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Series 63

From Countdown
Series 63 champion Jack Hurst with his winning dictionaries and trophy.

Series 63 was the fourth of six series to be presented by Jeff Stelling, and was won by Jack Hurst. Starting 21 June 2010, it took a two-week break and a further one-week break for racing during the summer and ended on 17 December 2010.

The finals of this series went completely true to the seedings (i.e. the higher seed always beat the lower seed, with no upsets). This was the first 15-round series where this was the case.

Series 63 was a very strong series which featuring six octochamps, most notably Jack Hurst who achieved the then-highest cumulative score ever with 946 points. Five octochamps joined the 800 club during Series 63, the most in any series to date. In addition, during the horse racing breaks in July and August, three special episodes were broadcast, featuring the former contestants Micheal Harris, Lesley Hines, Kai Laddiman, Dinos Sfyris, Charlie Reams and Junaid Mubeen.

The series was the last to broadcast at 3:25pm, at which Countdown had aired since 2007, and also the last to allow contestants under the age of 16 to appear on the show.

Seed table

Rank Name Wins Points
1 Jack Hurst 8 946
2 Eoin Monaghan 8 898
3 Daniel Pati 8 840
4 Marcus Hares 8 834
5 Scott Gillies 8 810
6 Tom Rowell 8 774
7 Niall Young 7 726
8 Peter Godwin 7 705
Michael Chadwick, with seven wins and 706 points, could have qualified for the finals as #8 seed, but was unable to play.
Since Series 60, players are sorted by number of wins, then by number of points. Points from both wins and losses count. Points from sudden death conundrums are not counted, and players with the same number of wins and points are sorted by the number of conundrums correctly guessed, then highest single-game score.

Finals progress

Jack Hurst (1) vs Peter Godwin (8) Jack Hurst (1) vs Marcus Hares (4) Jack Hurst (1)
vs
Eoin Monaghan (2)
Scott Gillies (5) vs Marcus Hares (4)
Daniel Pati (3) vs Tom Rowell (6) Daniel Pati (3) vs Eoin Monaghan (2)
Niall Young (7) vs Eoin Monaghan (2)
The winner of each game is displayed in bold.

Series finals

Quarter-finals

In the first 2 quarters, the top two seeds, Jack Hurst and Eoin Monaghan threw down the gauntlet early, by destroying Peter Godwin and Niall Young respectively, and in the process, dropped just nine points between them. The third quarter looked like going the same way as Daniel Pati produced a perfect first 10 rounds against Tom Rowell, but despite his late comeback, Pati held on comfortably. The fourth quarter between the fourth and fifth seeds, Marcus Hares and Scott Gillies, would be an altogether much tighter affair. Despite taking the lead from the first round, Gillies was not given the chance by Hares to get enough daylight between the pair, meaning that a crucial conundrum beckoned, and after 10 seconds, Hares unscrambled the amusing anagram LARGEBAPS to set up a semi-final with Hurst.

Semi-finals

The first semi-final between Hurst and Hares, was again a close affair. After Hares took the lead with AUBADES, Hurst took a slender advantage with NARIYALS, as the gap remained at one point with four rounds to go. But, after Hares misdeclared UNTITLED as a seven, Hurst finished it off with an amazing four-large solve of 278, and getting the conundrum, BIATHLETE to win 109 – 80. The second semi-final between Monaghan and Pati was again tight, but after Pati forgot to write down THEORISE, coupled with Monaghan spotting OESTRONE and TOMATINE, the game was beyond Pati. Monaghan would win the match 108 – 77, to set up a #1 vs #2 seed match with Hurst.

Final

As to be expected between the top two seeds of the series, the final lived upto expectations. Even though Hurst grabbed an early advantage with ORGASMED, Monaghan kept up the pace up until his first numbers game, which Jack solved. The two prodigies kept matching each other, and despite Monaghan hoping for a tricky six-small numbers at the end, it didn't materialise, leaving Hurst to solve SMARTIACE, to win the final 113 – 85, dropping just one point in the final.

