Rounds: Here.
Here we are at Matthew Thomason's sixth game, his last until the finals. There's basically no chat with him beyond pointing out that fact, which lends credence to my observation in yesterday's game that they may well have run out of talking points for him.
Standing between Matthew and successful retirement is Bryce Lawrence, a project management student who has just deferred his studies in order to live in South America. Bryce expands on that: He has deferred for two years in order to go and live with the Matis indigenous tribe; he will be living in the same conditions as they do for his time there. That certainly sounds interesting (although decidedly not something that I would enjoy) but we don't find out why he is doing this -- what does he hope to do there, that kind of thing. That really feels like a missed opportunity.
It started out as a very close game, with the contestants finding equal results in the first three rounds. It looked like it might go down to the wire, but the second third went all Matthew's way, with two good words from him and an arithmetical error from Bryce giving him a commanding lead. Matthew sealed the game in the last letters round, then finished off emphatically with another fast conundrum solution to make the scoreline 65 to 30. That makes him the first retiring champion of the series.
I was in decent shape tonight, only missing the one maximum. It also eluded David's eye, so my solo total will end up the same as him and Lily, and that's always nice. I was slow on the conundrum, but had done more than enough to beat the contestants.
Showing posts with label Matthew Thomason. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matthew Thomason. Show all posts
Tuesday, 31 May 2016
Sunday, 29 May 2016
Ep 113: Matthew Thomason, Ryan Turk (May 27, 2016; originally aired Janury 5, 2011)
Rounds: Here.
It's Matthew Thomason's fifth night, and a win here should put him into the finals. His scoring has been decent, too, so even a loss tonight would stand him a decent shot at it, provided he scores adequately in the process. Richard wheels out the question about technique, suggesting that perhaps we are running short of anecdotes for Matthew to tell, unlikely though that would seem -- he strikes me as somewhat of a raconteur. In any case, Matthew indicates that there is no technique; he has done crosswords, including those by a certain DA, for many years, and he does the Target, but there doesn't seem to be a strategy behind any of it. Sometimes he just sees a word, and other times he does not.
Tonight's challenger is Ryan Turk, an I.T. network engineer who was once verbally abused by Jim Courier, the famous tennis player, while Ryan was working as a line umpire for the Australian Open. As Ryan relates it, he had called a ball out, and Courier responded by running over to him and screaming in his face. There was a certain amount of instant karma here, though, although this may not have been apparent at the time: Ryan had reconsidered his call and decided that the ball was in, and was going to correct himself, but was not able to do so after that behaviour.
(This matter is covered in the ITF's Rules of Tennis, in appendix VI: Role of Court Officials, and I imagine that the line umpires are also given explicit instruction about this. The relevant case decision is: If a line umpire realises a mistake, a correction should be made as soon as possible provided it is not as the result of a protest or appeal of a player. Also, the result must stand in such a situation: A chair umpire must never overrule as the result of the protest or appeal by a player.)
The contestants started out with matching words in the first round, but Matthew found an excellent word in the second round to take the early lead. He did so again in round four, pushing him clear by more than a conundrum. The remaining letter rounds were shared, but Ryan made some good tactical choices in the numbers rounds to score points there and take over the lead going into the conundrum. It was not enough, though, as Matthew continued his streak of very fast conundrum solutions to secure the win, 52 to 48.
I had decent results in most rounds, but unfortunately hit an invalid word in round two that set me back a bit. I was a touch too slow with the right approach in the second numbers round, but overall managed to do enough to be comfortably clear of the contestants. So far the winning run is continuing.
It's Matthew Thomason's fifth night, and a win here should put him into the finals. His scoring has been decent, too, so even a loss tonight would stand him a decent shot at it, provided he scores adequately in the process. Richard wheels out the question about technique, suggesting that perhaps we are running short of anecdotes for Matthew to tell, unlikely though that would seem -- he strikes me as somewhat of a raconteur. In any case, Matthew indicates that there is no technique; he has done crosswords, including those by a certain DA, for many years, and he does the Target, but there doesn't seem to be a strategy behind any of it. Sometimes he just sees a word, and other times he does not.
Tonight's challenger is Ryan Turk, an I.T. network engineer who was once verbally abused by Jim Courier, the famous tennis player, while Ryan was working as a line umpire for the Australian Open. As Ryan relates it, he had called a ball out, and Courier responded by running over to him and screaming in his face. There was a certain amount of instant karma here, though, although this may not have been apparent at the time: Ryan had reconsidered his call and decided that the ball was in, and was going to correct himself, but was not able to do so after that behaviour.
