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Difference between revisions of "Chris Wills"
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− | [[Image:Chris Wills 1.jpg|thumb|right|Chris Wills.]] | + | {{octostats|'''Champion'''|1|875|7}} |
− | '''Chris Wills''' | + | [[Image:Chris Wills 1.jpg|thumb|right|Chris Wills in 2003...]] |
+ | [[File:Chris Wills.png|thumb|200px|right|...and ten years later in the [[30th Birthday Championship]]!]] | ||
+ | [[Image:Chris Wills.jpg|thumb|right|Chris Wills alongside [[Mark Tournoff]] at [[COLIN 2005]].]] | ||
+ | '''Chris Wills''' was an [[octochamp]] in and the [[Series Winners|champion]] of [[Series 47]], runner-up of [[Championship of Champions XI]] and a participant in the [[30th Birthday Championship]]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==Appearances on the programme== | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===Heat games=== | ||
+ | He began his rise to fame in Series 47, debuting on the [[Episode 3166|14 January 2002]]. He won his first seven games with [[century|centuries]] (including a {{score|120|107}} thriller against [[Terry Rattle]]) but won his [[Episode 3173|last game]] with 92, missing out on the opportunity to be the first all-centuries octochamp. His total of 875 points was the twelfth highest of the [[15 round format (old)|old 15 round format]]. He also became the first player to score over 125 points during his [[Episode 3169|game]] with [[April Carlin]]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | In the middle of his run was a [[Episode 3171|classic game]] against [[Terry Rattle]]. Wills was leading {{score|100|79}} going into the last [[letters game]], where Chris played {{word|REACHING}} to Rattle's {{word|CHAGRINED}}, which Rattle declared as "very dodgy". [[Dictionary Corner]] okayed the word and after both players scored 10 points in the final [[numbers game]], it was a [[conundrum|crucial conundrum]] {{score|110|107}} in Wills' favour. The conundrum {{word|LINGOFLOW}} revealed itself and Wills buzzed in with {{word|FOLLOWING}} before the first second had elapsed. Wills was therefore the highest-scoring octochamp to have had a crucial conundrum game during their run until surpassed by [[Mark Murray]] in [[Series 70]]. Rattle's 107 was the highest losing score in the 15-round era until [[David Williams (Series 43)|David Williams]] scored 111, also against Chris Wills. | ||
− | + | ===Series finals=== | |
+ | Having totted up a record 875 points, he returned for the series finals as No. 1 seed, beating first [[Brenda Jolley]] in the quarter-finals {{score|110|86|Episode 3273}} and then [[Rupert Stokoe]] in the semi-finals {{score|118|78|Episode 3277}}. In the final he faced the excellent [[Tom Hargreaves]], and [[Episode 3279|beat him comfortably]] to take the series. | ||
− | + | ===Championship of Champions XI=== | |
+ | He returned for [[Championship of Champions XI]] at the beginning of 2003, and was drawn against the masterful [[David Williams (Series 43)|David Williams]], holder of the 9-round octochamp record. [[Episode 3391|The game]] was a classic, with Wills emerging victorious with 113 to Williams' 111. In [[Episode 3398|the quarter-finals]], he faced the popular [[Loz Sands]], and won comfortably but without a century. A semi-final score of [[Episode 3402|120]] against [[John Rawnsley]] saw him comfortable into [[Episode 3404|the final]], where he was strong favourite to beat [[Graham Nash]]. The match was not as explosive as hoped, and the crucial conundrum was revealed with the scores at {{score|79|73}} in Nash's favour. Neither player could solve {{word|OVERSPADE}}, so Nash took the [[Championship of Champions|CoC]] trophy and Wills was beaten at last. | ||
− | + | ===Special Episodes=== | |
