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Draw
A draw is a game where both players have the same score at the end of the show. In modern 15-round Countdown there is no such thing as a draw; instead, extra conundrums are used until one player wins the game. Up until the end of Series 21, if two players drew they played each other again the next day, which causes numerous problems with the recording schedule, not just for the production team but for contestants who may have to go back home and come back up to the studios for another recording session. Additional conundrums were used to decide winners in the series finals and Championship of Champions events.
Facts and figures
- The first draw ever was between Michael Goldman and Bill Benson in Episode 3, during the first week of the show's history.
- The last draw in normal Countdown was between Lew Schwarz and Nuala Clenaghan. Schwarz went on to become an octochamp with two draws, which gave him a total of 547 points - which is technically the highest total score for an octochamp, although of course David Williams got his 535 points in 8 games, not in 10. Schwarz is the only player to play in two drawn games.
- The lowest scoring draw in normal Countdown was 35-all, done three times - episodes 297, 311 and 1088.
- Jonathan Anstey and Sue Hall manufactured the highest scoring draw - 61 points in each in Episode 888, Series 18. 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Series 9, Episode 3 saw a 25-all draw.
List of draws
There were 31 draws in Countdown history. Below is a list of all of them in chronological order.