Allan Saldanha - Revision history

Mclarenguy22: /* Appearances on the programme */

2022-07-27T11:19:40Z

‎Appearances on the programme

TobyMcDonald at 23:29, 13 September 2021

2021-09-13T23:29:06Z

The Doctor at 21:20, 2 January 2021

2021-01-02T21:20:11Z

The Doctor: /* Away from Countdown */

2020-10-15T19:27:29Z

‎Away from Countdown

Mclarenguy22 at 14:47, 21 July 2020

2020-07-21T14:47:31Z

Mclarenguy22: /* Away from Countdown */

2020-07-20T13:37:38Z

‎Away from Countdown

The Doctor: octo template

2020-05-28T18:40:30Z

octo template

The Doctor: Nah, a max game is the maximum possible score, let’s not overcomplicate things

2020-05-09T16:32:11Z

Nah, a max game is the maximum possible *score*, let’s not overcomplicate things

Launchballer: /* Episodes */ oops

2020-05-09T15:23:19Z

‎Episodes: oops

Launchballer: /* Episodes */ italicise

2020-05-09T15:22:24Z

‎Episodes: italicise

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ===Heat games===
-Upon [[Episode 708|his début appearance]] in 1988, Saldanha was a schoolboy from London aged just ten years old. In his first game against [[Bridgette Lagden]], he quickly amassed a 19 point lead and won by a score of {{score|57|28}}. The six-letter word {{word|TOGGLE}} gave opponent [[Billy Wright]] an early lead in Saldanha's second heat game, but the schoolboy regained the advantage in the very next round and won by 61 points to 26. Saldanha's third heat game was similarly dominant; he scored in 8 out of 9 rounds and won {{score|57|26}}. He defeated [[Margaret Elliot]] by 65 points to 23, and won his fifth game against [[Antony Stafford]] with a total of 60 points &ndash; he had actually scored 66 but his offering of {{word|CLOAKS}} was erroneously not added to his cumulative total. In his next game, he played [[Katy Green]] and amassed 81 points out of a possible 84, including 18 for the nine {{word|BARITONES}}. [[Nick Wilkes]] forced Saldanha to his first crucial [[conundrum]] in his penultimate heat, but Saldanha unravelled {{word|GUNGIERHN}} in 2&frac34; seconds to take the match. A score of {{score|54|40}} against [[Danny Morris]] gave Saldanha an [[octochamp]] total of 490 points, and he qualified for the series finals as #1 seed.
+Upon [[Episode 708|his début appearance]] in 1988, Saldanha was a schoolboy from London aged just ten years old. In his first game against [[Bridgette Lagden]], he quickly amassed a 19 point lead and won by a score of {{score|57|28}}. The six-letter word {{word|TOGGLE}} gave opponent [[Billy Wright]] an early lead in Saldanha's second heat game, but the schoolboy regained the advantage in the very next round and won by 61 points to 26. Saldanha's third heat game was similarly dominant; he scored in 8 out of 9 rounds and won {{score|57|26}}. He defeated [[Margaret Elliot]] by 65 points to 23, and won his fifth game against [[Antony Stafford]] with a total of 60 points &ndash; he had actually scored 66 but his offering of {{word|CLOAKS}} was erroneously not added to his cumulative total. In his next game, he played [[Katy Green]] and amassed 81 points out of a possible 84, including 18 for the nine {{word|BARITONES}}. [[Nick Wilkes]] forced Saldanha to his first crucial [[conundrum]] in his penultimate heat, but Saldanha unravelled {{word|GUNGIERHN}} in 2&frac34; seconds to take the match. A score of {{score|54|40}} against [[Danny Morris]] gave Saldanha an [[octochamp]] total of 490 points, and he qualified for the series finals as No. 1 seed.
 ===Series finals===

