Championship of Champions X

Championship of Champions X
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A new opening title sequence and logo was introduced in the first game of this championship.
The finalists with the presenters and Dictionary Corner.
Richard Whiteley and Carol Vorderman close the championship by the wishing viewers "a happy millennium".
Series information
First episode	27 December 1999
Last episode	31 December 1999
Highest score (9-round games only)	72 (Scott Mearns)
Number of contestants	6
Number of episodes	5
Results
Winner	Scott Mearns
Runner-up	Kate Ogilvie

Championship of Champions X ran from 27 to 31 December 1999, and was won by Scott Mearns. This was the first to be broadcast in 16:9 aspect ratio, and the only knockout tournament that featured six finalists. With the show's commission being extended to year-round in mid-1996, this Championship of Champions tournament came nearly 500 episodes after the previous CoC grand final to make this the longest gap between tournaments until this point in terms of episodes. But it maintained the tradition of being played once every four series, which eventually became broken after the grand final.

Richard Whiteley referred the selected finalists as the Super Six – the four winners of Series 38 to 41, as well as the two highest scorers through those four series: John Ashmore from Series 38, Kate Ogilvie and Terry Knowles from Series 39, Terence English from Series 40, and Scott Mearns and Simon Cooper from Series 41. Because the tournament was considerably shorter than normal as it only lasted for five games, Ogilvie and Mearns (the only unbeaten players) were given byes into the semi-finals and the seeds were therefore in force.

In the first quarter-final between Cooper and English, English took an early lead with VIRULENT before Cooper struck back by getting seven points off a difficult numbers game. English held a steady one-point lead until Round 7 when he spotted MUTATION, stretching his lead to nine points. Both contestants failed to achieve the final numbers game, meaning the conundrum was still crucial but English unravelled FINESTYIN within two seconds to win by a bigger margin than the game might suggest. The second quarter-final was even more exciting, between Knowles and Ashmore. In Round 1, Knowles had WORSTED whilst Ashmore attempted to stick an A into Knowles' declaration but worstead ☓ got disallowed. Ashmore reduced the deficit by five points on the first numbers game, before taking the lead in Round 5 as Knowles spotted a phantom of O. The gap did not change throughout the next two letters rounds before Knowles spotted the final numbers game to hold a six-point lead, going into a crucial conundrum. Neither contestant was able to spot HARRYRIDE, leaving Knowles to advance into the semi-finals.

English played Ogilvie in the first semi-final, which was the first between two series champions in the tournament. Ogilvie pulled out an eight-point lead in Round 1, immediately countered by English in Round 2 before taking the lead in Round 3 as English spotted ACTIVE whilst Ogilvie could only find FACET. But Ogilvie hit 977 on the following numbers game whilst English could only muster 978, handing the lead back to Ogilvie. Thereafter, the game spiralled downwards for English: the gap was increased to eleven points in Round 5 and English tried a desperate gamble with lousey ☓ in Round 7, increasing the deficit to seventeen points. Both contestants spotted the following numbers game and Ogilvie also spotted the conundrum, to guarantee herself a place in the final. Mearns dominated the other semi-final, between himself and Knowles. Three eight-letter words to start with plus a perfect numbers game gave Mearns a commanding sixteen-point lead at the break. Mearns and Knowles matched each other through the second half, before Mearns spotted MERCURIAL in just under three seconds to book his place in the final. Mearns only dropped four points from a max game: he dropped one point in Round 5 and missed the last numbers game.

It was to prove coincidental that the two unbeaten series champions who received byes would play each other in the final. Mearns and Ogilvie both started the 14-round game with two sixes in the first two rounds, before Mearns spotted 548 in the first numbers game whilst Ogilvie only saw 547. Mearns then spotted TOMBOLA in Round 5, got one away on a difficult six small numbers game in Round 6 and then buzzed in at one second with the first conundrum of MUDHUTLOO before saying "it's not me, but LOUDMOUTH" to give Mearns a hefty 34-point lead at the halfway stage. Ogilvie attempted a comeback by spotting SPEAKING in Round 8 and Ogilvie's chances were increased when Mearns had distorter ☓ disallowed in the following round. With the deficit reduced to nineteen points, Mearns added another seven points onto his lead on another difficult six small numbers game before a nasty letters selection in Round 11 and a comparatively easy one in Round 12 to give Mearns an unassailable lead. The final numbers game was straightforward but neither contestant was able to unscramble the last conundrum of UGREATONE, leaving Mearns to run out the winner by 82 – 56 and perfectly wrap up the 1990s decade.

Seed table

Rank	Name	Wins	Points
1	Scott Mearns	11	718
2	Kate Ogilvie	11	613
3	Terence English	9	594
4	John Ashmore	7	476
5	Terry Knowles	9	608
6	Simon Cooper	10	676

Xicounts were given a bye, then followed the two series champions and then the two wildcards were possibly (although never confirmed) sorted by 9-round average scores: Knowles' 60.8 and Cooper's 60.3.

Progress

Kate Ogilvie (39)	Kate Ogilvie vs Terence English	Kate Ogilvie vs Scott Mearns
Simon Cooper (41) vs Terence English (40)
Terry Knowles (39) vs John Ashmore (38)	Terry Knowles vs Scott Mearns
Scott Mearns (41)

The winner of each game is displayed in bold.
The numbers refer to the series in which each contestant originally played in the finals.

Episodes

#	Date	Type	Contestant 1	Score	Contestant 2	Presenters				Guest	Lex	Max
2674	27/12/1999	CQF	Simon Cooper	39 – 58	Terence English	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Nigel Rees	Mark Nyman	83
2675	28/12/1999	CQF	Terry Knowles	43 – 37	John Ashmore	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Nigel Rees	Mark Nyman	72
2676	29/12/1999	CSF	Kate Ogilvie	57 – 30	Terence English	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Nigel Rees	Mark Nyman	85
2677	30/12/1999	CSF	Scott Mearns	72 – 46	Terry Knowles	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Nigel Rees	Mark Nyman	76
2678	31/12/1999	CGF	Scott Mearns	82 – 56	Kate Ogilvie	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Nigel Rees	Mark Nyman	128

External Links

• Championship of Champions X on The Countdown Database.
• Championship of Champions X on The Countdown Page.