Series 63

From Countdown

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.

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

Series 23, 25, 45, 63, 68, 77, 81, and 82 are the only series in which the finals went completely true to the seedings (i.e. the higher seed always beat the lower seed, with no upsets). It 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.

Seeds

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 7 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 individual 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 2 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 9 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, Daniel held on comfortably. The fourth quarter between the 4th and 5th seeds, Marcus Hares and Scott Gillies, would be an altogether much tighter affair. Despite taking the lead from the first round, Scott was not given the chance by Marcus to get enough daylight between the pair, meaning that a crucial conundrum beckoned, and after 10 seconds, Marcus unscrambled the amusing anagram LARGEBAPS to set up a semi-final with Jack.

Semi-finals

The first semi-final between Jack and Marcus, was again a close affair. After Marcus took the lead with AUBADES, Jack took a slender advantage with NARIYALS, as the gap remained at 1 point with 4 rounds to go. But, after Marcus misdeclared UNTITLED as a 7, Jack finished it off with an amazing 4 large solve of 278, and getting the conundrum, BIATHLETE to win 109 – 80. The second semi-final between Eoin and Daniel was again tight, but after Daniel forgot to write down THEORISE, coupled with Eoin spotting OESTRONE and TOMATINE, the game was beyond Daniel. Eoin would win the match 108 – 77, to set up a #1 vs #2 seed match with Jack.

Final

As to be expected between the top 2 seeds of the series, the final lived upto expectations. Even though Jack grabbed an early advantage with ORGASMED, Eoin kept up the pace up until his first numbers game, which Jack solved. The 2 prodigies kept matching each other, and despite Eoin hoping for a tricky 6 small numbers at the end, it didn't materialise, leaving Jack to solve SMARTIACE, to win the final 113 – 85, dropping just 1 point in the final.

