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Difference between revisions of "Template:Featuredarticle"

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[[Image:Stewart Holden.jpg|thumb|right|130px|Holden at a national Scrabble event.]]
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[[Image:Mark Tournoff.jpg|right|thumb|130px|Mark Tournoff on the old striped set.]]
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'''[[Stewart Holden]]''' (born 5 September 1979) was the [[champion]] of [[Series 51]]. He won eight consecutive heat games to secure [[octochamp]] status, amassing a total of 870 points to rank as #1 seed for the series. In the finals, he defeated [[Nicole Hutchings]] and [[Richard Pay]] to set up a grand final appearance alongside [[Steve Graston]], who he beat by 104 points to 81. Following his success Holden had hoped to appear in the [[Championship of Champions XII|twelfth Championship of Champions]]. However, following a postponement on its recording Holden opted not to commit any further time to studying the [[Oxford Dictionary of English|ODE]], instead posting on the [[c4countdown]] message board to announce his intention to retire from Countdown undefeated, in order to focus on his preferred game of [[Scrabble]].
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'''Mark Tournoff''' was the [[champion]] of [[Series 52]], and runner-up in [[Championship of Champions XII]]. He won eight heat games to become an [[octochamp]], with high scores of 117 and 111 and an average of just over 101 points, securing his place in the [[800 club]]. Upon his return for the quarter finals, Tournoff trounced [[John Gray]] 138 – 73, setting the second-highest ever score in the process. Victory in a close fought semi final against [[Jack Welsby]] saw Tournoff set up a grand final appearance against #1 seed [[Paul Gallen]]. The game looked like a certain victory for Gallen, who led for 14 rounds. However, misspelling {{word|miriad}} {{X}} in the final [[letters]] game let his adversary in for a crucial conundrum, which Tournoff solved after 27 seconds to come from behind and win the series.
  
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Holden, who holds the position of Publicity Officer for the [[Association of British Scrabble Players]], launched Scrabble accessory business ''Tilefish'' in October 2005, which he owned until July 2008. In 2007, Holden was named as runner-up at the National Scrabble Championship held in London. More recently, he has compiled the weekly Scrabble puzzle which features in The Guardian newspaper. In spite of officially having retired Holden maintains strong links with Countdown, participating in the unofficial [[Countdown in Lincoln|COLIN]] tournaments and writing content for the desktop Countdown puzzle calendar. ('''[[Stewart Holden|more...]]''')
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The twelfth Championship of Champions saw Tournoff make a comfortable start, easing past [[Steve Graston]] by 119 points to 83. However, his quarter final against [[Matthew Shore]] was arguably one of the closest games in the history of the programme. Neither player ever led by more than ten points, and Tournoff solved the crucial conundrum {{word|SILLYQUOO}} to win the epic game 124 – 117. This game set two records: the highest ever losing score, and the highest aggregate score of 241. Tournoff won his semi final against [[Paul Howe]] to set up a [[rematch]] against Paul Gallen, who gained revenge by winning the tournament on yet another crucial conundrum, and narrowly missing out on a perfect game.
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Tournoff remains an active member of the ''Countdown'' community. He has written a book about his experiences on the programme, titled ''[[Crucial - A Champion's Tale]]'', and he has taken part in several unofficial tournaments. ('''[[Mark Tournoff|more...]]''')

Revision as of 23:58, 31 October 2009

Mark Tournoff on the old striped set.

Mark Tournoff was the champion of Series 52, and runner-up in Championship of Champions XII. He won eight heat games to become an octochamp, with high scores of 117 and 111 and an average of just over 101 points, securing his place in the 800 club. Upon his return for the quarter finals, Tournoff trounced John Gray 138 – 73, setting the second-highest ever score in the process. Victory in a close fought semi final against Jack Welsby saw Tournoff set up a grand final appearance against #1 seed Paul Gallen. The game looked like a certain victory for Gallen, who led for 14 rounds. However, misspelling miriad ☓ in the final letters game let his adversary in for a crucial conundrum, which Tournoff solved after 27 seconds to come from behind and win the series.

The twelfth Championship of Champions saw Tournoff make a comfortable start, easing past Steve Graston by 119 points to 83. However, his quarter final against Matthew Shore was arguably one of the closest games in the history of the programme. Neither player ever led by more than ten points, and Tournoff solved the crucial conundrum SILLYQUOO to win the epic game 124 – 117. This game set two records: the highest ever losing score, and the highest aggregate score of 241. Tournoff won his semi final against Paul Howe to set up a rematch against Paul Gallen, who gained revenge by winning the tournament on yet another crucial conundrum, and narrowly missing out on a perfect game.

Tournoff remains an active member of the Countdown community. He has written a book about his experiences on the programme, titled Crucial - A Champion's Tale, and he has taken part in several unofficial tournaments. (more...)

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