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Difference between revisions of "Craig Beevers"
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+ | {{octostats|'''Champion'''|1|907|7}} | ||
[[Image:Craig Beevers.jpg|thumb|right|Craig Beevers playing [[Scrabble]].]] | [[Image:Craig Beevers.jpg|thumb|right|Craig Beevers playing [[Scrabble]].]] | ||
− | '''Craig Beevers''' | + | [[Image:Craig_Beevers_trophy.jpg|right|thumb|270px|Craig Beevers winning [[Series 57]].]] |
+ | '''Craig Beevers''' was an [[octochamp]] in and the [[Series Winners|champion]] of [[Series 57]]. | ||
− | + | He is only the second [[contestant]] to score [[century|centuries]] in all eight heat games, and also the second to score over 900 points. He scored three further centuries in his three appearances in the finals. He is known for his composed demeanour and incredible consistency, especially in the [[letters game]]s. | |
− | + | ==Appearances on the programme== | |
+ | ===Heat games=== | ||
+ | Beevers' appearances began with a crushing victory over [[Baz Hunt]], including impressive finds like {{word|TOEHOLD}} and {{word|EXTREMA}}. He continued to a seven further victories in an octochamp run that never looked in doubt, with further flourishes like {{word|ICEBOATS}}, {{word|TANDOORI}}, {{word|DOPAMINE}} and {{word|RUMINATED}} and a top score of 128. Solid performances on the numbers and seven solved [[conundrum]]s saw Beevers' cruise to eight centuries and approach [[Julian Fell]]'s long-standing points record of 924. However an unfortunate shortage of available nines left a maximum total of 987, one of the lowest ever, and Beevers did well to make 907 – percentage wise, the best octochamp run on record (91.89%) until [[Series 69]]. | ||
− | Beevers | + | ===Series finals=== |
+ | Inevitably, Beevers returned for finals as top seed, beating [[Mikey Lear]] and fellow octochamp [[David Edwards (Series 57)|David Edwards]] without ever looking under serious pressure. The final, against [[Jeffrey Hansford]], was a closer game – {{word|AMMONITE}} and {{word|SNIFTER}} handed Beevers a 15-point advantage going into the first break, and maximums in the next eight rounds left him with an unassailable lead of 23 with two to play. Hansford declared nothing on the final [[numbers game]], but adopted his favoured tactic for the conundrum, buzzing as soon as {{word|RULEAGAIN}} was revealed and answering correctly to leave a final score of {{score|105|82}}. Beevers had dropped just thirteen points in the whole game, taking his all-games total to 1,236 – at that time, the second-highest [[Xicount]] score. | ||
− | + | ==CoC XIII and Apterous== | |
+ | Beevers opted out of [[Championship of Champions XIII]], just as fellow [[Scrabble]] Grandmaster [[Stewart Holden]] had done for the [[Championship of Champions XII|previous]] [[Championship of Champions]] event. | ||
− | {{series winner|preceded_by=Nick Wainwright|series=57}} | + | Beevers occasionally played ''[[Countdown]]'' online on [[Apterous]], and for a long time held the No. 1 human position. |
+ | |||
+ | ==Scrabble== | ||
+ | Away from ''Countdown'', Beevers has worked for the [[Association of British Scrabble Players]] and the {{w|World English-Language Scrabble Players' Association}} (WESPA), and has been Cleveland Scrabble Club champion on multiple occasions. He holds Grandmaster status, and has organised tournaments for a living. He began playing competitive Scrabble in 2003. | ||
+ | |||
+ | In the preamble chat with [[Des O'Connor]], he stated his intention to be a future {{w|World Scrabble Championship|World Scrabble champion}}. He took his first step toward this on 18 October 2009, when he became the UK National champion, beating fellow former ''Countdown'' contestant [[David Webb]] at the {{w|National Scrabble Championship (UK)|National Scrabble Championship}} final. He later became the {{w|Scrabble Champions Tournament 2014|2014 World Scrabble Champion}} on 23 November, at the Scrabble Champions Tournament in London, when he defeated American Chris Lipe {{score|3|1}} in the final to become only the second Briton to win the title after [[Mark Nyman]] in 1993. He also won his second national title in 2015 at the National Scrabble Championship Finals in Milton Keynes, winning 15 games out of 17 (the best-of-5 final was scrapped in 2014). Since winning the world title, he has written a book about Scrabble entitled ''Word Addict: Secrets of a World Scrabble Champion''. | ||