(This matter is covered in the ITF's Rules of Tennis, in appendix VI: Role of Court Officials, and I imagine that the line umpires are also given explicit instruction about this. The relevant case decision is: If a line umpire realises a mistake, a correction should be made as soon as possible provided it is not as the result of a protest or appeal of a player. Also, the result must stand in such a situation: A chair umpire must never overrule as the result of the protest or appeal by a player.)
The contestants started out with matching words in the first round, but Matthew found an excellent word in the second round to take the early lead. He did so again in round four, pushing him clear by more than a conundrum. The remaining letter rounds were shared, but Ryan made some good tactical choices in the numbers rounds to score points there and take over the lead going into the conundrum. It was not enough, though, as Matthew continued his streak of very fast conundrum solutions to secure the win, 52 to 48.
I had decent results in most rounds, but unfortunately hit an invalid word in round two that set me back a bit. I was a touch too slow with the right approach in the second numbers round, but overall managed to do enough to be comfortably clear of the contestants. So far the winning run is continuing.
Friday, 27 May 2016
Ep 112: Matthew Thomason, Matt Bolton (May 26, 2016; originally aired January 4, 2011)
Rounds: Here.
This is the crucial fourth night for Matthew Thomason, and Richard informs us that Matthew has done a lot of travel programs as part of his TV writing and directing career. He points out that they look glamorous, but asks about the life. Matthew responds that it is very enjoyable, but you don't get to "sit and do the touristy thing". On the other hand, some great experiences can result. Matthew relates an anecdote from one time when he was shooting in Pompei (and possibly in Pompeii, for that matter). At lunchtime, the guide took them to a place where tourists don't generally go; the owner of the establishment took them aside, cooked them a special pasta and served them home-made wine, and they ended up having lunch in a 3000-year-old gymnasium.
Tonight's challenger is Matt Bolton, a database administrator who works for Oxfam Australia, and owns a geodesic dome house. Richard asks why he decided on such an interesting architecture for his house. Matt says that the unique structure of it was what appealed to him and his partner. The house is actually two domes, made up of triangular sections that combine into hexagons and pentagons, making a shape somewhat similar to a soccer ball.
The contestants started with a nice pair of sevens, but then the wobbles set in -- each of their answers for the next two rounds were invalid. Matthew managed to creep ahead in the fourth round, but it was the sixth round that effectively ensured his victory, as an error from Matt gave Matthew the unanswered points. A good find in the final letters round ensured Matthew's victory; the final numbers round was too challenging for both contestants, but Matthew solved the conundrum in very quick time to pad out his scoreline, finishing the victor with 44 points to 12.
I missed a full monty in the second round, but managed to avoid the invalid options that the contestants found. Aside from that I managed to hit maxima most of the way, except for the final numbers round where I discarded an approach too soon. I was happy to solve the conundrum just ahead of Matthew, giving me a good final score with some nice words found.
This is the crucial fourth night for Matthew Thomason, and Richard informs us that Matthew has done a lot of travel programs as part of his TV writing and directing career. He points out that they look glamorous, but asks about the life. Matthew responds that it is very enjoyable, but you don't get to "sit and do the touristy thing". On the other hand, some great experiences can result. Matthew relates an anecdote from one time when he was shooting in Pompei (and possibly in Pompeii, for that matter). At lunchtime, the guide took them to a place where tourists don't generally go; the owner of the establishment took them aside, cooked them a special pasta and served them home-made wine, and they ended up having lunch in a 3000-year-old gymnasium.
Tonight's challenger is Matt Bolton, a database administrator who works for Oxfam Australia, and owns a geodesic dome house. Richard asks why he decided on such an interesting architecture for his house. Matt says that the unique structure of it was what appealed to him and his partner. The house is actually two domes, made up of triangular sections that combine into hexagons and pentagons, making a shape somewhat similar to a soccer ball.
The contestants started with a nice pair of sevens, but then the wobbles set in -- each of their answers for the next two rounds were invalid. Matthew managed to creep ahead in the fourth round, but it was the sixth round that effectively ensured his victory, as an error from Matt gave Matthew the unanswered points. A good find in the final letters round ensured Matthew's victory; the final numbers round was too challenging for both contestants, but Matthew solved the conundrum in very quick time to pad out his scoreline, finishing the victor with 44 points to 12.
I missed a full monty in the second round, but managed to avoid the invalid options that the contestants found. Aside from that I managed to hit maxima most of the way, except for the final numbers round where I discarded an approach too soon. I was happy to solve the conundrum just ahead of Matthew, giving me a good final score with some nice words found.
Thursday, 26 May 2016
Ep 111: Matthew Thomason, Liam Murphy (May 25, 2016; originally aired January 3, 2011)
Rounds: Here.
