Ep 364: Maurie Williams, Matt Williams (January 19, 2012)

Rounds: Here.


There's a shake-up of the usual introductory format tonight because the challenger is Matt Williams -- Maurie's son!  Matt is a university student studying I.T., but the conversation with them both is just the usual competitive statements that you might expect in such a situation.  We do learn later (from Matt, but presumably Maurie agrees) that Maurie is better at the letters rounds, Matt at the numbers rounds, and for the conundrum Maurie "has it in the bag".


Despite those remarks, the letters are almost balanced, with each winning one round (Matt winning due to Maurie trying a risky word, admittedly).  Matt shows slightly better form on the numbers, but misses a trivial adjustment in the last round that would have seen him safe going into the conundrum.  As it goes he has a six point advantage, but Maurie lives up to expectations by solving the conundrum less than four seconds in.  That gives Maurie a lucky win, 52 to 48.

I was solid on the numbers, but wobbly on the letters tonight.  I made up for it a little by solving the conundrum effectively instantly, and combined with the last numbers round that made the margin somewhat more flattering than it probably deserved.

As usual, details after the jump.