Countdown whizz Edward Byrne is set to go head-to-head with his opponent in today’s final.
The 27-year-old Dubliner sailed through his semi-final game, which was broadcast yesterday on Channel 4. Now he is in with a chance to make history if he wins the final which will be broadcast today at 2.10pm as he is in prime position to become the second Irish person to win the series.
In 2014 Mark Murray, originally from Blanchardstown but living in Bristol in the UK, was crowned champion. Edward, a civil servant from Booterstown, qualified for the finals of series 86 on the show as Number 2 seed after becoming an Octochamp in July with 969 points.
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He said: “I was expecting my semi-final against Quinn Bartlett to be a tough game as we are on similar par. But I tactically played a tight game and it worked.”
Edward scored a total of 107 points while Quinn got 73 points. And speaking about the final against Tom Stevenson, Edward said: “It’s going to be a close one.”
He added: “It’s going to put the two of us to the test. It will be a very neck and neck game.” Although the shows were recorded back in October, Edward can’t reveal who wins the final until after the show is broadcast.
He said being in the final of Countdown is “a dream come true”. Edward first started to watch it when he was in primary school with his granny.
He said: “When I was younger I used to love watching the finals at Christmas time and in the summer. That was 15 to 20 years ago and now here I am on the final. It’s very surreal.”
And this is not Edward’s first time on Countdown. He appeared on the show in 2014 where unfortunately he lost his second game.
But, he didn’t despair as he was back on the screens this year having successfully applied in 2020. He said: “But because of the pandemic I couldn’t travel to the UK so I was back this year.
“I was the Challenger and won eight of my games which got me through to these finals.”
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