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Difference between revisions of "Ben Hocking"

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'''Ben Hocking''' was a [[contestant]] in [[Series 72]] and [[Series 92|92]] from Cornwall. As of his first appearance, he was an undergraduate Business Management student at {{w|Bath Spa University}} and administrative assistant at the {{w|Eden Project}}.  
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{{octostats|TBC|TBC|862|5}}
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'''Ben Hocking''' was a [[contestant]] in [[Series 72]], and an [[octochamp]] in [[Series 92]] from Cornwall. As of his first appearance, he was an undergraduate Business Management student at {{w|Bath Spa University}} and administrative assistant at the {{w|Eden Project}}.  
  
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As of his second set of games, Hocking ran and hosted his own {{w|Formula 1}} podcast, ''Late Braking'', and also worked as a client success manager until mid-2024 before fully committing his time to ''Late Braking''.  
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As of his second set of games, Hocking ran and hosted his own {{w|Formula 1}} podcast, ''Late Braking'', and also worked as a client success manager until mid-2024 before fully committing his time to ''Late Braking''. He will almost certainly be back for the end-of-series finals in December.  
  
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Hocking is also an [[Apterous|Apterite]], and made an appearance on [[ZoomDown Series 4]] in late 2021 betweeen his appearances on the show. He was also the first [[returning contestants|returning contestant]] from 2015.
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Hocking is also an [[Apterous|Apterite]], and made an appearance on [[ZoomDown Series 4]] in late 2021 between his appearances on the show. He was also the first [[returning contestants|returning contestant]] from 2015.
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==Appearances==
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===[[Series 72]]===
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Brett made his debut in 2015, where despite spotting {{word|REACTIONS}} for a nine, he fell short against incumbent champion [[Neil Stephenson]], who would notably go on to lose to the series runner-up [[Tracey Mills]].
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===[[Series 92]]===
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However, just over 10-and-a-half years later, Hocking came back for another go, and kicked off with a very impressive 13-max [[rounds]] victory against [[Abby Scott]]. He followed that up with seven further triumphs, with six additional [[century|centuries]] among them. His fourth game saw the only nine-letter-word spot in his heats of {{word|DOMINATES}}, but it is worth noting that he only had two others available; those being the rather obscure {{word|PRECISIAN}} and {{word|TELOPHASE}} respectively. In keeping with [[John Payne]] and [[Brett Davids]]'s runs, he also had to dispatch some difficult opponents through his heats, but avoided a crucial [[conundrum]] in every instance.
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After getting past [[Steve Thurlow]] in his last preliminary with a seventh [[century]] to his name, Hocking joined the [[800 club]] with a final octotal of 862 and settled in as the provisional No. 2 seed for the finals, but with nearly four months of shows to still be broadcast. As a final nod to his achievements, he was christened the "'''Trick-or-Treat'''" by [[Colin Murray|Colin]] and [[Rachel Riley|Rachel]]; his run made all the more impressive given that he only had 999 points available to him at all, which to note is an unusually small total in the [[15-round format]].  
  
 
==Episodes==
 
==Episodes==
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{{ep | 8591 | 27/08/2025 | P |Ben Hocking|111 – 83|[[Malcolm Major]]|Pat Nevin|Susie Dent|120}}
 
{{ep | 8591 | 27/08/2025 | P |Ben Hocking|111 – 83|[[Malcolm Major]]|Pat Nevin|Susie Dent|120}}
 
{{ep | 8592 | 28/08/2025 | P |Ben Hocking|114 – 33|[[Paul Kramer]]|Pat Nevin|Susie Dent|133}}
 
{{ep | 8592 | 28/08/2025 | P |Ben Hocking|114 – 33|[[Paul Kramer]]|Pat Nevin|Susie Dent|133}}
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{{ep | 8593 | 29/08/2025 | P |Ben Hocking|103 – 47|[[Steve Thurlow]]|Pat Nevin|Susie Dent|123}}
 
{{episode table end}}
 
{{episode table end}}
  
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[[Category:Returning contestants]]
 
[[Category:Returning contestants]]
 
[[Category:Teapot owners]]
 
[[Category:Teapot owners]]
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[[Category:Octochamps of the 15 round era]]

Revision as of 14:25, 29 August 2025

Ben Hocking
octochamp statistics
Final position TBC
Seeding TBC
Points total 862
Conundrums solved 5

Ben Hocking was a contestant in Series 72, and an octochamp in Series 92 from Cornwall. As of his first appearance, he was an undergraduate Business Management student at Bath Spa University and administrative assistant at the Eden Project.

As of his second set of games, Hocking ran and hosted his own Formula 1 podcast, Late Braking, and also worked as a client success manager until mid-2024 before fully committing his time to Late Braking. He will almost certainly be back for the end-of-series finals in December.

Hocking is also an Apterite, and made an appearance on ZoomDown Series 4 in late 2021 between his appearances on the show. He was also the first returning contestant from 2015.

Appearances

Series 72

Brett made his debut in 2015, where despite spotting REACTIONS for a nine, he fell short against incumbent champion Neil Stephenson, who would notably go on to lose to the series runner-up Tracey Mills.

Series 92

However, just over 10-and-a-half years later, Hocking came back for another go, and kicked off with a very impressive 13-max rounds victory against Abby Scott. He followed that up with seven further triumphs, with six additional centuries among them. His fourth game saw the only nine-letter-word spot in his heats of DOMINATES, but it is worth noting that he only had two others available; those being the rather obscure PRECISIAN and TELOPHASE respectively. In keeping with John Payne and Brett Davids's runs, he also had to dispatch some difficult opponents through his heats, but avoided a crucial conundrum in every instance.

After getting past Steve Thurlow in his last preliminary with a seventh century to his name, Hocking joined the 800 club with a final octotal of 862 and settled in as the provisional No. 2 seed for the finals, but with nearly four months of shows to still be broadcast. As a final nod to his achievements, he was christened the "Trick-or-Treat" by Colin and Rachel; his run made all the more impressive given that he only had 999 points available to him at all, which to note is an unusually small total in the 15-round format.

Episodes

# Date Type Contestant 1 Score Contestant 2 Presenters Guest Lex Max
6068 20/01/2015 P Neil Stephenson 107 – 74 Ben Hocking Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Tim Wonnacott Susie Dent 123
8586 20/08/2025 P Abby Scott 68 – 114 Ben Hocking Colin Murray Rachel Riley Russell Watson Susie Dent 116
8587 21/08/2025 P Ben Hocking 97 – 74 Colin Jones Colin Murray Rachel Riley Russell Watson Susie Dent 131
8588 22/08/2025 P Ben Hocking 110 – 60 Becky Kitchen Colin Murray Rachel Riley Russell Watson Susie Dent 124
8589 25/08/2025 P Ben Hocking 113 – 97 Peter Jones Colin Murray Rachel Riley Pat Nevin Susie Dent 133
8590 26/08/2025 P Ben Hocking 100 – 74 Charlotte Langham Colin Murray Rachel Riley Pat Nevin Susie Dent 119
8591 27/08/2025 P Ben Hocking 111 – 83 Malcolm Major Colin Murray Rachel Riley Pat Nevin Susie Dent 120
8592 28/08/2025 P Ben Hocking 114 – 33 Paul Kramer Colin Murray Rachel Riley Pat Nevin Susie Dent 133
8593 29/08/2025 P Ben Hocking 103 – 47 Steve Thurlow Colin Murray Rachel Riley Pat Nevin Susie Dent 123
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