30th Birthday Championship

The 30th Birthday Championship is separate to Series 68.

30th Birthday Championship
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The 30th Birthday Championship group photo, taken after Conor Travers defeated Jack Hurst in the grand final.
The "kryptonite", which every participant received.
The new CECIL, which debuted on 21 January 2013, following the show's move to the dock10 Studios.
Series information
First episode	7 January 2013
Last episode	1 March 2013
Highest score	146 (Conor Travers)
Number of contestants	41
Number of episodes	40
Results
Winner	Conor Travers
Runner-up	Jack Hurst

The 30th Birthday Championship was a mini-series broadcast between 7 January and 1 March 2013, held to celebrate Countdown being broadcast on British television for 30 years. The championship was designed to crown the greatest contestant over the first 30 years of the programme, and was won by Series 54 winner Conor Travers.

Series producer Damian Eadie posted details of the tournament on the c4countdown forum in September 2012, and over 200 former contestants expressed their interest in participating. This was whittled down to just 41, spanning 63 of Countdown's 67 series and including 15 series champions. Contestants from Series 60 through 66 were especially emphasised within the lineup, occupying nearly 40% of the seats, due to the regular Championship of Champions tournaments to which they would normally be invited having been on hiatus at the time. The success of the 30th Birthday event is thought to have contributed to the eventual revival of CoC events.

The mini-series lasted for eight weeks on screen and consisted of 40 episodes, the first nine of which were preliminary games followed by a 32-way knock-out tournament. Production moved to a studio at MediaCityUK in Salford, Countdown's third permanent home in the show’s history, midway through the series. The first episode to be filmed there, which also featured new scoreboards and target generator, aired on 21 January 2013.

The series consisted mainly of close, high-scoring and record-breaking games. Notable moments in the first round proper included Series 60 champion Kirk Bevins scoring 130 points out of a possible 130, the second 15 round perfect game in the history of Countdown, and Series 63 champion Jack Hurst missing out on beating the show's highest ever score of 146, after the invalid declaration spousing ☓ gave him a total of 143. Round 2 included another perfect game as Series 54 champion Conor Travers beat Chris Hawkins with 119 points out of 119. The second round also featured two consecutive tie-breaker conundrums – David O'Donnell unscrambled BAGOGLORY to defeat Chris Davies, and Kirk Bevins solved BARRYDICK to claim victory over Innis Carson. The quarter-finals saw Jonathan Rawlinson and Jack Hurst progress, and contained two more perfect games – Conor Travers achieved a second on the bounce, and Jon O'Neill amassed a perfect 122, the highest score ever achieved on Countdown with no nine-letter words.

In the first semi-final, both Rawlinson and Hurst started with the nine-letter word CATENOIDS. Their scores remained level until round 11, when an invalid declaration gave Rawlinson a six point lead. However, this proved insufficient when Hurst unravelled the conundrum TURNMOIST to reach the final. The second semi-final featured O'Neill and Travers, the men who had achieved perfect games in their quarter-final matches. Their form continued and between them they gained maximum points with 28 of their 29 declarations, and Travers won with his third consecutive perfect game. Early in the ultimate final, Travers gained an 18 point lead after Hurst missed the nine PONYTAILS. This was immediately followed by two further nines, the first known "ambulance" (9-9-9) in the history of televised Countdown. Travers was able to extend his lead in the last letters round by spotting POMADES to win the final match with a score of a hefty 146 points, equalling the highest ever score set by Julian Fell at the time. Travers' prize - a trophy which host Nick Hewer referred to as a "priceless piece of kryptonite" - was presented by Marcel Stellman, who originally brought the Countdown format to Britain. All participants received a smaller version of the trophy for participating, and those who appeared on the show before 1999 received the teapot.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the series was repeated from 4 May to 26 June 2020. However, one participant in the series, Chris Hawkins, put in a request not to show his two episodes.

