 Over
the past year, the best and the brightest
spellers of five-letter words were invited for
one final shot at a Suzuki Verona. What follows
is the road to the grand prize in the Lingo
Tournament of Champions.
Chico Alexander
news editor
Semifinal
- Game 1
|
Yellow:
Jessica (waitress) and Scott (hotel clerk),
friends |
|
Red: Tim
and Catherine, friends/students |
Jessica and
Scott get LAMPS, RUMOR, and EXIST to start, but
then draw their first stopper. Tim and Catherine
SERVE up 25, but Jessica and Scott steal VOGUE,
and follow with DAISY and Lingo for the 175-25
lead. Tim and Catherine get HYPER and YOUTH, but
draw their first stopper. Score stands at
175-75, Yellows.
Tim and
Catherine come back with CHASE, but draw red
again. Jessica and Scott come up red again after
getting BRIDE. Tim and Catherine get ANGLE for
50. And yet ANOTHER red ball! They get the draw
back after stealing WEEKS, Lingoing from a ?
ball to take the lead, 325-225. Jessica and
Scott can't convert INTRO, but Tim and Catherine
can for the win, 375-225.
Given with two bonus letters, Tim
and Catherine get ROAST, STOPS, FLASK, BRAWL, and NOBLE for five
Bonus Lingo balls. Hope for better luck at the Lingo bard with a
first 52. Catherine draws it... and she's in shock. So they're
going to Harrah's in Lake Tahoe with $10,500. But first, they stop
off at the finals to take on one of these two teams...
Semifinal - Game 2
|
Yellow:
Ben (hotel auditor) and Josh (soundboard
operator/production assistant), friends |
|
Red:
Jessica (nonprofit researcher) and Jonathan
(carpenter), siblings |
Ben and Josh
waste no time getting PICKS and THIRD before
coming up with a stopper. Jessica and Jonathan
get HAZED for 25, following with SANDY. But they
too come up red, as Ben and Josh reclaim control
with GERMS, following with a CREEK and a Lingo
to take the 150-50 lead. Jessica and Jonathan
get BIKER and JOCKS to draw for Lingo and the
150-150 tie to end the round.
Jessica and
Jonathan freeze, giving Ben and Josh OWNED, then
LUSTS and Lingo again. Score now, 350-150,
yellows. Jessica and Jonathan get FORUM, but Ben
and Josh steal HIGHS. No more Lingos in this
game, but Ben and Josh are off to the finals by
a score of 400-200.
Given three
bonus letters, Ben and Josh get HITCH, TEAMS,
SPOKE, CLAPS, VOUCH, BULLS, GLUED, and PONDS for
eight Bonus Lingo balls. That'll be $5000 each,
but can we give away another trip? 19's the
number... But Ben draws 25. Josh follows through
with the Lingo for a total of $15,000. So the
lineup is Ben/Josh versus Tim/Catherine, winner
takes all.
It's
FINALS time! |