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 [[Image:Allan Saldanha2.jpg|thumb|right|Allan Saldanha during the Supreme Championship.]]
 [[Image:Allan Saldanha.jpg|thumb|right|Allan Saldanha at the 1993 UK [[Scrabble]] Championship.]]
-'''Allan Saldanha''' was an [[octochamp]] in and the runner-up of [[Series 15]], as well as the runner-up of the [[Series 33|Supreme Championship]]. He is one of the most well-known ''[[Countdown]]'' [[contestant]]s of all time, and also among the greatest players to never win a series. He was deemed a prodigy after first appearing as a ten-year-old boy. Including his [[special episode]]s and [[Countdown Masters]] match, Saldanha has competed in 21 games of ''Countdown''.
+'''Allan Saldanha''' was an [[octochamp]] in and the runner-up of [[Series 15]], as well as the runner-up of the [[Series 33|Supreme Championship]]. He is one of the most well-known ''[[Countdown]]'' [[contestant]]s of all time, and also among the greatest players to never win a series. He was deemed a prodigy after first appearing as a ten-year-old boy. Including his [[special episode]]s and ''[[Countdown Masters]]'' match, Saldanha has competed in 21 games of ''Countdown''.
 ==Appearances on the programme==
 ===Heat games===
-Upon [[Episode 708|his début appearance]] in 1988, Saldanha was a schoolboy from London aged just ten years old. In his first game against [[Bridgette Lagden]], he quickly amassed a 19 point lead and won by a score of {{score|57|28}}. The six-letter word {{word|TOGGLE}} gave opponent [[Billy Wright]] an early lead in Saldanha's second heat game, but the schoolboy regained the advantage in the very next round and won by 61 points to 26. Saldanha's third heat game was similarly dominant; he scored in 8 out of 9 rounds and won {{score|57|26}}. He defeated [[Margaret Elliot]] by 65 points to 23, and won his fifth game against [[Antony Stafford]] with a total of 60 points &ndash; he had actually scored 66 but his offering of {{word|CLOAKS}} was erroneously not added to his cumulative total. In his next game, he played [[Katy Green]] and amassed 81 points out of a possible 84, including 18 for the nine {{word|BARITONES}}. [[Nick Wilkes]] forced Saldanha to his first [[crucial conundrum]] in his penultimate heat, but Saldanha unravelled {{word|GUNGIERHN}} in 2&frac34; seconds to take the match. A score of {{score|54|40}} against [[Danny Morris]] gave Saldanha an [[octochamp]] total of 490 points, and he qualified for the series finals as #1 seed.
+Upon [[Episode 708|his début appearance]] in 1988, Saldanha was a schoolboy from London aged just ten years old. In his first game against [[Bridgette Lagden]], he quickly amassed a 19 point lead and won by a score of {{score|57|28}}. The six-letter word {{word|TOGGLE}} gave opponent [[Billy Wright]] an early lead in Saldanha's second heat game, but the schoolboy regained the advantage in the very next round and won by 61 points to 26. Saldanha's third heat game was similarly dominant; he scored in 8 out of 9 rounds and won {{score|57|26}}. He defeated [[Margaret Elliot]] by 65 points to 23, and won his fifth game against [[Antony Stafford]] with a total of 60 points &ndash; he had actually scored 66 but his offering of {{word|CLOAKS}} was erroneously not added to his cumulative total. In his next game, he played [[Katy Green]] and amassed 81 points out of a possible 84, including 18 for the nine {{word|BARITONES}}. [[Nick Wilkes]] forced Saldanha to his first crucial [[conundrum]] in his penultimate heat, but Saldanha unravelled {{word|GUNGIERHN}} in 2&frac34; seconds to take the match. A score of {{score|54|40}} against [[Danny Morris]] gave Saldanha an [[octochamp]] total of 490 points, and he qualified for the series finals as #1 seed.
 ===Series finals===
 He briefly fell behind in his quarter-final against [[Paul Walker]] after his opponent spotted {{word|MOLEST}}. Saldanha regained the advantage with {{word|MOLARS}} in round 6 and {{word|GAITERS}} in round 7 and won {{score|50|37}}. In his semi-final versus [[Peter Pryer]], Saldanha gained an early lead with {{word|ANTIGEN}} but then had {{word|morales}} {{X}} and {{word|prones}} {{X}} disallowed in consecutive letters rounds. Pryer beat him to the conundrum {{word|LATINMANG}}, but overall he had been unable to capitalise on Saldanha's mistakes and it was the youngster who qualified for the series final against [[Dick Green]].
-[[episode 757|The final]] proved to be one of the most controversial games in ''Countdown'' history. The six-letter word {{word|CONGAS}} gave Green the lead in round 2, before the eight-letter word {{word|STODGIER}} enabled Saldanha to take a slim lead in round 5. {{word|TIARA}} gave Green a slight advantage in round 8 which he retained until the penultimate letters game. Trailing by three points, Saldanha risked the word {{word|YOLKED}}, which was incorrectly disallowed by [[lexicographer]] [[Catherine Clarke]]. The game ended {{score|70|81}} to Green and, whilst Saldanha would still have lost the game had {{word|YOLKED}} it been allowed, it was felt that the wrongful dismissal of this word had had a psychological effect on the young man going into the conundrum behind rather than ahead of his opponent. Then-producer [[John Meade]] acknowledged the controversy and bought Saldanha a complete set of the Oxford English Dictionary, identical to the prize awarded to Green.
