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2023 FOCAL season

From Countdown

The 2023 FOCAL season is the sixth and most recently completed season of FOCAL tournaments. It was the first standalone season since 2019, as the previous three were amalgamated due to the COVID-19 pandemic preventing many events in 2020 and 2021 from going ahead.

As per tradition, the season commenced at the end of January with the Lincoln event — the eighteenth annually, titled COLIN XVIII — and its ‘hangover’ counterpart the following day. For the second year running, the February event took place in Manchester, wherein the grand final was a rematch from the previous year. The fourth, held in March, saw the town of Rugby make its debut on the co-event scene. April had a double-header of events, both occurring on the same day: Leeds — which represented the inaugural Goatdown tournament — and Monasteraden, Ireland. The season's southernmost event was held in Brighton on 13 May, with Series 84 and Championship of Champions XVI winner Ahmed Mohamed taking the crown. June's Irish double-header saw events take place in Dublin and Waterford, meaning the 2023 season has been the first in which three tournaments have been held in the Republic of Ireland. July's medieval festivities took place at Newcastle Castle in Newcastle upon Tyne, where the two finalists from the Dublin event battled it out once more. The first weekend of August saw a double-header of events held in Birmingham, with a two-round Goatdown tournament on the Friday evening and a four-game standard tournament the following day. London returned to the scene for the August bank holiday weekend, representing the third tournament of the month, this time in the North London suburb of Southgate. Blackpool returned as the September event on the calendar for the third consecutive year, and Edinburgh once again occupied the October spot. The final qualifying tournament of the season took place in Braintree in early November, which comprised a rotation of 14-round games of Countdown and "The Big Weekend Quiz", although it was only the Countdown matches that counted towards the FOCAL points received. The season finals returned to Milton Keynes on 25 November, which were won by defending champion Jack Hurst.

Events

Round Event Location Country Date Entrants Winner
1 COLIN XVIII Lincoln England 28 January 44 Conor Travers
2 COLIN XVIII: The Hangover Lincoln 29 January 31 Tim Down
3 Co:Man 2023 Manchester 25 February 41 Jack Worsley
4 Co:Rugby Rugby 18 March 35 Rob Foster
5 Goat:Leeds Leeds 15 April 21 Rob Foster
6 Co:Mon 2023 Sligo Ireland 21 Hazel Drury
7 Co:Brighton 2023 Brighton England 13 May 30 Ahmed Mohamed
8 Co:Dublin 2023 Dublin Ireland 10 June 21 Tom Carey
9 Co:Waterford 2023 Waterford 17 June 24 Hazel Drury
10 Co:Newcastle 2023 Newcastle England 8 July 40 Tom Carey
11 Goat:Brum 2023 Birmingham 4 August 17 Zohaib Rehan
12 Co:Brum 2023 5 August 34 Jack Hurst
13 Co:London 2023 London 26 August 36 Ahmed Mohamed
14 Co:Blackpool 2023 Blackpool 16 September 33 Callum Todd
15 Co:Edinburgh 2023 Edinburgh Scotland 7 October 20 Ed McCullagh
16 Co:Braintree 2023 Braintree England 4 November 22 Jack Hurst
GF 2023 FOCAL finals Milton Keynes 25 November 8 Jack Hurst
Co:MK Open 2023 33 Ahmed Mohamed

Qualifying finalists

Following Co:Braintree 2023 — the final qualifier of the season — the standings were as follows:

Pos. Entrant LIN LHO MAN RUG LEE MON BRI DUB WAT NUT GBIR CBIR LON BLA EDI BRA {{{17}}} {{{18}}} {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} {{{22}}} {{{23}}} {{{24}}} {{{25}}} {{{26}}} {{{27}}} {{{28}}} {{{29}}} {{{30}}} Points
1 Jack Hurst 8 2 2 2 2 3 1 3 1 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 7449
2 Tom Carey 3 9 4 7 12 1 1 10 2 7 3 6 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 7140
3 Dan Byrom 20 5 10 5 9 5 2 2 5 10 9 8 5 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 6718
4 George Armstrong 6 6 10 14 3 7 6 4 14 5 6 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 6473
5 Tim Hebbes 28 10 4 5 15 17 2 7 13 6 9 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 6137
6 Adam Latchford 28 26 17 8 8 4 11 5 5 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 5596
7 Callum Todd 2 3 7 2 3 1 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 5475
8 Tom Cappleman 5 4 3 6 8 8 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 4923