+ | Many fans had expected Wills to face [[Julian Fell]] in the CoC final, but Fell had been knocked out early on by Nash. To appease fans, a special "[[Episode S12|Fell vs Wills]]" episode was filmed in March 2003 and broadcast on 12 September 2003. Wills was beaten again; this time, Fell was forced to come from behind, but solved the tricky conundrum {{word|VICTORIUS}} in just a few seconds to take the game. | ||
− | + | Wills returned for a second [[special episode]] on 2 November 2007 for ''[[Countdown]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s [[Episode 4473|25th anniversary special]] against [[Conor Travers]], playing a to slightly shorter round format with celebrities selecting the letters and numbers, but lost the game {{score|69|58}}. | |
− | + | ===30th Birthday Championship=== | |
+ | He returned to ''Countdown'' in 2013, as one of 41 contestants taking part in the [[30th Birthday Championship]]. After receiving a bye to the first round, he won his [[Episode 5627|first match]] against [[Series 59]] semi-finalist [[Martin Bishop]] by a score of {{score|102|99}}, despite behind for the majority of the game. He then met his match in round 2, losing to the still unbeaten [[Series 63]] champion [[Jack Hurst]] by a score of [[Episode 5643|{{score|115|70}}]]. | ||
− | + | In his 19 game ''Countdown'' career, including the 25th anniversary special, he scored 1,939 points. 1,881 not including the aforementioned game — an average of 104.5 points per game. | |
− | + | ==Co-events== | |
− | Wills has also appeared on | + | Wills has been a regular at unofficial ''Countdown'' [[Co-event|tournaments]], winning [[COBRIS]] in 2006 and 2007. He also attended [[COLIN]] events in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, winning the first three of those too. He is consistently rated as one of the top players, and is one of the few players ever to be rated over 1000. |
+ | |||
+ | ==Appearances on quiz shows== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Wills has also appeared on ''{{w|Fifteen to One}}'', ''{{w|The Weakest Link (UK game show)|The Weakest Link}}'' (which he won), ''{{w|BrainTeaser}}'' (which he also won, but failed to take any prize money), ''{{w|Mastermind (British game show)|Mastermind}}'', ''{{w|1 vs 100}}'', ''{{w|A Question of Genius}}'' (on which he won £5,000 with his knowledge of The Smiths), ''{{w|Pointless (game show)|Pointless}}'' and ''{{w|PopMaster}}''. | ||
+ | |||
+ | He currently works at the {{w|University of Leeds}}, in the Department of Health Studies. | ||
{{series winner|preceded_by=Ben Wilson|series=47|followed_by=Julian Fell}} | {{series winner|preceded_by=Ben Wilson|series=47|followed_by=Julian Fell}} | ||
− | |||
{{Champion of Champions runner-up|preceded_by=Kate Ogilvie|coc=XI|followed_by=Mark Tournoff}} | {{Champion of Champions runner-up|preceded_by=Kate Ogilvie|coc=XI|followed_by=Mark Tournoff}} | ||
==Episodes== | ==Episodes== | ||
− | |||
{{episode table}} | {{episode table}} | ||
− | {{ep | 3166 | 14/01/2002 | P | [[Jeremy Slaney]] | 66 – 107 | Chris Wills | [[Kathryn Apanowicz]] | [[Susie Dent]] }} | + | {{ep | 3166 | 14/01/2002 | P |[[Jeremy Slaney]]| 66 – 107 |Chris Wills|[[Kathryn Apanowicz]]|[[Susie Dent]]|153}} |
− | {{ep | 3167 | 15/01/2002 | P | Chris Wills | 118 – 44 | [[Floraidh Campbell]] | Kathryn Apanowicz | Susie Dent }} | + | {{ep | 3167 | 15/01/2002 | P |Chris Wills| 118 – 44 |[[Floraidh Campbell]]|Kathryn Apanowicz|Susie Dent|127}} |
− | {{ep | 3168 | 16/01/2002 | P | Chris Wills | 103 – 68 | [[Jeff Baines]] | Kathryn Apanowicz | Susie Dent }} | + | {{ep | 3168 | 16/01/2002 | P |Chris Wills| 103 – 68 |[[Jeff Baines]]|Kathryn Apanowicz|Susie Dent|123}} |
− | {{ep | 3169 | 17/01/2002 | P | Chris Wills | 129 – 77 | [[April Carlin]] | Kathryn Apanowicz | Susie Dent }} | + | {{ep | 3169 | 17/01/2002 | P |Chris Wills| 129 – 77 |[[April Carlin]]|Kathryn Apanowicz|Susie Dent|131}} |
− | {{ep | 3170 | 18/01/2002 | P | Chris Wills | 103 – 47 | [[David Shaw]] | Kathryn Apanowicz | Susie Dent }} | + | {{ep | 3170 | 18/01/2002 | P |Chris Wills| 103 – 47 |[[David Shaw]]|Kathryn Apanowicz|Susie Dent|120}} |