Participants

The participants, listed by the series with which they are most commonly associated, are:

• Series 4: Christine Hunt
• Series 6: Darryl Francis
• Series 8: Sandie Simonis
• Series 13: Mike Whiteoak
• Series 21: Barry Grossman, Jackie McLeod
• Series 22: David Webb
• Series 28: Wayne Kelly, Chris Hawkins, Nick Deller
• Series 38: John Ashmore, Jill Bright
• Series 43: David Williams

• Series 44: Dave Hoskisson
• Series 46: Ben Wilson
• Series 47: Chris Wills, Tom Hargreaves
• Series 52: Mark Tournoff
• Series 53: Jon O'Neill
• Series 54: Conor Travers
• Series 55: Steven Briers
• Series 56: Nick Wainwright
• Series 58: David O'Donnell

• Series 59: Martin Bishop, Kai Laddiman
• Series 60: Kirk Bevins, Neil Zussman
• Series 61: Chris Davies, Andrew Hulme, Innis Carson
• Series 62: Nicki Sellars
• Series 63: Jack Hurst, Tom Rowell
• Series 64: Ed McCullagh, Adam Gillard
• Series 65: Graeme Cole, Mark Deeks, Paul Keane
• Series 66: Jack Worsley, Jonathan Rawlinson, Peter Lee

Series champions are displayed in bold.

Progress (Round 1 and beyond only)

Peter Lee (66) vs Tom Rowell (63)	Tom Rowell vs Jonathan Rawlinson	Jonathan Rawlinson vs Neil Zussman	Jonathan Rawlinson vs Jack Hurst	Jack Hurst vs Conor Travers
Andrew Hulme (61) vs Jonathan Rawlinson (66)
Paul Keane (65) vs Neil Zussman (60)	Neil Zussman vs Dave Hoskisson
Dave Hoskisson (44) vs Mike Whiteoak (13)
Martin Bishop (59) vs Chris Wills (47)	Chris Wills vs Jack Hurst	Jack Hurst vs David O'Donnell
Wayne Kelly (28) vs Jack Hurst (63)
David O'Donnell (58) vs Tom Hargreaves (47)	David O'Donnell vs Chris Davies
David Williams (43) vs Chris Davies (61)
Kai Laddiman (59) vs Jon O'Neill (53)	Jon O'Neill vs Darryl Francis	Jon O'Neill vs Jack Worsley	Jon O'Neill vs Conor Travers
Darryl Francis (6) vs Barry Grossman (21)
Christine Hunt (4) vs Sandie Simonis (8)	Christine Hunt vs Jack Worsley
Graeme Cole (65) vs Jack Worsley (66)
Chris Hawkins (28) vs Jill Bright (38)	Chris Hawkins vs Conor Travers	Conor Travers vs Kirk Bevins
Conor Travers (54) vs Mark Tournoff (52)
Innis Carson (61) vs Adam Gillard (64)	Innis Carson vs Kirk Bevins
John Ashmore (38) vs Kirk Bevins (60)

