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[[Image:Martin Gardner.jpg|right|130px]]
'''Harvey Freeman''' was the champion of [[Series 10]], [[Championship of Champions III]] and the [[series 33|Supreme Championship]], and is widely regarded as one of the greatest Countdowners of all time. Freeman made his debut on 31 October 1986 against [[David Whiting]] as a 21-year-old Cambridge University undergraduate from Enfield, Middlesex. He won that game and the seven which followed to achieve [[octochamp]]dom with an aggregate score of 523 points. This was a record at the time, and stood for almost 14 years before being beaten by [[David Williams (Series 43)|David Williams]] in [[Series 43]]. In his second heat game, Freeman amassed 82 points which was also a record at the time. He returned for the series finals as #1 seed, and dominated his opponents [[Elisabeth Jardine]] and [[Les Martin]] in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively, before going on to face [[Mike Percik]] in the grand final. Despite having {{word|OUTTAKES}} {{X}} disallowed in the second round, Harvey produced a commanding performance running out the winner by 96 points to 52.
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'''[[Martin Gardner]]''' was an [[octochamp]] and semi-finalist in [[Series 49]]. Before appearing as a contestant on the show, Gardner had a prominent presence in the online Countdown community; he organised Countdown Advance (the forerunner to [[Hypercountdown]] on the [[Gevincountdown]] web forum, served as a moderator on this website, and ran the now-defunct Countdown fan site [[Countdown Update UK]]. After finding the address to send off for an application form on [[Ben Wilson]]'s website, he applied for the televised show and was invited to an audition at the end of 2002.
  
Freeman returned for [[Championship of Champions III]], beating [[Michael Stephenson]] and [[John Clarke (Series 11)|John Clarke]] to set up a grand final against [[David Trace]]. Freeman lost out in the first conundrum to Trace, putting him ten points behind, but he scored in every other round before solving the [[crucial conundrum]] {{word|PURSUEPAT}} to win 115 – 107 — the highest ever score in a 14-round grand final, and the only time anyone has ever scored over 110 under that format. In 1996, Freeman participated in the [[series 33|Supreme Championship]]. Given a bye in the first round, Harvey defeated [[Ian Bebbington]] in the second round and [[Barry Grossman]] in a closely-fought group final to put himself into the series quarter-finals. Therein, he beat [[Andrew Perry]] before once again beating [[John Clarke (Series 11)|John Clarke]] in the semi-final. In the final, he faced former [[prodigy]] [[Allan Saldanha]]. Freeman spotted a [[nine-letter word|niner]] in the first round and was able to hold on to his lead to win 82 — 79, winning the title of all-time supreme champion, and maintaining his winning streak at an unprecedented 19 games. ('''[[Harvey Freeman|more...]]''')
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Although he failed his audition, Gardner was invited to the studios as a replacement contestant after [[John Davies (Series 49)|John Davies]] became an [[octochamp]], leaving one seat vacated on [[Episode 3482|14 May 2003]]. In this opening game Gardner achieved his highest televised score of 107, with offerings including the eight-letter words {{word|ATOMISER}} and {{word|ACONITES}}; Martin found no nine-letter words during his appearances on the show. Seven more victories followed, including three further [[century|centuries]].
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Gardner returned to the series finals as #2 seed behind Davies, his forerunner in the heats. In his quarter-final, the eight letter word {{word|POTHEADS}} and conundrum {{word|SCOOPGREY}} helped Gardner to convincingly defeat [[Peter Jeffery]] by 101 points to 64. He faced [[David Wilson]] in the semi-final and went ahead after three rounds courtesy of the seven-letter word {{word|UPRATED}}. However, he was pegged back in the next round with {{word|MORGUES}}. Thereafter, David scored in every round apart from the conundrum and won the game 98-86. ('''[[Martin Gardner|more...]]''')
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<noinclude>[[Category:Templates|Featuredarticle]]</noinclude>

Latest revision as of 00:57, 28 May 2020

Martin Gardner.jpg

Martin Gardner was an octochamp and semi-finalist in Series 49. Before appearing as a contestant on the show, Gardner had a prominent presence in the online Countdown community; he organised Countdown Advance (the forerunner to Hypercountdown on the Gevincountdown web forum, served as a moderator on this website, and ran the now-defunct Countdown fan site Countdown Update UK. After finding the address to send off for an application form on Ben Wilson's website, he applied for the televised show and was invited to an audition at the end of 2002.

Although he failed his audition, Gardner was invited to the studios as a replacement contestant after John Davies became an octochamp, leaving one seat vacated on 14 May 2003. In this opening game Gardner achieved his highest televised score of 107, with offerings including the eight-letter words ATOMISER and ACONITES; Martin found no nine-letter words during his appearances on the show. Seven more victories followed, including three further centuries.

Gardner returned to the series finals as #2 seed behind Davies, his forerunner in the heats. In his quarter-final, the eight letter word POTHEADS and conundrum SCOOPGREY helped Gardner to convincingly defeat Peter Jeffery by 101 points to 64. He faced David Wilson in the semi-final and went ahead after three rounds courtesy of the seven-letter word UPRATED. However, he was pegged back in the next round with MORGUES. Thereafter, David scored in every round apart from the conundrum and won the game 98-86. (more...)