Episodes

# Date Type Contestant 1 Score Contestant 2 Presenters Guest Lex Max
5064 21/06/2010 P Scott Gillies 87 – 67 Kevin Quinn Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Aled Jones Susie Dent 130
5065 22/06/2010 P Scott Gillies 122 – 26 Judith Hunt Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Aled Jones Susie Dent 133
5066 23/06/2010 P Scott Gillies 102 – 50 Helen Ingelbrecht Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Aled Jones Susie Dent 131
5067 24/06/2010 P Chris Longden 78 – 68 Jean Tierney Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Aled Jones Susie Dent 122
5068 25/06/2010 P Chris Longden 80 – 82 Annie Hawes Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Aled Jones Susie Dent 120
5069 28/06/2010 P Annie Hawes 75 – 77 Olive Collis Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Tim Vine Susie Dent 129
5070 29/06/2010 P Olive Collis 75 – 90 Ben Cooke Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Tim Vine Susie Dent 130
5071 30/06/2010 P Ben Cooke 63 – 84 Ryan Loughborough Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Tim Vine Susie Dent 126
5072 01/07/2010 P Ryan Loughborough 77 – 74 Jonathan Wynn Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Tim Vine Susie Dent 132
5073 02/07/2010 P Ryan Loughborough 97 – 75 Ali Kelly Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Tim Vine Susie Dent 117
5074 05/07/2010 P Ryan Loughborough 90 – 52 Samantha Rhodes Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Gino D'Acampo Susie Dent 130
5075 06/07/2010 P Ryan Loughborough 81 – 63 Lee Prince Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Gino D'Acampo Susie Dent 117
5076 07/07/2010 P Ryan Loughborough 75 – 51 Jill Cartwright Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Gino D'Acampo Susie Dent 115
5077 08/07/2010 P Ryan Loughborough 50 – 64 Doug Elkins Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Gino D'Acampo Susie Dent 116
5078 09/07/2010 P Doug Elkins 69 – 83 Chris Barrow Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Gino D'Acampo Susie Dent 117
5079 12/07/2010 P Chris Barrow 103 – 61 Mark Oliver Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Shobna Gulati Susie Dent 128
5080 13/07/2010 P Chris Barrow 72 – 92 Richard Harris Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Shobna Gulati Susie Dent 130
5081 14/07/2010 P Richard Harris 95 – 49 Chloe Stone Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Andrew Castle Susie Dent 114
5082 15/07/2010 P Richard Harris 75 – 44 Ian Murphy Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Andrew Castle Susie Dent 121
5083 16/07/2010 P Richard Harris 91 – 65 Pete Burrows Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Andrew Castle Susie Dent 114
5084 19/07/2010 P Richard Harris 96 – 57 Sarah Ludgate Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Sharron Davies Susie Dent 121
5085 20/07/2010 P Richard Harris 86 – 87 David O'Flanagan Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Sharron Davies Susie Dent 129
5086 21/07/2010 P David O'Flanagan 101 – 86 Denise Hitchcock Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Sharron Davies Susie Dent 127
5087 22/07/2010 P David O'Flanagan 65 – 90 Tom Rowell Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Sharron Davies Susie Dent 116
5088 23/07/2010 P Tom Rowell 97 – 63 Dave Gawthrope Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Sharron Davies Susie Dent 120
5089 09/08/2010 P Tom Rowell 91 – 64 Paddy O'Connor Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley William Roache Susie Dent 119
5090 10/08/2010 P Tom Rowell 104 – 58 Margaret Alldritt Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley William Roache Susie Dent 119
5091 11/08/2010 P Tom Rowell 92 – 88 Andrew Mossford Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley William Roache Susie Dent 128
5092 12/08/2010 P Tom Rowell 104 – 52 Matt Thorpe Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley William Roache Susie Dent 115
5093 13/08/2010 P Tom Rowell 109 – 57 Joan Wright Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley William Roache Susie Dent 120
5094 23/08/2010 P Tom Rowell 87 – 74 Jean Miles Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Gary Wilmot Susie Dent 128
5095 24/08/2010 P Matt Cecil 65 – 86 Peter Godwin Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Gary Wilmot Susie Dent 129
5096 25/08/2010 P Peter Godwin 78 – 73 Bruce Lambert Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Gary Wilmot Susie Dent 123
5097 26/08/2010 P Peter Godwin 94 – 67 Tom Newman Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Gary Wilmot Susie Dent 118
5098 27/08/2010 P Peter Godwin 90 – 54 David Lewis Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Gary Wilmot Susie Dent 120
5099 30/08/2010 P Peter Godwin 98 – 75 Jen Kain Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Gloria Hunniford Susie Dent 119
5100 31/08/2010 P Peter Godwin 110 – 43 David King Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Gloria Hunniford Susie Dent 123
5101 01/09/2010 P Peter Godwin 102 – 38 Mick Egan Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Gloria Hunniford Susie Dent 154