This episode was the first of the new year, and so the pre-game banter is mostly about New Year's Eve. It's Matthew Thomason's third night, and Richard continues the theme by asking how Matthew spent his New Year's Eve. Matthew responds that he did the same as every year -- he slept through it.
Tonight's challenger is Liam Murphy, who has just finished a Bachelor of Pharmacy and spent the last two summers working at a chemist in a beachside town, meaning that he could surf every day. That should endear him somewhat to Lily! Furthermore, Liam has just accepted a job at a pharmacy in Noosa, for an intern year, so he hopes to continue the trend.
After the second break there's a bit more revealed. (I think this is the third time in a row, or at least recently, that there's been some further contestant chatting done after the second break. I wonder if they were trying to make it a thing, or maybe they suspected the contestants would lose and wanted to get a few more of their conversational snippets. I don't recall it happening much by the time I had started watching.) Anyway, like Dane Watkins from the previous episode, Liam was also a student of Chris Scholten-Smith, the show's first carryover champion. In this case it was for year 9 English.
Liam started off well to take the early lead, but that was the high point of the show for him. Matthew quickly overtook Liam, then the numbers rounds pushed Matthew past catching. Liam managed to equal Matthew in the last two letters rounds, but was never able to stop Matthew scoring after the first round. A tough conundrum proved beyond both contestants, but Matthew had cruised home to win, 49 to 18.
I managed to keep pace with David and Lily for most of the game, but then faltered on the last letters round. The conundrum was also too difficult for me, but I'd done more than enough to beat the contestants.
This episode was the first of the new year, and so the pre-game banter is mostly about New Year's Eve. It's Matthew Thomason's third night, and Richard continues the theme by asking how Matthew spent his New Year's Eve. Matthew responds that he did the same as every year -- he slept through it.
Tonight's challenger is Liam Murphy, who has just finished a Bachelor of Pharmacy and spent the last two summers working at a chemist in a beachside town, meaning that he could surf every day. That should endear him somewhat to Lily! Furthermore, Liam has just accepted a job at a pharmacy in Noosa, for an intern year, so he hopes to continue the trend.
After the second break there's a bit more revealed. (I think this is the third time in a row, or at least recently, that there's been some further contestant chatting done after the second break. I wonder if they were trying to make it a thing, or maybe they suspected the contestants would lose and wanted to get a few more of their conversational snippets. I don't recall it happening much by the time I had started watching.) Anyway, like Dane Watkins from the previous episode, Liam was also a student of Chris Scholten-Smith, the show's first carryover champion. In this case it was for year 9 English.
Liam started off well to take the early lead, but that was the high point of the show for him. Matthew quickly overtook Liam, then the numbers rounds pushed Matthew past catching. Liam managed to equal Matthew in the last two letters rounds, but was never able to stop Matthew scoring after the first round. A tough conundrum proved beyond both contestants, but Matthew had cruised home to win, 49 to 18.
I managed to keep pace with David and Lily for most of the game, but then faltered on the last letters round. The conundrum was also too difficult for me, but I'd done more than enough to beat the contestants.
Tuesday, 24 May 2016
Ep 110: Matthew Thomason, Dane Watkins (May 24, 2016; originally aired December 31, 2010)
Rounds: Here.
Matthew Thomason gets a taste of the champion's seat, and it seems to be to his liking. Tonight we find out that Matthew once shared a stage with Dame Joan Sutherland. It was his professional stage debut, and he was working as a supernumerary (essentially, an extra), which he describes as "the lowest of the low [...] we stand around and keep very still, and try not to bump into people". The production was an opera called Adriana Lecouvreur. Matthew jokingly claims that at the first rehearsal he pulled Dame Joan aside, they had a chat, and agreed that she should do the singing and he should do the standing around, and that worked very well.
Tonights challenger is high school student Dane Watkins, who wants to study physiotherapy and eventually run his own clinic. Over the last couple of years Dane has gotten into subjects such as physical education, which he says is about the theory and biomechanics of how the body works, how to heal it and prevent ourselves from damaging it any further. (I must say, that's a far cry from what P.E. was when I was at school.) He has found that he loves it, and he would like to grow up and learn how to apply that to help people involved in sports such as the ones he competes in himself.
At the start of round six there's another snippet revealed: Chris Scholten-Smith, the show's very first champion from episode 1, was Dane's English teacher in year 7. Dane watched all his episodes, and apparently Chris had a big fan base back at school.
It's one of those soul-crushing games for Dane tonight -- Matthew just kept finding options that were marginally better. It took until round six before Dane managed to get on the board at all, and I'm sure it was a relief! Matthew scored points in every round, including a quick conundrum solution, and unsurprisingly finished greatly ahead, 64 to 15.