Episodes

#	Date	Type	Contestant 1	Score	Contestant 2	Host	Arithmetician	Guest	Lex	Max
5064	21/06/2010	P	Scott Gillies	87 – 67	Kevin Quinn	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Aled Jones	Susie Dent	130
5065	22/06/2010	P	Scott Gillies	122 – 26	Judith Hunt	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Aled Jones	Susie Dent	133
5066	23/06/2010	P	Scott Gillies	102 – 50	Helen Ingelbrecht	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Aled Jones	Susie Dent	131
5067	24/06/2010	P	Chris Longden	78 – 68	Jean Tierney	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Aled Jones	Susie Dent	122
5068	25/06/2010	P	Chris Longden	80 – 82	Annie Hawes	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Aled Jones	Susie Dent	120
5069	28/06/2010	P	Annie Hawes	75 – 77	Olive Collis	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Tim Vine	Susie Dent	129
5070	29/06/2010	P	Olive Collis	75 – 90	Ben Cooke	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Tim Vine	Susie Dent	130
5071	30/06/2010	P	Ben Cooke	63 – 84	Ryan Loughborough	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Tim Vine	Susie Dent	126
5072	1/07/2010	P	Ryan Loughborough	77 – 74	Jonathan Wynn	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Tim Vine	Susie Dent	132
5073	2/07/2010	P	Ryan Loughborough	97 – 75	Ali Kelly	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Tim Vine	Susie Dent	117
5074	5/07/2010	P	Ryan Loughborough	90 – 52	Samantha Rhodes	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Gino D'Acampo	Susie Dent	130
5075	6/07/2010	P	Ryan Loughborough	81 – 63	Lee Prince	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Gino D'Acampo	Susie Dent	117
5076	7/07/2010	P	Ryan Loughborough	75 – 51	Jill Cartwright	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Gino D'Acampo	Susie Dent	115
5077	8/07/2010	P	Ryan Loughborough	50 – 64	Doug Elkins	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Gino D'Acampo	Susie Dent	116
5078	9/07/2010	P	Doug Elkins	69 – 83	Chris Barrow	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Gino D'Acampo	Susie Dent	117
5079	12/07/2010	P	Chris Barrow	103 – 61	Mark Oliver	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Shobna Gulati	Susie Dent	128
5080	13/07/2010	P	Chris Barrow	72 – 92	Richard Harris	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Shobna Gulati	Susie Dent	130
5081	14/07/2010	P	Richard Harris	95 – 49	Chloe Stone	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Andrew Castle	Susie Dent	114
5082	15/07/2010	P	Richard Harris	75 – 44	Ian Murphy	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Andrew Castle	Susie Dent	121
5083	16/07/2010	P	Richard Harris	91 – 65	Pete Burrows	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Andrew Castle	Susie Dent	114
5084	19/07/2010	P	Richard Harris	96 – 57	Sarah Ludgate	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Sharron Davies	Susie Dent	121
5085	20/07/2010	P	Richard Harris	86 – 87	David O'Flanagan	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Sharron Davies	Susie Dent	129
5086	21/07/2010	P	David O'Flanagan	101 – 86	Denise Hitchcock	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Sharron Davies	Susie Dent	127
5087	22/07/2010	P	David O'Flanagan	65 – 90	Tom Rowell	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Sharron Davies	Susie Dent	116
5088	23/07/2010	P	Tom Rowell	97 – 63	Dave Gawthrope	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Sharron Davies	Susie Dent	120
5089	9/08/2010	P	Tom Rowell	91 – 64	Paddy O'Connor	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	William Roache	Susie Dent	119
5090	10/08/2010	P	Tom Rowell	104 – 58	Margaret Alldritt	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	William Roache	Susie Dent	119
5091	11/08/2010	P	Tom Rowell	92 – 88	Andrew Mossford	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	William Roache	Susie Dent	128
5092	12/08/2010	P	Tom Rowell	104 – 52	Matt Thorpe	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	William Roache	Susie Dent	115
5093	13/08/2010	P	Tom Rowell	109 – 57	Joan Wright	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	William Roache	Susie Dent	120
5094	23/08/2010	P	Tom Rowell	87 – 74	Jean Miles	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Gary Wilmot	Susie Dent	128
5095	24/08/2010	P	Matt Cecil	65 – 86	Peter Godwin	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Gary Wilmot	Susie Dent	129
5096	25/08/2010	P	Peter Godwin	78 – 73	Bruce Lambert	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Gary Wilmot	Susie Dent	123
5097	26/08/2010	P	Peter Godwin	94 – 67	Tom Newman	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Gary Wilmot	Susie Dent	118
5098	27/08/2010	P	Peter Godwin	90 – 54	David Lewis	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Gary Wilmot	Susie Dent	120
5099	30/08/2010	P	Peter Godwin	98 – 75	Jen Kain	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Gloria Hunniford	Susie Dent	119
5100	31/08/2010	P	Peter Godwin	110 – 43	David King	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Gloria Hunniford	Susie Dent	123
5101	1/09/2010	P	Peter Godwin	102 – 38	Mick Egan	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Gloria Hunniford	Susie Dent	154
5102	2/09/2010	P	Peter Godwin	47 – 63	Lee Palmer	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Gloria Hunniford	Susie Dent	120
