View source for Dylan Taylor

{{octostats|Runner-up|1|974|5}}
[[File:Dylan Taylor.png|thumb|200px|right|Dylan Taylor in the [[Championship of Champions XIV]].]]
'''Dylan Taylor''' was an [[octochamp]] in and the runner-up of [[Series 69]], as well as the winner of [[Championship of Champions XIV]]. He is one of the most talented contestants ever, due to his exceptional vocabulary, consistent numbers game solutions and lightning fast conundrum spots.

==Appearances on the programme==
===Heat games===
Taylor first appeared on 6 August 2013 as a 17-year-old against future [[Series 78]] and [[Championship of Champions XV]] winner [[Zarte Siempre]], and showed strong word knowledge with findings of {{word|SARDIUS}} and {{word|PATRONNE}}. He was one point off the perfect game in his impressive début. In an octochamp run that never looked in doubt, he continued to show his strong word knowledge with {{word|AMORETTI}}, {{word|ELASIPOD}} and {{word|SEPTARIUM}} and solved difficult numbers games (particularly in 6-small number selections) in spectacular fashion to seal crushing victories. Remarkably, all his wins but one included scores of 120 or above.

Taylor set numerous records en route to becoming octochamp: his cumulative [[octochamp]] total was a record 974 points, beating the previous record set by the [[Series 68]] champion [[Giles Hutchings]] by 9 points. He also recorded the highest number of maxes during an octorun with 101 out of 120 maxes, beating the [[Series 64]] champion [[Edward McCullagh]]'s best by 5 maxes. His aggregate winning margin over his 8 preliminary games was 628, an improvement on the previous record held by [[Andy Platt]]. Taylor was also the show's highest scoring numbers player based on preliminary games, scoring 311 points in 32 numbers games during his heat run. All of these records would be broken by [[Series 80]] runner-up [[Elliott Mellor]] in 2019.

===Finals===
Taylor returned to the show for quarter-finals as number 1 seed against [[Gemma Church]]. He faced difficult letter selections, but maxed every round except the conundrum to win with a series low of 108. His semi-final against [[Bradley Cates]] was a tougher battle but he came through and earned a place in the grand final with a score of 121 against Cates's 103 despite missing another conundrum. However, Taylor lost by a score of 116 (the then highest losing score in a series final) to non-octochamp [[Callum Todd]]'s 126 (the then highest winning score in a series final) in what was also the then highest combined score in a series final (excluding the [[30th Birthday Championship]]). During one of the most thrilling Grand Finals in the history of ''Countdown'', Taylor maxed the first round with {{word|TERATOMA}}, then Todd immediately equalised with {{word|SOUVENIR}}, giving them one max each. Both went on the max every round prior to a crucial conundrum. This time, the conundrum proved to be Taylor's downfall, as Todd solved {{word|IHURTPALM}} in 5 seconds to become the first non-octochamp to win a series since [[viscount]] [[Ben Wilson]] won [[Series 46]], tne first 15-round series. Nonetheless Taylor totalled an outstanding 1,319 over his 11 appearances, the then highest ever achieved in a single series.

===Championship of Champions XV===
Taylor returned to the show again in 2016, as one of 16 participants in [[Championship of Champions XIV]], facing off against [[Tracey Mills]] in the preliminaries. Here, he proved to have lost none of his edge; Taylor maxed all but one of the letters rounds (putting in such impressive spots as {{word|PARIETAL}} and {{word|MOUTHER}}), beat Mills on a tricky four-large [[numbers round]], and wrapped up by solving the conundrum {{word|SURLYVICE}} in just over one second to net 120 points out of a possible 124. Taylor's next opponent, in the quarter-finals, was [[Series 68]] runner-up [[Andy Platt]]. In this episode, both players were dead level on the max score up until the third numbers game, when Taylor made a 10-point breakaway after an error by Platt. Platt regained the lead three rounds later by way of the nine {{word|URNFIELDS}}, but Taylor remained in contention with the score standing {{score|125|117}} to Platt going into the crucial conundrum. Taylor then solved {{word|MINUTEPUN}} in three-quarters of a second, relegating Platt to the show's highest-ever losing score and also setting up the then highest [[List of 15-round joint scores over 200|joint score]] ever achieved in the new 15-round format. Taylor hereby advanced to a semi-final against [[Giles Hutchings]], setting up a clash between the two highest scoring [[octochamp]]s by heat game totals in the show's history at the time.