My game was mostly good, but once again it would have been so much better with an extra few seconds on the clock. Three times I found better words just after the expiration of time, and one of those even eluded David's eagle eye, so that's a very rare chance to outdo him lost. Lily stumbled in the last numbers round so that I ended up tying her and David on the solo score, but that just emphasises how much I needed to find those better words faster and so outdo them. Maybe next time...
Matthew Thomason gets a taste of the champion's seat, and it seems to be to his liking. Tonight we find out that Matthew once shared a stage with Dame Joan Sutherland. It was his professional stage debut, and he was working as a supernumerary (essentially, an extra), which he describes as "the lowest of the low [...] we stand around and keep very still, and try not to bump into people". The production was an opera called Adriana Lecouvreur. Matthew jokingly claims that at the first rehearsal he pulled Dame Joan aside, they had a chat, and agreed that she should do the singing and he should do the standing around, and that worked very well.
Tonights challenger is high school student Dane Watkins, who wants to study physiotherapy and eventually run his own clinic. Over the last couple of years Dane has gotten into subjects such as physical education, which he says is about the theory and biomechanics of how the body works, how to heal it and prevent ourselves from damaging it any further. (I must say, that's a far cry from what P.E. was when I was at school.) He has found that he loves it, and he would like to grow up and learn how to apply that to help people involved in sports such as the ones he competes in himself.
At the start of round six there's another snippet revealed: Chris Scholten-Smith, the show's very first champion from episode 1, was Dane's English teacher in year 7. Dane watched all his episodes, and apparently Chris had a big fan base back at school.
It's one of those soul-crushing games for Dane tonight -- Matthew just kept finding options that were marginally better. It took until round six before Dane managed to get on the board at all, and I'm sure it was a relief! Matthew scored points in every round, including a quick conundrum solution, and unsurprisingly finished greatly ahead, 64 to 15.
My game was mostly good, but once again it would have been so much better with an extra few seconds on the clock. Three times I found better words just after the expiration of time, and one of those even eluded David's eagle eye, so that's a very rare chance to outdo him lost. Lily stumbled in the last numbers round so that I ended up tying her and David on the solo score, but that just emphasises how much I needed to find those better words faster and so outdo them. Maybe next time...
Monday, 23 May 2016
Ep 109: Jodi Knight, Matthew Thomason (May 23, 2016; originally aired December 30, 2010)
Rounds: Here.
Jodi Knight returns for her second game, and Richard notes that Jodi is involved in an indigenous education program. He asks for more details, and Jodi responds that she works as an Aboriginal education worker at a high school from "where [she is] from". She works on anything that they need help with, which is mostly mathematics and English.
There's also a little more of a chat with Jodi later on in the show, at the start of the last third. Richard refers back to yesterday's talk where it was mentioned that Jodi coaches cricket, and asks if she is doing any of that at the moment. Jodi responds in the affirmative; in fact, she is coaching two teams: a local under-12's boys side, and a regional representative primary girls side.
Tonight's challenger is Matthew Thomason, a TV writer and director who has created shows about everything from travel to backyard science experiments, and once wrote scripts for Michelle Obama. Richard naturally asks how that came to be about. Matthew explains that he works for the company that produces Mythbusters, and they are doing an alternative version incorporating backyard science and Q&A's based on science. In addition to their regular presenter, they also included some special guest presenters, of which one was Michelle Obama. She wanted to talk about fighting childhood obesity, so he wrote some scripts for that. (Unfortunately, I cannot figure out what that show would have been; it was most likely part of her Let's Move campaign, which would place it in 2010, but I haven't found a good match for the available information.)
Richard adds another snippet here, that over twenty years ago he and Matthew worked together. Matthew describes it as Richard doing "in-flight videos for a very well-known commerical airline", and Matthew was the producer of those videos.
Jodi found an excellent word in the first game, but was blown out of the water by Matthew's even better find of a full monty. Another good find from Matthew in the second round put him a daunting 25 points ahead, and that ended up being just too much to recover from. It was mostly level-pegging after that, with Jodi making a couple of small pickups but not quite enough. She needed to solve the last numbers round to have a chance, but it was too hard and Matthew was safe going into the conundrum. Neither managed to solve it, and Matthew won with 46 points to Jodi's 34.
I was just a fraction too slow to see two words tonight, including that full monty. But the remaining rounds provided enough fodder for me to come back, particularly a couple of challenging numbers rounds. I was just safe going into the conundrum; I was a bit slow to solve it, but got there, and was rather relieved to get the win after missing that full monty. It always makes such a big difference!
Jodi Knight returns for her second game, and Richard notes that Jodi is involved in an indigenous education program. He asks for more details, and Jodi responds that she works as an Aboriginal education worker at a high school from "where [she is] from". She works on anything that they need help with, which is mostly mathematics and English.