+[[Episode 757|The final]] proved to be one of the most controversial games in ''Countdown'' history. The six-letter word {{word|CONGAS}} gave Green the lead in round 2, before the eight-letter word {{word|STODGIER}} enabled Saldanha to take a slim lead in round 5. {{word|TIARA}} gave Green a slight advantage in round 8 which he retained until the penultimate [[letters game]]. Trailing by three points, Saldanha risked the word {{word|YOLKED}}, which was incorrectly disallowed by [[lexicographer]] [[Catherine Clarke]]. The game ended {{score|70|81}} to Green and, whilst Saldanha would still have lost the game had {{word|YOLKED}} it been allowed, it was felt that the wrongful dismissal of this word had had a psychological effect on the young man going into the conundrum behind rather than ahead of his opponent. Then-producer [[John Meade]] acknowledged the controversy and bought Saldanha a complete set of the [[Oxford English Dictionary]], identical to the prize awarded to Green.
 ===Special episodes===
@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 ===The Supreme Championship===
-In 1996, the then 18-year-old Saldanha made his final competitive appearance on ''Countdown'' in the [[Series 33|Supreme Championship]]. Playing in Group E, he beat [[Michael Wareham]] comfortably with a final score of {{score|20|69}}, before crushing [[Darryl Francis]] by 83 points to 24, equalling [[Steve Balment]]'s record for the highest [[9 round format|9 round]] score. In the group final against [[David Trace]], Saldanha had {{word|betime}} {{X}} and {{word|misrating}} {{X}} disallowed, but two perfect numbers solutions helped him to win {{score|34|45}}.
+In 1996, the then 18-year-old Saldanha made his final competitive appearance on ''Countdown'' in the [[Series 33|Supreme Championship]]. Playing in Group E, he beat [[Michael Wareham]] comfortably with a final score of {{score|20|69}}, before crushing [[Darryl Francis]] by 83 points to 24, equalling [[Stephen Balment]]'s record for the highest [[9 round format|9 round]] score. In the group final against [[David Trace]], Saldanha had {{word|betime}} {{X}} and {{word|misrating}} {{X}} disallowed, but two perfect numbers solutions helped him to win {{score|34|45}}.
-In the series quarter-final, Saldanha achieved a [[max game]] against [[Joyce Cansfield]]. Only the conundrum prevented him from equalling this feat in his semi-final, played against [[Tim Morrissey]] in their third ''Countdown'' encounter. This victory gave Saldanha a place in the tournament final against [[Harvey Freeman]], the champion of [[Series 10]] and [[Championship of Champions III]]. Saldanha made a poor start, refusing himself {{word|CREOSOTED}} which allowed Freeman to take an 18 point lead after the first round. Saldanha narrowed the gap when Freeman had {{word|AMATIVE}} disallowed. The contestants scored evenly in the next four rounds, with neither solving the conundrum in round 7. Round 8 saw Freeman go even further in front with {{word|LUGHOLES}}, and after a seven each, Freeman beat Saldanha again on the numbers game. Thereafter, Saldanha spotted {{word|CONACRE}}, solved the final numbers game and unscrambled the conundrum {{word|PASTURERS}} to lose by just three points, having trailed by 30 earlier in the game.
+In the series quarter-final, Saldanha achieved a [[max game]] against [[Joyce Cansfield]]. Only the conundrum prevented him from equalling this feat in his semi-final, played against [[Tim Morrissey]] in their third ''Countdown'' encounter. This victory gave Saldanha a place in the tournament final against [[Harvey Freeman]], the champion of [[Series 10]] and [[Championship of Champions III]]. Saldanha made a poor start, refusing himself {{word|CREOSOTED}} which allowed Freeman to take an 18 point lead after the first round. Saldanha narrowed the gap when Freeman had {{word|amative {{x}}}} disallowed. The contestants scored evenly in the next four rounds, with neither solving the conundrum in round 7. Round 8 saw Freeman go even further in front with {{word|LUGHOLES}}, and after a seven each, Freeman beat Saldanha again on the [[numbers game]]. Thereafter, Saldanha spotted {{word|CONACRE}}, solved the final numbers game and unscrambled the conundrum {{word|PASTURERS}} to lose by just three points, having trailed by 30 earlier in the game.
 Saldanha would also make a cameo appearance before his brother [[Richard Saldanha]]'s [[special episode]] against [[Kate Ogilvie]], recorded in 2002.
-===Away from Countdown===
+===Away from ''Countdown''===
 Despite not winning a series, Saldanha remains the youngest ever UK National [[Scrabble]] Champion to date, having won in 1993 at the age of 15. Although he no longer plays Scrabble, he is still keen on crosswords, having participated in The Times Crossword Championship Finals in 2019.
-He is currently working as an audit manager, and returned to the Countdown world in 2020 when he appeared as the guest in the unofficial web series [[ZoomDown]].
+He is currently working as an audit manager, and returned to the ''Countdown'' world in 2020 when he appeared as the guest in the unofficial web series [[ZoomDown]].
 {{series runner-up|preceded_by=Joel Salkin|series=15|followed_by=Roger Wales}}
@@ Line 67: / Line 67: @@
 ==See also==
-[[Richard Saldanha]], Allan's younger brother who reached the final of [[Series 39]].
+*[[Richard Saldanha]], Allan's younger brother who reached the final of [[Series 39]].
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Saldanha, Allan}}