− | {{ep | 3171 | 21/01/2002 | P | Chris Wills | 120 – 107 | [[Terry Rattle]] | [[Tim Rice]] | Susie Dent }} | + | {{ep | 3171 | 21/01/2002 | P |Chris Wills| 120 – 107 |[[Terry Rattle]]|[[Tim Rice]]|Susie Dent|152}} |
− | {{ep | 3172 | 22/01/2002 | P | Chris Wills | 103 – 48 | [[Len Barker]] | Tim Rice | Susie Dent }} | + | {{ep | 3172 | 22/01/2002 | P |Chris Wills| 103 – 48 |[[Len Barker]]|Tim Rice|Susie Dent|139}} |
− | {{ep | 3173 | 23/01/2002 | P | Chris Wills | 92 – 52 | [[Agnes Budis]] | Tim Rice | Susie Dent }} | + | {{ep | 3173 | 23/01/2002 | P |Chris Wills| 92 – 52 |[[Agnes Budis]]|Tim Rice|Susie Dent|140}} |
− | {{ep | 3273 | 20/06/2002 | QF | Chris Wills | 110 – 86 | [[Brenda Jolley]] | [[Geoffrey Durham]] | Susie Dent }} | + | {{ep | 3273 | 20/06/2002 | QF |Chris Wills| 110 – 86 |[[Brenda Jolley]]|[[Geoffrey Durham]]|Susie Dent|120}} |
− | {{ep | 3277 | 26/06/2002 | SF | [[Rupert Stokoe]] | 78 – 118 | Chris Wills | [[Richard Digance]] | [[Damian Eadie]] }} | + | {{ep | 3277 | 26/06/2002 | SF |[[Rupert Stokoe]]| 78 – 118 |Chris Wills|[[Richard Digance]]|[[Damian Eadie]]|130}} |
− | {{ep | 3279 | 28/06/2002 | GF | [[Tom Hargreaves]] | 67 – 110 | Chris Wills | Richard Digance | Damian Eadie }} | + | {{ep | 3279 | 28/06/2002 | GF |[[Tom Hargreaves]]| 67 – 110 |Chris Wills| Richard Digance|Damian Eadie|129}} |
− | {{ep | 3391 | | + | {{ep | 3391 | 7/01/2003 | CP |Chris Wills| 113 – 111 |[[David Williams (Series 43)|David Williams]]|[[Martin Jarvis]]|Susie Dent|131}} |
− | {{ep | 3398 | 16/01/2003 | CQF | Chris Wills | 98 – 69 | [[Loz Sands]] | Tim Rice | Susie Dent }} | + | {{ep | 3398 | 16/01/2003 | CQF |Chris Wills| 98 – 69 |[[Loz Sands]]|Tim Rice|Susie Dent|132}} |
− | {{ep | 3402 | 22/01/2003 | CSF | Chris Wills | 120 – 88 | [[John Rawnsley]] | [[Eric Knowles]] | Susie Dent }} | + | {{ep | 3402 | 22/01/2003 | CSF |Chris Wills| 120 – 88 |[[John Rawnsley]]|[[Eric Knowles]]|Susie Dent|132}} |
− | {{ep | 3404 | 24/01/2003 | CGF | Chris Wills | 73 – 79 | [[Graham Nash]] | Eric Knowles | Susie Dent }} | + | {{ep | 3404 | 24/01/2003 | CGF |Chris Wills| 73 – 79 |[[Graham Nash]]|Eric Knowles|Susie Dent|106}} |
− | {{ep | S12 | + | {{ep | S12 | 12/09/2003 | S |[[Julian Fell]]| 100 – 92 |Chris Wills|[[Bob Bevan]]|[[Alison Heard]]|123}} |
− | {{ep | 4473 | 2/11/2007 | + | {{ep | 4473 | 2/11/2007 | S |Chris Wills| 58 – 69 |[[Conor Travers]]|none|Alison Heard|110}} |
+ | {{ep | 5627 | 23/01/2013 | 30B1 |[[Martin Bishop]]| 99 - 102 |Chris Wills|[[Margaret Mountford]]|Susie Dent|124}} | ||
+ | {{ep | 5643 | 14/02/2013 | 30B2 |Chris Wills| 70 - 115 |[[Jack Hurst]]|[[Ken Bruce]]|Susie Dent|119}} | ||
{{episode table end}} | {{episode table end}} | ||
− | ==See | + | ==See Also== |
+ | {{WP}} | ||
+ | * His own record of [http://www.thecountdownpage.com/exp-chris-wills-1.htm his ''Countdown'' experience], on [[The Countdown Page]]. | ||
+ | * [http://web.archive.org/web/20050901161110/http://members.lycos.co.uk/crispeater/ Archive version of his ''Countdown'' website] | ||
− | {{ | + | {{CofC Runnerup}} |
− | [[Category:Series winners | + | {{DEFAULTSORT:Wills, Chris}} |
− | [[Category:Octochamps of the 15 round era | + | [[Category:Finalists]] |
− | [[Category:Contestants in Series 47 | + | [[Category:Series winners]] |
− | [[ | + | [[Category:Octochamps of the 15 round era]] |
− | [[Category:Teapot owners | + | [[Category:Contestants in Series 47]] |
+ | [[Category:Contestants in the 30th Birthday Championship]] | ||
+ | [[Category:Contestants in Championship of Champions XI]] | ||
+ | [[Category:Teapot owners]] | ||
+ | [[Category:Contestants on other game shows]] | ||
+ | [[Category:Tournament winners]] |
Latest revision as of 01:18, 23 January 2023
Chris Wills octochamp statistics | |
---|---|
Final position | Champion |
Seeding | 1 |
Points total | 875 |
Conundrums solved | 7 |
Chris Wills was an octochamp in and the champion of Series 47, runner-up of Championship of Champions XI and a participant in the 30th Birthday Championship.