There's also a little more of a chat with Jodi later on in the show, at the start of the last third. Richard refers back to yesterday's talk where it was mentioned that Jodi coaches cricket, and asks if she is doing any of that at the moment. Jodi responds in the affirmative; in fact, she is coaching two teams: a local under-12's boys side, and a regional representative primary girls side.
Tonight's challenger is Matthew Thomason, a TV writer and director who has created shows about everything from travel to backyard science experiments, and once wrote scripts for Michelle Obama. Richard naturally asks how that came to be about. Matthew explains that he works for the company that produces Mythbusters, and they are doing an alternative version incorporating backyard science and Q&A's based on science. In addition to their regular presenter, they also included some special guest presenters, of which one was Michelle Obama. She wanted to talk about fighting childhood obesity, so he wrote some scripts for that. (Unfortunately, I cannot figure out what that show would have been; it was most likely part of her Let's Move campaign, which would place it in 2010, but I haven't found a good match for the available information.)
Richard adds another snippet here, that over twenty years ago he and Matthew worked together. Matthew describes it as Richard doing "in-flight videos for a very well-known commerical airline", and Matthew was the producer of those videos.
Jodi found an excellent word in the first game, but was blown out of the water by Matthew's even better find of a full monty. Another good find from Matthew in the second round put him a daunting 25 points ahead, and that ended up being just too much to recover from. It was mostly level-pegging after that, with Jodi making a couple of small pickups but not quite enough. She needed to solve the last numbers round to have a chance, but it was too hard and Matthew was safe going into the conundrum. Neither managed to solve it, and Matthew won with 46 points to Jodi's 34.
I was just a fraction too slow to see two words tonight, including that full monty. But the remaining rounds provided enough fodder for me to come back, particularly a couple of challenging numbers rounds. I was just safe going into the conundrum; I was a bit slow to solve it, but got there, and was rather relieved to get the win after missing that full monty. It always makes such a big difference!
Thursday, 28 June 2012
Ep 450 [M1] [GF]: Sam Gaffney, Matthew Thomason (June 27, 2012)
Not that anyone reading this needs the reminder, but it's still very much meaningful to vote and comment at http://lanfans.org/ if you want SBS to resume producing Letters and Numbers.
Rounds: Here.
Two very worthy contestants in tonight's grand final, but of course so were all of the contestants in the Masters Series. Because of the way the seedings work, although Matthew started out as a lower seed than Sam he will be taking the champion's position; that is because the bracket he was in included the number one seed Andrew Fisher.
Matthew got to this point by beating Tony Loui 65 to 50 in an effective rematch of the series two grand final, and then beating Toby Baldwin 63 to 47 in his semifinal. Both matches came down to the conundrum, which Matthew solved in 2.5s and 2s respectively. Along the way he has found some great words in tough mixes, including EPISTLES, PANELED, and TOUCHÉ. He has struggled a bit when the numbers are tough, although he has been perhaps a bit fortunate that four of the six numbers rounds he has faced so far were very easy.
Sam started off with a sound 62 to 35 victory over Jeremy Schiftan, the largest winning margin of the Masters Series (and one of only two games in which the result was decided before the conundrum). It is also the only match of the Masters Series so far where the conundrum was not solved, incidentally. He then had a very tough game against the formidable Naween Fernando, which he won 54 to 39 thanks to a massive last section comeback and a one second conundrum solution.
Sam has been a bit out of touch with the words so far this series, at least compared to the form I've come to expect from him (which is understandable, as he's gotten better since then, just like I have since my time on the show); that said, his find of HISTONE in the last letters round against Naween was excellent. Sam has excelled in the numbers, just missing out once so far with a one-away solution on a target that was also too tough for Lily to solve within time.
So it's a contrast in abilities, with the letters currently favouring Matthew but the numbers being all Sam. And this time Sam is in the challenger's seat, where he would much prefer to be; that gives him two selections on the numbers, and you can bet he will continue to go for the heavyweight mix that has served him so well. It's likely to come down to the conundrum, and with the contestants being so fast, anyone could win it.
Of course, I'm about to spoil the result. *chuckles* Do feel free to skip this section.
The match started easily enough with a shared seven, but Matthew scooted ahead in the second round when Sam's risky play turned out to be invalid. The first numbers round was too easy to provide a challenge for anyone, and then Matthew stretched his lead with another good find in the letters. That was danger territory for Sam, but the remaining letters rounds were shared and his number mixes saw him get ahead at last. Sam took a precious three point lead into the conundrum, but he buzzed in early with an invalid answer to give Matthew a chance. Matthew was not able to capitalise on that mistake after all, and Sam scraped home with a 46 to 43 victory to become the grandest of the show's champions.