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 In 1996, the then 18-year-old Saldanha made his final competitive appearance on ''Countdown'' in the [[Series 33|Supreme Championship]]. Playing in Group E, he beat [[Michael Wareham]] comfortably with a final score of {{score|20|69}}, before crushing [[Darryl Francis]] by 83 points to 24, equalling [[Steve Balment]]'s record for the highest [[9 round format|9 round]] score. In the group final against [[David Trace]], Saldanha had {{word|betime}} {{X}} and {{word|misrating}} {{X}} disallowed, but two perfect numbers solutions helped him to win {{score|34|45}}.
-In the series quarter-final, Saldanha achieved a [[List of Countdown terminology|perfect game]] against [[Joyce Cansfield]]. Only the conundrum prevented him from equalling this feat in his semi-final, played against [[Tim Morrissey]] in their third ''Countdown'' encounter. This victory gave Saldanha a place in the tournament final against [[Harvey Freeman]], the champion of [[Series 10]] and [[Championship of Champions III]]. Saldanha made a poor start, refusing himself {{word|CREOSOTED}} which allowed Freeman to take an 18 point lead after the first round. Saldanha narrowed the gap when Freeman had {{word|AMATIVE}} disallowed. The contestants scored evenly in the next four rounds, with neither solving the conundrum in round 7. Round 8 saw Freeman go even further in front with {{word|LUGHOLES}}, and after a seven each, Freeman beat Saldanha again on the numbers game. Thereafter, Saldanha spotted {{word|CONACRE}}, solved the final numbers game and unscrambled the conundrum {{word|PASTURERS}} to lose by just three points, having trailed by 30 earlier in the game.
+In the series quarter-final, Saldanha achieved a [[max game]] against [[Joyce Cansfield]]. Only the conundrum prevented him from equalling this feat in his semi-final, played against [[Tim Morrissey]] in their third ''Countdown'' encounter. This victory gave Saldanha a place in the tournament final against [[Harvey Freeman]], the champion of [[Series 10]] and [[Championship of Champions III]]. Saldanha made a poor start, refusing himself {{word|CREOSOTED}} which allowed Freeman to take an 18 point lead after the first round. Saldanha narrowed the gap when Freeman had {{word|AMATIVE}} disallowed. The contestants scored evenly in the next four rounds, with neither solving the conundrum in round 7. Round 8 saw Freeman go even further in front with {{word|LUGHOLES}}, and after a seven each, Freeman beat Saldanha again on the numbers game. Thereafter, Saldanha spotted {{word|CONACRE}}, solved the final numbers game and unscrambled the conundrum {{word|PASTURERS}} to lose by just three points, having trailed by 30 earlier in the game.
 Saldanha would also make a cameo appearance before his brother [[Richard Saldanha]]'s [[special episode]] against [[Kate Ogilvie]], recorded in 2002.