+ | |||
+ | {{series winner|preceded_by=Nick Wainwright|series=57|followed_by=David O'Donnell (Series 58){{!!}}David O'Donnell}} | ||
==Episodes== | ==Episodes== | ||
{{episode table}} | {{episode table}} | ||
− | {{ep | 4465 | 23/10/2007 | P | [[Baz Hunt]] | 48 - 108 | Craig Beevers | [[Barry Norman]] | [[Susie Dent]]}} | + | {{ep | 4465 | 23/10/2007 | P |[[Baz Hunt]]| 48 - 108 |Craig Beevers|[[Barry Norman]]|[[Susie Dent]]|121}} |
− | {{ep | 4466 | 24/10/2007 | P | Craig Beevers | 109 - 24 | [[Thomas Baldwin]] | Barry Norman | Susie Dent}} | + | {{ep | 4466 | 24/10/2007 | P |Craig Beevers| 109 - 24 |[[Thomas Baldwin]]|Barry Norman|Susie Dent|121}} |
− | {{ep | 4467 | 25/10/2007 | P | Craig Beevers | 103 - 33 | [[Chris Bibby]] | Barry Norman | Susie Dent}} | + | {{ep | 4467 | 25/10/2007 | P |Craig Beevers| 103 - 33 |[[Chris Bibby]]|Barry Norman|Susie Dent|120}} |
− | {{ep | 4468 | 26/10/2007 | P | Craig Beevers | 128 - 36 | [[Peter Watts]] | Barry Norman | Susie Dent}} | + | {{ep | 4468 | 26/10/2007 | P |Craig Beevers| 128 - 36 |[[Peter Watts]]|Barry Norman|Susie Dent|134}} |
− | {{ep | 4469 | 29/10/2007 | P | Craig Beevers | 104 - 70 | [[Martin Larter]] | [[Paul Zenon]] | Susie Dent}} | + | {{ep | 4469 | 29/10/2007 | P |Craig Beevers| 104 - 70 |[[Martin Larter]]|[[Paul Zenon]]|Susie Dent|121}} |
− | {{ep | 4470 | 30/10/2007 | P | Craig Beevers | 118 - 71 | [[Stuart Hamilton]] | Paul Zenon | Susie Dent}} | + | {{ep | 4470 | 30/10/2007 | P |Craig Beevers| 118 - 71 |[[Stuart Hamilton]]|Paul Zenon|Susie Dent|120}} |
− | {{ep | 4471 | 31/10/2007 | P | Craig Beevers | 120 - 57 | [[Allan Millington]] | Paul Zenon | Susie Dent}} | + | {{ep | 4471 | 31/10/2007 | P |Craig Beevers| 120 - 57 |[[Allan Millington]]|Paul Zenon|Susie Dent|121}} |
− | {{ep | 4472 | 1/11/2007 | P | Craig Beevers | 117 - 40 | [[Shemina Kirby]] | Paul Zenon | Susie Dent}} | + | {{ep | 4472 | 1/11/2007 | P |Craig Beevers| 117 - 40 |[[Shemina Kirby]]|Paul Zenon|Susie Dent|129}} |
− | {{ep | 4502 | 13/12/2007 | QF | [[Mikey Lear]] | 69 - 106 | Craig Beevers | Henry Blofeld | Alison Heard}} | + | {{ep | 4502 | 13/12/2007 | QF |[[Mikey Lear]]| 69 - 106 |Craig Beevers|[[Henry Blofeld]]|[[Alison Heard]]|118}} |
− | {{ep | 4506 | 19/12/2007 | SF | [[David Edwards]] | 60 - 118 | Craig Beevers | Pam Ayres | Alison Heard}} | + | {{ep | 4506 | 19/12/2007 | SF |[[David Edwards (Series 57)|David Edwards]]| 60 - 118 |Craig Beevers|[[Pam Ayres]]|Alison Heard|131}} |
− | {{ep | 4508 | 21/12/2007 | | + | {{ep | 4508 | 21/12/2007 | GF |Craig Beevers| 105 - 82 |[[Jeffrey Hansford]]|Pam Ayres|Alison Heard|118}} |
{{episode table end}} | {{episode table end}} | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==External Links== | ||
+ | {{WP}} | ||
+ | *[http://craigbeevers.me.uk/audition.html Beevers' ''Countdown'' experience on his personal website] | ||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beevers, Craig}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Beevers, Craig}} | ||
[[Category:Contestants in Series 57]] | [[Category:Contestants in Series 57]] | ||
[[Category:Octochamps of the 15 round era]] | [[Category:Octochamps of the 15 round era]] | ||
+ | [[Category:Finalists]] | ||
[[Category:Series winners]] | [[Category:Series winners]] | ||
[[Category:Teapot owners]] | [[Category:Teapot owners]] | ||
+ | [[Category:Unbeaten contestants]] |
Latest revision as of 16:47, 22 December 2023
Craig Beevers octochamp statistics | |
---|---|
Final position | Champion |
Seeding | 1 |
Points total | 907 |
Conundrums solved | 7 |
Craig Beevers was an octochamp in and the champion of Series 57.
He is only the second contestant to score centuries in all eight heat games, and also the second to score over 900 points. He scored three further centuries in his three appearances in the finals. He is known for his composed demeanour and incredible consistency, especially in the letters games.