5102 02/09/2010 P Peter Godwin 47 – 63 Lee Palmer Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Gloria Hunniford Susie Dent 120
5103 03/09/2010 P Lee Palmer 52 – 112 Daniel Pati Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Gloria Hunniford Susie Dent 132
5104 06/09/2010 P Daniel Pati 127 – 59 Barry Hughes Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Penny Smith Susie Dent 129
5105 07/09/2010 P Daniel Pati 95 – 50 Fran Clark Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Penny Smith Susie Dent 121
5106 08/09/2010 P Daniel Pati 98 – 73 Ben Ponniah Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Penny Smith Susie Dent 132
5107 09/09/2010 P Daniel Pati 105 – 42 Alan Egan Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Penny Smith Susie Dent 128
5108 10/09/2010 P Daniel Pati 97 – 60 Stephen Crawford Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Penny Smith Susie Dent 124
5109 13/09/2010 P Daniel Pati 113 – 20 Brenda Bagust Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Alastair Stewart Susie Dent 121
5110 14/09/2010 P Daniel Pati 93 – 62 George Meixner Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Alastair Stewart Susie Dent 121
5111 15/09/2010 P David Rayner 40 – 108 Eoin Monaghan Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Alastair Stewart Susie Dent 119
5112 16/09/2010 P Eoin Monaghan 105 – 66 John Shaw Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Alastair Stewart Susie Dent 128
5113 17/09/2010 P Eoin Monaghan 115 – 44 Pauline Wedell Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Alastair Stewart Susie Dent 131
5114 20/09/2010 P Eoin Monaghan 121 – 35 Dave Rudd Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Dave Spikey Susie Dent 130
5115 21/09/2010 P Eoin Monaghan 100 – 16 Clive Myers Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Dave Spikey Susie Dent 125
5116 22/09/2010 P Eoin Monaghan 120 – 60 Les Morrell Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Dave Spikey Susie Dent 129
5117 23/09/2010 P Eoin Monaghan 116 – 61 Angela Monk Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Dave Spikey Susie Dent 133
5118 24/09/2010 P Eoin Monaghan 113 – 32 Pete Hawksworth Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Dave Spikey Susie Dent 136
5119 27/09/2010 P Conor McCaughey 45 – 61 Heather Driver Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Dr Phil Hammond Susie Dent 118
5120 28/09/2010 P Heather Driver 93 – 80 Emma Looney Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Dr Phil Hammond Susie Dent 131
5121 29/09/2010 P Heather Driver 70 – 64 Nik Mackintosh Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Dr Phil Hammond Susie Dent 121
5122 30/09/2010 P Heather Driver 77 – 49 Martha Stevenson Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Dr Phil Hammond Susie Dent 124
5123 01/10/2010 P Heather Driver 60 – 89 Michael Chadwick Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Dr Phil Hammond Susie Dent 122
5124 04/10/2010 P Michael Chadwick 93 – 74 Phill Thorne Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Matt Le Tissier Susie Dent 129
5125 05/10/2010 P Michael Chadwick 87 – 68 Ben Warth Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Matt Le Tissier Susie Dent 140
5126 06/10/2010 P Michael Chadwick 111 – 75 Jude Bell Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Matt Le Tissier Susie Dent 132
5127 07/10/2010 P Michael Chadwick 78 – 59 Elle Chilton-Knight Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Matt Le Tissier Susie Dent 143
5128 08/10/2010 P Michael Chadwick 116 – 59 Sandra Lehane Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Matt Le Tissier Susie Dent 143
5129 11/10/2010 P Michael Chadwick 88 – 49 Alan Byers Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley David Lloyd Susie Dent 115
5130 12/10/2010 P Michael Chadwick 44 – 47 Andrew Greenway Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley David Lloyd Susie Dent 131
5131 13/10/2010 P Andrew Greenway 66 – 114 Jack Hurst Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley David Lloyd Susie Dent 124
5132 14/10/2010 P Jack Hurst 120 – 57 Ailsa Jensen Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley David Lloyd Susie Dent 136
5133 15/10/2010 P Jack Hurst 112 – 46 David Smith Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley David Lloyd Susie Dent 115
5134 18/10/2010 P Jack Hurst 122 – 44 Charlie Clarke Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Alistair McGowan Susie Dent 141
5135 19/10/2010 P Jack Hurst 120 – 56 Phil Bishop Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Alistair McGowan Susie Dent 131
5136 20/10/2010 P Jack Hurst 115 – 29 Joseph Bartram Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Alistair McGowan Susie Dent 119
5137 21/10/2010 P Jack Hurst 133 – 65 Alex Curran Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Alistair McGowan Susie Dent 134
5138 22/10/2010 P Jack Hurst 110 – 49 Jonathan Welti Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Alistair McGowan Susie Dent 131
5139 25/10/2010 P Jane Bates 80 – 84 Claire Casey Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Rory McGrath Susie Dent 131
