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| − | [[Image:Stephen Balment.JPG|right|170px]]
| + | '''[[Episode S29]]'''. ('''[[Episode S29|more...]]''') |
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| − | '''[[Episode 546]]''' was broadcast on Tuesday 14 April 1987 as part of [[Series 12]], and featured the joint highest-ever score in the [[9 round format|9 round era]] of ''Countdown''. It pitted [[champion]] [[Keith Albans]] against challenger [[Stephen Balment]] ''(pictured)''. Albans, a Methodist minister from York, was playing in his second game after [[Episode 545|defeating]] [[Valerie Turner]] by a margin of 25 points. Balment was a computer programmer from Leicester as well as an active player on the [[Scrabble]] circuit, where he was nicknamed "yo-yo" because of his fluctuating rating. On his ''Countdown'' début, Balment matched Albans by finding the [[nine letter word]] {{word|RELATIONS}} in the first round. Both contestants gained seven points in the second round – the final [[letters round]] in which Albans was able to score. | |
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| − | Balment took the lead in round 3 with the six letter word {{word|NUANCE}}, and 10 points apiece was scored in a straightforward first [[numbers round]]. Following an anecdote from [[Dictionary Corner]] guest [[Gyles Brandreth]], Balment beat Albans in the three remaining letters rounds. He offered the [[darren]]ic word {{word|SOLDIERS}} in round 5, {{word|UPSTAGE}} in round 6, and beat Albans' invalid suggestion {{word|redoubly}} {{X}} with {{word|BROILED}} in round 7 – ironically, the same word which Albans had scored with during round 2. Both players scored 10 points in the final numbers round, and Balment unscrambled the conundrum {{word|CATFAINTS}} to seal a performance which was, aptly, fantastic. The final scoreline of {{score|83|45}} represented the highest début score achieved under ''Countdown''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s original 9 round format, and was also the highest ever score under this format, only equalled by [[Allan Saldanha]] over [[Episode 1886|ten years later]] during the [[Series 33|Supreme Championship]].
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| − | Balment won two further heat games before succumbing to [[Mike Tobias]]. This was a strong enough performance to qualify for the Series 12 finals as #4 seed. Balment won his quarter-final match against [[Nigel Aspden]] on a tie-breaker conundrum, and returned the very next day to beat [[Jon Marsh]] by 51 points to 30. In the [[Episode 594|final]], Balment endured a nip-and-tuck game versus [[Janet McRae]] and was unable to unravel either of the conundrums. Fortunately for him, McRae failed to solve a relatively simple last numbers round which made it impossible to stage a comeback, and Balment became [[series champion]] by {{score|81|66}}. ('''[[Episode 546|more...]]''')
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