It feels a bit anticlimactic to talk about my results, but I mostly kept track with Matthew. My words were decent (as were his), but Sam's superior play in the heavyweight mixes told and I had to get the conundrum. I was ultimately too slow to do so, and so finished with a 3-4 record on the series.
Rounds: Here.
Two very worthy contestants in tonight's grand final, but of course so were all of the contestants in the Masters Series. Because of the way the seedings work, although Matthew started out as a lower seed than Sam he will be taking the champion's position; that is because the bracket he was in included the number one seed Andrew Fisher.
Matthew got to this point by beating Tony Loui 65 to 50 in an effective rematch of the series two grand final, and then beating Toby Baldwin 63 to 47 in his semifinal. Both matches came down to the conundrum, which Matthew solved in 2.5s and 2s respectively. Along the way he has found some great words in tough mixes, including EPISTLES, PANELED, and TOUCHÉ. He has struggled a bit when the numbers are tough, although he has been perhaps a bit fortunate that four of the six numbers rounds he has faced so far were very easy.
Sam started off with a sound 62 to 35 victory over Jeremy Schiftan, the largest winning margin of the Masters Series (and one of only two games in which the result was decided before the conundrum). It is also the only match of the Masters Series so far where the conundrum was not solved, incidentally. He then had a very tough game against the formidable Naween Fernando, which he won 54 to 39 thanks to a massive last section comeback and a one second conundrum solution.
Sam has been a bit out of touch with the words so far this series, at least compared to the form I've come to expect from him (which is understandable, as he's gotten better since then, just like I have since my time on the show); that said, his find of HISTONE in the last letters round against Naween was excellent. Sam has excelled in the numbers, just missing out once so far with a one-away solution on a target that was also too tough for Lily to solve within time.
So it's a contrast in abilities, with the letters currently favouring Matthew but the numbers being all Sam. And this time Sam is in the challenger's seat, where he would much prefer to be; that gives him two selections on the numbers, and you can bet he will continue to go for the heavyweight mix that has served him so well. It's likely to come down to the conundrum, and with the contestants being so fast, anyone could win it.
Of course, I'm about to spoil the result. *chuckles* Do feel free to skip this section.
The match started easily enough with a shared seven, but Matthew scooted ahead in the second round when Sam's risky play turned out to be invalid. The first numbers round was too easy to provide a challenge for anyone, and then Matthew stretched his lead with another good find in the letters. That was danger territory for Sam, but the remaining letters rounds were shared and his number mixes saw him get ahead at last. Sam took a precious three point lead into the conundrum, but he buzzed in early with an invalid answer to give Matthew a chance. Matthew was not able to capitalise on that mistake after all, and Sam scraped home with a 46 to 43 victory to become the grandest of the show's champions.
It feels a bit anticlimactic to talk about my results, but I mostly kept track with Matthew. My words were decent (as were his), but Sam's superior play in the heavyweight mixes told and I had to get the conundrum. I was ultimately too slow to do so, and so finished with a 3-4 record on the series.
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
Ep 448 [M1] [SF1]: Toby Baldwin, Matthew Thomason (June 25, 2012)
A reminder to go and support Letters and Numbers at http://lanfans.org/ if you have not already done so, and to also follow the other suggestions there to promote the show. It's gathering momentum, but still needs a lot of help to spread the word.
Rounds: Here.
So, onto the first semifinal, where Toby Baldwin takes on Matthew Thomason. Both contestants defeated series champions in order to make it this far, with Toby pulling off the upset of the series when he played very well to beat the formidable Andrew Fisher in the first quarterfinal. Matthew faced Tony Loui in his quarterfinal -- a rematch of the series two grand final -- and prevailed in mirror fashion to Tony's earlier win in that grand final.
The match started with a surprisingly difficult letters round, and Matthew did well to take an early lead there. He extended it in the second round when Toby fell victim to a phantom letter, but thereafter the contestants kept pace with each other for a while. Toby gained back some crucial ground in the second numbers game to get within range, and with the remaining main rounds shared the game was alive at the conundrum. Matthew solved it very quickly once again to ensure his place in the grand final with a 63 to 47 victory.
I had a poor start to the game, and I was not quite able to recover from it. I picked up enough to be just a little ahead of Matthew going into the conundrum, but for the third game in a row I was just beaten to the solution, pausing as the contestant's buzzer sounded. That's my second loss of the Masters Series, and the games are only getting tougher at this point.
Rounds: Here.