In the semi-final, Hutchings and Taylor matched each other in all the first 14 rounds (a first in ''Countdown'' history), before Taylor solved the conundrum {{word|TEARCLOTH}} to win the match {{score|118|108}}. In the Grand Final, he played [[Series 71]] champion [[Dan McColm]], and after establishing a 25 point lead after 6 rounds, McColm pegged him back thanks to the nine {{word|METACONID}}. They would remain 7 points apart up until the crucial conundrum where, after 1.5 seconds, Taylor unravelled {{word|NICETASTY}} into {{word|INTESTACY}} to become the fourteenth Champion of Champions.

==Co:events==
Taylor is also an [[Apterous|Apterite]] and made his CO-event debut at [[CoChest]] in 2011. He then appeared at [[COLIN 2012]], [[CoLei5]] and [[COHUD]] in 2012. He then beat [[Series 66]] champion [[Jack Worsley]] at [[CoChest2]] in October 2012. In August 2015, he won the inaugural [[Countdown in Milton Keynes|.co.mk]] tournament, and won the thirteenth edition of [[COLIN]] in 2017.

==Outside of Countdown==
Away from Countdown, Taylor likes to keep fit and trains for half marathons. He and his mother are from Honduras, but moved with his family to the UK in 1998 after Hurricane Mitch devastated the nation. This also likely makes him the first Championship of Champions winner born outside the British Isles.

{{series runner-up|preceded_by=Andy Platt|series=69|followed_by=Andy Naylor}}

{{Champion of Champions|preceded_by=Steven Briers|coc=XIV|followed_by=Zarte Siempre}}

==Episodes==
{{episode table}}
{{ep | 5744 | 6/08/2013 | P |[[Zarte Siempre]]| 81 - 120 |Dylan Taylor|[[Dan Walker]]|[[Susie Dent]]|121}}
{{ep | 5745 | 7/08/2013 | P |Dylan Taylor| 124 - 30 |[[David Howard]]|Dan Walker|Susie Dent|146}}
{{ep | 5746 | 8/08/2013 | P |Dylan Taylor| 121 - 67 |[[Tony Izzard]]|Dan Walker|Susie Dent|132}}
{{ep | 5747 | 9/08/2013 | P |Dylan Taylor| 113 - 47 |[[Dominic James]]|[[Gloria Hunniford]]|Susie Dent|122}}
{{ep | 5748 | 12/08/2013 | P |Dylan Taylor| 122 - 55 |[[Mark O'Regan]]|Gloria Hunniford|Susie Dent|135}}
{{ep | 5749 | 13/08/2013 | P |Dylan Taylor| 129 - 22 |[[Leone Mitchell]]|Gloria Hunniford|Susie Dent|143}}
{{ep | 5750 | 14/08/2013 | P |Dylan Taylor| 124 - 27 |[[Mike Thompson]]|Gloria Hunniford|Susie Dent|126}}
{{ep | 5751 | 15/08/2013 | P |Dylan Taylor| 121 - 17 |[[Russ Millhouse]]|Gloria Hunniford|Susie Dent|125}}
{{ep | 5833 | 12/12/2013 | QF |Dylan Taylor| 108 - 76 |[[Gemma Church]]|Dan Walker|Susie Dent|118}}
{{ep | 5837 | 18/12/2013 | SF |Dylan Taylor| 121 - 103 |[[Bradley Cates]]|[[Richard Madeley]]|Susie Dent|133}}
{{ep | 5839 | 20/12/2013 | GF |Dylan Taylor| 116 - 126 |[[Callum Todd]]|Richard Madeley|Susie Dent|134}}
{{ep | 6281 | 7/01/2016 | CP |Dylan Taylor| 120 - 73 |[[Tracey Mills]]|Gloria Hunniford|Susie Dent|124}}
{{ep | 6287 | 15/01/2016 | CQF |[[Andy Platt]]| 125 - 127 |Dylan Taylor|[[John Inverdale]]|Susie Dent|145}}
{{ep | 6290 | 20/01/2016 | CSF |[[Giles Hutchings]]| 108 - 118 |Dylan Taylor|[[Naga Munchetty]]|Susie Dent|122}}
{{ep | 6292 | 22/01/2016 | CGF |Dylan Taylor| 121 - 104 |[[Dan McColm]]|Naga Munchetty|Susie Dent|154}}
{{episode table end}}

{{CofC}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Dylan}}
[[Category:Contestants in Series 69]]
[[Category:Contestants in Championship of Champions XIV]]
[[Category:Teapot owners]]
[[Category:Tournament winners]]
[[Category:Octochamps of the 15 round era]]
[[Category:Finalists]]
[[Category:Championship of Champions winners]]

==External Links==

*[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2544270/Countdowns-teenage-prodigy-breaks-scores-points-record-974-series.html Article on Dylan and his series 69 achievements]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErAz5N-_pBw YouTube compilation of Dylan's Countdown best bits]