5103	3/09/2010	P	Lee Palmer	52 – 112	Daniel Pati	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Gloria Hunniford	Susie Dent	132
5104	6/09/2010	P	Daniel Pati	127 – 59	Barry Hughes	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Penny Smith	Susie Dent	129
5105	7/09/2010	P	Daniel Pati	95 – 50	Fran Clark	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Penny Smith	Susie Dent	121
5106	8/09/2010	P	Daniel Pati	98 – 73	Ben Ponniah	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Penny Smith	Susie Dent	132
5107	9/09/2010	P	Daniel Pati	105 – 42	Alan Egan	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Penny Smith	Susie Dent	128
5108	10/09/2010	P	Daniel Pati	97 – 60	Stephen Crawford	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Penny Smith	Susie Dent	124
5109	13/09/2010	P	Daniel Pati	113 – 20	Brenda Bagust	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Alastair Stewart	Susie Dent	121
5110	14/09/2010	P	Daniel Pati	93 – 62	George Meixner	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Alastair Stewart	Susie Dent	121
5111	15/09/2010	P	David Rayner	40 – 108	Eoin Monaghan	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Alastair Stewart	Susie Dent	119
5112	16/09/2010	P	Eoin Monaghan	105 – 66	John Shaw	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Alastair Stewart	Susie Dent	128
5113	17/09/2010	P	Eoin Monaghan	115 – 44	Pauline Wedell	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Alastair Stewart	Susie Dent	131
5114	20/09/2010	P	Eoin Monaghan	121 – 35	Dave Rudd	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Dave Spikey	Susie Dent	130
5115	21/09/2010	P	Eoin Monaghan	100 – 16	Clive Myers	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Dave Spikey	Susie Dent	125
5116	22/09/2010	P	Eoin Monaghan	120 – 60	Les Morrell	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Dave Spikey	Susie Dent	129
5117	23/09/2010	P	Eoin Monaghan	116 – 61	Angela Monk	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Dave Spikey	Susie Dent	133
5118	24/09/2010	P	Eoin Monaghan	113 – 32	Pete Hawksworth	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Dave Spikey	Susie Dent	136
5119	27/09/2010	P	Conor McCaughey	45 – 61	Heather Driver	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Dr Phil Hammond	Susie Dent	118
5120	28/09/2010	P	Heather Driver	93 – 80	Emma Looney	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Dr Phil Hammond	Susie Dent	131
5121	29/09/2010	P	Heather Driver	70 – 64	Nik Mackintosh	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Dr Phil Hammond	Susie Dent	121
5122	30/09/2010	P	Heather Driver	77 – 49	Martha Stevenson	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Dr Phil Hammond	Susie Dent	124
5123	1/10/2010	P	Heather Driver	60 – 89	Michael Chadwick	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Dr Phil Hammond	Susie Dent	122
5124	4/10/2010	P	Michael Chadwick	93 – 74	Phill Thorne	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Matt Le Tissier	Susie Dent	129
5125	5/10/2010	P	Michael Chadwick	87 – 68	Ben Warth	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Matt Le Tissier	Susie Dent	140
5126	6/10/2010	P	Michael Chadwick	111 – 75	Jude Bell	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Matt Le Tissier	Susie Dent	132
5127	7/10/2010	P	Michael Chadwick	78 – 59	Elle Chilton-Knight	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Matt Le Tissier	Susie Dent	143
5128	8/10/2010	P	Michael Chadwick	116 – 59	Sandra Lehane	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Matt Le Tissier	Susie Dent	143
5129	11/10/2010	P	Michael Chadwick	88 – 49	Alan Byers	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	David Lloyd	Susie Dent	115
5130	12/10/2010	P	Michael Chadwick	44 – 47	Andrew Greenway	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	David Lloyd	Susie Dent	131
5131	13/10/2010	P	Andrew Greenway	66 – 114	Jack Hurst	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	David Lloyd	Susie Dent	124
5132	14/10/2010	P	Jack Hurst	120 – 57	Ailsa Jensen	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	David Lloyd	Susie Dent	136
5133	15/10/2010	P	Jack Hurst	112 – 46	David Smith	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	David Lloyd	Susie Dent	115
5134	18/10/2010	P	Jack Hurst	122 – 44	Charlie Clarke	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Alistair McGowan	Susie Dent	141
5135	19/10/2010	P	Jack Hurst	120 – 56	Phil Bishop	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Alistair McGowan	Susie Dent	131
5136	20/10/2010	P	Jack Hurst	115 – 29	Joseph Bartram	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Alistair McGowan	Susie Dent	119
5137	21/10/2010	P	Jack Hurst	133 – 65	Alex Curran	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Alistair McGowan	Susie Dent	134
5138	22/10/2010	P	Jack Hurst	110 – 49	Jonathan Welti	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Alistair McGowan	Susie Dent	131
5139	25/10/2010	P	Jane Bates	80 – 84	Claire Casey	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Rory McGrath	Susie Dent	131
5140	26/10/2010	P	Claire Casey	73 – 82	Stevie Field	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Rory McGrath	Susie Dent	141
5141	27/10/2010	P	Stevie Field	91 – 80	Julian Joss	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Rory McGrath	Susie Dent	130