So, onto the first semifinal, where Toby Baldwin takes on Matthew Thomason. Both contestants defeated series champions in order to make it this far, with Toby pulling off the upset of the series when he played very well to beat the formidable Andrew Fisher in the first quarterfinal. Matthew faced Tony Loui in his quarterfinal -- a rematch of the series two grand final -- and prevailed in mirror fashion to Tony's earlier win in that grand final.
The match started with a surprisingly difficult letters round, and Matthew did well to take an early lead there. He extended it in the second round when Toby fell victim to a phantom letter, but thereafter the contestants kept pace with each other for a while. Toby gained back some crucial ground in the second numbers game to get within range, and with the remaining main rounds shared the game was alive at the conundrum. Matthew solved it very quickly once again to ensure his place in the grand final with a 63 to 47 victory.
I had a poor start to the game, and I was not quite able to recover from it. I picked up enough to be just a little ahead of Matthew going into the conundrum, but for the third game in a row I was just beaten to the solution, pausing as the contestant's buzzer sounded. That's my second loss of the Masters Series, and the games are only getting tougher at this point.
Friday, 22 June 2012
Ep 446 [M1] [QF3]: Tony Loui, Matthew Thomason (June 21, 2012)
Rounds: Here.
Tonight the seedings have worked out so that we see a repeat of the series two grand final. That time only two main rounds distinguished the contestants, with Matthew gaining in a letters round and Tony striking back in the numbers. It came down to the conundrum, which Tony solved to win. How will it shake out this time?
Well, I'm about to reveal the answer, and there's not really much spoiler space here. *chuckles* Although I shall note that Richard called it "remarkable" that the seedings worked out to have the two of them facing each other again. It's not, really -- assuming that the runners-up are essentially randomly distributed, the chance of at least one rematch was 62.5%; it would have been more remarkable if there had not been one.
Things went a little similarly to that previous match, in fact. Once again, Matthew took the lead in the first round, but this time he extended it in the second round. Tony struck back in a later numbers round to get within striking distance, and either could have won at the conundrum. But this time it was Matthew who was ahead, and Matthew who solved the conundrum first. That gave him the victory, 65 to 50.
I did pretty well tonight, including finding the full monty. But I had another invalid word today, and one that genuinely surprised me. Further investigation pretty much confirms that I made up the usage that I came up with, so that was odd. Aside from that, only one main round was non-optimal (I'd seen the best option but discounted it), and I was just pipped to the conundrum by Matthew. I was comfortably home thanks to the rest of the good results, though, and so far the quarterfinals have been kind to me.
Tonight the seedings have worked out so that we see a repeat of the series two grand final. That time only two main rounds distinguished the contestants, with Matthew gaining in a letters round and Tony striking back in the numbers. It came down to the conundrum, which Tony solved to win. How will it shake out this time?
Well, I'm about to reveal the answer, and there's not really much spoiler space here. *chuckles* Although I shall note that Richard called it "remarkable" that the seedings worked out to have the two of them facing each other again. It's not, really -- assuming that the runners-up are essentially randomly distributed, the chance of at least one rematch was 62.5%; it would have been more remarkable if there had not been one.
Things went a little similarly to that previous match, in fact. Once again, Matthew took the lead in the first round, but this time he extended it in the second round. Tony struck back in a later numbers round to get within striking distance, and either could have won at the conundrum. But this time it was Matthew who was ahead, and Matthew who solved the conundrum first. That gave him the victory, 65 to 50.
I did pretty well tonight, including finding the full monty. But I had another invalid word today, and one that genuinely surprised me. Further investigation pretty much confirms that I made up the usage that I came up with, so that was odd. Aside from that, only one main round was non-optimal (I'd seen the best option but discounted it), and I was just pipped to the conundrum by Matthew. I was comfortably home thanks to the rest of the good results, though, and so far the quarterfinals have been kind to me.
Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Ep 200 [GF]: Tony Loui, Matthew Thomason (May 29, 2012; originally aired May 6, 2011)
Disclaimer: I watched this episode when it first aired, and although I
did not recall any of it I cannot rule out memory somehow being a
factor.
It was a very close game tonight, as is fitting for a grand final. Matthew took the early lead when Tony had a surprising stumble in the first round; then they matched each other in the next six rounds. On the final numbers round Tony saw his way to a solution to snatch the lead, but it was still either contestant's game to win on the conundrum. Tony got there first, just under six seconds in, and became the second series champion with a 64 to 51 victory.
I was in good form tonight, and while there's the issue of possible foreknowledge that only seems plausible to apply to the conundrum. I did solve it very quickly this time, but I don't recall it from before, so I'm not sure how much last year's viewing is a factor. In any case, with only one round less than optimal, I ended up with a comfortable victory.