Contents
Appearances on the programme
Heat games
He began his rise to fame in Series 47, debuting on the 14 January 2002. He won his first seven games with centuries (including a 120 – 107 thriller against Terry Rattle) but won his last game with 92, missing out on the opportunity to be the first all-centuries octochamp. His total of 875 points was the twelfth highest of the old 15 round format. He also became the first player to score over 125 points during his game with April Carlin.
In the middle of his run was a classic game against Terry Rattle. Wills was leading 100 – 79 going into the last letters game, where Chris played REACHING to Rattle's CHAGRINED, which Rattle declared as "very dodgy". Dictionary Corner okayed the word and after both players scored 10 points in the final numbers game, it was a crucial conundrum 110 – 107 in Wills' favour. The conundrum LINGOFLOW revealed itself and Wills buzzed in with FOLLOWING before the first second had elapsed. Wills was therefore the highest-scoring octochamp to have had a crucial conundrum game during their run until surpassed by Mark Murray in Series 70. Rattle's 107 was the highest losing score in the 15-round era until David Williams scored 111, also against Chris Wills.
Series finals
Having totted up a record 875 points, he returned for the series finals as No. 1 seed, beating first Brenda Jolley in the quarter-finals 110 – 86 and then Rupert Stokoe in the semi-finals 118 – 78. In the final he faced the excellent Tom Hargreaves, and beat him comfortably to take the series.
Championship of Champions XI
He returned for Championship of Champions XI at the beginning of 2003, and was drawn against the masterful David Williams, holder of the 9-round octochamp record. The game was a classic, with Wills emerging victorious with 113 to Williams' 111. In the quarter-finals, he faced the popular Loz Sands, and won comfortably but without a century. A semi-final score of 120 against John Rawnsley saw him comfortable into the final, where he was strong favourite to beat Graham Nash. The match was not as explosive as hoped, and the crucial conundrum was revealed with the scores at 79 – 73 in Nash's favour. Neither player could solve OVERSPADE, so Nash took the CoC trophy and Wills was beaten at last.
Special Episodes
Many fans had expected Wills to face Julian Fell in the CoC final, but Fell had been knocked out early on by Nash. To appease fans, a special "Fell vs Wills" episode was filmed in March 2003 and broadcast on 12 September 2003. Wills was beaten again; this time, Fell was forced to come from behind, but solved the tricky conundrum VICTORIUS in just a few seconds to take the game.
Wills returned for a second special episode on 2 November 2007 for Countdown's 25th anniversary special against Conor Travers, playing a to slightly shorter round format with celebrities selecting the letters and numbers, but lost the game 69 – 58.
30th Birthday Championship
He returned to Countdown in 2013, as one of 41 contestants taking part in the 30th Birthday Championship. After receiving a bye to the first round, he won his first match against Series 59 semi-finalist Martin Bishop by a score of 102 – 99, despite behind for the majority of the game. He then met his match in round 2, losing to the still unbeaten Series 63 champion Jack Hurst by a score of 115 – 70.
In his 19 game Countdown career, including the 25th anniversary special, he scored 1,939 points. 1,881 not including the aforementioned game — an average of 104.5 points per game.
Co-events
Wills has been a regular at unofficial Countdown tournaments, winning COBRIS in 2006 and 2007. He also attended COLIN events in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, winning the first three of those too. He is consistently rated as one of the top players, and is one of the few players ever to be rated over 1000.
