009 | P | Tom Allerton | 80 – 50 | Evan Gill | Jon Gaunt | Susie Dent | 120 |
4943 | 4/12/2009 | P | Tom Allerton | 88 – 94 | Jan Parker | Jon Gaunt | Susie Dent | 119 |
4944 | 7/12/2009 | P | Jan Parker | 86 – 79 | Adrian Lumb | Dr Phil Hammond | Susie Dent | 133 |
4945 | 8/12/2009 | P | Jan Parker | 91 – 67 | Andrew Pollock | Dr Phil Hammond | Susie Dent | 117 |
4946 | 9/12/2009 | P | Jan Parker | 74 – 63 | Gayle Knight | Dr Phil Hammond | Susie Dent | 125 |
4947 | 10/12/2009 | QF | Andrew Hulme | 86 – 42 | Jacqueline Baker | Dr Phil Hammond | Susie Dent | 118 |
4948 | 11/12/2009 | QF | Steve Wood | 61 – 108 | Chris Davies | Dr Phil Hammond | Susie Dent | 138 |
4949 | 14/12/2009 | QF | Innis Carson | 111 – 70 | Jeffrey Burgin | Rory McGrath | Susie Dent | 131 |
4950 | 15/12/2009 | QF | Brian Selway | 71 – 91 | Ryan Taylor | Rory McGrath | Susie Dent | 116 |
4951 | 16/12/2009 | SF | Ryan Taylor | 48 – 95 | Andrew Hulme | Rory McGrath | Susie Dent | 116 |
4952 | 17/12/2009 | SF | Chris Davies | 102 – 97 | Innis Carson | Rory McGrath | Susie Dent | 118 |
4953 | 18/12/2009 | GF | Andrew Hulme | 86 – 117 | Chris Davies | Rory McGrath | Susie Dent | 120 |