Joe Dobinson

Joe Dobinson octochamp statistics
Final position	Semi-finalist
Seeding	5
Points total	794
Conundrums solved	6

Joe Dobinson in Series 86.

Joe Dobinson was an octochamp and semi-finalist in Series 86. He was a Spanish and linguistics student at the University of Southampton but is originally from Southend-on-Sea, Essex. He is also an Apterite.

Making his debut on 9 November 2022 with a solid score of 93, Dobinson won a further seven games to become the sixth octochamp of Series 86, and the second of the series whose run has spanned two presenters. He achieved a provisional personal best of 116 in his second game, and solved six conundrums; three of which were crucial.

In his eighth game, he notably risked MARBLEISE in the final letters game for the sole nine of his heats, wrapping up with a total of 794 points (the same as Paul James in Series 67, Laurence Killen in Series 71 and Maggie Barlow in Series 80).

Dobinson returned for the series finals in December 2022, placing as the fifth seed. He played his quarter-final match on 20 December 2022 against number four seed Alan Young. Young took an early lead after the first numbers game, with Dobinson staying close behind by two points. However, crucially, Dobinson later found LANGOUSTE for nine, taking a 16-point lead to the conundrum, which was left unsolved and meant Dobinson advanced to a semi-final the next day against Tom Stevenson. This also made Dobinson the first semi-finalist outside the top four seeds since Tony Manwani and Alan Duval both made it in Series 79.

In the semi-final, both players started by matching each other early on. But Stevenson broke away with spots like LEGGIER in Round 5 and IMPASTO in Round 7, along with a successful six-small numbers selection to establish a 24-point lead. Joe and Tom then maxed out Rounds 10 to 14, which included them both spotting the 9 letter word WINTEROUS, before Tom maintained his scoring record by solving his tenth conundrum on the bounce to qualify for the final with 129 points. This meant Dobinson suffered his only defeat, bowing out with a very respectable score of 95 points, the highest losing score of any of Stevenson's opponents in Series 86, and an overall total of 988 points across his run.

Episodes

#	Date	Type	Contestant 1	Score	Contestant 2	Presenters				Guest	Lex	Max
7889	09/11/2022	P	Samantha Baker	88 – 93	Joe Dobinson	Richard Coles	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Dan Walker	Susie Dent	125
7890	10/11/2022	P	Joe Dobinson	116 – 23	Richard Waldron	Richard Coles	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Dan Walker	Susie Dent	133
7891	11/11/2022	P	Joe Dobinson	107 – 80	Adam Fleetwood	Richard Coles	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Dan Walker	Susie Dent	122
7892	14/11/2022	P	Joe Dobinson	99 – 82	Neil McCall	Trevor McDonald	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Bobby Seagull	Susie Dent	135
7893	15/11/2022	P	Joe Dobinson	81 – 63	Rahul Leal	Trevor McDonald	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Bobby Seagull	Susie Dent	128
7894	16/11/2022	P	Joe Dobinson	95 – 62	Andy Alden	Trevor McDonald	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Bobby Seagull	Susie Dent	134
7895	17/11/2022	P	Joe Dobinson	88 – 70	Michael Nicholson	Trevor McDonald	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Bobby Seagull	Susie Dent	126
7896	18/11/2022	P	Joe Dobinson	115 – 46	Sunita Lakhanpaul	Trevor McDonald	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Bobby Seagull	Susie Dent	140
7918	20/12/2022	QF	Alan Young	83 – 99	Joe Dobinson	Colin Murray	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Neil Delamere	Susie Dent	151
7919	21/12/2022	SF	Tom Stevenson	129 – 95	Joe Dobinson	Colin Murray	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Neil Delamere	Susie Dent	135