5142	28/10/2010	P	Stevie Field	75 – 96	Steve Turvey	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Rory McGrath	Susie Dent	123
5143	29/10/2010	P	Steve Turvey	100 – 58	Stephen Troop	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Rory McGrath	Susie Dent	134
5144	1/11/2010	P	Steve Turvey	62 – 87	Marcus Hares	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	John Parrott	Susie Dent	128
5145	2/11/2010	P	Marcus Hares	116 – 40	James Bradley	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	John Parrott	Susie Dent	131
5146	3/11/2010	P	Marcus Hares	97 – 45	Aron Brown	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	John Parrott	Susie Dent	120
5147	4/11/2010	P	Marcus Hares	103 – 60	David Hilton	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	John Parrott	Susie Dent	117
5148	5/11/2010	P	Marcus Hares	113 – 80	Oliver Moore	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	John Parrott	Susie Dent	131
5149	8/11/2010	P	Marcus Hares	103 – 16	Ryan Curtis	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Colin Jackson	Susie Dent	120
5150	9/11/2010	P	Marcus Hares	111 – 62	Graeme Manning	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Colin Jackson	Susie Dent	139
5151	10/11/2010	P	Marcus Hares	104 – 48	Jamie Ashington	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Colin Jackson	Susie Dent	131
5152	11/11/2010	P	Nicky Miller	89 – 43	Bernice Mitchell	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Colin Jackson	Susie Dent	142
5153	12/11/2010	P	Nicky Miller	95 – 38	Margaret Regan	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Colin Jackson	Susie Dent	130
5154	15/11/2010	P	Nicky Miller	74 – 67	Rebekah Larner	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Dave Spikey	Susie Dent	142
5155	16/11/2010	P	Nicky Miller	65 – 98	Niall Young	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Dave Spikey	Susie Dent	130
5156	17/11/2010	P	Niall Young	79 – 47	Mary Green	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Dave Spikey	Susie Dent	119
5157	18/11/2010	P	Niall Young	90 – 60	Katy Fairlamb	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Dave Spikey	Susie Dent	141
5158	19/11/2010	P	Niall Young	89 – 49	Janet Dodsworth	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Dave Spikey	Susie Dent	116
5159	22/11/2010	P	Niall Young	87 – 73	Stuart Smith	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Gino D'Acampo	Susie Dent	121
5160	23/11/2010	P	Niall Young	98 – 71	Rochelle Watkins	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Gino D'Acampo	Susie Dent	128
5161	24/11/2010	P	Niall Young	97 – 83	Mark Bannister	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Gino D'Acampo	Susie Dent	128
5162	25/11/2010	P	Niall Young	88 – 92	Greg Hayhurst	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Gino D'Acampo	Susie Dent	120
5163	26/11/2010	P	Greg Hayhurst	85 – 77	Kate Spencer	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Gino D'Acampo	Susie Dent	140
5164	29/11/2010	P	Greg Hayhurst	96 – 44	Damian Colton	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	John Suchet	Susie Dent	118
5165	30/11/2010	P	Greg Hayhurst	88 – 64	Alasdair Redmond	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	John Suchet	Susie Dent	114
5166	1/12/2010	P	Greg Hayhurst	108 – 32	Pam Garrod	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	John Suchet	Susie Dent	119
5167	2/12/2010	P	Greg Hayhurst	71 – 87	Denise Smith	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	John Suchet	Susie Dent	120
5168	3/12/2010	P	Denise Smith	54 – 46	Adam Bevan	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	John Suchet	Susie Dent	111
5169	6/12/2010	P	Denise Smith	89* – 79	Stephen Parnell	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Amanda Lamb	Susie Dent	114
5170	7/12/2010	P	Denise Smith	76 – 86*	Mike Pickering	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Amanda Lamb	Susie Dent	128
5171	8/12/2010	P	Mike Pickering	95 – 87	Katy Hadfield	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Amanda Lamb	Susie Dent	132
5172	9/12/2010	QF	Jack Hurst	108 – 40	Peter Godwin	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Amanda Lamb	Susie Dent	114
5173	10/12/2010	QF	Eoin Monaghan	127 – 45	Niall Young	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Amanda Lamb	Susie Dent	130
5174	13/12/2010	QF	Daniel Pati	92 – 67	Tom Rowell	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Paul Zenon	Susie Dent	123
5175	14/12/2010	QF	Scott Gillies	90 – 92	Marcus Hares	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Paul Zenon	Susie Dent	114
5176	15/12/2010	SF	Marcus Hares	80 – 109	Jack Hurst	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Paul Zenon	Susie Dent	118
5177	16/12/2010	SF	Eoin Monaghan	108 – 77	Daniel Pati	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Paul Zenon	Susie Dent	122
5178	17/12/2010	GF	Jack Hurst	113 – 85	Eoin Monaghan	{{{10}}}	{{{11}}}	Paul Zenon	Susie Dent	114

* includes 10 points from a tie-break conundrum

External Links

Series 63 on The Countdown Database.
Series 63 on The Countdown Page.

Series 63

From Countdown

Contents

Seeds

Finals progress

Series finals

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

Episodes

External Links

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