Our CO:Blackpool organiser Bradley Horrocks brings us all the latest from CO:Durham
“ChatGPT, give me a terrible name for a rock band…”
It was the first weekend of July, and that could only mean one thing – it was time for Countdowners to descend (well mostly ascend, given it’s the most northerly event in England) on Durham. An impressive 31 people made the journey to the north east, including 2 newbies! Even more spectacular was the fact that one of them was a former series champion.
While some took advantage of the late start by not having to get up as obnoxiously early for their morning train, or nursing their hangovers from touring Durham’s bars the night before, Sam and I headed to the University of Durham’s stunning sports complex for a spot of parkrun. I kept Sam in my sights for the first half, and then sensed my opportunity to “leave him for dust” in the fourth kilometre. Or so I thought, because as I turned my head near the finish line, I saw and heard Sam right behind me, and had to find a final sprint out of my tired legs to stay ahead of him! I owe him my gratitude though, as that sprint got me (and Sam) a time of just under 23 minutes. Also, a shout out to Maus, who was the speediest Countdowner of the day, doing his parkrun in Newcastle.
Everyone gathered in the hall before the event, not that I can tell you much about that, as staying true to form, I was the last one to arrive again. I’m sure our wonderful host Beachy explained how the event would be 3 rounds of Lincoln format, where contestants are assigned to tables of 3, 1 hosting and 2 playing. If you like this format, you should totally come to Blackpool in September!
Some were happier with the round 1 draw than others – if Adrian had attempted to bribe Beachy for a kind draw, it hadn’t been successful. Surprisingly, no tables shared the wins evenly – Elizabeth, Stevie and Sean played out a closely fought table, and Mark flew by the seat of his pants winning his 2 matches with a combined margin of 5 points! Tas performed strongly on home turf, scoring herself a win over the ever-improving Sam.
It was soon time for lunch, which meant it was also time for a game of football, with the ball Daz kindly bought that morning. It was a cleaner contest this year – I for one wasn’t tripped up by Rachael this time around…
Round 2 brought with it some tasty encounters, and I’m not just talking about table 8 with the surnames ‘Beer’, ‘Baker’ and ‘Stock’. Dylan demonstrated why he has won all 5 of his last 5 co-events, beating Maus and MSR with healthy margins. Something was in the air on table 7, where Adam scored 76 and 82 in his games. Those two would make a good final, huh?
The third and final round had its fair share of jeopardy. More on that in a moment. Two tables, one with Dave, Stevie and Maus, and the other with Phil H, Elizabeth and Piaras, both shared their wins evenly. Ian also went out with a bang with two 70+ scores, continuing the high scoring form of his table 7 predecessor. At the top end, George and I had a brilliant start to our game, our score was 0-0 after 2 rounds! Not ideal when you need the points. I was able to get the win, as did Dylan over George, meaning the winner of me vs Dylan was guaranteed a place in the final. With Adam scoring 75 in his first game, it seemed I had to win! And although I took Dylan to a crucial, his speedy solve secured him first place on the leaderboard. Adam did his job of beating Tim with a healthy score to earn the right to challenge him.
Beachy kindly nominated me to operate the board, while Stevie and Tas sat in Dictionary Corner. The final was even all the way, both men putting in strong performances. Only two words evaded them both, GRAVITON and FEEDBAGS. It was time for me to reveal the crucial conundrum – at least it would’ve been if my dexterity wasn’t like that of an 8 year old! The gasps in the hall as the solution revealed itself were poetic, while Adam had never been so disappointed in his fellow Boltonian. HYDROROPE abandoned, time for take two, TOXICSEED. Dylan buzzed in while most of the room processed the letters – COEXISTED. And with that, he won his sixth event on the spin, and now holds a record number of FOCAL points (7535) with 6 events to spare.
The fun continued for many at Ask Italian. One particularly pleased Countdowner in presence was Jason who finished in 4th place, his highest ever finish. Meanwhile in the FOCAL standings, Dylan leapfrogged Maus with his new points record, and I crept into 8th place. Four weeks until the next event which seems like ages nowadays, but MSR will be making up for the wait with a double header in Birmingham – don’t miss it!
focalcountdown.com 