Appearances on quiz shows
Wills has also appeared on Fifteen to One, The Weakest Link (which he won), BrainTeaser (which he also won, but failed to take any prize money), Mastermind, 1 vs 100, A Question of Genius (on which he won £5,000 with his knowledge of The Smiths), Pointless and PopMaster.
He currently works at the University of Leeds, in the Department of Health Studies.
Preceded by Ben Wilson |
Series winner Series 47 |
Followed by Julian Fell |
Preceded by Kate Ogilvie |
Champion of Champions runner-up Championship of Champions XI |
Followed by Mark Tournoff |
Episodes
# | Date | Type | Contestant 1 | Score | Contestant 2 | Presenters | Guest | Lex | Max | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3166 | 14/01/2002 | P | Jeremy Slaney | 66 – 107 | Chris Wills | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Kathryn Apanowicz | Susie Dent | 153 | ||
3167 | 15/01/2002 | P | Chris Wills | 118 – 44 | Floraidh Campbell | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Kathryn Apanowicz | Susie Dent | 127 | ||
3168 | 16/01/2002 | P | Chris Wills | 103 – 68 | Jeff Baines | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Kathryn Apanowicz | Susie Dent | 123 | ||
3169 | 17/01/2002 | P | Chris Wills | 129 – 77 | April Carlin | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Kathryn Apanowicz | Susie Dent | 131 | ||
3170 | 18/01/2002 | P | Chris Wills | 103 – 47 | David Shaw | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Kathryn Apanowicz | Susie Dent | 120 | ||
3171 | 21/01/2002 | P | Chris Wills | 120 – 107 | Terry Rattle | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Tim Rice | Susie Dent | 152 | ||
3172 | 22/01/2002 | P | Chris Wills | 103 – 48 | Len Barker | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Tim Rice | Susie Dent | 139 | ||
3173 | 23/01/2002 | P | Chris Wills | 92 – 52 | Agnes Budis | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Tim Rice | Susie Dent | 140 | ||
3273 | 20/06/2002 | QF | Chris Wills | 110 – 86 | Brenda Jolley | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Geoffrey Durham | Susie Dent | 120 | ||
3277 | 26/06/2002 | SF | Rupert Stokoe | 78 – 118 | Chris Wills | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Richard Digance | Damian Eadie | 130 | ||
3279 | 28/06/2002 | GF | Tom Hargreaves | 67 – 110 | Chris Wills | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Richard Digance | Damian Eadie | 129 | ||
3391 | 7/01/2003 | CP | Chris Wills | 113 – 111 | David Williams | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Martin Jarvis | Susie Dent | 131 | ||
3398 | 16/01/2003 | CQF | Chris Wills | 98 – 69 | Loz Sands | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Tim Rice | Susie Dent | 132 | ||
3402 | 22/01/2003 | CSF | Chris Wills | 120 – 88 | John Rawnsley | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Eric Knowles | Susie Dent | 132 | ||
3404 | 24/01/2003 | CGF | Chris Wills | 73 – 79 | Graham Nash | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Eric Knowles | Susie Dent | 106 | ||
S12 | 12/09/2003 | S | Julian Fell | 100 – 92 | Chris Wills | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Bob Bevan | Alison Heard | 123 | ||
4473 | 2/11/2007 | S | Chris Wills | 58 – 69 | Conor Travers | Des O'Connor | Carol Vorderman | none | Alison Heard | 110 | ||
5627 | 23/01/2013 | 30B1 | Martin Bishop | 99 – 102 | Chris Wills | Nick Hewer | Rachel Riley | Margaret Mountford | Susie Dent | 124 | ||
5643 | 14/02/2013 | 30B2 | Chris Wills | 70 – 115 | Jack Hurst | Nick Hewer | Rachel Riley | Ken Bruce | Susie Dent | 119 |
See Also
- Chris Wills on Wikipedia.
- His own record of his Countdown experience, on The Countdown Page.
- Archive version of his Countdown website
Championship of Champions Runners-Up | |
---|---|
I : Joyce Cansfield | II : Peter Evans | III : David Trace | IV : Tony Vick | V : Gino Corr | VI : Chris Waddington | VII : Damian Eadie | VIII : Kenneth Michie | IX : Pete Cashmore | X : Kate Ogilvie | XI : Chris Wills | XII : Mark Tournoff | XIII : Charlie Reams | XIV : Dan McColm | XV : Bradley Horrocks | XVI : James Haughton |