5140 26/10/2010 P Claire Casey 73 – 82 Stevie Field Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Rory McGrath Susie Dent 141
5141 27/10/2010 P Stevie Field 91 – 80 Julian Joss Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Rory McGrath Susie Dent 130
5142 28/10/2010 P Stevie Field 75 – 96 Steve Turvey Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Rory McGrath Susie Dent 123
5143 29/10/2010 P Steve Turvey 100 – 58 Stephen Troop Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Rory McGrath Susie Dent 134
5144 01/11/2010 P Steve Turvey 62 – 87 Marcus Hares Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley John Parrott Susie Dent 128
5145 02/11/2010 P Marcus Hares 116 – 40 James Bradley Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley John Parrott Susie Dent 131
5146 03/11/2010 P Marcus Hares 97 – 45 Aron Brown Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley John Parrott Susie Dent 120
5147 04/11/2010 P Marcus Hares 103 – 60 David Hilton Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley John Parrott Susie Dent 117
5148 05/11/2010 P Marcus Hares 113 – 80 Oliver Moore Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley John Parrott Susie Dent 131
5149 08/11/2010 P Marcus Hares 103 – 16 Ryan Curtis Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Colin Jackson Susie Dent 120
5150 09/11/2010 P Marcus Hares 111 – 62 Graeme Manning Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Colin Jackson Susie Dent 139
5151 10/11/2010 P Marcus Hares 104 – 48 Jamie Ashington Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Colin Jackson Susie Dent 131
5152 11/11/2010 P Nicky Miller 89 – 43 Bernice Mitchell Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Colin Jackson Susie Dent 142
5153 12/11/2010 P Nicky Miller 95 – 38 Margaret Regan Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Colin Jackson Susie Dent 130
5154 15/11/2010 P Nicky Miller 74 – 67 Rebekah Larner Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Dave Spikey Susie Dent 142
5155 16/11/2010 P Nicky Miller 65 – 98 Niall Young Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Dave Spikey Susie Dent 130
5156 17/11/2010 P Niall Young 79 – 47 Mary Green Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Dave Spikey Susie Dent 119
5157 18/11/2010 P Niall Young 90 – 60 Katy Fairlamb Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Dave Spikey Susie Dent 141
5158 19/11/2010 P Niall Young 89 – 49 Janet Dodsworth Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Dave Spikey Susie Dent 116
5159 22/11/2010 P Niall Young 87 – 73 Stuart Smith Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Gino D'Acampo Susie Dent 121
5160 23/11/2010 P Niall Young 98 – 71 Rochelle Watkins Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Gino D'Acampo Susie Dent 128
5161 24/11/2010 P Niall Young 97 – 83 Mark Bannister Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Gino D'Acampo Susie Dent 128
5162 25/11/2010 P Niall Young 88 – 92 Greg Hayhurst Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Gino D'Acampo Susie Dent 120
5163 26/11/2010 P Greg Hayhurst 85 – 77 Kate Spencer Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Gino D'Acampo Susie Dent 140
5164 29/11/2010 P Greg Hayhurst 96 – 44 Damian Colton Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley John Suchet Susie Dent 118
5165 30/11/2010 P Greg Hayhurst 88 – 64 Alasdair Redmond Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley John Suchet Susie Dent 114
5166 01/12/2010 P Greg Hayhurst 108 – 32 Pam Garrod Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley John Suchet Susie Dent 119
5167 02/12/2010 P Greg Hayhurst 71 – 87 Denise Smith Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley John Suchet Susie Dent 120
5168 03/12/2010 P Denise Smith 54 – 46 Adam Bevan Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley John Suchet Susie Dent 111
5169 06/12/2010 P Denise Smith 89* – 79 Stephen Parnell Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Amanda Lamb Susie Dent 114
5170 07/12/2010 P Denise Smith 76 – 86* Mike Pickering Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Amanda Lamb Susie Dent 128
5171 08/12/2010 P Mike Pickering 95 – 87 Katy Hadfield Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Amanda Lamb Susie Dent 132
5172 09/12/2010 QF Jack Hurst 108 – 40 Peter Godwin Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Amanda Lamb Susie Dent 114
5173 10/12/2010 QF Eoin Monaghan 127 – 45 Niall Young Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Amanda Lamb Susie Dent 130
5174 13/12/2010 QF Daniel Pati 92 – 67 Tom Rowell Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Paul Zenon Susie Dent 123
5175 14/12/2010 QF Scott Gillies 90 – 92 Marcus Hares Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Paul Zenon Susie Dent 114
5176 15/12/2010 SF Marcus Hares 80 – 109 Jack Hurst Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Paul Zenon Susie Dent 118
5177 16/12/2010 SF Eoin Monaghan 108 – 77 Daniel Pati Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Paul Zenon Susie Dent 122
5178 17/12/2010 GF Jack Hurst 113 – 85 Eoin Monaghan Jeff Stelling Rachel Riley Paul Zenon Susie Dent 114
* includes 10 points from a tie-break conundrum

External Links