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Viraj Seelam
Viraj Seelam Octochamp Statistics | |
Final position | Runner-up |
---|---|
Seeding | 2 |
Points total | 867 |
Conundrums solved | 6 |
Viraj Seelam was an octochamp in, and the runner-up of Series 88. He was a Film and Television Production undergraduate at the University of East Anglia, originally from Orpington in the London Borough of Bromley, and is also an Apterite.
Contents
Appearances
Heat games
Seelam made his debut on 8 November 2023 against returning contestant Jill Leatherbarrow, where the sole nine-letter word spot of his heats in REPLAITED helped him race off the blocks with a debut score of 113 points to Leatherbarrow's 63, and this was despite his discounting of another valid nine in RECLOSING. From here, he rattled off seven more victories, which included only one non-century across them all.
Of particular note, in his seventh game, Viraj's score of 125 was not only his personal best but also the second-highest of all time without spotting a nine, with only Elliott Mellor's 126 from his sixth heat game being higher. He also set himself apart by virtue of a consistent 6-small choice in all of his numbers rounds, following in the steps of fellow octochamp George Baker who took the same approach earlier in the series.
He wrapped up his run on the 16th of November by holding off a spirited effort from returning contestant Daniel Green to lock in his seventh century and become an octochamp with 867 points. This also confirmed his qualification for the end-of-series finals with roughly four weeks to go; at the time as the provisional No. 2 seed. He finally signed off with Colin then christening Seelam with his nickname 'The Font' owing to his interest in typography and his performances on the show.
Finals
Viraj did indeed return as the No. 2 seed where 7-time winner Rachel Copley lay in wait. The two stayed close early on, although Seelam eventually broke clear thanks in part to the spots of DEPLOY and CHANNEL, but mainly due to superior numbers play. Of particular note though, 'The Font' did not pick his regular 6-small numbers selections, opting for 1-large instead, and the single 6-small selection that did come up was missed by both players. Viraj's victory though had already been confirmed despite that, and he added to his triumph by quickly spotting PANTALOON from ALANONTOP, to get his eighth century and book his semi-final place.
His semi-final against Ben Bazzard was an extremely close-run affair; both players traded rounds early on with Bazzard spotting HORSEMAN and 'The Font' cracking a 6-small numbers game. The two could not be separated by much after that; only an unfortunate gamble by Ben on snowday ☓ and Seelam getting closer to the target on the final numbers round gave him the breathing space needed to seal victory before the conundrum, which he also solved. Viraj ultimately finished with 10 rounds maxed and marched into a grand-final against Harry Savage.
In his final against Savage, he got off to a flier by maxing the five of the first six rounds which included the solve of a tricky 6-small numbers selection to put Harry on the back foot. However, 'The Thesaurus' gradually put himself just in front by the second commercial break, and then played two aces in COMPANIES and GAWKIER which Viraj did not see. 'The Font' was unfortunately not able to claw back any ground after that, and the match was wrapped up before the final numbers game. After neither player cracked the conundrum, it made official Seelam's first defeat and status as the runner-up of the season, with his lowest score of 77 points, and a final total of 1,145 from eleven appearances.
Preceded by Cillian McMulkin |
Series runner-up Series 88 |
Episodes
# | Date | Type | Contestant 1 | Score | Contestant 2 | Presenters | Guest | Lex | Max | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
8144 | 08/11/2023 | P | Jill Leatherbarrow | 63 – 113 | Viraj Seelam | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Tanni Grey-Thompson | Susie Dent | 144 | ||
8145 | 09/11/2023 | P | Viraj Seelam | 92 – 46 | Rachel Broadbridge | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Tanni Grey-Thompson | Susie Dent | 126 | ||
8146 | 10/11/2023 | P | Viraj Seelam | 109 – 46 | Stephen Morris | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Tanni Grey-Thompson | Susie Dent | 157 | ||
8147 | 13/11/2023 | P | Viraj Seelam | 103 – 78 | Norman Dalgleish | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Claire Richards | Susie Dent | 135 | ||
8148 | 14/11/2023 | P | Viraj Seelam | 110 – 34 | Lynda Fenton | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Claire Richards | Susie Dent | 129 | ||
8149 | 15/11/2023 | P | Viraj Seelam | 109 – 26 | Dave Coot | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Claire Richards | Susie Dent | 131 | ||
8150 | 16/11/2023 | P | Viraj Seelam | 125 – 48 | Annemaire Gayle | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Claire Richards | Susie Dent | 146 | ||
8151 | 17/11/2023 | P | Viraj Seelam | 106 – 68 | Daniel Green | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Claire Richards | Susie Dent | 125 | ||
8171 | 15/12/2023 | QF | Viraj Seelam | 103 – 59 | Rachel Copley | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Marcus Brigstocke | Susie Dent | 123 | ||
8175 | 21/12/2023 | SF | Viraj Seelam | 98 – 74 | Ben Bazzard | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Christopher Biggins | Susie Dent | 114 | ||
8176 | 22/12/2023 | GF | Harry Savage | 105 – 77 | Viraj Seelam | Colin Murray | Rachel Riley | Christopher Biggins | Susie Dent | 133 |