Brilliant Donegal man comes through 'a Countdown classic'

A Donegal man tested his wits on Countdown, showing his arsenal of knowledge.

Austen Allen from Ardara appeared on the popular Channel 4 show on Friday, clocking an amazing 108 points to win on the day.

Previously working in a shellfish factory, which he described to host Colin Murray as “awful, just awful,” he took on reigning champion Fiona, who opened with a maximum nine with the word “augmented” before winning the second round with eight, “flukiest.”

The host described Austen as “a tough nut to crack” as he kept in the game before powering in front late on.

In the numbers game, both players managed to get the maximum points, with 191 the target.

Austen trailed 28-18 at the first break, and both players showed the high standard of the contest as they both hit nine with “cremation” in round four, whilst round five saw the two players match one another again, on seven, with “hornier”.

In the second numbers game, Austen went for the unconventional four large numbers and two small, not getting a solution near enough to declare an answer, as Fiona was also off target. Resident host mathematician, Rachel Riley, said reaching the target of 813 was impossible.

“Epic so far,” host Murray said of the game, before ending with “a Countdown classic.”

Round six, both players declared seven with Wood going for “snoozer,” while Austen’s “gooners” was not allowed, which meant he trailed 60-43, although he was making inroads in the following round with a seven thanks to “dirtier”.

Both players managed to get 908 in the next numbers round, leaving the score 70-60 for Fiona at the second break. Both players had six and “sample” when play resumed.

Austen tried a somewhat risky but brilliant play with a nine with “subregion” to move ahead 84-76 but his eight “tapiest” wasn’t accepted in the round after.

The last letters game, with Austen 84-83 in front, saw Fiona go for “dacoits” for seven and then, the final numbers game, saw 853 as the target. Austen managed to get 851, to go in front 98-83. That was enough to get him over the line and he finished in style with “institute” in the conundrum for a 108 to 83 win. He will return to the show next week.

Countdown is a legendary British daytime game show that holds a massive place in UK television history. It was the very first program ever broadcast on Channel 4 when the network launched on November 2, 1982.

Two contestants compete against each other, with a strict 30-second ticking clock, across rounds split into three distinct types of puzzles - the letters round, the numbers round and, at the end, the countdown conundrum.