Contents
Appearances on the programme
Heat games
Beevers' appearances began with a crushing victory over Baz Hunt, including impressive finds like TOEHOLD and EXTREMA. He continued to a seven further victories in an octochamp run that never looked in doubt, with further flourishes like ICEBOATS, TANDOORI, DOPAMINE and RUMINATED and a top score of 128. Solid performances on the numbers and seven solved conundrums saw Beevers' cruise to eight centuries and approach Julian Fell's long-standing points record of 924. However an unfortunate shortage of available nines left a maximum total of 987, one of the lowest ever, and Beevers did well to make 907 – percentage wise, the best octochamp run on record (91.89%) until Series 69.
Series finals
Inevitably, Beevers returned for finals as top seed, beating Mikey Lear and fellow octochamp David Edwards without ever looking under serious pressure. The final, against Jeffrey Hansford, was a closer game – AMMONITE and SNIFTER handed Beevers a 15-point advantage going into the first break, and maximums in the next eight rounds left him with an unassailable lead of 23 with two to play. Hansford declared nothing on the final numbers game, but adopted his favoured tactic for the conundrum, buzzing as soon as RULEAGAIN was revealed and answering correctly to leave a final score of 105 – 82. Beevers had dropped just thirteen points in the whole game, taking his all-games total to 1,236 – at that time, the second-highest Xicount score.
CoC XIII and Apterous
Beevers opted out of Championship of Champions XIII, just as fellow Scrabble Grandmaster Stewart Holden had done for the previous Championship of Champions event.
Beevers occasionally played Countdown online on Apterous, and for a long time held the No. 1 human position.
Scrabble
Away from Countdown, Beevers has worked for the Association of British Scrabble Players and the World English-Language Scrabble Players' Association (WESPA), and has been Cleveland Scrabble Club champion on multiple occasions. He holds Grandmaster status, and has organised tournaments for a living. He began playing competitive Scrabble in 2003.
In the preamble chat with Des O'Connor, he stated his intention to be a future World Scrabble champion. He took his first step toward this on 18 October 2009, when he became the UK National champion, beating fellow former Countdown contestant David Webb at the National Scrabble Championship final. He later became the 2014 World Scrabble Champion on 23 November, at the Scrabble Champions Tournament in London, when he defeated American Chris Lipe 3 – 1 in the final to become only the second Briton to win the title after Mark Nyman in 1993. He also won his second national title in 2015 at the National Scrabble Championship Finals in Milton Keynes, winning 15 games out of 17 (the best-of-5 final was scrapped in 2014). Since winning the world title, he has written a book about Scrabble entitled Word Addict: Secrets of a World Scrabble Champion.
Preceded by Nick Wainwright |
Series winner Series 57 |
Followed by David O'Donnell |
Episodes
# | Date | Type | Contestant 1 | Score | Contestant 2 | Presenters | Guest | Lex | Max | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4465 | 23/10/2007 | P | Baz Hunt | 48 – 108 | Craig Beevers | Des O'Connor | Carol Vorderman | Barry Norman | Susie Dent | 121 | ||
4466 | 24/10/2007 | P | Craig Beevers | 109 – 24 | Thomas Baldwin | Des O'Connor | Carol Vorderman | Barry Norman | Susie Dent | 121 | ||
4467 | 25/10/2007 | P | Craig Beevers | 103 – 33 | Chris Bibby | Des O'Connor | Carol Vorderman | Barry Norman | Susie Dent | 120 | ||
4468 | 26/10/2007 | P | Craig Beevers | 128 – 36 | Peter Watts | Des O'Connor | Carol Vorderman | Barry Norman | Susie Dent | 134 | ||
4469 | 29/10/2007 | P | Craig Beevers | 104 – 70 | Martin Larter | Des O'Connor | Carol Vorderman | Paul Zenon | Susie Dent | 121 | ||
4470 | 30/10/2007 | P | Craig Beevers | 118 – 71 | Stuart Hamilton | Des O'Connor | Carol Vorderman | Paul Zenon | Susie Dent | 120 | ||
4471 | 31/10/2007 | P | Craig Beevers | 120 – 57 | Allan Millington | Des O'Connor | Carol Vorderman | Paul Zenon | Susie Dent | 121 | ||
4472 | 1/11/2007 | P | Craig Beevers | 117 – 40 | Shemina Kirby | Des O'Connor | Carol Vorderman | Paul Zenon | Susie Dent | 129 | ||
4502 | 13/12/2007 | QF | Mikey Lear | 69 – 106 | Craig Beevers | Des O'Connor | Carol Vorderman | Henry Blofeld | Alison Heard | 118 | ||
4506 | 19/12/2007 | SF | David Edwards | 60 – 118 | Craig Beevers | Des O'Connor | Carol Vorderman | Pam Ayres | Alison Heard | 131 | ||
4508 | 21/12/2007 | GF | Craig Beevers | 105 – 82 | Jeffrey Hansford | Des O'Connor | Carol Vorderman | Pam Ayres | Alison Heard | 118 |