Remaining entrants

Pos. Entrant LIN LHO MAN RUG LEE MON BRI DUB WAT NUT GBIR CBIR LON BLA EDI BRA {{{17}}} {{{18}}} {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} {{{22}}} {{{23}}} {{{24}}} {{{25}}} {{{26}}} {{{27}}} {{{28}}} {{{29}}} {{{30}}} Points
9 Bradley Horrocks 10 15 4 3 25 7 8 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 4779
10 Steven Grady 9 9 17 15 12 13 4 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 4707
11 Matthew S Rutherford 25 23 23 12 10 6 15 24 21 9 11 11 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 4500
12 Fiona Titcombe 22 18 21 9 11 17 10 8 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 4374
13 Phil Stanton 31 22 22 20 16 22 8 6 22 27 18 7 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 4295
14 Jonathan De Souza 7 4 4 4 7 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 4174
15 Darren Godfrey 13 31 19 16 23 11 15 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 3249
16 Stephen Read 8 14 8 3 22 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 3244
17 Stewart Gordon 16 21 19 29 20 6 17 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 3081
18 James Robinson 8 13 4 2 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 2982
19 Coral Heath 35 19 18 20 14 20 26 16 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 2865
20 Rob Foster 3 1 1 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 2856
21 Jack Worsley 1 3 2 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 2781
22 Alan O'Sullivan 21 2 11 4 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 2771
23 Brendan Whitehurst 16 18 19 14 9 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 2720
24 Adam Beach 33 31 25 30 19 19 16 34 26 13 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 2636
25 Richard Priest 23 13 12 7 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 2591
26 Mike Lee 21 25 11 12 18 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 2590
27 Graeme Cole 4 12 13 25 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 2441
28 Eeshan Malhotra 24 11 15 10 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 2436
29 Tracey Mills 12 14 7 24 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 2423
30 Brendan Duke 5 7 2 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 2389
31 Ruth Cappleman 15 27 23 9 12 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 2372
32 Chris Marshall 26 19 26 17 12 13 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 2349
33 Tim Down 9 1 15 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 2328
34 Dave Ryan 11 27 10 13 28 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 2222
35 Eoin Jackson 3 9 7 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 2193
36 Ashwin Abinashi 32 25 18 30 29 30 10 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 2130
37 Adam Dexter 34 16 13 12 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 2059
38 Jason Turner 27 14 27 12 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 2055
39 Gabriel Thallon 13 8 18 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 2032
40 Suzy Turner 30 17 26 5 17 32 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 1995
41 Andy Platt 15 9 6 23 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 1971
42 Ahmed Mohamed 1 1 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 1941
43 Sam Prouse 28 25 16 3 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 1931
44 Hazel Drury 1 1 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 1915
45 Joseph Bartram 30 19 24 18 17 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 1912
46 Ronan Higginson 2 4 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 1772
47 Phil Hannan 20 29 3 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 1674
48 Euan Crabb 27 21 10 22 16 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 1668
49 Stu Harkness 11 2 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 1637
50 Adrian Fletcher 29 11 13 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 1633
51 Gerry Tynan 4 5 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 1626
52 James Haughton 11 6 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 1613
53 Steve Hyde 14 18 21 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 1589
54 Tom Stevenson 6 9 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 1576
55 Roger Stevens 9 14 11 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 1542
56 David Hilton 38 17 24 30 19 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 1431
57 Jonathan Wynn 14 6 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 1386
58 Dinos Sfyris 18 7 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 1381
59 Jeff Clayton 7 15 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 1369
60 Damian McEvoy 4 16 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 1122
61 Roshin Sen 7 15 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 1030
62 Conor Travers 1 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 978
63 Gevin Chapwell 32 28 28 16 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 961
64 Ed McCullagh 1 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 952
65 Zohaib Rehan 1 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 944
66 Oliver Garner 3 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 903
67 Paul James 4 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 902
68 Jessamine O'Connor 18 8 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 897
69 Nathan Pace 31 31 12 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 887
70 Zubair Patel 5 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 881
71 Mike Springett 37 13 25 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 878
72 Samik Sen 6 20 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 857
73 Edward Byrne 19 24 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 828
74 Ellen Harrison 33 20 35 33 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 823
75 Niall Waters 5 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 783
76 Paul Drury 12 17 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 775
77 Jacob Coventry-Peters 24 23 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 758
78 Neil Collins 8 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 742
79 Sam Cappleman-Lynes 6 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 727
80 Amar Chotai 17 29 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 716
81 Matthew Tassier 11 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 703
82 George Baker 43 34 31 18 18 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 689
83 Mervyn Tong 13 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 683
84 Matt Gould 12 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 667
85 Elizabeth Beer 14 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 659
86 Mark Mills 40 30 39 20 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 657
87 George Drury 13 19 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 649
88 Sean Fletcher 22 23 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 647
89 Paul Worsley 15 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 643