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
Preliminary round
5615	07/01/2013	30BP	Tom Hargreaves	117 – 57	Nicki Sellars	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Dave Myers	Susie Dent	131
5616	08/01/2013	30BP	Wayne Kelly	105 – 68	Nick Wainwright	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Dave Myers	Susie Dent	120
5617	09/01/2013	30BP	Mark Deeks	103 – 108	Jack Hurst	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Dave Myers	Susie Dent	120
5618	10/01/2013	30BP	Ben Wilson	91 – 117	Conor Travers	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Dave Myers	Susie Dent	126
5619	11/01/2013	30BP	Mark Tournoff	101 – 100	Nick Deller	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Dave Myers	Susie Dent	119
5620	14/01/2013	30BP	Darryl Francis	86 – 68	David Webb	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Martin Lewis	Susie Dent	119
5621	15/01/2013	30BP	Jackie McLeod	65 – 79	Barry Grossman	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Martin Lewis	Susie Dent	119
5622	16/01/2013	30BP	Andrew Hulme	113 – 74	Steven Briers	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Martin Lewis	Susie Dent	127
5623	17/01/2013	30BP	Ed McCullagh	94 – 104*	Jonathan Rawlinson	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Martin Lewis	Susie Dent	117
Round 1
5624	18/01/2013	30B1	Peter Lee	84 – 92	Tom Rowell	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Martin Lewis	Susie Dent	131
5625	21/01/2013	30B1	Kai Laddiman	76 – 101	Jon O'Neill	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Margaret Mountford	Susie Dent	132
5626	22/01/2013	30B1	Chris Hawkins	95 – 51	Jill Bright	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Margaret Mountford	Susie Dent	123
5627	23/01/2013	30B1	Martin Bishop	99 – 102	Chris Wills	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Margaret Mountford	Susie Dent	124
5628	24/01/2013	30B1	David Williams	58 – 108	Chris Davies	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Margaret Mountford	Susie Dent	119
5629	25/01/2013	30B1	Innis Carson	116 – 91	Adam Gillard	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Margaret Mountford	Susie Dent	137
5630	28/01/2013	30B1	Christine Hunt	88* – 78	Sandie Simonis	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Mark Foster	Susie Dent	134
5631	29/01/2013	30B1	Paul Keane	81 – 99	Neil Zussman	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Mark Foster	Susie Dent	131
5632	30/01/2013	30B1	Dave Hoskisson	85 – 81	Mike Whiteoak	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Mark Foster	Susie Dent	125
5633	31/01/2013	30B1	Graeme Cole	98 – 104	Jack Worsley	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Mark Foster	Susie Dent	118
5634	01/02/2013	30B1	John Ashmore	92 – 130	Kirk Bevins	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Mark Foster	Susie Dent	130
5635	04/02/2013	30B1	David O'Donnell	111 – 86	Tom Hargreaves	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Kate Adie	Susie Dent	128
5636	05/02/2013	30B1	Wayne Kelly	89 – 143	Jack Hurst	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Kate Adie	Susie Dent	152
5637	06/02/2013	30B1	Conor Travers	112 – 62	Mark Tournoff	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Kate Adie	Susie Dent	119
5638	07/02/2013	30B1	Darryl Francis	82 – 63	Barry Grossman	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Kate Adie	Susie Dent	118
5639	08/02/2013	30B1	Andrew Hulme	91 – 98	Jonathan Rawlinson	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Kate Adie	Susie Dent	115
Round 2
5640	11/02/2013	30B2	Tom Rowell	65 – 94	Jonathan Rawlinson	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Ken Bruce	Susie Dent	128
5641	12/02/2013	30B2	Jon O'Neill	122 – 91	Darryl Francis	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Ken Bruce	Susie Dent	130
5642	13/02/2013	30B2	Chris Hawkins	85 – 119	Conor Travers	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Ken Bruce	Susie Dent	119
5643	14/02/2013	30B2	Chris Wills	70 – 115	Jack Hurst	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Ken Bruce	Susie Dent	119
5644	15/02/2013	30B2	Chris Davies	117 – 127*	David O'Donnell	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Ken Bruce	Susie Dent	140
5645	18/02/2013	30B2	Innis Carson	102 – 112*	Kirk Bevins	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Dr Phil Hammond	Susie Dent	120
5646	19/02/2013	30B2	Christine Hunt	67 – 115	Jack Worsley	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Dr Phil Hammond	Susie Dent	117
5647	20/02/2013	30B2	Dave Hoskisson	75 – 90	Neil Zussman	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Dr Phil Hammond	Susie Dent	117
Quarter-finals
5648	21/02/2013	30BQF	Jonathan Rawlinson	118 – 53	Neil Zussman	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Dr Phil Hammond	Susie Dent	119
5649	22/02/2013	30BQF	Jon O'Neill	122 – 104	Jack Worsley	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Dr Phil Hammond	Susie Dent	122
5650	25/02/2013	30BQF	Conor Travers	119 – 94	Kirk Bevins	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Jenny Eclair	Susie Dent	119
5651	26/02/2013	30BQF	Jack Hurst	115 – 97	David O'Donnell	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Jenny Eclair	Susie Dent	122
Semi-finals
5652	27/02/2013	30BSF	Jonathan Rawlinson	105 – 116	Jack Hurst	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Jenny Eclair	Susie Dent	126
5653	28/02/2013	30BSF	Jon O'Neill	102 – 120	Conor Travers	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Jenny Eclair	Susie Dent	120
Grand final
5654	01/03/2013	30BGF	Jack Hurst	111 – 146	Conor Travers	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Jenny Eclair	Susie Dent	149

* Includes 10 points from a tiebreak conundrum

External links

• 30th Birthday Championship on The Countdown Database.