@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 Despite not winning a series, Saldanha remains the youngest ever UK National [[Scrabble]] Champion to date, having won in 1993 at the age of 15. Although he no longer plays Scrabble, he is still keen on crosswords, having participated in The Times Crossword Championship Finals in 2019.
-He is currently working as an audit manager.
+He is currently working as an audit manager, and returned to the Countdown world in 2020 when he appeared as the guest in the unofficial web series [[ZoomDown]].
 {{series runner-up|preceded_by=Joel Salkin|series=15|followed_by=Roger Wales}}

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ===Heat games===
-Upon [[Episode 708|his début appearance]] in 1988, Saldanha was a schoolboy from London aged just ten years old. In his first game against [[Bridgette Lagden]], he quickly amassed a 19 point lead and ran out a comfortable winner, {{score|57|28}}. The six-letter word {{word|TOGGLE}} gave opponent [[Billy Wright]] an early lead in Saldanha's second heat game, but the schoolboy regained the advantage in the very next round and won by 61 points to 26. Saldanha's third heat game was similarly dominant; he scored in 8 out of 9 rounds and won {{score|57|26}}. He defeated [[Margaret Elliot]] by 65 points to 23, and won his fifth game against [[Antony Stafford]] with a total of 60 points &ndash; he had actually scored 66 but his offering of {{word|CLOAKS}} was erroneously not added to his cumulative total. In his next game, he played [[Katy Green]] and amassed 81 points out of a possible 84, including 18 for the nine {{word|BARITONES}}. [[Nick Wilkes]] forced Saldanha to his first [[crucial conundrum]] in his penultimate heat, but Saldanha unravelled {{word|GUNGIERHN}} in 2&frac34; seconds to take the match. A score of {{score|54|40}} against [[Danny Morris]] gave Saldanha an [[octochamp]] total of 490 points, and he qualified for the series finals as #1 seed.
+Upon [[Episode 708|his début appearance]] in 1988, Saldanha was a schoolboy from London aged just ten years old. In his first game against [[Bridgette Lagden]], he quickly amassed a 19 point lead and won by a score of {{score|57|28}}. The six-letter word {{word|TOGGLE}} gave opponent [[Billy Wright]] an early lead in Saldanha's second heat game, but the schoolboy regained the advantage in the very next round and won by 61 points to 26. Saldanha's third heat game was similarly dominant; he scored in 8 out of 9 rounds and won {{score|57|26}}. He defeated [[Margaret Elliot]] by 65 points to 23, and won his fifth game against [[Antony Stafford]] with a total of 60 points &ndash; he had actually scored 66 but his offering of {{word|CLOAKS}} was erroneously not added to his cumulative total. In his next game, he played [[Katy Green]] and amassed 81 points out of a possible 84, including 18 for the nine {{word|BARITONES}}. [[Nick Wilkes]] forced Saldanha to his first [[crucial conundrum]] in his penultimate heat, but Saldanha unravelled {{word|GUNGIERHN}} in 2&frac34; seconds to take the match. A score of {{score|54|40}} against [[Danny Morris]] gave Saldanha an [[octochamp]] total of 490 points, and he qualified for the series finals as #1 seed.
 ===Series finals===

@@ Line 60: / Line 60: @@
 {{ep | 1886 | 21/11/1996 | eSF |[[Darryl Francis]]| 24 – 83 |Allan Saldanha|[[Tom O'Connor]]|[[Catherine Stokes]]|85}}
 {{ep | 1887 | 22/11/1996 | eF |[[David Trace]]| 34 – 45 |Allan Saldanha|Tom O'Connor|Catherine Stokes|70}}
-{{ep | 1903 | 16/12/1996 | SQF |[[Joyce Cansfield]]| 50 – '''''67''''' |'''''Allan Saldanha'''''|[[Nigel Rees]]|Catherine Clarke|'''''67''''' }}
+{{ep | 1903 | 16/12/1996 | SQF |[[Joyce Cansfield]]| 50 – '''67''' |'''Allan Saldanha'''|[[Nigel Rees]]|Catherine Clarke|'''67''' }}
 {{ep | 1906 | 19/12/1996 | SSF |Allan Saldanha| 61 – 57 |Tim Morrissey|Nigel Rees|Catherine Clarke|71}}
 {{ep | 1907 | 20/12/1996 | SGF |Allan Saldanha| 79 – 82 |[[Harvey Freeman]]|Nigel Rees|Catherine Clarke|127}}