It was a very close game tonight, as is fitting for a grand final. Matthew took the early lead when Tony had a surprising stumble in the first round; then they matched each other in the next six rounds. On the final numbers round Tony saw his way to a solution to snatch the lead, but it was still either contestant's game to win on the conundrum. Tony got there first, just under six seconds in, and became the second series champion with a 64 to 51 victory.
I was in good form tonight, and while there's the issue of possible foreknowledge that only seems plausible to apply to the conundrum. I did solve it very quickly this time, but I don't recall it from before, so I'm not sure how much last year's viewing is a factor. In any case, with only one round less than optimal, I ended up with a comfortable victory.
Ep 199 [SF2]: Tamara McMahon, Matthew Thomason (May 28, 2012; originally aired May 5, 2011)
Disclaimer: I watched this episode when it first aired, and although I
did not recall any of it I cannot rule out memory somehow being a
factor.
Nothing much to the pre-game chat, as expected. The game started out well for Matthew, who found an eight in the first round to beat Tamara's seven, and then Tamara risked too much in the next round. That put Matthew 14 points ahead, and several flat rounds followed. Tamara finally gained back some ground on the last letters round to get back within striking distance at last, but then immediately conceded that gain on the last numbers round. Matthew was safe going into the conundrum, and with neither solving it he got through to the grand final with a 53 to 39 win.
I was in decent shape for the first two thirds of the match; although I did not always have the best answers in the letters, I had the best that it was feasible for me to do. But then I faltered somewhat, with a last letters round where I was well off the pace (and beaten by both contestants, who had excellent words); that was followed by a numbers round where I only just got the answer down in time. Fortunately I solved the conundrum in middling time to finish on a good note. Plus I found the full monty today, which is always good.
Nothing much to the pre-game chat, as expected. The game started out well for Matthew, who found an eight in the first round to beat Tamara's seven, and then Tamara risked too much in the next round. That put Matthew 14 points ahead, and several flat rounds followed. Tamara finally gained back some ground on the last letters round to get back within striking distance at last, but then immediately conceded that gain on the last numbers round. Matthew was safe going into the conundrum, and with neither solving it he got through to the grand final with a 53 to 39 win.
I was in decent shape for the first two thirds of the match; although I did not always have the best answers in the letters, I had the best that it was feasible for me to do. But then I faltered somewhat, with a last letters round where I was well off the pace (and beaten by both contestants, who had excellent words); that was followed by a numbers round where I only just got the answer down in time. Fortunately I solved the conundrum in middling time to finish on a good note. Plus I found the full monty today, which is always good.
Friday, 25 May 2012
Ep 197 [QF4]: Matthew Thomason, Victor Tung (May 24, 2012; originally aired May 3, 2011)
Disclaimer: I watched this episode when it first aired, and although I
did not recall any of it I cannot rule out memory somehow being a
factor.
This is the last quarterfinal of series two; in the champion's seat is fourth seed Matthew Thomason, a professional TV writer and director. He was undefeated during the main part of the series, and solved four of the six conundrums that he encountered.
Facing him in the challenger's position is fifth seed Victor Tung. Victor is a fire safety engineer, and solved two of his six conundrums.
There was not that much to choose between the contestants, as it turned out. Five of the main rounds were equally split; Matthew solved one numbers round that Victor did not, and they each scored unanswered points in one letters round. Crucially, Victor had the longer word in that exchange and so ended up trailing but still in with a chance going into the conundrum. However, it proved to be too difficult for both of them, and Matthew took the last semifinal spot with a 52 to 43 victory.
I had two rounds that I'd have liked to have done better on, but the other main rounds were optimal. One of them was a play that I was quite unsure about, so I'm very pleased with it working out OK. I was very slow on the conundrum but I got there with a little time left on the clock, and what ended up being a significant winning margin after all.
This is the last quarterfinal of series two; in the champion's seat is fourth seed Matthew Thomason, a professional TV writer and director. He was undefeated during the main part of the series, and solved four of the six conundrums that he encountered.
Facing him in the challenger's position is fifth seed Victor Tung. Victor is a fire safety engineer, and solved two of his six conundrums.
There was not that much to choose between the contestants, as it turned out. Five of the main rounds were equally split; Matthew solved one numbers round that Victor did not, and they each scored unanswered points in one letters round. Crucially, Victor had the longer word in that exchange and so ended up trailing but still in with a chance going into the conundrum. However, it proved to be too difficult for both of them, and Matthew took the last semifinal spot with a 52 to 43 victory.
I had two rounds that I'd have liked to have done better on, but the other main rounds were optimal. One of them was a play that I was quite unsure about, so I'm very pleased with it working out OK. I was very slow on the conundrum but I got there with a little time left on the clock, and what ended up being a significant winning margin after all.
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