90 Sean Lonergan 9 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 640
91 Ashling O'Connor 8 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 636
92 Iain Sime 23 17 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 629
93 Richard Williams 16 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 619
94 Peter Clarke 26 21 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 601
95 Brian Sullivan 10 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 600
96 Martin Thomas 14 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 600
97 Piaras Carney 10 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 571
98 Matt O'Connor 15 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 571
99 Ben Wilson 10 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 545
100 Ted Burke 10 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 545
101 Jonathan Seal 17 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 541
102 Paul Craib 33 14 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 528
103 Mark McDonnell 12 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 520
104 Matty Artell 11 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 500
105 Kathy Gardiner 11 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 500
106 Mark Ivey 28 28 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 493
107 Phil Jarvis 21 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 488
108 Steven Turnbull 19 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 486
109 Mark Tournoff 16 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 484
110 Tom Drohan 13 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 480
111 Mike Brailsford 38 21 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 477
112 Dave Cappleman 20 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 459
113 Kevin O'Sullivan 14 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 440
114 Anthony Endsor 41 28 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 422
115 Fiona Thorne 22 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 405
116 Kevin Jackson 15 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 400
117 Taz Turner 34 31 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 398
118 Noel Pereira 14 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 391
119 George Carey 12 31 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 390
120 Max Benkel 25 30 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 383
121 Andrew McNamara 26 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 366
122 Ceara McCovern 14 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 364
123 Marie McDonald 16 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 360
124 Catriona Cappleman 24 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 351
125 Jill Thwaites 15 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 348
126 Caron Warren 15 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 318
127 Liam Holton 18 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 280
128 Tasneem Rana 38 27 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 279
129 Darragh O'Brien 16 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 273
130 Jayne Wisniewski 25 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 271
121 Rosie Barrington 17 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 261
132 Karen Pearson 27 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 229
133 Aaryanna Waldron 17 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 227
134 Dave Lord 35 32 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 226
135 Paul Talmey 24 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 226
136 Tricia Lowther 32 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 220
137 Finola Jackson 20 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 200
138 James Laverty 36 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 200
139 Chloe Jones 39 29 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 196
140 Laura Jean Zito 18 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 182
141 Sally Campbell 19 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 174
142 Richard Wade 19 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 174
143 Eddie Wisniewski 29 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 171
144 Melody Coupe 34 16 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 167
145 Lynne Cumberland 31 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 162
146 Elaine McC Dunne 21 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 160
147 Daaniyal Ali 30 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 143
148 Craig Tranter 36 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 143
149 Steve Doyle 19 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 136
150 Jake Haider 32 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 135
151 Nicky Owens 39 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 133
152 John Courouble 20 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 130
153 Sam Hughes 27 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 129
154 Alan Lowther 36 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 122
155 Annette Martin 22 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 120
156 Sam Hodkin 37 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 119
157 Liz Heath 32 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 111
158 Louis Freedman 28 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 97
159 Bettina Debon 19 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 95
160 Maria Myles 20 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 91
161 Dylan Collins 21 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 87
162 Matty Deller 21 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 391
163 Alison Stevenson 33 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 83
164 Liam T. Davis 23 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 80
165 Vicci Smith 42 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 67
166 Sandie Simonis 29 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 65
167 Edward Mason 35 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 54
168 Brandin Allan 20 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 48
169 Christy Cooper 40 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 48
170 Clive Moore 21 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 45
171 Marlies van Wijk 22 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 43
172 Leeny Jackson 24 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 40
173 Alan Jones 33 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 29
174 Sheamol Obeda 34 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 28
175 Joseph Edge 35 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 28
176 Reuben Benkel 36 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 27
177 Michael Armstrong 40 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 24
178 David Atherton 41 {{{19}}} {{{20}}} {{{21}}} 24


Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Top 10 finish
Blue Other finish
White Did not participate